OutRun Review (Sega Genesis, 1991)

Up for review today is another classic from Yu Suzuki. OutRun was originally released to Arcades in 1986. Sega’s home console at the time, the Master System, was not able to do a home port justice. Still they tried to make it work. Unfortunately that version suffered some pretty major issues like most of Sega’s Arcade ports of the time. It wasn’t until they released the 16-bit Genesis system that Arcade perfect titles became a reality for them. Now we’re going to take a look at the Sega Genesis version of OutRun. This is by far one of my favorite racing games ever despite some graphical issues it’s timeless. OutRun is a great representation of the classic Sega magic.

This game has very little set up and scenario. You’re a guy behind the wheel of a Ferrari with a blonde riding shotgun. You have to make it cross country, and have several different routes that you can take to get there. In typical fashion you have only a limited amount of time to travel the necessary distance. The only way to add more minutes to the clock is by reaching specific checkpoints. This isn’t exactly a racing game per se because you aren’t competing against any other drivers.

OutRun is actually more of a straight up driving game, and it’s actually much more relaxing to play. The gameplay engine is very functional and works well. Your car has only two gears, but mastering their use is the key to victory. Along with that and turning the wheel your only other control functions are gas and brakes. It’s simple for sure, but that doesn’t mean the gameplay isn’t fun. Timing and hand eye coordination are key parts to completing a race here. You won’t be successful on your first attempt, and it’s extremely rewarding to watch yourself improve. Good luck memorizing the track layouts though because there’s a whole lot of content crammed into this cartridge.

What sets OutRun apart from other games of this type is the multiple paths. Following every checkpoint are two different paths you can take and each track features different terrain, as well as scenery and even hazards. You have five different final destinations, and this adds a huge amount of replay value especially considering how many times you will need to play in order to see everything this title has to offer. The developers did a fantastic job of designing the different scenery, and they managed to give every area a distinct feel. The scenery is surprisingly nice, and for a 16-bit driving game I found it very immersive. This gives gamers plenty of reasons to play over and over again to see all of the ever changing and beautiful sights it has to offer.

Unfortunately not even the Sega Genesis could pull off a perfect version of this game. The scrolling is extremely choppy with scenery elements (such as trees and stones) that look like they’re convulsing rather than moving closer to the camera. Even the track has issues displaying correctly (especially when you need to choose which branch to follow) and even small things like hills don’t scroll correctly. Normally this kind of thing would be a kiss of death, but that’s not the case here. Upcoming turns are difficult to see, but the developers included signs on the side of the road indicating which way you will need to go. Every other thing that doesn’t scroll correctly is not important to the race and serves as mere scenery. The graphical issues really don’t affect gameplay in any major way, and the game is still a lot of fun despite these problems.

OutRun is one of the most colorful early Genesis titles surpassing most of the library in this regard. This is a very pretty game with a lot of intricate sprite work put into the backgrounds and all other visual elements of the scenery. The result is a game that looks amazing by Genesis standards. It has a style that’s all its own, and harkens to a time when video games were more about pure and simple fun. Unfortunately as I mentioned earlier the animation is pretty darn choppy. Nothing really scrolls towards or away from the screen so much as it convulses and warps to try to simulate actual perspective. It’s pretty distracting at first, but you get used to it fast and this never has a negative effect on OutRun’s playability. OutRun is beautiful overall.

What makes OutRun unique in terms of its soundtrack is the fact that at the beginning of your run you can choose a song on the radio. This is what will play during your entire session. It might sound like an insignificant feature but at the time it was really novel. Admittedly your options are slim with only four choices, but each composition is bouncy, fun, and by now quite iconic. Easily the best of the bunch is Splash Wave.. This perfectly fits the air of adventure and feeling of exploration you get from this title. It’s extremely fitting to say the least. The sound effects are few and far between. What’s there fits perfectly well and the quality is good for the terrible audio hardware of the Genesis console. The game ranks pretty high in the sound department.