I’m not a stickler for emulation. Scaling, filtering, pixel counts or whatever doesn’t mean much to me. As long as it runs reasonably well, I’m good. So if I’m disappointed in the emulation of a title, it must be pretty bad.
The arcade version of Space Harrier in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection is mechanically sound. If you want to see the whole game without worrying about lives, it’s one of the better versions since you can load save states at any point. It’s a fine representation of the original… as long as you mute the audio.
All the music and voice samples are sped up and off-key. What was one of my favorite video game tracks is completely destroyed in a butchered mess sound. In some ways, it doesn’t even seem like the original song.
“Welcome to the Fantasy Zone, Get Ready!” is a line that matches the excitement and pace of the gameplay. From the second you press start, you’re running and flying forward non-stop. But in this version, the voice sample is comically high pitched.
Admittedly, I’ve never played on the original arcade hardware. I learned about Space Harrier through the in-game cabinet found in the Shenmue series. That version seems perfectly fine, but maybe someone out there can point out one problem or another.
If you don’t mind playing on a portable, the 3DS version of Space Harrier is fantastic.
(Header Image Source: TCRF)
