Which Was Better: '1080° Snowboarding' or 'Cool Boarders 2'?
An N64 classic vs. a PS1 staple.
I am going snowboarding this weekend, which is to say that I will be drinking hot toddies inside a warm place in proximity to people who are snowboarding and doing other snow things. Regardless, the trip—and the broader winter season—has me wistful for a decades-long debate: Which of two iconic, mid-1990s games that revolved around shredding the gnar was better. The contenders are 1080° Snowboarding (1998) for the Nintendo 64 and Cool Boarders 2 (1997) for the first Playstation console. That nostalgia has now turned into genuine curiosity about how to answer that question today, so that’s what we’re doing in this edition of Power Action!
Before we get into the comparisons and contrasts, let’s talk a bit about what conditions produced each title. The early Nintendo consoles had a couple of same-genre games prior to these, but our two contenders here were very much part of and contributed to a snowboarding boom: Around the mid- to late-1990s, the U.S. The Winter X Games were growing and growing in popularity, with the eventual debut of snowboarding at the 1998 Olympics in Japan. Another big factor: Mass manufacturing of snowboards had begun in the mid-1990s—becoming one of those iconic wrapped Christmas presents whose contents weren’t a mystery to anyone.
Further, extreme sports were also represented across the N64 and PS1 with the Tony Hawk series and Wave Race 64, among others. On the Sony side, the first couple of installments of Cool Boarders series were crafted by Japanese developer UEP Systems. The portfolio for the company, between 1996 and 2000, included mostly snowboarding games—including the beloved and acclaimed follow-up to Cool Boarders, the aptly titled Cool Boarders 2. We’re focusing on the latter here because it was the series’ best and its ubiquity, as it was the first to break a million copies sold. Eventually, Playstation would purchase the franchise and give it to Idol Minds/989 Studios (see fig. 1). UEP Systems disbanded in 2001 after a few of their latter snowboarding games tanked, but still, those first two entries are legendary for a generation of gamers.
fig. 1:
Meanwhile, 1080° may have been one of multiple snowboarding entries for the N64 in '98, but it was by far the most successful. Unlike Cool Boarders 2, 1080° crossed the 2 million mark in copies sold. 1080° had some massive names behind it: It was co-directed by Masamachi Abe of the Tekken series; co-programmed by a guy who crafted Mario's face in Super Mario 64; and was produced by Nintendo godfather Shigeru Miyamoto himself. I always loved this quote from Miyamoto given to GamePro magazine: “I was thinking about making a skiing game after completing Wave Race [64]. However, the current trend seems to be toward snowboarding. With snowboarding, it seems that you can go places that you can't with skis; for example, in between trees."
OK; enough preamble. I have revisited these two games in recent months and have devised the following categories, each scored with a specified number of Kenny Fishers (Seth Green’s character in the 1998 film Can’t Hardly Wait who wore cool extreme sport goggles) and a brief explanation.
If you need a refresher on the vibes of each, here’s a vid of 10-min. gameplay for each:
Now, the categories:
THE GRAPHICS
Cool Boarders 2: A bit on the rough side, with the feeling that you are a simply a few arranged polygons on a snow-colored surface. Charming, but the far lesser of the two. Two Kennys.
1080°: Far superior, with the feeling that you are actually moving through the texture of snow (aided by the game’s sound design), with a board that vibrates along the surface. The snow effect is also entrancing.
THE CONTROLS:
Cool Boarders 2: I thought this one was going to come down to being personally more partial to the N64 controller, but I found CB2 as much more user-friendly and intuitive. There are also more tricks to discover here, making the exploration of the controls even more fun.
1080°: The joystick is used to good effect here, but in general, not as initially fun for me as the other. You do get the hang of it, though, which offers more pride in nailing tricks … eventually.
THE HUD (HEADS-UP DISPLAY)
Cool Boarders 2: A bit busier, but it's nice to see the current record displayed and approaching boarder alerts. The map isn't nearly as readable, though.
1080°: Like all iconic Nintendo games, it's only exactly what you need here, including time, speed, damage, and a straightforward map.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Many folks credit both of these games for introducing them to drum and bass music, though 1080°’s also ventures into rockier territory at times. A draw.
THE VERDICT:
1080° is the superior game for me, based on its impressive-for-the-time graphics, sound design, and the experience on the other side of learning the ropes. I had a blast revisiting both of these games, though.
What’s your opinion? Let me know.
