Slalom retrospective: Rare's slippery slope to fame | NES Works

[@bredincaptivity4692]

Solid Homer voice at the end there.

[@peterullinger2814]

One things that make that game stand out from other early NES titles is the awesome music. My cousin and I often played THAT game when we were with our grandparents just because of that (against Volleyball, Soccer and Popeye)

[@FloatingSunfish]

*_"Stupid sexy Slalom!"_*

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

It’s like the cartridge is wearing nothing at all.

[@Belgand]

I like black box and I cannot lie.

[@djnekroman]

The footage of this game running at 60 fps is fantastic. It looks awesome, and gives you a real sense of speed. I honestly never knew I could be so impressed in this day and age by that old of game footage. Props Rare on making such a pretty game with such limited resources, and props Jeremy for putting so much effort into capturing your footage.

[@Watcher3223]

For your skier to be able to achieve speeds of up to 140 km/h, he has his stance and he has his diet. Now you may ask ... "what?!" With his stance and the gas from what he eats, he can propel himself like a rocket.

[@7thangelad586]

Should have had a SNES release with Mode 7 and 16-bit butts.

[@logan86123]

Real talk.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

get some squash & stretch effects on those cheeks

[@CD-yb9wt]

There's a Super FX SNES game called Winter Gold that has several winter sports games, slalom included...

[@notsyzagts7967]

@@CD-yb9wt True but it lacks the simplistic personal charm from this version.

[@michaelblair2536]

Loved this game

[@MNicolai]

These pun titles have really gone downhill.

[@duffman18]

Mate your videos are so good, and you cover so many games that no other channel does. And you do every video so professionally in not only the presentation but the research. You clearly put in a lot more work than most retro game channels. You deserve so many more subscribers. Keep doing what you're doing, and eventually you'll get there man. You'll get those framed KZbin logo thingies. All of them. Keep doing you

[@JeremyParish]

This is not the kind of material that fares well on KZbin, and that's fine.

[@duffman18]

@@JeremyParish I'm not sure about that. Look at Mark Brown, who has a similar sort of presentation and amount of research, although his channel is about game design rather than reviews, and he's managed to get 490,000 subs. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll get more subscribers with time. There's quite a few channels I've followed for years who I subbed at a similar amount of subscribers as you have, and they diligently kept making the same kind of videos, and eventually something sparked a surge and their sub count started to grow exponentially. Once it starts growing, the number grows faster and faster. I do like your attitude though. You care more about making good videos than making click bait nonsense or whatever. And that's why your channel is awesome

[@duffman18]

@@JeremyParish I've put my money where my mouth is. Just became a patron of you on patreon right this second, so that I'm not merely making annoying rambling posts about how good you are without actually supporting the channel ☺️

[@JeremyParish]

Thanks, I appreciate it. But I am perfectly well aware that I don't have the charisma or appeal of someone like Mark Brown, and that's fine. I'm comfortable with my limits.

[@Doritomurderer]

charisma counterpoint: the butt goof was primo and a delightful surprise, especially because I had only begun to notice a butt to rival MGS4's Old Snake just moments before you pointed it out

[@Bobgoats1]

There's a little more depth to the moguls as well where if you press down to do a trick in the air you'll accrue bonus time on the next course that delays when the other pesky skiiers show up.

[@CaseyWallace3]

J Dylan Felt weird to hear the jump noise at the moguls but no “beep-beep-beep” right after!

[@dbpooper7512]

No shit? I've had this game since I was a kid but never knew that.

[@mikemgmve]

Came here to say the same thing. Not that it’s a huge part of the game or that it deepens the controls that much, but it seemed weird that the tricks/style points were left out.

[@CaseyWallace3]

I would say it is a pretty huge part of the game as those extra trick points add to your available run time for the next level of the mountain. A lot of trick jumping can help you get past tougher levels that you might be having trouble completing in the default allotted time. It was a huge part to leave out on this normally thorough and excellent video retrospective. At least he doesn’t pronounce the game title as “Slaylom” as I have heard in other reviews.

[@cinnamonnoir2487]

This feels kind of like a spiritual ancestor to the Scarab Slide from Donkey Kong Country 64, the difference being that this actually looks fun to play and doesn't make me hate Rare, racing minigames in general, and all insects.

[@nicholaifugate]

Great video. What a milestone to hit the last Black Box game. Everytime I watch a video I'm hit with how great your work is!

[@Fryguy64]

The NES didn't land in the UK until September 1987. It landed in other European countries (Germany, Nordic areas) in late 1986. Europe was a staggered market with multiple distributors prior to the late 90s.

[@jamiejackson3903]

A very articulate and in depth review as always. Never played this game but you provide a wonderful overview here. Thanks for satisfying your audience's nostalgic propensities.

[@mendali]

When you get air time, you can press down and strike a pose! And you get a cool sound effect.

[@Lifesizemortal]

born in 89'... how tf have i never heard of "Slalom"

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

Something I genuinely love about your work is that it's straight to the point and almost textbook-like in its presentation, until a solid joke like the Simpsons gag at the end catches you off guard and hits the whole thing out of the park. Love your work!

[@mattdog1000000]

Coulda mentioned this was the first game composed by the prolific David Wise!

[@JeremyParish]

I could have.

[@mattdog1000000]

Perhaps not notable enough for you?... I know you're not the biggest fan of Rare's DKC series, but they have become pretty widely acclaimed, and I'm sure even you'd agree that part of their lasting legacy is due to David Wise's soundtracks. But eh, I suppose it's just another tidbit. I thought it was interesting it started here when I found out anyway.

[@JeremyParish]

David Wise is great, but these videos aren't about making note of every single bit of trivia about a game. There's a certain amount of editing that goes into keeping these on-point. It's not like there won't be other David Wise soundtracks to talk about, whereas there's only one "final Black Box game" and only one "first Western-developed NES game."

[@unoclayGaming]

Really good homer voice! I was lucky enough to (as a small kid) play the arcade version (complete with skis and poles) and never, ever forgot it. As soon as I began re-collecting NES as an adult, it was one of the first games i picked up as a result. Nice review.

[@DkViking1]

How did you like the skis and poles controls on the arcade? Did it work or was it just a gimmick? 😊

[@unoclay]

man, your testing my memory, but to buy Best of my memory it was like the two skis were mounted on something and the poles as well, and you could shift left and right. but it's been a really long time. I was very young

[@ResetButtonFilms]

Anyone else remember getting this as a "pack-in" title with your NES? From what I remember, they released it as a cheaper version of the NES system, coming with Slalom instead of SMB. So this was the first game I owned on NES! My memory may be hazy of all this though, as I was 4 years old at the time.

[@bluedistortions]

My pack in title for the NES was Donkey Kong Country

[@michaelsegal3558]

He forgot to mention to molehills that make you jump if you ski over them

[@adamking6645]

Another great video as always, with a cool ending bit to boot. Slalom was indeed the last 'black box' game, as Computer Entertainer newsletter sets its release date as March 1987. Nintendo's next published games were the three 'Adventure Series' games (Legend of Zelda, Metroid and Kid Icarus) and Rad Racer, all of which would be released in silver boxes that annotated their special features, followed by Punch-Out which would begin the run of more vibrant covers for Nintendo's carts. Incidentally you're actually doing two games in one with Track and Field next episode.

[@607]

Huh, I would have expected at least a remark about the music, considering the fame that David Wise ended up gathering!

[@Dwedit]

Fun fact, hold the jump button as you run out of time, and there's a chance you will keep jumping even with no time left.

[@TIDbitRETRO]

Wish this was on the NES Classic. This game was great back in the day. 👍🏼

[@MrJWTH]

Scruff Zilla unfortunately with Microsoft owning Rare there was little chance of that being on the system.

[@JoeBushOnline]

Mount Nasty is an underrated great level title in video game history

[@TIDbitRETRO]

This is the epitome of a “hidden gem”. Its a great little NES game. Thank you for covering it.

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

This seems like Buggy Boy in many many ways...maybe too many ways...

[@pjcollects]

Jeremy, longtime fan of your work, including this series and retronauts. I really appreciate you documenting all these beloved games, it's made me appreciate the games I love more and has introduced me to so many games that I just never knew about as a kid (like this game, I really want to go check it out now). Also, love the Simpson's reference at the end. Well done.

[@pauljohnson7548]

I love this game. Haven't thought about it for years, but it's one of those racing games like Super Hang-On that can put you into an almost hypnotic state. In some respects, the less you think, the better you do. It's an interesting experience.

[@JeremyParish]

Man, I played Super Hang-On a few months ago on an X68000 with an arcade stick and it was white-knuckle-amazing. I want one of those setups just for that game.

[@pauljohnson7548]

Jeremy Parish That sounds awesome. I grew up with the Genesis version and only played the X68000 version recently (emulated, using Xbox 360 controller). It is hard as balls, but then again I am super out-of-practice.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Aside from the British "sledge" used here, the snowmen kinda resemble the types from Raymond Briggs' famous story "The Snowman".

[@craigcharlesworth1538]

Rare's prowess on NES was always ironic because Ultimate's C64 games were notoriously shit compared to their Spectrum output. They could make the Z80 sing but never got their heads round the 6502 back in those days.

[@bratticuss]

I remember seeing this game at our bowling alley. They had a pretty decent collection of Nintendo and Konami games. Great times! I think the only reason my parents bought me my NES was to save on quarters.

[@Ollision]

For an NES game, this looks actually really fun to play.

[@michaelsegal3558]

Slalom is the last of the black box titles?

[@qwertzy121212]

always baffled when i see how few subscribers this channel has surely it's missing a zero or two!

[@JeremyParish]

0,021,468 subscribers seems about correct

[@Mightywhiskaz]

No mention of the freestyle tricks on the jumps?

[@Fattydeposit]

The 8-bit buttocks a certain enemy type rocks in Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars are up there with these ones. They quiver out projectiles / rolling hazards too.

[@j0nnyism]

Inspired by Horace goes skiing?

[@melasnexperience]

Not until Bayonetta will there be a more lovingly rendered rump on a Nintendo system.

[@magnus87]

It always seemed to me that the character was a cooked turkey.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Oh my god, I cannot unsee that now...

[@j0nnyism]

Those tight suits has a tendency to do that in reality too

[@michaelsegal3558]

I have this game

[@KuraIthys]

Ah, Rare. The legends of 3 generations of Nintendo hardware... Only to basically die a slow, painful death at the hands of Microsoft. Not that this was (entirely) microsoft's fault - Rare had been bleeding talent through most of the late 90's... But still.... I also can't imagine trying to reverse engineer these hardware platforms. I know a fair bit about the SNES from various bits of documentation, both from the homebrew community, and leaks of official documentation. Similar with the NES. While neither system is so complex you couldn't figure it out, they have enough complexity that trying to reverse engineer the things would be quite the headache. The biggest immediate problem you face as a homebrew developer (well, aside from that, in modern times, 5 volt compatible flash memory in any kind of reasonable capacity is getting increasingly challenging to find, meaning you end up needing to build a bunch of conversion logic and use level shifters, or else risk those hardware-destroying faults) is defeating the lockout chips the systems have. Although... Come to think of it, if you're willing to customise your system purely for development, the NES lockout can be bypassed simply by getting a Famicom imported from Japan. And, while it would cripple the systems for normal use, you could of course remove the lockout chips from both the NES and SNES. (in fact, given the NES top-loader lacks that chip, it might not even cripple the system in the case of the NES.) That would've worked for RARE, but of course it doesn't do a homebrew developer much good since you NEED an implementation of the lockout chip to be able to distribute anything. Thankfully there's been a reverse engineered version of the lockout chip for NES and SNES for well over a decade now... Still, there is a lot of hidden complexity in trying to make these games... To say nothing of trying to develop a game with no documentation at all. (OK, not entirely true. the 6502 family documentation would've been fairly easy to obtain, since it's standard for all the CPU's... But as my 800XL coding experiments very quickly told me, knowing the CPU instruction set is a long way from being able to do anything useful on any given hardware, and that's a home computer where making your own software is expected, not an exception...

[@diamondsmasher]

Hated Microsoft before they bought Rare. But now I’ll definitely never get a sequel to Jet Force Gemini. Damn you, Bill Gates!

[@pentelegomenon1175]

Bleeding talent wouldn't have been a big problem for Rare, Goldeneye was made by an extremely inexperienced team after all. Rare's actual secret was its unique style of management and development, which Microsoft scrapped immediately (they had their own style, after all) although I can't blame them entirely for that either since it was a very un-corporate kind of style. People at Microsoft have argued that Rare was falling behind the curve technically before they were bought, which aside from the weirdness of this fact being cited by the company that bought Rare for hundreds of millions of dollars is also just plain incorrect, they were a very strong studio pre-Microsoft (a few highlights: 1988 - RC Pro Am, 1989 - NES port of Marble Madness, 1991 - Battletoads, 1993 - Battletoads & Double Dragon, 1994 - Donkey Kong Country, 1995 - Donkey Kong Country 2, 1997 - Goldeneye, 1998 - Banjo-Kazooie, 2000 - Perfect Dark, 2002 - Microsoft buys Rare).

[@ozzydio7233]

Your voice is so awesome, i could listen to you all day long!

[@billbobaggins5734]

Flanders!

[@glennmanifold6345]

Love the homer voice! Note in U.K. it’d be Rare Ltd. not Rare Inc.

[@JeremyParish]

Yep, but Rare Coin It was incorporated in the U.S.

[@glennmanifold6345]

@@JeremyParish did not know that. Enjoying working my way through your back catalogue. Top work.

[@dumpnchase]

I always liked this game.

[@krawithan]

I had plenty of fun with this game

[@Lorfarius]

That's the best ending you've done so far!

[@gf-zi5hr]

I've been wondering for a long time, how much time do you spend with a game (as in playing it) for an episode?

[@JeremyParish]

As long as I need to. It varies wildly from game to game, anywhere from an hour to 20 hours (well, I think 20 has been my max to date).

[@gf-zi5hr]

thank you for the answer, it was exactly what i wanted to know

[@Poever]

Shalom, Slalom

[@fivestringpat]

amazing

[@TKnightcrawler]

Didn't you know you can do tricks when jumping off ramps, though?

[@NicJohnson]

the Simpsons reference was very much appreciated

[@darktetsuya]

the ending though I did not see that coming XD I don't really remember playing that one, I'm pretty sure we were too busy with Zelda trying to beat that at the time!

[@doricdream498]

for some reason, "rare coin-it" and "ultimate play the game" strike me as extremely british company names. hits like a dump truck every time i hear/read them

[@MrMegaManFan]

Good Homer Simpson impression, great game!

[@MaxW-er1hm]

I never liked it much. It's fun and slick but I tire of I quickly. I thought F-1 is much more fun , but I'm a car guy🚙

[@METR0lD]

Stupid sexy Slalom! XD

[@delaorden]

O man, that ending cracks me up

[@mattdgroves]

butts butts butts

[@mikedl1105]

Ah, good old Simpsons

[@Neverhoodian]

That was one stupid sexy Homer impression.

[@jamesmoss3424]

Slalom look like an excellent game for me to play. 😀👍🎮

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

THICC