There have been many, many remasters over the past few years. Reaching back for those nostalgic games and giving them just enough of a modern make-over can do wonders. Capcom has discovered this with its Resident Evil franchise. Crash Bandicoot joined the party with his own trilogy.
Hell, Tetris even “came back”, although as a competitive online game. People love to replay the games they remember fondly, and remasters allow that to happen. You don’t have to dig through any musty cardboard to find them, either.
The latest news on the remaster/reboot front, now that Final Fantasy VII has come and gone, is a decent surprise. Announced today by the bird-man himself, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 have both undergone an upgrade. If you managed to miss it the first time around, this will be a good chance to see what the hype was about. Remastered by Vicarious Visions, which you may recognise as the team behind the aforementioned Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, the games look to bring the classic series to a new generation.
Set for a September 2020 release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, the remaster looks to keep what made it great. A press release states the game will keep the “complete roster of original pro talent”. The levels are coming back, including a demo of the Warehouse for those who pre-order the game, and will also include the secret ones.
But there will be more to do within those levels. Not only are the usual missions returning (collecting S.K.A.T.E., or tapes), they will add new ones to add variety. Finally, one of the biggest concerns is the soundtrack. Unfortunately, not all the music made the jump into the present; on the bright side, there is only “a small handful” that won’t appear because of licensing.
Already looking ahead, Tony Hawk says “There’s strong nostalgia and attachment to…THPS one through four,” and that if these first two do well, “[he] would love to be able to do more down the line.” So if you’ve been meaning to pull some gnarly tricks in a haggard area, you won’t have to risk the Coronavirus to do so.
You’ll be kick-flipping in the safety of your own home when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 Remaster releases in September 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
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