This Donkey Kong Bananza predecessor is a key influence on THPS

I’ve been replaying Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 obsessively since its Nintendo Switch 2 debut. Each level is a nostalgic blast, but how did series pioneers Neversoft bring them to life? And could we ever see that Tony Hawk’s Underground remake? In a new interview with former Neversoft studio development director Scott Pease, the former reveals how a brilliant Donkey Kong game made the games possible.

It’s widely known that the Bruce Willis-starring Armageddon serves as the foundation for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s engine, but crafting the game’s tricks and fluid movement begins with Nintendo’s loveable ape. Well, his nephew at least. Speaking to The Washington Post, Pease explains that “the influences are definitely [Super] Mario 64 and even to a certain extent, Diddy Kong Racing.”

Released in 1997, Diddy Kong Racing comes from developer Rare. If defining the FPS game genre with GoldenEye 007 wasn’t enough success for the studio, then Diddy Kong Racing’s whopping 4.8 million sales are a considerable accolade. “If you look at the structure of Tony Hawk 1, with the secret tapes and the goals, we kinda lifted a lot of that from Diddy Kong Racing,” Pease tells the outlet.

Nearly 30 years later, Diddy Kong Racing sits as the N64’s eighth best-selling game. Comparatively, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater sits at 30. Both series are enjoying plenty of critical acclaim right now. You can check out Connor’s 10/10 Donkey Kong Bananza review for proof of that. But while Donkey Kong Bananza is reigniting the fires of the franchise, can we expect the same beyond Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4? I’m not so sure.

Earlier this year, Iron Galaxy posted a staff update on LinkedIn indicating that several members of staff had been laid off. In a recent Reddit thread, an account claiming to be a former level designer addresses the studio’s team shift. “The game industry is in a weird spot right now. I did get laid off, along with other super-talented devs, but working on 3+4 was one of the greatest achievements of my career,” Redditor ‘Choopid’ comments.

As Iron Galaxy is a third-party developer, Microsoft’s Activision merger doesn’t directly affect any employment decisions at the studio. The ex-developer adds that “Activision was a great partner. They trusted us to put the levels together and deliver something everyone would be proud of.”

Calls for a Tony Hawk’s Underground remake are abundantly stronger than any other entry in the series, but the game’s radical shift to cutscene-dependent storytelling and open-world game format would require some major work. Until then, you can read my Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 Switch 2 review to see how the latest remake fares.

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