Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Review

Once in a while, there are moments in time when niche things break through and join the pop culture pantheon. Sometime in the 90s, it was skateboarding’s turn to take off with a number of charismatic competitors driving the sport forward. Even my very uncoordinated, very lanky younger self joined the movement as my friends all hopped on the skateboard hype for a summer or two. At the forefront of that wave was Tony Hawk – the man who is credited largely with the popularization of skateboarding in the modern era.

Around this time the console video game market was hitting its stride in the world of 3D, and Tony was presented with the opportunity to star in a game that would bring skate culture to the gamer crowd. Tony couldn’t turn down the crazy paycheque, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was born. It was an instant success that spawned many sequels and spinoffs over the years with the first two installments ending up being considered to be the best by many. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 specifically is considered to be one of the best games ever made – an impressive feat for any sports title, let alone one based on skateboarding.

With Skateboarding having a bit of a rebound as of late, and with the gaming market chalk full of remasters and remakes of all shapes and sizes, we’ve been gifted a fully top to bottom remake in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. It’s a staggeringly meticulous remake that’s lovingly crafted and stands out as one of the best cases for game remakes being a viable way to not just preserve classic titles but improve on them at the same time.

If you’ve never played either of these games before, you can expect an arcade experience dripping in personality-driven in no small part by their legendary licensed soundtracks. You’ll be pulling off wild (although completely real) tricks everywhere from a schoolyard to busy city locales and even airplane hangars. Each level has a series of goals set out for you to complete ranging from collecting the letters that spell SKATE, to hitting big-point tricks and finding a hidden secret tape. Before being able to move on to the next level you’ll need to complete a certain number of goals across the levels previously played and so while you don’t need to do everything you do need to do most with some level of choice as to which you complete to move forward.

As the game features two full games in one, Vicarious Visions decided to more or less merge the two, allowing you to switch between game level lists at will while carrying your custom skater between games as well as the online multiplayer. It’s wonderfully done and incredibly seamless, removing as much friction as one could hope for while still providing everything the original titles had provided. That’s no small task, as there are an absolutely enormous number of unlockables to be had here and lots of ways to customize your skater to look like anything from an office worker to a parody of a Fortnite character’s acid trip fever dream.

One doesn’t simply slap on a crazy outfit and get to skating, although you’re free to do so. You are also able to customize every move your skater is capable of with a stock list of tricks as well as others that you can unlock over time. Everything down to how your skater pushes off on the board is available for your consideration. It’s a top-to-bottom custom character creator and ensures you’re getting exactly what you want before setting out. If you can’t be bothered with all that fancy stuff and just want to play an existing professional skater you can do that, too. The list of skaters has also been expanded from the originals, and of course, there are hidden unlockable skaters as well.

The game controls just as it did originally but with the added comfort of modern controllers making it even better. Like many games of the era, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is a case of easy to pick up but hard to master. The controls are remarkably intuitive aside from some of the more advanced techniques, so whether you haven’t played the games in many years or it’s your first time playing you’ll not have too much issue getting going. It’s not all 900s and McTwists, however. The arcade leaning does result in some frustrations occasionally as your skater magnetically grabs on to things you didn’t intend to, for example, but mostly it’s a smooth experience. They’ve included a wonderful tutorial as well which does a great job introducing you to the basics before tossing you into fire.

Just about anyone will be able to pick up a controller and manage to string together some combos and have a great time, but hop online and you’ll quickly realize just what you are capable of should you put the time in as players bang out combos worth hundreds of thousands (and sometimes even millions) of points. The important thing to note is that you don’t need to be able to do that to complete either of the game’s single-player modes, and most people will be able to enjoy their time without any massive roadblocks.

Speaking of the online play, it provides a great place to stack yourself up against the best of the best in several competitive modes. You can team up with friends and get into matches together easily enough, and while the experience is a net positive there can be some connectivity issues and lag that makes landing moves difficult – something that can get frustrating when you’re competing for the top spot. Overall, it’s a great extension of the also included local multiplayer – another feature you love to see and one that would have been sorely missed for this remaster especially.

When you’ve mastered the art of three to thirty consecutive kickflips and you feel you’re ready to make your own work of art skate parks, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 has you covered as well. There’s an immense amount of control and customization available to you to make your dream park a reality. Parks can be easily uploaded and rated by other players, and some wild examples were provided by the developers to get your imagination going. The sky is the limit – quite literally.

When you’re coming from the glory days of the N64, graphical improvements aren’t exactly a steep challenge. All the same, the games look great and appropriate to the style. Perhaps just as importantly it runs at a full flat 60fps across all platforms with barely a hitch so whether you’re playing this on a bone stock Xbox One or a gaming PC you’re going to have a smooth experience. You couldn’t ask for more in this department, really. The absolutely legendary soundtracks are all but completely back with only a few omissions and includes a few new tracks to boot. Few licensed soundtracks can match those found in these two games, and so it does the soul some good knowing that we got it just about all back.

I don’t think it ever occurred to me that they would ever bother remaking the early Tony Hawk games. I certainly wouldn’t have imagined they’d do so to such a high-quality standard, and there is very little to complain about here as you’ve likely sorted out. It’s quite telling when most of the complaints center around the fact they didn’t include Pro Skater 3. I’m sure that after the success of this project, there’s a good possibility we could get more in the future but for now, we’re blessed to have gotten our hands on this one. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is a master class in remastered classics, that’s full of love and respect for some of the best from the golden era of gaming. Easy to pick up but hard to put down, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is sure to impress newcomers and returning players alike.