As the 80s rolled around, three of the new games that made their way into the local arcade were Pac-Man, Defender and Rally X, with the latter slightly resembling a hybrid between the first two. Perhaps that is why Rally X was considered to have the best prospects of the three when introduced at the 1980 Amusement Machine trade show. As history tells us, however, this didn’t quite work out as planned. Still, its integration of racing and maze navigation made it a popular offering in its own right.

Rally X was introduced by Namco, and therefore utilized the same hardware as its famous Pac cousin for generating its maze. Unlike Pac-Man, however, this was a much larger labyrinth, with most of its maze not visible to a player at any given time. Rather, a handy radar screen helped players keep track of the overall position, while being chased around the course by determined and destructive red pursuers. Scattered about the course were a series of ten flags. Complicating matters was the fact that your car only had a limited fuel supply, so mistakes could be costly. Luckily, your radar also showed you the location of these flags, as well as the red vehicles that sought your demise, allowing you to plot the safest course possible.

Your car wasn’t without defenses, equipped with a smoke screen generator that could throw approaching vehicles for a loop. Using this gadget, however took a healthy bite out of your fuel supply, so it was best used sparingly. Another obstacle to be aware of was various scatterings of rocks, which could unexpectedly block what seemed like a perfectly reasonable path, forcing you change course and recalculate at a moment’s notice – once again mindful of that dwindling fuel supply.

If all the flags were successfully collected, it was on to a new course – featuring a different maze and a larger supply of pursuers. The only time players ever got a bit of a breather was from the occasional “Challenge Stages” that would break up the levels, allowing you drive around and frantically collect flags before the fuel ran out, but at least not having to worry about those red demons for a moment.

Rally-X may not have risen to the heights of its Pac-Man counterpart, but that’s not to say that it didn’t enjoy its share of the popularity pie. It still garnered enough loyal fans to spawn a sequel, New Rally X, in 1991. This time around, game developers thoughtfully included some fuel-laden “lucky flags,” and the overall game was also sped up considerably. Unfortunately, it didn’t have a chance to benefit from a lack of competition, as Namco mercilessly released Ms. Pac-Man at the same time, which, in terms of popularity, sadly left New Rally X in a cloud of gaming dust.