Back on my bullshit again, it seems...

I have a kinda weird relationship with this game. I love it a lot, but I consider it to be a weaker entry in the series. I just have tons of little issues. The huge amount of tutorials, the annoying roadblocks, the fact that there's almost too many moves you can do. Just lots of minor annoyances. Doesn't help that this was my first time playing a THPS game on the GameCube, which that d-pad was not made for games like this.

But... despite all that, I really love the Ethos of this game. It almost feels like the most Authentically Punk game in the series! Yes, some of the crude 2000s humor is an eyeroll, but the rags-to-riches story is really endearing with some fun characters and plays around with the history of the sport in an interesting way. Plus, it's still a Tony Hawk game! It's tons of fun! These levels are top notch. Sure it's not a true open world, but I respect the ambition a ton.

Overall, it's hard for me not to love a game in this series. The only Neversoft one I don't love is Proving Ground. So even a weaker Tony Hawk game still fucking rules.

AAAAAAA the final boss of this game took me like 5 hours and that is no exaggeration. Holy fuck, it was horrible. I was probably underleveled or using wrong items or something but holy fuck I did it and I'm so happy.

That being said, this is a great game! I don't think it's as good as Aria of Sorrow, mainly for those awful touch screen gimmicks. But still this maintains the spirit of that game and even adds some new stuff to the soul system that's welcome. Amazing and memorable map and (for the most part) great boss battles. I don't really care much about the stories in these games, but that's ok, the gameplay makes up for it.