Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

Developer: Edge of Reality (N64 Port), Neversoft (Original) Publisher: Activision

Released: August 20, 2002 Rated: T 8/10

The biggest thing working against Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is, unsurprisingly, hardware limitations. At this point, we’re already used to the N64 receiving the worst console version of these games, which are complete masterpieces, otherwise. But with this third and final entry — the final game released for the console — the issue becomes mainly that the gap between how good a Tony Hawk game can be on N64 compared to its other versions has only widened with the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 as a next-generation title.

Pro Skater 3 does continue moving forward, even with a port that decides to stop and look behind it. In its design philosophy, we see the series grow even closer to the expansive and limitless experience it would become in its middle years. The final iteration to adhere strictly to the format of two-minute times runs, it also boasts even more eclectic and unusual level designs. Though not as immediately iconic as its predecessors’ opening levels, the Foundry shows an understanding of the series’ need to explore less traditional spaces for its concepts to keep them memorable. Even more so, set pieces and moving parts like Suburbia’s destructible ice cream truck and Los Angeles’ sky-scraping elevator rail embrace its status as a video game — something that can do fantastic and dangerous, but not strictly impossible stunts, rather than adhere to only the attainable levels of skateboarding ability.

The game engine sees only minimal changes in this third entry, at least in this past-gen release, which uses the same foundation as the previous N64 titles. And that’s still a good thing, no need to overhaul the part of the game that works across the board. The addition of the revert technique — essentially a 180 you can pull as you land on the ground off a quarter-pipe — seems minimal, but is another huge tweak for its combination with the manual to extend combos even further than ever. The result of this small-but-mighty tweak, in line with the series’ overall fine tuning of the bread and butter simplicity that is its core gameplay loop and control scheme, is to further ensure that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 remains accessible to newcomers while unlocking another tremendously powerful tool with which veterans can push the boundaries of their skill.

Standard hardware limitations for the N64 are exceptionally noticeable in Pro Skater 3, such as some rough draw distance that doesn’t outright hinder your ability to play but is damn sure distracting mid-combo.

Both creation modes return from the previous entry, with create-a-park once again feeling especially important to the already strong replay value. Having even a visually-homogeneous set of rails, pipes, and ramps to work with makes for a deceptively robust mode with lots of freedom to create unique lines, gaps, and park layouts on top of a few premade parks to try out when the main levels run their course for you. The overall package boasts plenty of content, even featuring an additional level it shares with the PS1 version in lieu of some levels from the first Pro Skater, which were present in next-gen versions. It is a downhill-style level, which aren’t usually well-liked, but a little something extra isn’t too bad when these versions are usually getting nothing but cut.

Speaking of cut, mangled, and butchered, the complaints about the soundtrack in the N64 versions of these games remain relevant as ever. And if “Ace of Spades” by Mötorhead is any indication, these tracks are as hacked up and Frankensteined even more than usual. There’s definitely a noticeable effort to make the best out of whatever sub-two minute loop is going to last any individual session, but the result is far too much meddling with the tracks on hand, and anybody particularly familiar with a given song already is going to be all the more put off by this. “Ace of Spades” is, like I said, that prime example, wherein Lemmy’s pre-solo bridge, ending with the line “and don’t forget the joker!” is copy-pasted from the middle and added at the very beginning alongside some easily identified guitar noodling. As documented in my previous Tony Hawk reviews for the N64, this probably sounds like nitpicking, but in the context of this particular series it’s definitely a bigger deal, and lots of players who align with the culture represented in these games and their chosen soundtracks are going to get a bad taste when they hear it.

“We’re here live in Rio de Janeiro, hometown of skating legend Bob Burnquist who’s left us for ESPN X Games Skateboarding, where we’re baring our broken heart begging him to take us back.”

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is a more exciting sendoff for a console than most. It’s a lot more substantial than some barely updated Madden or FIFA – most consoles simply don’t get the benefit of closing on one of the best-reviewed games of all time, even if it’s probably the weakest version of it. But maybe that’s what consoles should get when they turn the lights out – great games to appease those still hanging on to them, but are clearly outclassed by the hardware succeeding them. There’s no reason this version of Pro Skater 3 should be your only option, but it’s certainly enjoyable, if not the record-setting critical darling you may know it as.

Additional Information

Saves: Controller Pak

Compatible With: Rumble Pak, Expansion Pak

Players: 1-2

Print Guides: BradyGames

Aggregate Critical Reception (GameRankings): 81%, based on 1 review

Other Releases: NA Exclusive on N64

My Streams

Commercials and Print Ads

Though it still works as a commercial for the game on any platform, the N64 port is so long after the fact that it isn’t even featured among the rest of the console logos at the end.