Space Harrier arrived in Europe in an incomplete version for Commodore 64
Space Harrier is an arcade video game that is part of the scrolling shooter genre and was released by SEGA in 1985. The game was converted to various gaming platforms of the time, including the Commodore 64. But the version marketed in Europe was incomplete because the programmer didn't have enough time to complete it and Elite demanded the game to be released by Christmas.
The European version of Space Harrier for the Commodore 64 differed greatly from the US version, in that it lacked the characteristic 3D terrain effect.
The US version, released a few months after the European version, was optimized thanks to the greater time available and the timing of the NTSC system that allows greater speed, and then the 3D effect of the terrain was added.
There are indeed raster lines on the ground to simulate 3D scrolling, the animation of the same main character has been changed and there is finally a resemblance to a real race. In addition, if the player accidentally hits a small bush on the ground he will not die, enemies and objects are more detailed, while the dragons have been completely redesigned and the sound effects of the explosions are also much better than in the Elite version.
It is interesting to note that the Commodore Amiga version also ran into oddities: the game was incomprehensibly published by the Elite divided into two parts: Space Harrier with the first 10 levels of the game, and Space Harrier Return to the Fantasy Zone with the remaining 8 levels and 2 bonuses. It was a really absurd strategy to make people pay twice in order to have the complete game.
