OutRun/Hidden content

Back to: OutRun.

Arcade version

Hidden message (rev. A)

Hold  START  while crossing a checkpoint. A hidden message from the development team will appear, crediting Yu Suzuki and providing the date the game was completed. Once displayed, the egg is deactivated until the cabinet is powered off and on.

Hidden message (rev. B)

Complete a game which earns an entry on the high score table, enter the name YU. (including the period), and begin another game. When crossing the checkpoint from Stage 2 to Stage 3, hold  START . A hidden message from the development team will appear, crediting Yu Suzuki and providing the date the game was completed. Entering the name a second time deactivates the egg. Once displayed, the egg is deactivated until the cabinet is powered off and on.

Bored flag waver

Wait on the starting line for about 15 seconds after the lights go green, and the man waving the flag will eventually stop and look away from the driver in disgust (after a few encouraging "move" animations.)

Unused palette error message

A message to the game's programmer Satoshi Mifune was intended to appear if RAM address 00126100 (the palette index used for enemy objects) is set to a value higher than 3B. However, the code has been dummied out, leaving this text unable to be displayed whatsoever. It is assumed this message was left by Yu Suzuki. A similar message appears in Space Harrier (the game which OutRun was built on), where it is properly used.

Unused lap timer

The game stores the time taken to complete each lap (stage), but otherwise does nothing with the information. However, there exists an unused routine to draw previous lap times directly under the player's current lap time. When enabled, the previous lap times are displayed without apostrophes, indicating this feature was cut at an early stage in development.

Unused traffic direction

The game contains unused code for reversing the direction of traffic, which features vehicles traveling against the driving direction of the player. However, as the game lacks any front-facing graphics for vehicles, all traffic will appear to be reversing towards the player at an extremely fast speed.

Unused Space Harrier sound effect

OutRun contains a leftover from the earlier game Space Harrier, namely the speech sample "You're doing great!" This sound effect is present in OutRun's sound test as Voice 4, and can be played like other sound effects, but nothing will be heard as it is stored at 4000Hz (as opposed to the 8000Hz used by OutRun.)

Unused Coconut Beach debug track

Found in all versions of OutRun is an early version of the first stage's track Coconut Beach (left). While mostly similar to the final version (right), the track features a sharp right turn for its first major change in direction. More notably, there are numerous types of roadside signs and some debris placed throughout the track, indicating it was used to test the display of different types of roadside graphics before eventually being replaced by the final Coconut Beach.

Mega Drive version

Bored flag waver

Like the arcade version, wait on the starting line for too long and the flag waver will get bored. He's less patient in the Mega Drive version, giving up just after 13 seconds.

Hyper difficulty

On the main menu screen, press (10)  START . The game will load up the options screen with a new extra hard difficulty available - "Hyper".

Hyper options

On the main menu screen, press (11) (3) (8)  START . This will load up "hyper options", with an added stage and mode select. This also unlocks hyper difficulty as listed above.

The "mode" option works similarly to a bit field, in that while there are 16 "modes", there are only four unique settings: a "no collision" mode (1), a mode that lets you keep playing after the timer runs out (2), a mode which shows debugging values on-screen (4), and a fourth mode whose purpose is unknown (8).

Mode	No collision	Ignore timer	Debug HUD	Unknown
00	No	No	No	No
01	Yes	No	No	No
02	No	Yes	No	No
03	Yes	Yes	No	No
04	No	No	Yes	No
05	Yes	No	Yes	No
06	No	Yes	Yes	No
07	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
08	No	No	No	Yes
09	Yes	No	No	Yes
10	No	Yes	No	Yes
11	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
12	No	No	Yes	Yes
13	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
14	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
15	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Hidden ending screen

At the CONGRATULATIONS! screen shown during the game's ending, wait about 10-15 seconds and press once, twice, and seven times in any order. This works with any region's ROM, but requires the internal system region be set to Japanese.

Show credits and ending

When entering a high score name, input ENDING. After pressing  START , the credits will roll and the full ending (normally achieved by reaching all five destinations) will play immediately.

Master System version

Music test

On the radio select screen, press , then select a station and press to hear it play.

Start with less time

Enable the music test above, then press . At this point, + or + will put 75 seconds on the clock, while + will set it to 70. It usually starts at 80 seconds.

Bored flag waver

Like the arcade version, wait on the starting line for too long and the flag waver will get bored. Again it takes about 15 seconds.

Game Gear version

Infinite time and no collision

On the title screen, press HOLD ++ START . There should be a noise if the code is successful.

Now the timer will always be at 00, and you can pass through cars and obstacles without crashing.