OutRun (1986)

OutRun has such nice vibes that even its "Game Over" is worth sitting and soaking in, with a wistful little tune playing over the sunset-filled high score screen and leaking back into the title screen after a loss. Like its sequel, which I got into earlier this year, the great music and heavily-saturated colors are a major part of the appeal of this arcade classic. This one can be a little hard to look at when things are quickly flashing by, but there's something to be said for the timeless appeal of its more retro presentation, which is especially nice in the 60fps Saturn version.

As chill as the vibe may be, the game is a little more demanding than it originally appears, adding challenge and replayability through a limited timer that replenishes at checkpoints between the stages. I enjoy this design, as it forces you to drive cleanly but still lets you keep going for a bit after you make a mistake, and naturally gets you to perfect earlier stages as a build-up to later ones. Additionally, the unpredictable traffic combined with a branching route that visits up to 5 of the game's 15 stages on any given credit help keep the game concise and learnable but resistant to getting stale.

OutRun 2006 is undoubtedly my preferred game for its better look and feel and wealth of content, but this is a really fun game in its own right to throw on when there's nothing else to do. The arcadey design is easy to grasp and immediately enjoyable while having enough challenge and variety to keep you coming back for more.

NOTE: this is for the Cannonball game engine port of OutRun, so additional modes/bells/whistles will be factored into the review.

OutRun on its own is a gorgeous enough game with a little too much cruelty and randomness to be engaging but Cannonball tweaks just enough to make OutRun a genuinely smooth and rewarding experience.

OutRun starts off with a simple enough premise - race a Ferrari Testarossa convertible across five consecutive stages that branch into various paths, with a time limit that determines if the player makes it to the end or not. The player has a brake, two gears (low/high), and an accelerator, and must deal with turns, crests, dips, and every manner of randomly placed car or truck on the road.

Stages vary in difficulty (and beauty), and seeing the scaled sprites zoom by is magnificent and hypnotic. The player will need to get handy with the low-to-high gear system to speed up initially, but past that point the game gets particularly restrictive about what methods to employ for success. There's about three different ways to slow down without crashing or spinning out in game but ideally the player has to brake as little as possible, and knowledge of the track is essential to progress. That, and luck provided a car doesn't block the player at an essential turn. The player can switch gears to minimize bumps and spin-outs but things can get frustrating and random on the default difficulty.

How, then, is this rating as high? Cannonball does a variety of things that not only improve the experience, but encourage a variety of playstyles and genuine relaxation to help players ease into OutRun and succeed at challenges on their own pace, all while giving the visual presentation of the game a massive boost. Starting off, things like 60 FPS, new camera views, full wide screen, and haptic support for wheel controllers really helps to improve the game's already gorgeous visuals, as well as customizable music (though the game's original three tracks are still bubbly and infectious as ever). Difficulties are reasonable and do more than just change time - one can either limit traffic on the road or take traffic out altogether, and assist options like offroad wheels and faster cars can help smooth over issues the original game had. The game is still fairly challenging on Easy, but my skills were fairly tested and I had to put in a lot of effort to reach the game's five route endings. There are also additional modes for time trialing specific stages and playing a continuous 15-stage gauntlet for those truly looking for a challenge.

OutRun may be a less-than-perfect racing game but it is a deliciously fast and influential one, and Cannonball does it massive respect by incorporating more fun and accessible options that manage to rival official releases. Before I was hesitant to recommend OutRun, but now anyone can give it a crack and feel the breeze from Coconut Beach all the way to Autobahn.

An absolute wonder of a game, completely crushing the arcade competition at the time of 1986 in terms of graphical fidelity, sense of movement and sheer vibes.

Building upon the success of Hang-On and Space Harrier, Outrun complements the competitive DNA of the archetypical coin-op with a surprisingly mellow and relaxed atmosphere. As a result, the experience manages to be challenging and calming at the same time, giving it a seldom seen quality in video game history.

In its core, Outrun is about the joy of driving, accentuated not only by the crazy speed and responsive controls, but also the beautiful environments and groovy 80's soundtrack. It holds up extremely well even today, with a wonderful remaster by M2 available on the Switch replicating the arcade experience.

A timeless classic. A game which gives you an exciting feeling of speed. Difficult, but not impossible, getting every time that feeling of "dang I couldn't do it, but next time I'll beat it!"

I liked having to adapt to the mechanics of the game, some very subtle, to obtain small advantages that were adding up to allow you to reach the goal. I played Outrun on emulator (default arcade settings), without savestates / rewind. First I completed Route E without help. Then I tried to complete Route A but for this I had to watch a speedrun to know what to do to get enough speed to reach the checkpoints. After many attempts, I finally got past Route A, which was very satisfying.

One of the aspects that surprised me the most is that despite having only 3 music options, it feels like enough. It's an excellent soundtrack!

Reached goal

• Settings: Difficulty on 3 and Time on 4
• Path: All left

Final thoughts: I'm well aware of this game's historical legacy to the racing genre. It's easily the best-looking 80's arcade game back when home consoles had 8-bit NES graphics at best. Also to mention the soundtrack is incredibly catchy and memorable, I'm a fan of every Magical Sound Shower & Splash Wave versions out there. The Switch version also adds many more songs, including new original songs, remixes from future games (Even OutRun 2!), and Driver's Megamix which is such a good medley containing all three original songs in one.

Even so, the game is definitely dated to play for someone who was born a decade later. While the sense of speed is amazing, I found the game to be impossible to finish until you really memorized the track layout as you often can't see far enough into the distance to anticipate turns. It's also very unforgiving on the original difficult settings, as one crash and you're most likely not going to finish. I'm glad the Switch version has difficulty options, but it's a bit saddening to know I'll probably never beat this game as intended.

Outrun is one of those games I was always aware of, but never really got to play. Now I have though (on the Genesis), and it's a fantastic racing game that definitely deserves its status as a classic. A simple, easy-to-pick-up arcade title. You race against the clock in this one, rather than against other drivers. Your red-hot Ferrari is easy to control, and you shift between two gears to maneuver safely down the highway. (You don't want to crash into signs or other vehicles, as you'll lose lots of valuable seconds.) Slow down at the turns, speed up on the straightaways.

The music for this game is superb. You get to pick which track you want to listen to before you start driving. My favorite is Magical Sound Shower. Just the perfect feel-good road trip cruising Californ-I-A chiptune. The other tracks are great too though. Also worth mentioning is how you select different paths to take via a fork in the road that appears every couple minutes. Each "section" will change the scenery around you, and part of the fun is to try driving down new areas each time you play. There are different "endings" depending on where you finish your drive, which is a fun little detail.