PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER/DEVELOPER: Sega
GENRE: Driving
RELEASE DATE: 06/30/87 – (JP), 10/1987 – (US, EU)
ALSO AVAILABLE ON: Genesis (1991), Game Gear (1991)
OutRun is the quintessential racing game for the 1980s. Top-down Testarossa blazing across the highway with a reckless indifference towards speed limits. Gorgeous blond-haired woman keeping you company in the passenger seat. The sleekest summer jams blasting out of the car’s every orifice – and if it wasn’t sweet Hiroshi Kawaguchi noise, you know it would be Duran Duran’s “Rio.” Then there’s the blow: no playboy fantasy would exist without it. The driver’s got a mountain underneath the back seat. How do I know? Because when you crash the car – and you will, at some point, crash the beautiful Ferrari – the driver and his gal look fazed, then promptly get back in the car and start racing again. That’s not bravery. That’s white-inspired insanity. That’s every Frankie Goes to Hollywood video mashed-up into one hellacious montage. That’s the ’80s.
Like other Sega “racing” games, OutRun is less about racing other cars than it is about the joy of the drive. Is it possible to be as high as your stock investments while still keeping your Ferrari on the road at insane speeds? Yes! To a point! The game starts you off at the beach before giving you options. A split will appear in the road with one way leading to The Devil’s Canyon and the other way leading to a secluded field with ancient architecture. The Ferrari can handle any type of terrain or exotic backdrop, so the choice is up to you.
It’s the first of many choices you’ll be forced to make since OutRun is built on branching paths. Once you choose your direction, you’ll come across a checkpoint that will give you more time. Fail to hit the checkpoints before your time runs out, and the hedonism is over. There’s over fifteen levels in all, with multiple endings depending on the path you choose. I’m no racing game historian, but given the racing genre’s limited creativity in the mid-80s, multiple ending and branching paths sounds like much-needed progress.
OutRun is yet another Yu Suzuki joint. This is made immediately obvious by the game’s similarities to his previous works, Hang On and Enduro Racer. If you’ve played either of the aforementioned, you know how OutRun controls: Button 2 accelerates, Button 1 brakes, and Up/Down on the D-pad shifts gears between Low and High Gear.
While this is all you need to know in order to control the hottest car of 1986, you also need to be cautious of the game’s poor attempts at three-dimensional depth. In the arcade, OutRun used Sega’s infamous Super Scaler technology to give the roads an added sense of depth. But as I mentioned in my Enduro Racer review, the Master System isn’t able to recreate such superior scaling. This means that, in OutRun, your Ferrari will appear to get jostled in different directions depending on the way the road bends; whereas in the arcade version, the Ferrari would caress the road’s supple nooks and turns through scaling trickery. These jarring movements aren’t game breakers, but they happen enough to be worth mentioning.
Now, of course, the arcade version of OutRun looks better, sounds better, plays better than the Master System port. The game wasn’t the top-selling arcade title of 1986 for no reason, after all. But unlike Space Harrier – a brilliant Super Scaler-run arcade game chopped and screwed to oblivion in the porting process – OutRun‘s vibes of freedom, speed, wealth and recklessness translates well to the Master System. This is due in part to top-notch controls, but also to the simple sprite of the Ferrari with its top-down and two people inside. This classic American image appeals to the basic human desire of wanting to be cooler than you are, which is – let’s face it – what lies at the heart of so many video games in the first place.
When I think of OutRun, I don’t think of a good racing game. I think of the Ferrari and the experience of being the cool, rich kid with the world at your fingertips. Even if Polo Shirt Boy and Trophy Girl have some major self-loathing going on, it doesn’t matter. They have a Ferrari that can speed past whatever blues they carry with them. I say drive on, you caricatures of excess. Drive on!
B
4 replies on “OutRun (Master System, 1987)”
I can remember reading that Yu Suzuki called Out Run a ‘driving’ game not a ‘racing’ game and was at pains to illustrate the difference. Yu you nailed it with Out Run.
Man I just love this game. I personally like this port better than the Genesis port. Everything from the arcade is there. The selectable music, the tracks, the driving. This is Definetly a driving game where you race against the clock and the track and not other racers. Although of course dodgin other cars is part of the challenge. You could just get lost in a trance playing this game. Listening to the music and watching the scenery and the changing day conditions, while your mind focuses on perfecting turns and not crashing. This is one of my Master System A games. I can’t think of another 8-bit racer that plays or looks as good. Did I mention the music in this is just iconic. Japan even got an FM version of the sound.mbut I think I like the PSG a little better.
http://youtu.be/F1HcHYOsaw0
Also here is a good video compare different versions of Magical Sound Shower across versions.
http://youtu.be/Mnk8VGV7Nn0
The only aspect I would have liked to see in this game is more detailed backgrounds and less attempts at Super Scaling. Otherwise, the game is great fun.
Ya of course. I mean it always could be better. I just don’t think your going to get much better in an 8-bit game. This is going to sound strange but I can distinctly remember being impressed that they included the stone arches from the arcade on the 2nd course on left. For some reason I just thought it was really cool. That and the sloping roads with the hills and dips was pretty impressive. Not just flat terrain. A lazy port would have just had a flat course with some turns and a few trees and windmills or something. I should probrably mention that Outrun is one of my favorite arcade racers of all time. Can’t wait for the 3 D port or the arcade on 3DS next month. To me this one goes i to the category where they captured the feel of the arcade. Kind of like Sega Rally on the Saturn. To me this was the first really great Sega racing game released on a home console. A lot more would follow. I guess Monaco GP was OK but I never really played the SG-1000 port. Hang -On was just OK. Wait till you get to 3D Outrun. That game was terrible. The Genesis Outruns were just average IMO as well. I think the Saturn Outrun ended up being the definitive port of this game.