Steep Slope Sliders

Overview

Steep Slope Sliders is an ST-V and Saturn-based snowboarding game developed by Cave Co., ltd (previously best known for their work in shoot 'em ups). After a successful initial showing in arcades (where it was distributed by Capcom), it was quickly ported to the Sega Saturn and published by Victor Interactive Software under their " Pack-in-Soft" label. In comparison to other snowboarding games being released in the same time frame, particularly Cool Boarders, Steep Slope Sliders utilized a unique trick system, colorful characters, and an optional real time clock-based system for determining the proper time of day at each location. Additionally, there's a detailed replay editing feature that can be used to rerecord replays in a more cinematic style. Finally, in a nod towards their more famous works, Cave implemented a hidden shoot 'em up minigame.

Control System

Unlike other snowboarding games at the time, in Steep Slope Sliders the board orientation is controlled with the left and right triggers and the player's balance being governed by the digital pad. The A, B and C face buttons are used to control Jump, Flip and Grab (reconfigurable in any order), and the resulting stunt is determined based on which direction the player is holding when the button is pressed.

Courses

There are a total of 11 courses available for play in the game, though only seven are initially available. The remaining courses are accessible after unlocking a prerequisite number of hidden characters and performing specific input codes.

• Alpine
• Half Pipe - Canada
• Extreme 00 - Russia
• Extreme 01 - USA
• Extreme 02 - Japan
• Extreme 03
• Snow Board Park
• Outer Space - Hidden course
• Space Colony - Hidden course
• South Pole - Hidden course
• Space Half Pipe - Hidden course

Snowboarders

There are a total of 16 snowboarders to choose from, with four initially available and the remaining unlocked after either meeting the proper criteria (typically getting a target stunt score or beating a target time) or through inputting a specific code.

• Boarder 1
• Boarder 2
• Boarder 3
• Boarder 4
• Skin Head (Baldy) - Unlocked by getting the best stunt score in the half pipe, Skin Head is a shirtless man with sunglasses. His name was changed to, "Baldy" when the game was released outside of Japan.
• Boy - Unlocked by getting the best time on Extreme 01.
• Hero (Alien) - Unlocked by getting the best stunt score on Snow Board Park. Hero's name was changed to Alien in the releases outside of Japan. Bears an extremely close resemblance to the Silver Surfer, though gold in color.
• Racer - Unlocked by getting the best time on the Alpine course. Racer dresses similar to that of an Olympian snowboard competitor.
• UFO - A flying saucer, the UFO is unlocked by holding R while selecting Hero.
• Dog
• Girl
• Space Jet
• Penguin
• Anime Girl - Unlocked by holding down R when selecting Boy. Anime Girl wears a short skirt and has pig tails in her hair.
• UFO 2 - Unlocked by holding L when selecting Hero.
• Mysterious Hero - Unlocked by holding down R when selecting Racer, the Mysterious Hero is the retro-pixel character from Steep Slope Shooter.

Steep Slope Shooters

Steep Slope Shooters is a hidden minigame with a tongue-in-cheek story that casts the player as a mysterious hero trying to find out why his brother died. He does so through entering a skiing game that sees him dodging primitive pixelated trees through multiple stages, upgrading his weaponry and shielding, and shooting similarly retro-flavored enemy and boss characters.

While playing, the player has the ability to speed up and slow down, fluctuating a bar located on the left hand side of the screen. Should the player speed up, the bar increases and the message, "Guts Up!" is displayed. If the player slows down, "Chicken!" is displayed and the bar decreases.

The game takes place over the course of three stages:

• Stage 1 - There are no enemies, the player simply has to navigate through randomly placed trees as quickly as possible. Upon completion of the level, the player is rewarded with a gun.
• Stage 2 - The player is tasked with dispatching 10 enemeis while still navigating through the trees. Up to two shots can be fired at once and upon completion of the level, the player is awared the power armor and shield.
• Stage 3 - There are 20 enemies to elimiate this time, followed by a multi-stage boss. Each stage of the boss (legs / torso / head) takes 10 shots to defeat and progressively fires more shots and moves faster than the previous stage.

Reception

Steep Slope Sliders met with above average reviews with reviewers highlighting its easy to master controls and impressive graphics, though critics commonly criticized the lack of multiplayer, tournament, or competitive A.I. racing modes. Joe Fielder of Gamespot felt that, "It's a good enough game, but these factors keep it from being a great one" ( link) and GameRevolution's review concluded with, "Steep Slope Sliders is a good example of Saturn gaming - some extremely bright spots overshadowed by a roughshod and incomplete feeling product" in reference to the game missing features otherwise considered standard.