- Back to: OutRunners.
Version comparisons
Title screen
Car select
When selecting a car in the arcades, the user can always see each of the eight vehicles, as they're arranged in a circle. On the Mega Drive, they're arranged in a line, and are only shown one at a time. In single player mode, you are forced to watch the computer select a random car on the Mega Drive (that is to say, despite simulating a twin-style arcade cabinet, the second screen cannot be left in attract mode).
Start
Given that the Mega Drive was forced to scale back the scenery in its original port of OutRun, it should come as no surprise that the same happens in the more graphically demanding OutRunners. In fact, virtually all of the scenery is missing in this "pre-stage" section, save for the crowd stands and a much smaller green balloon.
Localisation comparisons
System 32 version
The US version has both a "Winners Don't Use Drugs" and "Recycle It, Don't Trash It!" screens. As OutRunners was only ever sold as a two-screen game, each message can appear on a different screen simultaneously.
Mega Drive version
Sonic and Tails, piloting two Tornados, create the Sega logo in the Japanese version, while the US uses a relatively standard fade-in. The Japanese version also lacks a ™ symbol next to the Sega logo.
Data East are rightly credited for publishing the US version of the game. In Japan, the Sega logo splits in two for each half of the screen.
In the Japanese release, Sonic and Tails make cameo appearances on roadside billboards. Data East removed it from their American release.
References
