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Skateboarding has always been a pretty large part of my life, both culturally and physically. In fact, I was very much the prime target for films like Jackass and television channels like Fuel TV that broadcast programs like New Pollution and Camp Woodward. So, I pretty much leapt at the prospect of getting my hands on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 after it was finally released, over 20 years after the originals.
As expected, I soon found myself performing insane manual and lip trick combinations to rack up hundreds of thousands of points. However, I can’t say that there was a whole lot of difference between what I played in the remake of the two games and what I’ve experienced in just about every other skating game available. The nostalgia, gameplay, soundtrack, and strangeness were all there, but I couldn’t help feeling like I wanted there to be more, somehow.
Benihana Over the Twin Fountains
I’ve always enjoyed the gameplay for Tony Hawk games. Tricks are performed by pressing the dedicated flip, grab, or lip trick buttons, followed by a combination of the left joystick and other face buttons. Some tricks require balance, so you’ll need to use the right joystick to make sure you don’t completely bail while grinding along an electrical wire. After that, the world is your skatepark, and all you need to do is traverse it without breaking your combos or your face.
However, nowadays, I feel that the gameplay is rather stale in comparison to other skating games. Yes, you can unlock characters and new moves that help make progression enjoyable. Still, there are only so many Whirlybirds over a buoy you can perform as Michaelangelo before you get tired of it. Each map provides a list of objectives to complete, allowing you to earn points and unlock additional areas. But even then, half of the objectives just ask you to get a high score and collect the letters in SKATE, which pretty much awards you with the points necessary to unlock the next area anyway.
The maps themselves were very open and filled with different skating opportunities. What I really enjoyed was feeling that no two sessions were the same, as I would constantly be discovering new gaps, new places to do lip tricks on, or new grind routes. As I mentioned in the introduction, there were times when I was so engrossed in the screen that I’d forget to blink, and my eyes would dry out. Is it that serious? No. Is it that fun? Yes.
The Only Card I Need… Is the Ace of Spades
I think everyone who listens to a combination of underground rock and rap music can name one song that they discovered in a Tony Hawk game. For me, that song is Imaginary Places by Busdriver, which I heard for the first time in Tony Hawk’s Underground. The new soundtrack for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 does not disappoint, and very much reminds me of what it is like to listen to a song for the very first time that I would come to love. The devs at Iron Galaxy knew how important this feature was to players, so they even added a simple skip option to move on to the next song without disrupting gameplay.
Even though it’s not the point, I even liked being able to shut the music off entirely and play my personal Spotify soundtrack instead. Despite that, I always found myself coming back to the soundtrack. Listening to classics like Ace of Spades by Motorhead and De La Soul by Rock Co. Kane Flow and MF Doom took me back to a simpler time, when I was obsessed with skaters like Mike Vallely and Chad Muska.
Fulfilling My Closet Full of Zero Cothing Dreams
We are currently in an era where character customization is highly valued, and I believe that the feature in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is quite impressive. While there aren’t sliders that allow you to create horrific demon monsters to skate around Tokyo with, you do have the ability to design a pretty cool skater. I’d almost forgotten how important clothing brands are to the skating community, and so while there are also really awesome pieces that you can match with customizable colors, you can also stick to preferred brands. You’ll find Baker, Zero, Adidas, and more for clothing options and brands like Spitfire, Birdhouse, and Flip. If you don’t care about the brands, then you can still go in and make things cool with customizations like ghost-like textures and neon colors.
Another customizable aspect of your character is how well they can perform different skateboarding tricks. I thought this was a pretty clever way for the devs to merge the ridiculousness of being able to perfectly land tricks paired with having a particular trick specialty, as most skaters do. In short, you can play the game with maxxed-out stats while turning off all the balance and falling features for a fun, combo-filled session, or master the button combinations and try to earn those combos yourself.
Hits Your Heart While You Hit Your Line
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4Â offer a genuinely enjoyable experience that moves away from realism, allowing for a nostalgic escape that I can see bringing older audiences back to a bygone era. The games are packed with all the elements you’d expect from a skateboarding title, but they don’t quite push the boundaries as much as I had hoped. Objectives get repetitive, and after a bit, the outrageous trick sessions lose their luster. It’s a ton of fun, but the magic really feels like it needs to evolve.
The gameplay is solid and familiar, and the soundtrack retains the same cultural significance it had years ago, capturing the essence of what made the originals so beloved. While Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 remain a celebration of skating culture, they also serve as a reminder of how far the genre can, and should, continue to evolve.
