The History of Space Harrier 

When I first saw Space Harrier in the arcade as a kid I was totally mesmerized. It sparked my imagination so much that when I got home I tucked a wiffle ball bat under my arm and ran around the yard shooting imaginary aliens and robots. Good times.

that opening stage and its music...iconic.

The perfect arcade game. Way ahead of its time.

Bruh....that patman qc sega intro is a keeper

I had the deluxe arcade version in my home 20 years ago. The beast weight 350 kilogram but it was Awesome ! I still have a Outrun standup Arcade.

Summer 1986, 14 years old, first time exploring alone a big Arcade. The minimum legal age was 16... After a quick look around at the pinball hall, I walked through rows of videogames, finally stopping in front of Space Harrier, with Green Beret by its side. What a rush. The joy of pushing a full size flight stick, in real aircraft up-down/down-up configuration, was unforgettable. Just as the magnificent soundtrack! Occasionally, I still play the Sega Saturn version, or the original ROM on MAME emulator. Always playing loud on the hi-fi speakers. PatmanQC, congrats! Cheers from 🇵🇹

A one hour Space Harrier video? Yes please! When this came out in the arcades I sucked at it but my friend was pretty good, so I ended up letting him use all my quarters because I wanted to see the ending. No regrets, it was worth it. I can't imagine all the work you put into this. Awesome as always, sir!

You know your game has truly "made it" when a Tiger handheld is released with its license.

I was lucky enough to have gotten a few chances to play the motion cab for Space Harrier, and it was an amazing experience. I can still remember clearly when this game came out, and how much I marveled at how great of a game it was. Amazing graphics, great gameplay and a killer soundtrack, this is for sure one of the best games Sega ever produced. It was one of those few games were the audio would stand out in an arcade were hundreds of games would be running at once, and without ever seeing the cab, I knew there was one in the arcade.

Well...I guess cutting the grass can wait for an hour, there's ALWAYS time for a Sega arcade history video from PatmanQC! Thank you!!

This was one that psychedelic one at the arcade, when I was a kid I would watch their cutscenes and altered beast! I was so curious as a kid and that was like watching a movie.

The sprite scaling hardware is partially analog, having pointers to sprite graphics data being controlled using voltage-controlled ramp oscillators, somewhat like a 1970's analog synthesizer. When a sprite is to be drawn bigger, the oscillator runs slower.

There used be to a huge arcade down the freeway from me that had the moving chair version of Space Harrier. I sucked at it due to being petite and would slide around in the chair so my brain/inner ear would try and move me back to level while my eyes and arm was fighting that to shot the enemies. After it vanished, the stand up was there and I enjoyed the game massively. Some of the best relaxing music as well. My favourite sit downs were Discs of Tron, Tail Gunner, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Fire.

I might be the only one, but I want a Space Harrier movie filmed in stereoscopic 3D with an 80's retro aesthetic style.

The keys to a successful arcade video game in any genre: large colorful sprites, detailed graphics and smooth scrolling. If you think about all of your favorite video games from back in the 80s and 90s, they all had these three elements in common. Space Harrier was no exception. Thank you *PatmanQC* for yet another sampling of video game nostalgia and education!

One of those games that was a crucial part of the 1980's arcade scene. Hearing "Ahhhhhhh!" as you walked into your local arcade would never be forgotten once heard. I absolutely love the SMS version too, good times guys. Patman, thanks for another wonderful stroll down memory lane. Another amazing, entertaining and informative video.

I love your channel PatmanQc, you find everything about a game in great detail and i always get surprised by the things i never knew existed like a Fantasy Zone game in the style of Space Harrier, a version for the Famicom which i never would have thought existed. And not only do you find so much detailed information about a game you show the evidence! I can tell you put alot of time and hard work into releasing a video documentary making it a perfection of art and knowledge.

I'm so lucky I played this in my local arcade when it was new. The fact that the arcade version is playable by anyone today on modern consoles is game preservation done right.

WOW! This is truly a labor of love! Great video! I too have a looong history with this game going back to my teenage years... All the hours I spent mastering it in the arcades and on my Master System at home were a very happy time in my life! This retrospective brought back a lot of those memories! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if there's "Barcade" nearby with a work Space Harrier machine!

It's one of my all time favourite games. I still play it in 2023 on Mame.

Thank you for doing this one.... this is a CLASSIC Sega game!. You should do more super sprite game to follow up on this

Loved Space Harrier when I was younger and now I can enjoy Air Twister, which I didn't even know about.

Fantastic video Patman! A true labor of love. When I was really sick last fall, your videos were the one thing that brought a smile to my face and made me forget I was sick. They are an amazing combination of pure nostalgia, humor and video game history. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and effort. You are the Indiana Jones of video game archeology!

Great video worth the wait. I usually save them to watch during Sunday brunch but just couldn't wait ! Very thorough and in depth. Cool Street Fighter edition. And just remember take your time and never feel pressure we are all here for you no matter what just have fun and keep the great game documentaries coming :)

Although I was a bit too young to appreciate this game back in the day,your video has given me a newfound respect for it!! Awesome Pat!!😁👍

My local arcade was amazing! One memory that stands out is a Space Harrier cab directly facing a Super Mario Bros. cab. There was a Planet Harrier at Sports Plus in Lake Grove, NY. It was pretty cool. Opa-Opa makes an appearance! The PS2 version wasn't that bad. That whole compilation had some fun games. Alien Syndrome plays with Robotron style controls and Out Run plays very nicely. Golden Ax was bad.

Fantastic work, amazingly comprehensive as always. I love how you go through so many of the home computer and console versions, it's really interesting to see how they coped with various compromises they had to make. As for Space Harrier, it was one of my favourite arcade machines of all time. One of the biggest theme parks in the UK is Alton Towers and back in the 80's they had an arcade including Space Harrier near the entrance - I remember spending a large portion of my day playing that rather than going on the many thrill rides and rollercoasters! Must have driven my parents mad considering the ticket entry price! I remember thinking the graphics were unlike anything I'd ever seen - so realistic and fast! I didn't think anything could possibly look better! Thanks for the memories...

Thank you, PatmanQC, for this in-depth history of a fun, challenging and original shooter game that I played in arcades and on my Sega Master System back in the day. "GET READY!" I heard that phrase a lot during the very tough later stages! Great video, thank you Patman. Time to prepare for Keaton's and Affleck's Batman in The Flash film this month.

One of my all time favorite games. This video brings back fine memories of playing in the arcade and i was so surprised when i first saw the arcade cabinet as a kid cause i used to play for hours on the Sega Master System and not only were the graphics better you where able to experience the game in a fun theme park type ride.

I see a Patman video, I click and like, ITS THAT SIMPLE😏..... Keep on grooving Patman!!!🙏👍✌

Another favorite! Thanks for the efforts and time put into this Patman!

Thanks for the video! It may have been over an hour long, but the time flew by as this is one of my all-time favourite games. When I first saw Space Harrier, I think I was was eight, and it really had a grip on my imagination. Like, suddenly, video-games looked like they had no limits. Characters and objects didn't look like crap, and could be anything. People, trees, dragons, robots, jets, mushrooms, all existing together, filling the scene to the horizon. As for the gameplay, somehow Space Harrier is so finely tuned that as I get better at it with practise, I get worse at it with age. If the conditions aren't right and I can't get into The Zone, the game will still kick my arse. I did win a Space Harrier competition once though, and got a copy of Shenmue 1&2 and a Shenmue t-shirt out of it. Apparently some Sega reps were there, and they said that they'd not seen anyone play the game properly before. I do want to see someone younger than me do well at the game, but I've not seen this happen yet. The Neverending Story though... Such a boring movie!

Right on!!!! Amazing video (as usual).

Excellent video! Enjoyed hearing of all of those obscure conversions.

Great job!

Still remember the first time i saw the moving cabinet in an arcade, just had to play it while my parents looked on

The harrier 's name is Glenn, which was mentioned in the sequel, Planet Harriers

Fantastic watch, an hour of my life very well spent 👌 Thanks for creating!!

Just in time for breakfast, thanks for all the great content Patman!

I'm still a proud owner of Space Harrier for the SMS and part 2 for the Genesis and Its one of those games that will never get old for us OG gamers and super addicting for all seasons. I played the Sega ages version when I moved out here in L.A. playing it in Little Tokyo game store and sure, it looks nice the up-to-date graphics, but the music remake didn't feel nostalgic, and something was missing in addition. Love your videos Patman. Keep it up brother!!

Oh shit, Alladin's Castle. That brings back memories.

I was going to ask you to cover it .. Looks like you beat me to it, that's fantastic! I remember the C64 port as one of the first games I really enjoyed in all its crappy glory. To the fantasy zone!🤣

Huge nostalgia! I forgot all about this game and the amount of quarters I spent on it. Thank you for reminding me of better times!

Regarding the c64's two versions, they're running almost identical code. The UK/European version was, unfortunately a rush-job, whereas the US version was given more time to complete to a more acceptable level. At the time, as a UK gamer, I didn't feel short-changed by the UK release, but in hindsight I would have appreciated the US version more. I played this game to death in the arcade (mechanised version) back in the day, and really appreciate this deep-dive into its origins.

First time I seen this game I realised there was a step up in graphics, such a weird set of levels as well. I’m not sure what they were smoking when they made it but it’s an all time great.

Another great video PatmanQC. 👍

Awesome stuff, Pat. I've got Patman fever. I'm going outta my mind.

Excellent, excellent video, my good man. I absolutely love Space Harrier and loved your detailed video round up. Thanks again for everything you do! 😊

I've never seen Space Harrier in the arcades, so I didn't know till the first few minutes of the video that it had a moving cabinet!

Wow, it hadn't ever occured to me how amazingly close Space Harrier is to Daicon IV. From the ELO soundtrack, to the jetpack and missle circus. Blasting every bad guy you ever imagined, in a psychedelic roller-coaster of fun and excitement. Amazing. Yu Suzuki is a legend. Thanks for this one Patman.

I had the Master System version of this as a kid. I loved it. Been playing the version on my mini Genesis 2 lately. Thanks for the round up of all the different versions.

Wow, that hour just flew by. Great video! In the early Genesis days, I didn’t have a ton of games so I played this one quite a bit.

The summer of 1986 in Bells Amusements, Ingoldmells, UK, was my first play of Space Harrier, and I've been playing it ever since. They had the sit down, hydraulic version - no expense spared. A fantastic experience in 1986 for a 15 year old me.

Psygnosis' 'Awesome' on the Amiga (and later in Atari ST) contained a nod to Space Harrier. Before landing on the planet you have to fight a boss that looks like Godarni, horns and all.

So many fun memories of going to the arcade with my mom as a kid, ours had the big mammajamma. Had a great time playing this game

Ayooo Patman! Just wanna give you a solid compliment in that I go to sleep to you and Cinemassacre content; Every. Single. Night. Been doing this for YEARS now. I do start with your content cuz your voice is like a sweet lullaby lmao.

I had a feeling "Never Ending Story" was an inspiration so I'm very glad that you were able to find that out. Another great video!

One of my all-time favorites. This game and Dragon Spirit had the best music.

Great video! I don't mean to complain, but I wanted to post this as a clarification. The "enhanced" ports for the Sega Genesis Mini 2 actually are not truly Genesis/Mega Drive games. They were created for "enhanced" Genesis hardware that never physically existed (i.e., think "Hi-Res" mode 7 in SNES emulators, MSU-1, being able to overclock virtual chips, etc.). Even in the best possible hands, there is no way that the original hardware could have pulled off those ports of Space Harrier/Space Harrier II.

Awesome video and it was worth the wait! Awesome stuff indeed!

Excellent job as usual, always a lot of good information and game footage, still one of my favorite RU-vid channels! Didn't realize there were as many ports of that game. I haven't played in a while, but this video is making me want to go blasting in the fantasy zone

I loved this game! This and Shinobi were the reason my brothers and I saved up our allowances one summer to get a Sega Master System instead of a Nintendo. Space Harrier, Shinobi, Golden Axe and Altered Beast were the main games I would play at our local arcade. Although they didn't have the sit down cabinet, they had the standing cabinet.

Excellent 👌 love this game, great video as always 👍

I was fortunate enough to play the full moving sit down cabinet back in the 80s. Easily worth the .50 cents. It was part arcade game and part amusement ride. Flash Forward to today, and I happily play this on Nintendo 3DS. This is a title that takes full advantage of the 3DS's capabilities. Thank you for a fun video!

One of my all-time favorite games! I did get to experience the full motion cabinet at the Sunnyvale Golfland, which was a real ground-zero for the hot games. There are so many awesome graphical touches in it. Notice that the aerial targets don't just explode, they also fall and crash to the ground. Then I believe if you happen to collide an aerial shootdown onto a destructible piece of terrain, it explodes in a brief, but dramatic mushroom cloud. Also love the anime mecha influences. As you mentioned in the video, there's the Gundam (Rick) Dom robot, and also the Jet Plane which is clearly a Macross Valkyrie! I found the extra fire buttons added on the panel allowed you to shoot a lot faster, so I would use those instead of the grip trigger. I could go on and on about this game, just great memories for me!

Fantastic insight into the history of this magnificent game, i enjoyed every second of this video.

I recently picked up the Japanese Saturn version of Space Harrier. Excellent spot on port. Plays great with the 3D pad controller. Love this game from sight as a kid in the 80's. That's when my love for Sega started. They absolutely ruled the arcades. SEGA!!!

Great video! Now I know what happened to Planet Harrier. It was featured in a gaming magazine in early 90s, maybe Gamepro? but being pre-internet I couldn't find where to play it for the longest time then eventually forgot about it. I did not forget the first time I played on the arcade. I never had any arcade shop with this game nearby but when I visited a relative near Salt Lake City 1987, the mall there had the big arcade machine for me to try out. Spent $10 in quarters just on this arcade. I also had to beg my mom to get me Space Harrier for SMS system so I could play it when I got home.

You are doing God’s work with these videos. I HATE Space Harrier… until now. I don’t know how you did it… but you got me itching to buy this game. Keep up the amazing work!

The Master System version doesn't use Sprites. It uses Background tiles. It's also not choppy as in "low frame rate" but actually because of the use of Background tiles, everything has to be moved in a 8x8 grid, which leads to it looking like that. It still runs at 30fps. It's the same thing as for example with Golden Axe, where too many clueless fools call out the "low frame rate", when that's not the case.

Nice videeo, thanks ! Used to have a Master System console in late 80's with that game) Even nowadays play sometimes Space Harier on vintage computers - a 286 PC and Amiga 3000 )

27:47 Those two new Space Harrier ports on the Sega Genesis Mini 2 do not "show what the Sega Genesis was truly capable of in the right hand" because those ports are NOT running on a Sega Genesis. Those two ports are running on a hypothetical "Sega Mark V" console that M2 created for the ports. The Sega Mark V is a Sega Genesis with hardware sprite scaling added to the existing VDP. This supposedly was the original plan for the 1989 console so porting Sega System 16 games would be easier, but the sprite scaling feature was ultimately removed from the VDP chip because the feature made the cost of the chip too expensive.

The game when it came out would have my parents think I would be a crazy driver one day. I was 7 when it came out and it was so funny but i thought back then I would reach the backgrounds.

Yet another great video, I really enjoyed it! Thank you.

In the timeline, was Space Harrier 3-D a prequel to Space Harrier (in spite of Space Harrier being made first)? We also got introduced to Dark Uriah as well. PS. I'd like to see M2 do an updated Space Harrier 3-D with better super scaler graphics. Oh and add some more story to it, including the birth of Dark Uriah.

Thank you for satisfying my hunger for Space Harrier content!

💥💥PATMAN VIDEO GAME ENDURANCE VIDEOOOOoooooo! 💥💥🏆🏆🏆

I was lucky enough to play Planet Harriers once in the arcades. They actually had the cabinet in this arcade in a strip mall in Edgewater, NJ. According to friends, there was also a PH cabinet in Fun N Games in the Willowbrook Mall in NJ.

Ooh, this game is a real classic!

The music always reminds me of Baby Love by the Supremes

I love your channel and you did excellent with this video

My first game my parents got me when we got the SMS! I played the heck out of Space Harrier in my youth! Good times!!

Holy queefsmas happy bday to me. Thanks patman

Space Harrier 3D lloked really good for what it was back then. Depending on where you sat in front of the tv, it felt and looked just like a playing a hologram. The 3d effect had a fairly deep depth of field.

Space Harrier, along with Outrun and Afterburner are the titles I have purchased in one iteration or another over the years, mainly for Sega consoles originally but expanding to other platforms. You did miss the Space Harrier(among other Sega titles) homage in the Bayonetta games.

The depth perception on the 3DS version is superb. It really improves the experience.

Great video Pat, I love Space Harrier!

The only place I ever saw a Space Harrier cabinet (upright/standing) in the wild was the entry lobby of the local Phar-Mor (a defunct drug/discount chain for non Mid-Atlantic/Western US folks). But considering that was almost 35 years ago it clearly made a lasting impression

The PlayStation 3 release of the Sega Genesis collection has an arcade perfect version of space harrier on it as an unlockable.

Whenever I see this game, I think of the floating stone heads in the movie Zardoz. "The gun is good. The penis is evil."

I remember hearing about Space Harrier from a friend and that I need to check it out. I put in my mind that it was a flight sim based on the Harrier jump jet. Totally confused when I got in front of it.

To quote Robin that time he and Batman chased The Riddler in to the Vatican City sewer system: "Holy Crap!" - Space Harrier was one of my all time favorites and I guess thanks to RU-vid it didn't come up in my "subscribed" feed when you originally posted this... I only chanced upon this video as a random suggestion today (probably because I just watched the Paperboy video recently - another game I liked, but I was no good at that one).

Strangely enough, I was 10 when this game was released in arcades and I hadn't ever heard of it until about 5 years ago, and I loved arcades. If I were a Genesis person back when the Genesis was released, I would have been pissed off if the newer hardware couldn't play a game from 1985. After all, Sega touted the Genesis as a system to play arcade games at home. This was a common gripe with us older gamers, the gripe being that you had to go to the arcade to get the best games.

The Genesis Mini roms aren't running on Mega Drive hardware, rather an imaginary upped spec software version M2 made specifically for the Mini so unfortunately don't represent the what Genesis/Mega Drive could do, nor can the be emulated. Same story with Aleste 3.

The "bonus" Space Harrier 1 and 2 on MD Mini 2 and Genesis Mini 2 are "what if" versions of the game. Mr. Okunari at Sega (who's one of the main personnel responsible for MD Mini 1 and 2) expressed that what he read in the game mags for Space Harrier 2 (when he was in university) and the what was released didn't quote match up. So for Mega Drive Mini 2, he reached out to M2 to create a multi-verse Space Harrier 2 under a "what if" scenario of if Mega Drive/Genesis had scaling capabilities built into the hardware and the outcome of it is the Space Harrier 2 that he was expecting during the original release back in the days. Mr. Horii (CEO of M2) then went further and suggested that if they're doing this for Space Harrier 2, then they have to do it for the original Space Harrier, hence we got two Space Harrier remakes with scaling capabilities. FREAKIN AWESOME!!! Many have complained about the amount of flicker but they intentionally didn't touch that as they wanted to only add in the scaling capabilities and leave everything else as what the original hardware was capable of. I love Sega and I love M2. They really have some freaks there (compliment).

Damn Patman, you’re a beast at this game!!

The 32X version was mind blowing when it came out. I wish 32X got all the super scaler games....

Blaster 1983 could have been a subliminal inspiration. Thanks for the research

I wish that opening screen said "Paaaaaat-maaaan"!

Awesome comprehensive coverage of Space Harrier across multiple systems. The PS2 version (SEGA AGES) looks odd, but there are rumors of a hidden stage with the final boss Haya Oh from the Master System.