Many look back fondly on the early years whenTony Hawk’s Pro Skaterwas first released to the masses. Many fans grew up with the originalPro Skatergames, and while skateboarding isn’t the mainstream pop culture behemoth that it used to be, the desire for more skateboarding games has slowly crept back to fans over time. After laying dormant for a while, some of the best Tony Hawk games are finally making a return withPro Skater 1+2 Remasteredcoming later this year.
There’s still a huge catalog ofTony Hawkgames left to explore, though, including many of the story spin offs likeUndergroundandAmerican Wasteland. Considering the last proper sequel toPro Skaterwasn’t the greatest, it’ll likely be a while before a proper sequel is released. At the same time,Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Remasteredcould also potentially serve as a gauge for further remasters ofTony Hawkgames.
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Been A While, Mr. Hawk
Pro Skaterwas special because it exaggerated the fun factor of being a skater, gamifying the real life sport through eliminating physical restrictions and making the game fantastic. Tony Hawk’s landmark skateboarding franchise was primarily arcade-like, unlike subsequentgames likeSkatethat aimed to closer simulate real-life skateboarding. Skaters could grind up and down rails at unreal speeds, clear insane gaps without breaking their legs, and seemingly rent out entire warehouses and schoolyards for their own personal use. The games were all about capturing the spirit of skateboarding, to which they exceeded greatly.
In terms of traditionalPro Skaterentries, the last sequel actually came out pretty recently withTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5in 2015. Unfortunately, due to the rushed nature of development,the fifthPro Skaterhad a slew of performance issuesand lack of content that received a lot of criticism from fans and critics alike. Setting asidePro Skater 5, it’s been about 13 years since the last traditional Tony Hawk game withProving Groundin 2007. There was an HD version ofPro Skaterreleased to middling reception due to its missing features, along with several experimentalTony Hawkgames that involved the use of third-party peripherals instead of traditional controllers. It’s safe to say the desire for a traditional, high qualityTony Hawkgame has been around for more than a decade.
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Fans have rejoiced with this new remake coming from Vicarious Visions, but with just the first twoPro Skatergames being remastered, these initial games could serve as a gauge for potentially moreTony Hawkremasters. Obviously,since thePro Skaterremaster is a complete and total rebuild from the ground upwith modern assets, only remastering the first two titles for now makes sense. They were the first twoPro Skatergames released, the foundation for what would become an incredibly popular franchise. At the same time, the sales numbers and reception of this remaster will likely influence and could encourage more titles remastered down the line.
Vicarious Visions, the developers behind this remaster, cut its teeth with a similar remaster forCrash Bandicoot. Not only that, the developer also made the Game Boy Advance versions ofPro Skater 2and onward back in 2000, so the developer has experience with theTony Hawkgames already. Withrumors flying around about about furtherCrash Bandicootremastersthanks to the success ofN. Sane Trilogy, it’s very possible the success ofPro Skater 1+2 Remasteredcould lead to further remasters throughout the series. SubsequentPro Skatergames do have a timeless quality to them, but to the story-heavy games likeTony Hawk’s UndergroundandAmerican Wasteland, a remaster could seriously do those games justice.
Of course, this all depends on the success of the upcomingPro Skaterremaster. That’s not to say there’s a chance the game will fail, quite the opposite in fact. Consideringthe revelry forTony Hawkgames is massiveand reactions to the announcement have been near-universally positive, sales shouldn’t be a problem. Hopefully, this remaster will be enough of a push to develop furtherTony Hawkgames as well.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Remasteredwill release September 4 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
