In the beginning, there was He. And He sayeth unto the Void,
Let there be Boarding. And it was good.
Anthony Frank Hawk, known in America as Tony Hawk (AKA: The Birdman, HAWKMAN, Bastion of Boarding, Fiend of the Fur, Sir of the Shred, and Advocate of Alliteration), is a singer, actor, philanthropist, cartoon character, stuntman, entrepreneur, professional athlete, and last but not least, a video game character.
Tony Hawk is an exceptionally gifted and versatile individual and his moveset will reflect this. However, in order to use him properly, players must take advantage of every stage they fight on. Additionally, Tony Hawk's special move requires timing and coordination.
Miscellaneous
Whether you're playing on flat stages, large stages, stages with platforms, walls, etc., Tony Hawk has an approach for each situation. Your gameplan might change depending on the level. Make each one your own personal playground!
Large/flat terrain: Tony Hawk's dash is unique in that it gains speed/momentum the longer he skates. Once you gain enough momentum, you can jump higher, which is useful for Tony's neutral special (explained below). His dash attack's damage also varies depending on your momentum. Lastly, at full speed, simply turning around mid-dash allows him to perform a
kickturn attack. While performing a kickturn, Tony keeps his momentum and attacks in both directions. Simply put,
it's like a moving Down Smash.
Platforms: Tony's Down Smash changes if he is on a platform. Instead of performing his usual Down Smash, he will
rail grind.
Rail Grind
When performing Tony's Down Smash while on a platform, he rail grinds. Grinding is a weak yet rapid attack that is mostly used for its mobility; it propels Tony forward. It hits in front of him and slightly below him.
Tony will continue to grind forward until he reaches the bottom of the stage. However, you can cancel the move by pressing the shield button. Depending on how high the platform is and if there are lower platforms nearby, Tony can grind until he is on the bottom of a stage. Here's a visual reference.
Walls: Tony can wall jump and wall cling. Press the attack button during a wall cling to perform the
Axel Stall.
Axel Stall
Bumping into a wall animation (no function but it looks cool):
Altitude: As a pioneer of vertical skateboarding, Tony is all about high-flying tricks. Use the stage, your momentum-enhanced jumps, and Up Special to get as high as you can so that you can pull off your best tricks/attacks.
Neutral Special: Aerials Tricks
Tony Hawk's neutral special is very unique because it
only works while he is airborne. While airborne, hold down the special button and rotate the control stick.
Once you have successfully rotated it, you must then let go of the special button before Tony reaches the ground. Otherwise, he messes up the trick, which not only negates the attack, but it briefly leaves him vulnerable. The amount you rotate the stick determines the type of move that Tony performs. The more ya rotate, the stronger the attack. You can rotate the control stick up to 3 full-circle inputs (strongest) or as low as a half-circle input. You can also choose to hold the special button and release it before hitting the ground, but this deals the least amount of damage. For every successful trick you land, it makes
this sound effect.
The 900
While in midair and holding the special button, quickly rotate
3 times before Tony reaches the ground. The higher you are, the more time you have to input the motion. The 900 is Tony's most damaging attack if it lands. It also breaks shields. Some dexterity is required; it's rewarding to successfully pull off in matches, but requires skill.
The 720
Weaker than The 900, but it only requires you to rotate the control stick 2 times. Still fairly powerful.
The 360
You get the idea. Rotate the control stick once and Tony spins around once in the air. It can be performed, even if you short hop, but since it's a full circular input, it won't be a easy as...
Japan Air
There are two ways to perform this attack. You either hold the special button and then release it before hitting the ground, or you can use the half-circle (Hadoken) input, which deals a little more knockback and damage. Whichever one you choose, the attack is fast and the simplest neutral special to perform at any aerial height. Try to do the trick after an aerial attack!
Up Special: Quarter Pipe Ramp
Playing on a flat stage and/or don't have enough room to skate around? No problem. The Birdman can take to the skies thanks to his trusty quarter pipe. Radical! The ramp does not put Tony into free fall, meaning he can follow-up with his neutral special or any of his aerial attacks.
When used in the air, the ramp falls down to the ground and breaks. It deals damage if opponents are underneath it. However, when used on the ground, it stays there for 9 seconds, or until opponents destroy it. And yes, you (and even other Tony Hawks) can ride back up grounded ramps.
Side Special: Graffiti (Don't try this at home, kids!)
It works like a combination of Piranha Plant's poison and Inkling's paint. Spray a paint cloud that always deals a set amount of damage (3%). However, the longer you charge it, the more paint gets covered on opponents who walk into the cloud. You can deal up to 1.5x damage to enemies completely tagged by a fully charged spray blast, but the effect wears off over time.
Up Smash: Backflip
Charging it slowly rolls Tony forward.
Down Smash (when not on a platform):
Up Tilt: Eggplant
Down Tilt: Bert Slide
Forward Throw: The Picky
Tony slides underneath and bashes the opponent with his skateboard. He learned from the best.
Up Taunt: Varial Flip
Final Smash: Mask King
Anthony charges forward with an elephant mask and obliterates his opponents with his true passion: singing.
