The collection continues to be in a position to land a 900 even with a barely scuffed-up board.
Years after Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 1+2 got here out on Swap, it appeared like all hope was misplaced for any additional skateboarding video games from Activision, particularly when longtime Tony Hawk-friendly developer Vicarious Visions was consumed by Blizzard shortly after these remakes have been launched. Fortunately one other developer was there to choose up the torch in Iron Galaxy Studios. And much more thanks is required as a result of Iron Galaxy Studios did a improbable job in bringing remakes of Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3 and 4 to life in a brand new bundle for Nintendo Swap 2. Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3+4 isn’t with out its warts, primarily in some tough technical points on Swap 2 and a few of the modifications made to the fourth sport, however when all is claimed and performed, that is one other nice assortment of skateboarding online game nostalgia paired with great fashionable prospers.
On the whole, Tony Hawk 3+4 follows the same construction and presentation because the prior remake. The menu structure is kind of the identical. It has a frightening quantity of real-life skaters to play as. It’s bought tons of branded shirts and decks to earn and equip your customized skater with. The 2 unique video games are cut up into distinct excursions with virtually each degree returning. Whereas it’s acquainted at a look, below the hood some streamlining was performed that’s largely for the very best. In lieu of the level-up and problem system of Tony Hawk 1+2, this one boils down progress right into a extra centered number of challenges that instantly unlock some gear. It’s also possible to earn cash from these challenges in addition to discovering some money in ranges to purchase tools and equipment from an in-game retailer. I didn’t discover something unsuitable with the way in which the prior remake dealt with the whole lot, however I in the end favor the comparatively no-nonsense structure right here.
Menus apart, the very best a part of this sport is definitely skating in ranges. Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3’s tour accommodates the 9 foremost ranges from the unique 2001 launch, all feeling simply as electrical as they’ve for the previous 20+ years. I think about Foundry to be the very best opening degree in any entry within the collection, crammed with nice combo strains and neat secrets and techniques. I initially thought that the Canada degree was lacking one thing with the unfold of the preliminary degree targets, however the post-game added extra targets to each degree, serving to make ranges like Canada really feel extra full. Rio, Skater Island, and Tokyo are three nice competitors ranges. Suburbia is a Wisteria Lane-esque cul de sac that in some way feels weirder in 2025, particularly whenever you assist the Skinny Man open a portal to a different dimension and enter the abyss. The Airport is an all-time basic Tony Hawk degree, made higher this time round by letting you teleport to the start whenever you attain the top of the downhill journey. The ultimate semi-secret degree is the Cruise Ship, which I’ve loved much more within the remake than I did within the unique sport. Additionally props to sanding down a few of the coarse ribald edges of 2000s-era video video games by now not seeking to impress bikini-clad women however as an alternative impressing different skaters for one of many goals. I think about Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3 to be top-of-the-line video games ever made and I got here away from my time taking part in these ranges within the remake feeling just like the magic was recaptured.
Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 4’s tour on this remake is a extra sophisticated story, nonetheless, even when it’s nonetheless extraordinarily good. Followers of the unique sport will do not forget that the fourth entry within the collection pivoted from the two-minute timer to a extra open degree method the place you needed to discover quest givers on the map and full targets that manner. Again in 2002, that was revolutionary, even when the implementation has proven its age over time. For this 2025 remake, the degrees from Tony Hawk 4 have been tweaked and tailored to suit the two-minute format. For essentially the most half, this works effectively. A number of the extra cinematic targets, like chasing down the dudes who stole the professor’s automotive within the opening Faculty degree, nonetheless made the transition roughly intact. The parade floats from that Faculty degree nonetheless present up. It’s a strong adaptation of a few of the weirder parts of the unique Tony Hawk 4 launch. What I realized from taking part in these ranges within the two-minute format is that eradicating them from the extra open-ended exploration and prescripted targets reveals how they’re simply not as sturdy as conventional Tony Hawk ranges, particularly stacked up in opposition to the third sport. Faculty and San Francisco each work effectively nonetheless, however I discovered a few of the later ranges like Alcatraz and London to be just a little extra stale. Two ranges – Kona and Zoo – have been became competitors ranges, which is just a little sq. peg/spherical gap however they each nonetheless work within the format even when they’re just a little too massive. Two ranges from Tony Hawk 4 didn’t even make the transition, as this misses the late-game Carnival stage and the Mat Hoffman’s Professional BMX crossover Chicago degree. What helps to save lots of the Tony Hawk 4 tour is the truth that the three unique Iron Galaxy-made ranges included in it are largely superior. The Waterpark is expansive, but additionally delightfully bizarre and artistic, crammed with numerous enjoyable gaps and combo strains. Film Studio is a extra condensed competitors degree, however the two flooring give it some novel verticality and it additionally packs in a handful of excellent jokes. The Pinball degree could be very gimmicky, nevertheless it additionally serves as a semi-bonus degree and places you in some distinctive and vibrant situations.
Should you’re on the lookout for the identical expertise as the unique Tony Hawk 4 right here, you’re not going to get it. Iron Galaxy does a fantastic job adapting the memorable goals from that sport into the two-minute format, nevertheless it’s not the identical (and I say that as somebody who thinks the unique format for Tony Hawk 4 is just a little overrated). In no way is it dangerous, as that is nonetheless Tony Hawk gameplay that feels tight and glorious.
Whereas this isn’t the identical expertise discovered within the unique Tony Hawk 4, what this remake does add general is expansive and unimaginable. After you full the preliminary degree targets, you unlock harder targets and competitions. A few of these extra targets are both impressed by ones from the originals or off-the-wall bizarre and difficult. The post-game additionally enables you to tackle particular person excursions for all the roster, which can result in unlocking particular gear for every skater. At a sure level, the post-game begins to run into some repetition, however as somebody who has usually returned to Tony Hawk 1+2 to roll by some ranges as a brand new skater, it’s a really welcome carrot on a keep on with have.
Talking of the skaters, whilst you can solely get the 2 Doom characters as a part of the Digital Deluxe Version, the opposite secret skaters are neat, together with cartoon characters like Michelangelo from TMNT and Bam Margera from Tony Hawk video games and CKY. A lot of the secret skaters are simply out there for buy within the store, however Jack Black’s British accented Constable Richard is accessed by arcane hidden objects.
Past the common runs by the degrees, the standard assortment of choices are right here, together with single session and free skate. You possibly can fine-tune your expertise to your liking, together with turning off bails or turning on good stability. I respect how there’s a component of letting the participant play nonetheless they need. Making it so you’ll be able to primarily by no means fail doesn’t stop you from clearing targets or challenges. Having hassle with skitching? Go into the menu and make it so you’ve got good stability whereas skitching.
It’s also possible to tackle Velocity Runs by the degrees, the place it’s a must to full all the traditional targets as shortly as you’ll be able to, full with crossplay on-line leaderboards. Create-A-Park is again and all objects are unlocked by default, so you’ll be able to simply dive in and construct straight away. You possibly can even create targets inside your created ranges and place NPCs all through. I didn’t get too deep into constructing a park, however I loved seeing the default showcases Iron Galaxy already made. The web multiplayer, all in a position to be performed with different platforms through crossplay, is essentially much like the earlier remake’s model. You primarily hand around in ranges, with excessive rating or territory seize challenges popping up each minute or so. The brand new mode is HAWK, the place a handful of gamers cover the letters from HAWK round a map, after which everyone tries to search out one another’s letters in a restricted period of time. It’s a really intelligent mode, encouraging numerous exploration all through the nooks and crannies of every degree.
Whereas on-line on Swap 2 ran nice in my expertise, the identical can’t be mentioned for general stability. Visually the whole lot seems high quality docked and on handheld, however the sport crashed again to the console’s dwelling display screen near 10 occasions over my 20+ hours of gameplay. I haven’t performed different variations to know if that is only a Swap 2 downside, however even when there’s a good likelihood these points get resolved, because it stands as I write this, it’s shaky proper now.
The soundtrack, as per collection legacy, is a superb assortment of punk, rock, hip-hop, and all of the intersections therein. My nostalgia soared when “96 Fairly Bitter Beings” by CKY hit the streets of Suburbia. I jumped for pleasure as I heard Jeff Rosenstock’s “HEAD” blast by the audio system whereas skating across the Foundry. I realized of a brand new ska band referred to as Widespread Perry through their tune “Higher Off” displaying up within the sport. It doesn’t have each single tune from the unique releases of every sport nevertheless it’s nonetheless a fantastic assortment, even when I miss the Alien Ant Farm and Zebrahead songs.
I had some trepidation when Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3+4 was introduced. Whereas the 1+2 remake was glorious, Activision’s observe document with the collection because the mid-2000s has been spotty at finest. I’m thrilled that the skateboarding on this sport feels simply pretty much as good because it did 20+ years in the past and that this goes past only a easy remake, with so many enjoyable and pleasant post-game challenges that builds off of the muse. One thing is misplaced in Tony Hawk 4’s transition to the 2-minute timer, however I nonetheless had a good time saving Painter Neal from the shark in San Francisco. And the standard of the unique ranges Iron Galaxy made makes me longing for the way forward for the collection, whether or not it results in a model new sport or an try at remaking Tony Hawk’s Underground. No matter whether or not or not you deliver nostalgic baggage for the format from the fourth sport, Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3+4 is a superb online game that may maintain you kickflipping and reverting to more and more larger scores for a very long time.
