1, Computer and Video Games Ed Lomas said Rally-X was fun at first, but quickly became repetitive and suffered from poor movement controls. Brett Alan Weiss of AllGame was similarly mixed in his review from 1998, where he claimed its only noteworthy aspects were the "merciless" difficulty and smoke screen weapon. Weiss found its visuals and sounds to only be "merely functional", and secondary to the difficult level. IGN staff contrasted their statements, and believed Rally-X, like the other games in Vol. 1, holds up well today. It was listed among the greatest arcade games by Gamest readers in 1998, being selected for its innovation and evolution on the traditional gameplay of maze chase action games. Rally-X has continued to earn praise in retrospective commentary. Writing for Eurogamer in 2007, Sir Clive believed the game was unique enough to discern it from Pac-Man and similar maze-chasers. He identified its high difficulty and design, and that it gave an adrenaline rush to players. Clive commented: "When you are playing the game, just imaging a yellow circle where your car is and repeat the mantra 'wakawakawakawaka' as you play and you will start to see just how huge this game could have been". Retro Gamer staff were positive towards its colorful graphics, smooth scrolling, and increasing level of difficulty, writing it makes for a unique derivative of Pac-Man and was worth playing in its own right. Phosphor Dot Fossilss Earl Green found its gameplay addictive and commented on its similarities to Pac-Man. Green believes Rally-X failed to catch on as it lacked Pac-Mans abstract characters and design, and was too similar to other driving games from the era. Legacy Rally-X is credited as being one of the first games to feature continuous background music and a bonus round, predating Sega's Carnival, which was released in June 1980. In response to player feedback from the original, Namco released a sequel named New Rally-X in 1981, which was designed to improve on the original's flaws and make it easier for newcomers. It also adds a "Lucky Flag" that awards bonus points based on how much fuel remains. New Rally-X has been seen as an improvement over the original and has been ported to several consoles and compilations, such as mobile phones and the Xbox 360. Rally-X Arrangement, included in Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 (1996), is a remake of the original that implements power-ups