What is the best Tony Hawk’s? See rankings of games from worst to best

It’s no secret to anyone: when it comes to sports games, Tony Hawk’s is one of the most acclaimed franchises of all time. The skateboarding game, named after one of the greatest athletes in the category, is considered by many to be the most fun sports game of all time.

Due to its popularity, the series has received dozens of titles over the years. Some were quite disappointing, but most have made it onto many players’ lists of best games.

Getting into the mood for the Paris Olympics, how about remembering the highs and lows of this iconic franchise? HToday Voxel brings you the best games in the Tony Hawk’s franchise according to Metacritic, from worst to best. Check it out!

13. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 (Nota do Metacritic: 39)

The fifth numbered game in the franchise arrived on the PS3 and Xbox 360 with high expectations. The reason for this was an extensive marketing campaign that, among other promises, was to be a game that was faithful to the first titles, released in the 32-bit era. This is because the previous games, which are also on this list, brought down the popularity of the game, which at that time was already not seen in a good light.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 is considered the worst game in the franchiseFonte:  Bleacher Report

The result was a game so bad that it is by far the worst in the franchise, to the point of having a score of 39 on the Metracritic website. There are many reasons for this, from completely incoherent physics to “innovative” elements that were not well received, such as the movement to accelerate the skateboard’s descent to the ground, which makes no sense at all.

12. Tony Hawk: Shred (Nota do Metacritic: 56)

Launched in an era where companies were racing to ride the wave of motion sensors, Tony Hawk: Shred was a bet by Activision to enter this market. The idea was to launch a game where you had to use a replica of a real skateboard to perform the game’s moves.

If in theory it sounded innovative and radical, in practice it was a complete mess. Starting with the price, which was equivalent to the price of the console it was released for. But the biggest tragedy was the lack of precision and the huge delay in performing the maneuvers. Because of this, it was a sales failure, and today it is an item that even game collectors are not so keen on having.

11. Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam (Nota do Metacritic: 69)

Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam was one of the experiments to try to revive the franchise’s popularity. Its developers thought it would be an excellent idea to take the focus away from the stunt competition and put players in races, where the winner is the first one to finish first.

Tony Hawk’s Downhill JamSource: YouTube

The game had everything going for it to go wrong, and it did. Starting with the idea of ​​becoming a racing game, where the maneuvers that made the franchise popular now served only to fill a kind of “special bar”, and thus give the skater extra speed. As if that weren’t enough, its gameplay was imprecise, and made the characters run around crashing and bumping into everything and everyone in front of them.

10. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (Nota do Metacritic: 73)

Released in 2007, still in the transition era between the 128-bit generation and the next, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground It promised to be innovative in a series of elements, mainly a Story Mode, where it was possible to create your trajectory from the first competitions, until becoming one of the greatest skaters in the world.

Tony Hawk’s Proving GroundFonte:  Red Bull

However, the game failed in several aspects, and the main one was precisely the Story Mode, which, for many, added nothing and made it difficult to progress and acquire new customization items. In addition, in order to be a game compatible with the current and previous platforms, it ended up failing in the graphics, and brought a very limited gameplay in relation to performance.

9. Tony Hawk’s Project 8 (Nota do Metacritic: 76)

Released to be the first game in the franchise for the new consoles of the time, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Tony Hawk’s Project 8 promised to be innovative. The game featured larger, more challenging scenarios, and a slow-motion system to help you perform your maneuvers.

Tony Hawk’s Project 8Fonte:  Gamersyde

However, the game also suffered from the problem of console transition. In other words, in order to be released for two generations at the same time, it had to have limited graphics, which ultimately resulted in a very disappointing visual aspect. Furthermore, even with new features, its gameplay was considered very outdated.

8. Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (Nota do Metacritic: 77)

Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland is considered by many to be the most innovative game in the franchise. The reason for this is the game’s new features, which included an open map with a sort of neighborhood where you could perform tricks everywhere. The cherry on the cake was its track creation system, where you could position obstacles and play your creations with your friends.

Tony Hawk’s American WastelandFonte:  Tony Hawk Games Fandom

Interestingly, its rating ended up being lower than that of other titles in the series. The reason is that many players found the game too easy when compared to its predecessors. The open world was also the target of criticism, as, for these same players, it makes combos more difficult to perform due to the distance between the ramps and obstacles.

7. Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 (Nota do Metacritic: 83)

After the success of the first Undergroundthe series Tony Hawk’s seemed to find a new direction. Underground 2 was proof of this, as the game did not have a bad reception and, for some, is even considered better than its predecessor. But the truth is that it was the first title in a steep decline for the franchise.

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2Source: CD Romance

This does not mean that Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 was bad. However, the main criticisms were due to the gameplay of the franchise, which was already repetitive and without innovations, which only became even clearer in the titles released later.

6.Tony Hawk’s Underground (Nota do Metacritic: 90)

Considered by many to be the most innovative title in the series, Tony Hawk’s Underground in fact brought a series of new features to the franchise. The main one was the exploration of the scenarios on foot, giving an air of more reality to the game.

Tony Hawk’s UndergroundFonte:  IMDB

Furthermore, for its time, the game had cutting-edge visuals, especially in the characterization of the characters and the detailing of the scenery. Interestingly, after it was released, the following titles ended up being the target of criticism. Because of this, many consider this to be the last great game in the franchise.

5.Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (Nota do Metacritic: 90)

The remastered version of the first games in the franchise was a gift to fans. For the first time, it was possible to play the classic games with modern graphics, and gameplay that brought much better performance, running at 60 fps without any problems.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2Source: Steam

Because of this, the game was considered one of the best sports titles of 2020, even though it was a remaster. In addition, it lit a flame of hope for a completely new game in the franchise coming to the current generation of consoles.

4. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Nota do Metacritic: 92)

The first game in the franchise arrived in the 32-bit era and revolutionized the genre. It’s hard to single out the game’s main positive points, which bordered on perfection. It drew attention from its soundtrack, which featured top bands and artists, to the presence of big names in sports, including Brazilian Bob Burnquist.

Tony Hawk’s Pro SkaterSource: YouTube

As for the technical side of the game, it was hard not to get hooked on the gameplay. Performing the maneuvers, combined with incredible performance for the time, made players spend hours and hours trying to get the highest score possible. Not to mention the confrontations against other players on the same console.

3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (Nota do Metacritic: 92)

The fourth game in the franchise had a greater appeal to the 128-bit generation, although it was also released for 32-bit consoles. It featured cutting-edge graphics and scenarios that were considered highly challenging.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4Fonte:  My Abandone Ware

This made it one of the most acclaimed titles on the PlayStation 2, which at that time was already the best-selling and most popular console of the 128-bit generation. It’s a shame that most of the following games in the franchise were not half as successful.

2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (Nota do Metacritic: 97)

There is an eternal “fight” among fans of the franchise regarding which is the best game in the franchise. Many consider it the third title in the saga, as it was responsible for bringing more iconic scenarios, and a more balanced scoring system.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3Fonte:  Eurogamer

The graphics, even with a version for the 128-bit generation, were quite pleasing on the PlayStation One and Nintendo 64. It was even considered in a remastered collection along with the fourth title, but to the sadness of its fans, Activision chose to leave it aside to focus on the production of new titles in the franchise. Call of Duty.

1. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (Nota do Metacritic: 98)

As previously mentioned, there is a huge “fight” when it comes to choosing the best title in the franchise. And while for some the third game was the highlight, for others the second was responsible for it. Much of this is due to the hype that the first game created, causing its sequel to appear on the list of most anticipated games of the time.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2Fonte:  Rock Paper Shotgun

And after it was released, the hype was justified, as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 brings the best tracks for performing maneuver combos, in addition to specific changes in gameplay that make it even more precise and fun.

And in your opinion, what was the best game in the Tony Hawk’s franchise? Tell us on Voxel’s social media!