REVIEW – Rising Board 3D

A review by Jeremy Hardin

Game – Rising Board 3D
Developer/Publisher - Odenis Studio
Version – 3DS eShop
Time Spent Playing – 4 hours
Price - $2.99
Obtained – Review Copy courtesy of Odenis Studio

When I was little, EVERYONE made fun of me.  Probably too waddly, too square.  And then one day my dad came home with a board.  It wasn’t just a gift, it was a path.  MY PATH.

Gameplay and Controls
In Rising Board 3D  you take control of a Penguin who’s calling in life is to surf.  The gameplay is simple, yet incredibly enjoyable.  Your goal is to become the Pop Island King of the waves.  I want to go on and on about how much fun the game is, but I have to point out how deceptively simple it is as well.  I really am pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had.  Okay, so the ranting needs to stop so I can get on with my review.  The whole game consists of you surfing through random levels, performing tricks, and collecting sun points (which can be used to purchase new boards.)  As you surf, you’ll be focusing on performing tricks at will, and also when prompted.  Each successful move will generate more sun points for you to collect.  You will receive more Sun Points for completing the promoted tricks.  As you surf you will also see Sun Points just floating on the water or high in the air and it’s your goal to collect as many as you can, all while avoiding the land masses that appear.  There are only two ways you fail a level, you either don’t land your board evenly or you land on well, the land (duh!)

Everything you do or collect is recorded on the bottom screen.  The records are divided into the following sections; Performance, Distance, Multiplier, Tricks and Sun Spots.  Next to all of these records, save the Sun Spots, you will see your Best records so it encourages you to beat your last high score.

Now, in order to make things more interesting you’ll want to purchase new boards and upgrade the ones you have, there are 6 in all.    The boards aren’t just skins on the same object, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.  Unlocking all 6 and maxing them out is no easy feat as you will need thousands of sun points to do this, so it’ s a good thing Rising Board is so much fun.  I know I can’t guarantee it, but I’m incredibly confident that once you play the game, you’ll be hooked!

The game controls simple using the circle pad and the B and A buttons.  You’ll hold A to speed up and release it jump.  In order to perform tricks, you’ll use a combination of the previously mentioned buttons.  The controls are incredibly simple and intuitive.  As I’ve mentioned already, you’ll be dodging land masses, islands, and rocks.  In order to do this, you’ll have to navigate around them, or jump over them with A.  The cool thing about this is that when you jump you can keep pressing A rapidly to ‘fly’.  Not only does this get you out of trouble, it gives you more air to perform more tricks.

Visuals and Sound
The graphics are great and the use of 3D, while subtle, is done quite well.  One of my favorite parts to the visuals is when you pause the game, how everything still moves, aside from your surfboard.  The waves are still rolling, clouds are moving, the waves even have this awesome shimmering effect and to top it all off, your character is waving like crazy! The music and sound effects are smooth and subtle.  I really don’t know what to compare them to, but it’s enjoyable.  The two catchiest sound bits are when you take a hit – your character will flip around and yell for a couple of seconds.  The other cool sound effect is when you end a level – some upbeat music plays for a couple of seconds.
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Concluding Overall Impressions
Perhaps you are still a doubter.  If so, let me attempt to remove your doubt.  Rising Board 3D is quirky and fun and you will enjoy yourself.    For just $2.99, I’ve already sunk 4 hours into the game and still have more to unlock.  Plus, it’s just a great pick up and play game that provides waves of enjoyment.

Final Score: 5 out of 5

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  • Sammy Thomas

    Are there multiple stages or just one stage?

    • http://www.wiinintendo.net Jeremy Hardin

      Hey Sammy, there are multiple stages. However, they are generated at random, so you never get to choose what stage you’ll be in next. For the most part, I found this refreshing. Although, my favorite stage was this one where there were no islands, it was just big waves and occasionally some rocks where the water was low. This level allowed you to just pull off some major moves, fly to the sky and enjoy the waves. So, tying that back into the randomly generated levels, I always found myself hoping I would get the major waves level more than any other.

      This game was really way more fun than I even anticipated it being.

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