Fly through dark caves and over scorched rock as you head beneath the surface of a doomed world!

If you've played Space Harrier, you know exactly what you're getting in to. If not, the game is easy enough to pick up: you fly around, shoot the monsters, and dodge the pillars of things that smash into you. There are three stages, the entire game is a short trip around 5 or so minutes.

This year at GDC I was fortunate enough to hear a talk given by Yu Suzuki, legendary developer of arcade history and the world's most perfect cat-raising simulator, Shenmue. Space Harrier was an arcade game in 1985, and is one of my earliest arcade memories. The game's action grabbed me when I was younger, and as I looked back on it in recent years, the strange setting and vivid colors grabbed me as well. It's a weird world full of strange names, odd creatures, and the loosest hints of cohesion. Arcade games aren't really gripping story tellers, yet one can't help but imagine the goings on in the buildings, towers, temples and cities on the game's horizons.

Space Harrier would fuel my youthful coding sessions at an Apple IIgs: completely unable to replicate 5% of the arcade game, but the simple, childish works I did create were exciting to me. I make games for a living and my early arcade experiences are a big part of that.

The game has no music, and I admit only loosely fits the theme. Other than that, I hope you enjoy your adventure and I'd love to hear what you think of the game.