Turbo OutRun

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Turbo OutRun
System(s): Sega OutRun Hardware, Sega Mega Drive, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, FM Towns, ZX Spectrum
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega AM2
Genre: Racing

Turbo OutRun (ターボアウトラン) is a sequel to OutRun released in 1989. It was released as both a stand-alone arcade cabinet and as an upgrade kit to the original OutRun. Turbo OutRun wasn't as popular as the original game, but offered numerous graphical upgrades such as weather and road obstacles which would be included in other OutRun sequels to follow. Like its prequel, the player drives a car which looks suspeciously like Ferrari, however rather than being a Ferrari Testarossa, it is a Ferrari F40.

Gameplay

Turbo OutRun has the player make a journey across the United States of America, from New York to Los Angeles. It is a more linear game than its predecessor, offering no forks in the road and therefore less of an incentive to play the game again after completion.

For the most part, the game is very similar to its predecessor, save for new graphics and music. Turbo OutRun offers several new features however, such as weather effects and obstacles which can slow your journey down. You are also set against a rival oppoenent, driving what appears to be a white Porsche 911 (a nod towards the rivalry between Ferrari and Porsche at that time).

The game is divided into four "sub-goals". Upon reaching a goal, the player is able to upgrade their car. If the oppoent gets to the goal first, the player's girlfriend will sit in the oppoent car in the next race, however if the player gets there first, a 1,000,000 point bonus is given.

The other major addition to Turbo OutRun is the inclusion of a "boost" button, which allows the car to travel faster. If the boost is left on for too long however, the car will overheat, and will be punished with slowdown. It is also the first OutRun game to offer an automatic transmission option.

Re-releases

The game was ported to the Sega Mega Drive in 1992 exclusively in Japan and Europe, and was brought to the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS computers and ZX Spectrum too. Each of these ports suffer from cutbacks as sprite scaling is not supported by these systems.

Physical Scans

Mega Drive Version

Mega Drive, EU
Cover

Mega Drive, JP
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (Sega Gold Collection)
Cover

Amiga Version

Amiga, EU
Cover

Atari ST Version

Atari ST, EU
Disk 1 Disk 2 Disk 3

FM Towns Version

FM Towns, JP
Cover

ZX Spectrum Version

ZX Spectrum, EU
Cover

ZX Spectrum (Erbe re-release), EU
Cover

ZX Spectrum (Kixx re-release), EU
Cover

ZX Spectrum (Disk), EU
Disk