Snowboard Kids 2

Overview

The true sequel to Snowboard Kids (Snowboard Kids Plus for the Playstation is an expansion to Snowboard Kids), Snowboard Kids 2 updates the first game with new characters, tracks, items, and revamped single player. The revamped single player involves a story between Damien, a rather silly demon, and the Snowboard Kids. The story is told through a number of in game cut scenes.

Gameplay

The main gameplay of Snowboard Kids 2 remains the same from the original. Four racers race from the top of the course to the bottom. During the race, the racers can perform tricks and collect coins on course to acquire power-ups to use against their opponents. A lap is completed when the racer reaches the bottom of the course and goes through the gate to the lift. The racer is then lifted back at the top of the course to begin the next lap. The first race who reaches the bottom of the course on the final lap wins the race.

Boss Battles

New to Snowboard Kids 2 and tied in with the game's story, boss battles pit one racer against the boss racer down the course. The goal in boss battles is to deplete the boss's health before the boss reaches the bottom of the course. Power-ups are scattered throughout the race course to assist the player battle and defeat the boss.

Gameplay Changes

There are some significant gameplay changes made in Snowboard Kids 2 from the first game.

• Racers recover much faster when hit by items.
• Circuits are shorter in length.
• If the player does not have enough money to acquire an item from the item box on the course, their character will run through the item box instead of being knocked down from the first game.
• The special trick system is replaced by a more generic system in which the player determines how many tricks they are able to do in the air. There are no longer are special inputs needed to execute multiple spins.
• Board reverse from the first game, where the racer is heading down the course with the wrong front end of the board, has been eliminated.
• Characters have more than one outfit, and are themed as Winter, Summer, Halloween, and Space.

Characters

Slash Kamei

The all around snowboarder Slash is back. He has no real strengths or weaknesses.

Jam Kuehnemund

Jam went from the trickster type to an all around type this time around. Like Slash, he has no real strengths or weaknesses.

Tommy Parsy

Tommy is surprisingly not the fastest character this time around, but he is the fastest out of all the default characters. Compared to the last Snowboard Kids game, he actually can turn a little better this time, though not by much. He has poor trick and turning abilities.

Nancy Neil

Nancy now has the stats that Jam had the last game. Her trick ability is not quite as good as Wendy's.

Linda Maltinie

Linda is basically the same has the previous game. She has the second fastest speed out of the default characters and the second worst turning ability.

Wendy Rain

The new character out of all the default characters, she has the slowest speed out of all the default characters, but the best trick ability.

Unlockable Characters

These characters cannot be played in story mode.

Mr. Dog

The friendly board shop owner is now a playable character. He's even faster than Tommy, but his turning ability is next to none.

Coach

A blue penguin that is seen periodically in this game has the best tricking ability as well as turning ability in the game. He literally floats in the air while he jumps, but he also is the slowest character.

Damien

A demon that attempts to cause trouble is the last of the unlockable characters. He's an all around character with slightly better stats than Slash and Jam.

Tracks

Unlike its predecessor, Snowboard Kids 2's locks all races at three laps.

Sunny Mountain

This is a straight forward beginner's course.

Turtle Island

The first in the list of unrealistic surfaces to snowboard on, snowboard through a tropical island...and underwater. Watch for a shortcut inside the pirate ship under the sea.

Jingle Town

Snowboard through a small Christmas themed village. Major landmarks involve a giant snowman, the village itself, and an onslaught of bunny rabbits that seem oblivious to the snowboarders. Avoid them with caution.

Jingle Town (Night)

The first boss fight course, it's basically the same as Jingle Town except it's at night and without the annoying bunnies and other hazardous obstacles.

Wendy's House

Honey I Shrunk the Snowboarders. Somehow, Wendy takes her snowboarding to the next level by making her own course in her own living room. Watch out for the giant pendulum on the grandfather clock in the center of the map, it's painful to run into.

Linda's Castle

Other than Wendy, rich kid Linda also has the funds to create her own course...through her entire house...er castle. Lots of tight corners, and a giant statue of Linda in the center of the the track.

Crazy Jungle

Snowboard through a tropical jungle this time. Best part of this map involves the giant waterfall to trick off of to your heart's content. Otherwise, there's a shortcut that involves the use of your board sliding skills, as well as a ruins where an angry idol wants to bomb you.

Crazy Jungle (Night)

The second boss battle of this game, it's basically the same as the original, but without the obstacles as well.

Starlight Highway

The first of the unlockable tracks, this brings the snowboard kids to space. Apparently, the gravity in space is the same as on Earth considering the jump height of the characters remain the same on this map. Watch out for the bumpers near the end of the track.

Haunted House

A track through a haunted house. The racers can be affected by ghosts who are found wandering on the course. Floating furniture also can get in the way as well.

Ice Land

No, this is not that European country, it's a track in the arctic. Some tight corners, and some places to push fellow boarders to their doom.

Ice Land (Night)

The final boss battle occurs here. The intense fog limits the players ability to see anything on the course by a certain distance, adding an additional challenge to the player to navigate and battle the boss on the course.

Battle Mode Only Tracks

These tracks can only be selected under battle mode.

Snowboard Street

Race through Snow Town, the Snowboard Kid's hometown. Not really a difficult course, but there are some 90 degree corners near the end.

Snowboard Street II

While not officially called Snowboard Street "II", there is no real difference from it's original counterpart other than the placement of the item boxes and the music.

X-Course

The game's training course. It's shortest track in the game and houses the biggest ramps.

Power-Ups

Power-ups are divided up into two types: "Shots" and "Items". Shots are found in red boxes strewn around the course. They provide offensive power ups for the player and are always acquired in sets of three. Items are found in blue boxes strewn around the course. They provide defensive, or the "trump card" like items.

Shots

Bombs: Bombs are shots that explode upon impact on a racer, or by a wall or obstacle on course. Upon impact, the bomb explodes with a blast radius which knocks down all racers in its radius. Bombs are the only shot item that can be shot backwards to trailing racers.

Slapstick: Slapsticks are giant hands that come out fast and homes in on the nearest racer. The racer hit with the slapstick gets knocked down and loses a bit of their money onto the course.

Parachutes: When a racer is hit by a parachute, the racer is shot upward in the air then the chute deploys, causing the racer to lose valuable distance against the other racers as they await to land on the course. Parachutes are very effective against the opposition when used before a huge ramp.

Snowman: The snowman item causes the racer hit by it to turn into a snowman, where they lose the ability to turn on course. The snowman item can also bounce off the course's walls when shot by a racer.

Icicle: Icicles will freeze the racer hit by it. The racer is frozen in ice for a few seconds on the course, making it an obstacle on course that knocks down racers who hit the frozen racer.

Tornado: A new shot item introduced in Snowboard Kids 2. A tornado hurls the racer on impact up in the air and lands the racer in a knocked down state on course upon landing. The hit racer also loses their shot/item they have carried onto the course, where another racer can acquire.

Items

Pans: The pan automatically targets and squashes the opposing racers. This item is typically awarded to the racer in last place for that racer to catch up to their fellow racers ahead. Only the invincibility item can prevent the targeted racer from being squashed.

Feather: The feather allows the racer to attain more air, allowing them to perform more tricks and earn more money. This is one of the new items introduced in Snowboard Kids 2.

Invisible: The invincibility item prevents the invisible racer from being hit from shots and items targeted against them. However, the invisible racer is not immune to ghosts and will lose their invincibility if they trip over a rock.

Rocket: Another new item in the game, the rocket provides a short but powerful burst of speed.

Speed Fan: The speed fan gives the racer a moderate boost in speed for a couple of seconds.

Rat: The rat steals ALL the money from the leading racer. If the leading racer uses the rat item, the rat will steal all the money from the second place racer.

Super Rat: The super rat steals ALL money from the opposing racers.

Rock: The rock is a small item that a racer can place on a course which trips over another racer who hits the item. Due to it's small size, it may be hard to detect to see on course and can be used strategically on specific areas of the course.

Ghost: The ghost slows down the leading racer. If the leading racer uses the item, the racer in second gets affected.

Super Ghost: The super ghost slows down all opposing racers.

Boards

Snowboard Kids 2 offers more boards for the player to use. Along with the regular three boards, there are numerous special boards with their unique statistics for the player to choose to fit their play style.

Regular Boards

Snowboard Kids 2 has three regular type boards: trick, balance, and speed boards. Trick boards have higher stats in turning and jumping, the speed board has higher speed stats in lieu of lower turning and trick ability, and the balance board has equal amount of turning and jumping ability. Higher level boards increase the speed in all regular board. The trick board also gains increased turning stats in higher levels.

Trick

• Level 1 - Speed: 2, Turn: 2, Jump: 5
• Level 2 - Speed: 4, Turn: 4, Jump: 5
• Level 3 - Speed: 6, Turn: 5, Jump: 5

Balance

• Level 1 - Speed: 3, Turn: 4, Jump: 4
• Level 2 - Speed: 5, Turn: 4, Jump: 4
• Level 3 - Speed: 7, Turn: 4, Jump: 4

Speed

• Level 1 - Speed: 4, Turn: 3, Jump: 3
• Level 2 - Speed: 6, Turn: 3, Jump: 3
• Level 3 - Speed: 8, Turn: 3, Jump: 3

Special Boards

Special boards are boards that have unique attributes.

Poverty: The racer continually loses money as they race the course with this board equipped.

• Speed: 3, Turn: 4, Jump: 4

Feather: The feather board allows the racer to float in the air longer as they jump, hence the highest jump rating. The higher air time allows the racer to perform more tricks during their time airborne as well as avoid multiple shots and items shot at them.

• Speed: 6, Turn: 5, Jump: 10

Ice: The ice board has the racer on a board made entirely out of ice. It has a high speed stat, but a very low turning stat. Racers using the ice board will go pretty fast, but will have a hard time turning corners on the course.

• Speed: 7, Turn: 1, Jump: 4

Star: The best all around board in the game, this board has the turning and jump abilities of a trick board with the speed abilities of a speed board.

• Speed: 8, Turn: 5, Jump: 5

Rich: The racer will continually accumulate gold as they race on the course with the rich board equipped.

• Speed: 7, Turn: 4, Jump: 4

Dragon: The dragon board has a rocket item equipped on the board as long as the racer is upright along with longer airborne time with its high speed and jump stats. However, with the rocket on the board at all times, racers will have a hard time maneuvering turns on the course.

• Speed: 10, Turn: 1, Jump: 10

Ninja: The ninja board has the racer invisible for the entire race. At the cost for being invisible, the ninja board has the lowest speed stat of all boards in the game.

• Speed: 1, Turn: 5, Jump: 5

Charm: The charm board prevents the racer from being affect by ghosts.

• Speed: 7, Turn: 4, Jump: 4

High Tech: The high tech board equips the fan item on the board as long as the racer stays upright on the race course.

• Speed: 9, Turn: 4, Jump: 4

Trick System

The basic spins and grabs from the first Snowboard Kids game carry over here in Snowboard Kids 2, where the player can input a directional to determine the direction of the spin as they prepare ahead of the ramp, along with the board grab as they spin.

The special tricks from Snowboard Kids, where a special set of directional inputs must be performed during the racer's windup before the ramp, has been completely removed. In its place, the player can perform multiple spins and grabs in the air to accumulate huge sums of money, which is performed by setting the directional to the desired position and pressing the jump button continually.