039 · SLALOM
It's time to hit the slopes with the very first Western developed NES game! RARE skis up a unique experience that is guaranteed to be nothing like Banjo-Kazooie. For show notes and more check out www.NEStalgiacast.com. And a BIG Special thanks to our first subscriber John B!
Show notes
- SLALOM - HIT THE SLOPES OF MOUNT NASTY FOR THE CHALLENGE OF YOUR LIFE
- Slalom is a skiing video game in which the player races in a series of downhill slalom runs while navigating past flags and obstacles before time expires. It was developed by Rare and Published by Nintendo
- The game was developed by Tim and Chris Stamper and its music was composed by David Wise.
- Tim and Chris first formed ULTIMATE which primarily made ZX Spectrum games
- RARE is the shortened version of RARE DESIGNS OF THE FUTURE and focused on the Japanese market instead of the British home computer market
- The brothers flew to Kyoto to present software samples to Nintendo executives.Nintendo purchased the Stampers' Slalom, which sold half a million units, and made the Stampers into Nintendo's first Western third-party developer.
- David Wise composed for Rare from 1985 all the way to 2009 and is most notable for his work on Donkey Kong Country and Diddy Kong Racing
- Slalom was originally released in 1986 in the arcades as part of the Nintendo VS. System and was titled Vs. Slalom.
- Snowy Hill for Beginners
- Steep Peak for Medium
- Mount Nasty for Experts
- Remap controls
- Flags
- Moguls
- Obstacles (Skiers, Snowman, Trees)
- Freestyle Tricks
- If the player earns enough points, they may race the next level "solo" (without other skiers onscreen).