Rally-X

Rally-X is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released on October 3, 1980 in Japan, by Midway Manufacturing in North America in February 1981 and by Karateco in Europe in 1981. 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 and rival to Sega's Head On (1979). It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the sixth highest-grossing game of 1980, but Midway released the game in North America to largely underwhelming results. The game is known in North America for 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.