Skate or Die

Pixelcade on Sunday, 03 July 2011. Posted in Retro Game of the Week

1987 -- how rad was it? I had my Vision skate clothes and my Nash board. The NES was well on its way to making history before anyone knew it. Then there I sat at my local rental shop looking at this awesome cover of a dude doing a hand plant, with the words SKATE OR DIE emblazoned in graffiti above him

I MUST PLAY THIS GAME.

Ultra Games produced this title for our enjoyment. It featured many different play styles from downhill racing, pool jousting, and half pipe shredding, plus a couple more. We saw a few characters in the game -- like Rodney Recloose, who was the crazy dude you saw when you started the game in the skate shop. He sported a purple mohawk and tattoos. He had a crazy kid named Bionic Lester with green hair and a nasty attitude in events like the joust and downhill. He would cut you off and knock you on your face faster than you could say "shredded."

Editor's Note: Despite only being born in 1987 -- the year the Skate or Die series got its start -- I have fond memories of playing all the games in DOS on my brother's laptop in the mid-90s. I think California Games did the better job of providing "extreme" skateboarding, but Skate or Die and its snow-themed cousin Ski or Die boast enough charm and humor to be worth your while. Here's Pixelcade's take. -mossy_11


Skate_or_Die_cover1987 -- how rad was it? I had my Vision skate clothes and my Nash board. The NES was well on its way to making history before anyone knew it. Then there I sat at my local rental shop looking at this awesome cover of a dude doing a hand plant, with the words SKATE OR DIE emblazoned in graffiti above him.

I MUST PLAY THIS GAME.

Ultra Games produced this title for our enjoyment. It featured many different play styles from downhill racing, pool jousting, and half pipe shredding, plus a couple more. We saw a few characters in the game -- like Rodney Recloose, who was the crazy dude you saw when you started the game in the skate shop. He sported a purple mohawk and tattoos. He had a crazy kid named Bionic Lester with green hair and a nasty attitude in events like the joust and downhill. He would cut you off and knock you on your face faster than you could say "shredded."


Poseur Pete and Aggro Eddie were the other characters in the jousting arena, each with different skill levels. For an early skating game, I thought it offered a lot in the things I wanted as a young not-good skater. It gave me the option to believe I could skate and fight at the same time.

Once I actually tried to kick my friend while riding my board. I remember to this day the hit I took on the ground when he pushed me off my board. TOTALLED.


skate_or_die_freestyledieskate_or_die_joust2skate_or_die_race

These screens are all from the NES version. Skate or Die was also released for DOS, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Apple IIGS, and ZX Spectrum.


The game spawned a winter version called Ski Or Die and a sequel, Skate or Die 2. Both of these are great games and well worth a look. You can't compare Skate or Die to the modern skate games, such as SSX or Tony Hawk, as it's much too simplistic. But if you can put on some 80's metal and hi-tops you may find the charm these games offer you.

skate_or_die2_gameskate_or_die2_level1skie_or_die_freestyle

Skate or Die 2 (left and center) offered a skateboarding twist on the side-scrolling arcade formula, while Ski or Die (right) was simply a snow-themed version of the original Skate or Die.


Have you played any of the games in the Skate or Die series? What are your thoughts on them?


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