N-Philes

When I first stumbled upon Go! Go! Hypergrind on eBay it was listed at only $14.99. I thought I was getting a steal of a deal, with it being out for only a week and my local game store carrying it for $50, so I couldn't help but pick it up. After a few days of waiting it arrived at my doorstep, and after the love affair with the Atlus published Cubivore, I was fairly excited to see what was in store for me with Go! Go! Hypergrind. Seeing as how this was one of the craziest games to be released in some time, with little to no advertising or recognition, I knew right when I bought it this was an "under the radar" title.


I suppose, like most Nintendo gamers, the sports genre isn't the most appreciated by our taste buds. Even if extreme sports titles were a step up, after the continuous rehash over the years of franchises like Tony Hawk, I doubt we'd see sales numbers make a change for the better. So while I did anticipate Go! Go! Hypergrind, with it being a skateboarding game and all, I placed my bet that it would not be something I would enjoy. Boy did it prove me wrong. Go! Go! Hypergrind features some of the most obscure gameplay for any sports game ever created (which in this case is a good thing), and displays some of the most visually stunning cel-shaded graphics that in some ways rivals even the top dogs (Wind Waker and Sly Cooper, respectively).

The background of the game is that you are in the realm of the Toon World, a place that desperately needs a revival with the birth of computer generated graphics. Crazy, I know, and really just a precursor to the absolutely off the wall gamestyle that you're totally not prepared for. Unlike your generic skateboarding title, Hypergrind has the "Negative Reaction System" when put simply means, by getting your character hurt you get more points. With various obstacles in your path, you have to aim clearly and time it properly so that you can run right into, oh I don't know, an axe and get your head chopped off and triple your point score. The whole concept is so unique and entertaining I couldn't help but wonder where they got the ideas. After getting into the game a bit I found out the whole setting was started by precepts created by none other then SPUMCO, the people who brought the infamous Ren and Stimpy to the broadcasting world.


Go! Go! Hypergrind brought a spark back into a pipeline that was beginning to run dry. With companies like THQ, Activision and Acclaim throwing out whatever they had in their garbage dump (the Tony Hawk series excluded I suppose) it was nice to see a fresh new experience in the genre. Sadly sporting what could be some of the worst sales on the GameCube (something under 50,000 if I remember correctly) the odds of a sequel have most definitely been thrown out the window. As I pass by the extreme sports titles at my retailer I can't help but look away, as I will always have Go! Go! Hypergrind to treasure at my house for years to come.