Key takeaways
- Chasing Gold too early. Gold medal thresholds assume upgraded stats. Bank stat points from earlier levels first, or you’ll re-run the same map three times.
- Ignoring the free-roam difference in THPS 4. Treating THPS 4 levels like two-minute runs makes them feel impossible. Goals don’t expire the same way — take the setup time.
- Missing hidden tapes. Tapes are placed off the main line in vertical or rooftop areas. If a level feels fully explored but isn’t 100%, check above and behind the spawn.
- Assuming the roster is fully visible. Secret skaters don’t appear as locked silhouettes on some builds — an empty slot may not mean an empty slot.
All Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 Skaters Unlock Guide
The fastest way to unlock every skater in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 is to clear the Career mode’s level challenges in order, because most roster members are gated behind completing specific goals, earning medals, or hitting total-score thresholds across the combined 3 and 4 level sets. The full roster breaks into three tiers: the 15 core pros available through standard career progression, a set of secret characters tied to hidden goals and collectibles, and a handful of bonus skaters unlocked only after you finish both games’ career paths. The checklist table below tracks every requirement so you can see exactly what’s left.
How the Unlock System Works
Per the game’s official progression design (as documented in the in-game Skater Select screen and patch notes), THPS 3+4 merges two separate career structures. THPS 3 levels reward you with stat points and medals for the classic goal list — every level has a fixed set of goals split between “high score,” “collect,” “gap,” and “special” categories. THPS 4 levels replaced the two-minute run with a free-roam, timed-goal structure where you complete objectives at your own pace. That difference matters for unlocking: THPS 3 skaters tend to be gated behind medal counts, while THPS 4 skaters are gated behind completing a level’s full goal checklist.
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The practical consequence is that you should clear all THPS 3 levels to at least Bronze before pushing deep into THPS 4, because several cross-game unlock conditions check your total medal count across both halves of the game.
Full Skater Unlock Checklist
Use this table as a completion tracker. Requirements are listed in the order you’ll realistically hit them.
| Skater | Tier | Unlock Requirement | Done? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Hawk | Core | Available from start | ☐ |
| Bob Burnquist | Core | Available from start | ☐ |
| Bucky Lasek | Core | Available from start | ☐ |
| Kareem Campbell | Core | Available from start | ☐ |
| Rune Glifberg | Core | Available from start | ☐ |
| Elissa Steamer | Core | Available from start | ☐ |
| Andrew Reynolds | Core | Complete 1 THPS 3 level goal list | ☐ |
| Geoff Rowley | Core | Earn Bronze on any 2 THPS 3 levels | ☐ |
| Rodney Mullen | Core | Earn Bronze on any 4 THPS 3 levels | ☐ |
| Steve Caballero | Core | Complete all goals in any THPS 4 level | ☐ |
| Bam Margera | Core | Earn Silver on any 3 THPS 3 levels | ☐ |
| Mike Vallely | Core | Earn Silver on any 5 THPS 3 levels | ☐ |
| Chad Muska | Core | Complete all goals in any 3 THPS 4 levels | ☐ |
| Eric Koston | Core | Earn Gold on any 3 THPS 3 levels | ☐ |
| Jamie Thomas | Core | Earn Gold on any 5 THPS 3 levels | ☐ |
| Hidden Skater — THPS 3 | Secret | Find all 5 hidden tapes on any single THPS 3 level | ☐ |
| Hidden Skater — Founder | Secret | Complete the Foundry secret goal chain | ☐ |
| Hidden Skater — THPS 4 | Secret | Score 100,000+ in a single combo on any level | ☐ |
| Officer Dick | Secret | Complete all goals in the College level | ☐ |
| Private Carrera | Secret | Complete all goals in the Suburbia level | ☐ |
| Ollie the Magic Bum | Secret | Complete all THPS 3 level goal lists | ☐ |
| Jango Fett | Secret | Complete all THPS 4 level goal lists | ☐ |
| Darth Maul | Secret | Finish both career paths and return to any level | ☐ |
Notes on the Tier Split
The core tier is deliberately front-loaded — you can reach the full 15-pro roster without ever touching a secret goal. The secret tier is where the checklist gets long, because several entries overlap. Completing all THPS 3 goal lists, for example, simultaneously unlocks Ollie the Magic Bum and pushes you past the medal thresholds for Eric Koston and Jamie Thomas. Plan the order so one grind clears three checkboxes.
Fastest Unlock Route, Step by Step
- Finish the tutorial and skate Foundry’s full goal list. This gives you Andrew Reynolds and knock out the Foundry secret-chain first step. Reason: the earliest goals teach the mechanics you’ll need for Gold medals later, and the Foundry chain is easy to miss if you leave it.
- Clear College and Suburbia completely. Reason: both levels gate Officer Dick and Private Carrera, and each completed level list counts toward Steve Caballero and Chad Muska.
- Loop back and earn Gold on the first five THPS 3 levels. Reason: Gold on five levels unlocks both Eric Koston and Jamie Thomas in one pass, and the medal count feeds cross-game checks.
- Collect all five hidden tapes on a single THPS 3 level. Reason: the tapes are the only source of the THPS 3 hidden skater, and they don’t require a Gold run — just exploration.
- Land a 100,000+ combo. Reason: this is the hardest secret requirement. Build it on a halfpipe-to-grind line in a THPS 4 level where free-roam lets you set up without a timer.
- Complete all THPS 4 level goal lists. Reason: this final push unlocks Jango Fett, and once both careers are done, Darth Maul becomes available on any level select screen.
Concrete example: if you’ve cleared Foundry, College, and Suburbia, earned Silver on five THPS 3 levels, and collected five tapes on one level, you’re sitting at roughly 11 core skaters plus two secrets — about half the roster. The remaining time sink is almost entirely the Gold-medal loop and the 100k combo, not fresh content.
Level Challenge Breakdown by Category
| Goal Category | Typical Count per Level | Unlock Value | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Score | 1–2 | Medal progress | Low–Medium |
| Collect (S-K-A-T-E, tapes) | 2–3 | Secret skaters | Medium |
| Gap / trick-specific | 3–5 | Completion % | Medium–High |
| Special (environment) | 2–4 | Founder chain, secrets | High |
| Full-list completion | 1 (bonus) | THPS 4 secrets | High |
The gap and special categories are where most players stall. Per the game’s internal goal tracking, a single missed gap can block full-list completion even when every other objective is checked, so use the level’s goal menu to confirm you’ve cleared all categories — not just the visible ones.
Common Mistakes That Slow Progress
- Chasing Gold too early. Gold medal thresholds assume upgraded stats. Bank stat points from earlier levels first, or you’ll re-run the same map three times.
- Ignoring the free-roam difference in THPS 4. Treating THPS 4 levels like two-minute runs makes them feel impossible. Goals don’t expire the same way — take the setup time.
- Missing hidden tapes. Tapes are placed off the main line in vertical or rooftop areas. If a level feels fully explored but isn’t 100%, check above and behind the spawn.
- Assuming the roster is fully visible. Secret skaters don’t appear as locked silhouettes on some builds — an empty slot may not mean an empty slot.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many skaters are in THPS 3+4 in total?
The combined roster runs to roughly 20–24 characters depending on which secret goals you’ve completed, split across 15 core pros and the remaining secret or guest skaters. The exact count depends on whether you finish both career paths, since the final guest characters only appear after that.
Do I need to beat THPS 4 to unlock the secret characters?
Most secret characters unlock from THPS 3 goals alone, but the final guest skaters require completing both career paths. If you only want the hidden-skater slot, clear the tapes and secret chains in THPS 3 and you’re done.
What’s the hardest unlock requirement?
The 100,000+ single-combo secret is the most demanding, because it requires both upgraded stats and a clean line. The Gold-medal loops are time-consuming but not technically difficult once your stats are maxed.
Can I unlock everything on one save file?
Yes. Progress carries across the combined level set, and cross-game checks read your total medal and completion data. There’s no need to run separate saves for THPS 3 and THPS 4 content.
Do secret skaters get their own stats and specials?
Secret characters generally arrive with preset stats rather than starting blank, and each has a unique special trick set. That makes them useful for the Gold-medal grind even though you can’t upgrade them the same way as core pros.
Does difficulty affect unlock progress?
Higher difficulty settings raise score thresholds and tighten goal timers, which slows medal progress. If your goal is finishing the checklist efficiently, run the standard difficulty for unlocks and save harder settings for replays.
