Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is a skateboarding game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision, widely considered the title that defined the extreme sports genre. Players control one of ten real professional skateboarders including Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, and Elissa Steamer across nine fictional 3D environments such as a warehouse, school, mall, and skate park. Each run lasts two minutes, during which players must complete specific objectives like achieving a high score, collecting the letters S-K-A-T-E, finding hidden videotapes, and grinding designated objects. The game features a deep trick system with flips, grabs, grinds, spins, and special signature moves, all governed by realistic physics and a satisfying combo mechanic. Additional modes include Free Skate and two-player split-screen.

Nintendo 64

Released on March 15, 2000, this version was ported by Edge of Reality. The port preserves all nine levels, ten pro skaters, and objectives from the PlayStation original. To accommodate the cartridge format, Edge of Reality made several compromises: full-motion video cutscenes were removed, the soundtrack was significantly truncated with many songs losing their lyrics, and all voice work was eliminated. The blood effects were also removed, allowing an "E" rating instead of "T". Critics at the time delivered largely positive verdicts, praising that the N64 version played every bit as good as its PlayStation predecessor, with an improved framerate over the original. However, reviews consistently lamented the compromised audio as the port's weakest element. The consensus concluded that while the visual downgrades and missing music lyrics were disappointing, the core gameplay remained intact and addictive, making it an essential purchase for N64 owners.