Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is still an arcade skate peak. Revert tricks, punchy career and unforgettable soundtrack. For many fans, the benchmark to this day.
Your verdict
Category
Sports2 players12+
Split screen
Description
A Neversoft and Activision sports game released in 2001, the third Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise entry. The player skates through nine varied stages (Foundry, Canada, Rio, Suburbia, Airport) with trick and combo objectives. Roster of 13 real skaters (Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Bam Margera). Revert system that revolutionizes signature combos, local and online multiplayer mode. First Tony Hawk's online. Major franchise peak.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Hard to match such a selection: from Motörhead's "Ace of Spades" to hip-hop and ska, every track cracks at full power. The music sticks to the rhythm of the combos, turning the slightest session into a jubilant outlet. This cult assortment left its mark on a whole generation of virtual skaters.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
The arrival of the revert connects ramps to manuals and throws open the door to near-infinite combos that multiply the joy of arcade skating. The compact, frenetic levels invite you to trace ever wilder lines. The controls respond on a dime, and this quest for the perfect combo, immediate and addictive, holds an effectiveness that time has not dulled.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The revert opens up infinite links and turns every session into a quest for the perfect score: that's the genius of the series, here at its peak. Pinpoint handling, levels built for virtuosity and a cult soundtrack combine beautifully. Chaining an endless combo delivers an instant thrill. Immediate and inexhaustible, a peak of arcade skating.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Linking grind, flip and manual without touching the ground to swell an endless combo sets up a quest for score that pushes you to restart the level "just one more time." Short objectives and secrets keep reviving the urge. The content stays tight, but this fluidity of the combo, this flow and this soundtrack keep an immediate pull that never falters.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Chaining tricks and combos in open levels packed with objectives unfolds a skating game of fearsome replay value. Aiming for the high score, hunting the hidden challenges and customising your skater restarts every session. That quest for the perfect run, the heart of the series, earns the title a stubborn reputation as a cult skating game.
The Japanese version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, the local pressing of a skate-game peak in a market little attached to the sport, a little less widespread than the Western editions. This native edition appeals to those collecting the franchise in its Japanese guise, in its local packaging. Its interest lies in this thinner regional distribution rather than marked scarcity, in a niche of series fans.
Better with friends
A peak of arcade skateboarding, of perfect fluidity, where the manual links combos into endless chains for stratospheric scores. The multiplayer competition becomes a duel of virtuosos: who'll hold the wildest line without setting a foot down? Accessible yet heady in depth, it chains one-upmanship sessions where every nailed combo draws cheers and every fall, shared laughter.
Is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2001 on PS2, Neversoft's project stands as one of the absolute peaks of the skateboarding game, celebrated for the perfection of its pacing and the introduction of the revert, which lets you chain combos endlessly between ramps. The feel of the glide, the open level design and the generosity of the objectives create a gameplay loop of rare addictiveness. The punk and hip hop soundtrack and the arcade spirit have aged magnificently. The lack of narrative depth is moot here, so much does the pure mechanical pleasure dominate. A timeless benchmark of the genre, recommended for any fan of scoring and of chiselled gameplay.
