OutRunners
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| OutRunners | |
|---|---|
 The title screen of OutRunners |
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| Developer(s) | AM1 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis |
| Release date | 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Racing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (Mega Drive/Genesis port only) |
| Input methods | Steering wheel; 2-position Shifter (Up/Down); 2 Pedals (Accelerator and brake) |
| Cabinet | Sit-down, upright |
| Arcade system | Sega System 32 Multi |
| Display | Raster resolution 320 x 224 (Horizontal) Palette Colors 32768 |
OutRunners is an arcade game released by Sega in 1992. It is the third game in the Out Run series, though it remains an un-official sequel in Yu Suzuki's eyes[citation needed].
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[edit] Description
OutRunners is the third game in the Out Run series, following Turbo Outrun. After Turbo Outrun's departure from Out Run's laid-back, charming atmosphere, fans wanted a game that captured the spirit of the original. OutRunners succeeded in doing this; it brought back the ability to take different paths through forks in the road, returned to a lighthearted atmosphere, and distanced itself well from the "serious" Turbo Outrun. The game featured head-to-head support, and with enough cabinets, up to eight players could challenge each other. It was also the only game in the Out Run series to feature various selectable cars and multiple endings until OutRun 2. OutRunners was the most successful game released for Sega's System Multi 32 hardware, and one of the last successful 2D games released by Sega. OutRunners was also known for having some of the best looking graphics seen at the time, thanks to creative sprite design and a very skillful use of parallax scrolling, similar to that found in Power Drift, released four years earlier. The game holds up very well today, and plays very similarly to a modern polygon based 3D racer, something not common in a racing game that utilises 2D graphics.
Unlike the original Out Run, some stages are accessible on more than one route combination. After the initial starting stage, the player has the option of either turning east or west. West leads through San Francisco, through the Easter Islands, into Asia and either into Africa or Europe. East goes through the Grand Canyon, South America or Niagara Falls, across the Atlantic Ocean, and into Europe.
[edit] Cars
All of the cars in OutRunners are convertibles, fictional, but some bear resemblance to real cars, and the Speed Buster closely resembles the Ferrari Testarossa featured in the original OutRun. Each car has its own set of a driver and passenger character, and have their own little ending if the player makes it to a goal. Strangely enough, each car has its own number of gears for Manual transmission ranging from 2 to 6.
- Easy Handling, blue (resembles somewhat of a Mazda Miata, but was meant to be a Porsche 911) (5-Speed)
- Smooth Operator, silver (resembles an Acura NSX, characters are Japanese) (2-Speed)
- Bad Boy, black (resembles a Shelby Cobra and the characters resemble Thelma and Louise) (2-Speed)
- The Road Monster, pink (resembles a classic Cadillac Eldorado or Ford Thunderbird, replete with Elvis impersonator) (3-Speed)
- Quick Reactor, orange (resembles a Fiat 500) (4-Speed)
- Wild Chaser, green (resembles a Meyers Manx) (3-Speed)
- Mad Power, yellow (resembles a Lamborghini Diablo) (6-Speed)
- Speed Buster, red (resembles the Ferrari Testarossa as explained above) (2-Speed)
There is also one car in the Sega Genesis version of the game (Virtua Formula from Virtua Racing) that is hidden, but the car is also not available in some versions of the game.
[edit] Music
OutRunners featured all four of the songs from the original Out Run, as well as various new tracks.
The game was the first known to feature a voiced in-game DJ (Jake Elwood, perhaps a reference to The Blues Brothers), and allow the switching of songs and radio stations while playing the game; an idea that would later catch on in the Grand Theft Auto series of games. Often not credited for creating this idea, it is quickly becoming ubiquitous in modern games.
- Magical Sound Shower (Speed Buster default music)
- Passing Breeze
- Splash Wave (Mad Power default music)
- Picture the Rivers (Smooth Operator default music)
- Blow Your Cool (Bad Boy default music)
- Looking for the Rainbow (Quick Reactor default music)
- Speed King (Easy Handling default music)
- Adventure (Wild Chaser default music)
- Sonic Control (The Road Monster default music)
- Last Wave
- Meaning of the Light (route map music)
- Mega Driver (car selection music, perhaps a pun on the name "Sega Mega Drive")
- Jingle Bells (hidden music)
- Dream Flying (music after reaching final checkpoint, a guitar version of the Green Hill Zone music from Sonic the Hedgehog)
Also, when listening to the "Mega Radio Station" each stage has its own exclusive music relative to the area.
[edit] Ports
A port of the game was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis by Data East. It featured a forced split-screen in single player modes, where one screen focused on the player and the other on the AI - a gripe many buyers had with the game. Of course, this is because they had to convert a new 32-bit game onto an aging 16-bit console. Though the graphics were merely an adaptation of the arcade version, all other features of this version were kept intact, such as the superb original arcade soundtrack featuring four songs from the original Outrun.
[edit] Trivia
An anthropomorphic broad bean character is featured on billboards and the start of the game called "Broad Bean," a parody of Bibendum (the Michelin man), presumably the mascot of the fictional company sponsoring the race, Sam Spree. In the Mega Drive version, both Sonic and Tails make fly by in a pair of Tornados and sprinkle the Sega logo onto the screen. Sonic can also be seen on various billboards in the first stage.[1]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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