levels in tony hawk games are weird | thps 2 world tour

[@PretzelYT]

I got an audio claim at around 12 minutes. I did the new youtube song removal tool to remove the song but keep my voice. It sounds a little weird but it's the best option I have. I'll take it I guess.

[@Halfpipesaur]

You took a step back inside the chopper and turned into a half-life 1 scientist

[@mordekai_wilde]

I love the way Tony just "~~~~~" while stationary on the board.

[@fastinradfordable]

Back in the skateboard glory days everyone was a lil messed up. Tony got most famous for landing the 900. But there was an Australian skater who was landing it first. However when he went thru the airport there was so much cocaine still on his ID that he was deported back to Australia and they are very strict down there and got like 30yr sentence or something crack. Wonder how he’s doing now…

[@MuckyPup115]

Wavy Gravy.

[@alejandroramirez4470]

They fixed this in the remaster

[@Big.Joe.Grizzly]

Like he's holding in a giant turd or he finds skateboarding so sexy he just has to thrust the air for relief

[@Swim_Jonse]

​@@fastinradfordable I love how you took a comment about some eccentricity in an animation and applied the behavior to reality. Don't think Tony was on crack lol. Hope that guy's doing alright.

[@randomnerd23]

Fun fact: All the pieces just thrown around skate heaven are all recreations of iconic skate spots irl. So if you will you can imagine it as the skate spots on earth being immortalized by the skating gods

[@beatles42ohgg94]

right, these "empty spots" arent empty a lot of times. one of those empty sots was literally 3 iconic skate spots in one.

[@Mr407Derek]

There is multiple spots in this level. The Gonz rail in this level. Jamie Thomas Leap of faith. The infamous Carlsbad gap. Which is so historically accurate is not even funny. Down to the dirt around the gap. Swear to god I sound like an autistic kid but it’s that close to scale. School 2 is just a bunch of school like street spots smushed in a level. He didn’t even dabble on the gym 😂

[@SharkCityGuerilla]

That secret area in school 2 that is the stairset and grass gap is just meant to be a hidden easter egg for real life skateboarders, as it is meant to be a replica of the famous "Carlsbad Gap" of Carlsbad High School. The last hidden area shown is also meant to be the "Animal Chin" ramp. A ramp that is from one of Tony Hawk's popular video parts from a Powell Peralta video in the 80s.

[@fastinradfordable]

You’re cool Let’s be friends.

[@las10plagas]

oh haha. didn't know about the animal chin ramp. have you ever watched animal chin? it's just whacky 😀

[@Mr407Derek]

Not to to mention the leap of faith or the gonz rail

[@troyithy]

pretzel, i have important information about School II! several of the spots you pointed out are 1:1 based on real world skate spots at california high schools! the big parking lot area with the long rail along the wall is a spot called “the Gonz rail” and the rail itself is wedged in a corner in real life, so they had to design for it in the game. and the spot with the little overhang (where you talk about the theoretical fan-edit of the level in the video) is a spot called “the Leap of Faith”, and there exists a video called “Welcome to Hell” where Jamie Thomas (a pro in this very game!) attempts a melon grab down the gap! EDIT: OMG! the secret secluded VGWT Spot is the legendary Carlsbad gap! also: Skatestreet Ventura was a real skatepark in Ventura, CA and was a short jaunt away from Neversoft headquarters at the time, so the developers actually skated there!

[@OmegaGlops]

Thank you for sharing all of this trivia! Was a delight to read. 😃

[@awdcale]

4:33 this is a real life skate spot at a school called Carlsbad gap but it’s been recently demolished

[@mattstevenson1334]

Pour one out for the homie

[@gamerdood3]

I appreciate these videos. They offer a look at games that won't be possible for some in the future. Having put a lot of time into the TH series, I feel the games that don't have environmental NPCs have this unique anomaly vibe to them. Like the backrooms, or some kind of limbo state. The 1+2 remake are a perfect example of what I'm describing. AFAIK, there is only one other living person in the single player, the golf cart guy. It's almost post apocalyptical and we're just choosing to shred instead of rebuilding.

[@cuhgaming4943]

Recently started my first playthrough of FF8 yesterday so hearing the Balamb Garden theme was a welcome surprise and coincidence off the bat! Thanks for carrying the fight against my anxiety as always Pretzel

[@rzepek2pl]

This video feels extra special to me. Not only do you explore mundane spots in games, which I loved doing myself when I was a kid, but you've also covered one of the very first games I've ever played! Sidenote, Skate Heaven was so scary to me when I was a kid 😂

[@alejandroramirez4470]

How about the triangle from thug2?

[@nickmaatjes5611]

2:44 the reason that spot is the way it is is because its duplicates a legendary skate spot.The spot where Jamie Thomas did his legendary of faith.its a homage to that particular place so that's the reason it is the way it is.

[@NOOBLETK]

Here I am, doing everything I can.

[@mybrickhead]

holding on to what I am

[@NOOBLETK]

@@mybrickhead Pretending I’m a Superman.

[@jammin2575]

@@NOOBLETK🎺🎺🎺🎺🎺

[@las10plagas]

@@jammin2575 I'm trying to keep

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

​@@las10plagasthe ground on my feet

[@HEAVENCALLERX]

I don't know if you'll ever read this, but please never stop making these videos. Your ability to showcase things from my childhood and experiences I could never properly replicate are on full display here. I'm just hit with a tidal wave of nostalgia from this game in particular, but even in your other videos, having you explore the worlds makes me feel so immersed in the experience. I'm working my way backward through the catalog and am super excited to watch your Guild Wars video. I just want you to know that you are appreciated. Your work and editing is art that allows me to see the game the way the people creating it made. All spaces explored, all corners uncovered. There is joy and enjoyment in every second the video moves. Thank you for this quality content, please never stop having this passion.

[@SteveFromLongIsland]

Great comment!

[@YungCuzz]

I really appreciate your recognition of the indescribable yet powerful vibe some spots just give off. They’re just nice to look at and be in.

[@Mulgah]

6:20 Skatestreet is a real skatepark in Ventura California that's why it's called that

[@PretzelYT]

yeah i kinda figured it was based on a real place. it has those vibes

[@lpnp9477]

Was :(

[@nbproductions194]

I like the idea that thps world is just our world that the skaters conquered

[@XboxJoint]

I saw your thumbnail and remembered being a kid and playing thps 1 in the burnside level and just wishing I can go outside and explore the parking lot and street lol

[@gabrieldangos]

please never stop making these entertaining videos, i love this series of videos exploring and analysing maps, big fan of your channel, hope you have all the success you deserve. love from Brazil

[@Suko120]

I wish you could make an over analyzing like this of Re-Volt, a game I grew up with. The levels/tracks there are also mostly based on real places and also don't make a whole lot of sense if you think about it.

[@ayochill9716]

That ramp at 00:30 is where I did my first ever 900, i never knew how to do the special tricks but accidentally did it with Tony on that quarter pipe lmao, can never forget that.

[@oui2611]

with pretzel having such a wholesome voice its funny when he swears, i didnt expect it. also subtle jokes like at 9:01 removing the street sign as a call back to earlier is great.

[@outtasightouttamind6263]

Skatestreet was a real park in Ventura CA. Wish I could've visited before it got torn down

[@ronnieperez8519]

I live in Ventura. Same here. I don’t skate at all but wish I could have seen it.

[@lpnp9477]

Same with skater island in Rhode Island :(

[@TheLazyJAK]

Can you PLEASE do tony hawks underground. Such a gem.

[@wolx3226]

perfect video to fall asleep to dropped as I was going to bed thank you

[@mybrickhead]

yeah gas molecules just kinda bump around

[@personaslates]

Always a cozy treat when a Pretzel video drops.

[@NikateeN]

I love this unique video style, such a breath of fresh air. During the early years of 3D games I was always enamored with the levels and spent a ton of time just exploring, imagining would could be just beyond the boundaries.

[@shoogoawayxx]

really like that you sound exactly like otacon from metal gear

[@safebox36]

Like most areas in TH games, Skatestreet is based on an indoor skate park of the same name in Ventura. Though the irl one is a lot smaller.

[@albishie]

Your narration great. I really appreciated how you made note of the absence of certain elements, in addition to the weird inclusions

[@isaaccortez8836]

Skate street was a skatepark in Ventura Ca the name of the park was skate street. Also on the Venice map on the tables those are table / bench combo that “skaters” put “wood” up against the bench part to turn them into kickers. If you watch old skate of Venice beach you’ll see that they used to make ramps there all the time.

[@SpectrumAnalysis]

I find it hilarious that during the chill intermission you took the time to edit out the "Street" from the Skate Street sign. Genius

[@Swim_Jonse]

Agree and love how bits like 2:20 are considered in the gameplay. I have to think the addition of the manual led to a lot of design changes like making lines shorter from THPS1, so as not to allow combos to be performed easily, and led to a lot of these purposefully empty spaces you have to skillfully navigate through and connect to other parts of the level. I mean, the golf cart 100% is there to knock you down while you're trying to balance a manual. It's a neat little touch that's genuinely a good game hazard.

[@andricksav7176]

This is great! I've been watching your videos for a while now. I initially came across your channel because of the Survive or Thrive series. However, after exploring more of your content, I noticed a special charm in your videos. KZbin has been around for so long that I thought I could never become a KZbinr, but now I feel differently. Survive or Thrive is one of your most popular series, yet you never milked it just for the views. It's clear that you care about making content that you're truly passionate about. In every video, I can feel the love and dedication in your voice, and it shows in the quality of your work. Because of you, I’m finally going to start my own KZbin journey, and I’ll focus on making videos about things I’m truly passionate about-just like you do!

[@dafffodil]

it's interesting seeing you talk about spots that are famous skate spots, like the carlsbad gap, and hearing you speak about the space as it is without the recognition of it as a skate spot. It comes across as a play space and wondering abut interruptions to the game mechanics' flow so it becomes confusing and eerie how some of the spaces seem empty or like dead ends. great video, it has me thinking a lot about level design in a way i enjoy

[@dafffodil]

also if you havent played them yet, i think youd appreciate the ps1 versions of THPS 3 and THPS 4 in terms of how the level design differs and how the spaces feel on ps1 vs the ps2 fidelity and spatial complexity

[@Clover864]

“i just bounce around like a molecule or some shit” idk why but that caught me off guard

[@Rihcterwilker]

Tony hawk games felt devoid of life. Like, some npcs just walking around would go a long way to make them less jarring.

[@cool_bug_facts]

I never played tony hawk, but i felt the same way about NFS most wanted. Especially coming from underground 1 and 2, which had spectators cheering you on at the start and end of every race. I think that added so much to the atmosphere. It felt like a weird step backwards and though it's one of my favorite games from my childhood, MW always had this sense of unease and loneliness about it. Liminal, i believe the kids call it. The world is clearly being inhabited, yet the inhabitants are nowhere to be seen outside of a few cutscenes.

[@SEB1991SEB]

The interpretation I had when I was younger was that the skaters aren't meant to be skating in these areas, so that's why they never come across anyone, cos they're trying to avoid getting caught by anyone. And then in competition stages there obviously wouldn't be anyone walking around cos they'd distract the competitors.

[@lamBETTERthanY0U]

Only the first 2 didn’t have npc’s

[@fastinradfordable]

Yea but the thps1 has a soundtrack that makes up for it

[@fastinradfordable]

Are you saying the golf cart npc isn’t a person?

[@outtasightouttamind6263]

"that'd go kinda hard tbh" lol that was a rough one

[@KPdewstar]

Most of the areas in skate heaven are from the movie The Search for Animal Chin. My favorite part about thps 1 and 2 is they have less stuff then the rest of the series. In the THUG games every rail is a rollercoaster that travels the whole level. Great video

[@CamrosMedia]

Skate Street got demo'd and turned into a megachurch, The Venice beach plaza is now Venice Beach skatepark (that "volcano" structure still exist in the grafitti pit), heck even the Philadelphia Love Park is completely different now...

[@hellrepublicrecords1720]

Heck yeah my favorite youtuber back with my favorite series on my favorite video game franchise!!

[@youroffline]

Editing out "street" from Skate street repeatedly was a wonderfully funny and entertaining bit, thank you.

[@Pink-Lightsaber]

These tour videos are so grounded and genuine. Love them!!

[@Codricmon]

These videos are fascinating to me, and there's a unique charm to both these videos covering games I know like the back of my hand, and those I've never played before. Are you planning on covering _Tony Hawk Underground,_ as well? I played that one a lot as a kid, and comparing the stages there with the ones I've seen from the _Pro Skater_ games, it's interesting to see how they went from "Here's a skate park that kind of resembles a real place, but is obviously made for the player" to "ah, dang, now we need to make something that looks like an actual city block, but it still needs to be fun to skate in it". Which, in my opinion, they nailed.

[@BrianM_3rd]

Have you ever played the first SSX game? It has a ton of interesting out of bounds and shortcut areas, the city level especially. My favourite was the Snowdream level, which had this dark peaceful forest alongside the entire track. It was always nice to immediately head off-course and just plow through the powder among the trees and enjoy the relative calm, away from all the noise and light of the main course.

[@saintallison]

I'm going to have to look this up, it sounds awesome!

[@fergiedafrog]

another neat fact about SSX is in-universe all the tracks have been redesigned for the following year's event in SSX Tricky, and if you remember the original designs some parts have been left in as a little nod (main example being the OOB shortcut towards the end of Aloha Ice Jam, as well as Mesablanca's split sections). in general an SSX video would rule

[@BrianM_3rd]

@@saintallison For anyone who wants to see it, just search "ssx snowdream" and the first video by Gee Tee shows a great example of the forest about 2 minutes in! Unfortunately, they pretty much got rid of the area entirely in SSX Tricky :(

[@RockyTSM]

I was obsessed with this game. Using the fly cheat was so much fun. Exploring out of bounds has always been a big deal to me.

[@STARSVeteran]

New Pretzel video, yay! Enjoy your weekend! 😊

[@abasement666]

pro skater 4 on the PS1 is the most unintentionally liminal game ive ever played. very beautiful levels that are mostly on foggy nights.

[@las10plagas]

😀you almost had me with the "iconic" chopper drop. also, I think this area 4:30 only exists for the Carlsbad gap (a legendary gap amongst skaters) and Venice Beach is based on the actual venice beach ;-)

[@amaterasu666]

love your videos so comfy

[@JellothePallascat]

I grew up playing THPS2. Another game to look at Is Thrasher skate and Destroy

[@adrenaliner91]

Don't forget THPS4 has an actual widescreen mode in the Pause menu settings when you actually get to it.

[@bojackbojackbojack]

Nice choice of music with the "Balamb Garden" theme.

[@robertpaulson2946]

another incredible video, thanks pretzel. can't wait for your thug 1 & 2 video if you happen to make them

[@Zephyrian1st]

omg... just to be clear, the the skate heaven ramp is the animal chin, animal chin is an iconic skate ramp ridden by tony hawk and crew in wheels of fire in like 1987. Skate Heaven is finding chin and the ramp in heaven. jz :p it helps if your involved and apart of the culture at the time.

[@badgmodmovies3775]

I love these video game world tours so much, though it makes me sad this is the last ps1 tony hawk entry in his list, because thps3 and 4 on the ps1 are very different games to their gamecube/ps2/xbox counterparts, 4 in particular as entire levels were somewhat different if my memory serves me correctly. I played both the ps1 and ps2 versions of thps4 extensivly growing up, and found the differances between the two astounding. but hey, nostalgia is different for everyone, and I love seeing others perspectives on said things.

[@ipaddleYOass]

I always felt like i wanna live in Crash Bandicoot Team Racing levels

[@PretzelYT]

Oh man I LOVE that game. I've kinda wanted to talk about it and Mario Kart, but I'm not sure how well I'd be able to cover race tracks for this series. I'll definitely look into it sometime.

[@OdairASilva]

What a great video! Pretzel never disappoints!

[@TheRealPOTUSDavidByrd]

This was sick. Loved the star child level. Made me think of a super rad 2001: A Space Odyssey

[@onceuponatimeonearth]

5:37 god just look at those beautiful RTX reflections. THPS2 was way ahead of it's time!

[@BuiltbyFellony]

NY especially with the disembodied voices and the taxi

[@jingalls9142]

That taxi was almost sentient. It gave me the creeps. Like some pissed off Serbian dude is trying to merc me on the streets of Baltimore

[@itsandybenn2121]

The photoshopping out "street" from the sign at 9:04 during the appreciation montage is so fucking funny

[@UnderTheSkin13]

Fun fact: The School is called Neversoft High as is written in the secret basketball court.

[@Cityofruin]

El Toro high school was featured in many skate videos back in the day. (edited)

[@JonathanCabot]

Leap of faith was point loma hs in san diego

[@Cityofruin]

@@JonathanCabot you right, my bad it's been a while

[@lamBETTERthanY0U]

@@Cityofruin yeah el toro isn’t in it. The carsbad gap which is also at a san diego high school is tho

[@lpnp9477]

​@@lamBETTERthanY0Uwas, not is :(

[@seutarcisiog]

Love how you used Balamb GARDEN music on School!

[@kawaiiseaslugs6756]

you sound like a pretzel, it’s uncanny

[@SteveFromLongIsland]

Thank you for your videos. Love the GTA SA videos, and now I am so happy about this video. Hope you are doing some clips about Tony hawks underground 1 & 2 too :) lot of nostalgia 💫

[@DaLeetah]

starting with THPS3 and moving back to THPS2 much later, I can confirm that feeling of sort of weird, semi-complete, truncated emptiness is serious in the first two games also cuz i doubt anyone else will mention this, the GBA port of THPS2 (which I played before the original, weirdly) seems to agree with what you say about some of the emptiness because there's an entire line that runs above the area from the starting area all the way past the gym to the corner of the level and it was jarring at first to play the original version of the level without that line there

[@endymallorn]

Ooh, THPS & Blue Fields. Okay, I’m hooked.

[@mattstevenson1334]

The Venice Beach sandpits were actually "alcoves" like that, I believe

[@KTKLW]

absolutely insane to find this while playing the remaster of thps 1 + 2

[@LuridRequiem]

It feels like you’re avoiding the term “liminal spaces” which would explain why these places feel so weird, yet comforting.

[@stevencase3289]

i wouldn't say they were going for that feel they were just being accurate as possible to places they were recreating

[@LuridRequiem]

@@stevencase3289 I was talking about the uploader of the video, not the game devs

[@JamieBainbridge]

Those first empty places in School are supposed to funnel you into the bells which are a goal in the level. This isn't emptiness, it's good game design by absence of clutter, just as you mentioned a minute later.

[@GenericUserBMR]

A collab with Any Austin would go super hard ngl

[@TonySpike]

Last i checked Venice Beach is a real place with those really wierd concrete thingumys, game designers had nothing to do with them, they exist IRL And so is the Marseilles park oddly enough

[@nobodyblues]

dude the closed area in the school level is a real spot, its called carlsbad gap

[@ChaosPootato]

It's been said in many comments but many many of the weird places are gamified existing skate spots. Cheers for the video, your stuff is always a treat Edit : I still think after all these years that Skate Heaven is the best Tony Hawk game level. All games included.

[@KappaCow]

Holy crap, I never knew about skate heaven. That’s pretty awesome.

[@jefmaarawi]

Man I love this channel

[@andrewolfgang389]

THPS series had a sound track that's up there with the GTA series. 🎶

[@TOASTDAGHOST]

That halfpipe in the end is the animal chin halfpipe

[@ChipsChallenge95]

Your channel is excellent.

[@79licorice]

it kinda relates to tony hawk.. kinda.. xD but could you do a video on jet set radio future? it's a little more niche but has sooo many places that would fit so well with your narration style. and it's honestly such an underrated but also loved ip. i think you could do it justice. just a hopeful suggestion :3

[@KYPJH]

Love your stuff!

[@fromthegamethrone]

The weird "non spots" used to annoy me as a kid.

[@stevencase3289]

imagine calling the animal chin ramp a normal skamp, put some respect on legendary ramp, i love seeing nonskaters trying to understand what made these levels so iconic

[@domyoung2506]

You should do this exact same video concept but with Skate 3.

[@skullthrower8904]

THIS GAME IS SO WEIRD AND EERIE SO STRANGE AND KIND OF CREEPY

[@Flowmaster925]

why is the map still loading while you skate through it? is this an emulator or something. Original ps1 game you can see way further to get long lines

[@kellenhayes3628]

Pretzel, Venice Beach is a very popular beach in LA.

[@josefbecher4790]

I could watch anything about thps... i wouldn't be mad if you did a bunch more.. but your the artist, ill accept anything you throw at me lol

[@eftalanquest]

skatestreet is named skatestreet because it's modeled after a real life skate park named skatestreet

[@killahawks0]

12:47 I got Deja vu here

[@GreyOatmeal]

Great video

[@finalfursonavii8635]

big up the ff8 balamb garden music

[@2stonedplaya]

the Early THPS games always felt ominous to me

[@lpnp9477]

Old games lacking people aside from the player character can feel weird if you didn't grow up with them

[@danzaragoza001]

Ah yes my favorite stage S K A T E. It's weird considering there's way more vert than street areas I guess Skatevert doesn't sound as good

[@criixt]

It's not really a counter if it's the height of the skater, it literally is at forehead level of the player.

[@cstinybaby]

can u do return to castle wolfenstein, kingpin life of crime, maybe some counter-strike maps? love the vids

[@HolyDemonSnap]

The Sta is the sibling to Ska.

[@shadowcatboy7852]

I love your videos❤