A pocket-sized Pro Skater that's perfect for any fan of the console games.
As soon as the main menu wheel shows, you'll understand how much attention went into this game to be just like the bigger versions. Upon first seeing the character selection, one might be disappointed by the pixelized pros. But don't be fooled, they stand up just as well as one should expect.
It will take some time to get used to the default control scheme, but if becomes too difficult it can be freely changed in the menus. Something that feels natural to the player would be the best route to take. The Nollie button is the same as the kick button. The shoulder buttons, as well as doing the control function, rotate the skater left or right in the air. These can't be changed, but there is no button interference when playing.
When you stick to it all the way through, you'll find the usual bonus characters, Officer Dick and Spiderman, on the character selection screen. One new addition is Mindy, not the same one from American wasteland, added to replace Private Carrera.
The 45-degree angle that the game is presented in takes some getting used, eventually it becomes something the player just ignores and accepts. It works, and that's fine.
The biggest, and possibly only, gripe one might have with this game is the lack of character creation. It's understandable that it would have to be cut from the GBA, but we could all do without a few cheats, Mindy, and one less song. A simple character editor would be ideal. Change skin color, hair color, clothes color, and add a board from one of the pros and that would satisfy.
Pay close attention when performing a trick, you'll see the animations have practically been copied frame by frame from the console versions. The animations, such as Tony Hawk's 900 or Rodney Mullen's Casper to 360 flip, are excellent to look it. They're never just "rotating to 900 degrees" or "a manual that ends with a flip." Each trick is detailed to look exactly like the bigger versions.
Large areas such as the School in Florida and New York City have been shuffled around a bit to make it compatible. Others such as Marseille, France and the hangar in Mullet Falls are the same. As a slight bonus the Warehouse from Pro Skater 1 has been added, with only a few minor changes to level layout. Each change isn't enough to get angry over, it just takes some getting used to.
The sound is the best I've heard in a GBA game so far. From the main menu wheel to a skater hitting the pavement, it's all the same. The only thing different from the consoles is the music. The midi-file music is similar, yet at the same time it feels as though it's best suited for this game alone.
The replay value takes this game to about 10 hours, with breaks. Once you get used to getting 100% with one skater it becomes easy to get the rest of the careers complete. Achieving 100% game total, however, will take effort. Mindy can't be unlocked unless you find all gaps (up to Skatestreet anyway).
If one started with Pro Skater 2 on the GBA and never touched the console versions, there's no need to fret. This IS Pro Skater 2, just smaller. It's the cherry on top for any fan of the series.