Task Force Harrier EX
From Sega Retro
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| Task Force Harrier EX | |||||||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | |||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Treco | |||||||||||||||
| Developer: Jorudan[1], Opus[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Original system(s): Arcade boards | |||||||||||||||
| Developer(s) of original games: NMK | |||||||||||||||
| Sound driver: Jorudan (custom)[2] | |||||||||||||||
| Genre: Shooting[3] | |||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||
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Task Force Harrier (タスクフォースハリアー) is a little-known 1989 arcade shoot-'em-up developed by NMK and published by UPL in Japan and American Sammy in the US. It was remade for the Sega Mega Drive in 1991 by Jorudan and published by Treco, again released exclusively in Japan and the US as the more well-known Task Force Harrier EX (タスクフォースハリアーＥＸ). This game is unusual for having exceptionally clear PCM audio for voices, and at least one song entirely in PCM.
Contents
Story
A communist group comes out of hiding and begin conquering the world, alerting the UN to call out Falcon, a noted fighter pilot, to stop them. However, the communists have already readied their freedom-destroying superbomber, the TU-190, to launch towards the US, making Falcon's job more rash. Consequently, he is given the Harrier V, an experimental version of US/UK VTOL fighter, for this job.
Gameplay
The game is a vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up in which the player takes control of a fighter jet called the Harrier V in order to penetrate a hostile communist military force situated inside Russian territory. The majority of the enemy units in the game are based on real-life Soviet/Russian vehicles in both name and appearance. Before each stage, a commanding officer gives a short briefing.
The Harrier V moves in any direction using the D-Pad. It is equipped with two main weapons: rockets that shoot flying opponents such as enemy planes and helicopters, and bombs that only hit ground targets such as tanks and turrets. Both weapons are fired simultaneously with 
, which can be held for rapid-fire. The rockets are fired in a slight spread and can be upgraded by collecting power-ups, which increase the number of rockets fired in parallel. There are three different types of bombs, which are switched by collecting power-ups and can be upgraded by collecting the same power-up successively. The Harrier V also carries a limited supply of super bombs, dropped with 
, that can clear all on-screen enemies.
After collecting a power-up, the Harrier V is accompanied by two escorts, smaller fighters (resembling miniaturized F-22 Raptor fighters, an aircraft that was still in development at the time) that fire missiles when the Harrier V fires its weapons. There are three different types of missiles; like bombs, they are changed by collecting power-ups and upgraded by collecting the same power-up again. The escorts have four different formations around the Harrier V that can be cycled through with 
. Changing the formation of the escort fighters results in different shot patterns and also affects the maneuvering speed of the Harrier V. The escorts are invulnerable and can be used to absorb enemy bullets.
The Harrier V is destroyed if it collides with an enemy or a bullet. If the player has extra lives remaining, a new Harrier V respawns immediately, with the power of all its weapons (rockets, bombs, and escort fighters) decreased by one and with three bombs (regardless of how many were possessed before). The game ends if the player runs out of lives but can be continued a limited number of times. There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard).
Items
Items are released when certain enemies or structures are destroyed.
| Increase Rocket Fire | |
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| Upgrades the Harrier V's rockets, up to 3 times. It initially shoots 2 rockets at a time, but it can be upgraded to 4, 6, and 9 as more power-ups are obtained. | |
| Cluster Bomb | |
| Changes the bombs to Cluster Bombs, which are quickly dropped a short distance in front of the Harrier V. | |
| Dispenser Bomb | |
| Changes the bombs to Dispenser Bombs, which ripple out in a line of several explosions in front of the Harrier V. | |
| Impact Bomb | |
| Changes the bombs to Impact Bombs, which explode in a radius upon landing, damaging enemies in an area. | |
| Vulcan Escort | |
| Equips two Vulcan Escorts to follow the Harrier V, which shoot lines of bullets straight ahead. | |
| Fighter Escort | |
| Equips two Fighter Escorts to follow the Harrier V, which fire homing missiles that seek targets automatically. | |
| Missile Escort | |
| Equips two Missile Escorts to follow the Harrier V, which rapidly shoot volleys of missiles. | |
| Extra Super Bomb | |
| Adds another super bomb to the inventory, up to a maximum of 5. |
Stages
The stages alternate between aerial stages and ground stages. In the aerial stages, the enemy sends both flying and ground forces, and the Harrier V flies high in the air and can be followed by escort fighters. In the ground stages, the enemy only fields ground forces, and the Harrier V flies closer to the ground and cannot accompanied by its escorts.
| Stage 1 | |
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| Stage 2 | |
| Stage 3 | |
| Stage 4 | |
| Stage 5 | |
| Stage 6 | |
| Stage 7 | |
| Stage 8 | |
| Stage 9 | |
| Stage 10 | |
| Stage 11 | |
| Stage 12 | |
| Stage 13 | |
Production credits
- Management: Hiromitsu Kususe
- Director - Team Griffin: Takashi Kuroda, Ryo Saitou
- Planner: Yoh Hayakawa
- Main Programmer: Y.K
- Sub Programmer: Yuuichi Yamaguchi
- Special Programmer: Mitoshi Asakawa
- Main Graphic Designer: Yoh Hayakawa
- Graphic Designer: Mitusru Ishida, Masaru Yokoura
- Sound: Tenpei Satou
- SE: M.Kajihara
- PCM: T.Suzuki
- Special Thanks: Takashi Ohga, Satoru Tanaka, Mura, Yaga Shooting Master, Tsu-chi, Kimi Chan, Mo‑Rin, Midori Chan, Naoko Chan, Mieko Chan
- Master of Games: Take Chan
- Presented by: Treco 1991
Magazine articles
- Main article: Task Force Harrier EX/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Task Force Harrier EX/Promotional material.
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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56 |
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| Based on 17 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, JP |
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 Cover
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  Cart  Manual |
| Mega Drive, US |
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 Cover
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 Cart  Manual |
Technical information
- Main article: Task Force Harrier EX/Technical information.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Jorudan
- ↑ https://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Mega_Drive/Genesis_Sound_Driver_List
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "November 1991" (JP; 1991-10-08), page 14
- ↑ Mega Play, "March/April 1992" (US; 1992-0x-xx), page 38
- ↑ File:Task Force Harrier EX MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 236
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1992" (JP; 1991-12-07), page 80
- ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 135
- ↑ Famitsu, "1991-12-27" (JP; 1991-12-13), page 41
- ↑ Games-X, "5th-11th March 1992" (UK; 1992-03-05), page 25
- ↑ Hippon Super, "January 1992" (JP; 1991-12-04), page 91
- ↑ Joystick, "Février 1992" (FR; 1992-0x-xx), page 163
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "March 1992" (JP; 1992-02-08), page 83
- ↑ Mega Play, "June 1992" (US; 1992-0x-xx), page 65
- ↑ MegaTech, "May 1992" (UK; 1992-04-20), page 40
- ↑ Play Time, "6/92" (DE; 1992-05-06), page 93
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-19), page 66
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 68
- ↑ Sega Zone, "March 1993" (UK; 1993-02-11), page 30
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 26
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