Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores, but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, all whilst including some lengthy gameplay, to give you, the reader, the chance to form your own impressions and views while reading and watching. In this explanatory review, we’re covering Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 by developer, Iron Galaxy:
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 (Nintendo Switch 2)
The Birdman is back once again as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 lands on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The games were originally released back in 2001 and 2002 respectively, for consoles like the Nintendo Gamecube, PS2, and the Xbox. They have now been remastered for modern platforms with a revised soundtrack featuring new and old songs, revamped parks, new tricks and more skaters to play from.
This is the part where we normally talk about a game’s plot or story but there really isn’t one in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4. So instead, I am going to highlight the general objective of the game. In Career, the game’s main mode, you can play through two different tours: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. They each have their own assortment of parks with nine or so parks in each game. Every stage has multiple objectives, or park goals as they are referred to in-game, for you to complete within a time limit of two minutes.
The types of goals can vary between each stage but the High Score, Pro Score & Sick Score are pretty standard across each stage although the amount of points you would need increases as you progress. As for the other objectives, they can range from grinding certain surfaces, destroying 5 crates or pumpkins, finding SKATE Letters and secret tapes. Once you have completed enough objectives, you can unlock new parks to skate on.
Some parks are competition stages where you have three runs to try and get the highest amount of points possible. The total score is then decided on your two best runs. Bailing or falling off your board will deduct points on these stages so try to get the best combos going with minimal bails possible. Beating these competition stages will net you with some in-game currency that you can use to buy new threads and unlock secret characters.
Speaking of characters, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 has a wide selection of skaters, both new and returning, including Tony Hawk himself. There are also a number of characters that you can unlock from the in-game shop that includes Bam Margera, Andy Anderson, and Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle. Doomslayer from the popular DOOM series is also available but only in the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game. You also have the ability to customize your very own character as well as their apparel, board and voice to suit your tastes.
So, let’s talk game modes. We have already discussed Career Mode but there is also Free Skate, Speedruns, Create-A-Park, and Multiplayer. In free Skate, you can get the lay of the land of any park without a time limit and familiarise yourself with its half-pipes, ramps, and rails. In Speedrun, you have to perform tricks and combos in order to achieve the best possible score in a set time. Multiplayer allows you to play two-player splitscreen or join friends online for an 8-player session and include game modes like free skate and HAWK where you have to collect the letters that are hidden in each park.
Create-A-Park gives power to the player to create their very own parks by using preset elements like ramps, rails, objects, and goals. Players can then share their parks online so they can be played and enjoyed by other people. If they enjoy the park, they can upvote it, which could get it trending so more players around the world can try out your creations.
One thing that I should really touch upon are the actual controls and how you pull off tricks. You move your skater with the left Joystick and can ollie your board with B. The Y, X, and A buttons are used to perform tricks and when paired up with the direction inputs, you can perform even more tricks. The X button is also used to grind and perform manuals, which is great for stringing combos together, but you have to be careful as both of these have a balance meter which if it falls too much one way or the other, it will cause you to bail and nullify your hard-earned score. You also have to be mindful pulling off aerial tricks as you will need align yourself correctly on landing, otherwise you bail.
If, like me, you lack the finesse of a perfect landing and will faceplant the floor at every single opportunity, you can use game mods to improve certain aspects that will immensely improve your gameplay. Granted, you can’t use mods when playing certain game modes and your scores won’t be added to the online leaderboards but if you are playing the career mode casually or with friends online, its not really an issue. I have quite enjoyed playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 more with the mods on than without as I get quite frustrated with landing face first in the tarmac every time my board leaves the ground. Yeah, I know I need to eventually “Git Gud” at some point but for now, I’m having plenty of fun with the training wheels, so leave me be.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is one of those games that you can enjoy casually but can be a little difficult to master if you are new to the series. Veterans will definitely get a kick out of it even if it is missing some key music tracks from the original releases. However, the revamped park designs and models look really good on Switch 2 and if you are looking for a cool game that you can just play in small doses or full-on long sessions, you can’t go wrong with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4.
Game Specifications:
Developer: Iron Galaxy
Publisher: Activision
Platform: Nintendo Switch/ Nintendo Switch 2 (Digital)
Genre: Action, Role-playing, Shooting
No. of Players: 1-2 (Single System), 2-8 (Online)
Release Date: June 5, 2025
Price: $49.99 (Standard) –
$69.99 (Digital Deluxe)
File Size: 38.1 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
