X-treme Racing SSX is an alternate title for SSX. Wild runs, airborne tricks and stylish heroes. An arcade snow classic for its adrenaline rush.
Your verdict
Category
Sports2 players3+
Split screen
Description
An EA Big and SCEI sports game released in 2001, the Japanese edition of SSX (X-treme Racing SSX), PS2 launch of the arcade snowboard masterpiece. The player takes on 8 professional riders (Mac, Kaori, Brodi) on 7 psychedelic tracks with spectacular descents, spectacular aerial tricks and elimination competitions. Stylized anime aesthetics, signature electro-rock soundtrack. Major PS2 snowboard launch, Japanese release.
X-treme Racing SSX review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The art direction spotlights a colorful cast of riders. A PS2 launch title in Japan, this version tends above all its characters: stylized silhouettes, garish outfits, marked attitudes that make each snowboarder an identifiable figure, between punk, star and mascot. The imagery exhibits this gallery of riders as an argument, each fitted with his look and his visual personality.
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.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
The Japanese version of SSX marketed as X-treme Racing, a local variant of EA Sports BIG's arcade snowboarding racer scarcely present outside the archipelago. This title specific to the Japanese market appeals to collectors of the regional variants of a license mostly carried by the West. Its interest lies in this naming and Japanese run rather than strong scarcity.
Better with friends
The original arcade snowboard descent, where you barrel down snappy slopes chaining tricks and shortcuts, measuring up two-player in a rush of speed. The competition blends tense 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 X-treme Racing SSX still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2000 on PS2 at the console's launch and known as SSX, 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.
