To clear up some confusion, Skate 4 wasn't mentioned in this video specifically due to a lack of news about it right up until the day this video came out. I thought that it was going to be a Metroid prime 4 situation, announced but would never actually see the light of day. It would appear I was incorrect.
This video essay is the canonical sequel to Dandy J’s seminal FGC TH-cam classic, “i only know how to play fighting games” (2009). This is my truth. I know it deep inside my heart.
Im being 100% honest when i say this, but my god this is one of the CLEANEST scripts I've heard from a TH-cam video. You do a perfect job of allowing your personality to shrine through, while still allowing viewers to get all the information they'd want about the history of these games. The pacing is also fantastic, and honestly the video just completely flew by for me. Absolute gold
As much as I love your videos on fighting games, It's very nice to see you talk about other genres, specific games, and what made them work or... not work. You're a very compelling person to listen to, and I'm eager to see more of your content in the future.
1:24:36 Coney Jumpscare No but seriously this was an incredibly well made video, and while I may hard disagree with your reception to THAW, I think this was a really well made reflection of an era of games long since past. What truly surprises me most is that none of the "rip-offs" were able to stand the same ground as the original. One of my favorite games growing up was Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder and for a game that pretty much entirely follows the wake of the Pro-Skater series, it genuinely still holds up as my favorite game of this era. Although my desire for someone to acknowledge it will have to wait for another day, I feel as though it shows how the formula of skating can be re-contextualized to a gameplay element that's able to stand on its own in spite of cultural relevance and I really hope we get a functional airblade some day.
Allright so at 1:08:30 there's an interlude with the song "theme from harry's game" and the phrase "the turtles hiding in shells" which seems to be the latest installment in a possible cross youtuber ARG mystery thingy. The first installment I can find is from Noodle's Need for speed video at 9:03 with the phrase "i can be anywhere" then FUNKe's Concept album video at 6:04 with "light into water reflections" and Mandalore's Marathon video at 9:27 with "we all have a real first floor" any others I don't know about? anybody know what this is all about? anybody noticing these at all?
Never seen this channel before, but TH-cam's algorithm figured I loved skateboarding games enough to throw a video that's only been uploaded for 9 minutes right at me. I'm glad it did, I'm really enjoying it!
It's weird how much power a video like this has. There's a lot of comments from people who never played a skateboarding game but now care about the genre (me being one of those people) and I think it's really cool to have people teach about why certain games were loved. My parents never bought me a console growing up, so I only know of these games form my friends at school who used to talk about them, but right now I'd love to play Skate, and I'll definitely look into whatever game in the genre comes next.
59:06 i'm not kidding when i say that scene actually made me tear up a little. The music, the setup, and cinematography of it along with the hour long ride to that point. It all got me immersed in this narrative you set up. Great video man, great video
This is like the new age version of watching how its made or any history channel show. But its ACTUALLY interesting and appreciates the time you spend watching it. Even though its over an hour long, there are so many split second gags that I found myself floored. By both how funny the gag was and by how much more effort was put into this one video compared to modern traditional media. Loved this.
I really enjoy seeing you take on all different genres of games and topics as niche as jump arcs to as broad as all skating games. Your witty writing complete with context sensitive jokes that fly by at blink and you'll miss them pace always underpins your experimentation with a quality and character that is uniquely your own and I've greatly enjoyed following your channel. Looking forward to more
I've been watching you for years Leon, and when you pivoted from fighting games towards other genres, I was worried that, like a lot of other people, the transition might knock them out, especially since the stuff you were covering was really niche in the modern landscape. And even though you've been doing this for over a year at this point, I was still worried. This video killed those doubts. To me this is your best work. (And I never imagined in a million years I'd get teary eyed by the end of a damn Skateboarding genre documentary). Bravo.
I'm surprised you didn't mention my favorite indie subgenre from the last decade, "insane abstract artistic experiences(via skateboarding)", comprised of titles like griptape backbone, perfect stride, and the upcoming weirdly ambitious looking skate story Also, Jackass was a highly popular TV show(with several spinoffs) before it was ever a movie series, and I as an american cannot let that heinous slight to my culture slide
Talking about Jackass, i don't think THUG 2 deserves much of the hate the game gets, the mechanics of the game is as refined and arcade the series gets, the game clearly doesn't get itself seriously and focuses on the fun factor, and if you don't want the Jackass crazy inspired story mode you still have classic mode, that's not only the same stages with a THPS coat of paint but you also get a lot of new levels, both from previous TH levels and new ones alike, and THUG pro proves how solid the base of THUG 2 is. the game tone is very different from the previous Tony Hawk's games? it is! but that doesn't necessarily makes the game bad, and the arcade, fun driven design philosophy is still there
Most of the games he trashed are underrated. THP8 and THPG are both pretty good. THUG2 and THPS4 are obviously great. Only Ride, Shred, THPS5 and THPSHD are trash.
I know you'll eventually make a skate video, given by your rambling on motion inputs, but my god i never expected this kind of quality. I feel like i've just got out from a cinema, watching THPS+Skate documentary that left my eyes teary, full of nostalgia and emotional over the 'dark ages'. Then the moment you pull out that end card i couldn't hold my tears anymore. Truly, a masterpiece
I am gonna be honest how you dont have more than 100k subs at this point is an absolute crime. This is such a high quality video this deserves so many views.
Here because foxcade retweeted your video and now I'm sat here getting emotional remembering all the good times. THPS was a huge part of my childhood and still is a huge part of my life today so this hit hard. Amazing video and definitely staying around for future videos
What I expected : A glorificative nostalgia bait of THPS2 What I got : a hella good video essay about a genre I didn't care for the last 10 years and also 𝐭 𝐡 𝐞 𝐭 𝐮 𝐫 𝐭 𝐥 𝐞 𝐬 𝐡 𝐢 𝐝 𝐢 𝐧 𝐠 𝐢 𝐧 𝐬 𝐡 𝐞 𝐥 𝐥 𝐬
I remember when 1+2 came out and hearing all the positive feedback. I actually couldn’t believe it until I picked it up for myself, and it was every bit as good as I had thought it would be and then some. Not only the nostalgia factor, but they really made a game that played like what child me always imagined those games to be.
(I actually never played Pro Skater 1 or 2, so keep that in mind as I say this. Altho I did play Disney Extreme Skate Adventure and had fun there.) I absolutely love it when game creators do this: successfully create playable nostalgia. Like, I guarantee if you went back and played THPS 1 or 2, it would not play NEARLY as well as you remember and it would definitely show it’s age. But 1+2? It’s as if those games pulled a Captain America and was frozen in time, unchanging in its greatness until someone finally decided to thaw them out.
@@djshy3 Tbh, I actually do a thing periodically where I go back and play through the originals 1-3. They do actually still surprisingly play as good as I remember them sorta with the exception of 1 as that game lacked a lot of the smoothness that 2 got and kept for a long time. That being said: 1+2 is actually an improvement regardless which I think is what REALLY blows my mind. Look at the reception of Warcraft 3: Reforged or even just the first time they released the HD remaster of 1 and 2 in like… 2015 I think? People did not like the HD remaster of 1 and 2 (myself included) but 1+2 got it right AND kept many of the features from the future installments of the game. Like it’s hard to accurately explain what I mean, but the physics of 1+2 feels perfect, and any new additions to the mechanics just work with the old physics. I can’t explain exactly why the first HD remakes didn’t feel quite right. I didn’t play any of the THUG games, so it’s likely they basically ported the levels from the originals into the physics engine that the later games had and didn’t bother changing anything past that point. 1+2 feels like they started by recreating the physics engine from 2 (2 definitely being the superior game IMO anyway) and then and only then did they remake the levels and the graphics. Going down the very first ramp on the very first level, I could instantly tell that I was going to have a good time. Right out of the gate, it just felt different than the HD remasters.
I hope this comes across as a compliment because I don't give a shit about skating games OR fighting games and yet I cannot keep away from your videos and my next final is in about 10 hours
I was waiting for the mention of skate and especially skate 3. Skate 3 was an amazing game of my childhood and holds a special place in my cousins heart and I'm glad to hear it praised.
Loved your video man, one of the best YT docs I’ve seen in a long time. You have definitely earned my subscription. You kind of dropped the ball with not ending the video on how Skate 4 is about to revitalize the Skate series and possibly modern gaming in general when it drops next year. I mean come on man, we’ve had official concept art from EA for months now and it was very well known that the game has been in development. You also failed to mention Shaun White Skateboarding, the various mobile apps like Touchgrind or True Skate which are immensely popular, or how the Nintendo DS versions of Tony Hawk games were actually kind of fun for an on the go skating game at the time. Regardless of all my gripes, this really was an amazing video you put together and it had me entertained from start to finish with quite a few laughs thrown in! Definitely going to check out more of your videos. Cheers!
Just want to go out the way to let you know that out of the many channels I'm subscribed to, your channel is the probably the only one that I actually watch videos with my full attention all the way thru because I can tell how passionate you are about each topic. This video is one of your best! Keep it up, Lee! 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
the quality of the video is super impressive, especially with how long it is. it may of took awhile to make but it was worth the wait for me Leon, just don't get burnt out
Your ability to convey words in ideas my goblin brain just loves is beautiful. 10/10 video But also damn completely skipping my beloved Shawn White Skateboarding PS3/X360 that was one of the games which made me wish I had something other than a Wii
This was a massive video, Man I didn't expect to hear soo much about a skating game. Thank you very much, I doubt we'll be getting spiderman back on a board but man it was fun.
Game development is pretty difficult and time-consuming, so I can understand why niche genres tend to get overlooked like this. Have you ever considered downloading a game engine and seeing what it's like for yourself? As a hobbyist game dev, I can guarantee that you'll get a more nuanced understanding and appreciation for the work game devs do. I personally use Unreal; the Blueprint system lets you create game logic through a flowchart-like graph, and the default templates are great for prototyping. The initial learning curve is a bit steep, but once you get it, it's very easy to play around and create simple game concepts. I'd definitely recommend messing around and maybe taking part in a game jam.
This is the reason I never trust game reviewers; a lot of them expect the same thing or something completely different instead of bothering to understand what the devs were going for.
I've dabbled in Unity and GM2 - perhaps I didn't sink my teeth into Unity enough but the learning wall really puts me off of making stuff. I try probably twice a year to get into it and get put off every time. Maybe it'll be a blender thing though, that took me years of trying and failing to learn and just this year finally clicked with me. GM2 was fun though I should probably get back into making little projects in that.
From an actual Skater these games made my childhood & the Culture supported it. Great video, Looks you can actually shred as well. Great Work, Keep itup!
I’ve been following the development of a game called “Pixel Skater”, and it’s honestly super cool. It does have a demo out on Xbox, and the gameplay is similar to a 2D THUG, but it’s going to have almost a mario maker mode. It’s honestly a lot of fun and the developers have been giving updates in the discord fairly consistently. I would highly suggest looking into it. Also, this video didn’t bring it up so I thought I should say it here. Skate 4 was announced and is in development
Really intersting take on the history of skate as a trend on a gamer's perspective! I love it! As a Game developer that grown up playing Proskater/Thug/Skate1,2&3, i am really glad for the new free to play "Skate." and would be awesome to live the rebirth of this genre.
Although I personally am not invested nor have any interest in the genre of skateboarding games, this video made me actually interested in both the history and popularity In my opinion, this is one of your top 3 videos if not the best one you've made, great job as always skate cowboy
I enjoyed wasteland very much. It was a more refined underground. The sound track was also more relaxing and I love how there's no loading screens and you create your own skate park by bringing parts from the local neighborhoods out of LA into it. I must have played through it like 5 times.
Awesome overview of skateboarding games! I liked the points about said games being at their best when they were about player expression (instead of skateboards just being another vehicle for racing, for example), and the idea of realism in (physics) games being toned down or tweaked to make for a better experience for the player. I still like some of your older videos on fighting games, but I also wish you the best of luck with these other kinds of videos too, this was a neat watch! :)
You can find the same thing at: 9:03 in Noodle's NEED FOR SPEED video. 6:05 in FUNKe's Concept albums video 9:28 in MandaloreGaming's Marathon review video I'm honestly so confused about this stuff but I kinda want to know more...
Hey man I'm watching this shit in pitch black trying to fall asleep before a big interview tomorrow, that turtles in shells thing wasn't chill. Great video tho
As much as I love Tony Hawk, Skate is just so much fun. Skate 3 was my favorite. I have no idea many times skated the dam or the waterworks system. Its just a wonderful laid back experience with a massive skill ceiling.
Thank god Super Eyepatch Wolf mentioned you in the credits, the algorithm did not want me seeing this delightful piece on a topic I've actually thought about a number of times before. In the intro still and it's already got its claws in me. Time to enjoy~!
Awesome video, I can tell you put a TON of work into it. When you mentioned 2Xtreme my face lit up because I played the shit out of that game as a kid.
The only skateboarding game I've ever played is 10 minutes of a tony hawk on the n64 as a child and this is still an enthralling video. Absolutely insane work and I hope dearly this gets as much attention as possible.
@@datguy9408 Activision Blizzard higher ups are out of touch, and because of their immense greed to milk Call Of Duty to death, blinds them to see the absolute goldmine the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise is
@@datguy9408 it was successful. Like REALLY successful. Problem it wasn't call of duty successful so in the bin it goes. At least until they can be bothered to take it out again.
I believe a new skate reboot was announced a couple years back that's still in development, I think they released something last year about it too. And then there's that "Skate story" indie game that was shown off during devolver digitals showcase a couple weeks back which looked somewhat interesting to me personally. Hopefully it's good, cause I miss playing the tony hawk and skate games
Hey man even if this video doesn't do ass good as your fighting games video essays I can appreciate the quality and effort you put in.Keep up the good work man this was a great video 😊
Don't think I didn't see that Klonoa Beach Volleyball tier shift.....and I agree, goddamn that games way better than it deserves to be. Speaking of Klonoa, don't think I didn't miss a few of it's tracks being in the background of this video, superb taste sir.
as someone who often talks about practicing skating and getting tips on how to ollie at the local im honestly surprised how many of my particular interests this video expands over so far, even having higurashi in a segment about genres which is a show i finished just a few months ago this video has been VERY very well made and its a joy to see just so much of my interests and what is essentially my childhood favorite game for a good few years and one of my all time favorite games to play thank you leon ps. minazuki 236C/D and c-nanaya's entire 22X and 214X series in a twerk off, who wins
Yeah, I was looking in the comments for something about that. It has the feeling of something for an ARG but I don't know what that would be hinting towards. Maybe something with the audio? Idk
I was wondering why OlliOlli World was so enjoyable to me and fresh feeling Come to realize that it was mainly because i hadnt played a skateboarding game since Skate3 Thats so sad…
Extremely cool video (like all of yours) that I enjoyed immensely even though I never cared about skateboarding games. Just one question: WHAT the HECK was 1:08:35
So did FUNKe and Noodle, other TH-camrs. At 2:42, on the note pad are doodles of FUNKe, Noodle, I'm assuming Mandalore, and a fourth doodle. Need to find out who the fourth doodle is
Late 90s-earlly 2000s really were wild and debatably the best, most diverse gaming age out there. The rise of Black Box Need for Speed, Criterion on crack with Burnout, the occasional drop of a Twisted Metal title (another dead genre), Tony Hawk... not to mention the more popular games like Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Mortal Combat. I really loved how many good racing games there were that people probably never heard about, a personal favorite being Crash'n'Burn and even the Hot Wheels releases. Another game I loved was War of the Monsters which was an arena brawler made by Incognito who made Twisted Metal Black.
great video! personally i'm really excited for skate story-the visual identity of the game is beautiful, and the mechanical development posted about on the dev's twitter seems to be incredibly promising. if the genre has a more narrative driven, visual eye-candy approach like that for a bit... i don't think i'd complain. curious what your thoughts are.
1:16:58 in and this is the first time I've wanted to reply as the video is phenomenal, great work man... but the EA NHL games are a phenomenal sports sim (yes the community has gripes as any does), but it's arguably the most fun/highest skill cap (mechanically) sports game out there. Also has the potential to induce rage as FIFA, which I think is arguably an important aspect of a competitive score/mechanic based game. And honestly I think it's pivotal in the growth of NHL viewership amongst the younger millennials and especially gen z. This is one of those videos that I hoped someone would make so thanks for the hard work.
Youre completely wrong about THUG2 and neglect every single good part about that game but still a great piece on the history and possible future of this genre. The resurgence definitely feels real and im really looking forward to what developers are gonna do in the future with titles like Skate Story and shit
Great video, Leon. I loved a lot of the games in this video when they first came out and your analysis of the skate genre was comprehensive. I look forward to more non-fg videos from you.
This video dropping right after the announcement that Activision canned the Tony Hawk Skater 3 + 4 Remakes is biblical. Considering the Video length, I'm sure it must've been made before that news came out.
Proving Ground had some redeeming qualities. I liked what they did with the "Street" challenges, they required some exploration and problem-solving skills kind of like environmental puzzles with executional difficulty layered on top.
To clear up some confusion, Skate 4 wasn't mentioned in this video specifically due to a lack of news about it right up until the day this video came out. I thought that it was going to be a Metroid prime 4 situation, announced but would never actually see the light of day. It would appear I was incorrect.
was just about to type an angry comment... thank you.......
This was part of a conspiracy to discredit you as a TH-camr, I'm Sure
Nothing like seeing the update pinned comment being just "I was wrong" lol
This video essay is the canonical sequel to Dandy J’s seminal FGC TH-cam classic, “i only know how to play fighting games” (2009). This is my truth. I know it deep inside my heart.
This month is gonna be hype
I really want an action RPG where a skateboard functions as both your form of travel and your blunt melee weapon. Work of beauty as usual leon
Yoooooo FUNKe whattup? You got good taste
so you play as switch from lethal league basically
FUNKe and Brit collab on tf2 update when?
hey FUNKe
chad thundercock at 1:58
Insane how deep you went into this video! Great job man
Hi zek
W mans
@@reper6441 lol pl)o
Im being 100% honest when i say this, but my god this is one of the CLEANEST scripts I've heard from a TH-cam video. You do a perfect job of allowing your personality to shrine through, while still allowing viewers to get all the information they'd want about the history of these games. The pacing is also fantastic, and honestly the video just completely flew by for me. Absolute gold
As much as I love your videos on fighting games, It's very nice to see you talk about other genres, specific games, and what made them work or... not work. You're a very compelling person to listen to, and I'm eager to see more of your content in the future.
1:24:36 Coney Jumpscare
No but seriously this was an incredibly well made video, and while I may hard disagree with your reception to THAW, I think this was a really well made reflection of an era of games long since past. What truly surprises me most is that none of the "rip-offs" were able to stand the same ground as the original. One of my favorite games growing up was Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder and for a game that pretty much entirely follows the wake of the Pro-Skater series, it genuinely still holds up as my favorite game of this era. Although my desire for someone to acknowledge it will have to wait for another day, I feel as though it shows how the formula of skating can be re-contextualized to a gameplay element that's able to stand on its own in spite of cultural relevance and I really hope we get a functional airblade some day.
Allright so at 1:08:30 there's an interlude with the song "theme from harry's game" and the phrase "the turtles hiding in shells" which seems to be the latest installment in a possible cross youtuber ARG mystery thingy.
The first installment I can find is from Noodle's Need for speed video at 9:03 with the phrase "i can be anywhere" then FUNKe's Concept album video at 6:04 with "light into water reflections" and Mandalore's Marathon video at 9:27 with "we all have a real first floor"
any others I don't know about? anybody know what this is all about? anybody noticing these at all?
Replying to Bump up
up up!!!
Bump
weird
its annoying
Never seen this channel before, but TH-cam's algorithm figured I loved skateboarding games enough to throw a video that's only been uploaded for 9 minutes right at me. I'm glad it did, I'm really enjoying it!
Welcome to one of the best channels on TH-cam.
You every heard of guilty gear?
It's about to become your main game
@@Guitar-Dog SPOILER: It's a fighting game... SPOILER 2: You're gonna get into fighting games.
This is the best video you've ever made. If this is a hint toward the future of your content, I will watch them again and again, easy.
It's weird how much power a video like this has. There's a lot of comments from people who never played a skateboarding game but now care about the genre (me being one of those people) and I think it's really cool to have people teach about why certain games were loved.
My parents never bought me a console growing up, so I only know of these games form my friends at school who used to talk about them, but right now I'd love to play Skate, and I'll definitely look into whatever game in the genre comes next.
59:06 i'm not kidding when i say that scene actually made me tear up a little. The music, the setup, and cinematography of it along with the hour long ride to that point. It all got me immersed in this narrative you set up. Great video man, great video
This is like the new age version of watching how its made or any history channel show. But its ACTUALLY interesting and appreciates the time you spend watching it. Even though its over an hour long, there are so many split second gags that I found myself floored. By both how funny the gag was and by how much more effort was put into this one video compared to modern traditional media. Loved this.
Hey how it's made was interesting
I almost feel like I don't deserve this kind of quality content for free.
Nah, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Same
I feel like I do, get a bigger ego
1000%
@@234fddesa yep
This video was amazing. I've never played a skateboard game but you've kept he engrossed the entire time. Thank you.
Sir you must be 12 years old to use this website
@@meltyblood Why do you call him Sir then ?
@@WhereThereDude the youth deserve respect
20:06 dude that edit was so fucking clean your editing skills have improved such an insane amount, your videos are so good
I had to roll the video back several times to even catch what the hell you were referring to
I still don't get what they are referring to
@@zawaray4229 the Map change as he goes up the ramp
it took me 3 rewatches to realize what you were talking about
That shit was so smooth I had to replay it 3+ times
I really enjoy seeing you take on all different genres of games and topics as niche as jump arcs to as broad as all skating games. Your witty writing complete with context sensitive jokes that fly by at blink and you'll miss them pace always underpins your experimentation with a quality and character that is uniquely your own and I've greatly enjoyed following your channel. Looking forward to more
I've been watching you for years Leon, and when you pivoted from fighting games towards other genres, I was worried that, like a lot of other people, the transition might knock them out, especially since the stuff you were covering was really niche in the modern landscape. And even though you've been doing this for over a year at this point, I was still worried. This video killed those doubts. To me this is your best work. (And I never imagined in a million years I'd get teary eyed by the end of a damn Skateboarding genre documentary). Bravo.
I'm surprised you didn't mention my favorite indie subgenre from the last decade, "insane abstract artistic experiences(via skateboarding)", comprised of titles like griptape backbone, perfect stride, and the upcoming weirdly ambitious looking skate story
Also, Jackass was a highly popular TV show(with several spinoffs) before it was ever a movie series, and I as an american cannot let that heinous slight to my culture slide
As a British teen in the 2000s I can't let it slide either. It's was a cultural touchstone in Britain too lol
Talking about Jackass, i don't think THUG 2 deserves much of the hate the game gets, the mechanics of the game is as refined and arcade the series gets, the game clearly doesn't get itself seriously and focuses on the fun factor, and if you don't want the Jackass crazy inspired story mode you still have classic mode, that's not only the same stages with a THPS coat of paint but you also get a lot of new levels, both from previous TH levels and new ones alike, and THUG pro proves how solid the base of THUG 2 is. the game tone is very different from the previous Tony Hawk's games? it is! but that doesn't necessarily makes the game bad, and the arcade, fun driven design philosophy is still there
@@k_kubes I feel like people actually like thug2, just the creator of this video has a weird taste.
I just got back into watching your videos again, and just a day later, I am blessed with a 1 and a half hour video. Thank you Leon
I've never played a skateboarding game since finishing THUG1 a few days ago. Amazing job on this deep dive friend.
as someone who grew up skating, filming skating and playing all those games you really did a good job with this one
Downhill Jam is lowkey underrated. I had a blast playing through it and going for 100%. It's all about how much effort you put into it.
Most of the games he trashed are underrated. THP8 and THPG are both pretty good. THUG2 and THPS4 are obviously great. Only Ride, Shred, THPS5 and THPSHD are trash.
I know you'll eventually make a skate video, given by your rambling on motion inputs, but my god i never expected this kind of quality.
I feel like i've just got out from a cinema, watching THPS+Skate documentary that left my eyes teary, full of nostalgia and emotional over the 'dark ages'. Then the moment you pull out that end card i couldn't hold my tears anymore.
Truly, a masterpiece
only just noticed it now but that cut at 20:07 is so good lmao
I am gonna be honest how you dont have more than 100k subs at this point is an absolute crime. This is such a high quality video this deserves so many views.
Here because foxcade retweeted your video and now I'm sat here getting emotional remembering all the good times. THPS was a huge part of my childhood and still is a huge part of my life today so this hit hard. Amazing video and definitely staying around for future videos
What I expected : A glorificative nostalgia bait of THPS2
What I got : a hella good video essay about a genre I didn't care for the last 10 years and also
𝐭 𝐡 𝐞 𝐭 𝐮 𝐫 𝐭 𝐥 𝐞 𝐬 𝐡 𝐢 𝐝 𝐢 𝐧 𝐠 𝐢 𝐧 𝐬 𝐡 𝐞 𝐥 𝐥 𝐬
THPS3 is objectively better than THPS2 anyway. :)
I remember when 1+2 came out and hearing all the positive feedback.
I actually couldn’t believe it until I picked it up for myself, and it was every bit as good as I had thought it would be and then some.
Not only the nostalgia factor, but they really made a game that played like what child me always imagined those games to be.
(I actually never played Pro Skater 1 or 2, so keep that in mind as I say this. Altho I did play Disney Extreme Skate Adventure and had fun there.)
I absolutely love it when game creators do this: successfully create playable nostalgia.
Like, I guarantee if you went back and played THPS 1 or 2, it would not play NEARLY as well as you remember and it would definitely show it’s age.
But 1+2? It’s as if those games pulled a Captain America and was frozen in time, unchanging in its greatness until someone finally decided to thaw them out.
@@djshy3
Tbh, I actually do a thing periodically where I go back and play through the originals 1-3.
They do actually still surprisingly play as good as I remember them sorta with the exception of 1 as that game lacked a lot of the smoothness that 2 got and kept for a long time.
That being said: 1+2 is actually an improvement regardless which I think is what REALLY blows my mind.
Look at the reception of Warcraft 3: Reforged or even just the first time they released the HD remaster of 1 and 2 in like… 2015 I think? People did not like the HD remaster of 1 and 2 (myself included) but 1+2 got it right AND kept many of the features from the future installments of the game.
Like it’s hard to accurately explain what I mean, but the physics of 1+2 feels perfect, and any new additions to the mechanics just work with the old physics. I can’t explain exactly why the first HD remakes didn’t feel quite right. I didn’t play any of the THUG games, so it’s likely they basically ported the levels from the originals into the physics engine that the later games had and didn’t bother changing anything past that point.
1+2 feels like they started by recreating the physics engine from 2 (2 definitely being the superior game IMO anyway) and then and only then did they remake the levels and the graphics.
Going down the very first ramp on the very first level, I could instantly tell that I was going to have a good time. Right out of the gate, it just felt different than the HD remasters.
Aaaaand now they've pulled the plug on the US servers 🥲
@@DefiantTurtle21 damn, really? that's sad...
Back on Steam! @@DefiantTurtle21
i love how Loen is slowly turning in the Sequelitis that we never got, amazing videos dude!
Loving the channel. Binged it all
I love THUG 2. It completed the gameplay mechanics from previous games by adding sticker slapping. And then fans made THUG Pro, and it was great too.
THUG 2 is my favorite of them all. Second is American Wasteland.
People may disagree but to each their own.
I hope this comes across as a compliment because I don't give a shit about skating games OR fighting games and yet I cannot keep away from your videos and my next final is in about 10 hours
I was waiting for the mention of skate and especially skate 3. Skate 3 was an amazing game of my childhood and holds a special place in my cousins heart and I'm glad to hear it praised.
1:04:37 oh, of course it syncs hahaha
OMG Sooo gooood! Amazing content, as always!
Leon do be Masseying it on this one. Always good to hear your voice over of your rants on games / genres.
37:32 cracks me up. I have no clue where exactly your accent drifted off to at "grind this rail."
Just recently discovered your content dude, incredibly addicting, your way of explaining stuff is really entertaining
Loved your video man, one of the best YT docs I’ve seen in a long time. You have definitely earned my subscription. You kind of dropped the ball with not ending the video on how Skate 4 is about to revitalize the Skate series and possibly modern gaming in general when it drops next year. I mean come on man, we’ve had official concept art from EA for months now and it was very well known that the game has been in development. You also failed to mention Shaun White Skateboarding, the various mobile apps like Touchgrind or True Skate which are immensely popular, or how the Nintendo DS versions of Tony Hawk games were actually kind of fun for an on the go skating game at the time. Regardless of all my gripes, this really was an amazing video you put together and it had me entertained from start to finish with quite a few laughs thrown in! Definitely going to check out more of your videos. Cheers!
Just want to go out the way to let you know that out of the many channels I'm subscribed to, your channel is the probably the only one that I actually watch videos with my full attention all the way thru because I can tell how passionate you are about each topic. This video is one of your best! Keep it up, Lee! 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
the quality of the video is super impressive, especially with how long it is. it may of took awhile to make but it was worth the wait for me Leon, just don't get burnt out
Your ability to convey words in ideas my goblin brain just loves is beautiful. 10/10 video
But also damn completely skipping my beloved Shawn White Skateboarding PS3/X360 that was one of the games which made me wish I had something other than a Wii
This was a massive video, Man I didn't expect to hear soo much about a skating game. Thank you very much, I doubt we'll be getting spiderman back on a board but man it was fun.
Game development is pretty difficult and time-consuming, so I can understand why niche genres tend to get overlooked like this. Have you ever considered downloading a game engine and seeing what it's like for yourself? As a hobbyist game dev, I can guarantee that you'll get a more nuanced understanding and appreciation for the work game devs do. I personally use Unreal; the Blueprint system lets you create game logic through a flowchart-like graph, and the default templates are great for prototyping. The initial learning curve is a bit steep, but once you get it, it's very easy to play around and create simple game concepts. I'd definitely recommend messing around and maybe taking part in a game jam.
This is the reason I never trust game reviewers; a lot of them expect the same thing or something completely different instead of bothering to understand what the devs were going for.
I've dabbled in Unity and GM2 - perhaps I didn't sink my teeth into Unity enough but the learning wall really puts me off of making stuff. I try probably twice a year to get into it and get put off every time. Maybe it'll be a blender thing though, that took me years of trying and failing to learn and just this year finally clicked with me. GM2 was fun though I should probably get back into making little projects in that.
@@LeonMassey If you like 2D games you could consider going into Godot, after bouncing off unity a few times I actually managed to get into that one
Thank you for making this, you summarised what I've been thinking in my head for a decade about these games. Lets hope for a better future!
What a memoir to a genre that's doesn't get enough love. Ty Leon.
Personally really excited for Skate Story :)
Video gives me MASSIVE Noodle vibes, emotional, well rounded, beautifully edited, informative and clean with a tasteful execution, subscribed!
I love the Skate Series
yees
It’s one my favorite video game series ever. Personally skate 2 is the best one
here to EA not fucking up skate4 🙏
Fuccckin hell this ones been a while in the making? It was ages ago since i saw you stream skating games on twitch. Bangin vid as always tho, mad love
holy shit leon documentary. skate story n bomb rush are by far my two most anticipated games currently.
From an actual Skater these games made my childhood & the Culture supported it. Great video, Looks you can actually shred as well. Great Work, Keep itup!
I’ve been following the development of a game called “Pixel Skater”, and it’s honestly super cool. It does have a demo out on Xbox, and the gameplay is similar to a 2D THUG, but it’s going to have almost a mario maker mode. It’s honestly a lot of fun and the developers have been giving updates in the discord fairly consistently. I would highly suggest looking into it. Also, this video didn’t bring it up so I thought I should say it here. Skate 4 was announced and is in development
Really intersting take on the history of skate as a trend on a gamer's perspective! I love it! As a Game developer that grown up playing Proskater/Thug/Skate1,2&3, i am really glad for the new free to play "Skate." and would be awesome to live the rebirth of this genre.
I haven’t been excited for a skating game in a long time, but seeing the trailer for Skate Story a couple days ago blew me away.
That “See you skate cowboy” was a nice touch.
1:08:41 I swear to god, whatever ARG you, noodle, funke and mandalore are doing is gonna drive me fucking insane. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?????????
25:08 yo that samus punish was sick
Haven’t even watched it yet but I know this video bouta be great, peak topic
Although I personally am not invested nor have any interest in the genre of skateboarding games, this video made me actually interested in both the history and popularity
In my opinion, this is one of your top 3 videos if not the best one you've made, great job as always skate cowboy
I enjoyed wasteland very much. It was a more refined underground. The sound track was also more relaxing and I love how there's no loading screens and you create your own skate park by bringing parts from the local neighborhoods out of LA into it. I must have played through it like 5 times.
Your hilarious. Love the content
At 21:12, I saw you change Klonoa's spot, don't try to hide it from me!
Awesome overview of skateboarding games! I liked the points about said games being at their best when they were about player expression (instead of skateboards just being another vehicle for racing, for example), and the idea of realism in (physics) games being toned down or tweaked to make for a better experience for the player.
I still like some of your older videos on fighting games, but I also wish you the best of luck with these other kinds of videos too, this was a neat watch! :)
1:08:34 this actually scared the shit outta me
I was looking for this comment fr. Amazing MasterClass video right here but why is there a jump scare
there is something similar in this video and i dont under stand why. th-cam.com/video/maqIaT_ZUxs/w-d-xo.html
making me feel like a conspiracy theorist that watches too much TH-cam
You can find the same thing at: 9:03 in Noodle's NEED FOR SPEED video.
6:05 in FUNKe's Concept albums video
9:28 in MandaloreGaming's Marathon review video
I'm honestly so confused about this stuff but I kinda want to know more...
Anyone know what that song is?
Hey man I'm watching this shit in pitch black trying to fall asleep before a big interview tomorrow, that turtles in shells thing wasn't chill. Great video tho
As much as I love Tony Hawk, Skate is just so much fun. Skate 3 was my favorite. I have no idea many times skated the dam or the waterworks system. Its just a wonderful laid back experience with a massive skill ceiling.
Fantastic video essay, Leon.
Also, congratz on almost 100k!
Leon just be making content about what ever he likes and I love it
Thank god Super Eyepatch Wolf mentioned you in the credits, the algorithm did not want me seeing this delightful piece on a topic I've actually thought about a number of times before. In the intro still and it's already got its claws in me. Time to enjoy~!
Ok more accurately, thank YOU for doing your animation bits for his video. :D I'm glad you did it!
Can't wait to see this movie you've put out
Awesome video, I can tell you put a TON of work into it. When you mentioned 2Xtreme my face lit up because I played the shit out of that game as a kid.
The only skateboarding game I've ever played is 10 minutes of a tony hawk on the n64 as a child and this is still an enthralling video. Absolutely insane work and I hope dearly this gets as much attention as possible.
Brilliant video, I intended to watch it in two pieces but was glued the whole time. Your pacing and edits are so damn good.
Man, watching this after hearing that THPS3+4 was planned but canned in favor of moving the team to shit like Call of Duty just makes me even sadder.
Wth that franchise again?
And wasn’t the remake of 1-2 really successful???
@@datguy9408 Activision Blizzard higher ups are out of touch, and because of their immense greed to milk Call Of Duty to death, blinds them to see the absolute goldmine the Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise is
@@datguy9408 it was successful. Like REALLY successful. Problem it wasn't call of duty successful so in the bin it goes. At least until they can be bothered to take it out again.
Not Call of Duty, but Diablo (Resurrection).
And now we've got an amazing Skate trailer. So hyped
i have NEVER played any of these, closest being jet set radio
but good lord this was so fun to watch i am now tempted to at least try some of these
Get the remaster of THPS1+2, or Skate 2
The constant extreme sports OST choices are so good, I found myself going “I’M ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE GAME” during the Skate portion, good shit Leon
"it doesnt seem like blizzard and ubisoft are foaming at the mouth to make a live service around half pipes" that aged well
Man you can't just blindside me with an S tier video like that
I believe a new skate reboot was announced a couple years back that's still in development, I think they released something last year about it too. And then there's that "Skate story" indie game that was shown off during devolver digitals showcase a couple weeks back which looked somewhat interesting to me personally. Hopefully it's good, cause I miss playing the tony hawk and skate games
Hey man even if this video doesn't do ass good as your fighting games video essays I can appreciate the quality and effort you put in.Keep up the good work man this was a great video 😊
Don't think I didn't see that Klonoa Beach Volleyball tier shift.....and I agree, goddamn that games way better than it deserves to be. Speaking of Klonoa, don't think I didn't miss a few of it's tracks being in the background of this video, superb taste sir.
as someone who often talks about practicing skating and getting tips on how to ollie at the local im honestly surprised how many of my particular interests this video expands over so far, even having higurashi in a segment about genres which is a show i finished just a few months ago this video has been VERY very well made and its a joy to see just so much of my interests and what is essentially my childhood favorite game for a good few years and one of my all time favorite games to play
thank you leon
ps. minazuki 236C/D and c-nanaya's entire 22X and 214X series in a twerk off, who wins
Woo, melty, wooo
So.... is no one gonna talk about the "The turtles are hiding in the shell" bit? No? Okay then.
Yeah, I was looking in the comments for something about that. It has the feeling of something for an ARG but I don't know what that would be hinting towards. Maybe something with the audio? Idk
What an amazing video. Clearly crafted with love and a loot of work. Your work just keeps impressing me.
I was wondering why OlliOlli World was so enjoyable to me and fresh feeling
Come to realize that it was mainly because i hadnt played a skateboarding game since Skate3
Thats so sad…
Yes BUT OlliOlli world is genuinely good
YO THAT TRANSITION AT 20:07 THOUGH
Extremely cool video (like all of yours) that I enjoyed immensely even though I never cared about skateboarding games.
Just one question: WHAT the HECK was 1:08:35
Mandaloregaming had the exact same sort of odd no-context cut in one of his recent videos too.
How peculiar
@@superbro6413 A conspiracy brews
So did FUNKe and Noodle, other TH-camrs. At 2:42, on the note pad are doodles of FUNKe, Noodle, I'm assuming Mandalore, and a fourth doodle. Need to find out who the fourth doodle is
Almost looks like Trevor Henderson's "Lil' Nugget"
@@Something2doWith7 Maybe the fourth doodle is a funny red herring. Looks to me like the "Yippee" meme
Late 90s-earlly 2000s really were wild and debatably the best, most diverse gaming age out there. The rise of Black Box Need for Speed, Criterion on crack with Burnout, the occasional drop of a Twisted Metal title (another dead genre), Tony Hawk... not to mention the more popular games like Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Mortal Combat.
I really loved how many good racing games there were that people probably never heard about, a personal favorite being Crash'n'Burn and even the Hot Wheels releases. Another game I loved was War of the Monsters which was an arena brawler made by Incognito who made Twisted Metal Black.
great video! personally i'm really excited for skate story-the visual identity of the game is beautiful, and the mechanical development posted about on the dev's twitter seems to be incredibly promising. if the genre has a more narrative driven, visual eye-candy approach like that for a bit... i don't think i'd complain. curious what your thoughts are.
59:38
You answer to that question is John Riccitiello, the CEO of EA (2007 to 2013)
Some really good games were released during his tenure.
"Even SKYLANDERS were getting in on the action."
Why you have to hurt me like that?
Airblade was so sick. The movement was incredible and the missions having a point was great
As somebody that player from start of the tony hawk games, i say THAW was the last good game before its decline
1:16:58 in and this is the first time I've wanted to reply as the video is phenomenal, great work man... but the EA NHL games are a phenomenal sports sim (yes the community has gripes as any does), but it's arguably the most fun/highest skill cap (mechanically) sports game out there. Also has the potential to induce rage as FIFA, which I think is arguably an important aspect of a competitive score/mechanic based game. And honestly I think it's pivotal in the growth of NHL viewership amongst the younger millennials and especially gen z.
This is one of those videos that I hoped someone would make so thanks for the hard work.
Youre completely wrong about THUG2 and neglect every single good part about that game but still a great piece on the history and possible future of this genre. The resurgence definitely feels real and im really looking forward to what developers are gonna do in the future with titles like Skate Story and shit
Great video, Leon. I loved a lot of the games in this video when they first came out and your analysis of the skate genre was comprehensive. I look forward to more non-fg videos from you.
This video dropping right after the announcement that Activision canned the Tony Hawk Skater 3 + 4 Remakes is biblical. Considering the Video length, I'm sure it must've been made before that news came out.
No mention of the "Skate 4?" meme in almost every video game presentation like E3 and Summer Game Festival, but still, amazing video.
Proving Ground had some redeeming qualities. I liked what they did with the "Street" challenges, they required some exploration and problem-solving skills kind of like environmental puzzles with executional difficulty layered on top.
I like rewatching this from time to time, but this time it's special because of Summer Games Fest 2024