1080° Snowboarding has a bit of a mixed reception amongst Nintendo fans, with some loving it and others not really getting into it. Unfortunately, I’m in the latter camp but I can see why people do love it. I think a lot of it is to do with expectations: you expect something more whimsical and a bit over-the-top from Nintendo, but 1080 is surprisingly grounded.

1080 is a snowboard racing game with a lot of tricks, with the tutorial being geared towards performing tricks. I think this was the main error of the game, as it sets tricks as something integral to the game, creating the impression that they’ll be important to all modes. After this, people will usually pick the race mode and almost certainly lose.

As Nintendo have gone for a more serious game, tricks won’t help you out here, they’ll just slow you down, any kind of jumping usually will. You need to crouch down and perfect the course to win, even on the easiest difficulties.

The tricks come into play in specific trick modes, and the system is quite robust and it takes a lot of skill to master landing. I just wish that the two modes were integrated a bit more and that tricks were part of races, creating boost – but that would change the nature of the game and isn’t what Nintendo is going for.

1080° Snowboarding is a very solid game, it just isn’t for me.

Fun

The first time you complete a course without crashing once, you’ll forgive the game for all the times it made you want to throw your N64 out of the window, because 1080° is a very rewarding game.

Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #21. Review Score: 89%

Remake or Remaster?

It definitely deserves an updated release, perhaps adding a more arcade mode as well.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no way to buy a new copy of 1080° Snowboarding, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

Re-releases

2008: Wii Virtual Console

2015: Wii U Virtual Console

2024: Nintendo Switch Online (subscription only)