Planet Harriers – Part 3

Here are some pictures of my Naomi running Planet Harriers. 

 

Swapping out the Naomi motherboard for a Hikaru was no problem at all, everything hooked right up perfectly!

The 31KHz monitor is ideal for Planet Harriers, although the game can also be set to 24KHz or 15KHz on the boards test menu.  The custom marquee was produced by Spectre (Arcade Otaku).  I am considering a control panel overlay, but I do like the nice clean look of the powder coated panel.

Planet Harriers – Part 2

It was awesome to be finally able to play Planet Harriers, but the set up wasn’t very practical or wife friendly with it taking over our lounge.  I needed a dedicated Planet Harriers cab!

The plan was to make a custom panel and play the game in a Naomi cabinet.  I picked up a NOS Sanwa analogue JLK-GF2-AT flight stick (same type as used on Planet Harriers cabinet) and a NOS Sega analogue control panel [NAO-2019].  I’d also use my Planet Harriers cabinet control panel loom and buttons, and the analogue stick amplifier PCB.

Fast forward to 2013 and this still remained an unfinished project.  I contacted Craig / Giz10p and he kindly agreed to make the panel. 

No part of the original Planet Harriers control panel loom has been hacked, not a single cable cut, just re-pinned and the connectors changed so that it will plug into a Naomi. 

 

 

The loom uses player 1 digital, player 1 analogue, extra button 15 way connector, and the 4 pin connector that’s normally sat doing nothing in the bottom of the control panel lower (connector with 1 red and 1 red/white wire into a 4 pin connector). 

 

In addition to these a 3 pin loom was made for the extra lamp switching used on the buttons.  This has a 3 pin connector on one end and the correct pins on the other end to clip directly into the digital I/O loom.

A massive thanks to Craig / Giz10p for his superb work on the panel!

Planet Harriers – Part 1

I had been desperate to play Planet Harriers ever since I saw the first screen shots in Edge magazine back in 2000.  Running on Sega’s Hikaru board, the game looked stunning and had that classic bright, happy Sega look.  I loved that it was an update and pseudo sequel to one of Sega’s greatest arcade games, Space Harrier.

 

I had never come across the game in any UK or Japanese arcade.  Almost all Sega dedicated cabs had a UK release, and whenever I visited a new seaside town I’d check out the arcades, hoping to find Planet Harriers.  The rumoured home release for the Dreamcast and then the Gamecube failed to materialise.  My desperation to play it, coupled with the game’s elusiveness gave it a near mythical status!

In 2009 I bought the arcade PCB along with the cabinet control panel and had it shipped from America.  The seller removed the Hikaru board from the metal cage and shipped the items separately. The board is extremely fragile and if left in the cage there is a high chance of damage in transit.  With the help of Giz10p, Arcade Otaku and Shmups forums, I pieced together the Hikaru board, control panel, I/O board and power supply and connected it up to an LCD television.

 

 

It was a massive relief to see the game up and running.  I was finally able to play Planet Harriers!