Retro Lookback: 1080 Snowboarding

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platforms and Release Dates (US): Nintendo 64 (April 1, 1998), Wii Virtual Console (January 28, 2008)
Genre: Extreme Sports, Racing

1080 Snowboarding is Nintendo's stab at Snowboarding, and it is a good time.

The gameplay is simple, get down the mountain as fast as you can by using different routes and balancing after jumps. You also have a Damage meter, where you take damage everytime you fall. You are forced retire when you fill up the damage meter. The main modes are Match Race, Time Attack, Trick Attack, Contest, Training, and 2P Vs. Match Race puts you in a series of Head to Head races against CPU controlled riders across the various runs. There are 3 difficulties, with harder difficulties becoming harder and more races. You also get 3 lives for each attempt, if you are forced to Retire or fail to beat the CPU, you lose a life, lose all 3 lives and you have to restart from the first race. Time Attack is a straight up speed contest to get to the bottom as fast as you can. Trick Attack tasks you with getting the highest score you can down a run by performing various tricks and combos. You are also given a timer, which gives a time bonus, and checkpoints that boost time left. Along with the regular courses, you can also run on Air Make and Half Pipe for Trick Attack. Contest is a special Trick Attack mode that takes place on the first 3 regular tracks and the 2 special trick runs. The goal is to get the highest combined score on the 5 runs. On the regular courses, there are Red and Blue flags scattered throughout that give you points and a alight time bonus by slaloming through them. You can still perform regular tricks for more points. Training places you on a special training run and allows you to practice tricks and landing. 2P Vs is the 2 Player Head to Head mode, 2 Players compete against each other to get to the bottom first. You can also elect if each player gets a speed boost when they are in 2nd via the Handicap option. 2P Vs can provide a good bit of fun for a while, even given only 6 tracks total. The 6 regular tracks are nicely laid out, each having a few different routes to the bottom, making for multiple replays for the best run. There are 8 riders, with 5 being available from the start and 3 being unlockable. Each rider has different stats that gives them an edge in different modes. There are also 9 boards to choose from, with one being unlockable. Each board has different stats as well, making for careful board selection. Landing from jumps can be a bit tricky, but with careful stick and button work, you can land those jumps every time. The rush you feel going down the mountain is exciting, the gameplay is solid and fun. The marquee trick, the 1080, is a bit hard to pull off at a 9 button combination, but it js satisfying to land.

The graphics and sounds are pretty solid, the character models look smooth, the snow effects look like snow, and the music fire nicely.

Bottom Line: 1080 Snowboarding is a solid racing experience, with physics that are challenging, but not unfair. The 2P Vs mode can be a blast for hours. This is worth a Buy or Play.

Author's Note: Ricky Winterborn is the best rider, no contest.