2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
The first game was great, but felt like it was missing something. It had a solid soundtrack, classic levels, and a good roster of skaters. But a piece of the skating puzzle was missing. That was of course the manual. With this flatland trick, players could connect combos across large sections of any map or skatepark without needing to hit a rail to keep their combo alive. This was useful in empty areas of levels that were otherwise devoid of things to trick off, and elevated the skateboarding gameplay from the original in a big and important way.
Pro Skater 2 also introduced the create-a-skater feature, letting players make their own skateboarder instead of playing as one of the pros. This would go on to be a popular feature in nearly all future games. Oh, and for many, THPS2 has the best soundtrack featured in any game in the series.
