Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

This compilation features Tony Hawk’s Underground and Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer. Right from the menu screen, you’re faced with two distinct control schemes and objectives. Tony Hawk’s Underground (THUG) builds on its predecessors by combining classic vert and street skating with an open-world design. You’ll grind rails, bust out manuals, and chain vert tricks across themed levels, but you also get to explore towns, customize your skater’s look, and unlock hidden areas through narrative-driven missions. The trick system feels as tight as ever, with manuals and reverts offering deep combo potential.

Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer shifts the focus from concrete to curls of ocean water. Here, your success depends on reading wave patterns, timing your bottom turns, and linking aerials on massive swells. The controls for surfing take a little adjustment if you’ve only ever skated in Tony’s series, but once you find the rhythm, carving lines and hitting lip tricks become immensely satisfying. Each tour location—from the powerful barrels of Pipeline to the reef breaks of Teahupo’o—forces you to adapt your approach and experiment with different stance settings and board styles.

In both titles, the mission structures keep you engaged for hours. THUG offers story missions, street challenges, and classic high-score runs. Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer provides tour-based progression where you earn points and cash to upgrade gear and unlock new boards. The pacing between narrative stops in THUG and competitive heats in Pro Surfer feels balanced, preventing either game from overstaying its welcome.

Loading times are generally short across modern platforms, and the ability to switch between games on the fly makes this collection feel like a well-curated arcade machine. Whether busting lip tricks on a half-pipe or catching a ten-foot wave, both experiences showcase why these titles stood out in their respective genres two decades ago—and why they remain fun today.

Graphics

Although both games were originally released in the early 2000s, the graphical upgrade in this compilation brings them much closer to modern standards. Character models in THUG have smoother edges, and the reworked textures make boards and outfits pop with vibrant color. Lighting effects—such as the glow from neon signs and realistic shadows under ramps—lend more depth to each level, enhancing the sense of immersion as you skate through warehouse districts or under freeway overpasses.

Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer benefits even more from the current-gen boost. Wave transparency, foam details, and particle effects shine with improved clarity. You can see droplets flying off your board’s rail as you carve, and water reflections respond dynamically to the sun’s angle. Environments like the Australian reef break and California beach breaks feel alive thanks to fauna, shorebirds, and the play of sunlight on the water’s surface.

On both titles, draw distances have increased, reducing pop-in of distant objects. Level geometry remains faithful to the originals but feels more cohesive thanks to refined textures and color grading. While you may still notice occasional clipping or a slightly dated animation in character movements, these quirks carry a nostalgic charm rather than detracting from the overall visual appeal.

Performance is rock solid at 60 frames per second on most platforms, ensuring that your input-to-action feels immediate. Frame drops are rare even when zooming past complex scenes. Whether you’re grinding on rusted rails or carving through seawater, the fluid motion keeps you focused on mastering every trick without being pulled out of the moment.

Story

Tony Hawk’s Underground departs from the arcade-style simplicity of earlier entries by weaving an engaging narrative around your rise from local skater to world tour sensation. The story kicks off with a daring prank, leading to your recruitment by Tony himself. As you progress, you’ll confront rival skaters, pull off outrageous stunts, and negotiate sponsorship deals—all while uncovering hidden lore and graffiti-tagged secrets scattered throughout each map.

The strength of THUG’s story lies in its blend of humor and skate culture authenticity. Dialogue is peppered with inside jokes, celebrity cameos, and tongue-in-cheek references to real-world skateboarding. Missions range from performing stunts on moving gorillas to infiltrating a zombie-themed skatepark, offering a wildly entertaining journey that keeps motivations fresh and surprises frequent.

Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer, by contrast, foregoes a traditional narrative in favor of a tour-based framework. You’re not playing a character with a backstory but rather crafting your own path through world-class surfing events. The absence of a linear plot allows you to focus purely on skill progression, customizing boards, and chasing leaderboard glory. While you might miss cutscenes or voiceovers, the pure competition feel aligns perfectly with the ethos of professional surfing.

Combined, these titles offer narrative depth on one side and a competition-focused sandbox on the other. Fans of story-driven campaigns will find THUG’s arc compelling, while those seeking endless skill-based challenges will gravitate toward the Pro Surfer tour mode. Both approaches complement each other in this package, ensuring there’s always something new to explore.

Overall Experience

Tony Hawk’s Underground & Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer is a generous compilation that delivers two full-featured classics in one purchase. You’re essentially getting double the content, with dozens of levels, customization options, and challenges that can easily provide 30–40 hours of gameplay or more if you’re chasing every medal and unlockable secret. The dual-genre focus—skateboarding and surfing—broadens the appeal, making this collection a must-have for fans of extreme sports titles.

The remastered performance and graphical polish make revisiting these games a joy, even for veterans who might remember minor quirks. Modern conveniences like seamless saves, optional modern HUD refinements, and improved stability help smooth out the rough edges without compromising the core experiences that made these titles beloved. Multiplayer modes—ranging from split-screen trick battles in THUG to local heats in Pro Surfer—also remain a blast with friends.

On the flip side, newcomers should be aware that some camera angles and level layouts can feel dated compared to contemporary open-world or sports simulations. Occasional collision glitches or stiff lip-boarding animations pop up, reminding you of the games’ original era. However, these are minor blemishes in what is otherwise a robust package.

Overall, this compilation stands as both a nostalgic tribute and a testament to the lasting fun of extreme sports gaming. Whether you want to tour with Tony Hawk, chase big air combos, or drop into world-famous waves, Tony Hawk’s Underground & Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer offers an engaging, content-rich experience that holds up remarkably well in today’s market. It’s a prime pick for anyone seeking a mix of story-driven skateboarding and competitive surfing in a single, value-packed release.