Overview – originally developed and published by WayForward, with porting handled by Limited Run Games, Xtreme Sports is an action sport RPG, where players enter the tournament on Xtreme Island. Participate in 5 different extreme sports and challenge the other competitors on the island, earning medals and interacting with the different characters. This title is exclusively on Nintendo Switch, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank wayForward for providing the copy of Xtreme Sports used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story.
Story – in a remote location, there is an island where a special tournament is being held. The sponsors are Xtreme Cola Company who has invited competitors from across the globe to take part. While hanging out together, Fin and Guppi see the competition promoted on a TV, together they decide to enter the tournament with the goal of winning the prize money. However, there is another group heading to the island with the goal of winning the tournament.
Gameplay – Xtreme Sports is a sports adventure, with a gameplay style similar to that of the sports RPG titles from Camelot. After the introduction, the player can select between Guppi and Fin before they are taken to the island, where they can sign up and select their name. Before jumping into the tournament proper, players must make their way through the tutorials, where the player can learn all of the different controls and mechanics.
There are five total sports for the player to take on, with each of the sports having their own unique gameplay mechanics. Here is a quick breakdown (with additional details for general mechanics after) for each of the events that take place on Xtreme Sports Island;
- Skateboarding – ride your board across the stage, hitting ramps and performing tricks to get the highest score possible, all while trying to reach the goal as fast as possible.
- Inline Skating – race to the finish, dodging obstacles and grinding rails as you try to set the best time you can.
- Street Luge – ride the streets on a longboard, avoiding the obstacles that are in the way, while speeding down and jumping ramps.
- Surfing – ride the waves while collecting points, doing tricks and avoiding the sharks, all while trying not to wipe out.
- Skyboarding – take a dive from a plane and collecting arrows to build up a combo meter, performing aerial tricks and avoiding hazards.
All of the events have their own targets for the player to meet. These include collecting flags, hitting a target score and beating the target time. There will also be Twitchy Shakes, a special power-up that will give the player a boost depending on the event that they are taking on. The events are accessed by challenging the other competitors on the island, each with their own target scores/times. If the player succeeds at beating or matching the target, they are awarded a medal.
As the player makes their way through the game, they will unlock new areas that were previously locked if they earn enough medals. This gives the player access to more challenging stages for the player to take on, with the events increasing in difficulty as the map expands further. There will also be a mysterious group who act as the villains of the tournament, who are the strongest competitors on the island and give the biggest challenge.
During the adventure, the player will also gain clues about the motives of the gang, which will help to solve the mysteries tied to them and why they are in the tournament. Away from the adventure, there is a practice mode that players can freely play through the events, with 15 total challenges over 3 difficulty levels. This gives players the ability to learn all of the ins and outs of each event, practicing the different sports and honing their skills.
Finally, there are quality of life improvements for this release. As this is an emulated port of a Game Boy Color game, there have been some features added to this title via the Carbon Engine. As this is an old cartridge game, there is only one save, but to make up for this the player has access to save states which increases the possible saves to 4. There are also visual filters, adjustable screen displays and a gallery of special images for the game/cart.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as an old Game Boy Color title, there is a limited number of buttons in use, with the face buttons and plus/minus being used for in game actions. The main menu is accessed by pressing the back triggers and the D-pad/thumbstick can be used interchangeably. These inputs can be a little stiff, which can be a slight frustration, however the most comfortable being those shaped like Nintendo NES and Super NES pads.
Difficulty – there is a rather moderate difficulty curve for the most part, but there are difficulty spikes when the player challenges the villain gang. This can be frustrating for players, as these high difficulty challenges can feel like they are sudden. The addition of save states can make the very tough stages a little easier to deal with, letting players to quickly get back to the start of a stage after a mistake is made. The practice mode can help players who are struggling too.
Presentation – the visuals have that distinct WayForward style to them, with the sprite work going on to build the foundation for Shantae. There is little in terms of lag aside from mild stiffness in controls, and the game runs at a fantastic pace with solid emulation via the Carbon Engine. The sound is bright and has excellent chiptune compositions, which made full use of the Game Boy sound chip, which has translated well to the Nintendo Switch.
Final Thoughts – I didn’t know this game existed until I saw the announcement from WayForward alongside the Shantae GBC port. When I finally got my hands on this title I can honestly say it was a fun experience, even though the difficulty at times did feel like a mixed bag. The spikes in difficulty when it comes to the bad guy challenges did get a little frustrating at times, but don’t spoil the overall experience as there is a fairly open progression system.
I can recommend this title to everyone who is a fan of the classic WayForward/action sport titles, as it has that distinct charm they are known for, with a lot of depth to the overall experience. The game isn’t for everyone, as it can feel primitive to those who had not played titles like this on the Game Boy Color. However, this is a time capsule of the late 90’s early 2000’s extreme sports scene, which will likely be a big hit of nostalgia for those who grew up in that period, like it was for me.
In the end, I give Xtreme Sports a final score of 4/5. This is a fun action sports title with a lot of depth due to the RPG style of gameplay, the gameplay is fun and the challenge can be tough, but the overall experience is solid and a real blast from the past that is a hell of a lot of fun to play. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
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