Space Harrier II: Space Harrier Complete Collections

Purchase at Play-Asia

 

Space Harrier is, bar none, one of the finest games Sega has ever created. You see, Space Harrier took the shoot-em-up – created by Space Invaders, refined by Galaga – and put viewpoint right behind the player, hurtling arcade goers into a blazingly fast 3D journey. It’s the epitome of 80s arcade gaming – no nonsense action that’s easy to pick up, yet still remarkably challenging.  As a flying guy in a red suit (appropriately named  The [email protected]), you pilot him through several dizzying, checkerboarded landscapes, filled with giant mechs, mammoths, dragons, and a gamut of bizarre enemies.  All you need to do is hammer on the fire button, dodge enemy bullets and make sure not to smash into anything.  Space Harrier’s intense speed and incredibly smooth scaling effects not only made the game fun to play, but gorgeous to look at. Even now, it manages to feel as intense as it did twenty years ago – games rarely age this well. It also happens to feature one of the catchiest theme songs ever composed. In the grand scheme of things, Space Harrier paved the way for the likes of Star Fox and Sega’s own Panzer Dragoon, and is one of the true hallmarks of video gaming. To commemorate its anniversary, Sega has released a compilation for the Playstation 2 as part of their Sega Ages 2500 line, dubbed  Space Harrier 2: Space Harrier Complete [email protected]

 

Space Harrier saw its share of ports across consoles and home computers – and even saw a remake a few years back for the Playstation 2 – but the Space Harrier Complete Collection combines several of these ports, along with its sequels. Included in this package are the arcade, Mark III (Sega Master System) and Game Gear versions of the original game, as well as Space Harrier 3D and Space Harrier 2. (The Game Gear version is actually hidden – just highlight the  Mark [email protected] selection and hold right until  Game [email protected] appears.)

 

Naturally, the arcade version is the best iteration of the game, complete with bright colors and silky smooth movement. The original cabinet used an analog flight stick to control your character, and the Dual Shock pads are by far the best implementation on a home system. And unlike the ports on other platforms, it offers unlimited credits, so you can play without worry about running out of lives. The Sega Master System isn’t nearly strong enough to handle Space Harrier, but the port holds up relatively well, even with some choppy scrolling and downgraded visuals. The Game Gear has approximately the same hardware as the Master System, so it’s pretty much the same. The only difference is the change in resolution, some redesigned enemies, and a password system.

 

Space Harrier 3D is the first sequel, and was only released for the Mark III. It was meant to show off Sega’s fancy  SegaScope peripheral, a huge pair of black glasses which uses lens shutters to simulate 3D effects. Since they were hardware specific, the only way to get the effect with this version is with a standard pair of red/blue 3D glasses, which unfortunately ruins the colors completely. In case you don’t have any of those lying around, cellophane lenses are included in the package, along with instructions on how make the glasses. It would’ve been nice to get a fully assembled pair, but it’s unsurprising, given the budget release. Alternatively, you can just turn off the 3D effects completely. Without this gimmick,  Space Harrier 3D is merely an okay game – the scrolling and movement are even worse than the Mark III version of the original, making it far more difficult and frustrating.

 

Space Harrier 2 was a launch game for the Genesis, so it’s still not particularly impressive. The Genesis lacked hardware scaling, so while it’s improvement over the 8-bit versions, it’s still not quite as smooth as the arcade. Once again, the basic gameplay remains intact, and includes a level select so you can pick where to start off your game.

 

All of these games are emulated, and offer a fair amount of options to tinker around with. By default, they’re displayed in an upscaled resolution, but you can turn on progressive scan, run it in true low-res, or tinker with the filter to adjust the graphics to your liking. Unfortunately, like most emulation, it’s not quite perfect. There’s a smidge of slowdown in the arcade game, but it usually only pops up in the most fierce of boss fights. The scrolling in Space Harrier 3D suffers from some horrible vertical tearing, which is a little odd considering that the  sprites are hardly taxing the power of Playstation 2. There are also some annoying sound glitches in Space Harrier 2, as the explosions don’t sound right at all. It’s no worse than playing them on your PC, but greater care should’ve been taken to make these renditions as accurate as possible.

 

There are a handful of extras to round out the package. Each game has artwork scans from various regions, and includes both the Japanese and English manuals. Also included is a perfect replay of the original arcade game sound tests for all of the titles, and scanned sheet music of the Space Harrier theme song. The instruction book features some pictures of the arcade cabinet, as well as interviews with the designers and expert players (in Japanese, of course.) Some video interviews would’ve been nice though.

 

Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 0

All of the games and menus are in English, with only bits of Japanese explaining the options.

 

US Bound?

As of now Sega has not announced any plans to bring the Space Harrier Complete Collections over to the USA.

 

+ Pros: Features the one of best arcade games ever, along with various ports and sequels, and some bonus galleries

 

– Cons: Less than perfect emulation and rather scant extras

 

Overall: Compared to other retro collections, the Space Harrier Complete Collection isn’t particularly robust. While Space Harrier is an excellent game, it’s been ported to a number of other systems – you can also find near-arcade perfect versions on the Saturn, the Gameboy Advance, and hidden in Shen Mue for the Dreamcast and Xbox. None of the games on this collection are particularly rare, except for maybe the quasi-obscure Space Harrier 3D. This collection is meant solely for Space Harrier fans – and even they may be put off by the less-than-perfect emulation.

 

Written by Kurt Kalata.

 

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