Space Harrier was originally an arcade game released in 1985. It had a port to the Master System and Turbografx 16, but when the Genesis came out it added a lot more processing power to games. Enabling them to create more realistic games. Sega released Space Harrier 2 as a Genesis exclusive and the original Japanese pack in with the Genesis. The Genesis was not very strong when it came to 3D graphics, however the Genesis's capability to have fast action compensated for the some what choppy frame rate. There were a whole new selection of levels but not nearly as much as the original Space Harrier.
GAMEPLAY B+: The fast action of the Space Harrier games never gets old. The lousy auto fire only fires 5 bullets at a time when you need to be shooting the whole time! So you will end up tapping a button on the controller or keyboard while dodging enemies that move at incredible speed.
STORY B-: The story is a decent size. Harrier is called once again to save Fantasy Land from a hoard of evil creatures. This time it is at a different sector far away from Harriers ship. So he teleports to the place that is in danger and he fights evil enemies and the main target at the end of the game is Dark Harrier which is a evil version of Harrier.
GRAPHICS A: I could not help rating this category an A rank because the Genesis never had the 3D graphics power that the SNES had. This game makes you think differently. It is fast which shows the "blast processing" power of the Genesis. The graphics are also smooth and good looking and that surprises me for the game being one of the first games on the Genesis.
SOUND C+: The sound is not the greatest but when Harrier says "get ready" it sounds pretty clear and not scratchy like a lot of Genesis games. The music is pretty good, some of the songs are not the best, but all in all I think the sound is okay.
ADDICTIVENESS C- : Not the most addicting game I played but it is addicting until you beat the game. There are not nearly as many levels as the original Space Harrier which means that you will beat the game and then stop playing it for a while until it has been months. There's no special stuff you can earn while on the game, so it provides little satisfaction to beat the game. Even a ranking list would be nice at the end of the end so you can try to get the highest rank. Once you beat the game you will start to enjoy high score contests more, once you get a high score it goes on the high score board. Sadly it does not save but that's okay because many Sega Genesis games did not have a save mechanism.
DEPTH B+: Despite the fewer levels then the previous game. The game is still creative and has plenty of variety in the stage designs. There is a "secret" options screen. Does it have to be secret I mean seriously! Why can't the options menu be on the freaken' title screen!! Anyway once you do find out about how to get to this secret options screen. You will have settings for, controls, difficulty, and a sound test.
DIFFICULTY MEDIUM HARD: The game is fairly difficult, in fact like most games that have a challenge. They will force you to push F2 and F4 a million times, but if you were to play this on a Genesis I would think it would be easier because of the way the D pad is on the controller. It is nice that you can switch the difficulty, but didn't I mention that was in the dang secret options menu!
OVERALL RATING B or 8.0
PLUSES
Fun and exciting gameplay.
Good graphics for the time and system.
Creative art on the levels.
Minuses
You have to find the freak'en options menu with some combination before the title screen pops up!
Might hurt your fingers if you play it on a Sega Genesis.
Space Harrier was originally an arcade game released in 1985. It had a port to the Master System and Turbografx 16, but when the Genesis came out it added a lot more processing power to games. Enabling them to create more realistic games. Sega released Space Harrier 2 as a Genesis exclusive and the original Japanese pack in with the Genesis. The Genesis was not very strong when it came to 3D graphics, however the Genesis's capability to have fast action compensated for the some what choppy frame rate. There were a whole new selection of levels but not nearly as much as the original Space Harrier.
GAMEPLAY B+: The fast action of the Space Harrier games never gets old. The lousy auto fire only fires 5 bullets at a time when you need to be shooting the whole time! So you will end up tapping a button on the controller or keyboard while dodging enemies that move at incredible speed.
STORY B-: The story is a decent size. Harrier is called once again to save Fantasy Land from a hoard of evil creatures. This time it is at a different sector far away from Harriers ship. So he teleports to the place that is in danger and he fights evil enemies and the main target at the end of the game is Dark Harrier which is a evil version of Harrier.
GRAPHICS A: I could not help rating this category an A rank because the Genesis never had the 3D graphics power that the SNES had. This game makes you think differently. It is fast which shows the "blast processing" power of the Genesis. The graphics are also smooth and good looking and that surprises me for the game being one of the first games on the Genesis.
SOUND C+: The sound is not the greatest but when Harrier says "get ready" it sounds pretty clear and not scratchy like a lot of Genesis games. The music is pretty good, some of the songs are not the best, but all in all I think the sound is okay.
ADDICTIVENESS C- : Not the most addicting game I played but it is addicting until you beat the game. There are not nearly as many levels as the original Space Harrier which means that you will beat the game and then stop playing it for a while until it has been months. There's no special stuff you can earn while on the game, so it provides little satisfaction to beat the game. Even a ranking list would be nice at the end of the end so you can try to get the highest rank. Once you beat the game you will start to enjoy high score contests more, once you get a high score it goes on the high score board. Sadly it does not save but that's okay because many Sega Genesis games did not have a save mechanism.
DEPTH B+: Despite the fewer levels then the previous game. The game is still creative and has plenty of variety in the stage designs. There is a "secret" options screen. Does it have to be secret I mean seriously! Why can't the options menu be on the freaken' title screen!! Anyway once you do find out about how to get to this secret options screen. You will have settings for, controls, difficulty, and a sound test.
DIFFICULTY MEDIUM HARD: The game is fairly difficult, in fact like most games that have a challenge. They will force you to push F2 and F4 a million times, but if you were to play this on a Genesis I would think it would be easier because of the way the D pad is on the controller. It is nice that you can switch the difficulty, but didn't I mention that was in the dang secret options menu!
OVERALL RATING B or 8.0
PLUSES
Fun and exciting gameplay.
Good graphics for the time and system.
Creative art on the levels.
Minuses
You have to find the freak'en options menu with some combination before the title screen pops up!
Might hurt your fingers if you play it on a Sega Genesis. 
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