Hello and welcome to a new instalment of Retro Revival, the series where I cover classic titles that have been given a new lease on life. Here I discuss HD remasters, emulated ports and compilations in part or as a whole. This week, I am covering a classic game from UEP Systems, which has been brought back through Hamster’s brand new Console Archives label with Studio Zan. So let us take a look at Cool Boarders, the revolutionary Snowboarding game originally released in 1996.
Disclaimer: the games discussed in this feature have been purchased by myself, so all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own. There has been no sponsorship of the content in this feature, with links to the different versions where possible.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general gameplay experience, then providing my personal thoughts on the release.
About the game
Cool Boarders is a full 3D downhill snowboarding game, offering 3 playable tracks separated into Novice, Advanced and Expert, with additional secret tracks to unlock. When selecting a course to challenge, the player will be able to select from several boards, with Freestyle, Alpine and All-Round options. Each of the boards have their own stats, dividing into Max Speed, Response and Stability, making each of them react differently when carving the snow.
The six different boards have four color options, which will change the look of the board to give them some variety. When the board has been chosen, the player gets to select their rider, with male and female options available. The two playable characters have four different styles available, with unique looks for them that have that distinct 90s charm. If players can clear a secret set of conditions, there is also a special rider that can be unlocked.
After all of the pre-game options have been selected, the action begins. Each of the courses have the player carving down the slopes, gaining high speeds while going downhill. The action for the snowboarding is smooth, with a good sensation of speed while navigating the courses. While taking on the twists and turns of the courses, players can use board drift. This allows the player to handle both wide and narrow corners with ease.
However, if the player turns too hard, or is over-reliant on the drifting, all speed can be lost while riding. It is also possible for the player hit the edges of the slopes, causing the rider to either bounce off or crash, losing speed and time. Managing to maintain a good speed is important to getting a good time, as each of the stages has section records and a full course record to beat. There is also a time limit for the run, which is extended by hitting checkpoints.
The time limits for the tracks can be tight, with only a limited amount of time granted when a checkpoint is reached. This makes board control important, as there are cliffs that the rider can fall from, which can eat up a lot of time. If the player loses enough time, the run will be ended and the player will need to try again. This system adds to the adrenaline rush of going down the slopes, with the tension of the timer looming over the player.
Now the timer isn’t the only thing that players will need to focus on for the courses, as there are special trick jump zones that will appear. This is where the trick system comes into play, with a simple yet satisfying controls to perform a decent number of tricks. To perform tricks, the player can hold down the jump button, then use specific inputs to perform spins, flips and grab tricks, with points only counting from designated trick jumps.
For players to perform the movement tricks, the player must hold the jump button and a direction, allowing them to charge up their movement. Depending on how long the player holds the direction, the speed of the rotation will increase, which seems unusual but is fairly flexible. Then there are the grab tricks, which are done by pressing a direction and then the grab button. There are 12 grabs available, with the inputs being rather intuitive in play.
The points that players earn from the trick jumps will vary, with the rotations, flips and grabs giving different amounts when used alone. But if the different moves are combined together, there will be the chance for significantly higher scores. If the player lands the trick successfully, they will earn all of the points for the trick. However, if the player bails and crashes, they will be given a lower amount of points as a consolation prize, making every jump yield some score.
As standard the game view is in third person, but there is also a special view button, that allows the player to switch to first person. This gives players a new view that makes it more dynamic, but can cause motion sickness. Once the run is completed, a replay will start offering several different camera angles. This makes the post run more dynamic, giving it more of an exciting view to see how the performance.
After the replay, the player will have their time and trick points tallied, with a total overall score based on time and tick points. If the player has a fast time, big score and high trick points, they will be able to input a name to the rankings. The player can also save Ghost times for the run, which will allow them to race against, adding another rider on the course to challenge. This adds more replay value to the game, as it opens up local and personal challenges.
The text for this game is in Japanese, but this only applies to the save and load menu, which doesn’t impact the experience. As this has been brought to modern systems through Hamster, there is the addition of save/load states and a decently implemented manual. Players can also use virtual memory cards, as well as filters that attempt to emulate the look of classic screens. These features elevate it above other attempts of emulation for the game.
Personal Thoughts
I have been a fan of the Cool Boarders franchise for many years, having experienced the first two games from UEP Systems on PlayStation back when I was a kid. So there is some nostalgia there for me, as I have many fond memories with the game. I did go back to it over the years, either through the original version or the various ports for newer PlayStation systems. But sadly, the Sony re-releases were inconsistent in terms of quality for me.
However, when Hamster announced that Cool Boarders was going to launch their Console Archives brand, I was very excited, as they have a track record for high quality emulation. When I started the game for the first time, it did look rather bare bones, with only the option to play the game. This may disappoint some, as Hamster usually include different versions of a game, but it isn’t a negative, as there are no regional differences with this game.
The emulation for this release is fantastic, bringing the original experience of the 32 bit system to new hardware, with no issues like other systems have had. Unlike recent attempts to revive the game, the original visuals and sound are kept intact, looking just like it did when it first came out. It feels right in motion, with no issues in terms of lag, or delay during play with a smooth experience out of the box. This is a great sign of things to come from Hamster.
It may be limited in content, with only three courses to start and two that unlockable, but what it lacks in content it makes up for with replay value. There is a lot of depth to the gameplay and challenge, with the trick system that laid the foundation for many games that followed. This makes it an important piece of gaming history, which I feel all players should experience, especially those who missed out on the game the first time.
Hamster put a lot of work into this, with quality of life improvements that make it more accessible to all players. The addition of a fairly detailed manual is a great one, explaining the mechanics, gameplay system and giving some tips. However, the way to unlock the secret content is not told, so players will need to figure it out for themselves or look it up. The retro filters are a good bonus, but I personally don’t use it though they do look good.
There are other games already announced for the Console Archives label, with games from the 8-bit up to 32-bit currently announced. Although there have been talks of later systems being included, so I am very excited to see how the series expands over time. Hamster continues to be one of the leading figures in game preservation, as they allow many classic games to be experienced by new audiences, which I hope they continues for years to come.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then take a look at the other content available and see what catches your eye. There are reviews, sometimes news and features that cover a variety of games. There is the lost gems series, special Gaming Oddities and more coming in the future. So stick around for a while and check out the other content.
Link to Nintendo Switch 2 version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 5 version (HERE)
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