For non-MSX2 home computer versions, see OutRun (home computers)

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OutRun
Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega AM2 Hertz, T's Music NEC Avenue, Pony Canyon System(s): Sega OutRun hardware, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, MSX2, TurboGrafx-16 ROM Size: 2.5MB,[1] 1MB, 256kB, 128kB Genre: Racing Release Date RRP Code JP 1986-09 ¥?  ? US 19xx $?  ? UK 19xx £?  ? JP 1991-08-09 ¥7,000 G-4052 US 1991 $?  ? EU 1991-10 £39.99  ? AU 199x $?  ? BR 199x R$?  ? JP 1987-06-30 ¥5,500 G-1326 US 1987 $? 7003 EU 1987-10 £24.95 [2]Media:ACE UK 16.pdf MK-7003-50 BR 19xx $? 024240 KR 19xx ₩? GB-2326 JP 1991-08-09 ¥3,500 G-3213 JP (Meisaku) 1993-07-23 ¥? G-3222 EU 1991-11 £24.99 [3]Media:ACE UK 52.pdf 2310 BR 199x $? 013460 KR 199x ₩?  ? JP 1988-10 ¥6,800 R68Y5814 Tectoy

OutRun (アウトラン) is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 in 1986 for specially designed hardware. It was designed by Yu Suzuki, and is often considered a milestone in the driving/racing genre, being ported to numerous home platforms and inspiring several sequels. Rather than be classed as a "racing game", Yu Suzuki classifies OutRun as a "driving game".

OutRun was a pioneer in video game graphics, audio and arcade cabinet design, picking up multiple awards during the late 1980s. It was the best selling arcade game of 1986 with over 20,000 cabinets sold worldwide.

Gameplay

The goal of OutRun is to simply drive your sports car to one of the five goals, labeled a to e, without running out of time. A pedal accelerates the car, and a steering wheel moves it left and right on the road. Due to limitations in the technology, it is impossible to fully turn the car around, nor is it possible to reverse.

Crashing into either other cars or scenery does not cause the player to lose lives, just time. After an area is cleared, checkpoints will allow the player to increase their time, and there will also be the option to select the next area through the form of a fork in the road. From a technical standpoint, every area is exactly the same length, though twists and turns can alter the amount of time needed to complete them. There are five possible endings, each with their own closing cinematic.

The car has two gears, high and low. When in the high gear, the car becomes harder to control, however the top speed of the vehicle is increased. To be successful in OutRun the player needs to switch between gears at the appropriate moments, e.g. switching to the lower gear while negotiating tricky roads, or if the player has just crashed.

The number of lanes of traffic also differs between stages. Although there is never a situation in OutRun where the cars travel in the opposite direction to yourself, the introductory level for example has six lanes of traffic.

Regional Differences

The names of the stages differ between the Japanese and overseas releases of the games:

Japanese Layout

Stage Number					Goal name
1	2	3	4	5
				Vineyard	A
			Wilderness
		Desert		Death Valley	B
	Wheat Field		Old Capital
Coconut Beach		Alps		Desolation Hill	C
	Cloudy Mountain		Gateway
		Devil's Canyon		Autobahn	D
			Seaside Town
				Lakeside	E

Overseas Layout

Stage Number					Goal name
1	2	3	4	5
				Vineyard	A
			Wilderness
		Desert		Death Valley	B
	Gateway		Old Capital
Coconut Beach		Alps		Desolation Hill	C
	Devil's Canyon		Wheat Field
		Cloudy Mountain		Autobahn	D
			Seaside Town
				Lakeside	E

Coconut beach was later used as a stage in Sega Superstars Tennis.

Easter Eggs

• The arcade version of OutRun contains one known Easter egg. It is accessed in different ways depending on which revision of the hardware is used. With revision A, holding down just before a checkpoint will display the message "PROGRAM YU SUZUKI 1986 SEP" will appear on screen. In revision B, the user is required to obtain a high score under the name "YU." first, then perform this code during the stage 2-3 transition. In revision B, the code can only be activated once, and if two instances of "YU." are recorded in the high score screen, the code will fail.

• The Mega Drive version adds a fourth BGM track to choose during gameplay called Step on Beat, which shares the same frequency as Splash Wave (80.3). This is notably more concealed than the additional tracks made for the previously released OutRun 3D, wherein one is given an entirely new frequency between two preexisting ones.

History

Development

OutRun was designed by Yu Suzuki, and for the most part stands as the logical progression from the earlier Hang-On (and to a lesser extent, Space Harrier). All three make use of Super Scaler technology in an attempt to deliver a sense of speed and deliver a pseudo-3D look and feel. It is said Suzuki got the idea for producing OutRun from the 1981 film The Cannonball Run.

Initially the plan had been to follow the course of The Cannonball Run, however Suzuki noted that the course lacked the variation in scenery he had hoped for. Instead, the attention turned to Europe, but in order to get a clearer vision of its scenery, Suzuki decided to travel and collect data first hand.

“	I started out from Frankfurt, where I hired a rent a car, and I installed a video camera on the car. I drove around Monaco and Monte Carlo, along the mountain roads of Switzerland, stopping in hotels in Milan, Venice, and Rome, collecting data for a fortnight.	„
—Yu Suzuki

Interestingly the first sequel to OutRun, Turbo OutRun would span North America, though Europe would be explored in more detail in another sequel OutRun Europa.

Yu Suzuki is noted for being a fan of Ferrari supercars, and although OutRun is not officially licensed by Ferrari, the player's car looks strikingly similar to a Ferrari Testarossa, right down to the rear badge. Suzuki first encountered this car in Monaco, and decided it was the perfect choice for the game. Unfortunately at the time the car was not common in Japan, which presented difficulties when it came to road testing. Allegedly five members of Sega AM2 squeezed into a privately owned model for a three hour road test during development. They also took photos and recorded the sound of the car's engine.

The Ferrari Testarossa in game attempts to simulate the real-life features of the car, e.g. horespower, torque, tires, gears etc. Suzuki designed OutRun in a very different way to previous racing games - in OutRun, good real-life drivers are rewarded for their skills in game, and bumping into other vehicles does not cause the car to explode (unlike many other older racers).

Sega did not consult Ferrari over the inclusion of the Testarossa in game, and would later meet in court several times over the matter. It is assumed a deal was reached as the car has never been modified for any future releases, and in fact, Ferrari have gone as far officially sponsor several racing games, starting with F355 Challenge (also designed by Yu Suzuki) and OutRun 2 and its derivatives. Other cars on the road appear to be a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1971 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1985 Porsche 911, a 1985 BMW 325i Cabriolet E30 and a generic truck.

The music of OutRun was composed by famed Sega musician, Hiroshi Miyauchi, and was extremely popular. Each of the three in-game music tracks were much longer and more varied than what other arcade games were offering at the time, and unlike every other racing game on the market, OutRun allowed the user to pick a music track to race with. Originally the soundtrack was to consist of eight different rock tracks running at 150 beats per minute, though hardware restrictions forced this idea to be scrapped.

Suzuki claims he was only able to achieve half of his original goal in OutRun. Originally eight different sports cars were planned with differing stats, and cutscenes were due to occur at checkpoints, giving the player a story. Some of these features would be added in later OutRun games.

OutRun came in four distinct styles of arcade cabinet, two upright and two sit-down. Each comes with a steering wheel and stick shift plus acceleration and brake pedals. Though steering wheels had appeared in countless Arcade games previous to Sega's game, OutRun was the first to have force feedback in order to simulate the road surface. The deluxe sit-down cabinet is also equipped with hydraulics which move the seat as the player turns.

The game has been decompiled^[4], with the process revealing several interesting facts about the game. Unused code allows traffic to move towards the camera, and an unused "You're Doing Great" sample from Space Harrier exists. The game is also capable of showing "lap times" (the time taken to complete an area - OutRun has no concept of "real" laps). Much of the code from the game would be recycled for games such as Super Hang-On.

Two revisions of the game are known to exist - the latter adding some extra text to the music selection screen and adjusting the first area slightly. Depending on version or region, the track layout can also differ.

Reception

See Physical Scans section for review scores

The arcade game was particularly popular in Japan^[5] and the United Kingdom.^[6] In July 1987, it remained at the top of Computer and Video Games's UK coin-op charts, based on its performance at a London West End arcade.^[7] It also remained at the top of Sinclair User's UK coin-op chart, as of July 1987. [8] Several years since its release, Out Run was still appearing on Famicom Tsūshin's Japanese arcade charts in 1989, at number-eleven in August 1989 and number-five in September 1989,^[9] before eventually dropping from the top fifteen in October 1989.^[10]

Following its European debut at the Preview '87 show in September 1986, [11] Clare Edgeley reviewed the game in the January 1987 issue of Computer and Video Games, where she gave it a positive review, stating that "the low viewpoint of the road" and "swaying motions of the car" make it "a very exciting game to play" and the "different routes" are a "really good idea" that gives it "far more variety and should keep you playing longer." She compared it to Konami's rival WEC Le Mans, giving Le Mans "the edge" for "movement" but noted that "many seem to prefer Out Run."^[12] At the ATEI (Amusement Trades Exhibition International) show in January 1987, both Out Run and WEC Le Mans "stole the January show" according to Computer and Video Games. [13] Commodore User reviewed the arcade game in its March 1987 issue, describing it as "a great game for driving enthusiasts" and giving it a score of 9 out of 10.^[14]

In Japan, the Gamest Awards gave Out Run a prize for best "flashy" graphics of 1986.^{[The Best Game 2: Gamest Mook Vol. 112, p. 6-26]}

Legacy

OutRun was a big success in arcades, so it was inevitable that ports would be made to home platforms. At the time, these systems were seen to be vastly inferior to the hardware powering OutRun, and numerous cuts were made.

Pony Canyon handled an MSX2 conversion which only saw release in Japan. There is also TurboGrafx-16 port, handled by NEC Interchannel. An X68000 port by Hertz was planned, but cancelled, according to an interview with a former staffer.

Sega were also quick to port the game to their own systems. Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear ports were handled in-house by Sega, as was a Sega Mega Drive version, seen for a while to be the best home port of OutRun.

A Sega Saturn version of the game was only released as a stand alone title in Japan as part of their Sega Ages series. It was later bundled with Space Harrier and After Burner II to make the western title Sega Ages: Volume 1. Since then, the majority of home ports of the game have been almost identical to their original arcade counterpart, with the exception of mobile phone versions and the version included in the 2004 Sega Arcade Gallery Game Boy Advance compilation (whose resolution was changed to fit the console's smaller screen).

OutRun was also released as part of the Sega Ages 2500 PlayStation 2 series in Japan, and is fully playable within Shenmue and Shenmue II. The Shenmue versions alter the player's car so that it looks less like a Testarossa, as does the one version included in Yu Suzuki Game Works Vol. 1. OutRun is also unlockable within the Xbox port of OutRun 2 SP.

The game saw many sequels, however the "true" sequel comes in the form of Turbo OutRun, a 1989 arcade release also by Sega AM2. By obtaining a kit from Sega, arcade owners were able to "upgrade" OutRun into Turbo OutRun, as the two games run on identical hardware. Turbo OutRun offers several new graphical features and a turbo button.

Production Credits

Mega Drive Version

Program: Y.Koba
Graphic: T.Yano, Meiden, B.T.S
Total Coordinator: K.Maz
Sound: T's Music
Special Thanks: Nino Gyofuku, Akkey Kato

Gallery

• 

  Standard cabinet

• 

  Deluxe cabinet

• 

  Upright cabinet

• 

  CPU board (top)|Arcade CPU PCB (top)

• 

  Arcade CPU PCB (bottom)

• 

  Arcade Video PCB (top)

• 

  Arcade Video PCB (bottom)

Hints

• 

  SMS US Hints

Promotional Material

• 

  Arcade US flyer

• 

  Arcade EU flyer

• 

  Arcade EU flyer (mini)

• 

  Arcade JP flyer

• 

  Arcade JP flyer (alt)

• 

  MSX2 JP flyer

• 

  Game Gear ES print advert

Physical Scans

Arcade Version

	90	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 1 review
Publication Score Source Commodore User 90 №42, p107

Arcade, US

Arcade, EU

Arcade, EU (mini)

Arcade, JP

Arcade, JP (alt)

Master System Version

	80	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 13 reviews
Publication Score Source ACE 85 №2, p58/59Media:ACE UK 02.pdf Complete Guide to Consoles 80 №1, p63 Complete Guide to Consoles 80 №4, p102 Computer & Video Games 90 №72, p98/99 Dragon 90 №137, p88–93 The Games Machine (Italy) 85 The Games Machine (UK) 72 №3, p60/61 Génération 4 82 №2, p43 Mean Machines Sega 80 №1, p129/131Media:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf Sega-16 90 Sega-16 Sega Power 60 №23, p58 Sega Pro 64 №5, p20Media:Segapro UK 05.pdf Tilt 85 №49, p98

Master System, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, US (newer)
Cover
Cart

Master System, EU
Cover

Master System, EU "no limits" variant
Cover

Master System, EU ® variant
Cover

Master System, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, AU
Cart

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, BR (newer)
Cover

Master System, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive Version

	72	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 20 reviews
Publication Score Source Consoles + 76 №1, p60/61 Weekly Famitsu 75 Games-X 70 №19 Hobby Consolas 92 Joypad 90 №1, p40-41Media:Joypad FR 01.pdf Joystick 90 №20, p166 Mega Drive Advanced Gaming 24 №5, p93 Mega 57 №9, p21 Mega 45 №21, p65 MegaTech 58 №1, p79Media:Megatech UK 01.pdf MegaTech 69 №20, p113 Mean Machines 69 №13, p64/65Media:MeanMachines UK 13.pdf Mean Machines Sega 69 №1, p126/127Media:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf Player One 75 №14, p56/57 Sega-16 90 Sega-16 Sega Power 49 №24, p37 Sega Pro 80 №18, p66 Sega Force (UK) 83 №3, p68/69Media:SegaForce03UK.pdf Svenska Hemdatornytt 85 №10, p33/72 The Video Game Critic 100 The Video Game Critic

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear Version

	67	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 11 reviews
Publication Score Source ACE 40 №52, p104Media:ACE UK 52.pdf Consoles + 88 №2, p131 Computer & Video Games 75 №120, pGo!11 Games-X 60 №19 Game Zone 30 №1, p52 Hobby Consolas 86 Joystick 79 №20, p134 Mean Machines Sega 64 №1, p131Media:MeanMachinesSega01UK.pdf Power Play 64 Sega Power 79 №27, p52 Sega Pro 77 №1, p40Media:Segapro UK 01.pdf

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart

Game Gear, JP
Cover

Game Gear, JP (Meisaku Collection)
Cover

Game Gear, BR

Game Gear, KR
Cart

MSX2 Version

MSX, JP (cartridge)
Cover

PC Engine Version

	76	Sega Retro Average
		Based on 2 reviews
Publication Score Source Joystick 89 №13, p127 Video Games (DE) 62

PC Engine, JP
Cover
Card Manual