Space Harrier (Amstrad CPC)

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Description

Run… fly… dodge those obstacles, but return fire on wave after wave of attacking aliens. Armed with a really big gun, you have to defend yourself against the alien hordes using your wits to navigate around the screen. But watch out for those end of level bosses!

Originating in the arcades, Space Harrier is a third-person rail shooter with pseudo-3D graphics, set in the same world as Fantasy Zone. The lone titular hero fights aliens with a fireball-launching cannon, which can also be used to transform the hero into a flying rocket. The protagonist is constantly in motion, but the speed of his movement can be regulated by the player.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "Sega Ages: Space Harrier" -- Japanese Saturn / Nintendo Switch title
• "3D Space Harrier" -- Nintendo 3DS title
• "3D スペースハリアー" -- Japanese Nintendo 3DS spelling
• "スペースハリアー" -- Japanese spelling
• "스페이스 해리어" -- Korean spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Genre: Chase-view / Space Harrier-style shooter
• Space Harrier series

User Reviews

There are no reviews for the Amstrad CPC release of this game. You can use the links below to write your own review or read reviews for the other platforms of this game.

Critic Reviews

Your Computer	Mar, 1987		80
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Mar, 1990	70 out of 100	70
Amtix!	Mar, 1987	70 out of 100	70
Retro Archives	Aug 01, 2018	9 out of 20	45
Amstar	Feb, 1987	Unscored	Unscored

Forums

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Arcade version of Space Harrier appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Missing ports

Space Harrier was advertised for the Commodore 16/Plus 4 computer, and the (multi-platform) manual also had loading instructions for BBC and Electron computers. For reasons unknown, those ports never did appear.

Setting

Space Harrier originally mentioned that it took place in the Fantasy Zone just as the game of the same name, (remember the "Welcome to the Fantasy Zone! Get Ready!" intro?) and many have claimed that the games take place in the same universe considering the similarity in graphic design. While SEGA never made any official statement they did try to capitalize on the similarities with Space Fantasy Zone. An unreleased Fantasy Zone sequel for the PC Engine CD was developed that used the pseudo 3D gameplay of the Space Harrier series but used Opa-Opa and his gang of cute characters and levels.

It is unsure why the game never got released, but several beta copies have been leaked and you can easily find them around the net and run them with an emulator.

Super Scaler technology

First Sega game to come out that used "Super Scaler" technology.

Game Art Beyond

In 2018, Space Harrier was selected as one of the biggest classics on the Commodore 64 by the creators of the C64 graphics collection Game Art Beyond. Space Harrier was honoured with a high resolution title picture in a special C64 graphics format called NUFLI, along with a new C64 SID interpretation of the Space Harrier (arcade level 1) theme, which is much longer than the conversion originally done for the C64 port in 1986.

Information also contributed by Zovni

Related Web Sites

• AtariMania (Elite, FR/DE/UK, Atari ST) (For Atari ST: game entry database; downloadable release; game packaging; advertisement; manuals; magazine reviews; additional material.)
• AtariMania (SEGA, USA, Atari ST) (For Atari ST: game entry database; downloadable release; game packaging; advertisement; manuals; magazine reviews; additional material.)
• CPC-Power (in French) (For Amstrad CPC: game database entry; game packaging; manual digitalizations; goodies; advertisement; magazine reviews; downloadable releases; additional material.)
• CPCRrulez (in French) (For Amstrad CPC: game database entry; advertisement; game packaging; downloadable releases; additional material.)
• DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS (Compatibility information page about the original game and its DOSBox versions. )
• Hall of Light (For Amiga: game database entry; digitalised manuals; game packaging; screenshots; additional material.)
• Lemon 64 (For Commodore 64: game entry database; advertisement; magazine reviews; music; documentation; cover art; additional material.)
• OC ReMix Game Profile (Fan remixes of music from Space Harrier.)
• Sega8bit, a Master System fan site (For SEGA Master System: artwork; releases; additional material.)
• SMS Power! (Game Gear) (For Game Gear: releases info; credits; box text; additional material.)
• SMS Power! (Master System) (For Master System: releases info; credits; box text; additional material.)
• The Arcade Flyer Archive (for Arcade: digital repository for advertisement flyers)
• The International Arcade Museum (for Arcade: extensive information about the arcade game machine.)
• The Tipshop (For ZX Spectrum: a central archive for all Spectrum and SAM games hints, tips, cheats, maps, hacks and pokes.)
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Encyclopaedic entry for the combined platforms of the game.)
• World of Spectrum (For ZX Spectrum: downloadable releases; additional material including – cassette inlay, advertisement, instructions; remakes links; player reviews; magazine references; magazine adverts.)
• ZX-Art - online archive of pixel art and 8-bit music (For ZX Spectrum: music, credits, pixel art. Artist's graphics artwork.)