Making Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 Remastered after the success of THPS1+2 is the sensible move. It’s such a sensible move that it feels odd it took five years, and that Vicarious Visions, who brought 1+2 (and Crash Bandicoot before it) back to life were chewed up and reassigned in the meantime. Despite that, 3+4 could be even bigger and better than its predecessor if done right.
I’m generally against remakes and remasters as a concept, because I think we get more interesting results when developers are given freedom to create new things rather than slavishly recreating the past with better graphics. I’m also a hypocrite and would love for my favourite THPS game (4) to be back in the public eye. To justify this hypocrisy, I think you can make the argument that THPS extends beyond the ‘selling childhood to fans’ of most remakes as 1+2 ended up being the best seller entry in the series yet, capturing new fans as well as bringing back the old.
THPS3 Is More Of The Same, THPS4 Is Completely Different
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 is a game changer. I’ve seen a few people who call themselves Tony Hawk’s fans and loved the remakes say things like “I never actually played 4 as a kid”, to which I say “bigstupidmoronsayswhat?”. THPS3 is fine and all, but 4 is the one fans really need to dig into.
THPS3 is basically a sequel to THPS2. I’m sure you’re thinking ‘yes, I know how numbers work genius’. But what I mean is, in the same way THPS1+2 is mechanically the same game twice but with different maps, the third game is a continuation of that. A good game, sure, and I’m glad we’ll get to play it again soon, but can I really argue it’s all that interesting? Probably not. It’s good, I’ll enjoy it, but there’s little to actually say about it beyond that appreciation.
THPS4 is a completely different half pipe. If you grew up on the later Tony Hawk’s games, where you could roam around freely, jump off the board, and chat to wacky NPCs, you might have been surprised by how restrictive 1+2 can be. These are the greatest sports games of all time? You have two minutes to do the same things over and over again and nobody says anything? Revolutionary, really? But THPS4 bridges that gap.
THPS4 Gave Us THUG And THAW
THPS4 is the perfect halfway house between the goal-oriented classic THPS feel of the three games that preceded it, and the more open flow of THUG and THAW that were to come. You’ll speak to people who still give you the standard goals of High Score, SKATE, or COMBO to collect within a set time, but there are plenty of other, more specific goals too. You might be asked to roll between two ramps and complete all the tricks that get called out or nail a specific gap… but it also might be random things like stealing beer from frat boys or planting bugs on mobsters for a cop undercover as a pimp.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and the games to follow also coincided with the proliferation of Jackass into popular culture. They were kindred spirits, so it only made sense for Activation to embrace this increasingly bizarre crossover.
It introduced a ton of new elements to the gameplay, as well as making the pros feel part of things. You could walk around on foot, lie down on the board, and hitch a ride on the back of cars for more speed (or in later levels, rampaging elephants). Tony Hawk and Matt Hoffman, amongst other colourful characters, would be the ones setting you tasks. It’s still firmly a Pro Skater game, with so many of the goals the same as before, but it’s also a little different.
I love the Tony Hawk’s series enough that I’m happy to see it continue, but my mind always goes to the most recent new game in the series, THPS5. It was flat and lifeless, and while we can point to the limited range of uninspired maps and slower movement, it basically was a THPS game. It had everything you needed. It makes me worry if this series can survive outside of the bubble of remasters. The Jackass-era humour is dated, the size and scope was pretty small by modern standards, and skating is no longer a cultural force.
It’s THPS4 that gives me hope. It’s pretty short too if you just mainline doing all of the goals, and tying it to THPS3 makes a lot of sense… but what comes next. THUG and THUG2 might seem natural, but at that point my Remakes Are Bad, Actually hat definitely comes off the rack. Not to mention Bam Margera has a heavy narrative role that probably wouldn’t be possible to keep after his fall out with the franchise.
Do we get a THPS6 next, and if so, is it like 1-3, or like 4? Do we get a game like THUG and THAW but new, and what kind of writing and length does it have in the modern era? I hope THPS4 shows a path forward. It’s a best of both worlds type game, and any sequels should follow its lead. It’s the best and most important Tony Hawk’s game, and I’m so glad it’s coming back. If you aren’t thinking of playing this one… bigstupidmoronsayswhat?
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020)
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
89/100
- Released
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September 4, 2020
- Developer(s)
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Vicarious Visions