is a maze chase

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

released by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

in 1981. It is a lightly tweaked version of 1980's ''

Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed in Japan and Germany by Namco and released in 1980. In North America, it was distributed by Midway Manufacturing and in Europe by Karateco. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidi ...

'', with slightly enhanced graphics, easier gameplay, a new soundtrack, and a "Lucky Flag" that gives the player extra points for remaining fuel when collected. ''New Rally-X'' was manufactured in greater numbers and was much more popular in Japan than its predecessor. While the original ''Rally-X'', released under a

Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...

license, was a moderate hit in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Midway only distributed ''New Rally-X'' as an upgrade kit for ''Rally-X'' cabinets.

Gameplay

The player controls a blue racing car. The objective is to collect ten yellow flags from the maze before fuel bar runs out. Each round has eight common flags, one "special" flag and one "lucky" flag. The special flag doubles the score of any flags collected afterward until the level ends. The lucky flag, which was not present in the original game, gives bonus points based on how much fuel the player has. Enemy red cars attempt to ram the player's vehicle, causing one life to be lost. A button releases a smoke screen, at the cost of fuel, making the red cars unable to move for a short time if they run over the smoke screens. Boulders in the maze are deadly if collided with. The third level and every fourth after that is a bonus round, labelled "Challenging Stage", where red cars remain still until the player's fuel runs out.

Legacy

A version of ''New Rally-X'' is the load-up game in the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

game ''

Ridge Racer is a series of racing video games created by Namco and owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The first game, ''Ridge Racer (1993 video game), Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally released in arcades for the Namco System 22 hardware, later ported ...

''. It was also included in ''

Namco Museum Battle Collection ''Namco Museum Battle Collection'' is a 2005 video game compilation developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation Portable. It is the first '' Namco Museum'' since the original PlayStation series to be developed in Japan. It includes 21 gam ...

'' for the PSP, along with an entirely new "Arrangement" version of it which has updated graphics, music, and new gameplay mechanics. The game was also released on the

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

Live Arcade service on December 27, 2006, and on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

in Japan on October 6, 2009. In addition, it has also been included in several editions of the Namco plug-n-play game series, from Jakks Pacific. A version known as ''New Rally-X S'' (the "S" stands for "Special") was also released on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

. In November 2010, it was included in ''

Namco Museum Megamix was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated Amusement arcade, video arcades and Amusement park, amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and ...

'' for the

. The game was included on the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

and

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

as part of the ''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s developed and published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called focuses on re-releasing Neo Geo titles in their original arcade format, unlike many s ...

'' series in February 2022.

References

External links

* {{KLOV game, 8855 1981 video games Arcade video games Maze games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Namco arcade games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Xbox 360 Live Arcade games Arcade Archives games Hamster Corporation games Multiplayer and single-player video games