Space Harrier was one of those games I cut my teeth on in my youth. I never played it at the arcade, I was too young when it was released in 1985, but I sure came to enjoy the Sega Master version that was released three years later. This week, Sega and M2 have continued their impressive release of Sega Ages games, and one of those was Space Harrier. Having been many years since I played it, yet still having so many fond memories, I was eager to check this game out again on the Switch.
Unfortunately, one thing I immediately realized is that the Sega Ages release is of the arcade version only. The Master System version, which had superior sound and graphics, and played better, is not included, and that’s a darn shame. However, the core original game is still a pretty unique and worthwhile experience for a semi-3D on rails shooter. Being developed as an arcade game, though, you know it was designed to both be fun and munch quarters, so playing Space Harrier on Original Mode provides a heckuva challenge. Similarly, playing on Master System was tough, with limited continues at your disposal and eighteen tough, but short, stages to get through with bosses awaiting you at the end of almost every stage.
To be honest, I was not interested in grinding through this game in Original Mode, and I think Sega and M2 recognized that most people playing this do not have the time nor the interest (or skill) to want to memorize the patterns and get good enough to beat Space Harrier with limited lives and continues. So, they included a very-welcomed new mode called Komainu Barrier Attack. This clever feature shields Harrier (honestly, I never knew that was his name) so that you will instantly destroy any object — yes even those obstacles in stages four, nine, and fifteen that you historically could not destroy — simply by running into them. Since the game has you “running” forward all the time anyway, this happens routinely. Thus, having the objects in the world be destroyed rather than killing you (one hit kills in this game) is a big time saver. It also spares you from having to hear Harrier’s death scream which he does, with matching animation, every.single.time. However, the Komainu are vulnerable to taking damage to enemy fire, and so are you — if they take damage, the barrier goes away briefly, although later in the game their cooldown timer is done away with.
I really appreciated the inclusion of Komainu Barrier Attack because it allowed me to play through Space Harrier with efficiency and I actually go through the game rather than struggling. Being able to adjust the difficulty setting and number of lives per continue was also nice (note that Komainu Barrier Attack mode gives you infinite continues). I also appreciated M2’s inclusion of a Stage Select mode, so that you can immediately jump to stages that you have previously been to, another time-of-life upgrade to include for folks that don’t have the free time they did thirty-four years ago when the game first hit the scene.
The included digital manual that requires online connectivity is nicely done and worth your time to peruse. Which brings me to my next point: I’m pleased, though not surprised, to say that M2’s typical sincere effort in preserving and re-presenting these Sega classics is on display here. Everything from the digital manual, menus, menu music, optional display filters, numerous border art, unlockables — it’s clear that M2 has created and maintained a reputation of excellence for themselves and they should be proud of it. The only thing I would have liked to have seen would have been the ability to invert the joystick (as is, you have to press down for Harrier to fly up) and the Master System version of the game included. Nevertheless, M2 are offering a lovingly and expertly crafted Space Harrier experience here like none other available that is easy for me to recommend.
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