Super Hang-On vs. Outrun 2019

[VenomMacbeth]

I definitely preferred 2019's OST over Super Hang-On's.  the arcade version of "Winning Run" is fantastic, but I still like Outrun 2019's "Steal into the Night" and "Relight My Fire" better. 

[Tatsujin]

So Tats, how are those 3DS versions? Do they play well? Good 3D? Anything of interest to note?

looks, sounds, plays and almost feels like the arcade. 3D is 3DS 3D so it is really good 3D as long your eyes can handle it.

super speedy and thanks to the almost 320x240 screen resolution of the 3DS, it is also displayed in native resolution at almost fullscreen (lots of other resolution settings are possible, but i like the native one). if you enjoy 3D it be better played on a 3DSXL o'course.

lots of configurations possible as well, like imitating the sit down cab etc.

[Tatsujin]

Outrun 2019 is better than Super Hang On, but Super Hang on has the better music by far.

genny SHO runs on like 15fps or so which destroys the feeling of speed totally. most scaler games on genny lacked the speed due to low frame rates. that's why PCE scalers were much better and faster at that time.

[wildfruit]

i used to like super hang on for MD but nowadays i usually head to dobuita to play some hang on arcade

[SmaMan]

I've got both on Genny carts and SHO on the Wii's VCA. I love classic Sega driving games, but OutRun 2019 just didn't do it for me. It doesn't feel like Sega... and really it isn't. Did you know 2019 was going to be a 3rd party Sega CD game originally?

[VenomMacbeth]

It doesn't feel like Sega... and really it isn't. Did you know 2019 was going to be a 3rd party Sega CD game originally?

The first mistake people make playing this game is expecting it to be an Outrun game.  Even I avoided it for a long time because of this.  However, if you can imagine you're playing something else entirely, then it's a lot of fun.  I don't really get why it gets so panned in reviews.  The car controls well, and there's tons of replay value what with all the splits in the road & not just the main ones (lots of shortcuts, alternative paths, accessible intersections, etc.)

In my opinion, it's not only one of the best driving games, but also one of the best super-scaler games on the hardware, right up there with Burning Force.  Super Hang-On just feels...I dunno...pointless.  The same basic rules apply, but without any of the bells & whistles of even the first Outrun.  The backgrounds are bland, the roadside objects aren't anywhere near varied enough, and the controls are somewhat sketchy.  All-in-all, it's probably the least exciting racing title I've played on the Genesis.  It's not bad & I do enjoy it to some degree, but I'd much rather play Outrun, 2019 or original, or Super Monaco GP.  I still need to try Lotus II, though...

[Tatsujin]

Lol, Outrun 2019 ain't no super scaler

[SmaMan]

It doesn't feel like Sega... and really it isn't. Did you know 2019 was going to be a 3rd party Sega CD game originally?

The first mistake people make playing this game is expecting it to be an Outrun game.  Even I avoided it for a long time because of this.  However, if you can imagine you're playing something else entirely, then it's a lot of fun.  I don't really get why it gets so panned in reviews.  The car controls well, and there's tons of replay value what with all the splits in the road & not just the main ones (lots of shortcuts, alternative paths, accessible intersections, etc.)

Maybe I just need to give it another shot then. Never heard of all these alternate paths you bring up. I mean, I fall off the overpass all the time onto alternate lower roads. (Basically a given if you hit the turbo button.) But I'll try to keep my eyes peeled for these other things next time.

I should stress that don't hate Outrun 2019, I just don't think it's as good as Super Hang On.

[VenomMacbeth]

Maybe I just need to give it another shot then. Never heard of all these alternate paths you bring up. I mean, I fall off the overpass all the time onto alternate lower roads. (Basically a given if you hit the turbo button.) But I'll try to keep my eyes peeled for these other things next time.

I should stress that don't hate Outrun 2019, I just don't think it's as good as Super Hang On.

On the fourth level, if you take a left at the first fork, you'll eventually come to an intersection (preceded by some warning signs.)  If you catch it quickly enough, you can brake & turn towards either direction, causing your car to turn dramatically onto it using a neat rotation effect (obviously it's no mode seven, but for stock Genesis hardware it's pretty impressive.)  These intersections pop up other places in the game, but this is one of only two that I know about.  It's also early enough in the level to where if you miss it, you can pause the game, retire, then try again to hit it.

It's probably not enough to save the game for most people, but I think it's friggin' awesome.  Also, if you're having trouble staying on the bridges, you only need to tap the brake once to disengage the turbo as it's charging.  Track memorization helps a lot too, though.

[Tatsujin]

But super hang on ain't any good neither. For me the genny version is nearly impossible to play and cotroll.
it's one horrible port in almost every segment. Grafx is still the best, but that doesn't save much.

[jeffhlewis]

The Genny's scalar game ports were universally pretty bad; have to admit. Outrun on the Genny was a huge disappointment when it came out. I feel like the 32x could have handled it though after seeing how great Space Harrier and After Burner turned out.

[VenomMacbeth]

The Genny's scalar game ports were universally pretty bad; have to admit. Outrun on the Genny was a huge disappointment when it came out. I feel like the 32x could have handled it though after seeing how great Space Harrier and After Burner turned out.

You're right for the most part.  Space Harrier 2 is inexcusably choppy, Super Thunder Blade...I shouldn't have even mentioned it.  After Burner II is okay, but slow.  I still think Genesis Outrun is better than the PCE one, though.  Burning Force is probably the best scaler game on the console. 

You can't really fault the Genesis, though.  16-bit hardware wasn't made for sprite scaling, not even the SNES.   

[Tatsujin]

I still think Genesis Outrun is better than the PCE one, though.  

In what aspects? Even the genny had just very few more details (beach f.e.) plus FM music (even relatively sorry one), it still played and felt much choppier than the pce port.

PCE Outrun also used more original sprites and tiles from the arcade. as for the the genny port basically everything was re-drawn.

You can't really fault the Genesis, though.  16-bit hardware wasn't made for sprite scaling, not even the SNES.  

After Burner II proved even more how the PCE could handle the job significantly better. And that isnt't even considered as 16-bit by most of the peeps..lol.

[VenomMacbeth]

In what aspects? Even the genny had just very few more details (beach f.e.) plus FM music (even relatively sorry one), it still played and felt much choppier than the pce port.

PCE Outrun also used more original sprites and tiles from the arcade. as for the the genny port basically everything was re-drawn.

...

After Burner II proved even more how the PCE could handle the job significantly better. And that isnt't even considered as 16-bit by most of the peeps..lol.

Regarding Outrun, the PCE version just doesn't feel like it's trying hard enough as opposed to, say, After Burner.  The forks in the road are pretty flickery & harken back to the SMS version, and sometimes glitch out completely.  One time I was playing & got just a little too close to the middle of the fork, and the game glitched & my time ran out because I couldn't get back to the track.  And you're telling me the graphics were pulled from the arcade?  Maybe so, but the resolution is terrible for it.  I mean, the ferrari logo on the back of the car is made out of, what, 9 pixels?  And some of the objects, namely the rows of flowers/grass and clouds, seem to have been amputated slightly, like the PC Engine couldn't handle the whole sprite or something (which I'm pretty sure it could have...right?)  The canyons look mostly atrocious, but that's to be expected. Also, why is it that when you crash, the driver & his bimbo don't come tumbling out of the car?  Hardware limitation or programmer laziness?  Also, no voice synthesis.  Even Space Harrier had that, however unintelligible it may have been.

I'm not saying I hate it, and from a hardware standpoint, it's mostly on-par with the Genesis version.  It just doesn't feel like it has the same amount of effort put into it as After Burner (as can be seen with the fake scaling on the aircraft carrier & refueling plane, and the good sense of speed) or even Thunder Blade (the only console version of the game with layered tile buildings).  Outrun PCE is great and all, but it could have been better, and it should have been.

[Tatsujin]

In what aspects? Even the genny had just very few more details (beach f.e.) plus FM music (even relatively sorry one), it still played and felt much choppier than the pce port.

PCE Outrun also used more original sprites and tiles from the arcade. as for the the genny port basically everything was re-drawn.

...

After Burner II proved even more how the PCE could handle the job significantly better. And that isnt't even considered as 16-bit by most of the peeps..lol.

Regarding Outrun, the PCE version just doesn't feel like it's trying hard enough as opposed to, say, After Burner.  The forks in the road are pretty flickery & harken back to the SMS version, and sometimes glitch out completely.  One time I was playing & got just a little too close to the middle of the fork, and the game glitched & my time ran out because I couldn't get back to the track.  And you're telling me the graphics were pulled from the arcade?  Maybe so, but the resolution is terrible for it.  I mean, the ferrari logo on the back of the car is made out of, what, 9 pixels?  And some of the objects, namely the rows of flowers/grass and clouds, seem to have been amputated slightly, like the PC Engine couldn't handle the whole sprite or something (which I'm pretty sure it could have...right?)  The canyons look mostly atrocious, but that's to be expected. Also, why is it that when you crash, the driver & his bimbo don't come tumbling out of the car?  Hardware limitation or programmer laziness?  Also, no voice synthesis.  Even Space Harrier had that, however unintelligible it may have been.

I'm not saying I hate it, and from a hardware standpoint, it's mostly on-par with the Genesis version.  It just doesn't feel like it has the same amount of effort put into it as After Burner (as can be seen with the fake scaling on the aircraft carrier & refueling plane, and the good sense of speed) or even Thunder Blade (the only console version of the game with layered tile buildings).  Outrun PCE is great and all, but it could have been better, and it should have been.

I agree that it could have been better, that goes for most of any games ever released on any systems (with only few exceptions of the so called "prefect" games).
I also agree that the PCE as well the MD version both have they superior points over each other (MD pro: includes the beach, better forks, added flower and grass planes vs. PCE pro: more faithful sprite/tiles, better colors, all around faster pace/more dynamic).
but in a generel term, the PCE outrun outruns the MD one by having a clother look to the arcade than the MD one does, especially as mentioned above, using better and more arcade faithful sprites/tiles and of course not at least due to the use of nicer and closer to the arcade colors.

The PCEs testarossa also looks kinda pixlated because the arcade one does as well. The MD one was completely re-drawn and for that alone reduces some of the initial special feel and flair (IMO).