Tony Hawk games ranked: The best and worst

At its peak, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise defined a generation. From legendary soundtracks to revolutionary gameplay, Tony Hawk games captured the heart of skateboarding culture and left a lasting mark on late-’90s and early-2000s gaming.

But as time went on, the series lost its footing. Annual releases, lackluster gimmicks, and buggy reboots chipped away at the franchise’s legacy. In this definitive ranking of all Tony Hawk games, we’ll look back on the highs and lows — from the genre-defining masterpieces to the misfires that nearly killed the brand.

Whether you’re here to relive your PlayStation 2 glory days or find out where Pro Skater 1+2 stands among the legends, this is the ultimate list of Tony Hawk games ranked from worst to best.

17. Tony Hawk RIDE

The less said about RIDE, the better. This peripheral-based game buckled under the weight of horribly sloppy, sluggish controls. Irrespective of that, and even if you could look beyond how utterly unplayable it was, it was too easy to finish. Comically, despite brutal reviews and awful sales, Activision released its second peripheral-based Tony Hawk game a year later.

16. Tony Hawk SHRED

RIDE was bad and SHRED was no better. This game basically put the nail in the coffin for the Tony Hawk games brand. It sold an embarrassing 3,000 copies during its launch week in North America, which, for a game with this much star power in its name, is something few franchises could ever recover from.

15. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5

Pro Skater 5 has improved since launch, when it was practically unplayable. It launched on a disc and with a mandatory patch, which was bigger than the game itself, prompting many long-term fans to lash out at publisher Activision. Post-launch patches have made the game playable, and Pro Skater fans might find some enjoyment in it, but it’s hard to really appreciate it outside of the inevitable nostalgic urge.

14. Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam

The DS version of Downhill Jam was undoubtedly the better of the three versions of available, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good game. Downhill Jam was a significant shift away from the series’ traditional gameplay, instead incorporating a downhill racer motive that didn’t sit very well with fans. Unresponsive controls and unbalanced difficulty made it tough to enjoy.

13. Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix

No.13 on this list is actually the beginning of a huge leap in quality for Tony Hawk games. “THUG2 Remix”, as it was called, was streets ahead of Downhill Jam, and while this handheld port lacked the graphical fidelity and tight controls of its console counterparts, actually held firm as one of the PSP’s best titles. A fantastic “on-the-go” type of game…which were far and few between on the handheld.

12. Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland

American Wasteland went back to the series’ Pro Skater roots after a few years experimenting with the anarchic chaos of the Underground series. The outcome was a recognisable if a little tired Tony Hawk game. The large, open world of Los Angeles was sometimes hard to navigate, with long corridors designed to mask the game’s long load times. It never quite reached the heights of its predecessors, but it was solid nonetheless.

11. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground

Proving Ground came out at a bad time. While it stayed true to the series’ gameplay roots, EA’s Skate reinvented the genre with a complex yet highly intuitive control scheme. Like American Wasteland, it never quite reached what its predecessors achieved, but it did what it wanted to do, and it did it well. It was just a shame that we’d already done it ten times before.

10. Tony Hawk’s Project 8

Project 8 did a great job of trying to reinvent the Tony Hawk series, introducing the “Nail The Trick” mode, which was arguably the most innovative and exciting new feature in the series for years. The game’s PS3 version was blasted for its unstable framerate and no online component, but overall it was a solid, brave Tony Hawk entry.

9. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground

The DS version of Proving Ground did what many other handheld Tony Hawk games failed to do: out-perform its console counterparts. Well, at least on the gameplay front. Proving Ground DS wasn’t a pretty game by any means, but its tight controls and gameplay depth led it to being met positively by critics. If you had any Tony Hawk game in 2007, this was it.

8. Tony Hawk’s Underground 2

Underground 2 is a great skateboarding game. There’s no denying that. But in trying to relive the outrageous, slapstick gameplay of its predecessor, it just ended up feeling a little stale and worn out. Thankfully, great level design, amazing controls and a fantastic character roster saved it from mediocrity.

7. Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land

This fast, fun and frantic game came out of nowhere and really proved that the DS could match it with the PSP and even consoles when it came to gameplay and visuals. It didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it nailed that on-the-go philosophy that makes handheld gaming so appealing.

6. Tony Hawk’s Underground, Pro Skater 2-4

They all lacked the soundtrack offerings of their console counterparts, but these four Gameboy Advance versions of four great Tony Hawk games are among the best handheld experiences you’re going to find. Underground is spectacular on GBA in its own right, but the Pro Skater games set too high a standard to ever be knocked off of their perch. No one expected these games to be as good as they were.

5. Tony Hawk’s Underground

Underground was exactly what the doctor ordered for Tony Hawk. After four highly successful Pro Skater entries, the franchise went a different route with crazy story-based missions, but the same classic, loveable gameplay that defined its predecessors.

4. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4

Pro Skater 4 didn’t set the world on fire like those before it did, but it’s still a brilliant game in its own right. If it had one problem it was that it didn’t add anywhere near as many new skills and tricks as the two sequel before it did. However, it felt more “open” and free for players to explore, and for that reason many Pro Skater diehards consider it to be one of if not the best in the series.

3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

Where it all began! Pro Skater burst onto the scene in 2000 and set what at the time seemed like an insurmountable standard for the genre. The soundtrack, graphics, gameplay, accessibility and depth all blew gamers away, and introduced a whole new type of sports game to the gaming masses.

2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

Pro Skater 2 launched only a few months after its predecessor, adding in manuals, which established a gameplay mechanic that would help define the Tony Hawk game series for a decade. For many fans Pro Skater 2 is at the top of the list and rightfully so: it’s a brilliant game.

1. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

Pro Skater 3 felt like the perfect Tony Hawk game. It was as if Pro Skater 1 and Pro Skater 2 were the botched science experiments and third time’s a charm…except the first two weren’t really “botched”…well, you get my point. Where Pro Skater 3 really propels above its predecessors is in adding reverts, which really did seem to perfect the gaming experience. No changes in the series after that were anywhere near as influence, and just like the addition of manuals in Pro Skater 2, established a core mechanic that lasted a decade. If Pro Skater and Pro Skater 2 are the cake and icing, then Pro Skater 3 was the cherry on top!