A call for help comes from deep in the universe. Fantasyland has been taken over by destructive forces. Quick on the scene is Space Harrier equipped with his laser, who must attempt to outwit and outmanoeuvre the hoards and prevent Fantasyland from being blown into oblivion!
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Easily impressed young me thought this game was the bomb, because of its "3D" graphics. At the time I was so used to the NES stuff that I could not understand how a game like this was even possible on a home system. Playing it in 2024 feels clunky and boring and nothing like the arcade experience I used to think it was.
Commendable for its attempt to bring Space Harrier to a home console, but the technical downgrade directly impacts gameplay here, which is already just a retread of the original game.
Don't get me wrong Space Harrier is sick, I spent many hours playing the Arcade original on 3DS. It's a really immersive 3D rail-shooter in its infancy with nods to Sci-Fi anime series such as Space Adventure Cobra and Mobile Suit Gundam.
The Mega Drive version is a little choppy, the soundtrack less emotive and the response time from enemy projectiles is incredibly sudden in comparison to what I'm used to.
It's worth trying out but the Arcade original is just that much better if you can get your hands on it.
The Mega Drive version is a little choppy, the soundtrack less emotive and the response time from enemy projectiles is incredibly sudden in comparison to what I'm used to.
It's worth trying out but the Arcade original is just that much better if you can get your hands on it.
Like with After Burner, I had practically forgotten about the Space Harrier series shortly after I had checked out the original game, which is a shame too, because I had a great time with that game when I played it. The game itself wasn’t all that complex or interesting, and it was pretty short, but like with After Burner, it kept things exciting with its blinding speeds and constant action, fun gameplay, and challenging scenarios which were pretty satisfying to overcome. It’s too bad there weren’t too many other games in this series that were released after the original, but there were a few, so I figured it’s about time I got to playing another one by completely ignoring the weird 3D one and moving straight onto Space Harrier II.
Unlike the original Space Harrier, this one was originally released exclusively for the Sega Genesis, made to be one of the launch titles released for the system right alongside others like The Revenge of Shinobi and Altered Beast, and when you learn that little tidbit of info about the game, you can pretty much figure out what you are getting into with this game. While a good number of these launch titles were original games, games like Golden Axe and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts were pretty much just home console versions of their arcade counterparts, so in many ways, Space Harrier II is essentially an at home version of the original game. It does feature some new elements, some that improved upon some small issues that the original had, but it is pretty much just the original game, except worse, to the point where I can only say it is ok and nothing more.
The story is as basic as sequels get, where Harrier gets a distress call from the 214th sector of space, and when he goes to investigate, he finds that Fantasy Land is being taken over by evil creatures once again, so it is to him to set off on his own to take them all out, which is an alright story, not doing anything new or exciting from the original, but it is a sequel to an arcade game, so I would’ve expected nothing less. The graphics are pretty good for a launch title, looking close enough to the arcade game’s graphics, but with an obvious downgrade in terms of both the animations and general visuals, the music is pretty good, having plenty of good tracks to listen to while blasting robots in the face, but nothing that leapt into my ear and decided to stay there for the rest of the day, and the gameplay/control is identical to that of the original, to the point where you wouldn’t be blamed if you just mistook this game for being a downgraded port of the original.
The game is a 3D rail shooter, where you take control of Harrier, go through thirteen stages through various very-similar lands full of dangerous baddies, dodge plenty of obstacles and enemy fire as you are flying forward at the speed of sound, shoot down as many things as you can, living or otherwise, while watching that score of yours soar higher than you ever thought it could possibly go, and take on plenty of bosses that have such mind-boggling tactics to beat such as shooting them in the face and… waiting a bit, and then shooting them in the face. Any veteran Space Harrier players (all two of you) will be all too familiar with this gameplay style, and be able to jump into it all too well, even if it will most likely make them just want to go back to the original game.
When this game is practically identical to the original, I mean it, as if you take a look at both of them side by side, you can barely tell them apart. This isn’t limited to just the visuals either, because nothing is changed about the gameplay at all, which can be good for those who just want a version of Space Harrier they can play at home without needing some 3D glasses, but it could be disappointing for those wanting some more out of the sequel. But hey, to the game’s credit, it doesn’t feel like a complete repeat, because it does improve on one aspect of the original game: the bosses. There were a good handful of bosses to take on in that original game, but a lot of them were repeated throughout the game, making them not as exciting to get to and take on. Thankfully though, with this game, not only are most of the bosses unique from each other, but a good handful of them do incorporate some challenging scenarios to overcome, which I did enjoy taking down. There is only one boss in the game that you have to take on again (aside from something I will mention in a second), which I am pretty grateful for, and thankfully, the boss that does get repeated is simple enough, so it doesn’t take too long to get through that.
If that doesn’t interest you at all, then I wouldn’t say anything else about this game will. Not only is it basically a worse version of the previous game, but it still has all of the same problems the original game had, such as being extremely repetitive and how the last stage is just a boss rush, even though there REALLY didn’t need to be one. Also, one other thing that did get on my nerves quite a bit with this game in particular is with the frame rate. I’m not the kind of guy that really tends to complain about frame rates in games unless the downgrade is pretty noticeable, and you can definitely see that with this game, as it is chugging along the most of the time, unable to handle a lot of what is going on on screen at once. Obviously, this was gonna be the case no matter what, given the limitations of the Genesis, but it is still something to point out just in case you wanna try this game for yourself.
Overall, despite having more boss variety and keeping the fun gameplay in-tact, Space Harrier II is pretty much a nothing sequel, doing nothing to make itself stand out as better or more original compared to its predecessor, and giving you no reason to check it out when the original is already accessible and readily available for people to play. I could only recommend it for those who LOVE the original game, and just want nothing more then just to play more of it, but for everyone else, you are much better off just playing the first one only, and nothing else from there. It’s no wonder why this series never managed to continue after the second game, only to be brought back for some obscure arcade spin-off game after a decade of nothing…………… although, now that I think about it, if there ever was a modern-day reimagining or remake of the original Space Harrier, that would be pretty cool. I’d be all over that shit, so Sega, if you are looking to revive any more of your dormant IPs, this one is just begging for another chance.
Game #547
Unlike the original Space Harrier, this one was originally released exclusively for the Sega Genesis, made to be one of the launch titles released for the system right alongside others like The Revenge of Shinobi and Altered Beast, and when you learn that little tidbit of info about the game, you can pretty much figure out what you are getting into with this game. While a good number of these launch titles were original games, games like Golden Axe and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts were pretty much just home console versions of their arcade counterparts, so in many ways, Space Harrier II is essentially an at home version of the original game. It does feature some new elements, some that improved upon some small issues that the original had, but it is pretty much just the original game, except worse, to the point where I can only say it is ok and nothing more.
The story is as basic as sequels get, where Harrier gets a distress call from the 214th sector of space, and when he goes to investigate, he finds that Fantasy Land is being taken over by evil creatures once again, so it is to him to set off on his own to take them all out, which is an alright story, not doing anything new or exciting from the original, but it is a sequel to an arcade game, so I would’ve expected nothing less. The graphics are pretty good for a launch title, looking close enough to the arcade game’s graphics, but with an obvious downgrade in terms of both the animations and general visuals, the music is pretty good, having plenty of good tracks to listen to while blasting robots in the face, but nothing that leapt into my ear and decided to stay there for the rest of the day, and the gameplay/control is identical to that of the original, to the point where you wouldn’t be blamed if you just mistook this game for being a downgraded port of the original.
The game is a 3D rail shooter, where you take control of Harrier, go through thirteen stages through various very-similar lands full of dangerous baddies, dodge plenty of obstacles and enemy fire as you are flying forward at the speed of sound, shoot down as many things as you can, living or otherwise, while watching that score of yours soar higher than you ever thought it could possibly go, and take on plenty of bosses that have such mind-boggling tactics to beat such as shooting them in the face and… waiting a bit, and then shooting them in the face. Any veteran Space Harrier players (all two of you) will be all too familiar with this gameplay style, and be able to jump into it all too well, even if it will most likely make them just want to go back to the original game.
When this game is practically identical to the original, I mean it, as if you take a look at both of them side by side, you can barely tell them apart. This isn’t limited to just the visuals either, because nothing is changed about the gameplay at all, which can be good for those who just want a version of Space Harrier they can play at home without needing some 3D glasses, but it could be disappointing for those wanting some more out of the sequel. But hey, to the game’s credit, it doesn’t feel like a complete repeat, because it does improve on one aspect of the original game: the bosses. There were a good handful of bosses to take on in that original game, but a lot of them were repeated throughout the game, making them not as exciting to get to and take on. Thankfully though, with this game, not only are most of the bosses unique from each other, but a good handful of them do incorporate some challenging scenarios to overcome, which I did enjoy taking down. There is only one boss in the game that you have to take on again (aside from something I will mention in a second), which I am pretty grateful for, and thankfully, the boss that does get repeated is simple enough, so it doesn’t take too long to get through that.
If that doesn’t interest you at all, then I wouldn’t say anything else about this game will. Not only is it basically a worse version of the previous game, but it still has all of the same problems the original game had, such as being extremely repetitive and how the last stage is just a boss rush, even though there REALLY didn’t need to be one. Also, one other thing that did get on my nerves quite a bit with this game in particular is with the frame rate. I’m not the kind of guy that really tends to complain about frame rates in games unless the downgrade is pretty noticeable, and you can definitely see that with this game, as it is chugging along the most of the time, unable to handle a lot of what is going on on screen at once. Obviously, this was gonna be the case no matter what, given the limitations of the Genesis, but it is still something to point out just in case you wanna try this game for yourself.
Overall, despite having more boss variety and keeping the fun gameplay in-tact, Space Harrier II is pretty much a nothing sequel, doing nothing to make itself stand out as better or more original compared to its predecessor, and giving you no reason to check it out when the original is already accessible and readily available for people to play. I could only recommend it for those who LOVE the original game, and just want nothing more then just to play more of it, but for everyone else, you are much better off just playing the first one only, and nothing else from there. It’s no wonder why this series never managed to continue after the second game, only to be brought back for some obscure arcade spin-off game after a decade of nothing…………… although, now that I think about it, if there ever was a modern-day reimagining or remake of the original Space Harrier, that would be pretty cool. I’d be all over that shit, so Sega, if you are looking to revive any more of your dormant IPs, this one is just begging for another chance.
Game #547
Wish I could review just the Genesis version alone instead of having it unified with the arcade one since MY GOD. The framerate. And the difficulty spike.
It's still an impressive looking game by default.
It's still an impressive looking game by default.
Cleared on March 17th, 2024 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 58/160)
For a game that tries to match the gameplay of its predecessor on the Arcade in 1988 on the Sega Genesis, it has aged better than it's partner in crime Super Thunder Blade as the openness of the game makes it feel more suited to an arcade port as you don't find yourself being distorted with incoming obstacles nowhere near as much. The game can seem pretty choppy with its frame rate, but after playing it enough, I learn to get used to it. At least it actually stays consistent throughout the game.
The game is a 3D perspective shooter where you can collide with the ground to run across the battlefield at high speed, or fly in the air to hit enemies in the sky and avoid ground attacks. There's nothing much else to it. Just shoot and dodge. The controls do handle itself well as I never really felt like it was working against me, and the speed isn't too slow that it makes the attacks unavoidable, but not too fast that you just accidentally crash into something.
One thing I find odd about the game is that it doesn't follow the usual conventions of distributing music. Most games will have it so that every stage has its own level, but the boss themes are shared across most bosses in the game (usually aside from the final boss theme getting its own theme). However, this is a case of the same song playing across the levels, a really long song, but every boss in the game has its own theme. It's odd, but in retrospective, it made the boss rush towards the end a little more bearable.
The bosses are relatively simple once you get them down. Really most of them amount up to keep moving so you don't get shot although some of them such as the cat do try to make things more interesting. There's 12 before you get to the final boss, and you will have to fight them all once you clear all 12 levels with significantly less health before you can take on the final boss. I know people really hate boss rushes because they are always there to pad out gameplay although personally I've never really minded all that much. As for the final boss, he is really hard, especially when he transforms into a spiraling fireball and charges at you, and he just attacks really fast in general. And everytime you hit him, he will teleport.
For what it is, I thought the game was fine. Dare I say, with enough practice, I think it could actually be one of the easier games in the Genesis lineup.
For a game that tries to match the gameplay of its predecessor on the Arcade in 1988 on the Sega Genesis, it has aged better than it's partner in crime Super Thunder Blade as the openness of the game makes it feel more suited to an arcade port as you don't find yourself being distorted with incoming obstacles nowhere near as much. The game can seem pretty choppy with its frame rate, but after playing it enough, I learn to get used to it. At least it actually stays consistent throughout the game.
The game is a 3D perspective shooter where you can collide with the ground to run across the battlefield at high speed, or fly in the air to hit enemies in the sky and avoid ground attacks. There's nothing much else to it. Just shoot and dodge. The controls do handle itself well as I never really felt like it was working against me, and the speed isn't too slow that it makes the attacks unavoidable, but not too fast that you just accidentally crash into something.
One thing I find odd about the game is that it doesn't follow the usual conventions of distributing music. Most games will have it so that every stage has its own level, but the boss themes are shared across most bosses in the game (usually aside from the final boss theme getting its own theme). However, this is a case of the same song playing across the levels, a really long song, but every boss in the game has its own theme. It's odd, but in retrospective, it made the boss rush towards the end a little more bearable.
The bosses are relatively simple once you get them down. Really most of them amount up to keep moving so you don't get shot although some of them such as the cat do try to make things more interesting. There's 12 before you get to the final boss, and you will have to fight them all once you clear all 12 levels with significantly less health before you can take on the final boss. I know people really hate boss rushes because they are always there to pad out gameplay although personally I've never really minded all that much. As for the final boss, he is really hard, especially when he transforms into a spiraling fireball and charges at you, and he just attacks really fast in general. And everytime you hit him, he will teleport.
For what it is, I thought the game was fine. Dare I say, with enough practice, I think it could actually be one of the easier games in the Genesis lineup.