Skate or Die is a collection of skateboarding mini-games basically. There isn't much of an interconnected story to the game but more just games you can play as you feel like it. There ware practice modes or competitive modes. There isn't much to the game other than trying to beat each game and trying to get a higher score. Each game (except for Joust) has a high score tracker so the main point is to try and do better than your last time.

Graphics 7/10 - I liked the graphics for this game. They weren't anything great but the variety in level design was nice. Each game had its own style to it (except Freestyle and High Jump I guess). There was nothing overly special about the graphics but were done in such a way that they were self-explanatory and easy to understand. In this kind of game that is paramount because the game doesn't explain itself in basically any other way.

Sound 8/10 - I really enjoyed the sound for this game. Again, it wasn't amazing or memorable like Final Fantasy or Castlevania but it fit the game perfectly. A lot of the music was laid back and kind of repetitive which is what I would expect from a skateboarding game. The intense Downhill and Jam levels were more upbeat and energetic because the levels themselves were races and that made sense.

I also really enjoyed the sound effects. Like in joust when you would knock the other guy off his board and then you got back to the top of the bowl and you would swing the joust stick and then make this sort of laughing sound. So fun if you won and so aggravating if you lost.

The music takes what would otherwise be fairly bland games and adds so much life to them. Listening to the songs over again brings the memories of playing this game back to my mind. Again, not memorable but still lots of fun and perfectly suited for the overall game.

Addictiveness 8/10 – this game is loads of fun to play. There aren’t too many things to do overall since there are only 5 games to play and only 2 modes (practice or competitive) but despite the limited amount of options the game is enjoyable. Each game is fairly unique in how it is played and requires different techniques or skills in order to win. The joust is by far my favorite to play against another person. Especially in a tournament style. Lots of fun for a group for the NES.

Story 1/10 – there is literally NO story to this game. You sign up at the skate shop with up to 8 player names and then you go compete in various games. That’s it. The only way to know if you are doing well is to compare your score to the high scores in the game. There is really nothing else to this game. It is loads of fun in spite of that but very lacking on the story side of things.

Depth 5/10 – I feel like this might even be a high rating to give this game. The main reason I’m giving it a as high a rating as I am is because you are free to play any of the 5 games as you want and can play with up to 8 people. This allows a lot of range in the way you compete with each other. Keeps the game a bit more fresh than the average 1 or 2 player game. The 5 games don’t vary in any way except in difficulty (like Joust where there are 3 opponents). So, the multiplayer aspect is a lot of fun but as a 1 player game it is lacking.

Difficulty 6/10 – the game is not hard by any means but becoming proficient at it does take a lot of time and practice. Each game has its own requirements in order to beat it so becoming good in one game does help you much in the other games. To a small degree the Jam and Downhill and High Jump and Freestyle share some aspects of gameplay but not enough to be very complementary.

The game itself is pretty easy to learn but difficult to master. Each game can be finished by just about anyone without too much trouble but to excel at each of the games requires time and practice. Especially the Freestyle. I found that one to be one of the most difficult to really figure out and master the best way to get a high score.

Overall 5.8/10 – This is in no way a bad game. It’s an average game that was really fun to play with a group of friends or even 1 other person. The solo play is alright but this game excels when played with others. The lack of a story really hurt the overall rating I was able to give but definitely doesn’t take away anything from being able to enjoy this game. If you can find someone to play against on Netplay I would highly recommend it.

I actually have a physical copy of this, was my moms. I mean it still is my moms, but she'll very likely never play it again.