Skateboarding has become bigger than just a sport since the early days when Tony Hawk actually competed as a professional skater. It’s been 26 years since he landed the world’s first ever 900 degree rotational spin trick on a vert ramp, and the Earth has never been the same. Present day skaters are able to participate in X Games, and even every four year at the Summer Olympic Games. The counterculture sport of skating has gone mainstream in a lot of ways, creating an opportunity to teach a whole new generation about the beautiful art form. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 released to tons of praise in 2021 after a six year absence following the release of the critically panned Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. It was back to basics for the franchise, with a tremendous amount of reverence to what made the original two games so special while adding to the equation in a way that enhanced the gameplay experience. Vicarious Visions brought a focused attention to detail alongside outlandish trick opportunities to THPS 1+2 that made it feel new while not alienating older fans of the series. With Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4, Activision Blizzard has tapped studio Iron Galaxy with the extremely difficult task of making a sequel to 1+2 while remaking Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. THPS 3 is widely regarded by hardcore fans as being the very best entry in the over twenty year history of the gaming franchise, and while the developers have stuck the landing, some problems from the past have reappeared that may not sit well with everyone. Representing the future of skateboarding New skaters Chloe Covell, Rayssa Leal, Jamie Foy, Zion Wright, Aurelien Giraud, Nora Vasconcellos, Margielyn Didal, and Yuto Horigome have been added to the game’s roster of playable characters with Constable Richard (Officer Dick), Michelangelo (TMNT), Birdman, Andy Anderson, and Bam Margera available as unlockable Secret Skaters. It’s very cool to see Iron Galaxy build on the new roster in THPS 1+2 with all of these great additions, and don’t worry Leo Baker, Nyjah Huston, and the rest of the newbies in the last game have all returned for THPS 3+4. Talented men and women from multiple generations of skating have come together in what is the most impressive and diverse roster of pro skaters ever assembled in a video game. Oh yeah, both Doom Slayer (Doomguy) and Revenant from the Doom franchise are also available as skaters in the game as a pre-order bonus. Only weird part here is that Doom Slayer talks. Which is neat, or off-putting… The game’s design also takes present day gaming into consideration with a Streamer Mode that can be toggled on and off for content creators and streamers. The THPS 3+4 soundtrack certainly slaps, but the risk of DMCA takedowns is mitigated by this new setting. THPS 3 is still one of the best games of all time. It is one of my favorite video games, and I have plenty of memories of going head-to-head in Trick Attack with my buddies on Nintendo GameCube. I am pleased to report that Iron Galaxy has masterfully recreated the iconic levels and gameplay experience in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4. Iconic levels like Rio, Cruise Ship, Tokyo, and Airport have all returned with new coats of paint and some tweaks to level designs or Career Mode Goals. Each THPS 3 level now has a High Combo Goal which adds to the three High Score, Pro Score, and Sick Score Goals. The other major change players of the original THPS 3 will notice is the introduction of the Skitch gameplay mechanic. This allows players to grab onto vehicles to get a speed boost on certain levels. The problem here is similar to a criticism I made of the introduction of the Revert mechanic in THPS 1+2. Levels that weren’t designed with gameplay mechanics in mind can feel a bit weird at first, and that was the case with Skitch being added to THPS 3 levels. To be fair, I can’t say I even like the Skitch mechanic in the larger and more sprawled out THPS 4 levels. Sometimes more can be less Despite the developers best efforts to make THPS 4 play more like the first three installments in the franchise, many of the Career Mode Goals felt more like chores than fun tasks. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that making a prison like Alcatraz fun is not an easy feat, but it isn’t just the locations that bother me. THPS 4 levels are very spread out when compared to the denser and more vertical ramp focused THPS 3 levels. The level design in THPS 4 levels make it very hard to hit every Goal quickly. Some Goals are just flat out hard to understand, with poor descriptions leading to far too much time being spent on delivering lunch on Shipyard while trying to Hardflip off the Buoy. Playing through the THPS 4 portion of the game felt like taking my medicine after I had the ice cream sundae that is THPS 3. Putting those two games next to each other does a bit of a disservice to THPS 4 because the pace of play in THPS 3 is so damn buttery smooth in comparison. I do want to give some praise to the developers on the new levels they added to THPS 4. Movie Studio, Waterpark, and another secret level are all welcome additions to the game. Movie Studio is a challenging Competition Park where getting the Gold Medal will require solid grinding skills and the ability to jump off of vert ramps, revert into manuals, and even do a few spine transfers along the way. Waterpark is a grinders paradise, but does feature some Goals that are a bit convoluted and will take more than a few playthroughs to even figure out what you are supposed to do. These level design decisions that are pervasive in the new THPS 4 Career Mode do end up with an experience than some players might find too much of a grind. There are also some brand integrations in this game with Taco Bell, Depop, and Frosted Flakes, but they were honestly hard to notice and didn’t add or take away anything from the overall game experience. I think these partnerships are more of a victory lap for the lifelong skateboarding evangelist Tony Hawk, so I can’t hate on the man for popping his collar a bit. The same can be said for the many unlockable in-game cosmetics. I simply don’t really care about wearing an elephant hat in the game, but that is largely due to the fact that I am a Doom Slayer main. Did I mention he talks in the game? 9 Club, Bro! Despite much of the remake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 not resonating with me, the rest of the game sticks the landing in a major way. Iron Galaxy has updated both Multiplayer and Create-A-Park modes with new features like Public Free Skate for hanging out with friends and HAWK, where players hide HAWK letters on a level where opponents have to seek them out. It’s sort of like the Luigi’s Balloon World game mode in Super Mario Odyssey, and is a welcome addition. Create-A-Park adds new Special Pieces like Boost Pads, NPCs, Turbo Pads, Music Notes, and other items that allow players to experiment even more in this creative space. It will be cool to see where the community takes this mode as it definitely extended my playtime with THPS 1+2 after the launch hype died down. Fans who aren't super into skating user-generated levels will still be able to enjoy the same replayability of these classic THPS titles with high scores providing a neverending goal to chase like the arcade games of old. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is a faithful recreation of two pivotal entries in the franchise’s storied history. While some fans may be waiting for remakes of Tony Hawk’s Underground, I am happy to finally get my hands on a remake of my favorite game in series history. THPS 3 is a perfect game in my eyes, and while some design choices made in bringing THPS 4 to this combined remake package didn’t hit me in the nostalgia feelings the same way I can appreciate the overall result. Welcome back to the 9 Club, Tony! This Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 review was based on the Xbox version of the game with a download key provided by Activision Blizzard.