Space Harrier II
From Sega Retro
| Space Harrier II |
|---|
| System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Virtual Console, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Publisher: Sega |
| Developer: Sega-AM2 |
Space Harrier II (スペースハリアーⅡ) is the official sequel to the arcade game Space Harrier. It was initially released for the Mega Drive in 1988 as a launch title for the system in Japan. Gameplay is very similar to its predecessor, though it is now possible to select which level to play and the graphics/music are different.
The game was notable for the time for its use of digitized voices - an example of the technical advancements the Mega Drive offered over its rivals. However, unlike the arcade original, the Mega Drive could not handle scaling, meaning the graphics were pre-rendered at various sizes. This, along with the slightly lower framerate, results in a less-smooth gameplay experience.
Space Harrier II was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum computers. Most of these ports were only released in Europe in 1990, and suffer from various weaker hardware restraints. The game was also re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2006.