Imagine landing a trick that you have been working on for days, weeks, even and when you get to finally land it, the rush of excitement comes flushing in, leaving you as quickly as all that’s said and done. A sort of nothingness sets it before you go, “Let’s run it again”.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 feels like a “One step forwards, few steps back” type of deal with how incredible their rendition of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, while faltering with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 in most of the aspects that made me like the original game in the first place.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and let’s find a nice spot to start this session up,
Presentation
Once again, the visual upgrades are top notch, with Iron Galaxy taking the mantle to recreate these iconic levels into the modern era, so to speak.
With the boost in fidelity and even adding in some wear and tear to showcase to the players that it has been a while since we have visited the locations. Like London in THPS4 game now has bright LED lights surrounding the area that represent Trafalgar Square (just like real life) or Skater Island from THPS3, looking more weary after two decades of neglect, the place caving in as the two-minute counter ticks down. 
It’s the same principle as the first remake for this, and I’m glad that this level of care is also being treated for the Skater roster, which also consists of the main gang from the original releases, like the Chad Muska and Rodney Mullen, alongside the new generation of talent like Olympic medalists Rayssa Leal and Yuto Horigome beefing up this already big roster. Heck, getting to play as the Doom Slayer and Revenant is a neato addition that fits the old-school/nu-school vibes that this game is going for.
The music tracklist, however, is a bit of a mixed bag. Sure, there are some of the originals in there, Motörhead’s Ace of Spades and Gang Starr’s Mass Appeal being there as part of the originals is nice, and the newer stuff from the likes of Run The Jewels and Denzel Curry feels like a good addition that does fit the skateboarding genre, not so much impact for this game, in my opinion.
And another nitpick that I had for 3+4 (and in some instances in the 1+2 remake as well) is that the audio cue for doing a Boneless move isn’t as clear and noticeable as the originals, which does take me out of combos at times, but that’s just me.
Gameplay![]()
For the gameplay side, you can’t change that much of the sauce that made it incredible in the first place. It’s still the same great combos on the face buttons that make you tricks that you could keep going for higher points and combos.
It’s still a rush to get to chain together special tricks all across the map, which one of the newer modes added in does well in tying together this rushing feeling of combo-ing everything, whilst also doing all of the goals quickly.
And that is the new Speedrun Mode, which I admit I’m terrible at, and usually take more than the allotted 2-minute window to finish even the first few levels. Still, it is quite interesting to think of ways to chain together everything to finish all the goals in a respectable time.
Which segways quite well to my issues with the levels, specifically the THPS4 ones.
These levels were used to be timer-less and only activated when you talked to the quest giver (a sort of starting point for the future games moving forward), the devs has decided to make these levels within the usual 2-minute timer goal as well, with the choice of adding more time within the options to 5 minutes or even 60 minutes.
And while I get that it’s probably due to the constraints of the game engine, it feels like you’re rushing through the levels more than what I’ve played back in the 2000s. But adding more time to it, to me, breaks the flow-state that the 2-minute goals provide when you now have all the time you need.
Heck, COMBO letter goals aren’t even in the game proper as well, which makes no sense considering it can be changed together in the High Score runs of previous games, so it’s omission from the main goals for this game feels weird, considering you could replay them instantly or heck, add more time now.
And that is quite a shame since I feel like more goals for the newer maps in the THPS4 levels could have made them more fun to play around with. The newer ones are fine, but don’t have the same oomph as the original levels that they replaced with (Chicago and Carnival), since those are the end-game portion, where the difficulty spikes, while Movie Studio and Waterpark are around the midway point as you build your skater.
And while I knew there was another secret level included towards the end, these two new ones don’t satisfy me in the replayability part.
Skating also feels weird at the start, since it feels like your character sticks too much to the board (something THPS5 did, but even worse), but that it will get looser as you add more stats into your skater of choice, since the Stats do matter more now than in their previous remake.
Though it still is not as snappy as the older titles, it has more time in the game, and you can do million-point combos just like the old-fashioned way.
Content![]()
With 19 levels within two games’ worth of content, Pro Skater 3+4 is packed with stuff to do and even unlock with each goals giving you cash that could be used to purchase additional secret skaters, like TMNT’s Michelangelo or even one that was previously missing from the roaster, one Bam Margera that completes the original game’s roster.
Additionally, the Create-A-Park feature allows players to recreate past games’ parks, such as the original Training level from the first remake game (due to nostalgia, I suppose), as well as some levels from the Underground games, which could be next to be remade.
All in all, like most of the Tony Hawk games, it is perpetually replayable, and with that Speedrun mode, you could be spending hours trying to find that great line.
Personal Enjoyment![]()
I do feel this has been a hit and a miss, since I am quite of a big fan of the original fourth game and while the third game is a great remake with how much of the original goals has been retained, the Side B of this game does disappoint me with how the devs change the way it’s played, when you consider even the PS1 version also has an open world with goals, as originally designed.
But that won’t deter my enthusiasm in playing it, mind you. It’s still the game that I can just boot up and immediately turn my mind off. Two minutes to see how high I can get my high score on, the ultimate digital trip.
Verdict
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is still a fun ride, but some issues hinder it from becoming as successful as its more successful predecessor. But still, its a fun skateboarding game, and that won’t change anything within its series legacy.
Played on Xbox Series S. Review copy provided by the publisher.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4
The game is still a fun ride, but some issues hinder it from becoming as successful as its more successful predecessor.
- Presentation 9
- Gameplay 8.5
- Content 8.5
- Personal Enjoyment 8