Space Harrier

"It's not the greatest game ever made...but it does have that classic feel.."

Remember way back in the day when the best shooters that you could find were games such as Afterburner and Space Harrier? Remember when the simplistic visuals and the overly challenging computer enemies were the best thing that you could spend your money on and enjoy? Well, in this version of a very old and very popular shooter title, the Sega 32X has created a new way to look at an ancient, if not well remembered game such as Space Harrier. With the sluggish control, and the original visuals that were prominent in the arcade version, the 32X has re-created a game that is still addicting to play!

I really can’t remember what the story was behind this game, and considering that I have no instruction manual to back me up, I won’t try to guess. Most of what you’ll be doing in the game is flying through several different stages of scaling action that pits you, a man with a rocket pack, flying through zones of weird enemies while dodging shots and pillars. Considering the dating on this game, you would think that the 32X would have cleaned up some of the mess that would have come with a game this old. However, you’ll find a virtually untouched version of the game that is simply a port of the arcade original.

The game play is fast and furious, with you on a rocket pack, roving through several stages of mindless, enemy blasting action. You’ll roll through several different zones, each with their own amount of creatures that take pot shots at you from every angle. You’ll have to learn how to avoid the different enemies and basically learn several different patterns before taking on a boss character of sorts that will truly test your patience. The challenge that you find isn’t so much with the game, but how fast your character doesn’t move around the free flowing stage. With the different scaling effects that come up, it takes a little time to get used to the sluggish Genesis control.

Speaking of control, you’ll have to learn how to work with the directional pad and a simple button. Keeping the game simple is a good way to draw gamers in, but the lack of advanced attacks and even power upgrades is enough to turn some hardcore shooting game fans away. The problem that I found prevalent is that your character only moves as fast as the game will let you. If you take the way that you have to move and shoot on the different stages, and compare it to say Afterburner, then you would have the same set up that you had there, only slower!

The visuals that you find here are actually pretty good with the way that the scaling effects come in from the background, rushing at you with some decent speed. The only problem here is that regardless of all of the bright colors and semi-fluid movement that you have, there is something to be said about the way that the game slow down when you have too much action on the screen! The 32X, despite its apparent ability to correct this, seems to mimic the same problem that the arcade had with too many character models on the screen and overall slowing the game down to a crawl.

The music is another portion of the game that matches what the arcade had to offer. With a strange adventure music that was the norm of the original release, gamers who enjoyed this shooter will find the strange semblance to be comforting. However, for those of you who like adventure/action games with an attitude, you’ll find nothing here but simple tunes and exceptionally simple sound effects to round out the audio roster on all accounts.

Space Harrier is a remake of an old arcade classic that does have its merits. To say that the game is all bad would be wrong, but for those who have played other shooters out there, specifically for the Genesis and not the 32X, you may find that there is just too much simplicity to be found here. Occasionally, you have some pretty cool looking visuals and some interesting sound, but after hearing it so many times and watching it even more, you’ll be more tempted to find yourself lulling into boredom. For those who like the classic game remakes, you’ll find Space Harrier to be the one game for the 32X worthy of having, but for those who love games that have more visuals and more audio, stick to the Thunder Force series!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/02, Updated 03/10/02