Back in the 80's, the original OutRun was a big f'n deal. So big that the game got ports for just about every console you can imagine...even consoles I never even knew existed. For some oddball reason, each version of the game looks & handles differently purely because many of these weren't programmed by Sega themselves. Here's YouTubes of every single version of OutRun right here with my immediate rating out of 5. Please note if you're sentimental towards one version that I rated poorly, well tough break...
Amiga (2/5, mega crap right out the gate)
Amstrad CPC (2/5, the music makes me laugh)
Arcade (5/5, duh)
Commodore 64 (2/5, the VW Beetle dodging simulator!! EDIT: Wait, no branching paths...-minus-1 point there)
Sega Genesis (4/5, still looks weird compared to arcade version but still very good)
Sega GameGear (3/5, lol, mini OutRun, oh yea!! but only 10 stages tho)
iPhone (actually named Final Freeway, it's an obvious ripoff) (3/5, looks unique, tilt the phone to steer but it's not really OutRun so minus 1 point)
MSX (1/5, holy cow)
PC (NOT emulator) (4/5, not bad)
Playstation 2 (part of Sega Classics Collection) (4/5, the car looks weird but at least it's smooth driving)
Sega Master System (3/5, too quirky for me)
Sega Saturn (part of Sega Ages) (5/5, basically identical to arcade version)
Atari ST (3/5, basically the Amiga version but with snazzier music and a smaller screen)
TurboGrafx-16 (4/5, delightfully surprised by this one)
NOTE: Old video got deleted, this is the only one left. Not like people are rushing to upload OutRun on the TurboGrafx so gimme a break. I recall it being very similar to the PC version so nothing truly groundbreaking.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum (-1,000,000/5, ANOTHER mangled version of Splash Wave, worst port ever)
I think that's every version--if there's one or two I missed, let me know so I can add 'em. And we haven't even touched on Turbo OutRun, OutRun Europa, OutRun 2019, OutRunners...geez. Basically, OutRun games up the ass. If only we could've pooled all the energy put into these ports into OutRun 3, that would be great. I also complain about how overrated today's graphics are, but with those old graphics, no amount of gameplay can save it...
Oh, and don't think Daytona USA got off the hook. I may get to that sometime...I'm saving that for later.
Amiga (2/5, mega crap right out the gate)
Amstrad CPC (2/5, the music makes me laugh)
Arcade (5/5, duh)
Commodore 64 (2/5, the VW Beetle dodging simulator!! EDIT: Wait, no branching paths...-minus-1 point there)
Sega Genesis (4/5, still looks weird compared to arcade version but still very good)
Sega GameGear (3/5, lol, mini OutRun, oh yea!! but only 10 stages tho)
iPhone (actually named Final Freeway, it's an obvious ripoff) (3/5, looks unique, tilt the phone to steer but it's not really OutRun so minus 1 point)
MSX (1/5, holy cow)
PC (NOT emulator) (4/5, not bad)
Playstation 2 (part of Sega Classics Collection) (4/5, the car looks weird but at least it's smooth driving)
Sega Master System (3/5, too quirky for me)
Sega Saturn (part of Sega Ages) (5/5, basically identical to arcade version)
Atari ST (3/5, basically the Amiga version but with snazzier music and a smaller screen)
TurboGrafx-16 (4/5, delightfully surprised by this one)
NOTE: Old video got deleted, this is the only one left. Not like people are rushing to upload OutRun on the TurboGrafx so gimme a break. I recall it being very similar to the PC version so nothing truly groundbreaking.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum (-1,000,000/5, ANOTHER mangled version of Splash Wave, worst port ever)
I think that's every version--if there's one or two I missed, let me know so I can add 'em. And we haven't even touched on Turbo OutRun, OutRun Europa, OutRun 2019, OutRunners...geez. Basically, OutRun games up the ass. If only we could've pooled all the energy put into these ports into OutRun 3, that would be great. I also complain about how overrated today's graphics are, but with those old graphics, no amount of gameplay can save it...
Oh, and don't think Daytona USA got off the hook. I may get to that sometime...I'm saving that for later.
The PC Engine is the JDM name for the TurboGrafx16 and should not be confused with the IBM PC version.
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