This is the place to talk about my personal favorite video game series: Snowboard Kids! Since it’s kinda obscure to many people, here’s a little info about all the games.
The first game in the series was released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64. It’s a fun, unrealistic snowboard racing game where you go down a course and do tricks to earn points, which you can then spend on items like bombs or icicles to hinder your opponents and help you get first place, not unlike Mario Kart in concept. It’s got a distinct artstyle and a very nice soundtrack, and the characters have a lot of personality despite there being no real story behind the game.
I don’t own this one, but I’ve played it a lot on an emulator. I’d like to get it one day, but it needs a controller pak to save, and mine keep acting up and randomly erase themselves…
In 1999 came the second game. It builds upon the first one, but gameplay has been updated with smoother controls and a new trick system. The artstyle has also been updated, but it keeps the charm of the first game. They also added a story mode to the game - said story is very silly and nonsensical, but it does add more depth to game. The soundtrack is very good too, it definitely sounds much sillier than the first one but that doesn’t make it any less good!
This is one of the two SBK games I own physically. The PAL version was only released in Australia (but the game is real, @Minethuselah go figure) and is very rare, prices go above 300 for an original copy. Mine’s an affordable reproduction which works just as good. It also saves directly to the cartridge, another improvement over the first game.
Also in 1999, there was a Japan exclusive release of the first game for the Playstation. As the title implies, it is an upgraded version of the first game with more characters and an extra course, while keeping the rest of the original game (just retooled to work on the PS1, obviously). The artstyle has been changed slightly, giving the characters more human proportions while still keeping their characteristic huge noses - this is my favorite game in the series when it comes to looks. The soundtrack features the same songs as the first game, but remixed with a new soundfont and it sounds beautiful.
And lastly, in 2005 we got Snowboard Kids SBK on the Nintendo DS. It was an attempt at rebooting the series, trying to make it feel fresh - and it definitely does, both a good and a bad thing.
First off, the artstyle was changed again, this time to a generic anime-like design. I think it looks cool, but it does lose the characteristic recognizability of the first games.
Gameplay feels different too since they implemented somewhat realistic physics.
What’s to like is the fact that it’s an absolute blast and you can do up to 4 players wireless download play! The soundtrack is very fun and highly energetic.
Hope you enjoyed my overly long rambling. Do you know these games? Have I made you curious about them? Go discuss!