Snowboard Kids Review Bundle #2
After releasing Snowboard Kids on the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1 gaming platforms, it seems like ATLUS and Racdym realized that they had a gem on their hands. A year later in 1999 the games success lead to a sequel Snowboard Kids 2 being developed exclusively for the Nintendo 64 and being released in Japan, North America and Australia – surprisingly bypassing the large gaming market in Europe. Without letting success of the first game get to their heads, the companies produced an exclusive that greatly builds upon the original rather than being the same game with new courses thrown in.
This time around the storyline is not simply limited to the instruction manual, with each course containing a self-contained storyline that is often simple and quirky. Snowboard Kids 2 once again follows the ten year old elementary school students in the Rocky Mountains who are this time joined by new character Wendy. The group is also being tailed by a boy named Damien who arrives in Snow Town to conquer it. In all honesty, the storyline doesn’t go anywhere, but it it is pretty enjoyable to watch during the first run-through and gives justification for some of the more outlandish race tracks.
Snowboard Kids 2 features eleven different courses, that similar to the original game, ranges from your typical snow slope to tracks that you would never expect to snowboard in including a beach and outer space. Most seem considerably shorter than the original Snowboard Kids, but are still filled with multiple routes, traps and some very nice aesthetics. Character designs also received a boost from the original, with all characters still retaining their prominent protruding noses. Each of the characters also receive multiple outfit designs which vary depending on what course you are racing on. The aesthetics are once again complemented by a solid soundtrack, but is shadowed by its predecessor.
The gameplay mechanics from the original are carried across almost identically, with the control stick moving your character, R and B buttons to use different attacks, A button to jump / gain momentum and the C-buttons to perform grab moves. Unlike Snowboard Kids however, Snowboard Kids 2 removed some of the clunkiness from the controls so you don’t find yourself crashing into walls every turn because you chose the wrong character + board combo. This saves the joy of crashing for when all four characters are fighting for first access to the chair lift.
While some of the features have been streamlined to become more approachable to younger gamers, they also introduce a handful of brand new “shots” and items kudos of the avid inventor Wendy. These include whirlwind which bounces off the walls (Like Snowman), and blows characters up into the air stopping their movement (and causing them to drop their items) and the rocket which grants even further speed boosts than the Speed Fan. While you can choose to upgrade the default “Balance”, “Trick” and “Speed” boards, the game also throws in nine hidden snowboards that can be completed by completing any match in expert mode. While some of the boards such as Star Board make a reappearance from the first game, new ones include the Poverty Board which drains the character of money at a rapid pace and the Dragon Board which is completely game breaking by giving the player perma-rocket and perma-wing boosts. These are generally mean’t to spruce up multiplayer gameplay, although I question how many people would be able to get through an entire course on an ice board without chucking a controller at the television.
When playing as a single player, you are provided access to a hub world rather than a menu screen which grants you access to all the different modes, stores and options available to you. The main game is once again the “Story Mode” which drags you through each individual course and lets you continue through once you get first place. What I loved about this mode was not the races, but the inclusion of boss races. Featuring fights against a snowman robot, a dinosaur and finally a Damien in a mechanised outfit. The first and third battles involve you lowering down the boss’ HP while avoiding the barrage of shots used again you while the second involves a race.
Outside of this, there are revisioned versions of the skill games in the original Snowboard Kids including a Speed Cross game where your character must make it to school on time, Shoot Cross which requires you to deliver newspapers to all homes on a route and Trick Game which requires a certain number of points acquired to succeed.
In terms of personal preference as a child, I tended to play Snowboard Kids 2 over Snowboard Kids because unlike the latter it didn’t require an entire Controller Pak just to save my progress – which as some would know tended to fill up very fast. There are only a handful of differences that separate the two games, but they do seem to appeal towards slightly different target markets. Snowboard Kids 2 streamlines features to be more appealing to a casual audience and I think comes across as more approachable, with a few added features for veterans. But in the end this is a really fun racing game, and I could happily suggest adding to your “must play” list for fifth generation racing games.
