Racing games are my favorites and constitute at least a third of my collection, Alienblue. So something that's easy for me isn't necessarily going to be for someone that doesn't play them as often. You couldn't get anywhere close to the goals in the Sega Classics Collection version a while back and it now sounds like you can, so practice makes perfect and I'm sure you'd find this version easy after a bit more time with it.
Edit - If you want an idea of what we're talking about, I just did a quick run using the left route all the way until just before the last stage where I diverged to Goal B (Bumped into a car at the fork of the road that sent me veering off towards the right instead of my planned route). Had several other minor mishaps and one mistake where I came to a complete stop. Ended the run with a very generous 29 seconds left on the clock. With those mistakes, on the arcade game, I'd of been lucky just to make it to the end goal with no time to spare, yet I did it on my first run after months away from it.
[QUOTE=Julio III]And Leo: I don't know what you mean about the modern versions of Outrun having a generous timer, the emulation on XBox Outrun 2 and Dreamcast Yu Suzuki's Gameworks/Shenmue 2 has hard time restrictions. I've never completed it. And there isn't an Outrun port included in 2006 and Online Arcade.[/QUOTE]
I actually wasn't talking about modern console ports of the original Outrun (I use port since I don't believe we've ever seen Sega release a product that actually emulated it, so far). The original arcade game has a pretty tough timer, and that's accurately reflected, just like you said, in ports of it like Sega Ages for the Saturn, the unlockable game in Outrun 2, and the Dreamcast/Xbox releases you just mentioned.
I was talking about the actual Outrun 2 game, not the hidden unlockable. Sega's timers when they produce a Outrun title from scratch in modern times is always a bit too generous with the timer, if you ask me. This 3rd party recreation of the original (I really doubt THQ, or whoever it was that produced this project, went back to the original source code at all with this GBA game) follows that modern tradition with a timer that provides the player with far too much time.
Heck, I think I reached a goal the very first time I played a Outrun 2 cabinet years ago before the Xbox saw the first port of the title (So I didn't go in experienced with the home version). Yet even today, I still find I'm running out of time on occasion with the original arcade game from 1986. But their philosophy these days seems to be to relax their timers to the point where it's largely a non issue to the player after a bit of practice. So I don't think this GBA cart is unique in that area.
[QUOTE=Julio III]I think the thing is, with the GBA port, I want to be playing the same game on my handheld that I am playing on my console or arcade - that is what I mean by quality of the port. For example, you get this whether you play Outrun 2006 on the PSP or on the PS2 (or on the xbox/360/ps3/arcade releases of 2SP). Its the same game with the same level of challenge. I played the GBA port and didn't feel satisfied that I got that far because I know I can't get that far on any other version. I don't care if the graphics are changed, but want the gameplay to be accurately ported.[/QUOTE]
I understand and don't disagree, I was just curious earlier what your problems were with it. I wasn't out to prove you wrong for being less than pleased with it.