Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4
When evaluating the latest release in the Tony Hawk series, I was torn in two directions. I don’t remember the original that well, but when talking with friends, I remembered what I loved about the originals, and how that wasn’t here in this remaster. I had forgotten all about the zoo level, and now that it’s not here, I miss it. On the other hand, I’ve played dozens upon dozens of hours of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 and have had a blast! So where do I land? Let’s take a quick look.
Tony Hawk is Tony Hawk. I talked at length about how the game plays, but at this point I think we are all familiar. Score specific objectives, find the S-K-A-T-E letters, hit that high score, pro score, etc. and find certain items, grind specific rails…yada yada. We know the formula, and that formula has worked for a really long time. All of that is here, and all of that works really well.
Your favorite levels from the original games are almost all here, with a few changes and a new levels to explore as well. White the movie studio competition level is really good, the abandoned waterpark is phenomenal. Gone (kinda) are levels like the zoo – yes, it still exists but it is now a competition level, which is quite disappointing. I remember hitching rides around the zoo on little golf carts – it was phenomenal!
Iron Galaxy Studios did a great job bringing this package to the Nintendo Switch 2, and it runs pretty well. I think this is benefiting from the Switch 2 better hardware, and although there are some technical issues here and there, it’s a solid experience for the most part.
The downside to this game for most fans is just what’s not here. So many missing audio tracks from the originals, missing maps, everything tied to a timer (which can be increased which is actually really cool), and some missing objectives. The longer I played, the more I remembered what was missing from the original.
With Tony Hawk 4, the inclusion of timers and the exclusion of open world exploration is fine more often than not, but it’s hard not to realize – and you will see – that these levels were built for open world exploration, not to be explored in 2 minutes. I got over this quickly, but more hardcore fans with a longing to return to the Tony Hawk 4 formula are going to be incredibly disappointed I think.
Ultimately, Tony Hawk 3 is basically still Tony Hawk 3, but Tony Hawk 4 has been chopped up and pushed into the mold of 1, 2 and 3. Again, I think new fans of the series, or those that don’t remember 4 that well, will be really excited with this release. Everyone else? I’m not so sure. For my part, I really enjoyed this release on Nintendo Switch 2!
Article By Adam Roffel
