![]() ![]() In December 2012, 3D Space Harrier was released for the Nintendo 3DS on their E-Shop. Many years later, the Space Harrier concept was revisited and perhaps a little known game entitled Planet Harriers was released in the arcade on SEGA's powerful Hikaru arcade board. It was not till the advent of more powerful consoles like the Mega Drive 32X and Saturn that a perfect port of the arcade could be achieved. Other simpler ports appeared for a huge range of home computers and consoles making Space Harrier probably one of the most ported games of the era which also included the NES. It even had a spin off 3D title that utilised the novel 3D glasses used by a handful of games on the system to create the "jumping out of the TV feel". Whilst the conversion could not capture the smoothness and the speed of the arcade machine, it did still manage recreate the gameplay and challenge with extra gameplay modes unlocked via cheats. The undertaking was quite ambitious on SEGA's part due to the fact the Master System had no where near the power of the arcade machine. One of the first conversions out of the arcades appeared on SEGA's 8-Bit Master System. Simple ports of the game began to appear. The same system board was also used for games like Enduro Racer. Others included Out Run, Afterburner and Buggy Heat. Super-Scalar was less elegant than future techniques - some utilised dedicated sprite processors - yet it created the desired effect.Ī series of games were based upon this technology. Space Harrier was the first game to employ the technique.īy using several versions of the same sprite to represent it at different distances from the viewpoint of the player, when displayed in order, a sense of forward motion could be achieved, and in the case of Space Harrier, continuous and forward. The term for these systems was "Super-Scalar Technology". In comparison, the Mega Drive/Genesis used only one 68000 which ran much slower. The specification of the board included dual Motorola 68000's and a SEGA custom designed Video Display Processor (VDP) for sprites games as well as various sound processors for the FM synthesised music and effects. Space Harrier was created by Yu Suzuki in 1985 of team AM2 and ran on the System16 arcade board which at the time was one of the most powerful arcade boards in the world. "Warp back in time and re-live three of the most celebrated arcade stonkers ever! From the winding race tracks of Outrun to the deadly skies of Space Harrier and After Burner II, these authentic arcade conversions are guaranteed to break you out in a sweat and bring memories flooding back!" Get Ready! SEGA AGES Volume 1 European Case The source for this article is based upon the Saturn port contained within the SEGA Ages Vol 1 which also contains After Burner and Out Run. Now some 17 years later new versions are being released for modern platforms. It's fast action gameplay, smooth psychedelic graphics backed by a trance tune that made the game an instant success and ultimately went on to have a huge impact on the arcade scene. It was a true showcase title as to why SEGA are the premier arcade developer.īack in the day, the game was a revolutionary jump in terms of graphics by literally bringing a new perspective. I’ve got fond memories of Enduro Racer, but it was always a role-player within my Master System collection rather than a superstar standout.Space Harrier is one of the most famous games in the world. This doesn’t make a great deal of sense, but it’s exactly what happened. While it’s not a particularly bad game, it never received a great deal of love from the press and as it turns out, we actually got a cut-down version – the Japanese Mark III release had a larger ROM capacity, ensuring greater variety of stage designs, a snazzier intro and more. It persisted well into the early Nineties as a staple of Sega’s range of budget Master System software, offering cheap thrills to cash-strapped players. Much like with The Ninja, it was just because it was rather cheaper than the majority of other Master System games. After each stage, it’s possible to spend points on upgrading your bike.Įveryone seemed to have this game for the Master System, but as I found out later on, it wasn’t because it was especially good or well-promoted. Instead of essentially being Hang-On with more obstacles, Enduro Racer on the Master System is an isometric racer in which the goal is to pass as many cars and bikes as possible, while quickly reaching the goal. ![]() I was, however, extremely familiar with the Master System game with which it shares a name – and as it happens, little else. Being of a slightly newer vintage than many of you, I missed out on Enduro Racer in the arcade. ![]()
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