Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is the game that never in my wildest dreams thought we’d ever get to see.
Following Vicarious Vision’s truly excellent remake of the original two games in this beloved series, that studio was promptly merged into Blizzard Entertainment and with this, my dreams of ever seeing more of one of my favourite series being lovingly remastered were crushed. Well, it turns out I was absolutely bloody wrong and I’ve never been more ecstatic about it. Developers Iron Galaxy have absolutely made my day, nay my year, with this genuinely fantastic remaster of two of my favourite video games of all time.
Picking up where the original remakes left off, what we have here is something more akin to a love letter to the Hawkster, rather than a faithful recreation of the original games. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is almost exactly as you’d remember it, chock full of challenges to complete in two minute runs. All of the old favourites are back, SKATE letters, high score challenges, collect all X of the Y, and much more. This is still just as addictive as it ever was, with 2 minutes soon turning into 2 hours soon turning into 2am. It’s just so snackable.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 has also been given this revised treatment, rather than the semi-open world areas with interactable NPCs we may remember. Whilst some may see this as sacrilege, I’m a fan of this streamlining, with both games now sharing a unified feel. Levels such as the Zoo have been changed to suit the new style and yes, it’s very different from what went before but it’s been adjusted to fit the new/old style of play and does it oh so well. For those that want to recreate the feel of yesteryear, there are a slew of options to customise your own experience. If things are a touch too tough, add perfect rail balance or manualling, and the inclusion the ability to extend the timer to an hour means that it’s possible to recreate the feel of the original titles as you flip and grind to your heart’s content whilst still completing challenges.
Speaking of which, there are now more challenges than ever before, between those actually required for level progression, expert level targets opened in the post game, gaps to find, individual skateboard pro’s high scores to beat, hidden goodies to find and more, there’s certainly plenty to do and that’s without even a mention of the cross-platform online multiplayer. It’s jam-packed full of four-wheeled fun and offers more than enough for all but the most die-hard fans to keep chipping away at. Whilst challenges on opening levels Foundry and College can seem almost trivial at first, things soon ramp up and you’ll be put to the test whilst trying to nail 500,000 points in two minutes or to grab all of the COMBO letters in a single, glorious line.
It’s hard to express how satisfying it is to land a combo in overtime, the timer having ran out moments ago but your skill keeping the chain of tricks alive. You need 250,000 and then you land it, barely scraping by, but scraping by nonetheless. It tickles that little bit of your brain and whispers: “You can beat that y’know. Just one more go” and by golly, you’ll do it. For three more hours and 90 attempts, you’ll fall under Tony’s hypnotic spell and love every second of it.
Throwing your skater around feels just as fantastic as ever, with the full array of moves available to keep your combo score climbing, the threat of horrifically bailing ever present. Manuals, reverts, wallies: they’re all there to use and abuse as you delicately tap left and right to keep the high score dream alive. Controls are tight and responsive and running at a solid framerate both docked and in handheld, it feels right at home on the Switch 2, the perfect game to grab and go.
Featuring the first original levels in years, we have three entirely new locales to throw ourselves around in. A movie lot, an abandoned waterpark, and a pinball table. Yes, a pinball table, obviously. On the whole, these feel like they’ve always been a part of the package, with only the pinball table feeling a little less refined. With fast flowing lines and inventive level design, it gives me hope for the future of the series, as Iron Galaxy has done a sterling job and could easily hold their own if allowed to helm the franchise. Whilst series stalwarts Bam Margera, Eric Koston, Chad Muska, and Co are still available, series newcomers such as Andy Anderson and Chloe Covell are welcome additions and showcase exactly what this new breed of pro skaters bring to the table.
For those wishing to express their more creative tendencies, create a park is back, offering an unlimited virtual playground in which to build the skatepark you’ve always dreamed of, or at least mess around with for ten minutes before realising how bad you are at intricate level design. However, with new parks being uploaded all the time, there’s always something new to download and play around with, with fan-made homages to classic levels already available as well as some excellent original content.
Much has been made of the soundtrack: a varied mixtape of licenced tunes featuring only a few of the tracks from the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4. I know how powerful nostalgia can be and can see why some players might be unhappy with their favourites being missed off from this new selection. However, what this does allow is for these remakes to recreate the feeling from the originals, of finding a new band and falling in love with something that you might otherwise have missed. That was the power of the original and that feeling has been faithfully recreated here. Might I suggest giving Run the Jewels, Turnstile, and Idles a little of your time? You might even grow to love them.
With a gameplay loop so compulsive that it should come with a government health warning, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3+4 is a truly exceptional remake of an exceptional game. A heady blend of nostalgia, addiction and outright delight, grab this and pretend that you’re a Superman all over again. Simply fantastic.
