The Tony Hawk Pro Skater series is one of the most well-known and critically acclaimed sports-type games ever made. The franchise was singularly responsible for fanning the flames of the skateboarding craze in the '90s and early 2000s, and it's still a series lauded by many today.
Released in 2020, the remaster of the first two games in the series, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, received a lot of acclaim for sticking to the games' roots while using modernized graphics and physics. Lots of specials came back for the remaster, and there are a few special grabs that are completely new to this iteration of the series.
15 The 900
The 900 is one of Tony Hawk's special grab tricks and is based on the record-breaking trick Hawk performed early in his career. Tony Hawk leaps into the air and spins fully two and a half times before he lands.
It's an unforgettable moment in skateboarding that Hawk later performed again at the 2011 X Games.
14 Indy Backflip
The Indy Backflip is one of Elissa Steamer's special grab tricks. It's a simple one, but nonetheless cool and easier to pull off than many other specials.
As the title of this special might imply, Steamer grabs her board, flips backward once, then lands back on the ramp.
13 Indy Frontflip
The Indy Frontflip is one of Eric Koston's special grab tricks. Like the Indy Backflip, this one is easy to pull off but not too visually impressive compared to many other grab specials.
For this trick, Koston grabs his board, flips forward once, then lands. It's a bit more difficult to pull off a front flip in real life – otherwise, the Indy Frontflip and Indy Backflip would hold the same ranking.
12 Kickflip One Foot Tail
Rune Glifberg's special grab trick the Kickflip One Foot Tail is one that jumps right out of the screen at the player. Glifberg jumps up, flips his board then grabs it while it is in mid-flip, then places his back foot on the board to pose.
It makes Glifberg appear to have more hang-time, and it's relatively easy to land compared to many special grab tricks.
11 Nosebone Flip
The Nosebone Flip is a special grab move available only to Ripper, the secret unlockable skeleton character. In this special, Ripper grabs his board, turns his head and bottom of his board towards the camera for just a moment, then flips fully all the way around.
It's great just for the visual of a skeleton doing a frontflip, and it's especially funny to catch his blue eyes staring directly at you mid-flip.
10 360 Varial McTwist
The 360 Varial McTwist is another one of Tony Hawk's special grab moves. For this one, he grabs his board, swings it around the length of his body while twisting in a full rotation, then brings his board back under his feet to land.
It's one of Hawk's signature moves in real life and is an impressive one to see pulled off even in a game.
9 FS 540
Steve Caballero's special grab trick is the FS 540, in which he grabs his board then flips around one and a half times and partially vertically.
It's a neat special that Caballero ended some of his real-life skating routines with, although it looks nearly impossible to pull off in-game.
8 Casper Flip 360 Flip
The Casper Flip 360 Flip is one of Geoff Rowley's special grab tricks that might elude the eye at first. Rowley jumps off a ramp, then flips his board so as to balance the deck on his feet in mid-air.
Then, before landing, he flips the board back under his feet where they belong. It's a bit death-defying, and something that hasn't actually been done in real life.
7 Weddle Backflip
The Weddle Backflip is one of Chad Muska's special grab tricks, and it's essentially a sped-up version of another grab special in the game. Muska grabs his board with both hands between his legs and rapidly backflips.
It's a move Muska is known for, and even though it's basically a sped-up backflip, it's one of the more flashy tricks in the game.
6 Kickflip Superman
The Kickflip Superman is another one of Steve Caballero's special grab tricks. Caballero kickflips his skateboard into his right hand, then outstretches his arms while holding the board forward and straightens his body, as if he is Superman in flight.
It's certainly a show-off move, in real life and in the game, but it's one of the harder ones to land.
5 Racket Air
Racket Air is one of Bob Burnquist's special grab moves, and it might perhaps be the raunchiest in the game. Burnquist kicks his board in front of him vertically, holds it between his legs with both hands, and thrusts forwards while the grab is held.
It's explicit, it's near-impossible to pull off outside of the gaming world, and it's one of the most hilarious specials in the game.
4 Coffin
Another one of Ripper's special grab moves is the Coffin. For this special, Ripper stands directly on top of his board and places his arms over his chest, as if to imitate a sleeping mummy.
Ripper holds this pose until he lands, and being one of the easiest tricks to land in the game, it's nearly always a success.
3 Warp Speed
Warp Speed is one of the secret unlockable Alien character's special grab tricks. The Roswell Alien will quickly grab its board before rapidly teleporting back and forth in place a few times, warping in and out of reality.
It's not fair to many other skaters that the Alien has special technology to perform specials with, but then again, there's not much anyone can do to control the extraterrestrial.
2 Assume the Position
Officer Dick is not just a police officer – he is voiced by and modeled after Jack Black, who is a huge fan of the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. As Officer Dick, one of his special grab moves is Assume the Position.
For this trick, Officer Dick assumes the position of a person being arrested. He puts his arms behind his head, his legs behind him, and balances the board on his feet before coming down to land. It's as hilarious as any trick done by Jack Black could be.
1 Pizza Guy
The Pizza Guy is another one of Eric Koston's special grab moves, and it might be both the most physically impossible and most unexpected special in the game (barring, of course, specials powered by alien technology).
In this special, Koston grabs his board above his head, appears to stand up in mid-air, and starts spinning his board on his fingertip like a fine pizza maker might. Somehow, he lands this trick on time in the game, but it's something nobody should try in real life.