Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4

With the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (THPS1+2) in 2020, a remake of the third (THPS3) and fourth (THPS4) entries in the series seemed like the next logical step. However, this wouldn’t be the case, as despite said success, developer Vicarious Visions was folded into the Blizzard portion of Activision Blizzard King. Tony Hawk himself would later confirm that not only was said remake in the works at the time, but moving the developer around led to the project being canceled, leaving its fate up in the air. Fortunately, the project eventually resumed under developer Iron Galaxy, finally delivering Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 (THPS3+4) five years later. This remake, however, wouldn't be without controversy due to changes made to the soundtrack and the THPS4 half of the game, but I got a copy anyway due to having waited for it for so long and wanting to see the extent of the changes for myself. While I did end up agreeing with some criticisms of the final product, I still had a fun time with it for what it was regardless.

Before getting into what’s different between each game, I will first mention what’s different about the package as a whole. Firstly, the game features a more expanded and modernized moveset that brings the two games more in line with THPS1+2, enabling even more tricks and combos than the original games would allow. While moves can still be toggled off to bring the experience closer to the original THPS3 and THPS4, not as many moves can be toggled off as in THPS1+2. This, however, is not really a deal-breaker, since the two games being remade had larger movesets already (THPS3 did introduce the Revert after all). Similarly to the previous remake, newer skaters have become playable in addition to old favorites (notably including Bam Margera), the latter of whom have updated models to reflect their age. While many unlockable skaters did not return due to licensing and contractual issues, some new unlockable skaters have been added, including Doom Slayer (as he appears in the newer Doom games) and Michaelangelo from TMNT (specifically his appearance in Mutant Mayhem) returning from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. The remakes also have slightly different physics from the original releases, which can take a little getting used to for more seasoned players.

THPS3+4 also continues from the previous remake in its faithful recreation of the games’ levels with increased detail and updated lighting effects. Additionally, some product placement has been added or altered from the original releases, including the return of Red Bull, along with Dickies, Vans, Nixon watches and New Balance. There is also noticeable product placement for Taco Bell, including a physical in-game location, complete with a dedicated listed move and playing the iconic bell noise when you grind it, in the College level of Pro Skater 4. Naturally, any instances of Neversoft’s logo have also been replaced with that of Iron Galaxy.

 

While there aren’t any major changes to the gameplay of THPS3 that I could find, there were some noticeable changes to the visuals that I spotted. Among them, Rio is now a lot more colorful than it was in the original release, Suburbia is now decked out in Halloween decorations (presumably to make the haunted house in the level fit in more with its surroundings) and the car chase in Los Angeles replaces the getaway car pursued by police with a runaway self-driving car. One more major change, however, is the expansion of Skater Island, now featuring an outdoor section with a pirate ship for additional point-scoring opportunities. Aside from Skater Island, Cruise Ship has one of the biggest visual overhauls, now featuring a number of cruise ship activities and amenities, such as an oversized chess set and a minigolf course, as well as smaller details like the pool now being filled with pool toys and modern touches such as drones flying overhead. Perhaps as a reflection of modern times, the Cruise Ship also features some post-COVID protocols that could be missed at first glance, including the presence of hand sanitizer dispensers and some NPCs now wearing face masks.

 

Unlike the THPS3 remake, there is a lot more to talk about with the THPS4 remake’s gameplay. The biggest, and perhaps most controversial, change is the overhauled Career Mode, removing it entirely in favor of a gameplay structure closer to THPS3. If you want to get pedantic, however, one could argue that it takes more after the original game’s Single Session mode, which features a two-minute timer, though the levels were still clearly designed with the Career in mind. In an effort to fit the older formula, Kona and Zoo have been converted into competitions, with the latter even having the animals and related interactions omitted in favor of additional ramps and pipes. This revision of THPS4 removes the unlockable Carnival level, but also introduces three new parks, including the Movie Studio competition level and the regular levels Waterpark and Pinball.

To give credit where it’s due, it’s evident that special care was made to make these new parks actually feel like Pro Skater levels, with Pinball even having a unique gimmick of skating through an active pinball game. While I do understand the approach taken to THPS4 was to create a more consistent experience with packmate THPS3, I have mixed feelings on the execution since the changes are significant enough from the original release to almost feel like a separate game and nothing about the returning levels’ sizes was altered to accommodate the new direction. The closest you can get to experiencing the original, or maybe even the PS1 version specifically, is the remake’s Tutorial since you have to skate to new markers (or teleport to them from a list) for the next objective.

As for the visuals, they remain largely the same aside from some updated graphics and the addition of new interactable objects in some levels. Among the changes I noticed more immediately, London and Zoo take place at night instead of day as in the original, while College has some more major differences, with the school now including a new logo and mascot as well as the interactive float being changed from a book to a wave connected to a miniature stadium.

 

The Foundry in the original release...

 

...versus the remake.

Another point of contention with THPS3+4 is the soundtrack, with fewer returning songs compared with THPS1+2, as well as some returning bands having different songs represented than the original releases, in addition to some new tracks. While this is understandable since it means the removal of many old favorites for existing fans, knowing that Tony Hawk was involved in curation of the soundtrack arguably softens the blow a bit. While I did miss some older tracks during my playthrough, I ultimately looked at the soundtrack for what it was and actually liked some of what was included, even finding myself interested in at least one or two bands that weren’t in the original games.

As such, my personal highlights from this soundtrack include "Ace of Spades" by Motörhead, "96 Quite Bitter Beings" by CKY, "If You Must" by Del the Funky Homosapien; "Everything Turns Grey" by Agent Orange; "Result" by T.C.M.F.; "2 Minutes to Midnight" by Iron Maiden; "Not the Same" by Bodyjar; "Hollywood Baby" by 100 gecs; "Siren Song" by Cold Cave; "Precious Stones" by Mastodon; "My Adidas" by Run-D.M.C.; "Amoeba" by Adolescents; "Alive" by Seven Hours After Violet and "If You Must" by Del and the Funky Homosapien.

 

The full soundtrack, for those who are curious.

Also worth mentioning is that the game includes a Streamer Mode, in which the licensed tracks not safe for streaming are replaced with wholly original tracks. While I only briefly listened to these songs in this mode for a short session just to hear what it sounded like, I concluded that while it obviously isn’t quite the same experience, there is still a good amount of variety and it works well for its intended purpose. Interestingly, when you toggle Streamer Mode back off, you are then given the option to combine the two soundtracks, which you can easily opt out of.

In spite of all the alterations made to the included games, especially THPS4, I still had fun playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 and would recommend it for people who introduced to the series through THPS1+2, though purists may find it more contentious. Those looking to experience THPS4 as it was originally released may need to seek out a copy on its original hardware, which fortunately isn’t too difficult to find for a decent price. As for the series’ future, I would love to see the Underground duology receive the remake treatment next, as well as the opportunity to be taken to fix Pro Skater 5, but we’ll have to wait and see.