Space Harrier was one of Sega’s first huge successes in the arcade. Unfortunately this didn’t translate to their home console, the Master System. The game was ported over sure enough, but the hardware just wasn’t capable of the sheer amount of scaling the engine used. Space Harrier on the Master System was a choppy mess. It didn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire either. It’s surprising then that Sega’s 8-bit home console got an exclusive sequel. Space Harrier 3D may sound like an enhanced version of the original game, but it’s actually entirely new. Let’s take a look.
The Land of Dragons is under attack and it’s up to Harrier to step back into the spotlight and save the day. There are thirteen different stages to fight through each of which has their own boss (or general) and at the end of the game you face off against them all again in order before battling the final boss. Space Harrier 3D brings little to the franchise in terms of story, and the same goes for its gameplay as well.
Space Harrier 3D is once again a behind the back shooter which simulates depth using various scaling and rotational effects. Enemies and obstacles approach from in front of Harrier and you can move in all directions around the screen to avoid them. When on the ground your character runs, but thanks to a special jet belt he can also fly endlessly. Why he doesn’t use a ship is beyond me, but this was the 80s after all and science fantasy was in a weird place. You have only one attack, and that’s a ball shaped energy blast. Harrier has unlimited ammunition thankfully, and you’ll need it to shoot down the army of foes coming your way.
Even though it’s not considered a true sequel I was still puzzled at how little Space Harrier 3D is able to differentiate itself from the original. Besides the use of the Segascope peripheral there’s almost nothing new here. Space Harrier 3D brings no powerups to the table, and no new mechanics. The enemies are new, but their patterns are so similar to those in the original game you’d hardly notice the difference. Sega really should have put some more work into this one. It feels more like an expansion to the original game than an all new installment.
The original Space Harrier was a choppy mess, but somehow this one is even worse. I think it’s because of the extra processing power required to generate the same image twice for the 3D effect. Either way, the framerate of every moving object feels about half of what it did in the Master System original. Things don’t so much move around or animate as they simply warp around on the screen and suddenly grow in size. It’s a little startling to be honest. This also makes Space Harrier 3D kind of a chore to play. You can never tell how long you can linger in front of an enemy or projectile before they warp into you. Considering you must be right in front of something to shoot it this can be problematic.
It also doesn’t help that Space Harrier 3D is hard. By that I mean it’s brutal. Harrier can only take one hit before he dies. Sure you’re thrown right back into the action, but you have a very limited number of lives. You start with just two and earn more by scoring points, but the threshold is so high you’ll be lucky to score more than one per playthrough. You have to get good at Space Harrier 3D to stand a chance. This means you’ll be replaying it frequently to develop your skills or you’ll never get past the first few stages. Despite being a console exclusive Space Harrier 3D was designed with arcade sensibilities, for better or worse.
On the plus side I really love the game’s style even moreso than the original. Everything just feels more colorful here, and you don’t have to deal with the weird cave effect of the first Space Harrier. The backgrounds are more fantastical than in the last game (I really liked the futuristic computer chip style of some of the later areas) and they all differentiate from each other nicely. The boss characters are also an improvement from the original. Some of them are clearly based on previous encounters, but there are a few original ideas here.
With that said, Space Harrier 3D is a very pretty game. In screenshots, at least. The heavy use of color really strikes home the fantasy atmosphere. The stages contrast with each other well despite sharing common theming. The checkerboard ground actually scrolls slightly smoother here than in the original game, but that’s about the only thing that does. The soundtrack will be mostly familiar to fans of the series. The main theme is reproduced well here, and the other tracks use the same style. It’s all very recognizable as belonging to a Space Harrier soundtrack. As with the original there’s even some voice work. Whenever you’re tossed back into the action an announcer will say ‘get ready’ which is a nice effect. It’s very muffled, but for the hardware it’s impressive.
Space Harrier 3D will make you pull your hair out. The game isn’t fair, and it’s not just that you’ll be fighting off a lot of enemies. The engine itself will be the biggest foe you face. It’s tough to judge when things are going to scroll closer. I wish there was some way to guide a cross hair instead of simply moving your character in front of anything you need to shoot. In this case it ain’t working. While I dig the aesthetics it’s tough to recommend this even as an original title. Space Harrier 3D could certainly use a remake of some kind.
