| Space Harrier |
Article Index for Space |
Website Links For Space |
Information AboutSpace Harrier |
''Space Harrier'' is a (1988), and the spin-off '' Planet Harriers '' (2001). ''Space Harrier'' was originally made for the . Space Harrier is set in "the Fantasy Zone ", a Surreal world composed of bright colors and a checkerboard-styled ground. The enemies are also unique, featuring prehistoric animals, Chinese Dragon s, and alien pods. The player is forced along the Level s, running or flying (via jetpack) around enemy fire, while shooting back with fireballs. The character Graphics are Sprite -based, though the level backgrounds are faux 3D. '' The 3-D Battles Of World Runner '' by Square bears more than a slight resemblance to the game. The arcade version of ''Space Harrier'' used digitized voices. When starting the first level, for example, you would be greeted with "Welcome to the fantasy zone!; get ready!". Like '' After Burner '', ''Space Harrier'' was among the first (perhaps the very first) arcade game to feature a console in which the player sits, and which moves according to the joystick movement. There is also a non-moving sit-down version and a standard upright version. The arcade version has a total of 18 levels, each containing a boss at the end. Three exceptions are the bonus levels (5th and 12th), and the 18th level, where you have to defeat a collection of the previous bosses. PORTS The game was ported to various Home Computer systems and consoles. For many years, the most faithful port to exist was for the TurboGrafx-16 . Ported to this system in 1989, the home version features near-arcade-quality graphics. Colors are just as vibrant as in the arcade and graphics are just as detailed, though the sprites are slightly smaller. The port was near-perfect, with fantastic scaling (for the time) in a venerable reproduction of Sega's 3D technology. The biggest downfalls of this version were digital voice clips which were unintelligible ("Get Ready!") and the lack of the popular checkerboard floor, replaced by a striped one. Some years later, the Sega Saturn port of Space Harrier took the crown as the most "arcade perfect" port available, as it remains to this day. The game is also playable on the Dreamcast (within '' Shenmue '', '' Shenmue II '' and '' Yu Suzuki Game Works Vol. 1 '') and Xbox (within '' Shenmue II ''). It is included in ''Sega Arcade Gallery'' for the Game Boy Advance and the '' Sega Classics Collection '' (a compilation DVD including other games from the same era that were remade for modern audiences to negligible success in the US and big success in Japan) for the PlayStation 2 . Space Harrier II was released for Nintendo 's Virtual Console on December 18, 2006. Notable ports
COMPLETE SERIES
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|