Rally-X
Encyclopedia
Rally-X is a maze driving arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

 that was released by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

 in 1980. It runs on Namco Pac-Man
Namco Pac-Man
The Namco 8-bit Pac-Man arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1980.-Specifications:*Main CPU: Zilog Z80*Sound chip: Custom 3-channel 4-bit WSG *Video resolution: 224 x 288*ROM: 16 KB*Main RAM: 2 KB...

 hardware, and was the first Namco game to feature "Special Flags", which would become a recurring object in later games (along with the Galaxian
Galaxian
is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...

flagship).

It was the first game to ever feature a "bonus round
Bonus stage
A bonus stage is a special level within a video game designed to reward the player or players, and typically allows the player to collect extra points or power-ups. Often a bonus stage will have no enemies or hazards, or may contain them but the player character is invulnerable to attack from them...

." The object is to "capture" all of the flags scattered in the field before the other racers hit you. It was also the first game to feature background music, as well as the first game to allow scrolling
Scrolling
In computer graphics, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display. "Scrolling", as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures, or but incrementally moves the user's view across what is...

 in multiple directions, both vertical and horizontal
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...

, and it was possible to pull the screen quickly in either direction. It also featured an early example of a radar, to show the car's location on the map.

Description

In the game, the player controls a blue car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 through a maze
Maze
A maze is a tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth, as the labyrinth has a single...

. The car will automatically move in whichever direction the joystick is pushed, but if it hits a wall, it will turn and continue.

In each stage, ten flags are scattered around the maze. The player must collect all of them to clear the stage and move on. The flags increase in value as they are collected: the first is 100 points, second is 200, third is 300, and so on. There are also special flags—if the player collects one of them, the value earned from flags doubles for the rest of the round. If the player dies, however, the next flag value is set back to 100 and the double bonus is lost.

Several red cars patrol the maze, and contact with any of them results in the end of the game. The number of these cars begins at three and increases in number throughout each normal stage to eight. The first five appear at the bottom of the screen, and the next three will appear at the top of the screen. However, the player can use a smoke screen against the red cars. If a red car runs into a cloud of smokescreen, it will be momentarily stunned. The amount of time stunned decreases with each level, but will still always cause the red car to chase the blue car using an alternate route. Using the smokescreen uses a small amount of fuel.

The car has a limited amount of fuel which is consumed with time, though it is normally sufficient to last until all flags are cleared. When fuel runs out, the car moves very slowly and the smokescreen no longer works, so it very quickly falls victim to the red cars.

There are also stationary rocks that the player must avoid. The rocks are randomly distributed throughout the maze, increasing in number as levels are advanced.

On the third stage and every fourth stage after that, a bonus stage
Bonus stage
A bonus stage is a special level within a video game designed to reward the player or players, and typically allows the player to collect extra points or power-ups. Often a bonus stage will have no enemies or hazards, or may contain them but the player character is invulnerable to attack from them...

 ("CHALLENGING STAGE") will start. The player must collect flags in the normal way, but the red cars (the maximum normal number of red cars, which is eight) are unable to move. If the player runs out of fuel, the red cars will start moving. If a player hits a red car after they start to move or if they hit a rock, the challenging stage ends, and the player loses a life.

The soundtrack is unique to this game.

Ports

Rally-X was ported to the MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...

 home computer. It was also included in Namco Museum
Namco Museum
Namco Museum refers to the series of video game compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s and early 1990s...

 Volume 1
series of 1995, which was released for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...

, Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection in 2005, and the Pac-Man's Arcade Party
Pac-Man Anniversary Arcade Machines
On special anniversaries for Pac-Man and/or Ms. Pac-Man . Namco has released compilations of their classic arcade games as arcade machines....

30th Anniversary arcade machine in 2010.

Jakks Pacific
Jakks Pacific
JAKKS Pacific, Inc. is a designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses...

 ported Rally-X to its Namco Collection TV game, which also includes Dig Dug
Dig Dug
is an arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan in 1982 for Namco Galaga hardware. It was later published outside of Japan by Atari. A popular game based on a simple concept, it was also released as a video game on many consoles.-Objective:...

, Bosconian
Bosconian
is a free-roaming multi-directional scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Namco and released in 1981. In contrast to the more linear shooter games of its time, Bosconian allows the player's ship to freely move across open space that scrolls in all directions. The game also features a...

, Galaxian
Galaxian
is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979. It was published by Namco in Japan and was imported to North America by Midway in 1980. A fixed shooter-style game in which the player controls a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and shoots enemies descending in various directions, it was designed...

, and Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...

.

Two unlicensed ports exist for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

: one by Hwang Shinwei ("迷魂車/BB Car"), and another by Sachen ("Jovial Race").

Sequels

The game's sequel, New Rally-X
New Rally-X
New Rally-X is a maze arcade game that was released by Namco in 1981. It runs on Namco Pac-Man hardware but uses a system similar to Bosconian and, as the name suggests, is the sequel to Rally-X, released in the previous year...

, offers a slightly different color scheme and easier gameplay (the special flag now flashes on the radar). Also, a feature called the "Lucky Flag" was added, which awards the player bonus points for the amount of fuel remaining when touched, after which the game continues if there are more flags. New Rally-X was manufactured in greater numbers and became more popular (at least in Japan) than the original.

Namco Classics Collection Volume 2
Namco Classics Collection Volume 2
Namco Classic Collection Volume 2 is a compilation arcade game that was released by Namco in 1996. It is a collection of three popular Namco games - Pac-Man , Rally-X and Dig Dug . In addition to the original games, there are "arrangement" versions that include 2-player simultaneous play,...

, released in 1996, includes a version of Rally-X with enhanced graphics and gameplay, Rally-X Arrangement. Namco Museum Remix
Namco Museum Remix
Namco Museum Remix is a video game compilation for the Wii, featuring a wide array of classic and updated Namco arcade games. Featured in the compilation are the original arcade versions of Cutie Q, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Gaplus, Mappy, Pac & Pal, Pac-Mania, Super Pac-Man and Xevious...

, released on October 23, 2007 for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

, also features a revamped version of Rally-X called Rally-X Remix.

Radar Rat Race
Radar Rat Race
Radar Rat Race was a 1981 game for the Commodore VIC-20, later converted to the Commodore 64. It was among thirty game titles marketed by Commodore on cartridges. It was a clone of the Namco arcade game Rally-X.-Overview:...

is a Rally-X clone for the Commodore VIC-20
Commodore VIC-20
The VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer which was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET...

 and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

 with a different theme: cars are replaced with mice, flags with cheese, boulders with cats, smokescreens with "star screens", and the soundtrack with "Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...

".

Rally-X Rumble was released on Apple iOS on August 17th, 2011.

Trivia

In 1980, Defender, Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...

, and Battlezone were shown alongside Rally-X at a trade show sponsored by the Amusement Machine Operators of America. It was believed that Rally-X would be the top money-earner. Defender went on to sell more than 60,000 units—more than disproving these projections—and cemented its place in video game history. Meanwhile, Pac-Man went on to sell more than 350,000 arcade units and became the highest-grossing video game of all time.

In Rally-X Remix on Namco Museum Remix
Namco Museum Remix
Namco Museum Remix is a video game compilation for the Wii, featuring a wide array of classic and updated Namco arcade games. Featured in the compilation are the original arcade versions of Cutie Q, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Gaplus, Mappy, Pac & Pal, Pac-Mania, Super Pac-Man and Xevious...

, there is an option to play as the red car and crash into Pac-Man. To unlock it, known as "Red mode", all 4 worlds must be beaten.
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