My experiences with Outrun are a bit odd compared to everyone else. I did not play the arcade game at first; my first exposure to the series was actually the Master system port. So when I eventually did see the arcade cabinet my mind was blown. Sega’s Super scaler arcade games still look impressive today and even I knew back then that no system could replicate that at home. Even with that in mind I still looked at the Genesis port with interest. Tempered interest of course; that Galaxy Force 2 port was no bueno. But I had nothing to fear as Sega have done an excellent capturing what makes Outrun great.
The first thing you need to understand is that Outrun is not a racing game in the traditional sense. This is more of a driving game, which is in line with creator Yu Suzuki’s intent. Cruising the countryside in a Ferrari Testarossa reminds me of Rad Racer in many ways. The deluxe cabinet took it a step further, replicating the car interior complete with force feedback. I consider myself fortunate to have played it a few times back in the day. Outrun was ported to every format under the sun and in varying quality. For its time Sega’s Genesis version was the best money could buy. While it is a bit redundant now it is still one of the better racing games for the system.
Outrun works differently from most racing games. The object isn’t to come first. Your goal is simply to reach one of five end goals before time runs out. There are no set courses; instead the game has one large map with many branching paths. You have a choice before each path and checkpoint and they loosely correspond to easy, normal or hard difficulty. When you break it down there are fifteen “tracks” with each individual run consisting of five checkpoints. This setup gives the game a huge amount of replay value as very few runs are ever the same. While the paths vary in terms of difficulty there are also six difficulty levels to further tailor the experience.
What makes Outrun great outside of its visual prowess is its excellent track design. I largely credit Outrun for making me better at racing games. Before this I was the type to keep my finger on the acceleration at all times, braking be damned. Naturally I had little success. But watching others play in the arcade and how they both lightly tapped the acceleration and more importantly shifted gears taught me better. Outrun’s twisting turns and variable traffic require skill to navigate. Unlike most racing games there are usually five lanes of traffic. While it is freeing it doesn’t make the game any less intense. Depending on the route chosen it varies and narrows at the drop of a dime. The late game becomes so intense that even one crash or peel out spells failure. While soul crushing each run is so short it makes trying again quick and fun.
Let’s get this out of the way now: the Genesis version of Outrun does not look as good as the arcade. The super scaler technology allowed for an insane amount of trackside detail unlike anything else on the market. The Genesis edition manages to capture the look and feel somewhat but lags behind considerably. Against all odds they have recreated the scaling sprites in software but it is incredibly choppy. Not as bad as Super Thunder Blade thankfully but noticeable. While the overall detail has been cut back the game otherwise looks great. All of the hills, peaks, and crazy turns have been brought over faithfully. Outrun with its fifteen courses had a tremendous amount of visual variety, from the Swiss Alps, sunny beaches, and even Stonehedge. Judge on its own merits it looks great considering the gap in hardware.
Possibly more impressive than the graphics is the soundtrack. Outrun has a legendary soundtrack which is surprising as it consists of only a few songs. However each is fantastic. The three Latin influenced tracks (Passing Breeze, Splash Wave, and Magical Sound Shower) have been recreated using the system’s FM synth and sound great. There is also an exclusive song (Step on Beat) fits in with the other tracks perfectly as well. The only downside to the sound production are the sound effects disappearing at times.
In Closing
Given the task at hand Sega and developer Hertz have done an amazing job bringing Outrun home. There are numerous arcade perfect ports available now but that does not diminish the quality of this conversion. Outrun is one of the best racing games for the system and still worth a look.
