Snowboard Kids
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| 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 (スノボキッズ, sunobo kizzu), is a video game for the Nintendo 64. It was developed by Racdym and published by Atlus. The game features 10-year-old children who snowboard down various courses, not necessarily involving snow. Many reviewers compared its style to that of the Mario Kart series.
Characters
The characters in the game are designed in a chibi style, with big heads and small bodies. It has been suggested that the game became a cult classic because of these character designs, whose chibi style and very large noses broke most other trends of game character design.
Slash Kamei
Age 10, Male
Slash is technically the most balanced character in the game and as such is good for beginners. He has long, black spiky hair and wears yellow and blue goggles. He's well suited for use with a Level 2 or 3 All Around board. Slash is automatically selected as the character used at the training mode, and in the shot and item demos. According to the background material, he considers himself to be the fastest in the village. He has too much energy for his own good and is always fighting with Linda.
Slash's Stats
- Speed: 2
- Turn: 2
- Trick: 2
Nancy Neil
Age 10, Female
Nancy is the slowest character on the course, but has a very good set of tricks. Players who favour using tricks to gain money may be suited to her. She's at her best when paired with a Level 3 All Around board. Nancy wears pink clothes, has rabbit-style ears, a purple bow on her back and hearts painted on her face. According to the background material for the game, 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
Jam Kuehnemund
Age 10, Male
Jam is often considered the best of the initially-available 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. The background materials tell us that Jam follows the New York Rap Scene and refuses to believe that Nancy is better at tricks than he is, so he desperately wants to beat her.
Jam's Stats:
- Speed: 1½
- Turn: 2½
- Trick: 2½
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. The background materials describe that when Linda was 7, she moved to Snow Town because she needed to stay at a hospital there to receive treatment for a rare disease. She recovered eventually, but wished to stay in the village because she liked it so much.
Linda's Stats:
- Speed: 2½
- Turn: 1½
- Trick: 1½
Tommy Parsy
Age 10, Male
Tommy is the fastest character available by default but has the worst handling and trick ability. He wears bright green clothes and has a bandage on his nose. The background materials state that he's often teased by Slash because of his considerable weight problem; despite this the two of them remain friends.
Tommy's Stats:
- Speed: 3
- Turn: 1
- Trick: 1
Shinobin
Age Unknown, Male
Shinobin is initially found as an opponent in the last level (Ninja Land), and is very difficult to beat. Once defeated, he is unlocked as a usable character. He is a ninja wearing a black shinobi shozoku. Little is known about him, including his age. Like Slash, Shinobin has average stats.
Shinobin's Stats:
- Speed: 2½
- Turn: 2½
- Trick: 2½
Boards
There are 9 boards initially available, as well as 6 which can be unlocked and cannot be used in reverse. There are three types of boards available by default:
Free Style
These boards have excellent handling and trick ratings, but have the lowest speed. Heavier characters, like Tommy, are suited for Free Styles.
- Level 1: Available by default
- Level 2: 12,000 G
- Level 3: 24,000 G
All Around
As the name suggests, All Around boards are average in every category. Slash and Linda are best suited to these boards.
- Level 1: Available by default
- Level 2: 10,000 G
- Level 3: 20,000 G
Alpine
Alpine boards are the polar opposite of the Free Style boards: high in speed, but lacking in control and tricks. Slower characters like Nancy and Jam are better suited to these boards.
- Level 1: Available by 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. The ice board is essentially useless, so players tend not to use it.
- 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. They share properties with the other boards, differing only in terms of appearance.
- Level 1 (Scroll): Available after unlocking Shinobin
- Level 2 (Soroban): Available after unlocking Shinobin
- Level 3 (Kunai): Available after unlocking Shinobin
Shots
On each course, red boxes called 'shops' are scattered about. When the player runs into one, he or she can purchase a random shot for 100G. If the player doesn't have enough money, his or her character bounces off the shop in the same manner as when running into any other obstacle. Shots are acquired in bundles of three. In the following list, the titles give the name of the shot, followed by the name of the character who favours the use of that shot while under the CPU's control.
Bomb (Slash)
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 – frequently including the player who used the bomb. Due to the large blast, it is best to use these at a distance to the target.
Slap Stick (Nancy)
While slow, the Slap Stick is quite accurate and can travel around most corners. When hit, the victim is sent tumbling forwards.
Freeze Shot (Jam)
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 frozen, the player can move the control stick or press the A button repeatedly to break free of the ice.
Snowman (Tommy and Shinobin)
Snowmen are possibly the fastest shots in the game, but also the most inaccurate. They ricochet off the sides of the track and obstacles until they either hit someone or vanish. When hit, the player is temporarily transformed into a snowman, and cannot manoeuvre their board for a few moments until they either free themselves automatically or hit an obstacle.
Parachute (Linda)
Parachutes are considered by some players 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. If used before a big jump, the victim can take much longer to reach the ground.
Items
Items are obtained through blue shops placed on every course. Each item costs 100G to purchase, and can be used only once. In the following list, the titles give the name of the item, followed by the name of the character who favours the use of that item while under the CPU's control.
Rock (Jam)
Rocks are placed behind the user, and can cause even invisible rivals to stumble. A common tactic is to place these just before the gate to the lift at the course's end, thus causing the character directly behind to trip and frequently lose their place to another player.
Pans (Linda)
Pans flatten all opponents, making them unable to move. They have no effect on people who are invisible or on the lift. Moving the Control Stick or tapping the A button will speed up the recovery.
Invisible (Slash)
This Item makes the user immune to all Shots and the Pan for a short time.
Rat Face (Shinobin)
The Rat Face is a rarely-seen Item that summons a dancing mouse to steal coins from the other players, all of which are given to the user. The amount stolen is proportional to the amount of money carried by the player being robbed.
Ghost (Nancy)
Ghosts reduce the speed of the person who is currently leading the race for a short time and is impossible to avoid. If the character in first place uses this Item, the person in second place will be affected. Multiple Ghosts can affect a character, up to a maximum of three, at which point the character's speed will have slowed to a crawl.
Speed Fan (Tommy)
This gives the user a temporary burst of speed. It is immediately lost if the player runs into an obstacle or is attacked.
Courses
Six of the nine total courses are available from the outset of the game; to unlock the others the player must gain Passes by having finished every course available in first place. Hence, the six courses the player must finish in first place to get Quicksand Valley are Rookie Mountain, Big Snowman, Sunset Rock, Night Highway, Grass Valley and Dizzy-Land. There is no lift at Animal Land due to it being used only for the Trick Game.
Rookie Mountain
- Length: 541 m
- Difficulty: 1 / 4
- Laps: 5
This is the easiest course in the game, and so is suited for beginners.
Big Snowman
- Length: 1750 m
- Difficulty: 1½ / 4
- Laps: 2
Sunset Rock
- Length: 1706 m
- Difficulty: 2 / 4
- Laps: 3
Watch out for the penguins at this course and the bouders. Slash as a CPU player will trip over a rock 1m past the bouders and where Linda as CPU player picks up a weapon past where players can try for a 360 spin. 360 Spins give you 300G in coins, good enough for an item or weapon.
Night Highway
- Length: 1368 m
- Difficulty: 2½ / 4
- Laps: 3
Grass Valley
- Length: 1490 m
- Difficulty: 3 / 4
- Laps: 3
Dizzy-Land
- Length: 1490 m
- Difficulty: 3 / 4
- Laps: 3
If you hit a coffee cup, you will bounce off and may fall into last place.
Quicksand Valley
- Length: 1638 m
- Difficulty: 4 / 4
- Laps: 3
While under CPU control, Linda will use a shortcut in Quicksand Valley.
Silver Mountain
- Length: 1664 m
- Difficulty: 3½ / 4
- Laps: 3
Like at Sunset Rock and Dizzy-Land there are cliffs at this course. Watch out for them.
Ninja Land
- Length: 382 m
- Difficulty: 2 / 4
- Laps: 9
Shinobin appears as an opponent on this course.
Animal Land
- Length: 541 m
- Difficulty: 2½ / 4
- Laps: 1
Animal Land is only used for the Trick Game.
Training
For novices at the game, there is a training mode which teaches the basic control method of the game. The mode begins by informing the player that 'Snowboard Kids is a racing game without brakes'. It then teaches the player the following techniques:
Cornering
By pointing the control stick to the bottom left or bottom right, the player can turn more sharply than otherwise.
Jump
Pressing and releasing the A Button will make the character jump. While the A Button is pressed, the character cannot turn. By jumping, the player can avoid rocks, launch higher from ramps, and can also jump over attacks if their timing is good.
Tricks Part 1 (100G Tricks)
Tricks are special techniques. They can be achieved by holding the A button and holding the control stick in a direction (the trick performed depends upon the direction pressed) before an appropriate jump; the trick will be performed upon releasing the A button. Upon successfully completing a trick and reaching the ground, the player is awarded 100G. If the character is still doing the trick when he or she reaches the ground, the character will fall.
Tricks Part 2 (Board Grabs)
The player can also grab his or her board in various different ways. Doing one is done with one of the C Buttons while in the air. Upon reaching the ground, money is awarded to the character for the board grab, proportionally to the amount of time spent holding the board. As for the 100G Tricks outlined above, if the character is still grabbing the board when he or she reaches the ground, the character will fall. It is possible to combine tricks with one or more board grabs for better rewards.
Tricks Part 3 (Character specific tricks)
Beside 100G Tricks and Board Grab, the characters can perform tricks specific to each. Doing a special trick is the same a normal trick, but instead of holding the control stick, a sequence of directions must be entered successfully. For instance, Slash, Linda, Nancy and Jam can perform a special trick with the following sequence: hold the A button; push the control stick to the left, then to the right; release the A button. More money is awarded for special tricks than normal tricks.
High Tech
It is possible to perform a trick on the course in locations which aren't as obvious as the larger jumps.
Boarding The Lift
In order to get back to the top of the course, the lift must be boarded. To board the lift, the player must successfully manoeuvre their board to the gate marked by the 'lift' sign.
Item
Items that the player has obtained from a blue shop and can use in the game will appear in the right window. Use the B Button to activate the item.
Weapon
Weapons (shots) that the player has obtained from a red shop and can use will appear in the left window. Use Z Trigger to attack. The player can shoot up to 3 times with 1 weapon.
See also
Snowboard Kids Sayings
Some of these sayings can be found in the Instrucion Book or heard in any of the modes. We only remember 1 saying from Tommy.
Nancy
- Attacking someone-Dummy...
- Finishing first-Yeah
- Crashing-Pete, owe
- When being attacked-Whenever you are being attacked there will be an exupation point over your head! When this occurs you can either jump over the attack or turn invisible to dodge the attack. But you can't jump over the flying pans, but you can trip over rocks. Dummy...
- Doing speical tricks-Whee!
- Story behind Linda-Stop it, Linda, it's too much
Slash
- Finishing first-Yeah
- Crashing-Wha?, owe
- Using Linda's favorite weapon-Cool! After this jump I'll finish in 1st! I guess nobody can beat me. Wha?
- Story behind Nancy-Nah, dummy, I'm the fastest
- Asking Linda a question-What are you doin'?
Jam
- Story behind Nancy-Nancy isn't the master trickster. I am.
- Attacking someone-Got you
- Finishing first-Thank you
- Doing speical tricks-Boo
- Story behind Linda's dad-I can't believe that her dad brought her a cell phone.
Linda
- Attacking someone-Oh yeah
- Finishing first-Next time
- Crashing-Yikes, ouch
- Story behind Nancy-Nancy maybe good at her tricks, but I'm deniftiy the fastest.
- Compeition saying #1-A competition will prove I'm right. My rich dad will buy what I need, because he knows that I'll win.
- Compeition saying #2 (answering Slash's question)-I'm setting up the competition and it'll be big
- Linda is ready for the competition-OK, everything's ready
- Naming the competition-Start the compeition! Let's name it the Maltinie Cup, after me, Linda Maltinie
- Doing speical tricks-Yes
Tommy
- Story behind Linda-Linda is competely wrong, like always