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Up’n Down

Arcade

Arcade

FUN IN THE FAST LANE Drive your Baja Buggy over treacherous miles of deadly motocross track. Watch out! The course is crawling with opponents who want to make this the last race you run. Beware of killer pick-up trucks, boulders, and swarms of other motoring menaces. Multiple screeching screens o...

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Developer
Sega Enterprises

Released on
1983

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Action

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

FUN IN THE FAST LANE Drive your Baja Buggy over treacherous miles of deadly motocross track. Watch out! The course is crawling with opponents who want to make this the last race you run. Beware of killer pick-up trucks, boulders, and swarms of other motoring menaces. Multiple screeching screens of Baja Road Race excitement. – High-speed challenges for one or two players. – Full-throttle color action-animated graphics.

The object is to drive around a twisty course and collect all the colored flags. You can jump over gaps and over or onto other cars. If you land on another car, you destroy it and collect points. You can also collect things like balloons and ice cream cones for bonus points. The faster you collect all the flags, the bigger a time bonus you get.

In later levels, there are dead-ends or gaps and a vehicle that is carrying a flag you need, so you will need to jump on it. If you are hit by another vehicle or go off the course, you lose a life. Two player games are alternating with the players taking their turns.

Up'n Down

Overview & History

Released by Sega in 1983, Up'n Down is an eccentric and fast-paced vertical-scrolling arcade racer designed by Yuji Ishii. Diverging from conventional side-scrolling driving games of the early '80s, this title casts players as a relentless, bouncy dune buggy on a quest to collect every scattered checkered flag across a series of hazardous, undulating landscape tracks. Unlike traditional racers where staying on the ground is the primary objective, Up'n Down thrives on airborne acrobatics. The game gained popularity for its vibrant, toy-like aesthetic and its uniquely unforgiving physics engine, later inspiring conversions for popular home computers of the era like the Commodore 64 and ColecoVision, cementing its legacy as a quirky cult classic of Golden Age arcade history.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core gameplay loop of Up'n Down combines endless-runner momentum with platformer-style vertical jumping. The dune buggy moves forward continuously at high speeds, while the player controls its acceleration and mid-air trajectory. Obstacles range from competing rival vehicles and sudden gaping chasms to treacherous drawbridges and winding canyon roads. To survive, the buggy must frequently launch off ramps and leap over hazards, landing precisely without flipping over. Players can also collect fuel icons to extend their time limit and snatch up bonus flags. A distinctive combat mechanic allows the buggy to destroy rival vehicles simply by landing directly on top of them from a high jump. As stages progress, the track designs become increasingly labyrinthine, featuring bifurcated paths and dizzying elevation changes that demand lightning-fast reflexes and spatial awareness.