[00:00]
Welcome to the Cartridge Archive, the show dedicated to chronicling the complete Nintendo 64
library, one cartridge at a time. I’m Jamie. And I’m Adam. Each episode will pull another game from
the shelf and explore its impact on Nintendo 64 history.
[00:30]
From beloved classics and hidden gems to forgotten curiosities and infamous disasters, no cartridge
is left behind. Along the way, we’ll examine each game’s story, its development, legacy, collector
value, and the impact it left on the Nintendo 64 library as a whole. Then, we will put it through
the rigorous and totally patented 64-point inspection to determine whether it has what it takes to
become Certified 64. So prestigious.
[01:00]
Alright, episode number one. It just makes sense to start this game as our number one kickoff
episode. We’ve got to start alphabetically, so we’re going to do our maiden voyage with the N64
exclusive title, 1080 Degrees Snowboarding. Let’s crack open the archive. The late 1990s were a
perfect storm for the rise of snowboarding. The Winter X Games were exploding in popularity, and the
1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano had just welcomed the sport as an official event.
[01:30]
Suddenly, snowboarding wasn’t just a niche hobby, it was everywhere. And it didn’t take long for the
video game industry to notice. So Nintendo set out to make a snowboarding game. Not just another
arcade racer full of impossible tricks and exaggerated physics, but something that actually
attempted to capture the feeling of carving down a mountain with realistic momentum, weight
transfer, and a challenging trick system that required perfect landings, or you’d risk being
eliminated from competition.
[02:00]
Players could choose from five snowboarders, each with distinct strengths and personalities, take on
eight different courses, and pull off more than 25 tricks. They did all this while using officially
licensed Lamar snowboards and Tommy Hilfiger apparel, both unusual moves for Nintendo during that
era that further reinforced their commitment to real-world authenticity. The game offered two-player
multiplayer, rumble pack support, and even saved directly to the cartridge without requiring a
controller pack.
[02:30]
Under the guidance of legendary producer Shigeru Miyamoto, several members of the development team
brought everything they’d learned about physics and momentum from having previously worked on Wave
Race 64. Instead of rewarding button mashing, this game expected players to learn how to carry speed
through turns, balance their landings, and actually master the mountain. Critics loved it. They
praised its sense of speed, its visuals, especially its surprisingly deep gameplay.
[03:00]
The game went on to sell more than 2 million copies, earned an Interactive Achievement Award from
the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, and became one of the Nintendo 64’s defining sports
games, all impressive achievements for a project developed in just nine months. Its success
eventually spawned a GameCube sequel, while the original continued to find fans through the Wii and
Wii U virtual console libraries, and portions of its soundtrack were even featured in Super Smash
Bros. Ultimate. More than 25 years later, it’s still being introduced to a new generation of players
[03:30]
through Nintendo Switch Online. The question is whether its demanding, simulation-inspired approach
to snowboarding has aged as well as its reputation has. This week on the Cartridge Archive, 1080
Snowboarding. Alright, 1080-degree snowboarding. Adam, what is your thought about this game all this
time later? So this was not a game that I spent a lot of time with as a kid.
[04:00]
I remember ads, I remember seeing it for rent, but I don’t know that I ever played it until much,
much later. What about you? This was one of those games where, you know, back in the day, it’s a
case of, well, if your friend has this game, then you don’t get this game, so that you can maximize
your shared collection. Sure, yeah. I did not have this game, so this is one that I would borrow.
So, you know, I played it. We enjoyed the multiplayer, and I definitely had experience with it.
[04:30]
I actually remember being pretty decent at it back in the day, but it wasn’t one that was actually
in my collection. I, too, do remember the commercials for this, particularly the one that featured a
fake snowboarder named Jehu. I don’t know if you remember this. At the end of the commercial, he
had, like, a really problematic Indian accent. The commercial would not age well today if it is how
I remember it,
[05:00]
and he would say, this game is 100% Jehu approved, and it was a weird commercial. And I remember my
buddy Eric and I, he was the one who actually had the game for, you know, the back-and-forth trade-
off. So, Jehu approved became common vernacular for us when we liked something. It would become Jehu
approved. So I remember that, honestly, more than the game itself in many cases. Quick note, it was
a different time. Just so we don’t endorse that. It was a different time.
[05:30]
Yep, yep. It was a lower polygon time. We have since progressed. I think one thing I thought was
pretty interesting that we learned doing the research for this episode was that the actual
1080-degree spin, three full rotations in the air, when this game came out, had not happened. And I
thought that was pretty interesting. I think we had learned that it happened a couple of years
later, I believe, and it has now since happened in Olympic competition.
[06:00]
It’s happened in X Games competition. Yeah. Yeah, so pretty crazy that they would make a game with
basically an impossible-to-complete move as the title. But, yeah, the first 1080 in official
competition came a couple of years after this game was released. But the current record is a
2,340-degree rotation, and that was landed by, let me see here in my notes, Hitsuro Ogiwara. I’m
probably butchering that name.
[06:30]
And that was at the 2025 Winter X Games, so pretty recent on that one. So this guy, this Ogiwara
guy, is probably like 1080. Come on, really? That’s like amateur stuff. Watch me. Hold my beer.
Yeah, okay, okay, guys. 1080, that’s real impressive. So maybe we’ll get a newer spiritual successor
of the game, and they’ll put this guy on the cover since he’s the guy now. Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll
see. If it gets another sequel, maybe he’ll make the cut.
[07:00]
So, yeah, the only other little cartridge curiosity that I got here that I wanted to share was that
the computer-controlled snowboarders in this game actually all had different AI for each of the
characters. It’s a smaller roster, which we’ll get into later, but each of the characters actually
played differently when you were playing against them in competition. So you’ve got one character
who’s more aggressive, another one that chases the speed, one that focuses on aerial tricks. So they
actually would each play differently,
[07:30]
which I remember being a selling point of the game. And I think it’s something that’s pretty cool
because it’s not really what you would attribute to a game of this age. So the fact that it had that
level of ingenuity behind it is, I think, pretty telling. Yeah, I think definitely they put a good
bit of work into it. I do want to make one quick excuse for the game, too, just to go back where we
said the 1080 hadn’t been done. That also, like, Street Fighter, like, we don’t have people shooting
out fireballs yet.
[08:00]
So, like, I don’t want to be too harsh on 1080 that that hadn’t happened yet because I haven’t seen
anybody shoot fireballs out of their hands either. So we’re still working on that. Maybe at the next
Winter X Games. Everybody goes at their own pace. So, you know, we’ll get to that point, maybe. Fair
enough. I think that’s a reasonable approach and one that as now podcasting professionals having a
formalized archive judging these games, we should adopt that mentality. Yeah, I think this
officially makes us both professionals
[08:30]
and I would say internet humorist. I think that’s something we can put on our resumes. Fair enough.
So I wanted to get into the back-of-the-box quote for this game. This is how the official marketing
was presented for the title. So let me get my back-of-box reading voice on. I’m all ears. You’re
taking a Tahoe 155 snowboard down a steep, bumpy incline at night and you’re about to top off an
indie nose bone with a 360-degree air
[09:00]
and you haven’t left your living room. You’re playing 1080, parentheses 1080, snowboarding, a game
so intense you’ll be brushing the snow off your goggles. With five different boarders, eight
different Lamar, registered trademark, snowboards, more than 25 tricks, a halfpipe, and six
different courses. This is as close as you’ll get to the real thing without hopping on the next ski
lift. That’s intense. That is intense. I don’t know why I read it that way,
[09:30]
but I feel like that’s what they were feeling when they were typing out the back of that box. I
think the intensity lends to the need to read like that. Yeah. I don’t think you read the back of
Tetris Attack with that voice, but this game, it felt for free. Yeah, I think, and for our younger
listeners, this was what there was back in the day. There was magazine stuff, but there weren’t
websites and all kinds of stuff. Sometimes literally reading the back of the box in the store was
like, shit, I got to get this thing.
[10:00]
So they had to swing for the fences on some of these things. Yeah, and they definitely show their
age. This game, in multiple points, ages itself as exceedingly 90s, and I think that this is rather
indicative of that on the back of the box as well. I think that is very, very accurate. You ready to
hit this 64-point inspection? Yes. This is going to be the first official use of it, so I’m actually
pretty excited about it. Would you mind hitting everybody with the rundown
[10:30]
on how this is going to work? Let’s put this thing into action. So the 64-point inspection is a
carefully crafted evaluation designed to judge every Nintendo 64 game through a series of 10 tests.
Each test is worth 10 points. For each test, we’ll present the evidence, we’ll make our case, we’ll
put it to a vote, and if the game passes the test, it earns 10 points. If it fails, it earns none.
And if we are split, then the game will be awarded five points. Any game that earns 64 or more
points
[11:00]
passes the inspection and receives our coveted certified 64 seal of approval. And if a game somehow
earns a perfect 100 points, it receives the Player’s Choice Award, recognizing it as one of the
greatest games, not just on Nintendo 64, but in gaming history. With that out of the way, let’s
begin the inspection. All right, I’m excited about this. It sounds a little bit long-winded and
difficult, you know, hearing it out loud, but I think this is a really cool system that’s going to
allow us to evaluate games in a unique way,
[11:30]
and hopefully it’s going to put each game through its paces. I’m excited to get into this. All
right, so test number one, the memory pack test. I’m sure there was something. Ah, yeah, now I
remember. Is this game still remembered today, or has it faded into obscurity? Would the average
gamer recognize it in today’s gaming climate? That’s a tough one, because I feel like it had a
sequel,
[12:00]
which I think we mentioned in the history lesson, but it, that even, the sequel was many years ago.
Yeah, 1080 Avalanche on the GameCube. On the GameCube. I feel like this is tough. I don’t know that,
like if I were to mention it to like my kids or something, I don’t think they would recognize it.
All right, so you’re going to go, you think you’re going to go fail on that one? I, I might, I
might. Now, it has,
[12:30]
I think we referenced as well before that it was, it does have music in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
It does have, I believe there’s a trophy, at least in the Japanese version. So like there is some
relevance, but I don’t know that the average, when we say the average gamer, or the average person
today is going to remember that. I’m going to have to agree with you. I’m going to fail this one
too. The name is remembered, but the game itself is not. Besides the, you know, completionist
collector, you know, N64 worshiper, I do not think
[13:00]
that this, this game carries over. I mean, name a character, right? You can’t. Yes, it has some
famous or infamous elements to it, particularly when it comes to the music. And it has been
referenced in other things. But to your point, this game doesn’t have cachet. This IP did not
survive. It does not resonate with a current audience. So I’m with you on that one. I’m going to
have to fail it. I think that’s fair. All right. Moving on to test number two,
[13:30]
the Rumble Pack test. This is the Rumble Pack. The coolest cinematic gaming experience there is.
Does this game really take advantage of what made the Nintendo 64 unique? Four player, multiplayer,
analog controls, accessories, and other signature N64 features. All right. What do you think about
on this one? Yeah, on this one, it’s a little bit of a tough call. I will say that the analog stick
was absolutely a big deal for this game.
[14:00]
I think the level of control that you had, you weren’t getting that with a D-pad. Yeah, no,
definitely. This was a really good showcase for the Nintendo 64’s analog stick. I 100% agree with
you there. The way that the game played and moved felt really fluid for the time. And it was boasted
as such. So I think that it really did take advantage of the analog control. And the analog control
was a main push for the Nintendo 64 controller. So I think it gets a pass for that alone. But I
would also say that it took advantage of the system’s memory as well.
[14:30]
So it had great replay functionality and features. And you did not need to have a memory card in
order to be able to do that. And I think that’s impressive as well. So I would give this one a pass.
I think on top of that, I believe it also did have rumble pack support, if I’m not mistaken, which
also was kind of revolutionary for the Nintendo 64 era. And it’s kind of hard to discount at that
era, any game having that because it was so uncommon. So I’m thinking pass for sure. Test number
three,
[15:00]
the expansion pack test. That is one powerful piece of machinery. Does this game deserve an
expansion, sequel, remake, or modern successor? Was there enough here to justify a future beyond the
original cartridge? We did mention that it does have a sequel, though it has been some time. So,
yeah, I don’t know. I think, you know, snowboarding games seem to have kind of fallen out of the
cultural zeitgeist, as it were, if I’m even using that word correctly, kind of dumb.
[15:30]
I think I wouldn’t be against it. I wouldn’t be against it either. I think by the rubric of the
test, does this game deserve a sequel? It got one. So I think by default, I think this guy gets a
pass for that one. Yeah. But yeah, if we saw the game show up again, I think the brand could be
applied to something. It’s tricky, though, because tricky, snowboarding pun. The game’s name, 1080,
you can’t not call it 1080, yet the 1080, as we’ve already discussed, is not necessarily a
quintessential move
[16:00]
in or have the same prestige as it did at the time. And you can’t call it two times 1080 or three
times. It’s just not going to work. Whatever the record now is, is the 3,400 and 750,000 degrees.
Yeah. I think that’s how many feet are in a mile, I think. Yeah. Something like that. Yeah.
Something like that. Yeah. I think you’re right. I think that it did get a sequel, so that obviously
shows that it was popular enough in its era. I think, again,
[16:30]
if it came back, I think I would be interested. And, of course, now we’ve got, you know, visuals and
physics far beyond what this had. I think it would be impressive if they were to come back with
something. So, I’m for it. Yeah. I think I’ll pass it, too. Great. All right. Next up, the barrel
roll test. Do a barrel roll. Impressive, Star Fox. How impressive was this game for its time? Did it
push boundaries of technology, gameplay, graphics, scale, or innovation? So, I mean, I’ll jump right
in
[17:00]
on this one. I think it felt extremely impressive at the time. The clothes on your border would
ripple in the wind as you went by. The different time of day and weather conditions actually
impacted how the players controlled on the different surfaces. You know, you were slippy on the ice
and the thicker powder actually slowed you down. You would actually take less, you were less likely
to tumble off your board if you landed in the softer snow and then you could get over to the hard
pack and make a better
[17:30]
time trial run on everything. It was really impressive and they made the concessions when they
needed to. So, you know, you’re playing multiplayer, that fog comes in pretty much on every single
course and the character models become lower poly and all that. The trademark N64 fog. Yes. Yeah,
that definitely becomes a thing as soon as you start splitting the screens. I mean, they knew what
they were working with. It’s the plus side of them working specifically on an exclusive game for
this hardware. But I think it was impressive and graphically
[18:00]
for the time it was a pretty remarkable visual not only from a technical perspective but just
visually I think this game really nailed it. I think you’re right too with the because the question
is of course did it at the time push the boundaries of technology. It wasn’t just something that
they shoveled out and I think it did do a really good job of that. It had, as we mentioned in the
history lesson, the pedigree of the developers, some of those folks had worked on Wave Race which
also had like crazy like water physics
[18:30]
and so they were already really good at this and so bringing that dynamic to the snow piling up as
you take a turn like in it not just being that you’re just going on flat snow and nothing’s
happening like the snow would react. There were particle effects on this bad boy. I got to pass this
one with confidence. I think this game was very impressive for the time and I don’t think it gets
enough credit today to be honest with you. Like the characters actually would push themselves back
up if they fell down in a realistic way with their hands
[19:00]
going in the right direction to make contact with the ground or at least the animation was done of a
caliber where it read like they were actually pushing themselves back up. That’s pretty amazing you
know if they fell forward or if they fell backwards like that kind of stuff. I mean I remember back
in what like PS3 era I want to say it was an Uncharted game or a game like that maybe one of the
Tomb Raiders like if your character got close to the wall they would like reach out and like brace
themselves on the wall in a way that made sense or their foot would land on a rock in a way that was
believable with them looking like they were shifting their weight.
[19:30]
This game kind of alluded to that already and we’re talking back in 1998. Yeah this is like almost
10 years before that. Yeah yeah 1080 did it first. Yeah I think that makes a lot of sense and like
you’re mentioning with the snow too like the you build up a lot more speed in the half pipe than you
do over in the other sections there’s sections where the snow is heavier versus thinner and harder
packed and like you notice that yeah I think it’s a for sure pass. Yeah there were strats for that
like you could land if you were coming off a big jump try land in the softer snow right to the side
[20:00]
of the main course you’re less likely to bail out and then you could just hop right over onto the
smooth snow and it was good an impressive pass pass for sure. I think that leads us into the next
test as well the strategy part. Test number five the joystick gymnastics test. Yeah! How well does
this game play today? Are the controls and cameras still enjoyable or are they working against the
player? I’m a little I’m a little mixed on this one.
[20:30]
I don’t mind the camera at all. Camera’s great. It does a perfect job. It stays behind your border
pretty effectively pretty easy to see what’s going on but I struggled like crazy with the controls
even now years on better at games than I had to have been then. I could not land a 1080 like in the
practice I’m hitting the half pipe building up speed I could not pull it off so I that one leaves me
a little conflicted I’m sure it was possible people are probably
[21:00]
great at this game I struggled. I’m the opposite I used to be better at video games and now I’m
substantially worse and I actually remember being pretty good at this game it does have a nice when
you know how to master the holding down the Z button to crouch to land and you know absorb the shock
and all of that you do have this satisfying feeling of like oh I know what I’m doing here but this
game was pre-Tony Hawk and Tony Hawk has come along
[21:30]
and I think done this game dirty it just does tricks in sporting games better and I think the genre
has moved past this and while it was a pioneer at the time I do not think by today’s standards these
controls hold up now I’m absolutely pants at this game I cannot pull off anything besides an indie
nose bone every single time and I’m not even trying to do it I just keep getting that one move over
and over again which is a hilariously named move
[22:00]
so you know face value I’m okay with it but at least you get to see that on the screen a bunch of
times it’s funny even if I go into the half pipe for like just rack up some points I’m rubbish at it
there’s a mega big jump in one of the courses you can get a lot of air and it’s kind of impossible
not to be able to land the fancy tricks on that one especially if you’ve unlocked some of the
characters and boards with the better stats but legitimately I gotta fail this one I just don’t
think that it’s as fun
[22:30]
to play as people might remember and I mean honestly even back in the day I was a Twisted Edge
snowboarding guy I’ll admit that I played that game over this one and I will willingly admit that
this is a superior game to Twisted Edge but Twisted Edge was more fun for me I felt better getting
good at playing that game than I did this one and I think that’s telling where it stands especially
now after all this time at least in my eyes I think a key to the test too is that in the barrel roll
test it’s how impressive was it at the time joystick
[23:00]
does it play well still now and so yeah that’s a good way of looking at it we need to make sure we
maintain that moving forward yeah in its era it was very revolutionary and for its era the controls
were okay but if you go back and try to play it now after like you said all the advancements we’ve
made and things that have moved forward through other games playing this now you’re like I don’t
even know if I can do this because we’ve gotten better ways of doing it yeah
[23:30]
oh and you want to know one thing that is kind of bullshit I always thought this back in the day but
the other racers don’t take damage when they collide even if they collide with you or if they fall
over they just pop right back up when they’re good to go I mean like we said they look impressive as
they push themselves back up but they don’t take damage for it you take damage over time so you know
if you’re colliding with them and you’re trying to beat these races unless you pull off like a
perfect run and they’re not pulling off the perfect run in the same spot of the course that you are
also they have an unfair
[24:00]
advantage so that just sort of like drives home the irritation on this to be so you fall too many
times and it just says you’re done you’re out so you have to avoid falling because you have a
limited number of times you can fall and they don’t yep and iris is to black and the music winds
down and you’re done all right moving on test number six the bump to the base test how good is this
game’s audio does it have memorable music iconic
[24:30]
sound effects what kind of soundtrack that sticks with you long after you put the controller down
this one I’m gonna have to probably largely defer to you because you have much fonder and deeper
memories of it I like said haven’t played it as much until recently so like the music is not
sticking with me as much as if I had played a ton of it when I was younger okay well
[25:00]
looking back at it terribly bad way but man that 1080 music that would play during the main menu
where it’s just like and then this guy just starts like yelling for no reason and then it goes into
some sort of like weird chanting at one point it’s like corn meets really crappy compressed audio
treatment on a microphone it’s awesome I love
[25:30]
it and I remember extremely fondly the only thing I would say that I remember more than that was the
music that they would play during the menu where it was just like rock your body rock rock work your
body work work your body or something like that that got stuck in my head like mad that was an
earworm for sure so yeah I gotta pass this one as far as memorable music for better or worse I have
definitely seen going back and playing some of these games for research as we’re kind of ramping up
doing more of these episodes there’s
[26:00]
some really questionable music choices in the mid to late 90s for sure yeah there’s definitely some
odd if you listen to the lyrics to some of the electronic music they have in this it’s a little
questionable but you know I think it’s good and like said I I stand by that 1080 intro music I want
that on the Nintendo music app I don’t know if it’s in there I never use that app but if that is
that’s on everyone that should be on everybody’s
[26:30]
workout playlist I think that is straight up murder music I think that’s a must have so I’m passing
this one I’m going to take a look at the app actually and get back to you on that but I do I do
think though it should get a pass just because of the type of music because we’re talking extreme
sports extreme sports has always been a little more of the the punk rock the heavier metal type
stuff so I think it probably
[27:00]
checks the boxes that it needed to and you can’t fault it for being correct so that’s a pass moving
on test number seven the smash invite test will this battler live up to expectations does this game
have characters worlds music or ideas worthy of a place in super smash brothers so for this one I
actually do have a list of the characters from the game and so and I do they’re
[27:30]
fairly they’re just people they’re not you know there’s not you can be honest they’re they’re kind
of rough they’re kind of rough I do I do like some of the names so we have kensuki kimachi who is a
19 year old from japan known in japan for his snowboarding skills we’ve got deon blaster which is a
pretty sick name to go with the snowboarding theme it’s pretty sick he’s like the big buff british
guy in this game yeah he’s 20 28 he’s from the UK one
[28:00]
of the best he’s great with chicks how dare you besmirch the name of deon blaster he might be great
with everything with a name like deon blaster he’s great with the chicks probably rob haywood 20
from seattle and this one actually there’s a little bit of lore behind the scenes there’s another
guy named ricky winterborn which is pretty on the nose is he from Canada yeah yeah winterborn
[28:30]
and it’s weird it says he’s 14 in this and it says that rob joined the team because he knows ricky’s
dad so that’s a little bit of lore behind the scenes that you would not have known if you did not
read the manual to this game but it’s in there I read it and it is also interesting to note that rob
and ricky both appear in 1080 avalanche and in wave race blue storm
[29:00]
do they age them up canonically I think from what I saw that ricky gets a couple years older but rob
doesn’t I think is what I saw which is a little strange and they are both good at jet skiing so
that’s cool and they’re lifelong friends depending on how time works since one got older I don’t
know if that counts as lifelong or not and
[29:30]
the last one is Akari Hayami who is a 17 year old girl from also Japan and is relatively new to the
sport and is actually also both in those other two games and is apparently available as a spirit in
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Oh Oh Oh wow okay well I was about to say well that sounds like the
most boring lineup of boring people ever who would never get invited to Smash Brothers in any way
shape or form but apparently
[30:00]
I am wrong in that so I guess we have to pass this by default because it’s already in Smash Brothers
I actually do have a note here it says that Kinsuke Komachi also does appear as a gold trophy in the
Japanese version of Smash Brothers Melee and was proposed as a character for Brawl but they did pass
on that so yeah I’m with you I think that if they considered well and I guess there’s a line to that
they considered it enough but they chose not to so I think maybe the ball
[30:30]
is in our court to make that decision there is also the Iceman the Gold Border and the Panda whose
names are all fairly self explanatory who are unlockable characters but I don’t know we want to toss
them in or not so yeah we can toss them in I think it’s fair to include the idea but I mean the idea
of this category is Smash Brothers is recognized as the king maker right if you’re relevant enough
to be referenced in
[31:00]
or you could be a background cameo whatever it might be obviously they expanded it with the whole
spirits and stickers and all of that kind of stuff so it doesn’t necessarily need to be the biggest
reference in the world but is your game a big enough impact to be included in that so I think I have
to pass this on face value though I would have said absolutely not but I have been proven wrong I
get the research proved
[31:30]
that maybe it is and I think it also said earlier that music was also included so there’s been more
than one piece that they felt was worth including so I guess I’ll give it a pass okay cool levels
wise there aren’t really any levels that can necessarily make it into the game either but that’s
another category as far as a way that a game could appear in Smash Brothers I will say on the note
of levels the opening course for this game is called Crystal
[32:00]
Lake it is not the Crystal Lake of Jason Voorhees Friday the 13th game well not as far as we know it
could be well that’s true maybe if you play the game long enough Jason Voorhees runs out like Yeti
Monster style like in Ski Free and just murders you if you run out of time actually that would be
pretty cool and then he should probably get the nod for Smash Brothers yeah there’s an additional
ninth character that’s been hidden all this time and it’s Jason and none of us knew as you’re
snowboarding that the the murder music from the
[32:30]
the intro is like and then Jason Voorhees jumps out of a bush and murders you all right you know
what if if they can do that and that makes it into Smash Brothers then I completely changed my tune
there you go and he’s already winter ready right he’s got a you know hockey mask he’s ready to roll
he’s kind of a winter sports guy so I could see it yeah he’s he might be you know maybe we get that
sequel one of these days and they toss him in I think we just wrote it for it so yeah absolutely
Nintendo if you’re listening Shiggy if you hear us produce that one too all right
[33:00]
all right so begrudgingly I think this one’s got to be a pass I’ll take it I’ll mark it down test
number eight the 101% test no they are running up the score is this game worth fully completing are
the extra challenges collectibles and secrets worth the effort you already touched on this gold
border you unlock gold border fantastically named there’s also crystal man and a panda head that you
can unlock you kind of get these things by
[33:30]
I think gold border you get by basically completing absolutely everything and crystal man you get by
beating all of the I want to say it’s all of the staff records or maybe that’s the panda head I
think there’s a penguin snowboard as well so these rewards you get but they have some cool features
as in you know excellent stats and they’re really good for nailing all the tricks but in order to
get them you kind of have to have already nailed all the tricks so I don’t know if I can pass this
one I’d have to fail it
[34:00]
to be honest with you I don’t think the rewards are really worth it as far as the efforts go I mean
there is a certain satisfaction you get by mastering a game like this but as far as the carrot being
dangled gold man and crystal man are just a palette swap and the panda head is just a big
modification to an existing character so I think that’s a pretty good point I think it’s a good way
of putting it like you said you already have to be so good at the game that being rewarded with a
character
[34:30]
who’s better than the other characters that you already got really good at using isn’t much of a
reward it just makes it easier to do what you’ve already gotten really good at and like you said I
think at that point you’ve already done so much and completed so much of the game that you don’t
have much else to see you’re just seeing it faster yeah what’s the incentive right and then once
you’ve got these characters unlocked what you can show off to people that you have them in
multiplayer but then everyone’s just going to choose those characters like why would you not choose
the character with the best stats every time in multiplayer there’s literally no reason
[35:00]
not to choose the best board and the best character that’s another thing that’s a little bit of a
shame with this game is that you just look at the stats of the boards there’s quite literally no
reason to use 90% of the boards in this game based on the statistics I mean you could pick one just
because you think it looks cool but you can’t really see the board while you’re playing it anyway so
yeah there’s a couple of those I think that you unlock on top of the character it’s the same thing
you work really hard to get it then you get the faster board and it either just makes you more
competitive or it makes the game easier
[35:30]
but you’ve already had to work hard to get it so it’s not quite the same thing as some really cool
easter egg or something that gets revealed because you put in the effort so I’m with you I don’t
think we necessarily have to pass that one I think it’s also another case of Tony Hawk doing this
game dirty Tony Hawk did Dion Blaster dirty you know they had the coolest secret characters like
you’re not getting Darth Maul going down a mountain you know it’s just it can’t compete I just don’t
think that it’s unfortunately I just don’t think it’s on that level so yep that’s a fail yeah
[36:00]
test number nine Wario’s wallet oh my god sorry that sound effect just thinking about the sound
effect oh that’s so good is this game worth the price of admission today if you’re spending modern
collector money are you getting your money’s worth so we have looked this up for you let me read you
the numbers on it so according to pricecharting.com the loose price for this game is currently
sitting
[36:30]
at $15.76 USD and a complete version of it which is opened but box and manual included would set you
back at about $44.73 is the average so for a clean eBay cart find you know non-stickered non-marked
up you’re probably looking at about $18 to $20 American for this game that’s not bad I will also add
that it is available now on the Switch 2 expansion pack online service as well so you can play it on
there as well so in my opinion
[37:00]
I think this game is worth it for the price for $15 to have this game especially if you’re a
collector it’s kind of a no-brainer when you look at some of the prices on some of these other games
this is and I think too it’s not a bad game like it’s one thing if you’re paying $20 and the game
isn’t good or if you’re paying way more because it was uncommon because nobody bought it in the
first place but it’s a decent game that plays well and it isn’t super expensive I think that’s
pretty fair and I don’t think it being available on an
[37:30]
online service that’s I mean that’s like $20 a year or whatever it is for the Nintendo service or
with the expansion pack it’s a little more than that but I think it’s that doesn’t necessarily
cheapen it you can still play it it’s in its original form but if you wanted to seek it out and full
disclosure because we haven’t revealed that quite as much Jamie is attempting to collect the entire
64 library not complete in box I think mostly just loose cartridges but functional and in good shape
[38:00]
so I’d say that $15 is a pretty small ask to be able to collect that even if you’re not trying to
take on the entire library like I’m doing at the moment potentially foolishly I would say if you’re
just trying to get the big titles for the N64 or all the exclusive ones that were a big deal or even
just the first party ones that are worth having I wouldn’t say this is at the top of the list unless
you’re doing them alphabetically I would say that it is one that’s worth having to have a fully
[38:30]
rounded out sample it’s a good sports game on the N64 and it’s a good example of a game of the time
are you going to love playing this now especially if you didn’t play it back in the day no probably
not are you going to enjoy playing it when you’ve got certain memories in your head as to what you
remember it controlling as I would say based on what we’ve talked about also probably not but for
the price and for a collector I do think that this is worth grabbing for that price and as you
[39:00]
said even though you can play it elsewhere in different capacities there’s something about playing
the original hardware and yeah I got to pass this one yeah and it’s a pretty low barrier to entry so
I think it’s a pretty easy pass and actually you just mentioned having those specific memories that
brings us to the last category fantastic segway sir you like that I do I do I do I’m gonna be pretty
good at this one day test number 10 the nostalgia goggles test does this game
[39:30]
genuinely hold up today or is its reputation being carried by nostalgia and I don’t know if you’ve
been keeping score and I’m not gonna reveal my hand but this is a pretty crucial category based on
where we are right now so I I do vividly remember as someone who did not have an
[40:00]
opportunity to play this or at least didn’t play it much I don’t really remember that the the name
was pretty iconic that the artwork was pretty iconic I remember you know especially back then games
were not cheap they’re not cheap now but they were even less cheap then with inflation and stuff
some of them were over 80 85 dollars in some cases and that’s a lot of money by today’s standards so
you didn’t always have every game we didn’t have the internet in quite the same form to watch videos
so a lot of what I remember about it from a nostalgia standpoint is looking at
[40:30]
Nintendo power magazines because I could look at the screenshots a hundred times and go what is this
game like you know or talking to people about it and there is a little bit of that that when the
game is mentioned I know what game people are talking about so I don’t know that necessarily like
even having not played it of course being you know a person with some amount of enthusiasm and
appreciation for the medium of video games I think it is something though that when you say it there
are people who are going to go man I totally remember that so I think there is maybe a bit of
[41:00]
that where the nostalgia is involved but does it hold up I think some of its contributions are of
note but like you’ve said a couple of times as we’ve gone through this there are other extreme
sports games that have since surpassed this or maybe they were a little flashier like we mentioned
SSX in passing unintentionally as part of a pun and we’ve talked about the twisted edge and and
there’s other games like snowboard kids that we will
[41:30]
eventually talk about and I think with some of those games that the whimsy which I’m sure we will
reference a number of times in this program good word over this endeavor I think that whimsy is
going to come up a bunch and this doesn’t have a ton of whimsy no it doesn’t I mean it’s it’s it’s
very corporate right I mean it’s got the Tommy Hilfiger branding on it it’s got the Lamar boards
it’s you know it’s almost like a commercial in a in a in a capacity in some capacity a a commercial
and showcase for the Nintendo 64 I
[42:00]
think it was promoted you said you saw it on all the boxes you saw it on all the magazine articles
yeah there’s a reason for that like these were these were some sexy screenshots for the time and it
was very impressive as we talked about but when you when you look at it now I think unless you drank
the Kool-Aid then and spent the time to make this your game because as you said look I can’t afford
a bunch of games I’m stuck with this game all summer and really you know dedicated yourself to 1080
snowboarding I do not think that this game has
[42:30]
stood the test of time both from a franchise and an IP perspective but also just as the as an
individual title people talk about the game but let’s be honest they talk about the title because of
the name yeah and they talk about it only in select conversations when they’re talking about the
Nintendo 64’s library sort of the reasons why we did this episode first to get this one you know
almost out of the way to be perfectly honest with you it’s alphabetically more important than I
think it is culturally so wow yeah that’s a good way of putting it for me I I don’t
[43:00]
like to be I like to find the good in everything and there’s a lot of good here but for a pass fail
category I think I I have to fail this and I think I do too I think another level of that too is as
I became an adult and had adult money which as I say became I mean very loosely because I’m still
really not quite there but as far as becoming an adult you know there was a time when some of these
games were not quite as sought after and you I probably could have gone to pick this game up for
three or four dollars probably 10 or 15 years ago and I
[43:30]
didn’t and I and I think there’s something to be said for that that it was a game that I knew a lot
about and there are there are games where I’ve seen them and go I’m going to pick that up it’s a
game I heard about a bunch of times I never got a chance to play it and what’s three or four dollars
to play it and in the past whatever it is 20 years or so that I’ve been loosely an adult and had
money and gone to the occasional used game store this is not something that stuck out like I need to
get that and I think there might be some some sort of of
[44:00]
significance to the fact that they didn’t jump out to me in that way no yeah it’s indicative of how
you feel about the game we sound smart it’s like I was saying before I I think that if you have
nostalgia for this game I can’t argue with you right but in general broadly speaking I don’t think
that this game carries anything beyond nostalgia and its relevance for the time and its showcase of
the console but in
[44:30]
today’s day and age I don’t think it holds up I think with some of that you could almost put it
through the lens of if I were opening some sort of museum or showcase and I needed to pick not even
a small number not five if I needed to pick 25 games for each platform that I was featuring in that
museum would this be in there and I don’t think it would I don’t think it would be in there for the
Nintendo 64 and I don’t think it would be in there for snowboarding so right off the bat I think
that’s that’s our answer right there there you go well I
[45:00]
have I have done the math I’ve got everything calculated up here and that comes out to a total of 60
so very close but 1080 snowboarding you are not 64 certified you almost had it so yeah I it’s a
tough one it’s close it’s it’s I I like I think it’s a really test a really good testament to this
test this endeavor which is a word I used earlier I’m going to try not to use it too many times but
[45:30]
then this this experiment this thing that we’re doing that Jamie has crafted and put together I
think this is a really good indication of how this is going to work that this is a game that is
decently well remembered I remember being super hyped about it and it didn’t quite make it but it
didn’t completely fall apart and I think we’re going to have a lot of games that are really close
like that yeah and honestly I think a 60 percent is a fair score for this game I think that’s kind
of hard to argue with you know regardless of how we got to it I think
[46:00]
that’s fair one thing I do think is interesting I did we agree on every single category on this one
or do we have any split votes I think we we did not have any split we had a couple that were pretty
close I think probably bum to the base was probably one of the ones that was the closest oh yeah I
kind of stole that point from you didn’t I well and I didn’t have a ton of memories but but based on
you know what music I have heard and and knowing about the type of music it fit what it was set out
to do and I think that’s important it may not be the most memorable music in the world but it fit
what
[46:30]
it was meant to do it’s not just genuinely bad music it’s not legendary but I think it checked the
box like it should have so this was a pretty close one if we had split then it would have been maybe
even less close than it was all right came down to the wire for it so there you have it at the end
of our patented very expensive very fancy and thoroughly untested system and now it tested at least
oh yeah yeah yeah singularly tested system 1080 degrees snowboarding you are not certified 64 there
you go it may be
[47:00]
maybe we’re wrong maybe you guys want to make a case for this anyone listening wants to make a case
for this we’ll share some social channels we’ve got a discord we’ll have a thread for each game and
so if it is something where you want to come maybe give us a little bit of your insight on this
maybe something that you agree with or disagree with we’ll have a place to do that and so we’d
really appreciate you coming and sharing your input on this game with us because maybe we didn’t
quite nail it yeah absolutely tell us where we’re wrong or congratulate us on being 100% correct
either one
[47:30]
yeah and in future episodes we can read back some of this feedback and see where our audience is and
you know are we do we have the right thoughts going on on this one or are we completely missing the
mark so yeah all right moving forward this next section before we put the cartridge back on the
shelf is called Lobo Learnings in this segment we take a look at today’s game through the eyes of an
indie developer what lessons can we learn from it decades later what ideas are worth borrowing what
mistakes should be avoided what made this game work and
[48:00]
how might those principles apply to a game in development today so this section is actually brought
to you shamelessly by Lobo Destroyer which is our own Nintendo 64 inspired 3d platforming adventure
that we’re currently developing if you’re enjoying this show and you’re a fan of the Nintendo 64 and
you’d like to follow our game development journey we’d love to have you for the ride you can learn
more about Lobo Destroyo and join our discord community you can find all the links on all of our
socials at
[48:30]
Lobo Destroyo dot com that’s a l-o-b-o-d-e-s-t-r-o-y-o dot com ridiculously long url should have
thought about that before naming it but yeah so building an independent game is kind of a long road
so every like follow share community member you know it really does help more than you might realize
showcase the enthusiasm for our titles so check it out and maybe consider giving us a follow if you
like the cartridge archive and want to support what we’re building you know we really appreciate it
so that’s the
[49:00]
end of my little shameless self-promotion there under the guise of a show sponsor but yeah let’s
let’s put 10 80 degrees snowboarding up to the Lobo learnings magnifying glass and see what we can
take away from it yeah two two things I think Lobo Destroyo is a pretty awesome and iconic name I
think that’s awesome and my my Lobo learning from this was that Shigeru Miyamoto should be the
producer and so I don’t know if that’s if you have him involved in Lobo Destroyo
[49:30]
that’s a good but that’s a good note we should totally do is that what the Lobo lesson is uh well
you know what that’s actually better than my Lobo lesson so we’ll just throw away my notes because
that one kind of trumps it um I feel like that was busy though he’s probably gonna retire one of
these days yeah well I believe it when I see it um yeah no so actually as far as the Lobo learnings
on this game I mean obviously uh Lobo Destroyo 3d action collect-a-thon platformer not a technical
showcase snowboarding sports game um but there are some things that 1080 does really well that I
think can be incorporated if not in Lobo then games in
[50:00]
general and the first thing that I stood out to me in this was the use of skyboxes the skyboxes in
this game are killer when you’re talking about an era where you have compressed textures and
limitations they did a really good job of making some phenomenal skyboxes and the way that they use
them to hide where the seams are in the skyboxes with the angle of the playable uh you know
geometric playing space it’s it’s really good they knew what they were doing and it works so well
and the
[50:30]
testament to it is when you lose the skybox aka playing multiplayer and the fog of war comes in it’s
a completely different experience as far as the setting of the game that you’re playing obviously
when it’s super stormy and you can’t see the skybox that’s intentional I understand that but the
skybox in general uh themselves are just really well done and for those of you don’t know a skybox
is basically a giant 3d cube that exists around a game world’s geometry that implies the horizon
line and sky and the
[51:00]
surrounding space that isn’t actually part of the explorable scene so it’s imagery that’s designed
to look like an extension of the scene but it in and of itself is actually flat six sides of a cube
which your game world exists inside of and where those cube corners meet obviously you’ve got a hard
edge and a corner and there’s a puckering effect where a skybox it’s evident if you look at it you
know where the scene is you can tell where the corners are especially if you look in the in the in
the tips where you’ve got three sides all coming together you
[51:30]
can really tell where those are 1080 does an amazing job of positioning their game worlds within
their skyboxes in a capacity where you can tell and I think that deserves to be commended and that’s
something that can apply to any game or any 3d game and I would definitely take that as a as a lobo
learning for this one and the other thing that I would add also is just the the menu selection the
menu for this game where everyone’s sitting in that cabin just chilling hanging out like awesome in
[52:00]
my opinion music is playing they’re just kind of hanging out there when you highlight over them you
rotate the camera around the 3d space and you look at them in the room they’re leaning up against
like Tommy Hilfiger branded apparel and stuff as they’re cleaning their snowboards or just chilling
and you know when you highlight them they look up at you and they’re like hey what’s up and then if
you cancel out they’re like okay never mind and you can yeah it’s just I think it’s cool too because
it adds a lot of character because like for the most part if you’re playing this game you see the
the backs of the characters so for for that
[52:30]
small moment there’s maybe a little bit more personality than there is on the board you get to see a
face you know kind of put a little bit of character to them and and like you said it’s kind of just
cool like the menu doesn’t have to be that involved and of course nowadays our menus are extremely
sterile on on many many games it’s just it’s just a matter of just picking something off the list
and there’s some nice art behind it maybe you know a typeface or font involved but not anything
that’s real flashy so to have something
[53:00]
like this once once you get in there and character select is so much more involved it is cool it
adds a lot of character to something that otherwise could be pretty lifeless yeah and especially
well just in general a snowboarding game right like it’s it’s an action oriented sports focused
title that’s not all that much room unless you’re doing some sort of wacky gimmick to it to and this
is a pretty you know straight and arrow simulation style game right for the most part it was just a
really good way to give it a little bit of something to make it
[53:30]
different and give it some personality and you know flex those character models like you’re saying
and I think it’s a really really good choice and one of the more memorable moments of this game yeah
so I would put the skybox use and their menu selections as things that can be aspired to and pull
from for current games yeah uh those are awesome points we’ll see how many of those things we we end
up seeing in in Lobo Destroyo I think the skybox thing is that’s not something I’m aware of skyboxes
but I don’t look at them in the same way so it’s really interesting to hear them from
[54:00]
the standpoint of someone who is actively creating things like that yeah just don’t look too closely
at Lobo skyboxes now that you know where the pucker points are this this by the time we’re done with
all this this episode will be so long ago people will even be thinking about that part let me think
about all the other things that make Lobo great oh you’re too kind so that said so 1080
snowboarding’s cartridge goes back on the shelf with a score of 60 out of 100 and does not earn
certified 64 status that’s it
[54:30]
for us for episode number one I think that went pretty well for a maiden voyage I’m looking forward
to doing more of these games and seeing this thing grow I’m sure it’s going to be a you know an ever
evolving process so we appreciate your patience as we kind of learn and figure this thing out but
yeah from us I think that’s a that’s a big thank you and we’ll catch you next time yeah I think
that’s a great one and I look forward to many more I think it went great and hopefully everyone else
feels the same way so we will see you in the next one the cartridge archive was created by Jamie guy
and is produced and hosted by Jamie
[55:00]
guy and Adam Jones our music is by the mysterious break master cylinder visit the cartridge
archive.com for more information or join our discord you can find links to both of those and tap to
add dot me slash tca pod that’s tap the number to add dot me slash tca pod you’ll find that and all
of our other links in the show notes more episodes of the cartridge archive are available wherever
you get your podcast and as always thanks for listening