Summary
- Fans want a comeback for Atlus' Snowboard Kids series despite its dormant status.
- The series struggled due to competition with other N64 racing games like Mario Kart.
- Atlus appears to still own the rights to Snowboard Kids, leaving room for a potential sequel under Sega.
Some fans have recently discussed Atlus' Snowboard Kids racing game property, wanting it to make a comeback one day. Atlus' gaming library is incredibly diverse. While the developer and publisher is best known for its Shin Megami Tensei and Persona RPG franchises, it has dived into all sorts of genres, such as the interactive medical drama series Trauma Center, the hack-and-slash action game Samurai Western, and the puzzle platformer hybrid Catherine. There was also the time that Atlus delved into the racing genre via Snowboard Kids.
Snowboard Kids is an action racing series that was produced by Atlus, with the first game developed by Racjin. The first game was released on the Nintendo 64 console in 1997, and was a snowboard racing game. It was competing with a number of other racing games on the N64, including Mario Kart, which debuted a year prior. The series got a Japan-exclusive port on the PlayStation 1, along with a sequel in 1999. The series' last game was 2005's SBK: Snowboard Kids, where Atlus announced and released the game for the Nintendo DS seemingly out of the blue. Due to the DS title's poor reception, it did poorly with fans and critics, and the series has been dormant since.
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One user on the r/atlus subreddit, Tusheabu, recently asked fellow fans what had happened to the Snowboard Kids IP, saying they grew up with the games and heard a lot of people want the snowboard racing game series to make a comeback with a potential remake one day. They noted that while SBK: Snowboard Kids was an "alright" game, they preferred the kart racing style of Snowboard Kids and Snowboard Kids 2 on the N64/PS1.
Fans Want Snowboard Kids to Make a Comeback
Users noted that the series didn't do well as it was competing with other snowboard racers on the N64 like 1080 Snowboarding and Cool Boarders. Others noted that the original developer, Racjin, is still active, but some of the staff members who originally worked on Snowboard Kids are at other studios, like Atlus itself or Vanillaware. Atlus supposedly still owns the rights to the Snowboard Kids IP, so a sequel could theoretically be made under Sega.
Despite its success in the JRPG genre, fans note that Atlus has a diverse portfolio of interesting titles that haven't seen a new entry in several years. Some fans speculate that it might be due to the number of staff, as Atlus once said it wanted to make another Trauma Center game if there was enough demand. For now, Snowboard Kids is one of Atlus' forgotten franchises, alongside other series like Radiant Historia and Trauma Center. Fans are hoping that Atlus could bring Snowboard Kids onto the Nintendo Switch Online service.
- Released
- February 19, 1999
- ESRB
- E for Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Racdym
- Publisher(s)
- Atlus
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
Just when you thought it was safe to hit the slopes... Here comes those kids to tear it up again in the outrageous sequel, Snowboard Kids 2. However, all is not well in Snow Town... Enter Damien, the mischievous little brat from the underworld... And he'll stop at nothing to ruin the fun of our Snowboard Kids. It's up to you and the rest of the Snowboard Kids to defeat the evil Damien!
Race on a multitude of terrain! Underwater, uphill, and even through Outer Space!
Use over 10 ingenious power-ups to get ahead of the pack!
Race your friends in the improved multiplayer mode and find out who really is King of the mountain!
New control interface allows for insane trick combinations!
All new Speed, Shoot, and Trick courses to test your snowboarding skill!
New boss characters to intensify the excitement!
Find the all-powerful Dragon Board, along with 17 other boards to speed your way down the slopes!
Feel every bump and jump with the Rumble Pak.
Four new characters to race along with your old favorites!
Customize each character with four different costumes!
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64
- Genre(s)
- Sports
- How Long To Beat
- 10½ Hours
