Planet Harriers impressions

[Click_Stick]

What a pleasant, pleasant surprise, to say the least...

Imagine my suprise to see a shiny new PH cab in Northern NJ, of all places... in the on-again, off-again Fun 'N Games in Willowbrook Mall.

The cab

Anyway, wow. Very impressive, very intense. It was a giant side by side 2P cab with the classic seat and stick setup. The layout consisted of a single joystick with two buttons: the trigger controlled a regular ol' rapid fire, and the top button controlled the vital lock-on attack. To the left of the stick were three buttons: a Yes and a No, and a bomb button.

The game

After inserting three whole quarters, the screen prompted you to select your character. I went for the nurse, of course. She weilded a giant needle. I can't quite recall who my friend chose, but I also recall a character with a guitar. There were two other available characters.

After selecting your characters, the game asks you something... It's a Yes/No question [hence the Yes and No buttons]... It was obviously in Japanese so I had no idea what to choose. I chose Yes.

Anyway, the real game:

Hmmm.. Wow. Gigantic environments. Gorgeous, too. There was certainly enough room to cruise around: you are not confined to simply flying around one tight screen similar to Space Harrier.

The game was completely stuffed with action. I was lost amidst the enemies, gold items, and enemy attacks... It is quite difficult to get ahold of what exactly is going on at first.

The lock-on was certainly more effective than the ordinary shot in these chaotic situations. You can lock on to multiple goons at once similar to Panzer Dragoon... I actually had a hard time distinguishing my ordinay shot from what the hell was going on.... [I had no idea if I was actually hitting anything.]

The game gives you two bombs to dispense as you wish... As you probably already guessed, they're quite effective in clearing up the mess.

The shops! Very cool. As you kill enemies, they leave behind bags of money and gold bars... You can spend this cash on health, bombs, some kind of lock-on upgrade, another heart item [to increase the amount of damage you can take], etc...

Well, I only made it up the the second stage...

The one boss I did witness was gigantic. It was a multiple-headed dragon thing that spit out circular rings of bomb-type attacks... Yea. Something like that. You were required to take out each head before he went down. Fun.

Anyway, damn cool little game. I really want to go back and spend some more time with this one...

Most impressive bit? Probably the environments. They're just so deep and expansive. Very fun.

[sleeve]

Thanks for the impressions, Click_Stick.

It sounds like it has too many buttons and superfluous doohickeys. I would have preferred it if they'd kept to the one-button simplicity of Space Harrier. Yes/No buttons? WTF?

Still, I'd like to play this someday if only because Space Harrier is my favorite game ever.

[Frogacuda]

One of my freinds told me about this cab/arcade, but I can't get a ride and my car died a while ago. I'm getting a Motorcycle next week, so I'll make sure to check it out then.

[Regus]

We had one down here last summer, I wasn't took taken with the game.

[Plasma]

There's an Opa-opa code!!! Seriously!!

[gameoverDude]

My arcades are so lame. How lame are they? They don't have Planet Harriers or other shooting games. This would be a nice break from the played out racer/3D fighting/gun/lameass skateboard cabinet combo at most places.

Click_Stick- Glad you enjoy Planet Harriers. It seems my only hope is for it to hit a home system. That lock-on mechanic reminds me a bit of Rez.

I don't get the deal with the Yes/No buttons myself either. If I get a chance to play the game, I'll hit the Yes.

[epmode]

ooo the willowbrook mall is actually quite close by for me.. i should go take a look.

[NeoZeedeater]

Being a big Space Harrier fan, Planet Harriers was a major letdown for me. It feels like a less exciting, less intense version of Space Harrier mixed with Fighting Vipers-looking characters.

I didn't expect it to be as mindblowing as the original was for its time but I still hoped it would be better. Still, Planet isn't a bad game on its own; at least it brings some variety to the modern arcade scene.

[Click_Stick]

Yea, I really really wish I knew what the Yes/No thing was all about...

Too many buttons? Eh, only three that you really need the use. I wouldn't even count the Yes/No buttons, considering you don't really use them while playing. That is what I'm assuming, anyway.

I really would like to spend more time with this one before I can make a proper opinion... Even now when I think about that measly one credit I spent with it, the game is just a blur.

Let's hope they don't dump it too soon.

[sggg]

Doh.. if I still lived in NJ that would be worth a road trip to check out.