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*A generic truck.
*A generic truck.


Before every [[checkpoint (video gaming)|checkpoint]] in the game, there is a [[fork in the road]], allowing the player to enter one of two different environments.<ref group="note">A similar branching system had been used once before in the 1983 [[Atari]]/[[Tatsumi]] racer [[TX-1]].</ref>
Before every [[checkpoint (video gaming)|checkpoint]] in the game, there is a [[Fork in the road (metaphor)|fork in the road]], allowing the player to enter one of two different environments.<ref group="note">A similar branching system had been used once before in the 1983 racer ''[[TX-1]]'', developed by [[Tatsumi]] and published by [[Namco]] & [[Atari]].</ref> ''Out Run'' also featured up to five [[multiple endings]] depending on the route taken, and each one was an amusing ending sequence rather than a simple "Congratulations" as was common in game endings at the time.<ref name="HG101-OutRun">{{cite web|author=Brian Gazza|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/outrun/outrun.htm|title=Outrun|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|accessdate=2011-03-17}}</ref> In addition to the [[nonlinear gameplay]], ''Out Run'' also offered the choice of soundtrack to listen to while driving,<ref>{{KLOV game|id=8938}}</ref> represented as radio stations.<ref name="HG101-OutRun"/>


==Graphics==
==Graphics==

Revision as of 00:56, 17 March 2011

Out Run
Arcade flyer for Out Run featuring the in-game map.
Developer(s)Sega AM2
Publisher(s)Sega
Designer(s)Yu Suzuki
Platform(s)Arcade
ReleaseSeptember 1986
Genre(s)Arcade style racing
Mode(s)Single player

Out Run (アウトラン, Auto Ran) (also spelled OutRun and Outrun) is a 1986 arcade game designed by Yu Suzuki and Sega-AM2. The game was a major hit with arcade-goers and is notable for its innovative hardware (including a moving cabinet), pioneering graphics and music, a choice in both soundtrack and route, and its strong theme of luxury and relaxation. In retrospective interviews, Yu Suzuki has classified Out Run not as a racing game, but as a "driving" game.

Description

The player controls a man driving a car with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. The car is popularly believed[citation needed] to be a Ferrari Testarossa convertible (In the PlayStation 2 version the car is similar to a Ferrari Mythos); however, this game did not have an official Ferrari license (unlike its sequel Out Run 2, released 17 years later). Starting at a coastal area, the player-controlled car must pass through four checkpoints within a set time limit.

There are five other types of car encountered on the roads in this game:

Before every checkpoint in the game, there is a fork in the road, allowing the player to enter one of two different environments.[note 1] Out Run also featured up to five multiple endings depending on the route taken, and each one was an amusing ending sequence rather than a simple "Congratulations" as was common in game endings at the time.[1] In addition to the nonlinear gameplay, Out Run also offered the choice of soundtrack to listen to while driving,[2] represented as radio stations.[1]

Graphics

Out Run achieved its 3D effects using a sprite-scaling technique called 'Super-Scaler' technology (first used one year earlier in Hang-On and Space Harrier). This allowed a large number of scaled sprites to be displayed on the screen at the same time. Many previous racing games had stuck to using a bird's eye view (to avoid landscapes looking barren through lack of sprites[clarification needed]), Out Run had great amounts of roadside detail and a "camera" that appeared to travel along the road with the car, passing through the action rather than merely observing it. According to the game's designer, Yu Suzuki, the stages of Out Run are mostly based on European scenery; he had toured Europe in order to gain insight on how to design the game's levels and capture as much realism as possible.[citation needed] The game's backgrounds and roadside objects include old stone buildings, the Alps, windmills, and Stonehenge-like formations.

Technical specifications

The sit-down cabinet version of Out Run

There were a total of four cabinet designs (two upright and two sit-down), all of which were equipped with a steering wheel and stick shift plus acceleration and brake pedals. The steering wheel also featured the first ever use of force feedback in an arcade driving game.[citation needed]

The upright cabinet came in two versions: Normal and Mini. The sit-down cabinets looked like the in-game car and used a drive motor to move the main cabinet — turning and shaking according to the action onscreen, much like Sega's After Burner II. There were two versions of the sit down: the Deluxe featured a 26-inch color monitor and a custom molded seat, while the Standard featured a 20-inch color monitor with a more simplified design.

Music

Out Run was the first video arcade game that allowed the user to choose the background music, a soundtrack of both laid-back beach music (very similar in style and tone to the popular '70s/'80s Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea[original research?]), and some Miami Sound Machine-styled[original research?] Latin/Caribbean beats. Three selectable tracks were featured in all and were broadcast through imaginary FM Radio stations received by the radio receiver in the Testarossa.

The music was composed by Hiroshi Miyauchi; he had composed soundtracks for other Sega games and was part of Sega's official band at the time, the S.S.T. Band[note 2]

The tracks were called:

  • Splash Wave (FM 80.3)
  • Magical Sound Shower (FM 69.2)
  • Passing Breeze (FM 74.6)
  • Last Wave (high-score music)

Additionally, the Mega Drive/Sega Genesis port featured an extra track entitled Step On Beat in 1991 and the Sega Master System Out Run 3D contained the additional Color Ocean, Shining Wind and Midnight Highway in 1989.

The home computer versions of Out Run (for Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Atari ST) came bundled with a bonus cassette tape featuring the original arcade versions of these tunes, the idea being that the player could listen to the true versions while playing rather than the limited home computer renditions, if available at all.

Route names

Overseas Layout

Stage Number Goal name
1 2 3 4 5
Vineyard A
Wilderness
Desert Death Valley B
Gateway Old Capital
Coconut Beach Alps Desolation Hill C
Devil's Canyon Wheat Field
Cloudy Mountain Autobahn D
Seaside Town
Lakeside E

Japanese Layout

Stage Number Goal name
1 2 3 4 5
Vineyard A
Wilderness
Desert Death Valley B
Wheat Field Old Capital
Coconut Beach Alps Desolation Hill C
Cloudy Mountain Gateway
Devil's Canyon Autobahn D
Seaside Town
Lakeside E

Note: In the Japanese layout, Devil's Canyon stage is called “Walls”, Gateway is called “Big Gate”, Desolation Hill is called “Stone Hill”, and Autobahn is called “Dual Way”.

End Animations

Goal Animation
A Driver is thrown in the air by the crowd, but ends up falling to the ground when crowdsmen are distracted by a woman in a bikini.
B Car falls to pieces and driver shrugs it off.
C Driver wins a magic lantern and after he rubs it, a harem appears surrounding him, and his passenger becomes angry.
D Gold cup is given to passenger, instead of driver.
E Driver wins a gold cup, and passenger wants it.

Ports and remake

File:Outrunsms.JPG
The Desert pathway in the Sega Master System version

The original Out Run is hidden inside the Xbox game Out Run 2 and can be accessed by using the code NINETEEN86 or by completing all routes in arcade mode. However, the original arcade had sprites with one translucent color, used for shadows, which is not replicated in this emulation. The emulated version renders this color opaque.

Sequels

In the arcades, Out Run was followed up in 1989 by Turbo Out Run. Turbo Out Run was a checkpoint racer in which the player drove from New York City to Los Angeles in 16 stages. It featured a rock-infused soundtrack. As with all Out Run games aside from OutRun 2, this is named by Yu Suzuki as an unofficial sequel.

Another unofficial sequel came in 1992 with OutRunners, returning the game to its roots by bringing back the forks in the road. Head-to-head support appeared in the game for the first time, and if arcade cabinets were linked, up to eight drivers could race against each other. The game also featured eight different cars for people to drive in. It was the most successful game released for Sega's System Multi 32 hardware, and one of the last successful 2D games released by Sega.

In 2003, Out Run make the jump to 3D graphics with the arcade release of OutRun 2 (featuring actual licensed vehicles from Ferrari, including a Testarossa). Yu Suzuki, the creator of the original Out Run, was on hand to bring his vision up to date, earning OutRun 2 great critical acclaim and the distinction of being the first official sequel to the original. The Xbox release added features such as new cars, new audio tracks and even a fully-playable version of the original OutRun.

An updated version of OutRun 2 was released in arcades in 2004 entitled "OutRun 2 SP". This expanded upon the original by offering a plethora of tracks to drive through, including the original map. It also improved on graphics and added more tunes to listen to while driving. It featured the 512 BB and 250 GTO, which were also featured in the Xbox version of the original OutRun 2.

In turn, OutRun 2 was succeeded by OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, developed for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. The game combines all the courses from OutRun 2 and OutRun 2 SP while adding additional features of its own, such as special car models, new game modes and more audio tracks. It also contains an OutRun 2 SP mode, which offers an exact arcade port of OutRun 2 SP.

Outrun Online Arcade was released on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in 2009. This downloadable game included only the tracks from Outrun 2 SP.

There are three other unofficial Out Run sequels that were only released for home systems: OutRun Europa (started in 1989, and completed in 1991), Battle Out Run (1989), and Out Run 2019 (1993). On the Sega Master System, there is also a special version of Out Run which makes use of the 3D glasses add-on.

Pop culture

  • An MTV public service announcement against drunk driving shown in the mid '90s shows a gamer playing Out Run while under the influence of alcohol, and cuts to each point where the gamer crashes until the end of game.[5]

Reception

The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #137 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars.[7] Your Sinclair gave the game 8/10, as did Sinclair User, while Crash magazine gave it 7.

Notes

  1. ^ A similar branching system had been used once before in the 1983 racer TX-1, developed by Tatsumi and published by Namco & Atari.
  2. ^ They have recorded soundtrack albums based on many of Sega's popular games, including Out Run.

References

  1. ^ a b Brian Gazza. "Outrun". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
  2. ^ Out Run at the Killer List of Videogames
  3. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2010-07-05). "A Quick Look Back At Sega 3D". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  4. ^ "Out Run 3-D for SEGA Master System". MobyGames. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  5. ^ "out run [deluxe sit-down model] video game, Sega enterprises, ltd. (1986)". Arcade-history.com. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  6. ^ Kristan Reed (2008-01-18). "Sega Superstars Tennis Preview // Xbox 360 /// Eurogamer - Games Reviews, News and More". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  7. ^ Lesser, Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk (September 1988). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (137): 88–93.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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