Battle of the best Skateboarding game

[Towlie2110]

This goes to those who have played both Tony Hawk's pro skater and Thrasher Skate and Destroy.


Since the very first entry, THPS has set the standard (or the template) for which every following skateboarding game would follow. Ever since THPS 1, people have always known the nothernmost button on the face of the controller will grind. Be that a Y, Triangle, or Up C.

But few people noticed when Rockstar (Yeah the gta boys) released the single game that would defy THPS.(Yes X is grind) Thrasher Skate and Destroy came out to little fan fare, A mediocre reveiw *, and almost zero advertising.

But to the players who actually could skateboard, it was very clear which game was the better game. Thrasher boasted a much more realistic approach to the skateboarding game. With real life goals and struggles (Get on the Cover of Thrasher). Don't expect to pull a 900 off of a grind on the very first level in this game. You work your way up, and you become the better skater (You can't level up stats so you don't have to worry about balance in this game)

This game even featured a primitive yet effective Ragdoll system, in which you could grab ledges and tuck into a ball to reduce damage. (They even added a MP game mode to see who could inflict the most pain)

The whole game is just so smooth and solid, compared to the fast direct controls of THPS.

You wont have to sit through loud generic punk bands in Thrasher, you get a blast of 70's rap and it really compliments the whole theme of the game.

The game just has so much more to it, like a cop who chases you out of levels after dark and such.

I just wanted to know how many people thought thrasher was a better game in whole than THPS, and why the hell Thrasher Didn't get a remake or sequel.

Of all the games without sequels, Thrasher has to be near the top of the list.

[lordnikon]

Skate or Die - NES

nuff said

[cyberfluxor]

I'm a Tony Hawk player. I played the first the most and found it very entertaining. The second one pretty much added a few extra features that were great, like make your own park, then the third I never played and so forth. But from the first 2 it was just all worth it and I still play them today.

[turbosage]

Yeah, wheres Skate of Die 2 on your list?


I vote SOD2



TurboSage

[j_factor]

The old 720 was best. Although I did like Go! Go! Hypergrind a lot.

[2Dskillz]

Came here looking to vote for Skate -or- Die.

[Guru of Time and Space]

This poll is failing.
I clicked deciding in my head if I was gonna vote for Top Skater or Ollie King.
Nope.

-GoTaS

[Damaramu]

Top Skater has my vote. Fun game...

[jajaja]

From the list, Tony Hawk Pro Skater. I havnt played the 2 others as i can recall, but i doubt they are better than THPS

[CosmicMonkey]

Top Skater has my vote. Fun game...

My choice too. Quality arcade cabinet.

[Kroogah]

Thrasher = Best skateboarding game

THPS = More fun game

[roushimsx]

Meh, Thrasher was a complete mess. The primitive ragdolls neglected to actually have any bones so when you crashed your body flopped all over the place like a fish out of water, the control was terrible, and while I've seen you say multiple times that people that could skateboard prefered Thrasher over Tony Hawk, I've found the exact opposite to be true.

In fact, you're the first person I've ever encountered that's actually preferred Thrasher over Tony Hawk for any reason other than comedy gold crash value. My skateboarding friends loved Top Skater, too...but I guess you kind of forgot about that one because it wasn't niche enough.

Also, the game wasn't developed by the GTA guys, it was developed by the guys behind the following awesome failures:

Aggressive Inline
BMX XXX
X-Men: The Official Game

Publisher != Developer, least we forget that State of Emergency was from the people that brought us Earthworm Jim 3D.

[Kejoriv]

Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Still a fan of the series. God damn, did I play a lot of that series during college....

[Reid]

I have only played THPS

So......I voted for it.

[icbrkr]

I'm going with 720 as well - awesome arcade game

[Flack]

720 arcade, followed by Skate or Die. I was also a fan of Skate Rock and Skate Crazy.

Here's an article I wrote for Issue #63 of the DP Print Zine about skateboarding games for the NES. If you don't subscribe, here's the type of thing you're missing out on!

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When I think of the 80’s, two kinds of decks come to mind: skateboard decks and NES decks. Skateboarding exploded in the mid-80’s, with skaters like Christian Hosoi, Lance Mountain and that Hawk guy appearing on television and in movies like Gleaming the Cube and Thrashin’. While skateboarding was the perfect way to spend a summer day, videogames were the perfect way to kill time when it was either cold or dark. Both activities had the same basic demographic (kids who said “dude” and “rad” too much), so it was inevitable that the two would eventually combine in the form of skateboarding videogames.

In 1986, Atari released the classic arcade game 720, which I will always remember for three distinct reasons. First, it made flipping the brim of your hat straight up into the air acceptable. Second, it introduced the term “Skate or Die” to the general public (using a computerized voice, no less). Third, it ushered in the era of skateboarding related videogames. Here are some of my favorite skateboard-related games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

T&C Surf Designs (LJN, 1987)

In T&C Surf Designs, you can choose between three activities: skating, surfing, or skating and then surfing. T&C Surf Designs was the first skateboarding game available for the NES, which showed in players’ limited trick selection. In fact, the only tricks you can perform is jump with your board (ollie), and jump without your board (generally useless). The game features both one and two player modes, so you can grind alone or with a friend. Except of course, in this game you can’t grind, only jump. Limitations aside, T&C Surf Designs is a fun little game that introduced the sport of skateboarding to the NES, albeit pretty shallow compared to the games to come.

T&C Surf Design 2: Thrilla’s Safari (LJN, 1991)

While the sequel to the first T&C Surf Designs game has little to do with the original, it is a very fast and fun skateboarding game that stands just fine as a game on it’s own. Starring Thrilla the Gorilla, gamers will have to use lightning reflexes to navigate a series of ramps and jumps that will guide Thrilla through the jungle. Later stages involve surfing and other activities, but so rarely to I pass the skateboarding levels that I consider this a skateboarding game (haha). One thing you’ll notice is that by 1991, programmers had really learned how to tweak some great looking graphics and great sounding music out of the NES. This game really shows off the system’s true capabilities, and will test your reflexes to boot.

Skate or Die! (Ultra, 1988)

In 1988, Ultra ported the popular Electronic Art’s game Skate or Die to the NES, and did a pretty good job in doing so. I’ll be honest in saying that most of my time spent with this game was on a Commodore 64, and in that regard this game pales in comparison, mostly due to less detailed graphics and greatly inferior music. Still, Ultra managed to capture the heart of the game, which still makes Skate or Die for the NES worth playing. This game is actually made up of five mini-games, similar in presentation to Epyx’s “Summer Games/Winter Games/California Games” series. The Freestyle and High Jump events take place on a half pipe. Jam and Race take place down controlled paths, and the Joust takes place in an empty swimming pool. The Freestyle event is probably what most people think of when they think of skateboarding games. The goal of this event is to gather as many points as you can on a half pipe. Again, the choice of moves is pretty limited, but skaters can string together hand plants, backside airs, grinds, ollies and fakies during their run. In the High Jump, skaters simply see how high they can jump by rotating their thumbs as quickly as they can in a circle around the d-pad (yawn). In Race, one or two players race as quickly as they can down a racetrack. It’s similar to the Jam, except in the Jam you’ll have to deal with an opponent punching and kicking you the entire time. The Jam’s alleyway is filled with obstacles, chain link fences and even a police car. The final event is the pool Joust, where you and an opponent will skate head to head, trying to knock each other off of skateboards with a large big padded stick.

While not the technically best port of the game, the NES version of Skate or Die does a good job of capturing both the spirit of the game and the feel of the times. Radical, to the max.

Skate or Die 2 (Electronic Arts, 1990)

In Skate or Die 2, instead of following the previous formula of using different events, EA turned the game into a side-scrolling adventure of sorts. The game reminds me of a two-dimensional version of Paperboy in a way. In Skate or Die 2, you’ll skate the streets while collecting objects and upgrading your hardware. Rodney (the skateshop owner) and his son Lester both make reappearances in this game. As you play through the game you’ll collect items such as tacos and cassette tapes that can be used to buy better gear, skills, and weapons (such as M80s and eggs).To be honest, this game was such a departure from the first game that I never played it much back in the day. I’ve since spent a little time with it and have found it to be a pretty challenging little level game.

California Games (Milton Bradley, 1989)

If Skate or Die encapsulated the feel of the 80’s skateboarding scene, California Games is a snapshot of the entire California culture of that era. From hackey sack (titled Foot Bag here) to Surfing and even a Flying Disk competition, there are six different events to compete in here. My favorite though, and the reason I bought the game, was the Half Pipe competition. Kids who grew up on the Tony Hawk series may find the lack of moves frustrating (there are only three to choose from). However, the Half Pipe part of California Games was one of the prettiest games I had ever seen at that time, and the fluidity of the animations combined with the great graphics sold me on this game the moment I saw it. Skaters have their choice of performing hand plants, kick turns or aerial turns throughout their runs. Looking back, it seemed a lot more complicated back then. While I couldn’t recommend California Games based on the Half Pipe event alone, the combination of events and presentation would make picking this game up a no-brainer.

720 (Mindscape, 1989)

And here we are, full circle (or, two full circles, for those who get the joke). It’s amazing just how poorly a game can be ported and still have people purchase it. 720 for the NES is, in theory, the same as the arcade game. That’s pretty much where the similarities stop. The game is played in an isometric 3D world, which means that the majority of your time is spent trying to hold an NES controller in the diagonal position, which is neither simple nor comfortable. In the arcade, gamers could jump, spin, and do a variety of tricks in the air to gain points. The NES version allows this, as long as your spin move is a 360 spin. Attempt to grind like in the game and your poor skater will crash and burn. Even pulling a 180 and landing rolling in the same direction is too difficult for your little dude to pull off. Bogus. Combine difficult direction controls with crappy sound and what do you get? Multiple frustrations, dude. That doesn’t mean I didn’t play it back in the day. I did, especially when my mom wouldn’t give me a ride to the arcade. I can’t see anyone with access to MAME playing this version much, but at least playing it is a good way to look back and see just how far we’ve come over the years.

While these weren’t all the games that involved skateboard decks on the NES deck, these were the ones that stuck out in my mind as the ones that really captured the feel of the times. NES games that feature skateboards and deserve an honorable mention include Wonderboy, Super Team Games, and Metro-Cross. Menace Beach deserves a dishonorable mention.

Skateboarding games have advanced to levels we had never dreams of back when I was a little skater punk myself. I never thought skating games would progress to the levels we’ve seen with the Tony Hawk series, the ESPN X-Games Skateboarding game, and even Sega’s Top Skater arcade machine, where you stand on an actual skateboard and perform tricks! There was a time though when 8-bits rules the land, when skateboarding was king and the NES was the most advanced gaming system on the market. Those were the days. Skate or Die!

[j_factor]

All this talk of Skate or Die reminds me of the Game Boy game Bad n' Rad. That was a neat little game.

[alexkidd2000]

Top Skater by a mile! Put it in the list!!!

[×FR3DD×]

Skate or Die - NES

nuff said

I second that! I was about to post the same thing..

[tom]

Skate or Die - C-64

Skate Boardin' - VCS

Super Skateboardin' - 7800