We're all incredibly excited for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remastered. They're both legendary games that set the standard for extreme sports gaming with their combination of rock-solid controls and hilariously over-the-top stunts.
The games weren't just special, they were formative for many of us; they served as a drop-in point between gaming culture and extreme sports culture that largely didn't exist before.
That said, we can't help but think about a few other extreme sports games we'd like to see get a fresh coat of paint, too.
Mario Strikers: Charged
There's a reason why the Wii's Mario Strikers: Charged has a cult following: it's legitimately one of the best competitive sports games ever made. It combines soccer and hockey to great effect, creating a hyper-fast, high-stakes arcade sports experience.
The game is chock-full of strategy as well. Passing the ball gives your shots a much higher chance of going in, Megastrikes give you the chance to score multiple goals at once, and power-ups create a tense risk-reward scenario in every possession.
A fresh coat of paint is really all this game needs. The underpowered Wii wasn't able to render the game's character models in as much detail as they deserve, and a Switch remaster would make this an instant competitive classic.
SSX Collection (Tricky, SSX 3, On Tour)
What Tony Hawk: Pro Skater was for skateboarding, the SSX series was for snowboarding.
Following the first game in the series, a relatively laced-up snowboard simulator in the style of 1080 Snowboarding, the series made a huge splash with SSX Tricky, an unapologetically over-the-top snowboard game that features impossible tricks and beautiful, flashy courses.
SSX 3 iterates on that formula by adding more characters and more tricks. It also happens to take place on a single mountain that players can traverse from top-to-bottom. It is, pretty much, an open-world snowboard game.
SSX On Tour wasn't received quite as warmly as the previous two games, but its addition of skis is welcome, and its Napoleon Dynamite-esque visual style holds up even today.
Though the series did get a reboot back in 2012, that title failed to recapture the magic of the games before it, eschewing over-the-top aesthetics for more brutal realism and adventuring. The time is right to revive the silliness.
Wave Race: Blue Storm
In many ways, Wave Race: Blue Storm operated as a tech demo for the Nintendo GameCube's launch. What better way to show off your fancy new console than to release a game that is reliant on water physics?
Sure, the graphics look dated now, but you know what's not dated? The gameplay. Jetskis bounce realistically and unpredictably, and catching an eddy at just the right spot to get a speed boost is still incredibly satisfying.
With updated graphics and a fine-tuned physics engine, a remake of Wave Race: Blue Storm (or, indeed, another game in the series) would be a smash hit.
NBA Street Vol. 1-3
The NBA Street series is better than the NBA Jam series, and I will be hearing no argument to the contrary. All of EA's Street sports games are quality arcade sports titles, but the NBA Street series eclipses each.
The games are much more daring and innovative than more straight-laced, iterative sports titles, with sequels adding innovations like the ability to create custom crossover combos and dunks, and each of the games features a story mode that still stands up today when compared with story modes in modern sports games.
It might be a bit of a misnomer to call games in this series "extreme sports" titles, but NBA Street's reliance on stunts and over-the-top action qualifies it for the category in our minds. After all, the games were published by EA Big, the publisher's extreme sports division.
Snowboard Kids 1+2
The Snowboard Kids games are arcade kart games in extreme sports clothing, and they remain two of the most unique games ever created because of that.
Both games in the series task players with performing stunts to earn money, with which they can buy Mario Kart-style powerups that derail opponents as they traverse wildly unique courses.
Tracks are varied, and range from haunted houses to underwater oases to a course where you get Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-ed and board through a house while mini-sized.
Both games in the series are perfect competitive couch titles, and we'd love to see them re-introduced with a higher polygon count.
Skate 2
To be completely honest, we'd take any game in the Skate series, but for us, Skate 2 is where the series peaked, which makes it especially galling that Skate 2 is the only game in the series not included in the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility program.
Anyway...
The Skate series is the answer to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater school of extreme sports, pushing against over-the-top tricks and aesthetics for a more down-to-earth approach inspired by actual skating culture. And it really, really works.
Judging by the folks who tweet "SKATE 4 WHEN???!?" during every EA press conference, a remake or remaster would be openly embraced, to say the least.
Cool Boarders 2
The Cool Boarders games weren't the first snowboard games ever made, but they are unquestionably responsible for inspiring the genre as we know it today, paving the way for games like 1080 Snowboarding and SSX.
Sure, the games haven't aged particularly well in terms of visuals, but there is a lot to love about the series, especially Cool Boarders 2. Its half-pipe mode, in particular, is a highlight, and a visual upgrade would get rid of most of the problems it has.
Jet Set Radio + Jet Set Radio Future
Do we really need to say any more? These games are the two most stylish pieces of video game media ever made, with two of the best soundtracks in video gaming history. The combination of graffiti, rollerblading, racing, stunts, and platforming is perfect.
The only thing that could make the games better would be upgraded graphics, and a camera that doesn't have a frustrating tendency to get stuck in walls. Now, more than ever before, we need these games.
Jet Moto 1 + 2
The Jet Moto games don't get as much love as, say, the WipeOut series, or the F-Zero franchise, but its brand of futuristic hover jet-ski racing is incredibly engaging.
The game's track and character design is stunning, and the Nightmare track still gives us vertigo. It'd be great to see the game get another day in the sun, in all its Mountain Dew-branded glory.
Tony Hawk's Underground
We'll finish with the best game in the Tony Hawk series. Not only does Tony Hawk's Underground feature rock-solid globe-trotting gameplay, but it also features the series' best story mode, with one of the greatest villains in video game history: Eric Sparrow.
It's hard to understand now, but at the time, structuring an extreme sports game like a role-playing game was a huge risk.
This isn't a game designed for quick, course-based play. Instead, this is a gigantic game complete with character development, trick customization, and a surprisingly deep story. We'd love to experience it again.
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Be sure to snag your copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 ahead of the collection's September 4 release date. Head over to our preorder guide to see what's in each edition!
Published: May 14, 2020 04:24 pm