Turbo Outrun Reimagined

Outrun is one of Sega’s most iconic franchises and one that is as identifiably Sega arguably as much as Sonic or Yakuza. The original arcade game from 1986 also got an incredible port to the Sega Saturn, which, given the plethora of extras and a “Smooth Mode” which doubled the frame rate, could be considered the best way to play the game, even today.

Sadly none of the sequels or updates came to Saturn, which is a shame as the hardware seemed to be tailor-made for them to thrive on the console. Outrunners and Turbo Outrun never got the home ports they deserved, but the latter at least is getting a new lease of life.

Turbo Outrun Reimagined from coder Sk1ds is more than a modern take on the Sega Arcade classic, it’s a love letter not only to the source material, but to Super Scalers of the ’90s and Sega in general.

But what is Turbo Outrun?

To answer this, we have to go back to 1989. Following the monumental success of the original Outrun, which launched in 1986 as an upgrade kit for the original arcade board, Turbo updated the visuals, added a competing car, police chases and, as the name implies, a turbo boost. It also changed the stage design and music. This is certainly a more brash experience than the relatively serene original, with the sort of braggadocious feel for a game you’d expect from the late ’80s era.

It was a commercial success, albeit not to the extent the original was.

Worse still, the Mega Drive port was the only version on Sega home hardware and is extremely anaemic by comparison. Having been bafflingly handled by infamous software bunglers Tiertex, it a sorry state of affairs. Again we can only Dream of what a Saturn port would look like.

But thanks to Sk1ds we now have a new version of Turbo Outrun for us to get our itchy Sega fingers on. Reimagined is built in Unity and uses modern technology to create ultra smooth scaling at 60 FPS and at high resolutions. Texture work is clean and clear for the most part, though many cars and assets understandably retain those lovely retro pixels, and it all works beautifully together.

Comparing this against the two official Sega versions, the upgrades are obvious. The image quality is clean and clear and it all looks wonderfully fluid in motion. Everything looks sharp by comparison to the other two versions.

That said, for reasons we’ll get into, a direct comparison isn’t entirely possible, but it’s great looking at the three versions all at once. The new version certainly doesn’t look as busy as the arcade original, which does hold its own — especially in the opening New York setting, which feels more like a claustrophobic metropolis than the wide-open road of the reimagining — but it’s more a difference in style than quality.

It’s certainly a stark improvement over the subpar Mega Drive port and perhaps gives some insight on how a port on later Sega hardware may have been handled.

That said, the arcade and reimagining assets are pretty much identical and that really helps with the look and feel of the game. This is Turbo Outrun even if it sort of isn’t.

Because this isn’t a remake or a remaster. As the name says, it’s a reimagining. As such almost everything is near enough new, from the track layouts to the vehicle selection.

Vehicle selection? Yes! Unlike the original game, which gave you a Ferrari F40 to burn around the U.S. in, Reimagined gives you the choice between the said F40, a Testarossa and a Lamborghini Countach. This is superb not just from the extra variety the cars provide but the nostalgia, too. The Testarossa needs no introduction from the original Outrun, but the Countach is another ’80s sports icon and its sprite here seems to be borrowed from, or at least inspired by, the same car in Chase HQ.

Booting up, the love for Sega is apparent and gives a hint of all the Easter eggs there are to find in this wonderful fan game. As we go to the settings, it’s in here that, amongst the sound and graphical options, the music from Outrun, Turbo Outrun and Super Hang-On is selectable, defaulted on using all.

There are two modes for the main game. Original plays a lot like Outrun but sees you race against several other cars against the clock. It’s more of a straight race here without the series trademark route selection.

The other mode is the more traditional Outrun mode, which is a work in progress, but so far I’ve found it to be fantastic.

Once you start playing, the game really captures that Outrun feel that is so important. It plays pretty much spot on with an Xbox controller as you dodge traffic to beat the clock. There are some quality-of-life improvements, such as when you crash or hit an obstacle the impact and recovery time is much more forgiving. This might annoy purists, but for casual players or those of us who are a bit rubbish (like me) it makes bumping through the stages easier.

In Original mode, your progress is tracked by a wonderful Super Hang On style bar in the top left. And that isn’t the only thing to come from Yu Suzuki’s classic motorcycle sequel. The various bikes from that game appear as traffic and, as previously mentioned you hear some tunes from its killer soundtrack, too.

Super Hang-On isn’t the only Sega franchise to get a nod, though — there are Easter eggs in abundance, from the Spring Yard Zone-themed stage that uses assets from the original Sonic the Hedgehog to the Shop Theme from Fantasy Zone when you’re visiting the upgrade shop, this fan game just oozes Sega passion and charm.

This is just an Alpha, though, and only version 0.3.7c. As such it’s not the final game. I did have a couple of nitpicks: The turbo indicator isn’t as clear and obvious as the original game and I’d love to be able to choose music as you could in the original Outrun, but this is already an amazing project.

Currently you can play this on PC or via a web browser.

Full details on how to download, install and play can be found below, and downloading lets you chuck the creator a few quid for their amazing efforts. You can be rest assured that we will be following this one very closely.

Turbo Outrun Reimagined v0.3.7e alpha by Sk1ds (itch.io)

And if you want to see it in motion, check out the SEGAGuys video below!