3D Out Run (3DS) is technically the best but the Saturn one on the CRT feels most like the original and the Master System one (PSG audio) as my home version back in the day massages my nostalgia gland too.
The 3DS version is the best port. OutRun profits from the stereoscopic display so much, no-one can even begin to understand how great it makes this game without having seen it with their own eyes. But I'm looking forward to the OutRun core on MiSTer, paired with a steering wheel, for that really authentic arcade throwback.
If you use the PC Engine's RGB colour palette instead of the composite palette seen here, OutRun looks very bright and colourful (sometimes maybe too much so, especially in the first stage). The composite palette is the intended one, and for a long time it was available only if you were using composite video on an actual PC Engine system but can now be used on emulators, MiSTer and, I believe, even on original hardware with the Super HD System 3 Pro. I'm stuck with the less accurate and at times garish palette on my RGB-modded CoreGrafx 2, which is not ideal but it does kind of suit OutRun.
That’s really interesting, thanks for the info. I’m not massively familiar with the PC Engine but something I’ll look into in the future. Out Run is supposed to be lively and colourful so I get where you’re coming from.
Fun fact, Outrun on the ZX Spectrum was the best-selling game in the UK in 1987. Having played the arcade game at EGX London three months ago, I can see why it's so beloved. It's fast, frenetic, challenging, gorgeous, and immersive. If I can, I might find a copy of the Master System version.
The ZX spectrum version was very good, we had the 128+2 built in cassette version. Double cassette as one of them had the music and the other required you to load each stage at the checkpoint. Kempston joystick with an interface plugged in the back. Good times.
I grew up on the MD version so I'm quite fond of it despite its flaws. The Switch version has an "arcade edition" of Step On Beat which brings it up a lot closer to the original tracks.
Love this deep dive in a seminal game from my childhood. I’d say Outrun is in the top 10 Arcade games of all time. Like how Arkanoid built on and perfected Breakout, Outrun (IMO) was the step forward from the wonderful (for its time) Pole Position from 1982.
Fun fact: the Amstrad cpc 6128 version came on floppy disk alongside an audi casette tape with all the music from the arcade...to play while...you play the game. I remember it well as I got it for Christmas and what a "surprise" this was...
Oh yeah! My Spectrum had a double cassette and one of them was just the soundtrack. I’m not sure I appreciated it as much as I should have in retrospect 😅
There are three distinct versions of Outrun for MS-DOS, and two of them support 3-voice music and sound effects with a Tandy 1000 and digitized voice and sound effects with a Tandy 1000 TL, SL or RL. They sound much more impressive than the PC Speaker-only music and effects.
Great video. The first time that I played this was in an east coast arcade, too (Caister-on-Sea) and the first version I owned was on the Speccy. Still can't get very far on MAME but it's all about the experience. Magical Sound Shower every time
OMG lol, we used to holiday in Scratby down the road. I showed the Great Yarmouth front but I actually played this at an arcade in California opposite the pub. It’s not there now, but back then it had all the latest games.
As a child, and as an adult, we used to holiday EVERY year on the east coast, sometimes twice a year, in fact. This year we went to Scratby (Sunbeach holiday park). Hemsby, Newport, California and especially Gt Yarmouth sea front was where my gaming addiction started. I remember playing SF2 in California along with Mr Do. Playing Commando next to Bomb Jack on the Wellington pier and playing Track and Field, Ghosts and Goblins and Mad Planets at Caister Beach holiday park. It was such a magical place. Unfortunately now it’s just lots and lots of ticket redemption machines and claw machines.
Great vid Gabbo. The master system version was my version. Speccy and PC engine versions looked great. But like you say it's only until you see it on the saturn that you can truly appreciate it in all its glory! X
Aww, classic images of Great Yarmouth! I was there last week, at that very arcade. Sorry for the late comment, I am catching up. Plus, we might of been at the arcade at the same time, though I would of been 21 years old, not 6! Agree fully, Out-run was the first arcade game I played on the Mister when I got mine a few months ago. I am still awaiting Flying Shark (Fire Shark's older brother) I really hope that comes to the Mister soon. Also, it would be great if you reviewed the computers that Mister supported. I can always help there, as I have most of them setup. SpectrumNext on the Mister is fantastic, but like all the computers on the Mister, they are great, but not like the original beasts. This is my third video I have watched, subbed after video 1, and I did guess you were from the east-coast. Right, I'm done!
Slight error in this, the playable version of Outrun Arcade on the Xbox came out in 2004 as part of Outrun 2. Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast didn't include it.
Great video, I subbed. In future videos, could you linger on some gameplay of each game for maybe 5 seconds without voice over? Gives a good idea of how it actually plays and sounds. Keep up the good work!
Great video BUTTTTTT. You can't gloss over the 3DS version (I know you mentioned it). It is AMAZING!!!! Love the game in actual 3D. I honestly can't get enough of it.
Oh yeah, it was a hot franchise! I actually bought the Spectrum version on my 8th birthday. It had a separate cassette with a recording of the arcade soundtrack to play alongside the game.
@@NewRetroAdventures Switch version of Virtua Racing is absolutely GOAT'd. Love the OutRun port, too. Widescreen + the colors on an OLED switch are superb. The changes to the car are more distracting than they should be to me.
In a nutshell, if it wasn't the arcade version, it was pants. I had it on C64, Sega master system and Amiga, they all sucked. Thanks to MAME for bringing it home like we all wanted to begin with.
Awesome choice and great work with a thorough analysis for one of the most popular and age defining games ever released, dare I say it, one of Yu Suzuki’s best! The master system version of this (at the time when released was quite a challenge to find as it was so popular!) was my first home outing of this, then pce, Saturn, dc and finally an original upright! Through all those years even to present day it’s lost none of its originality, magnificence and playability and I can’t wait until this is completed on mister (The background layer hung last night as the rest of the level continued to play!🤣) A stone cold classic!!!🙌
It really is a timeless classic! So lucky to own a cab, super jealous. I've experienced the same issue. Have you tried the clocked down Jt core? It has a few more graphics and sound glitches but is fundamentally more stable.
The Sega Genesis version of the game is not as disappointing as it seems. Right, the exclusive Step on Beat track is not on par with the classical 3 other tracks, but these classical ones are decent renditions. Also, the graphics look mostly nice for a hardware that could display only 64 out of 512 total colors at once. Now, the amount of sprites on screen was very limiting and the version uses it fully, because there's noticeable slowdown and flickering in some parts, and the frame rate is far from optimal. It is an 8 meg game, which is an average spec for that day. 16 meg games became more common after that, but would a 16 meg cart enhance the game in any ways other than storing more sprite sizes? Probably there wouldn't be a lot of improvement over the original, because the sprite limits and number of music channels would be the same. The only way the Genesis version could be better would be if the programmers tried harder in optimizing the code so that the frame rate would end up being a bit superior, or maybe using some sort of really advanced algorithm that would allow room for more sprite sizes, but that would cost time the programmers probably didn't have available. That's the only way the game would could have left a better impression anyway, because in terms of general game development the original was ok already, and Sega didn't want to travel that extra mile that would improve the game. It's important remembering that the Genesis lacked true hardware sprite scaling. This hurt all the super scaler sega game conversions to that console.
I didn’t check, but my understanding that was the same game was published under US Gold in the UK and I think Mindscape in US. I also could be wrong 😆👍
@@NewRetroAdventures There are some differences in some of the US and UK versions of Sega's games. Outrun - UK version: The car is taller/narrower, the girl has dark hair, the road stripes are thinner. US version: The car is shorter/wider, the girl is blonde, the road stripes are thicker. The actual car graphics are different as are the clouds in the distance. Space Harrier - The US version adds stripes to the ground where the UK version was solid colored, and some of the enemy sprites have SLIGHTLY more detail. Afterburner - UK version has a border around the screen and the title screen says it's Afterburner II. US version has no border and the title screen is different. Alien Syndrome - In the UK version, the screen scrolls very slowly as you move, causing you to go pretty much right up to the edge of the screen. It then continues scrolling when you stop, until you're once again centered on the screen. It makes this version almost unplayable because you have no time to react to enemies that appear on the edge of the screen. The US version has proper scrolling, although the game still lets you get a little off center before it scrolls. Other non-Sega games that had different US/UK versions: Bionic Commando (US version is GARBAGE!!!), Ikari Warriors and Street Fighter. There's probably more, but that's all that come to mind right now.
Master System version being better than Mega Drive seems to be an example of Sega's approach to ports where the early ports get the most attention and as time goes on subsequent ports of the same game just get lazier and lazier. Saturn was the outlier as its hardware leant itself to adapting the arcade version.
Great video once again , loves a bit of outrun , would disagree a touch about the mega drive version however , might have a little tinkle on it in a bit .
Not to defend the Amiga version, as I think it's a truly awful game, but it does have branching routes. The road doesn't physically split, but notice those plants in the middle of the road at the end of the stage? That's what determines the route, according to whichever side you choose. I assume the ST version is the same.
It's really annoying when people say they are "that old" when they are just around 40. Especially in the retro gaming niche, where games are often much older and so are the people growing up with them. Who do you think watch these videos? Some 15yrs old? It's an insult to anyone born in the 80s or even 70s with an interest or, dare i say it, nostalgia for told games. Please stop it! Just the two cents of someone born in 1990...
I only said it because several times people have suggested I’m not “old enough” to talk about these games and that kind of pissed me off. It wasn’t meant to offend. Thanks for watching though.
3D Out Run (3DS) is technically the best but the Saturn one on the CRT feels most like the original and the Master System one (PSG audio) as my home version back in the day massages my nostalgia gland too.
I love the Sega 3ds games. They just look soooooo gooooood 😍
Wonderful video, thank you. I want to add that the Gameboy Advance version of Outrun offered in 'Sega Arcade Gallery' runs incredibly good and smooth.
Nice, I haven’t played it before, I’ll check it out.
The 3DS version is the best port. OutRun profits from the stereoscopic display so much, no-one can even begin to understand how great it makes this game without having seen it with their own eyes. But I'm looking forward to the OutRun core on MiSTer, paired with a steering wheel, for that really authentic arcade throwback.
Yeah! I think most racers benefit from 3D, especially OutRun. And playing racing games in VR is just 👌
The Amiga version, I've never felt so disappointed. 🤦♂
Yeah but you've got Lotus Turbo Challenge II to make up for it
I've got every physical home release and out of all of them I could (and still do) play the game gear version ALL DAY. I love it.
GBA port was pretty awesome for the time. Its on the Sega Arcade Gallery Cart.
If you use the PC Engine's RGB colour palette instead of the composite palette seen here, OutRun looks very bright and colourful (sometimes maybe too much so, especially in the first stage). The composite palette is the intended one, and for a long time it was available only if you were using composite video on an actual PC Engine system but can now be used on emulators, MiSTer and, I believe, even on original hardware with the Super HD System 3 Pro. I'm stuck with the less accurate and at times garish palette on my RGB-modded CoreGrafx 2, which is not ideal but it does kind of suit OutRun.
That’s really interesting, thanks for the info. I’m not massively familiar with the PC Engine but something I’ll look into in the future. Out Run is supposed to be lively and colourful so I get where you’re coming from.
Fun fact, Outrun on the ZX Spectrum was the best-selling game in the UK in 1987.
Having played the arcade game at EGX London three months ago, I can see why it's so beloved. It's fast, frenetic, challenging, gorgeous, and immersive. If I can, I might find a copy of the Master System version.
It was! I think I picked up my Spectrum copy used around 89/90. Great memories.
The ZX spectrum version was very good, we had the 128+2 built in cassette version. Double cassette as one of them had the music and the other required you to load each stage at the checkpoint.
Kempston joystick with an interface plugged in the back.
Good times.
I grew up on the MD version so I'm quite fond of it despite its flaws. The Switch version has an "arcade edition" of Step On Beat which brings it up a lot closer to the original tracks.
There's also an argument to be made that Outrun inspired the whole synthwave music genre.
Love this deep dive in a seminal game from my childhood. I’d say Outrun is in the top 10
Arcade games of all time. Like how Arkanoid built on and perfected Breakout, Outrun (IMO) was the step forward from the wonderful (for its time) Pole Position from 1982.
Fun fact: the Amstrad cpc 6128 version came on floppy disk alongside an audi casette tape with all the music from the arcade...to play while...you play the game. I remember it well as I got it for Christmas and what a "surprise" this was...
Oh yeah! My Spectrum had a double cassette and one of them was just the soundtrack. I’m not sure I appreciated it as much as I should have in retrospect 😅
There are three distinct versions of Outrun for MS-DOS, and two of them support 3-voice music and sound effects with a Tandy 1000 and digitized voice and sound effects with a Tandy 1000 TL, SL or RL. They sound much more impressive than the PC Speaker-only music and effects.
Good to know, thanks 👍
great video and breakdown... please do more like this...
Thanks! Will do!
Great video. The first time that I played this was in an east coast arcade, too (Caister-on-Sea) and the first version I owned was on the Speccy. Still can't get very far on MAME but it's all about the experience. Magical Sound Shower every time
OMG lol, we used to holiday in Scratby down the road. I showed the Great Yarmouth front but I actually played this at an arcade in California opposite the pub. It’s not there now, but back then it had all the latest games.
As a child, and as an adult, we used to holiday EVERY year on the east coast, sometimes twice a year, in fact. This year we went to Scratby (Sunbeach holiday park). Hemsby, Newport, California and especially Gt Yarmouth sea front was where my gaming addiction started. I remember playing SF2 in California along with Mr Do. Playing Commando next to Bomb Jack on the Wellington pier and playing Track and Field, Ghosts and Goblins and Mad Planets at Caister Beach holiday park. It was such a magical place. Unfortunately now it’s just lots and lots of ticket redemption machines and claw machines.
I was always crap at Outrun, and any racing game where you actually had to learn the track and use the brakes at times
Life is better with a splash of OutRun
Great vid Gabbo. The master system version was my version. Speccy and PC engine versions looked great. But like you say it's only until you see it on the saturn that you can truly appreciate it in all its glory! X
Well said!
Southend! The first time I saw OutRun would've been in the late 80s down there
Aww, classic images of Great Yarmouth! I was there last week, at that very arcade. Sorry for the late comment, I am catching up. Plus, we might of been at the arcade at the same time, though I would of been 21 years old, not 6! Agree fully, Out-run was the first arcade game I played on the Mister when I got mine a few months ago. I am still awaiting Flying Shark (Fire Shark's older brother) I really hope that comes to the Mister soon. Also, it would be great if you reviewed the computers that Mister supported. I can always help there, as I have most of them setup. SpectrumNext on the Mister is fantastic, but like all the computers on the Mister, they are great, but not like the original beasts. This is my third video I have watched, subbed after video 1, and I did guess you were from the east-coast. Right, I'm done!
Please don't show the Amiga version, please don't show the Amiga version........
Aw shit!
😬
Great video. Really enjoyed it. 😃
Thank you! 😀
Great video, I've just ordered Sega Arcade Gallery which is a 4-in-1 on GBA and features, yep Outrun 🏎️🏝️😂
Amazing! Have fun :)
Slight error in this, the playable version of Outrun Arcade on the Xbox came out in 2004 as part of Outrun 2. Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast didn't include it.
Good to know, thanks
Great video, I subbed. In future videos, could you linger on some gameplay of each game for maybe 5 seconds without voice over? Gives a good idea of how it actually plays and sounds. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, great suggestion… I’ve been doing that a bit more in some of my more recent videos but I’ll keep it in mind more in future
Great video BUTTTTTT. You can't gloss over the 3DS version (I know you mentioned it). It is AMAZING!!!! Love the game in actual 3D. I honestly can't get enough of it.
It's so good!
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
Didn't realize there were so many versions of Outrun. lol
Oh yeah, it was a hot franchise! I actually bought the Spectrum version on my 8th birthday. It had a separate cassette with a recording of the arcade soundtrack to play alongside the game.
The content I've been waiting for!
haha thanks!
Played this to death on our 286 DOS PC.
Good job! I think for my money, the Saturn is the definitive home version because of the 60fps option, arranged soundtrack, and breadth of options!
Oh yes, the Saturn port itself is a classic. I've been playing on the switch recently. M2 did a great job on that AND Virtua Racer.
@@NewRetroAdventures Switch version of Virtua Racing is absolutely GOAT'd.
Love the OutRun port, too. Widescreen + the colors on an OLED switch are superb. The changes to the car are more distracting than they should be to me.
@@hideokojimajr ha I know what you mean, did they have to make the logo on the back so BIG 😆
In a nutshell, if it wasn't the arcade version, it was pants. I had it on C64, Sega master system and Amiga, they all sucked. Thanks to MAME for bringing it home like we all wanted to begin with.
Great video... I love the PC-Engine version
Yeah I hadn't played it until now, but it's actually decent
It's a case of the console conversions being vastly superior to the computer ones.
Awesome choice and great work with a thorough analysis for one of the most popular and age defining games ever released, dare I say it, one of Yu Suzuki’s best!
The master system version of this (at the time when released was quite a challenge to find as it was so popular!) was my first home outing of this, then pce, Saturn, dc and finally an original upright!
Through all those years even to present day it’s lost none of its originality, magnificence and playability and I can’t wait until this is completed on mister (The background layer hung last night as the rest of the level continued to play!🤣)
A stone cold classic!!!🙌
It really is a timeless classic! So lucky to own a cab, super jealous. I've experienced the same issue. Have you tried the clocked down Jt core? It has a few more graphics and sound glitches but is fundamentally more stable.
@@NewRetroAdventures no I haven’t, thanks for the info and will give it a try over the Christmas period! Have a great one!🎉
The Sega Genesis version of the game is not as disappointing as it seems. Right, the exclusive Step on Beat track is not on par with the classical 3 other tracks, but these classical ones are decent renditions. Also, the graphics look mostly nice for a hardware that could display only 64 out of 512 total colors at once. Now, the amount of sprites on screen was very limiting and the version uses it fully, because there's noticeable slowdown and flickering in some parts, and the frame rate is far from optimal. It is an 8 meg game, which is an average spec for that day. 16 meg games became more common after that, but would a 16 meg cart enhance the game in any ways other than storing more sprite sizes? Probably there wouldn't be a lot of improvement over the original, because the sprite limits and number of music channels would be the same. The only way the Genesis version could be better would be if the programmers tried harder in optimizing the code so that the frame rate would end up being a bit superior, or maybe using some sort of really advanced algorithm that would allow room for more sprite sizes, but that would cost time the programmers probably didn't have available. That's the only way the game would could have left a better impression anyway, because in terms of general game development the original was ok already, and Sega didn't want to travel that extra mile that would improve the game. It's important remembering that the Genesis lacked true hardware sprite scaling. This hurt all the super scaler sega game conversions to that console.
That was not the PAL version I remember on the C64. I suspect what you had there was the US version.
The Atari ST has a Motorola 68000 not a 6800. Minor nitpick. Otherwise, I really enjoy your content.
Ah yeah I picked up on it after I'd uploaded to RUclips 🤦♂️ that 68000 is a prolific little chip!
I was 14 in '88.. I'm THAT old. 🤣🤣
There's 2 versions for the C64 a U.S and U.K version. I think the one shown here is the U.S one ( i could be wrong )
I didn’t check, but my understanding that was the same game was published under US Gold in the UK and I think Mindscape in US. I also could be wrong 😆👍
@@NewRetroAdventures There are some differences in some of the US and UK versions of Sega's games.
Outrun - UK version: The car is taller/narrower, the girl has dark hair, the road stripes are thinner. US version: The car is shorter/wider, the girl is blonde, the road stripes are thicker. The actual car graphics are different as are the clouds in the distance.
Space Harrier - The US version adds stripes to the ground where the UK version was solid colored, and some of the enemy sprites have SLIGHTLY more detail.
Afterburner - UK version has a border around the screen and the title screen says it's Afterburner II. US version has no border and the title screen is different.
Alien Syndrome - In the UK version, the screen scrolls very slowly as you move, causing you to go pretty much right up to the edge of the screen. It then continues scrolling when you stop, until you're once again centered on the screen. It makes this version almost unplayable because you have no time to react to enemies that appear on the edge of the screen. The US version has proper scrolling, although the game still lets you get a little off center before it scrolls.
Other non-Sega games that had different US/UK versions: Bionic Commando (US version is GARBAGE!!!), Ikari Warriors and Street Fighter. There's probably more, but that's all that come to mind right now.
Master System version being better than Mega Drive seems to be an example of Sega's approach to ports where the early ports get the most attention and as time goes on subsequent ports of the same game just get lazier and lazier. Saturn was the outlier as its hardware leant itself to adapting the arcade version.
Great video once again , loves a bit of outrun , would disagree a touch about the mega drive version however , might have a little tinkle on it in a bit .
awesome video
Thanks!
Outrunners arcade on switch or sega saturn Id pay for a new racer on the Saturn 🪐
The C64 version is decent. I played that port the most.
I was 14 in 1988, and you're right, this game was in EVERY Arcade back then as well as in Australia where I am.
This and Chase HQ were phenomenal 👍
omg Chase HQ...sooooo good!
Yes!! Chase HQ was another great game that had a ton of home ports, amazing fun. I need to get Nancy on the radio and see what’s going down.
One of the best games ever
💯🙌
You definitely cant do a wheelie in a ferrari, whether you want to or not. But i love the sentiment. 😉👉
Dreamcast too
no Arcade1Up ?
Not to defend the Amiga version, as I think it's a truly awful game, but it does have branching routes. The road doesn't physically split, but notice those plants in the middle of the road at the end of the stage? That's what determines the route, according to whichever side you choose. I assume the ST version is the same.
Good to know, thanks 🙏
Amiga £24.95 ha ha ha was it ported from the st and ignored the blitter
It's really annoying when people say they are "that old" when they are just around 40. Especially in the retro gaming niche, where games are often much older and so are the people growing up with them. Who do you think watch these videos? Some 15yrs old? It's an insult to anyone born in the 80s or even 70s with an interest or, dare i say it, nostalgia for told games. Please stop it! Just the two cents of someone born in 1990...
I only said it because several times people have suggested I’m not “old enough” to talk about these games and that kind of pissed me off. It wasn’t meant to offend. Thanks for watching though.
@@NewRetroAdventures Funny, never thought about it from the other side of the coin, being too young :) Cheers