Every time a game you loved when you were younger gets a remake, you’re bound to feel a bit concerned about whether or not it’ll be any good, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 definitely struck that worry in me when it was announced.
I grew up spending a decent amount of time playing skateboarding games before finally being brave enough to stick on some kneepads and pick up the hobby for myself. So, it’s no surprise that the Tony Hawk games, alongside Skate and eventually Session: Skate Sim, became part of my gaming rotation. This continued through my love of the remakes of 1 + 2, so I was hopeful that 3 + 4 would have the same mix of novelty and nostalgia with a shiny new coating.
Luckily, the remaster of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is a fantastic recreation of the original. Each time I drop in and attempt to pull off some whacky trick I’d spent an embarrassingly long time rehearsing, I’m still met with the same satisfaction (frustration, for the most part) when I inevitably bail and have to start over. Each level feels like you’re playing for the first time again, and this feeling really sticks around from Foundry all the way to Tokyo. I don’t feel the same for the remake of Pro Skater 4.
Both games have individual levels with unique challenges for you to work through, but outside of that, everything is the exact same. You work with the same skaters, and you’ll try to nail the same tricks, which means a lot was shared between the two to make the whole package feel so united. These more subtle changes aren’t the problem.
In fact, I enjoy the seamless transition between the two games, and not having to log an entire new set of moves each time I want to skate around a different location. However, there’s one feature from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 which was changed entirely, which has definitely altered the experience in a bad way.
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In the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, you could roam around freely and accept missions at your own pace. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 has basically stripped this freedom and implemented the two minute timeframe to every level, which has changed a few of the goals in the THPS4 maps. Or should I say, the maps that actually made the cut. A few classics were exchanged in favour of shiny new parks and settings, but that’s a different rant for a different time.
I understand that having this timeframe gives you the necessary push to complete the goals and challenges you’re set, and I’m sure it’s got some sort of benefit to your skills as a virtual skater. But free roaming was one of the main appeals of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. With such a restrictive time limit now, it makes the remake of THPS4 feel like a bolted-on map pack, rather than its own experience.
Some may argue that the original had too many goals, and it’s nice to have a neatly packed, streamlined skating experience. But for me, that’s just not true. I don’t want to skitch the back of the van trying to open it, I want to meticulously skate around the zoo trying to free the elephant like the original goal asks you to, and in my own time might I add. The compromises made in order to cram Pro Skater 4 goals into the Pro Skater 3 format let the entire experience down.
Before you start, yes, I know you can extend the time up to 60 minutes. 60 minutes is more than enough time to complete every goal and have a good mosey around each and every area. Which makes it all the more baffling that the original goals have been altered to best suit the two minute format. At that point, you might as well just remove the limit altogether. I would’ve at least appreciated the option at the very least, and I don’t doubt an army of Pro Skater 4 players will probably feel the same.
As a result of my upset with these restrictions, I found myself gunning for free skate more than the traditional levels in the end. It’s nice to have the aim of goals, but sometimes you just want to cruise around and do tricks in your own time. That’s all I ever want to do in skateboarding games, to be entirely honest. Sure, I still spend most of my time in one small area of a map desperately repeating the same moves over and over until I’m confident enough to migrate to a different patch. But that’s half the fun.
In a way, it feels like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 has been designed around new players, rather than honoring the experiences held by old ones, and these time trials are a significant enough change to keep these fans from returning. One thing that made the remake of 1 + 2 so successful was the nostalgia factor, but with 3 + 4, it definitely feels like the novelty of that has worn off. I think I’ll happily stick to my free skate and a 60 minute time limit for the time being.
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