I must confess, I have not actually played THPS1 or THPS2 in their original incarnations (loud booing.wav) yeah I know, FAKE FAN!! But listen, hear me out, <even louder revert noises.> Yeah, didn't think you had an answer to that.
Every once in a blue moon I boot THPS3 up for various reasons, whether for a bit of nostalgia escapism (something I normally strongly avoid doing bcus I believe it to be unhealthy), or to simply refresh myself on one of the tightest series of games ever made at their peak.
Everyone's got a different favorite in these, but most agree 3 is the best (on a mechanical level) to play long-term; even over something like the relatively recent 1+2 remake, because while those levels are iconic for bringing skateboarding back into public consciousness and largely credited even for skateboarding having a place today at the Olympics, 3 is where they'd perfect the series mechanically. In the documentary "Pretending I'm a Superman", Tony Hawk mostly talks about THPS1 and THPS3, because while 2 was the gangbusters critical darling and the natural evolution of the surprising smash hit of THPS1, they somehow did it again with THPS3, and there he talks about leaning into a more arcadey approach (not that the previous titles weren't, but this basically triples the length of your average combo).
Something I think is lost in THPS1+2 is the readability of stages. Don't get me wrong, it certainly has presentation still and I'd argue it's decent, but the choice to use very heavy baked in lighting and drop shadows clashes with the direction of these games. Multiple times I was left scouring maps looking for a random circle on a wall because it blends into the shadows; this was never a problem in THPS1 through 4 except maybe finding the skate decks on maps with dark ceilings.
I'm not very fluent in being a vibe scribe, I cannot accurately relay how pure and hollistic the presentation is in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. I was there age 11-12 with a skateboard in hand because of this game, at the only skatepark I was aware of in a 50 mile radius, where some 20-something tried his damndest to teach me to ollie while never laughing at me, all because of this game. Maybe I'll pick up a board again and learn how these punks make slabs of wood orbit their body through telekinesis, but in the meantime I'll just have to settle for this.
Update: I hit 4.6m
Every once in a blue moon I boot THPS3 up for various reasons, whether for a bit of nostalgia escapism (something I normally strongly avoid doing bcus I believe it to be unhealthy), or to simply refresh myself on one of the tightest series of games ever made at their peak.
Everyone's got a different favorite in these, but most agree 3 is the best (on a mechanical level) to play long-term; even over something like the relatively recent 1+2 remake, because while those levels are iconic for bringing skateboarding back into public consciousness and largely credited even for skateboarding having a place today at the Olympics, 3 is where they'd perfect the series mechanically. In the documentary "Pretending I'm a Superman", Tony Hawk mostly talks about THPS1 and THPS3, because while 2 was the gangbusters critical darling and the natural evolution of the surprising smash hit of THPS1, they somehow did it again with THPS3, and there he talks about leaning into a more arcadey approach (not that the previous titles weren't, but this basically triples the length of your average combo).
Something I think is lost in THPS1+2 is the readability of stages. Don't get me wrong, it certainly has presentation still and I'd argue it's decent, but the choice to use very heavy baked in lighting and drop shadows clashes with the direction of these games. Multiple times I was left scouring maps looking for a random circle on a wall because it blends into the shadows; this was never a problem in THPS1 through 4 except maybe finding the skate decks on maps with dark ceilings.
I'm not very fluent in being a vibe scribe, I cannot accurately relay how pure and hollistic the presentation is in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. I was there age 11-12 with a skateboard in hand because of this game, at the only skatepark I was aware of in a 50 mile radius, where some 20-something tried his damndest to teach me to ollie while never laughing at me, all because of this game. Maybe I'll pick up a board again and learn how these punks make slabs of wood orbit their body through telekinesis, but in the meantime I'll just have to settle for this.
Update: I hit 4.6m
This is where the game came into its' prime. It runs buttery smooth, and the addition of reverts unlocks the potential that simply wasn't there in the other two to make endless combos. It's got the essentials down pat alongside the arcadey 2000s skate culture charm that made this series great, and I would recommend it as a starting point to just about anyone.
A trilha sonora sempre é a melhor coisa, já que eu não gosto de joguinho de manobra. Mas o design desse jogo impressiona sempre.
You could say that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 sparked my interest in the series. However, it was the third game that managed to fully convince me of the quality of the series. Mechanically, the game doesn't do that much differently from its predecessor. The gameplay is almost unchanged - you complete tasks in 2-minute levels, earn points for doing so, gradually unlock more levels and occasionally take part in a competition. So why did I like this game even more than the second one? Well, Tony Hawks already had a certain "whackyness factor". It didn't take itself seriously and didn't stick too closely to the physical rules of our world. Though the first two games were anything but mundane, the third game in the series really stepped it up a notch in this respect. I don't want to spoil too much here, but I can say that both the missions in the levels and certain unlockable content were pretty insane here :D With this game, the series made it clear once and for all that it doesn't want to be a realistic skate sim, but a fun arcade game with a focus on skater vibes, humor and a pretty wacky world. I loved it very much and it has been with me since my childhood to this day.
i used to play this game and just listen to music late at night, that was a vibe
this is the second coolest piece of media to have a Mad Capsule Markets song next to PEEP "TV" SHOW (2003)
Eu jurava que o segundo jogo era o meu favorito mas isso era mentira. Foi o Homem-Aranha e o botão de Revert no remake que me fizeram acreditar nessa falácia. Aliás, o botão de Revert é tudo pra mim, um menino muito especial.
good music and memes
The base gameplay mechanics are nothing short of a masterpiece, but some of the levels and goals leave something to be desired, as certain goals are obnoxiously vague or hidden, killing the pacing of levels.
Viva La Bam
While on a THPS kick, decided to drop into THPS3, with it being my least played entry in the series.
Upon this play through, I realised that the game has aged much better than I had originally believed. The introduction to the Revert being the big game changer for most players, leading to longer, more free flowing combo lines. Rodney Mullen-styled flatland tricks from a manual are also a nice addition.
The maps in THPS3 are all pretty good, except for a couple that aren't up to standard. 'Foundry', 'Airport', 'Los Angeles' and 'Canada' are all absolute classics where as 'Skater Island' and 'Suburbia' leave a bit to be desired unfortunately.
For a long time, I thought I preferred THPS 4 to this entry, but after my recent play through, I realised I much prefer the arcade-like goals and addictive bite-sized runs present here. If you like THPS 1 & 2 (as well as the HD remakes), then you'll love this one too!
Upon this play through, I realised that the game has aged much better than I had originally believed. The introduction to the Revert being the big game changer for most players, leading to longer, more free flowing combo lines. Rodney Mullen-styled flatland tricks from a manual are also a nice addition.
The maps in THPS3 are all pretty good, except for a couple that aren't up to standard. 'Foundry', 'Airport', 'Los Angeles' and 'Canada' are all absolute classics where as 'Skater Island' and 'Suburbia' leave a bit to be desired unfortunately.
For a long time, I thought I preferred THPS 4 to this entry, but after my recent play through, I realised I much prefer the arcade-like goals and addictive bite-sized runs present here. If you like THPS 1 & 2 (as well as the HD remakes), then you'll love this one too!
Finally I can do a kickflip.
Would have been perfect if it weren't for Tokyo
Loved this game in my earlier years and it still holds up well. Although I feel some of the levels are a bit mediocre and the overall feel is a tad bit stiff. Not terrible but later entries improved on the game feel.
Must have played through the campaign dozens of times - enough to unlock every hidden character. The courses are not too complicated, but still have enough variety to be interesting - although the competition courses are a little more boring as a result since there aren't any objectives other than getting a high enough score for gold. The series eventually went downhill (pun not intended) since it started to become too complicated for its own good, but this is just fun, simple skateboarding. Also, there are some absolute bangers on the soundtrack.
Sometimes I still dream I'm grinding some rails in a random thps map
The most notable development of THPS literacy: combos are more fluid, graphics are a monumental step up, levels feel much more 'skateable' (not that they weren't before, but these are way more complex), reverts are one of the most crucial inclusions in the history of the series, the UI is night-and-day better, and this essentially served as the core template for all of the games moving forward. Its soundtrack shreds (BER NER NER NER), the maps here are all unforgettable (Foundry, Airport, Rio, Tokyo, etc.), and you can skate as the two coolest people on Earth - Darth Maul and Bam Margera. That being said, it's also significantly brief - something later entries would improve upon by adding, to be frank, more fleshed-out content. The formula here is as smooth as butter and knocking out these missions is still fun as can be, but beyond minute-to-minute gameplay there just isn't a lot that brings me back to this one for more than a couple days at a time (superb as that gameplay might be) without it feeling repetitive. Far from the best entry imo - despite arguably being the most revolutionary - but still righteous for what it is.
THPS3 sits in the perfect spot as far as the franchise and other skateboarding games. It improved several aspects over the first two games by naturally being released in the next generation of systems versus its predecessors (such as graphics, sound, and presentation) and by introducing key gameplay components such as adding the revert move to chain vertical tricks and combos into manuals and horizontal/street tricks. While it's true that TH games that followed introduced new gameplay components, ideas, and improved graphically and presentation-wise, THPS3 found the perfect balance between gameplay, presentation, and level design making this my favorite game of the series by far.
Wow, das war wieder mal neat. Ich dachte jetzt über Jahre, dass ich Teil 2 tatsächlich mehr mag als 3.
Teil 3 war für mich immer ein richtiger "inbetween Titel", der zwischen der heavyness von 1 und 2 und der smoothness von Teil 4 herauskam. Ich glaub sowas ähnliches, oder genau das, hab ich schonmal an anderer Stelle erwähnt.
Außerdem war es für mich wortwörtlich ein inbetween Teil, weil wir damals nur die PC Version hatten, die ich, ohne Controller, gerade mal ein Level ausgehalten habe.
Quasi bin ich also direkt von 2 auf 4 gesprungen und habe den so hochbewerteten Teil 3 erst viele viele viele viele viele Jahre später nachgeholt.
Aber jetzt, wo ich es back to back mit Teil 2 gespielt hab, muss ich sagen, dass es doch besser ist als angenommen. Nein, die Mechaniken sind immer noch nicht so gut wie in 4. Nein, Vert fühlt sich nicht mehr so cool an wie in 2.
Aber mensch, hier mal so eben die 100% holen ist ein so breezy, fun playthrough. In Teil 2 hab ich spätestens ab Venice Beach kein Interesse mehr daran die hälfte aller Ziele zu machen. In Teil 3 hingegen, ist das erste Level was lästig wird LA und das einzige was mich wirklich nervt, das Cruise Ship. Und selbst da kann ich nun die meisten Platzierungen auswendig.
Und ich glaube allein das ist schon 'ne menge wert.
Weiterhin fängt die 9/10 Ära von THPS für mich erst mit dem nächsten Teil an. Erst ab Teil 4 könnt ich mich dabei erwischen wieder Stundenlang Free Skate vor mich hin zu spielen.
Aber das hier? Doch eine sehr gute 8/10 - auch wenn ich es für Jahre niedriger eingestuft hab.
Teil 3 war für mich immer ein richtiger "inbetween Titel", der zwischen der heavyness von 1 und 2 und der smoothness von Teil 4 herauskam. Ich glaub sowas ähnliches, oder genau das, hab ich schonmal an anderer Stelle erwähnt.
Außerdem war es für mich wortwörtlich ein inbetween Teil, weil wir damals nur die PC Version hatten, die ich, ohne Controller, gerade mal ein Level ausgehalten habe.
Quasi bin ich also direkt von 2 auf 4 gesprungen und habe den so hochbewerteten Teil 3 erst viele viele viele viele viele Jahre später nachgeholt.
Aber jetzt, wo ich es back to back mit Teil 2 gespielt hab, muss ich sagen, dass es doch besser ist als angenommen. Nein, die Mechaniken sind immer noch nicht so gut wie in 4. Nein, Vert fühlt sich nicht mehr so cool an wie in 2.
Aber mensch, hier mal so eben die 100% holen ist ein so breezy, fun playthrough. In Teil 2 hab ich spätestens ab Venice Beach kein Interesse mehr daran die hälfte aller Ziele zu machen. In Teil 3 hingegen, ist das erste Level was lästig wird LA und das einzige was mich wirklich nervt, das Cruise Ship. Und selbst da kann ich nun die meisten Platzierungen auswendig.
Und ich glaube allein das ist schon 'ne menge wert.
Weiterhin fängt die 9/10 Ära von THPS für mich erst mit dem nächsten Teil an. Erst ab Teil 4 könnt ich mich dabei erwischen wieder Stundenlang Free Skate vor mich hin zu spielen.
Aber das hier? Doch eine sehr gute 8/10 - auch wenn ich es für Jahre niedriger eingestuft hab.
played this when i was as kid and the foundry level scared me
GOAT
They made a perfect videogame and then let you play as Darth Maul and Wolverine in it.
It's REALLY good
Solid gameplay, great soundtrack and doesn’t look that bad for a 2001 game.
(Completed 100% as Tony Hawk only, will revisit later.)
(Completed 100% as Tony Hawk only, will revisit later.)
More Tony Hawk greatness. These were the prime years and if you enjoyed his game's back then, you just had to pick up the new TH release.
It was also great to see the jump from PS1 to PS2.
It was also great to see the jump from PS1 to PS2.
Love this old game. The level designs are really memorable. The soundtrack was great too
the perfection of the formula, this is my favorite one in the series
Chad i luv u
I'm a swing it, watch me bring it to the next level
The grafted devil's getting funky like The Neville
Brothers from the Bayou, so why you wanna trip?
Just play the sidelines, kid, and wait for me to slip
Cause I can feel it "In the Air Tonight"
But yo I'm not Phil Collins, I'm more like Henry Rollins
Cause I Search and Destroy every toy with a plot
Trying to get what I got, you might get shot!
Hot damn, I'm a slam you like ONYX
Then teach you how to write a rhyme like Hooked on Phonics
Mother Goose ain't got shit on me
Cause I'll get loose at the jam and wreck the whole party
I make em jump and mosh, oh my gosh
Just slamming in the pit while I'm kicking my shit
They bugging in the aisles cause I got mad styles
And ain't a damn thing funny, I get money in piles
Some people thought I died, that's just a rumor though
Others thought I fell off, but now I'm Numero Uno
Dos, not Quatro
Word to Kool Keith, I'm a break up your teeth
When I die (die)
Bury me (me)
Hang my balls from the cherry tree (tree)
Let them get ripe (ripe) then take a bite (bite)
And if they don't taste right
Then don't blame D! (D)
You need to quit swinging the style that I'm bringing
The funk-knuckled dragon who gets on the wagon
I'm not the twelve-stepper, don't play me like a lever
"My Mic Sounds Nice" but it's not Salt-N-Pepa
Well it's the man with the plan to get all your skins
The tip on my dick's where the line begins
So hoes form a line, take off that swine
Strip your ass buck-naked, let's see if you can take it
Cause I'll make you feel "Like A Natural Woman"
Cause I Keep It Comin'
I'm the Everlasting Freestyle Assassin
With Soul and my goal is to bring a little passion
To your girl's life like the daily soaps
Throw her down on the bed and tie her up with ropes
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
I'm just another Ranger with a dirty face
Punk motherfuckers beef about my race
You need step back, kid and give me some space
So I can cold-shock the party when I'm rocking the place
Danny Boy's arriving, standing six five and a half
Don't laugh, kid, the grafted's surviving
The outlaw biker with my bitch hitchhiker
On the "Highway to Hell"
Cause I never tell
Well it's the funk back-breaker
We "Heat it Up" like Jamaica
Don't bring your woman to the party
Cause I'll take her
"Hit the Deck" cause I'm down with the Whooli's
I got a trunk full of funk like the Groovie Goolies
I'm not the man but I asked you "Who was he?"
Quik's got the hairdo just like Ruth Buzzi
Running 'round town like you been to jail, son
But you hit the swap meet to get your hair and your nails done
Get off my sack cause your shit is wack
You diss me and I'm a diss you back
The grafted devil's getting funky like The Neville
Brothers from the Bayou, so why you wanna trip?
Just play the sidelines, kid, and wait for me to slip
Cause I can feel it "In the Air Tonight"
But yo I'm not Phil Collins, I'm more like Henry Rollins
Cause I Search and Destroy every toy with a plot
Trying to get what I got, you might get shot!
Hot damn, I'm a slam you like ONYX
Then teach you how to write a rhyme like Hooked on Phonics
Mother Goose ain't got shit on me
Cause I'll get loose at the jam and wreck the whole party
I make em jump and mosh, oh my gosh
Just slamming in the pit while I'm kicking my shit
They bugging in the aisles cause I got mad styles
And ain't a damn thing funny, I get money in piles
Some people thought I died, that's just a rumor though
Others thought I fell off, but now I'm Numero Uno
Dos, not Quatro
Word to Kool Keith, I'm a break up your teeth
When I die (die)
Bury me (me)
Hang my balls from the cherry tree (tree)
Let them get ripe (ripe) then take a bite (bite)
And if they don't taste right
Then don't blame D! (D)
You need to quit swinging the style that I'm bringing
The funk-knuckled dragon who gets on the wagon
I'm not the twelve-stepper, don't play me like a lever
"My Mic Sounds Nice" but it's not Salt-N-Pepa
Well it's the man with the plan to get all your skins
The tip on my dick's where the line begins
So hoes form a line, take off that swine
Strip your ass buck-naked, let's see if you can take it
Cause I'll make you feel "Like A Natural Woman"
Cause I Keep It Comin'
I'm the Everlasting Freestyle Assassin
With Soul and my goal is to bring a little passion
To your girl's life like the daily soaps
Throw her down on the bed and tie her up with ropes
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
The lyrics keep flowing and flowing and just flowing
I'm just another Ranger with a dirty face
Punk motherfuckers beef about my race
You need step back, kid and give me some space
So I can cold-shock the party when I'm rocking the place
Danny Boy's arriving, standing six five and a half
Don't laugh, kid, the grafted's surviving
The outlaw biker with my bitch hitchhiker
On the "Highway to Hell"
Cause I never tell
Well it's the funk back-breaker
We "Heat it Up" like Jamaica
Don't bring your woman to the party
Cause I'll take her
"Hit the Deck" cause I'm down with the Whooli's
I got a trunk full of funk like the Groovie Goolies
I'm not the man but I asked you "Who was he?"
Quik's got the hairdo just like Ruth Buzzi
Running 'round town like you been to jail, son
But you hit the swap meet to get your hair and your nails done
Get off my sack cause your shit is wack
You diss me and I'm a diss you back
Peak Tony Hawk