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The satisfying crunch of wheels over pavement, the sound of the board slapping down after an ollie, the feeling of weightlessness as the skater catches some air before coming back down to earth--skateboarding is a captivating sport for many reasons. Near the top of that list is speed.
Many gamers have fond memories of the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and its sequel, so when a remaster of the first two games in the franchise was announced, there was a lot to celebrate. While the remaster of the first two games has been widely praised, some players have struggled with gaining and maintaining speed in the game. Here's everything the player needs to know about going faster.
Moving Faster With Stat Points
Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to build up speed, making combos and challenges much easier to complete. Every character has Stat Points that can be applied to things like Air, Hangtime, Flip Speed, Rail Balance, and Speed.Stat Points are rated from 1 to 10, and there is a massive difference between a character with 1 Speed versus a character with 10 Speed.
Every skater has their own preset Speed rating, so one's choice of skater makes a big difference in this department. That said, the player can always put more points into the Speed of a skater they find to be too slow. Points can be redistributed freely, so if there's no harm in cranking Speed all the way up, then deciding that actually Rail Balance or Hangtime could use the help more. This flexible system reason Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is ranked amongst the best skateboarding games.
It's important to note that Stat Points are unlocked on a per-character basis, meaning that just because one character is improved doesn't mean they all will be. It's best to stick with one character, at least at first, because switching to a brand new character means the player will have to re-earn Stat Points specifically for them by returning to maps and finding the hidden points all over again, regardless of how the player feels about that.
Momentum
Though it may seem incredibly obvious, momentum is also a key factor in gathering and maintaining speed. The character will always speed up when going downhill and slow down when going uphill. This "hill" can be any incline, so ducking onto a half-pipe or ramp for a moment in order to get a brief burst of speed before going into a rail section is common practice. Pros understand the importance of finding the flow.
Particularly when it comes to challenges that often have very specific requirements, the player should always be surveying their surroundings and factoring in incline-based changes of speed when plotting their course. Not doing so is a common mistake. Challenges that seem impossible may suddenly become doable when the player takes the time to build up the proper amount of speed before attempting a trick or jump. Aggressive turning (especially back and forth) will also decrease the player's speed, so a straight shot is always preferable to maintain speed once the player is going as fast as they want.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 is available for PC, PS4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.