The Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 reboot has brought many things to the table for new and old fans alike. With the beautifully enhanced graphics and smoother controls, even the 90s ska is still as fresh in players' heads as it was back in the good old days. However, one of the series' most defining mechanics is perhaps its fantastic combo system.
As anyone who's played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 will already know, combos are integral for the completion of the games. They help in specific combo-oriented objectives, and they can help a player complete none-combo oriented objectives such as competitions or getting to hard-to-reach items.
Grinding Helps More Than You Think
One of the best ways to get super easy combos is by grinding rails. If players plan to focus on their combo game then having a good Grind stat is important for getting those easy combos. However, players should not worry too much if they have low grind stats. Decent combos are still quite obtainable with a low grind stat. Players can easily build combos by combining grinds and gaps together. For example, jumping from one rail to a wall, to a rail, or from a rail to a rail. Sometimes, players can even wall ride or wall plant to aid with this.
Wall riding helps when trying to get to a higher grind area or an unreachable spot. Wall planting, on the other hand, helps players with grind time, especially if they are grinding a rail and heading towards a wall. A wall plant will keep the combo going and the player can choose to continue grinding the other way or go into a manual, air, or flip trick to keep the combo going. Adding some flip tricks in-between can increase the combo score and help the grind last a little longer for more points. A super nifty trick for gaining points for grinding is finding circular bowls or rails. Players can just keep the grind combos going and hit various grind tricks to stack up those points.
Use Manuals As Much As Possible
Manuals are there for a reason! Apart from just providing flatland tricks manuals can help with transitioning. If players are losing balance on a grind, they can simply jump off the rail and continue the combo with a manual. If a player is pulling off great air tricks and wants to continue into a combo, they'll be able to manual coming down from the ramp and keep that combo going. If a player sees a rail during this transition, then they should start grinding. Ultimately, the manual is there to help players transition tricks.
Manuals and rails can be very powerful allies when chained together for a high combo. Again, if players manage to grind circular bowls and rails and stack up the grind tricks, they can easily keep the combo going by jumping off and going into a manual. Doing this can stack up major combo points. Adding some flip tricks into the manuals and grind transitions will only help beef up that high combo.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.