SSX lays the groundwork for a freewheeling snowboarding series. Wild runs, airborne tricks and stylish heroes. The glide feels gleeful and still works wonders today.
Your verdict
Category
Sports2 players7+
Description
An EA Canada and EA snowboarding sport game released in 2000, the first SSX franchise entry. Arcade snowboarding racing with spectacular tricks on Tokyo, Mercury City and other fanciful slopes. Stylized characters, electro soundtrack and exceptional sliding feel. A landmark PS2 launch title and genre founder.
SSX review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The art direction electrifies snowboarding with an arcade energy. Far from any realism, this first entry deploys futuristic, crazed courses: giant ramps, luminous tubes, dizzying shortcuts bathed in vivid colors and neon. The riders leap into impossible tricks, trails of effects and sprays of snow to back them, on courses conceived like roller coasters.
Impossible to forget the thunderous "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC blasting at full power on the slopes. Funk, rock and hip-hop string together to galvanise every jump and every trick combo. This infectious energy, perfectly in tune with the arcade madness, remains the sonic soul of the game.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Extreme snowboarding in all its energy: bombing down vertiginous slopes while chaining jumps and insane tricks, in an explosion of colour and music. The sense of pure gliding and the chase for the perfect combo deliver an instant rush. With several players, rivalry ignites. Stylish, snappy and furiously fun, the game that launched a cult saga of arcade riding.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Tearing down an oversized slope while chaining grabs and spins to swell your boost gauge and then unleashing it all in a stratospheric jump delivers an immediate rush that calls for the next descent. Unlocking riders, slopes and tricks keeps reviving the urge. The courses repeat a bit, but this speed, this style and this adrenaline rush keep a formidable pull.
An EA Sports BIG arcade snowboarder released at the PS2 launch, a technical showcase that immediately set speed, color and supercharged runs as the machine's signature. Still common in the West, its interest lies in this status as a landmark launch title rather than scarcity, prized by those tracing the console's beginnings. A prime piece for fans of arcade boarding and the early PS2 days.
Better with friends
An arcade snowboard descent where you barrel down dizzying slopes chaining tricks and shortcuts, measuring up two-player in a rush of speed. The competition blends snappy riding and risk-taking, where daring the big jump to pump your score can swing it all. Colorful and accessible, it turns every run into a gleeful duel where spectacular tricks draw shouts around the screen.
Is SSX still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2000 on PS2 at the console's launch, EA Sports BIG's project founded a cult series by setting up a nervous, generous and resolutely spectacular arcade snowboarding. The supercharged descents, the outsized jumps and the neck and neck racing against colourful opponents lay down an exhilarating formula from the start. The sense of speed and the immediate handling impressed at the machine's debut. The rigidity of some tricks and a thinner content than its sequels betray its pioneer status. A founding stone of arcade sports, recommended for those curious about the PS2's beginnings and about boarding.
