Thanks to brand licensing issues at Sony, Cool Boarders Burrrn is the Japanese name for a game that was known in the US as Rippin Riders, and in PAL regions as Snow Surfers.
I didn’t choose to use the Japanese name in the title by chance, I’m actually playing the Japanese version on my European PAL console using the Action Replay CDX demo disc that came on the cover DC UK magazine back in June 2000 - and if you don’t know about that drama this article in Eurogamer is a fascinating read.
I remember finding out about a free disc that bypasses region locks from a friend, and then scouring every newsagent and corner shop in the town where I lived in search of a copy. After finding at least a couple from which the CD had been stolen, I eventual unearthed one in particularly dingy corner of the main shopping centre - I had no Japanese or American games to play with it at the time, but over the years I’ve picked up a small import collection and it has been an invaluable asset. Compared to the prices I’ve paid for other multi-region solutions on other hardware, £2.95 for a magazine I can’t remember if I ever read is a bit of a bargain.
Burrrn is actually the third game in the Cool Boarders series developed by UEP Studios (pronounced Wep). The game with the 3 in the name came after Sony had purchased the rights and handed them to a second party studio called Idol Minds.
This all led to a situation where what we have is, essentially, two number ‘3’ entries in the Cool Boarders franchise - but which is better?
There’s only one way to find out…
