Space Harrier

The Good
When it first came out in the arcade it was extremely colorful and hypnotic and Trippy. After all it does start with "Welcome to the Fantasy Zone". It had a great 3D feel to it. The earlier Sega home versions were OK but they lacked all the color and detail. The 32x version brought it all together. It's simple enough to learn right away. And the graphics changes in each level make you want to play more, at least to see the end bosses.

The Bad
Back when it was released the pallet color cycling to simulate movement was innovative. They could have improved a little with the 32x version. And the levels where there is a ceiling above you as well as the floor below you is almost an overload of scaling and scrolling.

The Bottom Line
You are a guy running or use your jet pack to fly straight into the screen in a futuristic landscape. Shoot everything. Avoid things you can't destroy like huge rocks on the ground or certain things shot at you by the enemies. Get to the end of the level to find a boss. Figure out it's weak point and pound it good. Don't worry, you can fly as much as you want and shoot as much as well.

The Good
Space Harrier is a classic coin-op arcade game, which brought us into the surreal Fantasy Zone with lots of simple, fast paced, science fiction action. While previous adaptations of the game had been made for the home consoles, this was the first perfect adaption of the original arcade game.

The Bad
Think about this for a moment. You have just spent a fair amount of money getting the Sega 32X. You bought the special adapter for your television set and spent all the required time hooking the device up without breaking anything. After going through all of this, how excited are you going to be that for an extra $60 - 70 you now own a perfect translation of an arcade game made in 1985? Space Harrier is a classic arcade game, and had it been on a compilation of classic arcade games, I would probably be kinder, but as a stand alone title it hardly justifies the investment needed to play it.

The Bottom Line
Space Harrier for the 32X is a perfect translation of a 1985 coin-op arcade game. This is both a blessing and a curse. It is a classic Sega game, which certainly belongs on a compilation along with other 1980s Sega titles. The flip side is that the game is no longer cutting edge and it patting yourself on the back for being any to make a perfect translation, on your next generation system, of a old game is setting yourself up for disaster. If you have the Sega 32X and can find this game at a reasonable price, you will certainly enjoy the game, but the folks who shelled out big bucks to play the game back in 1994 got hosed.