What Is It?
If you talk to the right person they'll tell you that Space Harrier was an arcade marvel when it was released in 1985. While the special effects were crude, they were light years ahead of the consoles and, more importantly, suggested some of the innovations that would become crucial for all future video game generations (such as scaling). However, even as an arcade game Space Harrier was simplistic and repetitive. Space Harrier is the type of game that is fun in short doses; a game that is technically impressive, but loses its charm almost immediately. You play a thin guy who is running (and flying) through a fantastical world full of robots, dinosaurs and cool scaling foliage. The basic gameplay is on rails, so all you're doing is shooting at what's ahead of you and trying to do anything that gets in your way. Throw in a few large snake-like bosses and backgrounds that change color and you have Space Harrier, a simplistic shooter that is more a showpiece than an actual gaming experience.
But let's be clear, the game I'm talking about is an arcade game. Unfortunately Sega tried and tried to fit this franchise on consoles that were never made to play such a technologically impressive game. Some ports were better than others, with the best being on the TurboGrafx-16. So is it the TurbGrafx-16 version we get this week on the Virtual Console? Not on your life! Instead we get the Sega Master System version. The Sega Master System? Are they crazy? Of all the consoles that couldn't put forth a faithful port of Space Harrier, the Master System is easily the worst of the bunch. They might as well shoved the Game Gear or Sega 32X version on the Virtual Console. I know we've had a lot of TurboGrafx-16 games pop up on the Virtual Console lately, but there's no excuse for uploading this inferior port over what is arguably the best non-arcade version out there.
Does It Still Hold Up?
Let me be clear, even if Nintendo had uploaded the TurboGrafx-16 version of the game, I still would have give Space Harrier a failing grade. Yes it's better on the 16-bit system, but that doesn't suddenly make the game good. Unfortunately this Sega Master System port is pure garbage, and anybody that has played games on the Master System already knows why. For starters, the game's scaling (which was such a big deal in the arcade) is reduced to choppy animations that will make your eyes bleed carrots. Also, the levels are basically the same from beginning to end, editing out some of the variety from the arcade game. And then there's that music, the kind of sounds that make you pray that your head explodes. In other words, Space Harrier does not hold up all these years later.
Is It Worth The Money?
We only have one Virtual Console game this week and THIS is the game we get? At least give us the TurboGrafx-16 version. It still would have been horrible, but it would have been leaps and bounds better than this mess of a game. Secretly I wish they would have ignored this game altogether and instead gave us Square's 3D World Runner, which is basically exactly the same game ... but in 3D (using 3D glasses). Nintendo, if you're going to only give us one game a week (as you have the last two weeks in a row), then at least give us something good. I know "good" is subjective, but I can't imagine there's a single person out there that ran home and downloaded this game when they heard that it came to the Virtual Console.
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