Space Harrier II

Infobox VG
title=Space Harrier 2


developer=Sega-AM2
publisher=Sega
designer=Yu Suzuki
composer=Tokuhiko Uwabo
release=

flagicon|Japan October 29 1988

flagicon|USA August 14 1989
flagicon|USA December 11 2006 (VC)

genre=Rail shooter
modes=Single player
ratings=ESRB: E (Everyone)
ESRB: E10+ (Everyone 10+) (VC)
input= Game controller
platforms=Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, ZX Spectrum
media = cartridge

nihongo|"Space Harrier II"|スペースハリアーII is the sequel to "Space Harrier". It was one of the original launch titles released for the Sega Genesis in Japan and the United States and later released on the Virtual Console. Like another early game for the Genesis, "Altered Beast", "Space Harrier" features digitized human voice recordings during the game play. It's also an example of some of the early Sega music composing work by Bo.

tory

The year is 6236. Space is your battlefield and destructive forces your enemy once again as Space Harrier II. Only this time, the call for help comes from somewhere deep in the universe, the 214th sector, which is light-years from your cruiser. However, you're armed with the "Cosmic gate," a special teleportation device, so you're there in moments. And what you see is disastrous.

Fantasyland is unrecognizable. What's clear are enemy forces, lots of them coming at you from everywhere. And there's only you and your laser. This is going to be a tough assignment at which to succeed whether your rapid fire is on or off. So follow the path to victory by staying out of the line of fire and shooting straight. It's a long and ugly road and the only ones who survive have the makings of a hero.

Game Play

Like the original, the game involves a super human hero who runs and flies towards a forever distant background on a checkerboard-styled ground. The player can hit any of the controllers buttons to cause the Space Harrier character to fire his large laser cannon (four shots at a time). There is also an option to turn on auto-fire in the game menu. As the playing field moves forward, enemies come from behind and from the far distance to attack the character, by either firing a projectile or trying to crash into him. The player must also dodge large objects in his path, some of which can be destroyed, such as trees, and others that can not be, such as ionic columns and pylons. One hit from an enemy or a crash into these large objects will cause the player to lose a life. Smaller objects, such as foliage, will only cause the character to trip; however, this leaves him vulnerable to attack for two seconds.

There are a total of 12 stages, each with its own end boss. A stage usually consists of different landscapes (small objects vs. large objects), and can also move at different speeds (slow vs fast). Some stages, such as Stuna Area, have a mid-level boss that can be easily defeated. Although the player can select any stage to start the game at, all twelve levels must be completed before moving on to the "Final Chapter" stage. It is here that the player must defeat all the main bosses over again, and then fight the "Dark Harrier".

Enemies move onto the screen in uniform clusters. A signal tone is played to alert the player that there is a non-stationary enemy now in the playing field. In many cases, the enemies move in a straight line along a pre-determined, pseudo-three-dimensional path. Waves of enemies also often come in pairs: one group will come from the left in the distance or foreground, followed by the same type and same number of enemies coming in from the right. Due to the early technical deficiencies of the Sega Genesis, enemy, landscape, and shadow sprites are pre-rendered at different sizes, rather than scaled by the hardware as they move closer to the screen like in the original arcade version.

External links

*moby game|id=/space-harrier-ii
*GameFAQs|type=/console/genesis|num=586474|name="Space Harrier II"