Tony Hawk is back, and the hype is real. Especially since a demo has been released for the upcoming Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. The interesting thing about this pseudo-remake, developed by Vicarious Visions, is how much of a melting pot it is. This isn’t just a combination of the first two Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games, it’s more like a tribute to those titles, but with much of the series’ improvements and evolutionary developments since then retrofitted into the bone structure. That includes the different kinds of tricks available to players, which have changed drastically over the years.
What Tricks are in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2?
A recent PlayStation Blog post was kind enough to outline many of the major trick categories in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. Some of them are basics present from day one, such as the all too crucial Manual. But in addition to the Manual, trick options from Tony Hawk’s pro Skater 3 and beyond are also part of the mix, cementing a score ceiling far, far higher than the first two games made possible. Here are some of those tricks, which are the spinal structure of the more fin flippy and grabby stuff.
Related: Full Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Soundtrack Track List
- Revert – The Revert is one of the most important additions to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater system and it’s great to see it included here. This move, which you activate by hitting the stance button as you land from a vertical surface, gives you an opportunity to extend your combo after landing. Normally it’s over once you land, but with the Revert you can transition into a Manual, which can lead to way more stuff depending on your momentum.
- Spine Transfer – This one is more situational, but does have some out of the box potential for combos. If you’re going up a ramp that has another ramp on the other side, you can use the stance button to make your skater move from one side to the other for combo extension. You can use this to get around and find secrets, as well as find ways to incorporate gaps into your combo.
- Acid Drop – We mentioned momentum earlier when talking about the Revert trick. Sometimes you aren’t going to come out of a Revert with enough momentum to do more than a standing manual. But if you use Acid Drop, you’ll get a momentum boost if you do it right.
- Wall Ride/Wall Plant – Much like your favorite AAA action-adventure game, you can slide along or bounce off of walls in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. These are less complicated additions, simply giving you more options to try different tricks or possibly access different terrain.
- Trick Transitions – This is another feature that, like the Revert, blew the lid off of what was possible in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. When you’re doing something like a Manual or a Grind, you can double-tap a face button to switch to a different stance, which counts as doing a new trick. This is what you want to master if you really want to cheese out the score system, and it’s a blast to do.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has changed a lot over the years, for better or worse. But when the series was at the top of its game, the developers only added new features that expanded and improved what the virtual skaters were capable of. With this list confirming so many great mechanical improvements for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, that tells us we’ll be able to revisit those classic stages in totally new ways.
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Are you excited about all the trick options that will be available in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2? Or are you a purist who will be turning off all the extras not present in the original games? Let us know how you feel over on the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter channels!
