Space Harrier

Space Harrier (スペースハリアー) is a third-person rail shooter game developed by Sega AM2 for arcade in 1985. It spawned several sequels: Space Harrier 3-D (1988), Space Harrier II (1988), and the spin-off Planet Harriers. Space Harrier was ported for several consoles, including the Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear and Sega 32X, and as part of other games like Shenmue and three Sega Ages games.

Gameplay
In Space Harrier you control a blond man named Harrier with a jet-pack/laser cannon fighting powerful enemies such as strange alien creatures and anime-style robots while in "Fantasy Land", a colorful alien world consisting of 18 areas. The player is capable of running along the ground or flying in the air in multiple directions. Your only in-game attack is firing the laser cannon, which can be used to destroy rocks, trees, and certain enemies for bonus points. Other obstacles such as pillars and metal geodesic dome-like enemies cannot be shot down and will deflect your shots. Upon getting hit you will be knocked to the ground and you will lose a life (hitting bushes simply causes you to trip), if you lose all your extra lives the game will end.

At the end of each stage is a boss, and after defeating said boss you advance to the next stage. Stages 5 and 12 are "bonus stages" where you ride on the back of the friendly cat dragon Uriah and crash into as many obstacles as you can to increase your score, and at the end of the bonus stage you will also receive 50,000 points for every obstacle you hit. You receive a free man at 5,000,000 or 7,000,000 points (depending on the game's settings) and you can actually increase the number of extra men you start the game with by putting in more credits. On stage 18 you go through a "boss rush" where you fight 8 of the bosses you previously encountered and then the game ends abruptly with a congratulatory message.

Trivia

 * This game series supposedly takes place in the Fantasy Zone universe. A cancelled crossover game called Space Fantasy Zone also existed.