New Rally-X

New Rally-X

Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) Arcade, Mobile phone, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade
Release date(s) Arcade
  • JP February 1981
  • NA 1981
Mobile Phone
  • NA September 2005
Xbox Live Arcade
  • INT December 27, 2006

Virtual Console

  • JP October 6, 2009
Genre(s) Maze, Driving
Mode(s) Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Cabinet Upright, cabaret, and cocktail
Arcade system Rally-X
CPU 1x ZiLOG Z80 @ 3.072 MHz
Sound 1x Namco WSG (3-channel mono) @ 3.072 MHz, Discrete
Display Horizontal orientation, Raster, 288 x 224 resolution

New Rally-X (ニューラリーX Nyū Rarī-Ekkusu) is a maze and driving arcade game that was released by Namco in 1981. It runs on similar hardware to that of its predecessor, and as its name suggests, it is a revised version of that title, which was released in the previous year. The only differences are that it has slightly enhanced graphics, easier gameplay, a new soundtrack, and a "Lucky Flag" (with the letter "L") that gives the player extra points for remaining fuel when collected,[1] after which the round will continue if there are still flags remaining. The mazes are mostly identical, with some of the blocks from Rally-X changed into roads to reduce dead ends, and some different flag (and rock) locations. This title was manufactured in greater numbers and was much more popular (at least in Japan) than its predecessor.

Screenshot showing gameplay from New Rally-X

While the original Rally-X (which was released under a Midway Games license) was a moderate hit in the United States, Midway only distributed this updated version in North America as an upgrade kit for Rally-X cabinets. The game appeared quite frequently in mainland Europe and the United Kingdom, mainly in the form of uncredited bootlegs. It was at least as popular as its predecessor in these parts of the world, if not even more so, primarily due to the title's greater playability and abundance of bootleg board stock.

Legacy

A version of New Rally-X is the load-up game in the PlayStation Portable game Ridge Racer. It was also included in Namco Museum Battle Collection for the PSP, along with an entirely new "Arrangement" version of it which has updated graphics, music, and new gameplay features. The game was also released on the Microsoft Xbox 360 Xbox Live Arcade service on December 27, 2006, and on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on October 6, 2009. In addition, it has also been included in several editions of the Namco plug-n-play game series, from Jakks Pacific. A version known as New Rally-X S (the "S" stands for "Special") was also released on Facebook. In November 2010, it was included in Namco Museum Megamix, for the Nintendo Wii - but this Namco Museum compilation was only released in North America, which could be considered somewhat unusual.

References

  1. ↑ Except if that is the last flag collected in a certain round.

External links