Mario chases stars and coins, but for Tony Hawk and his pro-skater pals, their eyes are set on the much more grounded videotape collectible. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise was a breath of fresh sick air dude in the gaming landscape, but not all the tape collectibles were born equal. Below are the ten hardest tapes to collect ever in a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game.
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10Secret Tape in School 2 – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Super Mario-Like Jumps
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 (2020)
The thing about jumping, or ollies, in Tony Hawk is the player is constantly moving and unable to turn on a dime. This makes the requirement of precise jumps a real predicament, as players are familiar with the secret tapes inTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2.
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In the original game, the momentum and physics are more forgiving, but in the remake, the player has to make a series of awkward jumps, grinds, and wall rides to make it to the area, then make a perfect jump across the gap without falling down and having to start the whole process over. A real bummer, bro.
9Secret Tape in Airport – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
Everyone Stop Moving
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
If the player is focused only on the secret tape,and nothing else, then this is not one of the worst ever. But locating this tape is hard. Then finding the perfect ramp to jump from to grind and stay grinding while flying around to collect it is the hard part.
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Once the player knows its location, half the battle is over, but getting the momentum required and making it to the bottom of the level in the amount of time given can make any player pull their hair out.
8"S-K-A-T-E" in New York – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Pathing is E-v-e-r-y-thing
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Get the reset finger ready, because the pathing for this tape makes this one hard. Most of the letters make sense to collect, but the “A” is hovering over a fountain in a very precarious, awkward place.
If it were just about collecting that one letter, it would not be such a homewrecker, but for some reason it is placed higher than one would hope, making players have to find just the right speed and jump angle to get it from another obstacle or from the halfpipe the “K” is located on. Many gamers havehad to go to YouTubeto find out how this one worked.
7"Smash the Boxes" in The Hangar – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1
Every 10-Year Old’s Nightmare
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (1999)
This wasthe crown jewel of young Tony Hawk playerswhen the very first game came out. While children learned how to skateboard like a pro for the first time to “Superman” by Goldfinger, one mission in that first level made the youngins nearly give the game up completely, and that was smashing five sets of boxes in very odd locations.
Sometimes the game’s collision detection wouldn’t work, sometimes a gamer could not find all the boxes or lose track, but this mission never was an easy one for the newly initiated. Easier in the remake, but a famously hard one.
6Secret Tape in Cruise Ship – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
American Gladiator Styled Skater Boi
Of all the precarious places the player must reach in the Tony Hawk games, this one may be the most sneaky and hard to spot. On the cruise ship, players must grind across a long set of flags to a half pipe set up.
Without falling off, the player must then gain enough momentum to get airborne and collect the tape. It’s a small platform and it’s pretty easy to fall right off before even getting there safely.
5Secret Tape in Skatestreet – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Many Choices, All Difficult
This secret tape has been the bane of many player’s existences. For this tape, player’s can see the goal, but having to get on top of the building or find a ramp that perfectly shoots them into the top of the glass to shatter it proves difficult.
The most common route is to climb around the building slowly, using wall rides and grinds to shimmy your board up and then slowly jump off the ramp at the top down into the building to claim the tape. Being unable to see where the fall will take the player also adds to the difficulty.
4“Wallride 5 Bells” in School – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1
One Bell To Rule Them All
This is another tape that increases drastically in difficulty for the younger players, as grasping the wall ride mechanic while having to nail it five times perfectly in one attempt was the cause of a lot of teenage angst.
Four of the five bells are at least somewhat understandable for this tape. But one bell in particular is hidden on an outcropping in an awkward part over a grassy part and is difficult to nail while getting the correct amount of speed.
3Secret Tape in Venice Beach – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
All the Air in the World
Max out ollie, air time and speed, or never collect this object of many pro skater’s frustration. Many gamers attempt to nail this tape from the building, but there’s an easier route if the player gets the right angle from a well placed table on the ground to shoot them up close enough to nab it.
This is also the part of the game where players must realize that their special meter increases all these important stats, allowing them to reach platforms and gaps they are unable to without the meter being full.
2Secret Tape in Philadelphia – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Just Tap It In
There are two ways to go about getting the tape, one which is much easier, and the second which most gamers opt for and give themselves a world full of trouble. This tape sits upon a telephone line that is connected to two buildings. If the player has enough momentum, they can go up the side lower to the ground and reach the tape through a series of jumps and grinds.
Most players, however, attempt to get the high ground, and getting to the top of the wire is a difficult process of wall riding, jumping and braking in order to perfectly set themselves up for a long grind into the secret tape. It’s not stupid if it works.
1Secret Tape in Downhill Jam – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1
Tony Hawk’s Favorite Rage-bait
Tony Hawk himself said this was his favorite level, but did he even play it to completion? This secret tape is the undisputed champion of tough tapes to collect in the game, with some players believing it was not properly play-tested at the time of release.
Downhill Jam is a one-way level, in which the player gets one chance to make certain jumps or has to start all over again. This specific tape requires a series of perfect jumps, wall-rides and grinds to grab a tape precariously set up in the middle of the course. Players can jump out of a wall-jump to get a slight advantage, but this is the mother of all tape grabs for one reason: it’s meant to be this hard.
