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Snowboard Kids is the most underrated N64 game

Openrob

Openrob

Member
Nov 5, 2017
636
snowboard-kids-cover.cover_large.jpg


Damn this game is good. Snowboard Kids is one of the better games on the 64 and a great cart racer in general.

Power ups. Weapons. Multiple courses, characters, and boards to choose from.
Think Mario Kart on snowboards.



In addition to all the usual, you also can do tricks (which give you gold - you can't pick up power ups without gold).

Music was on point (actually it was really bloody good) - it had multiple game modes, a shop for customisation (before microtransactions) and track selection was cool - all felt unique from eachother and well designed - route shortcuts and steady difficulty progression.



Anyway, it's better than Mario Kart and I'll fight whoever disagrees.

And fuck that DS reboot.
 
taytwo

taytwo

Member
Dec 3, 2018
96
My favorite game from the n64 I used to rent it from my local Hollywood video like every weekend when I was younger

I remember the bosses from the 2nd game being super difficult
 
Dark Mantonio

Dark Mantonio

Member
Nov 1, 2017
1,763
Wouldn't take it over Mario Kart but it was a fun rental at the time. Beating your opponents to the ski lift in multiplayer was the most satisfying aspect of that game.
 
DimitriLH

DimitriLH

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,514
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Barely played the first, but God damn was the sequel perfection to me!

I will never forgive that damn DS reboot.....first time I ever returned a game day one out of sheer dissapointment.
 
Dantero

Dantero

Member
Jan 23, 2018
971
Man I love this game. Most underrated, I don't know. But when I hear the catchy songs, I'm back playing this with friends on a 50 cm crt. Great times.
 
criteriondog

criteriondog

I like the chili style
Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,064
Either we rented this a lot, or we owned it.
Unrelated, but does anyone else remember Iggy's Reckin' Balls? I loved that game.
 
Border

Border

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,859
145375-gauntlet-legends-nintendo-64-front-cover.jpg


The N64 had so many competitive multiplayer games -- it was nice to be able to sit down with 3 friends for a co-operative experience.
 
Goddo Hando

Goddo Hando

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,711
Chicago
love this game but it's not underrated.

this is on all the best-of N64 lists

edit: oops meant pt 2
 
Last edited:
Fireblend

Fireblend

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,454
Costa Rica
Personally I prefer Snowboard Kids 2, but yes, I'm all for bringing more attention to this several underrated franchise.

What I'd do for a proper SK2 remake on Switch, CTR style...
 
Byronic Hero

Byronic Hero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
886
The sequel is my favorite kart racer of all time. Music, characters, tracks, and weapons, everything is improved and incredible.

Being able to reflect projectiles via tricks is a mechanic I wish was somehow implemented in every kart racer.
 

Deleted member 7462

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,877
FUCK. YES.

SBK2 was also fucking amazing.

It also has low-key one of the best OSTs of the whole generation.

Before we eventually bought it, we rented it a few times, and because I didn't have a memory card at the time, I remember unlocking everything all at once in marathon playthroughs and using the unlocks as much as possible before cutting off the N64.
 
tapedeck

tapedeck

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,975
I actually think Snowboard Kids gets a lot of love, but yes it's a great game.

My vote..
91LdvKKdFcL._SX466_.jpg
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,479
They're great games, but I'd for sure go with hybrid heaven.

It's a weird rpg where you learn moves from enemies using them on you. I recall learning the sharpshooter/scorpion deathlock from a giant anthropomorphic horse.
 
Lynd

Lynd

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,437
The games are fun in multiplayer, the AI in single player can be annoying and cheap though.
 
wholahay

wholahay

Member
Dec 18, 2017
707
Snowboard Kids 2 > Snowboard Kids, but both games are fantastic.

We don't talk about the DS sequel.
 
woopWOOP

woopWOOP

Self-requested ban
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,654
Is it?
Well I loved it, despite it feeling rather short even back then

Cute character designs, awesome music, great track themes

Only played 1, never played 2. Watched a video of it sometime and the tracks just looked weird for the most part. Gotta have a couple of snowboarding stages before you do tropical islands and giant livingroom furniture.


On a sidenote, it took me forever to figure out that the icon on top of the red and blue item poles was the dog shopkeeper. To me it looked like a crazy happy gremlin face with big bulging eyes, lol
 
samred

samred

Amico fun conversationalist
Member
Nov 4, 2017
2,583
Seattle, WA
I could never get with how wooden Snowboard Kids felt. 1080 Snowboarding all the way for me in that N64 genre, even if it didn't have kart-attack elements. (And no way I'd rank SK above Diddy Kong Racing.)

In terms of underrated N64 games, there's suuuuch a list of candidates, and we've been down that road before. So I'mma use this opportunity to hype a game that nobody talks about: Iggy's Reckin Balls, a versus platformer that had a hint of Uniracers. Players side-scroll and jump through 2.5D race courses. Everyone gets a grappling hook, which can be used to grab and jump through "soft" platforms. Some parts of the track were independent, others were shared, so depending on where you were in the racetrack, you could sometimes battle other racers. Supported 4p split-screen, even.

It absolutely wasn't perfect, but it was one of Acclaim's more unique N64 games in the console's first year or so. I would put $10,000 into the development of an indie spiritual successor. Some really, really good ideas here, and by default, it fixes some of Super Mario Maker 2's multiplayer issues (particularly the "wait for the person with the key" stuff that plagues some levels).

 
A Huge Battleship

A Huge Battleship

Member
Oct 27, 2017
347
Yeah, I have fond childhood memories of Snowboard Kids, mixed with some mild trauma caused by Quicksand Valley. Never played SK2 despite being a fan of the first game, not sure why.
 
Kinthey

Kinthey

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
22,260
The way the game did "laps" by sending players up the mountain again is still a really cool idea to me
 
Delio

Delio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,464
Vivid memories of getting to the ski lift before my cousins and watching as they slam headfirst and i go riding up. Super fun games that I wish they would atleast re release at some point.
 
Linkura

Linkura

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,943
Underrated you say? Everyone I know who's played it fucking loves it. My uncle literally got obsessed with playing it. Played for hours and hours by himself trying to get the best times and win everything.
 
unholyFarmer

unholyFarmer

Member
Jan 22, 2019
1,374
Well OP, I guess we can list what SBK 1 and 2 are:
- most underrated N64 games (at least in the top 5 alongside Mystical Ninja Goemon and Mischief Makers)
- best "kart-like" games ever made (DKR is not far behind though)
- best snowboarding game (sorry 1080)
- one of the best party games around

This series was supposed to be reigning nowadays alongside Mario Kart.
 
Firima

Firima

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,469
Snowboard Kids and Snowboard Kids 2 were the best battle racers on the Nintendo 64 from a pure mechanics standpoint, though I still like the first one better for its physics and animations. People complain about getting hit with red shells and blue shells in Mario Kart, but if a smarter player timed a parachute correctly to hit you on the edge of a huge jump, you were fucking done. This game was always the most brutal and rage-inducing of the battle racers, and I really liked the sequel's addition of the ability to reflect enemy shots by tricking, which raised the skill ceiling a good amount.
 
formasymphonic

formasymphonic

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,641
Man I could tell you how many hours I put into that game. One of my all time favourites (though dethroned only by SSX 3).
 
Joe

Joe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,588
Fuck yeah. One of those fantastic games that defines a part of childhood. My brothers and I never got sick of it.
 

Dr Richard Kimble

Member
Jan 31, 2019
289
I liked it. The 3D era at this stage felt like it was missing some of the cartoony bright art direction I got so used to with the SNES. Snowboard kids brought me some of that comfort that was missing with the 3D games.
 
PKrockin

PKrockin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,260
Great game. I remember the chaos and rage trying to get on the lift taking you to the next lap.
 
night814

night814

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
15,033
Pennsylvania
taytwo said:
My favorite game from the n64 I used to rent it from my local Hollywood video like every weekend when I was younger

I remember the bosses from the 2nd game being super difficult
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Same here but from blockbuster lol.

Mind was blown when I found out after playing some SMT that this was also made by ATLUS.
 
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