By the time August 2002 rolled around, the Nintendo 64 was basically a ghost. The GameCube had already been out for nine months, and the PlayStation 2 was busy becoming the best-selling console of all time. Most people had moved on. They were playing Halo or Grand Theft Auto III. Yet, in a weird bit of gaming history, Activision decided to give the N64 one last ride. That ride was Tony Hawk 3 Nintendo 64.
It wasn't just another game. It was the end of an era.
The Last Hurrah for the 64-Bit Legend
Honestly, it's wild to think about the timing. Tony Hawk 3 Nintendo 64 was the final official release for the console in North America. Imagine that. The N64 started with a plumber in a 3D world and ended with a middle-aged man doing a Kickflip McTwist. Talk about a full-circle moment.
Edge of Reality, the studio behind the port, had a massive task. They had to take a game built for the "next-gen" power of the PS2 and cram it into a cartridge. No CD space. No fancy DVD storage. Just silicon and plastic. Because of this, the N64 version is a strange, fascinating time capsule of what happens when you push old hardware to its absolute breaking point.
What Actually Made the Cut?
If you've played the PS2 or GameCube versions, the N64 port feels... quiet.
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The most obvious casualty was the world itself. In the "big" versions, you had pedestrians walking around and cars driving through the streets of LA. On the N64? It's a ghost town. The levels are structurally the same—you still have the Foundry, Canada, and Tokyo—but the "life" is gone. No foreman to knock into the water in the Foundry. No ice cream truck to dodge. It's just you, your board, and a whole lot of fog.
But here's the thing: the gameplay is still there.
The Revert, which is arguably the most important mechanic in the entire franchise, actually made it into the N64 version. This was a big deal. Without the Revert, Tony Hawk 3 Nintendo 64 would have just been a reskinned version of the second game. By pressing the right shoulder button (R) as you land on a pipe, you could keep your combo going into a manual. It changed everything. It meant you could finally hit those million-point scores on a console that was technically obsolete.
The "Miserable" Soundtrack Debate
We have to talk about the music. For many, the soundtrack is the game. Ace of Spades by Motörhead. Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones. These tracks are legendary.
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On the N64, however, the cartridge space was so tight that the developers couldn't fit the full songs. Instead of 20+ tracks, you got six. Only six. And they weren't even the full songs; they were heavily compressed, edited loops. If you skated for more than two minutes, you’d hear the same 30-second chorus of If You Must by Del the Funky Homosapien over and over until your brain felt like it was melting.
Some fans call it "miserable." Others find it nostalgic in a "low-fi" kinda way. Honestly, it’s a miracle they got any licensed music on there at all, considering the cartridge was only 128Mb. They could have used a 512Mb cart (like Resident Evil 2 did), but Activision was clearly trying to keep costs down for a dying platform.
How It Compares to the PS1 Version
Most people don't realize there were actually two "last-gen" versions of this game. One for the original PlayStation and one for the N64.
- Loading Times: The N64 wins here, hands down. No "Now Loading" screens while you wait for a disc to spin. You just click and go.
- Visuals: The N64 version is "cleaner" but "fuzzier." The PS1 has that classic polygon jitter (wobbly textures), while the N64 uses that signature anti-aliasing that makes everything look like it’s been rubbed with a stick of butter.
- Controls: The C-buttons on the N64 controller actually work surprisingly well for flip tricks and grabs. It feels more tactile than the PS1's face buttons for some reason.
Why You Should (or Shouldn't) Play It Today
If you're a collector, Tony Hawk 3 Nintendo 64 is a holy grail. Not because it’s the "best" version—it’s clearly not—but because of its status as the "Final Game." It represents the absolute limit of what developers could do with the N64.
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Is it the best way to experience THPS3? No. If you want the real experience, you play it on PS2 or the PC port. But if you want to see a piece of history, there's something oddly charming about skating through a silent, foggy version of the Rio level while a muffled 20-second loop of Ace of Spades plays in the background.
It's a reminder of a time when developers didn't just give up on old consoles the second a new one came out. They kept pushing. They kept porting. They kept trying to squeeze one more Revert out of a system that probably should have retired years earlier.
Actionable Next Steps for Retro Fans
If you’re looking to dive back into this specific version, here is how to get the most out of it:
- Check Your Hardware: If you're playing on an original N64, use the Expansion Pak. While not strictly required for this game, it helps with some of the technical chugging in busier levels like Tokyo.
- Toggle the Music: If the six-song loop starts to get to you, turn the music volume to zero in the options and pull up the full THPS3 soundtrack on your phone. It preserves the "next-gen" feel while keeping the N64's snappy loading times.
- Hunt the Gaps: Since the pedestrians and "events" are gone, focus on the gaps. Some of the gap names on the N64 version are unique or slightly glitched (like the "Grind the Line" doubles in Suburbia), making for a fun challenge for completionists.
- Compare Versions: If you have a Wii or a GameCube, try playing the THPS3 version there immediately after the N64 version. The jump in quality is staggering and gives you a real appreciation for how much the industry changed in just one year.