For those of us born in the 70s and passionate about video games, there’s a collection of favorites we poured countless coins into during our youth. My first encounter with Sega’s spectacular racing game, Out Run, happened during a trip to the Canary Islands, likely around Christmas 1986.
The game cabinet, with its steering wheel and seat, arrived at the arcade just a week earlier. It quickly attracted long lines, both at the machine and the change booth. The game and sit-down cabinet were something special. Like the Sega Afterburner, it definitely drew attention in 80s arcades.
Out Run boasts a terrific soundtrack
Lets hit the apex in a Ferrari never made
Driving the Ferrari Testarossa convertible (a model that didn’t actually exist) in Out Run, players could speed along reasonably diverse roads with a blonde companion in the passenger seat, choosing music from the car stereo before hitting the road.
Out Run has one of the best soundtracks ever
I must say right away: Hiroshi Kawaguchi composed an absolutely fantastic soundtrack for Out Run (I’ve added a playlist at the bottom with tracks from Out Run and 1989’s Turbo OutRun. Be sure to check it out). Tracks like “Splash Wave,” “Magical Sound Shower,” and “Passing Breeze” hold a special place in my heart, as does the game itself. Blasting “Magical Sound Shower” while hitting the apex at full throttle, with the speedometer reaching 293 km/h, is nothing short of exhilarating.
The arcade version, still looks fantastic!
For an almost 40 year old game Out Run looks stunning…
Even today, Out Run looks decent. If an arcade cabinet were nearby, I’d gladly drop a few coins to race Devil’s Canyon again. Moreover, this wasn’t Sega’s only exceptional racing game—Sega Rally also set a high standard! Driving the Lancia Delta Integrale on those muddy roads was pure joy.
But the Spectrum Version I Played a Lot Isn’t Impressive 🙂
In the mid-80s, I purchased a ZX Sinclair Spectrum 48k, and one of the games I spent my hard-earned money on was the Spectrum version of Out Run. Released in 1987 by US Gold, it looked nowhere near as good as the arcade version. Somehow, that didn’t matter. My friends and I played it a lot. Looking back, I still have a fondness for the little Speccie, but let’s be honest—the graphics were definitely not pretty.
The Spectrum version was playable and looked decent for its time. However, now it looks absolutely horrible! 🙂
Then came Out Run 2 on the Xbox 360 and several other versions
Twenty years later, my friends and I spent countless hours playing games on the Xbox and Xbox 360. We loved titles like Project Gotham Racing, Need for Speed Shift, and Forza Motorsport. In 2003, I also picked up Out Run 2. It brought nostalgia and had impressive graphics, but it couldn’t match the original. The same goes for OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast. Out Run was — and still is — a truly marvelous game!
The graphics truly has evolved during the years
Below, I compare the various game ports and versions. I still laugh at how friends once argued that the Spectrum version’s graphics were almost the same as those on the Atari ST or Commodore Amiga. Yeah, right…
By the way, I’ve written some articles related to this post. Check them out below:
The Miami Vice Ferrari: A Tribute to the Ferrari Testarossa – The Spectrum 48k marvel – The best arcade fighting game of the 80s: Yie Ar Kung-Fu –
Best Regards Johan Åhlund – Thank you for visiting LegandsAndNostalgia.com
The photo of the then awesome sit-down deluxe motion simulator cabinet version of Sega Out Run above is taken by The Finnish Museum of Games, Tampere. The screenshots are taken from YouTube. And the comparison video below is made by spanish YouTuber Retrosuta.
