The Legend Lives On: 20 YEARS OF Out Run 2

TWENTY YEARS AGO AN ARCADE RACING LEGEND WAS BORN AND GAMERS WERE TAKEN ON A BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY BY SITTING DOWN WITH SUMO DIGITAL TO CHART THE ENDURING HISTORY OF OUTRUN 2

- MARTYN CARROLL

Sega hasn't always had a perfect record when it comes to S updating its popular franchises. We may praise Sonic Generations, After Burner: Climax and Streets Of Rage 4, but then we remember Shinobi X, Golden Axe: Beast Rider and Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric.

Such potential for disaster is surely why Sega waited 17 years before it dared to release OutRun 2. It wasn't the first follow-up to the revered 1986 original, but it was the first in which original creator Yu Suzuki and his AM2 team could update the game for a new generation - both in terms of hardware and audience.

Their trick was to look at the original and consider what worked - the sense of freedom offered by the branching route, the amazing multi-tune soundtrack, the whole breezy blue sky vibe - and ensure that was all replicated in the sequel. But crucially they also looked at what didn't work.