A. Folks! I still want to know if you think that one song from Bonanza Bros. is reminiscent of Space Harrier.
In both the Master System and Megadrive versions, the player shots are aimed toward a vanishing point in the centre of the screen. But when you look at the arcade version, when you position the Harrier at the top corner, his shots should actually shoot forward and then outwards in an arc - this is replicated in the PC Engine version, although the shots seem to veer to the left straight away rather then the wider arc of the arcade.
B. That's very interesting. Since you are constantly moving in Space Harrier, I never noticed any differences with the weapons. Stand still? Never!
C. As for Monster Lair: the PCE version is the best, hands down, though I do love some of the arcade tunes and feel that they hold up well, even to the Red Book awesomeness. The shoot-em-up stage, leading up to the bosses, sounds great in the arcade version, for example
The MD version has HORRIBLY LAME sound effects, from what I remember, and it really degrades the experience. The SFX are constantly used in a game like Monster Lair, since you grab new weapons and fruit every millisecond (literally). The constant barrage of poor SFX becomes irritating rather quickly. If the MD had the option to turn them off, I would.
Sorry for my rant, but Monster Lair is one of my all-time favorite games.
Which reminds me, I gotta finish a project that's been sitting stagnant for the past month.