This is THE definitive extreme sports game. Everything you could want is right here. Larger than life characters. Incredible, intense speed. Pulsing, blood-pumping music. Smooth, addictive gameplay. Flashy courses with monstrous drops and BIG air. Out of this world presentation & charm. Some of the highest levels of spectacle in a game. It's got it all. It's got it ALL.
Now if you played the original SSX in 2000 you may at first think that the game's returning characters, soundtrack and maps make it just a slight upgrade, but no. No, no no no. The characters have a mountain's worth of personality added, as well as a slew of new characters to check out (my favorites are both newcomers: Eddie and Psymon). There is a new "rival" system where each character has preset friends and enemies, and can improve or worsen relationships by how you interact with them in matches. The maps have all been updated with significantly better design decisions, as well as the new stages, the fantastic Garibaldi and Alaska maps, giving a solid beginning and ending to the newly improved World Circuit. These additions make a definitive version of this game; a perfect first taste for Gamecube and Xbox compared to the PS2-exclusive original.
But despite all these great additions, there is one thing that sets it far apart: a new mechanic that set the standard for every SSX game that followed, and wished it could top. This game's true crowning jewel is in it's name. "Tricky".
The already-ingenious boost/trick system is taken to lengths far above your wildest dreams with the new Tricky meter. Like the original game, when you do tricks you gain more boost energy, which incentivizes doing tricks and getting big air during races. But now when the boost is maxed out, the Tricky meter lights up and Run DMC's "It's Tricky" begins to play. Now you can do "UBER Tricks", granting you access to some of the most insane shit you've ever seen, before or after, fiction or non-fiction. Your character will take the board off of their feet and do things you never knew could be done with a snowboard. These tricks, as flashy and intense as they are, are not easy to pull off as they need to be timed just right and let their animations play out before you land, or else you bail. But when you time it right, you get the game yelling "TRICKAYYY HUH!" and a letter added to the word "Tricky" above the boost meter. When you do enough tricks to spell the whole word, you now have infinite boost meter and can speed your way to victory. Btw, every character has a signature trick, so you're gonna want to check them all out and master every character. You won't regret it either; every signature trick is specialized to accentuate each character's loud personality. IE, Eddie does the worm on his like he's at a disco party, and Psymon spins the board around his neck like a maniac. It's fucking glorious.
SSX Tricky does basically everything right. It's a triumph, it's a party, it's a hit, it's in-your-face, and it's a banger. It's the cream of the crop of extreme sports games, and most games in general should bow to it. No one does it like Tricky.
Tricky's only real flaws are as follows:
1. The rail detection when grinding is spotty (improved in the sequels)
2. You WILL want more of it's whole thing specifically but unfortunately the game ends (not improved in the sequels)
3. EA refuses to remake/rerelease it (fuck EA) or do anything with the SSX franchise at all (do I need to say it again)
Do not shy away. Play this game as frequently as possible. Then as it becomes easier for you, play this game once a day, or as needed. This perscription's my recital. I think it's very vital. To rock (a rhyme) that's right (on time) it's TRICKY ITS-HUH-HUH HERE WE GO
Now if you played the original SSX in 2000 you may at first think that the game's returning characters, soundtrack and maps make it just a slight upgrade, but no. No, no no no. The characters have a mountain's worth of personality added, as well as a slew of new characters to check out (my favorites are both newcomers: Eddie and Psymon). There is a new "rival" system where each character has preset friends and enemies, and can improve or worsen relationships by how you interact with them in matches. The maps have all been updated with significantly better design decisions, as well as the new stages, the fantastic Garibaldi and Alaska maps, giving a solid beginning and ending to the newly improved World Circuit. These additions make a definitive version of this game; a perfect first taste for Gamecube and Xbox compared to the PS2-exclusive original.
But despite all these great additions, there is one thing that sets it far apart: a new mechanic that set the standard for every SSX game that followed, and wished it could top. This game's true crowning jewel is in it's name. "Tricky".
The already-ingenious boost/trick system is taken to lengths far above your wildest dreams with the new Tricky meter. Like the original game, when you do tricks you gain more boost energy, which incentivizes doing tricks and getting big air during races. But now when the boost is maxed out, the Tricky meter lights up and Run DMC's "It's Tricky" begins to play. Now you can do "UBER Tricks", granting you access to some of the most insane shit you've ever seen, before or after, fiction or non-fiction. Your character will take the board off of their feet and do things you never knew could be done with a snowboard. These tricks, as flashy and intense as they are, are not easy to pull off as they need to be timed just right and let their animations play out before you land, or else you bail. But when you time it right, you get the game yelling "TRICKAYYY HUH!" and a letter added to the word "Tricky" above the boost meter. When you do enough tricks to spell the whole word, you now have infinite boost meter and can speed your way to victory. Btw, every character has a signature trick, so you're gonna want to check them all out and master every character. You won't regret it either; every signature trick is specialized to accentuate each character's loud personality. IE, Eddie does the worm on his like he's at a disco party, and Psymon spins the board around his neck like a maniac. It's fucking glorious.
SSX Tricky does basically everything right. It's a triumph, it's a party, it's a hit, it's in-your-face, and it's a banger. It's the cream of the crop of extreme sports games, and most games in general should bow to it. No one does it like Tricky.
Tricky's only real flaws are as follows:
1. The rail detection when grinding is spotty (improved in the sequels)
2. You WILL want more of it's whole thing specifically but unfortunately the game ends (not improved in the sequels)
3. EA refuses to remake/rerelease it (fuck EA) or do anything with the SSX franchise at all (do I need to say it again)
Do not shy away. Play this game as frequently as possible. Then as it becomes easier for you, play this game once a day, or as needed. This perscription's my recital. I think it's very vital. To rock (a rhyme) that's right (on time) it's TRICKY ITS-HUH-HUH HERE WE GO