Maximo: Ghosts to Glory (PS2) Retro Review

Ghosts! Goblins! And... Glory?! Maybe, maybe not, as our first game to review for October is that of the retro variety with Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, a 3D revival of Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins series. Does Maximo earn glory through its arrival in 3D, or does it not stand a ghost of a chance? Let's discover that answer together, braving the realms of the undead in the process, with this SPC retro review.

Maximo Challenge, Maximo Fun?

Nowadays, we've been given an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Souls-like games--those type of titles that are deemed difficult, fun, and ultimately rewarding for overcoming them. Before there was Dark Souls and such, there was Ghosts 'n Goblins, one of the originators of challenging gameplay within a macabre world. 

Following the PlayStation 2's 2000 launch, in 2002, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory from Capcom Digital Studios boldly took the Ghosts 'n Goblins series and attempted to successfully do what many franchises before it had failed to do: properly make the leap into 3D. For every Mario and Zelda that stuck the landing, there's a Sonic the Hedgehog and Castlevania that stumbled. Did Capcom Digital Studios manage to make Ghosts 'n Goblins work in 3D while retaining its old-school sensibilities for franchise fans in the process?

An old-school style game gets an old-school style story, one that is simple and to the point with some "modern for the time" twists in the form of well done voice acting and intermittently sprinkled cutscenes. When King Maximo returns to his kingdom from a crusade, he finds himself usurped by his once-trusted advisor, Achilles. Left to dead to rights, the Grim Reaper arrives and agrees to assist Maximo in reclaiming his kingdom, rescuing his abducted queen, and getting revenge of Achilles, who has summoned the dead to terrorize the land in his thirst for power. Thus, starting off in the Boneyard, a living dead-infested graveyard, players take control of Maximo as he marches, slashes, slices, and otherwise moves through levels to reach his old castle, now taken over by a new host.

Right away, I found my immersed in the world of Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. It's a lovely combo of deformed characters and enemies and foreboding and frightful environments. From the first level, Grave Danger, I immediately appreciated the feint flashes of lightning, the slightly slanted behind-the-back camera, as it followed Maximo's every step, and the appropriate and spectacularly spooky graveyard atmosphere. While some later areas of the game proved to be a bit too dark to my liking, requiring me to turn up my brightness, all in all, Maximo nails taking the 2D styling of Ghosts 'n Goblins and transitioning it into full 3D. The music, too, brings with it plenty of catchy tracks, though all of the memorable music within the game are just riffs off of the GnG main theme. 

No gate will stop Maximo from on his quest to rescue his queen or kingdom!
...Unless, of course, he lacks the proper key.

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory takes place in five realms: the already accounted for Boneyard, the muddy and murky swamps of the Great Dank, the undead pirates and plunderers featured within the frozen waters of the Graveyard of Ships, the underworld-inspired Realm of Spirit, and finally to the steps and innards of Castle Maximo itself. 

Each realm begins Maximo in an introductory level, essentially having players take the path towards the main hub of each given realm. Upon clearing this introductory stage, the hub is open to explore. This connects the other levels, as well as serves as a place to save your game. More on that latter aspect in a little bit. Once all of the levels in a given hub have been beaten, the path to the boss presents itself. Of course, as levels are completed, the hub becomes more and more dangerous, bringing Maximo (and players) more enemies to contend with. 

Maximo, like Ghosts 'n Goblins before it is true to its predecessor's level of challenge. This is a darn difficult game, where wildly waving around your sword in hopes of defeating enemies easily is essentially a lost cause and will get you nowhere fast in later levels. Maximo is all about placing yourself in an opportune spot to take on foes. Sure, not getting surrounded and flogged to death is important to keep in mind, but that's only part of the equation here. 

While foolishly charging at Maximo, it looks like this skeleton just got a-head of itself.

Yes, where Maximo is situated in combat matters immensely, as he can end up striking walls or funnily enough (though maybe not in the heat of battle) find himself swinging his sword into a wooden door or wall, prompting him to have to use his strength to pull the blade out, all the while being left defenseless in the process. This is where attacking with vertical slashes comes in handy, especially in tight corridors or when surrounded by objects which Maximo's blade won't take too much of a liking to hitting.

To expand on this, some enemies will basically laugh off simple swings from Maximo's sword, as many possess shields where his blade will bounce off, allowing the enemy to attack while Maximo recoils back. Fortunately, there are numerous types of offense to employ with Maximo's blade--whether that be normal swings, crouched swipes, overhead strikes from above, downward stabs, 360 degree spins, and so forth. Essentially, it's up to player to quickly analyze the situation in battle, use the correct type or types of swings for the right combat context, and make sure he doesn't wind up in his boxers or worse, meet his untimely end. 

The Great Dank is home to swamp that our hero must trudge through--
all the while avoiding chomping alligators lurking within!

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory uses a health system similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins. The latter had it where every time hero Arthur took damage, he'd lose his armor and wind up in his skivvies. If he took damage again in his bare essentials, he'd perish and the player would lose a life. Fortunately, there's some added wiggle room for Maximo in Ghosts to Glory, offering different health bars for each form that our hero takes. 

At the very beginning of the game, Maximo has basic armor equipped, giving him two health bars. If he stumbles upon another armor power-up, not only will he gain an additional health bar but also find himself wearing more protection in the form of a helmet. The armor upgrades cap out at three, and each time Maximo grabs more armor than he can muster, he can temporarily turn invincible, annihilating enemies with ease. Of course, losing a health bar means losing armor and Maximo's maximum amount of health available. He, too, can find himself stuck in his skivvies, dead within one more hit.

You've heard of dreams where you're caught at school in just your underwear,
but for Maximo it's during an even less opportune time!

Maximo is a very unforgiving game, compared to a lot of its contemporaries at the time. Dying in the game obviously means a lost life from his cache of stocked lives, but players also suffer the burn of losing a number of abilities and power-ups upon death that were collected. These include abilities like Maximo powering his sword with flames or ice, equipping a shield, being able to toss that shield at faraway foes like an undead-fighting Captain America, among other helpful goodies that are gone when you die even once. Therefore, you must hope to stumble upon these power-ups again.

Further, if Maximo runs out of all of his lives, he must make a deal with the Grim Reaper, paying the ghastly figure a special collectible known as a Death Coin to continue. Each time Maximo's stock of lives is depleted, the Death Coin cost goes up. Run out of these magical, live-saving coins, and it's game over for good. I unfortunately found this out the hard way pretty late into the game. Oof. Also, writer's note here: "Oof" was admittedly not necessarily the word I used when that happened, but for professionalism and family friendliness' sake, we'll pretend it was!

I mentioned a bit earlier about the save system, but only in passing and not in any detail. Well, the unforgiving nature of Maximo: Ghosts to Glory persists within saving. Around each of the game's five hubs are fountains where regular gold coins, the currency collected throughout the game, are used to do everything from traveling between completed realms to saving your game. 

It costs a whopping 100 coins to save, and coins in general have other uses too: whether that be buying armor, potions, keys, or extra lives from specific pedestals in the levels themselves. Thus, you can find yourself penny pinching--or rather, coin-pinching (?) to save up enough coins to simply, well, save! Now, you do get the option to save for free after beating bosses, as a gift bestowed upon Maximo from that realm's rescued princess. Still, it seems akin to giving a player dying of thirst in the desert a drop of water rather than a full glass. Better than nothing, but I'd rather not be charged for a full glass if I'm practically begging for it--or in this case, the ability to save when I'd like.

Needless to say, this particular aspect of Ghosts to Glory might be a sticking point for many players, especially since nowadays we're so accustomed to auto-saving, options to save after every level, and just convenience in general. However, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory certainly makes no effort to shred its calls back to an older-school age of gaming, which I'm certain there are plenty of other players who will enjoy. Everyone else might be find it too brutal of a save system, especially having to repeat progress from lost lives and potential game overs when you can't cough off enough Death Coins to satisfy the Grim Reaper.

There are approximately 30 levels within Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, though the game counts the five hubs and multiple bosses as separately levels, so it's not as daunting of a game as it might seem from the total alone. Rest assured, the game's difficulty makes it daunting enough as a game. Either way, levels are generally linear affairs, complete with occasionally sections and areas to go off the beaten path. Really, I found it usually a bad thing to do this, as that meant I'd encounter more enemies or traps to contend with. If poor Maximo loses half his health just to go through a path leading to a health-restoring potion, it's pretty much a bust of a detour! 

Maximo brings the heat to these boneheads, courtesy of his blazing blade!

That said, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory does accumulate a percentage for each level and on top of the game itself with two stats called Level Mastery and Game Mastery. Level Mastery factors in defeated foes, collected treasure, and discovered secrets. Unfortunately, if Maximo happens to defeat a foe by it falling off the level, say, into a pit, that does not count towards the percentage. Thus, I can imagine the super patient perfectionists who might want to master each level and the game itself to 100% will find themselves frustrated a good deal in trying to do so. This was something I did not have the desire not the patience to achieve, much less even bother to attempt--for understandable reasons!

Really, simply reaching the end of Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is a level of mastery all to itself. Between the arduous battles with enemies that can overwhelm at times with ease and the platforming that offers a higher degree of difficulty as well, the game is no cakewalk. In fact, it's actively hindered by an aspect of the game that I've yet to touch on, and goodness, is it a doozy. I'm referring to the camera.

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory does not use the DualShock controller's right analog stick for camera movement. Instead, camera control is limited to a press of the front shoulder button, and even then, the camera is slow to rotate around to where Maximo is facing. When you're overwhelmed by enemies in combat or attempting to gauge a jump to a platform over a bottomless pit, a gnarly camera makes a nasty game challenge-wise, all the nastier! Sometimes deaths just aren't fair in Maximo, and it's generally because the camera just does not cooperate. In this aspect, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is old-school in a negative way that brings about difficulty in a form that is just un-fun at times.

This pirate ship spins along this whirlpool, requiring Maximo to properly time leaping on to it.

Fortunately, those un-fun times are practically few and far in-between the moments where the challenge is what I perceived as fair. If I swung Maximo's sword into a chunk of wood because I was too impatient, sure, I'd be annoyed at the time it takes for him to yank out his sword as he gets battered by baddies, but I'd know it'd be my fault in the end. A lot of the time, deaths were indeed my own doing, from poor playing, dumb risks, or other foul-ups. But when Maximo's camera does cost a life, and when the penalty for death is so punishing, the frustration factor can be heightened severely. Thus, while Maximo: Ghosts to Glory offers old-school charm, challenge, and fun, it can also offer old-school aggravation as well.

While some gaming franchises absolutely stuck the landing into moving from 2D to 3D (Mario, Zelda, and heck, let's say Ninja Gaiden for a closer point of comparison), Maximo: Ghosts to Glory doesn't quite do that with the Ghosts 'n Goblins series. Don't misinterpret me: it's still a success, transitioning its tone, gameplay, presentation, and old-school difficulty to 3D to great effect, but the disappointing camera makes the level of challenge not always an enjoyable one. The save system is less a point of contention, but its execution will still understandably put off a significant portion of potential players. It's not a masterful jump from 2D to 3D, but Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is a conversion that was worth waking up the dead for.

[SPC Says: B-] 

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort (NS2) Overview Trailer

Ahead of its release in a couple of weeks, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort sees an overview trailer, detailing the 12 playable sports within the game, the free-roam options to jet around Wuhu Island in style, and various online and offline options, as well. Play as either your Mii or a Sportsmate and collect a multitude of unique outfits, gear, and more as you compete against friends, family, and total strangers as well. Take a return trip to Wuhu Island for some serious sport-age when Nintendo Switch Sports Resort launches exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 on October 22nd.

[VIDEO] Top Five Overlooked Mega Man Games

Greetings, and a happy middle of the week to you all! Like a lot of fans of Capcom's Blue Bomber, I'm super hyped for Mega Man: Dual Override. Thus, in my hype, I decided to make a new video. Rather than talk about my favorite games in the franchise in general (a rather cliche subject), I wanted to highlight five entries that I feel are overlooked for various reasons--whether they haven't had modern releases or just aren't mentioned enough.

I had a lot of fun making it, and it was quite a journey to do so, between recording gameplay footage, writing and narrating the script, editing everything together, etc. There are of course myriad Mega Man games out there, so it was challenging to fit just five in a list. All the same, I hope you'll enjoy this latest in the SuperPhillip Plays line of videos! 

Review Round-Up - September 2026

Sports both extreme and decidedly NOT too extreme with some skateboarding and golf 
topped the review highlights for the month of September.

September is over, and that, of course, makes way for spooky season with October. Before we bid adieu to September completely, let's take our routine, traditional look at the reviews that were for the month with none other than the Review Round-Up.

We started with a trio of titles of varying genres, bringing the variety immediately to SPC. We flew to the skies above, as well as the world of light and dark, too, with the Metroidvania Aggelos 2, soaring to a B- grade. From there, we took a flight and trip to Lou's Lagoon for some action, exploration, and crafting fun, but not without a lack of polish, which gave this game a C. The final of our first set of games, Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia, ran, jumped, and climbed its way to a B+ with a superb Donkey Kong Country-like adventure.

Moving on, one of our two top graded games of September took the tee with Mario Golf: Advance Tour, a retro review on the links, as it were. This game scored an A- for an impressive RPG and golf game outing featuring Mario and a decidedly small cast of the Mushroom Kingdom crew. 

Two more indies marched into the lineup of September reviews: a clever Zelda-like called Isle of Reveries (B-) and the Malagasy culture and folklore-rich Kalanoro (C+).

Finally, we stepped on our skateboards and ollie'd with the pros in the super well done Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, which nailed most of its tricks, earning an A- for its extreeeeeme performance. 

As stated, October is spooky season, so my hope is to have some reviews of both the modern and retro variety to fit into that theme! Until then, check out some snippets from September's reviews (complete with links to said reviews) as well as the SPC Review Archive for all 1,100+ reviews ever published in SPC's 18+ year life.  

Aggelos 2 (Multi) - B-

Aggelos 2 is all-in-all a solid Metroidvania that delivers lots of sweaty palm-inducing action, especially with its level of challenge and difficulty when it concerns its boss battles. Perhaps the greatest challenge, however, comes in a less than stellar way, with its confusing navigation due to a lackluster map system and quality of life features that are entirely absent. Aggelos 2 doesn't necessarily rise up to Heaven, but it also doesn't plummet into the depths of Hell, either.

Lou's Lagoon (NS2, PS5, XBS, PC) - C

...its inventory and crafting systems should be updated if even a little bit to help with the grind, and polishing and debugging for the presentation and multiple technical issues are required for certain. Even with all of my gripes with the game, I deeply enjoyed the adventuring aspects, the platforming, the exploration, the massive amounts of customization, and much of the colorful cast of quirky characters. As it is now, Lou's Lagoon is a tough game to wholeheartedly recommend in its current shape when half of the experience is mired and betrayed by its design.

Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia (PS5, NSW, XBS, PC) - B+

Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia is every thing a sequel should be: It improves upon pretty much all aspects of the original--gameplay, level design, and presentation--adds more features and content, and is just an overall greater adventure. The three protagonists play uniquely to one another, each have their own special uses, short detours and paths through levels they can access, and all I would consider useful to play as. The local co-op could be better, and Salsa Mode especially desperately needs a quick retry option--but otherwise, Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia certainly got me into a very good groove. 

Mario Golf: Advance Tour (GBA) - A-

Mario Golf: Advance Tour is a remarkable adaptation of the franchise in portable, pixelated form. It makes me a bit sad that we haven't seen an RPG mode with this much depth from the series since this installment. 

Isle of Reveries (Multi) - B-

Isle of Reveries offers an overall worthwhile and well designed Zelda-like adventure. The game's starring duplication mechanic is a massive boon to making for some seriously challenging and engaging puzzles, as does the roster of wonderful tools and items. Although aspects like the quickly depleting energy gauge, lack of logical flow in otherwise cleverly designed dungeons, and some major clutter in the visuals do detract from the experience, all in all, Isle of Reveries is yet another Zelda-inspired indie game this year that "owl" probably return to in the future. It's one I also think you should give a "hoot" about, too.

Kalanoro (Multi) - C+

Glitches, poor combat, and some unfortunate, disappointing design decisions aside, Kalanoro is an above average platformer that I'm glad I was able to play. My introduction to Malagasy culture and folklore was a massive bonus as well in playing this game. With a ton of lovely charm, good vibes, and some decent, but not great level design, Kalanoro might not necessarily be a must-play for platforming fans, but it certainly made this reviewer pleased to play it.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 (Multi) - A-

While the way THPS 4's levels and goals were incorporated into this package might feel like Iron Galaxy jammed a square shape through a circle hole, it worked for me, overall. I realize that this won't necessarily be the case for true blue fans of the original THPS 4, though. That said, with a lovely suite of multiplayer modes, accessibility options, and the enhanced Create-a-Park included with the well-designed levels and great feel of the controls, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, like the Birdman infamously with a 900, successfully sticks the landing for one stellar skating experience.

Also during the month of September, we took some virtual trips around the world 
in the form of plays and reviews of both Marsupilami 2 - Salsa Palombia and Kalanoro. 

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 (Multi) Review

It's not every day I'm late to the party on a game, but recently it's becoming more common! Still, it was a pleasure to finally hop on my board and shred with the best of them in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. This game released last summer, and I'm only now getting to it with a review. Better late than never? Your mileage may vary on that, but here's a review nevertheless!

Nothing too gnarly about this skateboarding package

In 2020 and after a bit of a hiatus, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise ollie'd its way back into the hearts and minds of players with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, a remake of the first two THPS games. All in all, it was a glorious return to the roots of the series and a wonderful homage to the original classics. Last year saw another return, this time Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 were given the remake treatment with, fittingly enough, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4.  

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1, 2, and 3 mesh well together due to their now-standard-and-classic two-minute runs through levels, having players pick their skater and attempt to complete as many goals in each level as possible, all the while performing tricks and ramping up high scores in the process. It's a formula that's tried and true for the Tony Hawk franchise, and there was always that "just one more run" quality to it.

The sparks fly as the Birdman soars through the Foundry level.

Meanwhile, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 introduced a sandbox-style formula to its levels. Instead of having two minutes to tear up the levels, you were tasked with finding the locations of NPCs and completing their various challenges, some timed, some not. With this major change to the franchise's formula, there were questions regarding how the developer of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, Iron Galaxy, would handle this in the remake of THPS 4's levels.

For many, it'll be seen as a downgrade, but THPS 4 in Iron Galaxy's 3+4 remake package utilizes the standard two-minute career mode runs that Pro Skater games beforehand used. Thus, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4's levels have been overhauled to fit the traditional career mode from THPS 1, 2, and 3 into something that would work and mesh well enough. What you end up with in THPS 4's levels are less goals and ones that don't have any kind of context this time around. You'll just be spoiling the frat's fun within the College level just for the heck of it, for example. (Well, that, and they're probably trash people anyway.)

In the College level, I'd say this grind certainly makes the grade.

The Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 campaign isn't just altered in less goals and in its structure either. Some levels, like Carnival and Chicago, have been removed entirely, though thankfully, Iron Galaxy has included three entirely new levels to make up for it: Movie Studio, Waterpark, and Pinball. These wouldn't be confused for skate parks and levels already featured in the franchise to begin with, as they blend in beautifully and have awesome designs. 

Even for THPS 3 purists, there are some noticeable changes to how goals work. In the Career Mode for each skater in the OG THPS 3, things like collectible locations changed depending on which skater's career you engaged with. In THPS 3+4, every location is uniform, no matter what skater you select. In fact, you don't unlock the Solo Tours of each skater until deep into THPS 3+4, long after you've beaten all the goals across both THPS 3 and 4. 

Suburbia remains one of my favorite locales from THPS 3.

Both THPS 3 and 4 combined have 19 levels total across them. Most levels feature a multitude of level goals to try out and take on. These can be as simple as finding and collecting the letters S-K-A-T-E throughout the level, usually in a skate line that leads you from one letter to the next instead of haphazardly or randomly placed throughout a given level. There are high scores, pro scores, and sick scores, where you're tasked with reaching those point thresholds by executing tricks and reaching those totals within the time limit. Sometimes your skater's tasked with performing a specific trick over a certain gap within the level, while others have them needing to nab certain collectibles.

Among the levels are various goodies to be found, such as cold, hard cash and stat points, the latter of which go to increasing the abilities of not only your selected skater but also the 30+ others available to play as in the game. Unlike the original THPS 3, you need not collect stat points for each and every skater's career mode. Instead, one size fits all, in a sense--meaning that stat points earned are available to use on every skater you currently have unlocked. And while favorites from THPS 3 like Wolverine and Darth Maul do not make an appearance in this remake, you do get the chance to trade Wolverine's adamantium claws with Michelangelo's nunchuks, as the member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a playable character here in THPS 3+4.

Nice grind, eh? 

The levels themselves have seen a major upgrade visually within THPS 3+4. I almost could literally feel the heat from the red-hot sparks being emitted in THPS 3's first level, Foundry, and loved the atmospheric fog that coated the nighttime playground that was THPS 4's London. Each level has been meticulously remade and redone in such remarkable ways that the glow-up is major and massive for each.

Even those aforementioned newly included and designed levels: Movie Studio, Waterpark, and Pinball, feel like Iron Galaxy didn't lose any semblance at all of what made the other skate parks and levels within the original games so worthwhile and enjoyable. Movie Studio allows for skaters to grind up boom and camera arms, drop into skate pools surrounded by green screens and large Hollywood-style movie props, while Waterpark is home to an abandoned theme park of old, complete with numerous different slides and rides to skate down. Pinball is the secret level of the THPS 3+4 package, putting your skater in a Night of the Living Dead-style pinball table, while simultaneously having them avoid rebounding and ricocheting  pinballs and skate off all of the moving parts within. This is all the while you can view the Birdman himself, Tony Hawk, controlling the pinball table itself.

Rio is one of several competition-focused levels within the THPS 3+4 package.

Outside of the base game parks, Create-A-Park returns from THPS 1+2, and this time around it's even more in-depth and even viable for more long-term enjoyment. This comes from the addition of being able to add your own custom goals to your parks, so while the original THPS 1+2 saw fans make some truly awesome skate park creations, there really wasn't an onus for the player to stick around and skate in them for too terribly long. With goals, I definitely saw myself taking more time to enjoy and also appreciate what creators put out design-wise, and I must say, it's a fantastic inclusion to the Create-A-Park mode.

Multiplayer is also present in THPS 3+4, and these feature standard modes like Trick Attack--where players try to get the highest score within a time limit--and Graffiti, where players mark their territory by performing skate tricks on specific objects. If another player lands a higher-scoring trick on it, they take over that object. By far, the coolest mode and the one added to THPS 3+4's collection of multiplayer mayhem is that of HAWK. This mode is comprised of two rounds: one where players place four H-A-W-K letters around a level, while the other is where the seekers try to find and collect the hopefully well-hidden letters. Points are awarded for letters found in the case of the seekers, or not found, in the case of the hiders. It's an incredibly clever concept, and more importantly, one that's loads of fun. 

Another fantastic inclusion, though this time accessibility-wise is that of different mods the developers added for THPS 3+4. These make the single-player career modes quite a bit more feasible for players that might not have the best skate skills around, including the ability to never bail, to automatically balance on rails for grinds, for lip tricks, etc. And something I found super useful for myself is the ability to increase the time for runs in career mode. Instead of the base two minutes, you can up the max time to an hour maximum. For me, it didn't make sense to be limited to two minutes to complete goals, so I increased it to 20 minutes, then a half-hour, as I just wanted the freedom to explore as my leisure. 

THPS 3+4 includes a vast amount of challenges to complete. Whether that's finding and landing all gaps within either THPS 3 or 4's levels, finishing speedruns of levels within a set par time (these task you with completing all of a given level's goals within one run as fast as possible), or skater-specific goals, as well. There's a whole host of Expert-related challenges, and unlike the others in THPS 3+4, these do not allow you to use the accessibility mods to complete them. They're meant for the toughest of the tough, the ones that can hang with the Birdman at his career's zenith.

A trick so hardcore, it created aftershocks.

Like THPS 1+2 before it, THPS 3+4's gameplay mechanics and skating feel excellent. You're not limited to the repertoire of moves that were featured in the original games. Basically everything up to Tony Hawk's Underground's ability to get off your board is present here. Though, I won't lie and say that I wouldn't like being able to hop off my skateboard sometimes, especially when trying to reach certain areas. Oftentimes when attempting to turn around, my skater would smack and ricochet between walls and railings as if they were a pinball in that titular secret level. Frustrating, for sure. Still, it's an absolute blast to have the muscle memory to perform tricks, manuals, grinds, reverts, and more as if I never skipped a beat with the same button and analog stick inputs as I pressed back in the day.

I talked about THPS 3+4's visuals some, and they do definitely delight and impress. Perhaps the only less than stellar part of the presentation comes in the form of the insanely limited Create-A-Skater, offering a sparse selection of body types and faces. I'm not asking for sliders for every possible body part and dimension on the human body imaginable, but just something that delivers something to better make my CaS look more like me. Because God knows I'll never be able to tear of the skate park for real, so it'd be nice to have a fantasy skater representation of myself that actually looks somewhat close to myself.

Familiar levels like this one, Tokyo, received a massive glow-up within THPS 3+4.

Sound-wise, THPS 3+4 brings the goods. While not all of the licensed music from the original THPS 3 and THPS 4 could make their way to THPS 3+4, a good number of the top tracks do. For instance, if Motorhead's Ace of Spades wasn't included in the soundtrack of this game, why were we even doing this remake in the first place? I jest, of course, but only slightly.

Even with some different design decisions that might make some of the more diehard fans want to break their 'boards over their knee when they compare them to the originals, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 makes for a great way to skate with an awesome game worthy of the Birdman's name. While the way THPS 4's levels and goals were incorporated into this package might feel like Iron Galaxy jammed a square shape through a circle hole, it worked for me, overall. I realize that this won't necessarily be the case for true blue fans of the original THPS 4, though. That said, with a lovely suite of multiplayer modes, accessibility options, and the enhanced Create-a-Park included with the well-designed levels and great feel of the controls, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, like the Birdman infamously with a 900, successfully sticks the landing for one stellar skating experience.

[SPC Says: A-] 

This game was played via the PlayStation 5 version. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is also available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, Xbox Series consoles, Xbox One, and PC.