Ranking of Tony Hawk Levels
work in progress...
(had to get creative with some of these wiki entries)
List items
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THPS 2: HANGER
Like most of THPS 2, Hanger is a follow up to a THPS level with twice as much for the player to do and thrice as much personality. Beginning the game with a compact yet dense level like this immediately indicates to the player that THPS 2 is brimming with good ideas.
HOWEVER - this level also represents the US' piss poor efforts to store and maintain our old military tech, and you bet your best stick of butter I'll be emailing my local congresspeople to ask them how they plan on wheeling that fighter jet through that half pipe
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THPS 2: MARSEILLE
Probably one of the best competition stages. I think what I like about it is that the pool is a little more interesting to traverse for vert tricks, but there are a bunch of really obvious yet challenging lines to hit for street stuff. It's also got a pretty unique aesthetic relative to other levels. I would play a game that was just tourism but using PS1 graphics and skateboards.
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THPS: WAREHOUSE
classic flavor
Warehouse is this perfect little toybox that lets you try ALL of the mechanics in the entire game at once. The rail is even curved at the end just to make sure you get the idea that grind-able surfaces don't have to be a completely straight line. The gaps are really obvious, too, in case you don't intuitively pick up on what they are right away.
Luv u, Warehouse <3
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THPS 2: Skatestreet
Skatestreet initially seems like another bland skate park level, but it's actually really clever how they tie street tricks into a level that at first glance appears to be all vert stuff. There's multiple opportunities to escape the bounds of the park and gap over over head lights and stuff. I also like how you can explore just outside of the useful parts of the level where the vending machines (and presumably the people there to see the event?) are.
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THPS: MALL
I feel like a lot of people hate Mall, but...where else am I going to pick up more copies of Bruce Willis' Apocalypse?
This level is essentially a slalom course through an *extremely* long shopping mall. Point blank that means I already kinda like this level. What a weird idea!
Mall is also one of the only levels in THPS to successfully incorporate street-style tricks thanks to the fact that rails and gaps are everywhere. They even put a traditional half pipe at the end if you don't feel like dealing with the rest of the level - but if you *do* feel like dealing with the rest of the level and are done with your run, there's a final gap over a swimming pool before you cross the finish line.
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THPS: DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS
Another bizarre THPS level. This one's much sturdier in design than Streets, because it at least has some fun spots to discover, like the rooftop pool.
In a lot of ways, Downtown predicts the future of the series' level design. There's a goofy NPC that will scream catchphrases at you as he commits vehicular manslaughter, self-knowing 'cops hate skating' props to eff up, rails that take you though apartment building windows...it's got some charm! Because this is THPS, however, and the level design is not at all catered towards street-level skating, there's still a stupid amount of open space the player has to travel where there's essentially nothing to do. Not quite good, but getting there.
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THPS: BURNSIDE
Of all the THPS levels, I think Burnside is the most indicative of its limits. Ramps/transfers are really small, and even an A+ run won't be any more dynamic to watch than a casual run. It's super limited in scope and I'd really never choose to play this level on a roster, but there's something charming to it all the same. Kind of a THPS mini level.
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THPS 2: NEW YORK CITY
Besides being one of my least favorite THPS 2 levels, this is also one of the worst representations of New York City I've yet seen in a video game. I guess it has a certain dense, busy flavor to it, but like...two cabs, a subway, and an extremely large, unnecessary art sculpture? Also a park with a large rock in it you can't really do anything with? I'm just not sure where they were going with this.
The big thing in this level is riding the subway line to jump over a brick wall and into a park...but...there's like nothing in that park? Just a confusing and unsatisfying experience all around
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THPS 2: BULLRING
A weird level, all things considered. The crux of the map is obviously the central halfpipe, but everything else you can do in the level is...confusing? Just a lot of disjointed ramps around, and extremely long stadium lights to grind if you want to waste the time getting to them. There's not a lot going on here, and the big set piece loop-de-loop isn't actually practical if you're trying to play well.
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THPS: ROSWELL
I don't know why, but I kind of like Roswell. Not a level with a lot going on - it's basically just a series of enormous ramps and one large central gap. Pretty stress free/fun final competition level.
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THPS: SKATE PARK
Can you imagine a more basic skate park than this? A single rail, a half pipe and a bowl. No more, no less. I can't say I *dislike* Skate Park, considering where the franchise was at in the first entry. Without many tools at the player's disposal, a level this simplistic makes perfect sense, especially for a competition stage. There's just nothing to really write home about here. It's pretty much a bigger Warehouse with nothing of flavor in it.
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THPS: DOWNHILL JAM
We wouldn't even remember downhill jam if Tony Hawk wouldn't keep bringing it up.
Look. Downhill Jam isn't good. In fact, it isn't even the best downhill jam level in this game. However, it's not exactly a disaster either. The secret tape objective is an enormous (and extremely not fun) hassle, the collectibles require way more precision than most other objectives in the game, and there's really just not much to *do* as you barrel toward the end of this large brown poop chute.
BUT! You could honestly do worse. I think the Tony Hawk games are at their worst when they boil down to 'just grab a bunch of points by bouncing around these ramps!' There's a LOT of those levels in THPS, and at the very least, Downhill Jam is not that.
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THPS: SCHOOL
I've always felt like school 1 is too large and empty to be a fun level. It's a flat rectangle with a couple tables and a zillion ramps in it. There just aren't that many lines to hit, which makes sense considering THPS' vert-based gameplay, but at least other vert-centric levels in THPS like Mall and Streets have a bit of personality. It's not the least playable level in the series, but I definitely don't like it.
It also, if we're being honest, is...not...a...school? This is a complete waste of a level design idea, so much so that they did another one. This School is a gym and a series of swimming pools. It doesn't even pass the squint test *as* a school. For some reason, there's a gif of a generic 90's punk band playing on a screen by the pools.
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THPS: STREETS
So this is not a very accurate portrayal of San Francisco. It is also not a very good level. However, there IS a van that drives in circles everywhere, and you CAN skateboard through windows.
OK honestly this level kind of sucks. It's like it's built for a game that isn't the game it was built for. There's nowhere to really go, as far as shooting for the high score. There are some half pipes scattered about, but that's about it. The collectible objectives are scattered everywhere, too, and the level is so flat and empty it feels like the Tony Hawk developers made a fake Tony Hawk game to prove their REAL Tony Hawk game is good, but then accidentally released it as a level in their good Tony Hawk game. I mean, Streets is emptier than the level that literally is called Warehouse.
If I can find ONE nice thing to say about this very bad level, it's that beginning the level at the top of Lombard Street is a fun idea.
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