Is crazy to believe that Space Harrier was released in arcade centers four decades ago. Space Harrier was released in 1985 and was one of Sega’s most popular video games during the 80’s along with the Outrun from 1986. Space Harrier was a pseudo 3D third-person shooter that contained eighteen different levels with the difficulty increasing after each stage. Space Harrier was one of those games that was unique because it was unlike any other type of video game that you would see during the mid to late 80’s. It should also be noted that the rail-shooter genre in general was considered to be niche which made its popularity even greater. Space Harrier is one of those games with a basic story and repetitive gameplay. However, despite its repetition Space Harrier was addictive because it was challenging and the visuals at time was unlike anything gamers had seen. Since its Space Harrier not developed a cult following over the past couple of decades while influencing the creation of franchises like Star Fox. The original Star Fox game came out on the SNES during ’93 years after Space Harrier and is often credited for revolutionizing the 3D rail-shooter genre. There are more contemporary gamers who are more familiar with Star Fox opposed to Space Harrier because the franchise sold more on multiple generations of Nintendo consoles. However, Space Harrier is often seen as the game that put the 3D rail-shooter genre on the map.

Space Harrier does not get enough credit for how innovative it was during its time. There has only been five installments within the past four decades and after Space Harrier II from 1988 the series became more irrelevant as time progressed. The Space Harrier series became irrelevant because the landscape of gaming was evolving and rail-shooters started declining significantly in popularity. It should also be noted that in the 90’s Sega began focusing more on the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise which ended up being a far more profitable franchise. Space Harrier was game that stood out before Sega had an official face like Sonic the Hedgehog to represent the company. As a video game Space Harrier appeals more to a niche audience of gamers who grew up in the 80’s-90’s opposed to casuals of this generation. While the nostalgia for another Space Harrier game still exists its unlikely that a reboot would be a profitable investment on Sega’s part since the series has been irrelevant for decades now.