Battle of the Ports - Space Harrier - Updated (スペースハリアー) Show
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ธ.ค. 2017
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The very first episode of Battle of the Ports was about a game I've loved since I was 10 years old, that game was Space Harrier. However in that very first Battle of the Ports show there was no commentary, no subtitles, ran at 30fps and worst of all only 13 ports covered.
This remake of the video corrects those issues with the now expected voice-over, subtitles, 60fps video and 26 ports of Space Harrier!! Now that's what I call an update.
Time Code
00:25 - Arcade
02:49 - Master System
04:39 - Amstrad CPC
05:57 - Atari 8 Bit line
07:12 - ZX Spectrum
08:06 - NEC PC-6001
09:20 - Sharp X68000
10:52 - Fujitsu FM77
11:34 - Commodore 64 - Sega version
12:27 - Commodore 64 - Elite version
13:14 - NEC PC-8800
14:27 - Sharp X1
16:03 - PC Engine
17:12 - Atari ST
18:31 - Amiga
19:52 - Famicom
21:06 - MS Dos
22:00 - Game Gear
23:22 - Sega 32X
24:45 - Sega Saturn
26:07 - Dreamcast
27:34 - PlayStation 2
28:59 - Gameboy Advance
30:38 - Android
31:59 - Mobile Phone (Java)
33:06 - Nintendo 3DS
34:24 - All versions side by side
Enjoy! - เกม
![1985 [60fps] Space Harrier Nomiss ALL](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JLOf2StF_zY/mqdefault.jpg)
![[FULL EP.14] เซียนหรั่ง สอน มาร์ชจุ จับปูนา ฮากระจาย | เฮ็ดอย่างเซียนหรั่ง | One Playground](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M8mPjd_T2lo/mqdefault.jpg)
A bit of info regarding the two C64 versions. BOTH were programmed by UK coder Chris Butler but the inferior Elite version came FIRST. Butler was given only a few short weeks to write the game from scratch and that was the best he could manage in the time allotted. For the Sega version he had more time and was able to finish the game, releasing the version he'd always intended. True story, folks.
Butler also wrote C64 "Ghosts 'n' Goblins" and "Power Drift" so the guy certainly knew his stuff!
Ah, thanks for the info. So good old UK BS game industry of the 80s was the reason for the crappy Elite version. Good thing he got to complete the game for the US release.
Yeah, usually that wouldn't happen, but Chris was given more time to polish it for the US release.
Well you SAY it wouldn't usually happen, but Butler experienced the exact same issue with "Commando", hence the flickery sprites. Elite had a habit of acquiring licenses late in the day, then rushing like crazy to make the Christmas release slot.
No, I meant usually programmers would NOT be given more time to polish something up!
Aaah...got you. Yep, that's certainly true!
That Atari 8bit port blew my mind. My previous knowledge of this hardware only came from playing Jet Set Willy once: so when you showed that Space Harrier port… it was just mind blowing, I couldn’t believe it that guy is a legend!
There was something about the music running on the Atari synthesizer and I agree. It looked amazing.
the atari8bit port uses a LOT of extra memory, where all the sprite zoom frames are precompiled into code which blits them. it would be one of the the worst port if the original hw were used.
@@kangarht The Atari Space Harrier runs on a standard 64k Atari. A few floppy disks would be possible, and quite acceptable at the time for the outcome.
@neb6is it alternating the colours to blend them?
I can't believe it's been over 200 Battle of the Ports already! Congrats!
I know. Who would have thought I'd still be doing these shows 4 years after the first one went up on TH-cam.
I bought the SMS literally because of Space Harrier. To this day, I still think, for the time, Sega managed to pull off somewhat of a miracle with the Master System port. The framerates may have been choppy, but the graphics were very good for an 8-bit system running a game that was 100% dependent on scaling.
I will admit that it was Space Harrier that got me in to Sega and also the reason why I bought a Master System.
If I was a tad older I could have been around for the 8 bit days. I was a 16bit kid but man it must have looked insane huh lol.
Don't forget Space Harrier 3D!
Was a shame hat you couldn't enjoy the music AND shoot things... I used to ty and fly the Pacifist level to enjoy the music on the SMS
The hydrolic arcade machine was revolutionary at the time. I think it was in the summer of '86, an arcade in Amsterdam, put this machine on display outside on the Rembrandtplein square. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. I cannot put into words how awesome that was to see for a 12 year old boy
I've neveri n recent years seen this machine.
Thank you for covering all those ports, expecially the Japanese home compuetr ports.
For me the most impressive are the Atari 8bit version and the pc-660 version.
Thank you for mentioning the FPS of the really relevant versions. So many reviewers never talk about that. It was truly such a delight to see this episode, You rock!
Thanks for your comment, Dbn Polermans. I was at a similar age when I first saw the Arcade machine back in 1985 / 86. As you said, it was amazing to see this machine back then and it kept getting better with Galaxy Force II and Power Drift coming later. This is why Sega is my favourite. They are the company that really got me interested in video games.
it wasn't hydraulic.
Revolutionary indeed. My favorite games of all time, and the one that inspired me to become what I am now, a game developer! Didn't realize there were this many ports!
Space Harrier was the game that made me know who Sega were. No other game to that point ever inspired me to remember the company behind it. I guess that's why I still love Sega now. They were the company to really pull me in to gaming and pull you in yo what you do now.
Me too exactly! Ever since I saw Space Harrier in the arcades when I was little, I wanted to meet the person behind it. And when I finally got to meet Yu Suzuki in person at a Sega Developer's Conference, I asked him whether there would be a 3D version of Power Drift, which is another favorite game of mine. He answered back there would be a Space Harrier sequel in 3D.. which turned out to be Planet Harrier, the game I've never played in person.
Same here, I discovered the game in the British amusement centers while on vacation in the South of England, and that was the hydraulic version no less. My aunt, uncle and cousin who were with me were as amazed by the machine as I was and there was a huge crowd waiting to play it. It is fair to say that the game was an enormous sensation. Just like you Marc I did not know about Sega before but let me tell you that I got the memo after seeing the game. :D
I love all the exotic platforms you've covered! Thanks for the great effort. This one deserves more views.
Thanks. It's nice to hear a comment like that.
Those business machine versions must have been heaven during a office lunch break.
The Sega Master System using tiles for everything that moves except the main player was a crazy idea that actually works incredibly well with the game.
The CPC version.. it's still amazing the game runs that fast, even with vector graphics.. it's still not that easy to make the game run smoothly using vectors.
That Atari 8 bits port.. OH MY GOD what an ASTONISHING work! I wonder how much of the older machines we still could push further using more modern tools to program them.
Amiga got 3 Space Harrier games... Besided the one here, it also got Space Harrier 2 (port from the Mega-Drive game, I believe it was released for other euro computers of the time like the C64) and then a very rare one called "Space Harrier: Return to the Fantasy Zone". This game only exists for Amiga and Atari ST and it was only released in Elite compilation, so its *very* rare to find it. It was basically the first game with new levels/graphics.
I am always amazed with how Dempa made so many ports of games for those "obscure" japanese computers. I really wonder how it was the workflow there, I really doubt it was much different from those Euro dev teams porting games, I bet the games were given to a badly-paid intern to port.... and they never went the lazy way, their ports were usually pretty good. Well, I'd guess they had access to source code and this would help *a lot*.
Amazing video, amazing to see such a loved game that was ported for so many system and *still* keeps being ported. Space Harrier really captured the minds of many people for many years.
It is a great idea which is also used by the C64 and I suspect most of the other 8 bit computers of that era. This said, the result is more convincing on the C64 NTSC version which even though it is less colorful seems to suffer a bit less from overlap issues between these "sprites".
Yeah, I know :) But it wasn't much used on the Master System because its sprites capabilities were pretty good.
Konami were masters of doing this on MSX. With just 2-color sprites, it was much needed trick. many of their games switched between sprite and tile when needed for the same object in a way most players never notice. They were really great at it.
Oh, that is neat, I was aware that Nintendo did that in the Super Mario Bros on the NES with the coins (there were too many in some places for them to be sprites) but I did not know that technique was used on the MSX.
The more I learn about the MSX the more I want to get one and almost wishes my dad had bought one when he bought our first computer. ;)
I didn't mention that on MSX not only the sprites were 2 colors (with one being transparent, so they were essentially just 1 color) but you could have just 4 on each scanlines.
Konami made some very neat tricks with the MSX hardware, drawing more sprites than possible in a scanline on purpose so things would "dissapear" as they wanted... Konami's Soccer changes players from tiles to sprites to tiles whenever they are near or far from the ball, Nemesis/Gradius uses tiles for a lot of enemies so they can draw more stuff on screen and so on.
They were really the kings on the MSX hardware. I don't think there was ever a company that dominated so much a hardware and released so many top-quality stuff than Konami on MSX. I mean, many companies made very good games on MSX, but Konami was like 5 levels above everyone else both in quality and quantity.
But many other games used it. One that instantly comes to mind is Kung-Fu Master from Irem (or whatever japanese name is called on MSX, I think it's either Kung-Fu Achoo or Spartan X, but I always called it Kung-Fu Master anyway :D)... the main character is made of tiles. Since he never moves on screen (but the screen moves around him), it works really well. Where the action happens all you get as background is the black color (which is actually a good thing, since MSX 1 can't do smooth scroll by hardware), so there's only a few tiles to switch when the player moves/kick/punch etc, so the CPU can do it pretty quickly.
The MSX is a great gaming machine IMO, *lots* of excellent games on it. If you could grab an MSX 2 or MSX 2+ would be even better;
The Amiga SH Return to the Fantasy Zone (don't think it was ever released for Atari ST) was significantly enhanced with many, many more sprite frames to smoothly mimic hardware scalong, plus it was displayed overscan mode to cover tge entire screen without any black borders at the edges. It contained the remaining levels from the arcade game missing from the original Amiga port. Overall, it's the best hone port available at the time Space Harrier was still relevant/current in the arcade, better than the X68000 port. Very impressive, too bad it's not on this video. You can see it here: th-cam.com/video/ZWfWSsVptn4/w-d-xo.html
The Sinclair version sounds like someone replaced every sound effect with farting noises as a practical joke.
Alex K. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
The work you put into these things make for amazing results, thank you!
Thanks, Mamiya645.
@@RetroCore no, thank YOU!
The Sinclair ZX version sounds like my cat after petting her too much.
Wow, this one must have been a lot of work! Thanks Mark! The Atari 8 bit version is impressive!
It was. It took 5 days doing 4 hours recording each night. The rendering of the final comparison screen took just under 9 hours to render for less than a minute of footage. The PC had a lot of work processing from of 26 videos on one screen.
Yup, that is why I am a Patr(e)on. People do not realize how many hours of work go into the production of 20 minutes of video. This is an effort which deserves recognition.
Congrats on the big 200!
Daaaaamn. You covered everything! Worthy of the 200th episode of BoP
Thanks, Gabriel Zero. This was a big episode to do.
Congratulations on 200 episodes!! Been watching since the archive.org days.
Thank you ever so much, SikSlayer. I like to think my videos have come a long way since the days of archive.org.
Finally! Not hearing your voice in earlier videos is really weird compared to your latest. Amazing insight mr. Mark!
Thanks, LEDStorm.
Wow that's a crazy amount of ports! Fantastic video!
The older nec computer port is like modern art. I absolutely love it!
Congrats on the 200th BoP episode Mark! It was... (in my best British accent) absolutely brilliant! There was a demo of space harrier on the Apple IIGS that was unthinkable at the time but I guess it wouldn’t qualify as a port. Liked seeing the obscure ports done in abstract art form - hey at least the fm music is there!
Thanks y0sh1rulez.
I wasn't aware of the Apple 2 demo. I'll have to track that down to see how it looks. I really love the early Japanese ports with their squares for graphics. So funny yet still sounds and plays like Space Harrier
Excellent Video
I love the update! Thanks so much!
I'll be honest, I really like the NES version's theme, yeah I know the port itself was pretty bad but you have to appreciate the effort put into the music.
Amazing video dude very long but informative
Thanks, Stuart J1210
Thanks for all the videos, best video games channel on TH-cam.
And thank you for watching.
One of your best episodes Mark!
Thank you, cpnnpr.
Nice multi port video!!.Thanks for the upload as always.
You're welcome :)
Congrats on the 200th episode, Mark! It was very well done! Many more awesome episodes will soon be available, so Get Ready!! ^.=.^
Agghhh, people want me to do Ultimate Mortal Kombat, Welcome to the violence zone, get ready.
The Holy Grail of Games. Thanks for this!
Another big Space Harrier fan I see.
Congratulations on your 200th episode of Battle of the Ports! Also, great work on your remake for Space Harrier, it's amazing! :)
This must've taken you a LOT of work when making this game unlike the first version. Truly wonderful! Thank you for all of the hard work!
#BotP200EpisodesHype
(I should add that I'm not a new visitor, I'm the same ClassicGaminer 2017. Hehe.)
Thanks man and cool, my very own hash tag :)
Absolutely awesome video! Thanks for all videos, love them all. Keep up the good work!
Cheers Miika.
Finally I can see it! Very good update BotP of one of my favourite games of all time. Played a lot with the smoothy Amstrad version, already have the great Sega Master System version and played with the original one via emulation. The amazing music still reminds on my head...
I don't think l ever forget the Space Harrier theme. It's like one of those movie themes you never forget such as Star Wars or Superman.
I just purchased the Saturn Space Harrier (and Fantasy Zone) because of how accurate their ports were described and depicted here. My Saturn collection is finally going to start growing again thanks to your channel! I'm still impressed with the GBA port for some reason (and it's rendition of the theme with its weird layered chords). Excellent revisit to one of my favorite games of all time!
Thanks, SuperKokuJin916. You will not be dissapoited with the Saturn ports. They're excelent.
Great choice and great video as always. It looks like Data Discs is finally releasing a vinyl for Space Harrier next year also!
Cool, that's one game soundtrack I'd love to get on record.
I played the worst C64 version back in the day and until today never knew about a better one!! However I really did enjoy the game because I loved the arcade version, but couldn't play it much because was really hard to find in my country Argentina. Awesome job compiling so many ports!
I bet most people in the UK also had no idea there was a better port for the C64. It turns out that both ports were developed by the same programmer how was rushed by Elite to get the original version out. By the time the US Sega pushed version was released he could finish the actual game.
Enter the MAME emulation, bud. But also, you can get it either from the Sega Ages market list or from the games called Yakuza 0 and Shenmue.
@@sonicexereaper6814 I never said I didn't play the arcade version, I've been using MAME since 1998 and played a lot Space Harrier
I bet that was tough as nails to get back on the days where companies didn't even acknowledge the existence of South America, with said market being filled with clones by third-parties.
The sound on the PC Engine is really awesome. The stereo image is much more lively than on the original arcade FM chip, and they included a system exclusive staff roll track that is killer.
So very true.
You truly are a sega fan boy. I won't hold it against you. Good video.
24:15 Correction: The 32x version runs at 60fps but regularly drops frames when things are even a little busy, though never below 30fps. It partly disguises this shortcoming by making the foreground and background graphics drop frames out of sync. Don't take my word for it -- watch the footage frame-by-frame. There are other 60fps videos of the 32x version which you can also scrutinize.
I love this game. Had it on my ST (finished it) and have it on Amiga too. That said, I did not know there were that many ports of it!
Great video. I always loved the music for this game and the gameplay was excellent for the time. My dream is to one day own an original arcade cab.
Ah, owning the original cab would be amazing.
One of my favorite titles from Yu Suzuki Mark.
I love the arcade and Sega Master System version since I played those versions the most. I also love playing the arcade port in Shenmue and Shenmue II. Hope to see it back in Shenmue III when Ryo Hazuki goes to a local arcade once anew. 8^)
Well done as always Mar,
Anthony..
I'm hoping in Shenmue 3 they add power Drift :) that would be so cool. Maybe throw in Galaxy Force II as well.
Great work
I’m still in love with the CPC version and its vector graphics, it looks so cute ^^.
Thank you for this!
Glad you enjoyed the video. This coming Saturday is the remastered Afterburner video.
@@RetroCore Subscribed, notifications on! Can’t believe your channel never came up before! Lol and just ordered Space Harrier for my Sega Saturn JP, which is why I was searching for ports comparison and was lucky to find this
You'll really enjoy Saturn Space Harrier. If you are able to find the mission stick, space Harrier works great with that. Full on arcade analogue control.
Thanks for subscribing!
@@RetroCore Ordered a mission stick from Japan! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Great video again,yakumo,i think i need to buy that 3ds port,it looks amazing :)
It is plus the 3D screen effect adds a lot to the game also.
A fun note about the 3DS version is that it added the final boss from the Master System port as a bonus if you get through the whole game without a continue (Or if you beat the final boss rush level without a death)
That's cool but nit something I thing I could do these days.
Hi, thanks for a great comparison! Few days ago, Chris Hutt has updated his Atari 800 port of Space Harrier, featuring e.g. new title screen, better quality samples and shadows under objects. You can find it at AtariAge forums.
Nice, I think I'll check that out. Thanks for the update.
Space Harrier always remind me of Cosmic Causeway on the C64
PC-88 was Yuzo Koshiro machine for composing. I think he composed Streets Of Rage and The Revenge o Shinobi on PC-88. 13:14
I'm not sure what he composed on the NEC machine but I did know he loved it. A big fan of FM Synthesis for sure.
@@RetroCore I checked his wiki entry:
"All of these early soundtracks were produced using the FM synthesis sound chip of the PC-8801. Despite later advances in audio technology, Koshiro would continue to use older PC-8801 hardware to produce many of his later video game soundtracks, including the Streets of Rage and Etrian Odyssey soundtracks.[10] His soundtracks for early Nihon Falcom games, such as the Dragon Slayer and Ys series, are widely regarded as some of the most influential role-playing video game scores".
But, you know wikipedia sometimes cant be reliable. Btw, I like a lot your work. Thanks from Brazil.
Yay a remaster of the first battle of the ports, keep it up bro, i ♥ your channel
P.D. I always thought that mastodon on the title screen was a friend of Harrier lol
Thanks man. Hope to make another 200 episodes in the future.
Maybe the title screen Mastodon is a friendly one? Or Harrier just likes to go around blasting indecent one eyed mammoths.
YC-2, the sound programmer for the x68000 version, is actually none other than Yuso Koshiro himself!
Now that is cool
7:40 LOL, oh man, that is hilarious! I can never unhear this
You've got to admit though, Harriers gun does sound like it's constantly farting :)
It would have been interesting to see how well the Sega CD could have handled a port, since it had a faster cpu and hardware scaling compared to the stock Megadrive.
I would imagine it being close to the X68000 version but at a lower resolution.
@ben owen Well, Panorama Cotton isn't actually scaling, is just really predrawn sprites. If you want to check real software scaling, you should check at some EA titles like the Road Rash series, Outlander, Skitchin' or the First Person Shooters out in the console.
The Sega CD hardware was hamstrung by some poor decisions they made when designing the Megadrive. There were pins on the Megadrive VDP for extra VRAM and an external color RAM but these were left unconnected. For this reason the Sega CD had to scale images internally then make them available to the Megadrive in the cartridge ROM address space and from there the Megadrive's 68000 would transfer them to the VDP's VRAM to be displayed. If those pins had been connected to the expansion port then the Sega CD could have included a 64k block of additional dual ported VRAM and the Sega CD's scaling hardware could have directly presented images to the VDP. And also additional color RAM could have been added to expand the number of color pallets.
I reckon it would be similar to nightstriker version on sega cd. Smooth but quarter resolution.
*SATURN and P C Engine are the best!!* ⭐️
Sega didn't promote Space Harrier on the 32X. It's a mistake because that looks like one of the best 32X games out there.
Kudos to you sir for mentioning the Shenmue version! I was itching to point it out but your thoroughness has won out........
....... until you failed to show the tiger electronics handheld. Tsh tsh tsh.
Hahaha, I wasn't going yo stoop that low :)
Great ep. for 200!! Space Harrier is the game that really opened my eyes to the next wave of arcade classics back in 1986 and solidified my admiration for Sega. That game boy advance one sure does like to keep track of time. I never noticed that before. Thanks for making me want to play more Space Harrier. Shame Space Harrier 2 on Genesis never carried as much love and diversity.
The same here. Space Harrier made me notice Sega and it's been a great ride ever since. Well, until the early 2000s at least.
Had a strong feeling Space Harrier might one of those arcade titles that achieve fame into the home market. I’m just playing it constantly on Yakuza 0 and man, I’m digging deep into it’s fast paced shooting gameplay and best of all, the music’s so catchy that I start to enjoy the remix of it from Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed. Now, I got the game on my Switch so I can play it on the go, but TBH, I wanna try the arcade cabinet so badly since I like the concept of motion simulation as if you’re flying into the action with Harrier. Anyway, gotta say, I’m impressed ports like the Atari manages to capture half of the game’s quality and Sharpcapturing the gameplay and music. Man, sure is interesting to learn how arcades of the past, classic generation try hard to bring their into home consoles but yet, most don’t come out too well while some manages to succeed in doing so. Not like my childhood time in the 2000s where arcades of any kind can be easily ported into home consoles like House of the Dead 2 on Dreamcast/Wii, Soul Calibur 2 on Gamecube, Capcom vs. SNK 2 on PS2/Gamecube, etc. Best gaming history I’d say.
I was born in 1975 so I was about 10 the first time I played the full sized moving Space Harrier arcade. It was that game that got me in to Sega.!
Retro Core nice, man. ^.^ For me, I’d say the games like Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Flicky, Kid Chameleon, and Mean Bean Machine on a Sega Genesis that was basically a rewind console with built-in games, House of the Dead on the arcade, and both Ooze and Comic Zone on Sonic The Hedgehog Collection for PS2 were the games that got me into Sega while I was growing up. To this day, I start to obtain more titles and know many characters like Harrier from Space Harrier, Alicia and Wilkins from Valkyrie Chronicles, Ulala from Space Channel 5, Kiryu and Majima from Yakuza, Arle from Puyo Puyo, Columns Goddess from Columns 2, Zephyr and Leanne from Resonance of Fate, Rita from Phantasy Star IV, Ryo from Shenmue, Busujima from Zombie Revenge, Sakura and Erica from Sakura Wars, and the huge list goes on. Also, let’s not forget the father figure himself of the Sega family, Segata Sanshiro. Man, praise Sega for showing me their greatness throughout the years. (: Anyway, aside from that, gotta say, you sure are lucky to play the Space Harrier cabinet since I wanna experience the true gameplay simulation. I know I have most games on home consoles or emulated, but TBH, I believe playing the arcade versions of certain games like Space Harrier, Virtual On, House of the Dead, Let’s Go, Out Run, Super Hang-On, etc. are the best way for true experiences.
I didn't mind the UK C64 version, but It is the only version I've played, and I didn't even know that there was a US version until a few years ago. I know that both versions are done by Chris Butler and after seeing a below comment thread, the UK Elite version was rushed, while Sega gave Chris enough time to polish it up for the US release. Even though the UK Elite version was rushed and looks like it's unfinished, I still think it's impressive considering that it is quite fast and that Chris was only 17-18 years old when tasked with the job. Wasn't an absolute fave but would be a fun distraction that I would repeatedly come back to. Wouldn't mind checking out the US Sega release one day though, and of course I should get my act together and unlock arcade Space Harrier on Sega Megadrive Collection on PS3 (along with Shinobi, Zaxxon and Fantasy Zone)
Great video. Contrary to what you stated, this game was one of a few nice arcade adaptation on Amiga : fast animation and responsive control with mouse, nice sounds and full screen (you did not mention that the ST version was not in full screen for instance)
Comprehensive roundup but I want to nitpick about the PC-6001. I disagree that it was a business machine which didn't have games in mind. It was released as a cheaper alternative to the PC-8801 (89k yen instead of 228k), with RF output and cassettes instead of disks, so it was aimed at the home rather than business. Also it used joysticks and has a music chip, so clearly games were intended from the beginning. It's more like the C64 than IBM PC. Still, Space Harrier plays well despite the limitations. Keep up the good work!
Very fair points. What I should have said was that the PC-6001 was a cut down version of a business machine and should have listed the differences.
The Atari port looks amazing!
It sure does. I was very impressed with it.
Great idea to revisit your old episodes by adding previously non covered ports and with better quality. I guess quite a few early episodes would benefit from such a treatment!
Great effort and result! Thanks you for the video. ;)
It is really interesting to see how the Japanese ports mostly favored keeping the gameplay and playing speed intact while sacrificing visual quality in the process and thus managed to retain the spirit of the original much better than the 16 bit western computer ports which tried to achieve visual equivalence but failed to reproduce the gameplay and smoothness by a large margin.
There is a lesson here to remember when porting from a much superior machine:
- Reproduce the gameplay identically first, with the ugliest simplest graphics you can find, then only, try to improve visual quality.
Alas, most of the time, western ports of Arcade games did the exact opposite, focusing on visuals rather than gameplay.
Thankfully, to the exception of the 16 bit western computers, Space Harrier was ported rather faithfully gameplay wise.
Thanks. Yeah, I plan to remake a few of the older episodes I the future. The very early shows were kind of an experiment than anything else.
I agree with the direction Japanese developers took. Concentrating on the gameplay first was the right approach. It's mentioned many times that western devs (mostly in the UK) wanted a game to look good on the packing so they would always concentrate the graphics with gameplay being an after thought.
Shame it was never on the fm towns, that had microcosm and...that was pretty but not that good.
Actually, microcosm might make a good episode in the future. I've read different things about the 5 different versions
Oh, happy 200th episode btw
Geo Belmont it doesn't have an arcade release so...
Fat chance for Yakumo to cover it
Angel Rivera Santana ah right
Microcosim will be one of the game being covered once I exhaust all the Arcade ports. I've been building up that list over the past year :)
What a great episode. Amazing to see so many decent ports considering how beefy the scaler board for the original was. I had the Master System version when I was very young, which was one of the first games ever that was mine, so I've got a soft spot for the property. I've played the 32x version. It was quite impressive. I didn't notice it wasn't 60fps, but it was some time ago. I wish I could play the Saturn version. That looks quite fantastic. Saturn is well suited to run a game like that. The PS2 version highlights how good the original's art direction is, as it still looks great. I've got an urge to play some Space Harrier now.
That PS2 port is just awful in every way possible :(
Just in case I wasn't clear, and I can understand if I wasn't, I mean that the PS2 version does look quite horrible, and makes me appreciate how good the original game looks.
Yep, I understood what you meant but even as it's own game, the PS2 remake is ugly.
There was also a US release of the ST version. An American programmer claims to have fixed it up.
The Famicom version was developed by a company called Whiteboard, which was eventually bought out by Sega. According to the programmer, it originally started out as a game based on Takara's Licca-chan doll.
I believe all the Rutubo Games-developed versions (32X, Saturn, Dreamcast) have a bug where you can't shoot objects while running on the ground.
A link to that American programmer's claim would help, do you happen to have one?
Look up John Sanderson on LinkedIn.
Very interesting info on the Famicom port. I never knew about that.
The Rutubo Games versions play exactly like the Arcade machine. While making this video I noticed that many of the western made ports had the player die when he hit ground hedges. This is wrong as they should trip him up, not kill him
For the X68000 port, the sample issue comes down to non-030 models having a single PCM channel. Same issue as in SF2CE and SSF2 (amongst other ports). I think this could be fixed by installing a Polyphonic or Mercury Unit in and adding the driver to the game.
Also, this game (like Super Thunder Blade and a few others) supported Micomsoft's analogue flight stick for the system, which gave even more authentic controls.
Interesting idea about adding the extra chip then writing a driver for it. It could work but wouldn't the game code also need to be modified?
Retro Core Not that I am aware of. Would have to check with superdeadite on this, but I think the MercuryUnit and Polyphonic just can replace the PCM driver file with their own.
Considering the fact that the hang on /system 16 boards are 2 food tray sized boards in sandwich with the game roms board over... anything running like the Atari 800 version or a little better than the master system version (master system just needed a blitter to make this possible) is almost a miracle, and 10 years passed until a decently sized console or computer would run it properly. That arcade platform was crazy graphically overpowered
I never realized it at the time, but the robot in the title screen looks a lot like Zeon’s MS-09 Dom mobile suit.
I'm sure there are some influences.
The Sharp X68000 didn't have hardware scaling. The X68000 port of Space Harrier rather than using predawn sprites at various sizes actually uses hand coded assembly language routines for scaling the bitmaps. The reason there is slowdown is because much of the 68000's time is being used up to run the bitmap scaling code and there is a limited amount of processor cycles per frame left over for everything else. Given that this is a system that isn't much different than an Amiga (albeit with a better display processor) and had no bitmap scaling and rotation hardware at all it's amazing that they managed to pull off an actual bitmap scaler game completely with software and shows that the Amiga and Atari ST ports could have been way, way better than they were if the programmers had used the same method.
the gba version has such good music! actually nearly all versions have very good music :)
Yep, all except the DOS port. Oh man, that is very painful to hear.
@@RetroCore and the atari 8 bit with its bleeping
Big Respect to the 3DS crew.. I don't even recall MAME versions having the tilting option?
I absolutely love the 32X version... I used it as training/memorization of patterns since it was so accurate. Could never manage to grab a Saturn version, and I didn't have a Saturn joystick.
the java version you shown here might be one of the better western made java ports of arcade games, right up there with what namco networks cherned out around the same time.
It will always baffle me that Yu Suzuki went from being a god of the arcade, to making fucking Shenmue III.
Yep, Shenmue 3 was a major disappointment. So much unnecessary fest quests and useless crap to pad out the game.
The original Space Harrier was a nice alternative to the Mini 2's lineup. Of course, if you choose Space Harrier II, you are treated with the choice of two games.
Cool game comparisons. Missed Space Harrier Complete Collection on PS2 and on JPSN for PS3 under PS2 classics.
The soundtrack on the Fujitsu FM77 AV feels super synthwave-ish. Very slow and low pitched.
So the original arcade version of "Space Harrier" came out in December 1985, huh? That's actually one month before I was born! ;)
Ah, that's a shame because by the time you were old enough to apriciate the Arcade it would have been quite old. I was 10 at the time of its release.
The Wii Arcade version actually had a really interesting motion control option added.
Of the 8-bit versions, the Master System is unsurpassed, especially the version for 3D glasses. For following systems, clearly Sega shows how to own title can do the best conversions (unfortunately not for Mega Drive), both pro 32X, as pro Saturn and pro Dreamcast. It is regrettable what was done in PS2, a system with enormous potential leaving much to be desired.
Probably, the best 90s version was the 32x and saturn
3DS has the best port in actual consoles, and this real final boss is really hard to defeat
Ah, I personally think the 3DS version is the best but let down for me because it's hand held. I just can't get in to any hand held system. So I will opt for the Saturn as its perfect.
I'm always amazed by the Sharp x68000. I need to find one of those!
It was such an awesome machine and still is but it's only for those with very deep pockets. These days it's extremely expensive for the hardware and the games.
A long time ago I actually had one. Stupidly I sold it due to being in a tight financial situation. Now I can't even think of buying another. It makes Neo Geo collecting (for the most part) seem like regular game buying.
@@RetroCore I just checked and my latest build of Retro Pi has the Emulator and about 500 roms... This will be fun to check out.
I am amazed at high FPS of the Atari 8-bit unofficial port. Great job to the developer!
Indeed. It's an amazing job.
woah, 24 ports... i always wondered what is the thing japanese have with moai head (eastern island)... and i prefer the block enemies rather the vector ones on that light color background, maybe in space works like in star wars arcade o asteroids, right?
The only other Sega games to hit the FC/NES were Shinobi, two Fantasy Zone ports, Altered Beast, After Burner, and Alien Syndrome. Maybe others, but there were also imitators such as 3D World Runner, Rad Racer, STED and Lagrange Point.
Perhaps Sega and Nintendo's earliest involvements with each other was when Sega's Head-On later got copied by Nintendo as Head-On-N, which "N" can mean either "In" or "Nintendo".
Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone have deep relationships with each other. The Sharp X68000 port of Fantasy Zone has a Space Harrier themed stage, while there's Space Fantasy Zone for PC Engine CD, but unreleased, which is Fantasy Zone in Space Harrier style.
Famicom also got a port of Fantasy Zone 2 but only in Japan.
Best versions of Space Harrier: Arcade (Sega) - Saturn (Rutubo Games) and 3DS (M2).
Can't say much against that :)
That's correct. The Arcade is the best because why not, the Saturn is the best home console port, and the 3DS is the best handheld port
The A8 version is very impressive, especially on real hardware. I just wish that such port was of a better game. Also, you are wrong, space harrier is exactly the game the A8 could run. The only drawback of the 8-bit Atari compared to a C64 for example is sprites. But in a game with such big sprites that is less of an issue, when comparing the two and the cpu speed starts to matter more. The Atari ST port is too jerky to be enjoyable. It seems like it skips a lot of frames, especially in player motion. I don't like it at all. I like the Amiga version, it's much smoother.
Guys, no one but you know what A8 means. I suspect it means Atari8 bit but not everyone will get what you are referring to so please make sure you are understood by everyone. ;)
Having played both Atari ST and Amiga version it is true that the latter has a smoother frame rate but controls are much tedious as any left or right impulse will swing the player off immediately to that side of the screen, unless one plays with a mouse it is really difficult to control precisely.
I just call them Atari 8bit range but I can see why some would say A8.
That is what I figured out but this is jargon and will not be understood by anyone outside of the Atari community.
To make sure everyone can understand it one could mention Atari 8 bit (A8) models in passing then make use of the A8 abbreviation like I just did. Simple and effective for both writer and readers.
the fm77AV port's theme still disturbs me
Aww, man! Such a great comparison video, but missing the best Space Harrier version - the one for Sharp MZ-700! lol
Sadly I can't get the emulator for that to run as it requires a 32bit version of Windows 😢
@@RetroCore I've been recently messing with MZ-xxxx emulation, and it's not so bad anymore.
The easiest one to get running is MAME, but there is no way to speed up cassette loading, and as far as I can tell it doesn't support PCG.
Another easy one is the confusingly named "MZ-80B Emulator" - a multi-system emulator by Michael Franzen. It supports lots of Z80-based systems, is decently compatible, and will load cassettes instantly (if you rename tape files to *.mzf and run them from command line), but has an awful WindowsME-era interface, sound strangely off, and is a pain in the ass to download, as the link on the site appears broken (fix it by comparing it with the site's current url).
Lastly, there's the Common Source Project. It's the best and most compatible, polished and feature-rich option, but is the most pain in the ass to get ahold of and to get running, as there is zero English, or even Japanese documentation. It's worth it though!
Can remember being 13/14, first holiday in Blackpool and seeing Space Harrier in the arcade for the first time, it blew my tiny mind.
Any chance of you doing an updated video on Out Run with a voice over instead of text. You could maybe do a mega episode with every version of Out Run e.g. Turbo Out Run, Out Run 2019, Outrun Europa, Outrunners, Out Run 2, etc. Now that would be something special.
Anyway, another nice video.
My first experience of Space Harrier was at Alton Towers. They had the hydraulic version in an arcade near the Corkscrew roller-coaster.
I may redo the out run video in the future but at the moment that one isn't a priority.
Also, I like how you've added homebrew ports, too. I think you should include non-emulation homebrew ports in all of the Battle Of The Ports, in fact.
Sometimes I'd like too but then again there's some I have no idea about or they aren't documented well. Then there are games which have a billion knock offs or remakes. So I decided against unofficial versions. Space Harrier was an exception 😉
I mean the homebrew ports, which arent pirates or rip offs. Like the Atari 8-Bit version.
Too much blow back from the comments. You see, I don't follow all homebrew so it's easy not know about stuff. If I feature a homebrew for one game but not another I will get a mountain of comments point that out. Something I can do without really.
The music from this game was even used on the splash screen on some Japanese Master System units.
Yep, I have Japanese Master System that has that splash screen. It's in FM too.
I really, really like the PC-6001chiptunes.
21:53 That scream made me laugh so hard.
lol, It's a real terror isn't it.
Brilliant! Must have taken ages to compile this video!!! Those old NEC PC versions look like they were lacking enough RAM or something - I cannot believe they would ship those games with just giant blocks? Maybe the emulation there is the cause of the problem?
Thanks. This episode took about 15 hours just go record all the footage, wow!
Surprisingly the Japanese PC versions are actually like that with the block graphics. Those machines really weren't made with gaming in mind so there was next to no ram for bitmap graphics. Still, the games play well despite the primitive look.
Amazing video I used to love this game on my Atari ST I may buy this for my 3DS as it looks really fun amazing video keep up the good work
Yes you really can't go wrong with the 3DS version. It's fantastic.
An improved version of the Space Harrier level 1 BGM is embedded into the hardware of the Japanese version of the Master System, plays while there is no cartridge.
Yep, I know. I have a Japanese Master System 👍
Imo the PCE version of SH is very good for the time. I even played the Saturn version first and later the PCE version and I was surprised how well it played! Since it was released in 88, it was definitely the best home port at the time!
It's better than Space Harrier 2 on the Mega Drive. That's a really poor sequel.
The home brew atari version is mighty impressive for the hardware