Skate or Die: Bad 'n Rad (Game Boy) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthough of Konami's 1990 action game for the Nintendo Game Boy, Skate or Die: Bad 'n Rad.

Skate or Die: Bad 'n Rad, despite bearing the name of Electronic Arts' classic franchise, bears little resemblance to the other games in the series. Rather than focusing on skateboarding mechanics or on adventure-style gameplay, Bad 'n Rad feels like a combination of Super C (or Operation C) and Rollergames on the NES.

It is primarily a platformer, where you control some random skateboarder whose girlfriend has been abducted by El Rad, the Evil One. Yet another example of Konami's "hip" 90s lingo at play, that one is. You race through each stage trying to avoid spike traps, bottomless pits, and of course, a variety of enemies that are bent on ending you as quickly as possible.

These stages are interspersed with top-down stages that have you skating down-screen through areas where the tide is coming in, where spots have crumbled and fallen away, and even where an old guy is fishing and can catch you on his hook.

Bad 'n Rad is very difficult, to be sure. It's probably one of the most difficult Konami games I've played on the Game Boy. The controls are a bit twitchy and require a light touch - just like in Rollergames, momentum is key here. You need it to be able to jump far enough to clear many gaps, and too much of it will send you flying directly off of the end of the platform you had intended to land on. It is short though, so memorizing the hard bits isn't too difficult, and it is fun if you're looking for a stiff challenge. It's certainly beatable if you're willing to put in the effort.

If you're like me and loved Rollergames, give this one a go. It's pretty good.

*Recorded using Retroarch's DMG shader to simulate the look of the original Game Boy's screen.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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