Honestly, I did not care about every 3D SEGA game that was released. The fact that Altered Beast got released is somewhat of a joke and a few others did not grab me in the right ways. The day that 3D OutRun got announced, however, SEGA managed it reel me back in. I have seen everything this game has to offer and I am not disappointed with how this enhanced port turned out.

If you’ve never played OutRun, there are just two things that you need to know to survive: speeding and driving. With the Circle Pad and various buttons at your disposal, you steer and drift yourself through various environments. At the end of every section, there are two paths you can take and this will give you access to new places. There is no real rush to get anywhere, except that you have to keep the timer in mind in order to reach the checkpoint before it fully depletes. The controls can make it feel a bit simplistic in the beginning, but you are truly being challenged not long after the initial boot up.

With this being a special version for the Nintendo eShop, there are various new options for you to play around with. The difficulty can be tweaked; you can choose between either the western or Japanese release; you can map the controls the way you like it or let the game be displayed in a variety of ways. The amount changes you can make with this is impressive and you can even freely check your favorite levels, which is really a great touch. The most impressive thing about 3D OutRun is how the look of the game holds up so well because M2 added an insane amount of detail and layering to the environments. You can see it the best in 3D.

Of all the 3D SEGA games that I have played, I have never been more impressed than with 3D OutRun. The environments shine on the screens of 3DS and the gameplay is still quite smooth, even if it feels simplistic in the beginning. The relaxing feeling of driving through this scenery, while rocking music plays through your speaker, makes me a happy chap. I can safely recommend this to anyone with a small retro heart!