Way back in the summer of 2010?), I was very agreeably surprised with Oyatsukai’s last Freeway, an homage to Sega’s classic Outrun arcade racer.
You might tell straight away that the present was an abundance of love. Put into Final Freeway by a big shot who respected the source material.
Of course, this love translated into fun gameplay for those longing for an on-the-go Outrun-alike.
Even as we praise Final Freeway in our review, it was absent a couple of core components.
Initial was a lack of branching paths when you arrive at the end of a track segment.
It usually would allow you to decide your path to the end of the race. Instead, Final Freeway was just a direct shot during its 6 environments. The second big thing to be absent was the aptitude to crash and flip your ride.
Certain, this is just a chart thing that doesn’t influence gameplay. But it can’t feel like an Outrun game if not you can barrel into a tree at 160mph. Turn over your vehicle during the air sometimes as the passengers are ejected.
And hold both the car and the people approach out unharmed.
Also, where was the pretty pale riding shotgun? Perhaps she was there, but as the car wasn’t a convertible in Final Freeway, I’ll never know for sure.
So present you have it, Final Freeway was an overwhelming OutRun replica with a few minor flaws.
Fast onward to the previous month and Oyatsukai has taken all the feedback from the original Final Freeway. And put it into the sequel.
All the things we felt were missing from the first game? Those are in Final Freeway 2R, and it even does a couple of neat new things. That differentiates itself from OutRun while still retaining the feel of that series.
The first big thing in Final Freeway 2R is that there are now 13 different environments to race through in total.
Each complete game has you racing through 5 of them. With a branching path at the end of each, that lets you pick which route to take.
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It’s super OutRunny! Also, the graphics look a lot better this time around, with more detailed sprite work and a greater draw distance.
The sense of speed in Final Freeway 2R is just ridiculous and puts most other racers to shame. All the while it runs at a rock-solid frame rate.
Of course, you can also now flip your ride in Final Freeway 2R. Which as I’ve explained is incredibly crucial to the experience.
You get a convertible faux Ferrari this time too, so you can see your blonde lady friend sitting in the passenger seat.
In a cool twist over the original, you can now choose from 3 different drivers in Final Freeway 2R. Each with its own set of stats.
One of these drivers is the blonde cutie. When you pick her one of the other fellas ends up riding shotgun. Equality!
One other interesting change from OutRun is now you have a rival of sorts. Shadowing you through each environment as you race towards the end goal.
If you manage to reach the end of a track segment before he does you’ll get an additional bonus.
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It’s not integral to the overall experience. But it does add a nice bit of extra motivation to have an opponent to race against rather than merely trying to beat the clock.
It’s just pure, unsophisticated, fast-paced, arcade racing fun.
If you’re not an original OutRun fan but are curious if this sort of gameplay is your thing. Then for today, only you can grab the first Final Freeway for free to see how it grabs you.
If you like that, then just know that Final Freeway 2R improves on everything from the first and will set you back just a buck.
