Snowboard Kids
| Snowboard Kids | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Racdym |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus Co. |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 |
| Release | March 15, 1998 (US) December 12, 1997 (JP) |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | 1-4 Players |
Snowboard Kids, also called Snobow Kids in Japan, is a video game for the Nintendo 64. It was developed by Racdym and published by Atlus. The game featured 10-year-old children who snowboarded down various courses, not necessarily involving snow. Many reviewers called it "Mario Kart on Snowboards."
Characters
The characters in the game are design in a chibi style, with big heads and small bodies. It is often said that the game became a cult classic because of these said children, whose chibi style and very large noses broke most other trends of anime character design.
Nancy Neil
Age 10, Female
Nancy is the slowest character on the course, but has a very good set of tricks. Players who like to do tricks to get money should use Nancy. Nancy will perfer a level-3 all around if you use her. Nancy wears pink clothes, has rabbit-style ears, a purple bow on her back and hearts painted on her face. She regards herself as being very modest, and never brags about her skills, even though she is easily the best at performing tricks.
Nancy's Stats:
- Speed: 1
- Turn: 3
- Trick: 3
Slash Kamei
Age 10, Male
Slash is technically the most balanced character in the game and is good for beginners. He has long, black spiky hair and wears yellow and blue goggles. He's great to use with an all-around board, level two or three. Slash is automatically selected as the character used at the training mode and shot and item demo. Slash has too much energy for his own good and is always fighting with Linda, 11.
Slash's Stats
- Speed: 2
- Turn: 2
- Trick: 2
Jam Kuehnemund
Age 10, Male
Jam is considered the best of the default characters in the game for his notable handling and tricks, although he is one of the slowest characters. Distinguished by his brown dreadlocks, he also wears blue goggles and a white and purple striped beanie. In addition, Jam follows the New York Rap Scene and refuses to believe that Nancy, 10, is better at tricks than he is, so he desperately wants to beat her.
Jam's Stats:
- Speed: 1 1/2
- Turn: 2 1/2
- Trick: 2 1/2
Linda Maltinie
Age 11, Female
Linda is one of the fastest characters in the game but suffers from poor handling and average tricks. She wears red and blue goggles, a bikini top and leopard skin pants. When Linda was 7, she moved to Snow Town because she needed to stay at a hospital there to receive treatment for a rare illness she had caught. She got better eventually, but wished to stay in the village because she liked it so much.
Linda's Stats:
- Speed: 2 1/2
- Turn: 1 1/2
- Trick: 1 1/2
Tommy Parsy
Age 10, Male
Tommy is the fastest default character but has the worst handling and trick ability. He wears bright green clothes and has a bandage on his nose. He's often poked fun at by Slash because of his considerable weight problem, but the two of them are still buddies.
Tommy's Stats:
- Speed: 3
- Turn: 1
- Trick: 1
Shinobin
Age Unknown, Male
Shinobin is found in the last level (Ninja Land) and is very hard to beat. Once beaten, he is unlocked as a usable character. He is a Ninja wearing a black Shinobishozoku. Little is known about him, including his age.
Shinobin's Stats:
- Speed: 2 1/2
- Turn: 2 1/2
- Trick: 2 1/2
Boards
There are 9 boards (as well as 6 secret ones which cannot be used in reverse) in the game. There are three types of default boards.
Free Style
These boards are slower than the others, but have good better handling and are good for executing tricks. Heavier characters like Linda, 11, and Tommy, 10, would be best suited for these.
- Level 1: Default
- Level 2: 12,000 G
- Level 3: 24,000 G
All Around
These boards have average handling and speed. This is type of board 10-year-old Slash will use
- Level 1: Default
- Level 2: 10,000 G
- Level 3: 20,000 G
Alpine
These boards are faster than the others but have poorer handling. Slower characters such as 10-year-old Nancy and 10-year-old Jam should use these.
- Level 1: Default
- Level 2: 11,000 G
- Level 3: 22,000 G
Special
Special Boards appear in the shop after completing certain objectives in the game. Winning the game once unlocks the Star Board, beating the Trick Game unlocks the Feather Board, and purchasing all of the regular boards unlocks the Ice Board.
- Level 1 (Star Board): 80,000 G
- Level 2 (Feather Board): 100,000 G
- Level 3 (Ice Board): 1,000 G
Shinobin
Shinobin's boards are only for his use. He also cannot ride any of the regular or Special boards. While they look fancy, they function the same as the regular boards.
Shots
On each course, red boxes called "shops" are scattered about. When you run into one, you purchase a random shot for 100G. If you don't have enough money, you will be knocked down. Shots are acquired in bundles of three.
Bomb
Bombs are powerful weapons with a limited homing capability. When it hits a target, it creates an explosion that affects anyone caught in the blast - including yourself!
Slap Stick
While slow, the Slap Stick is quite accurate and can travel around most corners. When hit, the victim is sent tumbling forwards.
Freeze Shot
Freeze Shots are effective weapons that briefly freeze opponents on contact, causing them to lose momentum once they break out of the ice. It's also possible to get knocked over by colliding with someone who is frozen. When iced, move around or press A Button repeatedly.
Snowman
Snowmen are possibly the fastest shots in the game, but also the most inaccurate. They ricochet around walls until they either hit someone or vanish. When under its effect, the player cannot maneuver their board for a few moments until they either free themselves or hit an obstacle.
Parachute
Parachutes are considered to be one of the most effective shots to use in the game. One who is hit by a parachute will be immediately lifted into the air, only to slowly descend back to the ground.
Items
Items are obtained through blue shops placed on every course. Like Shots, you require 100G to purchase an Item. However, they only have one use.
Rock
Rocks are placed behind the user, and can cause even invisible rivals to stumble.
Pans
Pans flatten all opponents, making them unable to move. It will have no effect on people who are invisible or on the lift. Jiggling the Control Stick or tapping the A button will speed up the recovery.
Invisible
This Item makes the user immune to all Shots and the Pan for a short time. However, everything else will still work.
Rat Face
The Rat Face is a rarely-seen Item that summons a dancing rodent to steal coins from the other players, all of which is given to the user.
Ghost
Ghosts reduce the speed of the person who is currently leading the race for a short time and is impossible to avoid. If the leader uses this Item, the person in 2nd place will be affected. The Ghost's effects can stack up to three times, which will slow the victim down to a crawl.
Speed Fan
This gives the user a temporary burst of speed. It is immediately lost if the player runs into an obstacle or is attacked.
Courses
Rookie Mountain
This course is good for beginners and you have 5 laps of racing to do.
Big Snowman
This is a course of snowmen. You have to get on the lift only once.
Sunset Rock
At this course the sunset never fades, but you have to watch out for those peguins.
Night Highway
This course is hard to beat at dark. Don't fall. If you do you will lose ground to the leader.
Grass Valley
This course features green areas of grass and some hard places, like the rail.
Dizzy-Land
This course is tough, taking place inside an after-hours amusement park. Don't hit the cups on the spinning coffee cup ride. If you do, you'll bounce off and may fall into last place.
Quicksand Valley
This course is labeled as 4 stars in the level of difficulty, which means this course is the toughest. Make a note of how Linda takes a shortcut, while the other characters follow the main roads.
Silver Mountain
A permanent fog sets across this snowy mountain top, the second hardest course in the game after Quicksand Valley. Watch out for the cliffs!
Ninja Land
The shortest course in the game, but it is also where you race against the tough ninja Shinobin. You have to get on the lift 8 times here. This time, you have nine laps of racing.
See also
Training
For people who don't know how to play this game must go through the training process. The character used for this mode is Slash, 10.
Cornering