This is my attempt at a piano solo rendition of the main theme from the 1985 arcade game "Space Harrier," made by SEGA. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but technical and memory restrictions resulted in Sega developer Yu Suzuki redesigning it around a jet-propelled human character in a fantasy setting. The arcade game is controlled by an analog flight stick while the deluxe arcade cabinet is a cockpit-style linear actuator motion simulator cabinet that pitches and rolls during play, for which it is referred as a taikan (体感) or "body sensation" arcade game in Japan.

Critically praised for its innovative graphics, gameplay and motion cabinet, Space Harrier is often ranked among Suzuki's best works. It has made several crossover appearances in other Sega titles, and inspired a number of clones and imitators, while Capcom and PlatinumGames director Hideki Kamiya cited it as an inspiration for him entering the video game industry. Alongside the motorcycle racing game "Hang-On," it was the other in the top two highest-grossing arcade games of 1986 in Japan.

The game takes place in a very surreal world, composed of brightly colored landscapes adorned with checkerboard-style grounds and stationary objects such as trees or stone pillars. At the start of gameplay, players are greeted with a voice sample speaking "Welcome to the Fantasy Zone. Get ready!", in addition to "You're doing great!" with the successful completion of a stage. The title character, simply named Harrier, navigates a continuous series of eighteen distinct stages while utilizing an underarm jet-propelled laser cannon that enables Harrier to simultaneously fly and shoot. The objective is simply to destroy all enemies—who range from prehistoric animals and Chinese dragons to flying robots, airborne geometric objects and alien pods—all while remaining in constant motion in order to dodge projectiles and immovable ground obstacles.

There are 18 total stages in the game, and 15 of them have a boss that has to be dealt with at the end of the stage. The last stage is a final battle against seven of the bosses, each of which are then identified by name at the bottom of the screen. The other two stages are bonus levels where Harrier comes across and mounts an invincible white catlike dragon named Uriah, whom the player maneuvers to smash through obstacles and collect bonus points.

The Master System version of the game gives the game a storyline, as the arcade game didn't have one. The surreal world is revealed to be known as "Dragon Land," and Uriah was fighting all along to prevent it from total destruction from the forces of evil, with an unseen supervillain known only as "The Evil One" orchestrating the attack in the space year 6226. Upon Harrier's arrival and success of destroying the Evil One's forces, Uriah promises Harrier his undying loyalty and gratitude, and the hero moves on to bigger battles to continue bringing peace and tranquility to this universe.

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This arrangement © me and me alone
Information provided by Wikipedia
Original music composed by Hiroshi Kamaguchi
Space Harrier © SEGA

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Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTZm_Hj0TU
Full game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEWGnj12GO4