Skitchin'

n/a

Skitchin'
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Sound driver: Electronic Arts/Kevin Pickell
Genre: Racing
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-04 $59.9559.95 720501 EU 1994-03 E278SMXI PT 1994 MDJEA298 UK 1994-03 £44.9944.99 E278SMXI AU 1994 BR 199x

Skitchin' is a Sega Mega Drive game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It is, as its box says, Road Rash but on roller skates. Its name comes from the act of skitching (or "skate-hitching").

Gameplay

Equipment status and shop

The game is a racing game that puts the player in control of an inline skater competing in a tournament spanning twelve different North American cities. The skater advances to the next race by finishing in fifth place or higher. During a race, the skater must engage in skitching, the act of grabbing a moving vehicle's bumper to gain momentum, to remain competitive with the other contestants. The skater moves with and , crouches with , jumps with , and skates with . The skater can grab a car or motorcycle by holding the D-Pad in the direction of the vehicle and pressing . The player has a "rear-view mirror" that shows when cars are approaching from behind. Cars may slow down, change lanes, or stop while a skater is skitching on it, though crouching can avoid this. Another skater may skitch onto the same car and attack the player. While skitching, the skater can "slingshot" off the vehicle with , moving with increased speed for a distance.

The skater can attack neighboring racers with . Weapons such as chains, crowbars, and baseball bats can be picked up off the road with + and used to attack opponent racers. Traffic cones on the side of the road may indicate a nearby weapon. Some opponents wield weapons, which can be taken and used by the skater if the enemy racer is attacked as they are holding the weapon out to strike. The skater can carry multiple weapons at once and cycle through them with  START + or  START + to select a weapon. The player can also find Nitro Boosts, which provide a short burst of speed. They are acquired and used the same way as weapons.

The skater can also perform tricks after skating off a ramp if the player presses any button while the skater is midair. The skater automatically lands the trick if the player does not hold any button. When a trick is successfully performed, a trio of judges appear in the lower-left corner of the screen to rank the trick's complexity.

The skater begins the game with $100 and earns more money by winning races, skitching on various cars, performing complex tricks, and knocking down opponents in combat. Each new race requires a fee to enter. Between races, the player can check the status of the skates, wheels, and protective gear, which wear out over time, and can access a shop to purchase new equipment; the shop's merchant declines any purchase that leaves the skater short of the next race's entry fee. Neglecting to replace worn out skates carries the risk of the skater suffering a "blowout" during a race, while crashing with worn out protective gear results in a hospital visit that requires the skater to pay a bill. The player receives a password at the end of a successful race for continuing the game at a later time. With each successful race, cars become faster and more difficult to skitch on and opponents become more aggressive. Skitching on police cars rewards more money than ordinary cars but puts the skater at risk of being apprehended and fined by the police. After some races, the player is offered a bonus course to complete for extra cash; these courses have no opponents, and the objective is to finish within a certain time or complete a certain number of tricks.

The skater has a stamina bar that drains from fighting other races and a health bar that depletes if the skater is hit by cars or falls down. If the stamina bar empties completely, the skater is knocked down. If the health bar empties completely, the skater is retired from the race and must pay a hospital bill. The stamina bar for the nearest opponent is also shown; the opponent is likewise knocked out and retired from the race if his or her stamina bar is emptied. Stamina slowly regenerates over time.

The game has a simultaneous two-player mode using a split-screen as well as an alternating two-player mode where the players take turns. Two players can either race against each other along with other computer-controlled racers or engage in the Head-to-Head mode, in which the two human players are the only competing racers on the track. The Tournament mode allows three to eight human players to compete in a series of two-player head-to-head matches.

Courses

	Vancouver
	Denver
	San Diego
	Seattle
	San Francisco
	Los Angeles
	Washington
	Toronto
	Detroit
	Chicago
	Miami
	New York

Production credits

• Programmers: Lance Wall, Daniel Wesley, Lee Ingraham
• Artists: Tony Lee, Jack Snowden, Cindy Green
• Tunes and FX: Jeff Dyck
• Design: Dave Warfield
• Additional Programming: Kevin Pickell, Ted Sylka, Brian Plank, Mike Kiernan, Brian Krause
• Additional Art: David Adams, Mike Smith, Suzan Germic
• Graffiti Artists: Carlos Zelaya, Zack Benwell, Nelson Garcia, Cindy Green
• Stuntman: Troy Mannering
• Filming Director: Jack Snowden
• Original Concept: Dave Ralston
• Executive Producer: Sam Nelson
• Producer: Stan Chow
• Assistant Producer: Wayne Radford
• Quality Assurance: Lee Patterson, John Santamaria
• Creative Development: Greg Suarez, Paul Vernon
• Product Manager: Lisa Higgins
• Special Thanks To: Ivana Petrak

Source:

In-game credits (title screen)

Magazine articles

Main article: Skitchin'/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #57: "April 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
• Game Players (US) #0705: "Vol. 7 No. 5 May 1994" (1994-0x-xx)

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #18: "April 1994" (1994-02-28)

Print advert in Gamestar (AU) #1: "June 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 67 Console Mania (IT) PAL 86 Consoles + (FR) 77 Cool Gamer (RU) 80 Computer & Video Games (UK) 82 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 86 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 100 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 58 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 77 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 98 Gamers (DE) 47 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 84 Gamestar (AU) PAL 78 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 78 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 83 Hyper (AU) 89 Joypad (FR) PAL 81 Joypad (HU) 90 Max Overload! (UK) PAL 92 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) 81 Mega (UK) PAL 80 Mega Action (UK) 82 Mega Force (FR) 85 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 65 Mega Power (UK) PAL 81 MegaTech (UK) PAL 83 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 78 Megazone (AU) 72 Player One (FR) 85 Play Time (DE) PAL 74 Power Up! (UK) 75 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 76 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 86 Sega Power (UK) PAL 76 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 84 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 74 Sega Force (SE) 59 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 88 Super Juegos (ES) 84 Todo Sega (ES) PAL 79 Tricks (RU) 78 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 79 Video Games (DE) PAL 61 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 60

	78
Based on 46 reviews

Skitchin'

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT

Mega Drive, SE (Rental)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 f785f9d7 MD5 619106321a4317fb38a3baced692d30f SHA-1 98be93964c14ebc91727b429dd7a7a563b4e2e9f	2MB	1994-04	Cartridge (US/EU)

References

Road Rash games for Sega systems
	Road Rash (1991) | Road Rash II (1992) | Road Rash 3: Tour De Force (1995)
	Road Rash (1994)
	Road Rash (1994)
	Road Rash (1995)
	Road Rash (1996)
Related games
	Skitchin' (1994) | Face Plant (unreleased)