Learn your first line in The Hangar
Use the original controls, bank short combos and practice without a timer.
Original 2000 PlayStation release by Neversoft. This guide excludes the Xbox Pro Skater 2X additions, handheld adaptations and the 2020 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake. Original PS1 controls and cash-based career progression are used.
Learn the four basic trick inputs
With the default PlayStation setup, X crouches and releases an ollie, Square performs a flip, Circle performs a grab and Triangle enters a grind or lip trick when positioned appropriately. Combine the trick button with a direction to choose a particular move. Hold X while approaching a useful ramp, release at the jump and let the trick finish before landing. Begin with one dependable flip or grab rather than pressing every button during the same jump.
Bank a short combo first
In The Hangar, choose one ramp and a nearby rail as a repeatable practice route. Land an aerial trick, enter a grind and leave it safely. A successful landing banks the displayed chain; falling loses its unbanked points. Look at the trick text to confirm what actually happened. Once you can repeat the route, add a manual between obstacles. More attempts at a manageable line teach you more than repeatedly bailing a long improvised one.
Use Free Skate and save your career
Free Skate removes the time pressure from unlocked parks, allowing you to learn terrain and access to hidden areas. Career mode supplies the objectives and earnings that open further levels; Single Session focuses on a timed score. Save your career after useful goals and purchases. On original hardware, ensure your memory card has space. The original file can preserve the professional roster's progression and your created riders, so choose the correct career when returning.
Watch the landing first: a small combo that banks is worth more than a spectacular one that ends in a bail.
Picture details
Game artwork belongs to its respective rights holders.