OutRun (also stylized as Out Run) is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations.
The game was designed by Yu Suzuki, who traveled to Europe to gain inspiration for the game's stages. Suzuki had a small team and only ten months to program the game, leaving him to do most of the work himself.
OutRun (Sega Master System)
The game was a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing arcade game of 1987 worldwide as well as Sega's most successful arcade cabinet of the 1980s. It was ported to numerous video game consoles and home computers, becoming one of the best-selling video games at the time and selling millions of copies worldwide, and it spawned a number of sequels. OutRun is considered one of the most influential racing games, cited as an influence upon numerous later video games, playing a role in the arcade video game industry's recovery, and providing the name for a popular music genre.
OutRun is a 3D driving video game in which the player controls a Ferrari Testarossa convertible from a third-person rear perspective. The camera is placed near the ground, simulating a Ferrari driver's position and limiting the player's view into the distance. The road curves, crests, and dips, which increases the challenge by obscuring upcoming obstacles such as traffic that the player must avoid. The object of the game is to reach the finish line against a timer. The game world is divided into multiple stages that each end in a checkpoint, and reaching the end of a stage provides more time. Near the end of each stage, the track forks to give the player a choice of routes leading to five final destinations. The destinations represent different difficulty levels and each conclude with their own ending scene, among them the Ferrari breaking down or being presented a trophy.
OutRun was ported to numerous home consoles and computers. Computer and Video Games praised the Master System release, with the writers concluding that it had 'all the thrill power of the arcade version'. The Games Machine gave the Master System version a score of 72%, stating that the Master System version came closest to the original coin-op. Reviewers for Dragon described it as a 'refreshing' game 'that provides hours of entertainment'. Computer Gaming World named it as the year's best arcade translation for Sega. Reactions to the 16-bit versions were generally positive. The Atari ST version (1988) was described by Computer and Video Games as 'far from perfect', but that it came closer to the arcade original than the other ports. The 1991 Sega Genesis version also received positive reviews, scoring 90% from French gaming magazines Joypad and Joystick, as well as an 85% from Swedish magazine Svenska Hemdatornytt.
OutRun was followed by various sequels, including three arcade sequels Turbo OutRun (1989), OutRunners (1992) and OutRun 2 (2003), and several non-arcade sequels including OutRun 3-D (1988) and OutRun Europa (1991).
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
or
Steam.
Videogame Console:
This version of OutRun was designed for the Sega Master System (SMS), which was an 8-bit video game console manufactured
by Sega in the years 1985 - 1992. It was a direct competitor to the much more successful NES console and the predecessor of the much beter console Sega Genesis.
The unit price of Master System was approximately $ 200 and worldwide only 13 million units of this console were sold. More information about Sega Master
System can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
4 different online emulators are available for OutRun. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game OutRun are summarized in the following table:
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This version of OutRun was designed for the Sega Master System (SMS), which was an 8-bit video game console manufactured
by Sega in the years 1985 - 1992. It was a direct competitor to the much more successful NES console and the predecessor of the much beter console Sega Genesis.
The unit price of Master System was approximately $ 200 and worldwide only 13 million units of this console were sold. More information about Sega Master
System can be found 
