Another!

Coming from the THPS2 engine, this game feels so buttery smooth that I wanna cry. Pro Skater 2 has a lovely 60fps mod on emulator, so I don't want to quite say "I'm free from 30fps prison!" (plus, I intend to play the PS1 version of THPS4 anyway...). But the difference it makes is astounding.

And the smoothness is not just in the controls, the UI and menus also feel much better to navigate. Pro Skater 3 is the beginning of introducing very very very tiny amounts of "narrative". You are no longer just collecting stuff, though that is still here of course, you ocasionally have some goals that serve mostly to give more personality to the level. Bury a bully, help a creepy man open the way to a haunted house, cause an earthquake by uuuhhh griding on a couple of rails (???)... I think this is why the PS1 version feels lesser, as it's using the designs here as the basis, but still being designed with a THPS2 mentality.

With the exception of a single track (Pulse, by Mad Capsule Markets, I don't really like it), the soundtrack is bangers only and I skip no other songs. Hard to decide the better OST between this and Pro Skater 2.

I played the levels back to back between both versions, and can't quite point my finger at what exactly makes this version so much better. Maybe it's just the better control and performance, but there are slight changes in level design that seem to make all the difference. I'd have to closely analyze them side by side to reach any kind of conclusion though. Not only that, but any changes to the layout are persistent between runs, a new and welcome feature coming from the PS1 engine. I will still try to offer an overview of each level though:

Foundry: Still not as good as Warehouse and Hangar, but a good first level nonetheless, and the goals make a bit more sense here.

Canada: Just feels different enough to become its own beast. I quite like how it has these very distinct areas: there's the parking lot, the skatepark and the tree areas, and they are all coherently connected. This is the 1st level to feature the "Impress X people" goal, which I don't really like.

Rio, Tokyo and Skater Island: Competition levels, which all kind of blend it together. I will say this though: the secret area with the pirate ship in Skater Island does wonders in giving it personality, and getting the stat points in Tokyo is a piece of shit and doesn't feel like comboing natural lines at all. Ugh.

Airport: A banger once again, if I was good enough I'd be able to have one huge combo from beginning to end, and it works even better here since they removed the Big Drop thing.

Los Angeles: Causing an earthquake by grinding the rails (I still don't get it) is no doubt memorable, though LA feels more like an "exploration" level, than a skateboarding combo map.

Cruise Ship: S-tier level. Once again, with enough skill you can get a combo going that will go across the entire level. Some may find the ever-present threat of falling in the water annoying though. Has a lot of female NPCs though, that knock you out if you touch them and that's kind of aggravating.

Doing 100% in this one is perhaps the grindiest the series has ever been, requiring checks notes twenty-one full playthroughs to unlock everything. Definitely something to chip away in due time, rather than marathon.

I think I prefer THPS2 at the end of the day, but there's a good reason that 3 is one of the most popular. In fact, the much smoother everything makes high score runs feel sooooo much better in this game. Please let the remake be as good as 1+2.

I really am in quite the Tony Hawk craze, why else would I choose to play the PS1 version of THPS3. Developed by Shaba Games (who would go on to make quite a few of the "alternative" versions to the Neversoft games), this game kinda feels like a glorified romhack of Pro Skater 2. With the weaker level design (not a 1:1 to the PS2), I couldn't help but notice more the annoying quirks of this engine: how, for example, if you're going towards a wall while holding triangle, you just bail for absolutely no reason. Or how any changes you make to the level (like exploding the tree in Canada) are no longer there when you reset (the PS2 version keeps those changes). THPS2 did the same, but it's far more noticeable and annoying here. Reverts also have a bit of a weird timing here, it's not uncommon to not be able to link those to a manual.

They also introduced free camera control here... sorta? This engine clearly doesn't want you to mess with the camera, and it only ocasionally lets you actually move the camera with any grace. Also a botched soundtrack, featuring only about half of the full tracklist.

The levels are 99% the same as the PS2 versions (in name at least), only in a different order:

Foundry: No doubt a worse opening level than both Warehouse and Hangar. There are slight but significant changes to the layout here compared to the PS2 version that just makes this one kinda sucky.

Los Angeles: Quite different from the Neversoft version, the Kickflip Over the Elevator Lobby goal just doesn't feel right, and the deck is in kind of a bullshit place - a ramp at the end of a long line, and if you miss your jump you gotta go back to the beginning of the line. Still, finding the tape and the elevator are neat.

Rio: Perhaps the best competition level, so far. Marseille has better vibes, but I for some reason enjoy the secret area in this one quite a bit.

Suburbia: Absolutely random. It doesn't have the personality of the PS2 version, and they put nothing in place. I struggle to even remember what happens in this level

Airport: It's a banger on the PS2, and it's still a banger here, since it's mostly unchanged (just with slightly lesser goals, imo). The best downhill level by a landslide, even if technically doesn't count as one, probably

Skater Island: Extremely standard competition level, lacks the cool pirate ship area of the PS2. Nothing to say.

Canada: Also features slight but significant changes compared to the next-gen release, and is just lesser as a result. I still kinda like it in this botched version however, even with the completely random totem pole collection, and the extremely vague Ollie the Poal goal.

Tokyo: Another competition level, probably the best when it comes to just doing tricks and scoring. But I think I still prefer Rio and Marseille

Downhill: The 1% that is different from the PS2, and fuck, what a 1%... the worst downhill level so far by far, there is nothing on the way down outside of a couple of ramps that let you jump to the rails uptop where you can collect the stat points. At the end, a flat section with a pool and a couple of random rails await you. yawn... Particularly bad since it's replacing Cruise Ship from the PS2.


Even unlocking Downhill was annoying, as you need all 3 gold medals, but it doesn't count if it's with your custom skater. It has to be a pro, what a bunch of crap. But anyway, PS1 THPS3 is nowhere near as good as THPS2 or its PS2 counterpart, but it's still a Tony Hawk at its core, and it's neat that we have this extra alternate game.

I am so insane right now, that I actually played the levels back to back with the Neversoft developed release, to better compare them. Can't stop, won't stop

One of the games I've played the most back in the day, I can now see a new facet of this game I didn't know before: now having Pro Skater 1 under by belt, I can fully appreciate the frankly absurd leap in quality between the two games.

The addition of manuals is one thing, but there is also the Create a Skater (and a Park, though I never engaged with that tbh), it's a much much smoother game technically speaking, the levels are much better designed, getting money to improve your stats and buy tricks through the career gives a more satisfying sense of progression, it's so good. Even small things, like when you're grinding on a halfpipe, if you go all the way to the halfpipe's side you don't bail, you just continue on, that didn't work in the first game.

And the soundtrack is just extremely comfy to me. Nostalgia is probably playing a role here, but pretty much every track here is a banger.

Hangar: Can play it with my eyes closed, S-tier. There are two "secret" areas in this tiny little map, greatly demonstrating how much better at this stuff the devs were already

School II: The S-tier continues, this is perhaps THE Tony Hawk level to me, with only two blemishes to me: how kinda weird it is to open the gym door, it doesn't feel intuitive at all, and I constantly forget how to do it. And wallriding the bells always feels finicky as hell.

Marseille: A significant improvement over the previous game's competition levels, mostly on vibes to be fair, as the design itself is still a skatepark. Features a secret area though, a first for this kind of level. So that's neat

New York: Basically an iteration of Downtown. I think both are equally good, but NY feels more dense with secrets and areas. The letter A and the cash above the statue are highly questionable though.

Venice: An absolute banger. It's big but doesn't feel too much, and it feels like there are countless lines. Interestingly, it doesn't feature any secrets, what you see is what you get, but they make the most out of it. One of my favorites, though I can never do Ollie the Magic Bum without a guide, what a shitty goal

Skatestreet: Second competition level. I prefer Marseille, but this one is fine

Philadelphia: A bit of a clusterfuck design-wise (getting the Sick score didn't feel too graceful), but I have a soft spot for this level's secret and areas. There is a whole skatepark hidden here, it's pretty neat

Bullring: Eeeeeeh... kinda sucks? Going for 100% in particular, there are a couple of cash icons that are a nightmare to get, fucking hell

Chopper Drop:* Didn't unlock it for this run, but what a shitty reward. Hooray, a single halfpipe. I think I understand that they were going for vibes more than anything, but you need all gold medals with all characters to get this. Geez.

Skater Heaven: Obviously didn't unlock it either, but I remember being wowed by it when I did unlock it back in the day. Much much much better reward than Chopper Drop, that's for sure.

Pro Skater 2 man. God. I will absolutely chip away at the RetroAchievements for this game and master it one day.