Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is a remake, but it’s new to me (and that’s why I like it so much)
What's old is new if you've never played the originals
The influence the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series has had on my life is pretty substantial.
From following professional skateboarding, to the electric surfskate carving skateboard I recently purchased at 36-years-old (an early-onset mid-life crisis gift to myself, of course), to my underdeveloped sense of style, where my goal seems to be to look like an aging skateboard team owner, thanks to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise sparking my initial interest in Kickflips and Ollies in the early 2000s, skate culture played a role in my life from a young age.
This is why I was bummed when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 absolutely sucked and the series went away for a few years. It triumphantly returned in 2020 with the excellent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake, but Vicarious Visions was turned into a Call of Duty support studio by Activision following the game’s release. For a few years, it looked like the series was dead again, but fast-forward to 2025, and against the odds, the franchise is back with Iron Galaxy’s remake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.
There’s a magic to the skateboarding series’ simple, yet deceptively deep gameplay that scratches my brain in a way no other game can. “Maybe if I try that line one more time, I’ll finally hit it,” is a thought that’s gone through my head hundreds of times as I’ve spent the last several days chaining manuals and reverts in search of high scores, secret tapes and SKATE letters (I rarely actually hit that mythical line I have in my head by the way).
As a kid, I remember my older brothers making fun of the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and calling it “back and forth, the game.” They just didn’t understand the arcade-focused artistry behind the title.
What’s been most interesting about my time with the remake is that, despite Pro Skater 3 + 4 being a re-release, both games are new to me. I’m not entirely sure how I missed them when they dropped in the early 2000s, but it likely has something to do with me mainly gaming on the Nintendo 64 and then the Dreamcast at the time.
I didn’t own a PlayStation or a PlayStation 2. I know now that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 eventually made its way to the N64, but for some reason, I wasn’t aware of that back then (it was actually the last official game released for the N64 in North America). My early experience with the franchise started with Pro Skater 1 and 2, followed by Underground on the Xbox.
Because both games are new to me, playing them for the first time feels fresh and oddly nostalgic. I don’t know either title inside out like I do with Pro Skater 1 + 2. How do I get that Secret Tape in the rafters in Hanger? Maybe that rail leads to it? Where are all the SKATE letters in the Airport level? I have SKAT, but where’s that god damn “E?” I'd better do a few runs focused just on finding it if I ever want to complete this challenge.
It’s a throwback to how I played the first two games in the series all those years ago — It’s a skateboarding series, but there’s compelling puzzle solving and challenging platforming in there, too.
The game isn’t perfect, though. For example, it’s visually underwhelming. On the plus side, this means I’m able to get Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 running on the ROG Ally X on Medium settings at 60fps, making it my go-to game over the past week as I help keep a tiny human alive (I’m currently on parental leave from Pocket-Lint).
I’ve also played the game a bit on my high-end gaming PC, and while it looks great running at 4K/144Hz, Pro Skater 3 + 4 isn’t a graphical powerhouse. That’s not to say that it looks bad or runs poorly, though. The visuals just don’t stand out in a meaningful way.
There are also controversial changes to Pro Skater 4’s career mode, with the free roam mission structure being entirely removed in favour of Pro Skater 3’s classic 2-minute timer to “streamline” the goal system. Does this feel like a development shortcut by Iron Galaxy? You bet. At the same time, I also don’t care since I haven’t played either game before. That said, I understand why this is a dealbreaker for those familiar with the original (I’ve heard that at least some of those missions are back in the end-game, though).
Gameplay-wise, this is a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater title. Its controls are tight and responsive, and chaining together a 500,000+ point combo with manuals, grinds, flips, and grabs feels exactly how I remember. Oh, and Bam Margera is back as an unlockable secret character. Given I’ve followed the former Jackass star’s very rough last few years, it’s been heartwarming to see him finally take his battle with addiction seriously and come out the other side of it. Hearing CKY’s ‘96 Quite Bitter Beings’ riff in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4’s opening sequence almost brought a tear to my eye.
In a way, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is the original Pro Skater game I had hoped would be released after 1 + 2.
Hopefully, this isn’t the end of the series, and we get either a remake of Underground or an entirely original entry in the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. I’m ready for Pro Skater 6.
Hopefully, Mr. Hawk can make that happen.
Awesome write-up, thanks for sharing! I'm looking forward to picking it up down the road some, since I loved Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remake. I'll also be new to Pro Skater 3 and 4 when I pick it up, since I never played the originals before either. I only ever had the Game Boy Advance release of Pro Skater 2 😆!
Great write-up, definitely subscribing!
There are too many games to play, but hopefully I can play it on sale because it seems like a perfect steam deck game. I do read some negative feedback about some missing open world maps and NPCs you can talk to.