Space Harrier

Title           Space Harrier
Publisher       Sega, 1989
Game Type       General Action
Players         1
Compatibility   All (With Patch)
HD Installable  Yes (With Patch)
Submission      Pretentious Nickname Profiled Reviewer

Review
   Ahhh...one of my all-time favourites. I own a copy of Space Harrier for
nearly every gaming system I have, from my Master System to my PC Engine,
and most recently, my Gameboy Advance. Both the Amiga and GBA versions have
one thing in common: they're the ONLY home versions of Space Harrier to
match the speed of the arcade!  This is probably the ONLY reason I place the
Amiga version above most other ports of the game.

 You control our hero Space Harrier in an effort to wrest the Fantasy Zone
from the clutches of the nefarious Evil Dragons, and return it to the
Peaceful Dragons (one of whom will aid you in the bonus stages).

 Space Harrier is played from a pseudo 3D perspective, viewing your
character from behind as he runs and flies INTO the screen, across a
seizure-inducing checkerboard landscape.

 Graphically, Space Harrier has the look and feel of the arcade. The
sprites are fairly well detailed, and apart from a few minor details (most
of which are quibbling on my part), I'd say the graphics are excellent
overall.

 Soundwise, the game doesn't disappoint. All my favourite tunes, with the
notable exception of the bonus stage music, are there. I find myself
humming along almost subconsciously as I play. All the hallmark sound
effects are there too, from "Get Ready", the blaster effect, and Harrier's
scream when he dies.

 The controls are fairly loose, too, which is a good thing when one
considers you're travelling at breakneck speed!  I find the controls fairly
responsive.

   There are a few omissions, however, that keep me from rating this game a
bit higher:

    - your character doesn't trip over small objects, he simply dies!
    - The bonus stage music was replaced with one of the Boss themes
    - My favourite enemies, the DOM robots, look terrible.
    - The fonts used to introduce each stage kinda suck

Of course, this is coming from a rabid Space Harrier fan. Most people
wouldn't even notice the differences anyway. If you want a good, solid
shooter that moves at Mach Six and maxxes out your adrenaline production,
then Space Harrier is for you. Personally, I'd give it a 9/10

Just stay away from the Amiga port of Space Harrier II (qv).

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