OutRun
From Sega Retro
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| OutRun |
|---|
| System(s): Arcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Game Gear, Genesis, J2ME, MSX, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, TurboGrafx-16, ZX Spectrum |
| Publisher: Sega |
| Developer: Sega AM2 |
| Genre: Driving |
OutRun (アウトラン) is a successful arcade driving game developed by Sega AM2 in 1986. It was designed by Yu Suzuki, and went on to inspire numerous sequels and re-releases. It is one of Sega's most iconic franchises as it was the first arcade game to deliver a sense of speed while making use of Super Scaler technology to create a psuedo-3D look and feel. It also contains multiple routes and multiple endings. Its music, composed by Hiroshi Miyauchi was also extremely popular as well, as each of the three in-game music tracks were much longer and more varied than what other arcade games were offering at the time.
The goal is to simply drive your car to one of the goals without running out of time. 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. There are five possible endings, each with their own closing cinematic.
As well as appearing in Arcades, OutRun was ported to the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Game Gear, Genesis, J2ME, MSX, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, TurboGrafx-16 and ZX Spectrum. Most of the computer ports were handled by U.S. Gold. The Saturn version of the game was only released as a stand alone title in Japan - it was later bundled with Space Harrier and After Burner II to make the western title Sega Ages. It was also released as part of the Sega Ages 5200 PlayStation 2 series in Japan, and the 2004 Sega Arcade Gallery Game Boy Advance compilation. The full game of OutRun has also appeared as an unlockable within OutRun 2 SP and Shenmue II.
By obtaining a kit from Sega, arcade owners were able to "upgrade" OutRun into Turbo OutRun, released in 1989.