What if Outrun (Gameboy Color, Homebrew)
6What if OutRun is an unofficial homebrew game developed under the assumption, "What if Sega's 1986 OutRun was released on Game Boy Color?" It is a demo version that showcases a high level of technical achievement within the hardware limitations of the Game Boy Color, while faithfully recreating the spirit of the arcade original. It is available to play in-browser or on real hardware.
What if OutRun retains the core structure of the original while adapting it to the performance of the GBC as an optimized 8-bit racing game. The flow of the road, lane-switching, sense of speed, and sound—including the iconic track “Splash Wave”—are all intricately recreated. The demo is currently distributed for free, supporting both ROM download and web-based play.
This project was created by Canadian indie developer Shane McCafferty, also known as EGVroom online. He has previously worked on experimental GBC projects such as Hero GP and Shadow of the Beast GBC, and this OutRun demo continues that lineage. The game is published under Rocketship Park and available on itch.io. In interviews, Shane emphasized that this demo is not just a "pixel art experiment" but a real game running on actual GBC hardware.
The GBC’s limited 4MHz Z80-based CPU, 160x144 resolution, and 56-color display make it unsuitable for the arcade’s Super Scaler technology. To work around this, the developer pre-rendered sprites of various sizes to simulate perspective, using sprite swaps to express speed and depth. Road curves and car movement are handled via simplified math, and performance is secured through GBDK-2020 and assembly optimization. The music is rearranged using LSDJ and tuned for the GBC sound chip to preserve the original atmosphere.
What if OutRun runs not only on emulators but also on actual GBC hardware and FPGA consoles like the Analogue Pocket. It works via EverDrive or flashcarts and is compatible with accurate emulators like mGBA and Emulicious. The developer tested compatibility with debugging tools like BGB to ensure it functions at an optimized hardware level.
What if OutRun is more than a technical showcase—it breaks through the GBC's limits while faithfully reviving OutRun’s style and speed. Though only a short demo for now, the developer has expressed interest in expanding it into a full game if officially licensed. The current demo is polished and meaningful as a reimagining of retro game development's potential.
https://rocketshippark.itch.io/what-if-outrun
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0:00 Start
0:28 Beach
2:15 Capital
3:46 OutRun Music - Last Wave
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