Rally-X

Rally-X
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Hirohito Ito
Programmer(s)
  • Kazuo Kurosu
  • Kouichi Tashiro
Artist(s)Hiroshi Ono[5]
Composer(s)Toshio Kai
Platform(s)Arcade, MSX, VIC-20, Sharp X1, Fujitsu FM-7, MZ-1500
Release
Genre(s)Maze
Mode(s)Single-player, 2 players alternating

Rally-X (Japanese: ラリーX, Hepburn: Rarī-Ekkusu) 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 multidirectional scrolling maze to collect yellow flags. Boulders block some paths and must be avoided. Red enemy cars pursue the player in an attempt to collide with them. Red cars can be temporarily stunned by laying down smoke screens at the cost of fuel. Rally-X is one of the first games with bonus stages and continuously-playing background music.

Rally-X was designed as a successor to Sega's Head On (1979), an earlier maze chase game with cars. It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the sixth highest-grossing game of 1980, but Midway Manufacturing released the game in North America to largely underwhelming results. An often-repeated, though untrue, story involving its demonstration at the 1980 Amusement & Music Operators Association trade show, where the attending press believed Rally-X was of superior quality than the other games presented, specifically Pac-Man. Though it was well-received by attendees, Rally-X failed to attract much attention during its presentation.

Reception for Rally-X, both at release and retrospectively, has highlighted its technological accomplishments and high difficulty. Some reviewers have found it to be influential and ahead of its time. Rally-X received several remakes and sequels, beginning with the slightly tweaked New Rally-X in 1981. It is also included in several Namco compilations.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference MAD1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  4. ^ a b c "Rally-X Video Game Flyers". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. ^ Kiya, Andrew (October 17, 2021). "Former Namco Pixel Artist Hiroshi 'Mr. Dotman' Ono Has Died". Siliconera. Retrieved October 17, 2021.


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