When news of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 remaster broke yesterday, for a good number of Twitter users (seriously, just read through the replies directed at the Birdman himself), the immediate joy, surprise, and excitement morphed into another ask (and in some cases, demand) for a remaster of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 - one of the iconic franchise’s most popular entries.
While I’m not here to debate the fact that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is, in fact, the best game in the franchise, the reality remains that if gamers truly want a remaster of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, they’ll need to speak less with their social currency, and more with their wallets.
It’s difficult to imagine that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 will do poorly, given the massive appeal the first two games in the franchise had on an entire generation of gamers. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was a bit different than the rest of the franchise given its downhill-oriented gameplay, but it was still a genre-defining title that kicked off a slew of amazing game soundtracks. I mean, c’mon… Goldfinger’s “Superman”? Chef’s kiss
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, on the other hand, broke the rules of the first game by letting players wreak havoc within relatively open-world-style levels with an even more incredible soundtrack that filled my adolescent punk rock-fueled heart. Not to mention the secret characters that were unlockable, including the super fun-to-play-as Spider-Man.
Then, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 came along and brought gamers to their knees with its gorgeous level designs, killer soundtrack, pedestrians to contend with, deep skater customization options, and Darth Maul and Wolverine. I can still distinctly recall grinding through the Airport level and along the rails of the Cruise Ship to the sounds of AFI’s “The Boy Who Destroyed the World” as my best friend and I tried to one-up each other in the HORSE game mode. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 - to me - is the quintessential definition of what made the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series so great. So yeah, you can bet on me being in the camp of someone that wants a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 remaster… but only after the bundled remasters of the first two games are a success.
In all likelihood, a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 remaster will eventually come to fruition. It’s worked for the Resident Evil series, not to mention the fact that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 is coming from the same studio that absolutely nailed the Crash Bandicoot remaster.
But for the people in the Twitterverse who are claiming that the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games don’t hold up, not only is your statement invalid, but your aversion to buying the remaster of those games ever-so-slightly diminishes the chance of a remaster of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 from happening. For those already clamoring for a THPS 3 remaster without acknowledging how awesome a bundled remaster of the first two games is, you’re not helping either.
In a world (and industry) fueled by the almighty dollar, our best chance at getting a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 remaster is by speaking with our wallets. And that begins with the purchase of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 when it releases on September 4th.
