When I was a child in the 2000s, there was a new Tony Hawk game coming out every year. It felt like there was a new one coming out every week, honestly. There were so many of them, whether that be the Pro Skater series, Underground, American Wasteland, Downhill Jam, blah blah blah- there were so many skateboarding video games! In recent times, we’ve been in a skateboarding drought. We had the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 remasters a couple years back, so it made sense that we’d be getting Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4! Well, the time has come, and the drought has come to an end!
If you’ve ever played these games back when they first came out, then you’ll feel right at home. It’s kind of crazy how immediately familiar everything feels once you get started. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is a series that has always lacked any handholding, and that remains true here. The gameplay is just so sticky and immediately accessible, like it was back when the games were originally released. The fun of it comes from finding out just what you’re capable of. Struggling to score a couple thousand points in a combo without failing at first, and then stringing together long-ass combos to get a big fat score going. It’s extremely satisfying once it starts to make sense, and I firmly believe that these remakes nail that fun factor.
Graphically, these games look how I remember them looking, which is, in my opinion, how a remaster should look. It’s important for them to look good by today’s standards, but you also want it to look familiar and instantly recognizable to anybody revisiting the game in question. Again, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 both look precisely how I thought they looked as a kid. Kudos to Iron Galaxy for not only giving these games a much-needed polish, but also for making my nostalgia glands flare up.
Multiplayer takes a very cool approach to how you can experience these games. It’s really just more of the same gameplay; getting high scores, big combos, etc., on all the levels that are available to you in the single player modes. Frustratingly, there isn’t much player input when it comes to the maps you skate on or the modes you play. Each round gives you a random map and mode to play. It’d be awesome if there was some sort of map voting system or something, but we are not so lucky. There’s a couple new modes to play around with. My personal favourite is the Free Skate mode, which lets you and seven other skaters hangout and skate how you want. It’s a pretty awesome addition. There’s also the new H-A-W-K mode, where you hide the letters of H-A-W-K across the park for other skaters to find. It’s a pretty neat change of pace and allows for some silliness, which I love.
Create-A-Park is back and far more streamlined than I ever remember it being. However, much like in the past, I was never going to make “the next best skate park.” I am way more interested in the idea of playing parks that other people, who have way more talent when it comes to park building than I possess, create. I’ve seen a ton of cool parks on YouTube and I’ve been really curious to try them out!
Many people were frustrated about the soundtrack being changed, as the original was pretty iconic. I will say, the Iron Galaxy team did an incredible job finding new tracks that fit the vibe and aesthetic. The first two songs I heard were 100 gecs’ “Hollywood Baby” and Jeff Rosenstock’s “Head.” I knew instantly that they understood the assignment. It’s also great hearing the classic tracks from the OG titles, too. Del The Funky Homosapien and Motorhead remain intact, and that’s all that matters to me. It’s also great to see King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard featured here, too. Something about the new additions to the soundtrack really, really worked for me.
I think it goes without saying that if you were super into these games and you’ve always wanted a way to revisit them, this is the perfect way to do it. There’s a bunch of returning skaters to play as, some brand new ones, and lots of easter eggs and unlockables, just like the old days! Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 does a really good job of spotlighting old things while also letting the new content shine. It would have been awesome if it were a completely comprehensive package with everything featured in the previous games as well as all the new stuff here, but that’s a big ask. If you’re a skateboarding fan, or somebody who is just super into beating your own high score, picking up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is a no-brainer.