It had been years since I touched Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 when it was announced that the Neversoft classic was being remade by Iron Galaxy. In fact, it had been close to 23 years since I had last played the game. But upon opening up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 — a remake of the aforementioned Pro Skater 3 and its follow-up — it felt like I had never left. Naturally, the first place I journeyed to was the Foundry.
For any of our readers who were too young (or perhaps not even born yet) when the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 came out, Foundry was the first level where we got a taste of what the next generation of the series had to offer. And man, was it fun! However, it certainly wasn’t easy.
In Foundry, players are given 10 goals. Most of them are relatively straightforward, but others are more difficult. And none are as difficult as needing to grind the Molten Bucket.
How To Grind The Molten Bucket In Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 And 4
In order to address how to grind the Molten Bucket in THPS 3+4, we must first find it.
When you first load into Foundry, you’ll start on what we’ll call the south side of the level. The Molten Bucket is on the north end, right above the big tub of lava that is situated in the middle of the halfpipe. Well, sort of.
You see, the Molten Bucket itself isn’t a static object — it moves from side to side before dumping a load of lava into the tub below it. And the bucket itself isn’t exactly what I would call skateable. Instead, it has two rails that are attached to either side of it. Those rails are what you need to aim for. Now, before you try to grind those rails, it’s important to note that it’s best you use a good vert skater such as Tony Hawk or Bucky Lasek to make it as easy as possible.
OK, so we now know where the Molten Bucket is and how to approach. Now, it’s time to grind it.
Once the Molten Bucket begins pouring the lava into the tub, or is about to start, use the halfpipe at the far north side of the level for some speed. Once you’ve got the speed, use the edges of the lava tub to aid your job. For good measure, do a No Comply or Boneless to boost your jump even further.
For those who don’t know how to do either, you can do a No Comply by hitting the up direction before the Ollie button. A Boneless gives you even more air, but requires two vertical presses of a direction on a thumbstick. A No Comply should be good enough.
Once you have the air, hit the Grind button, and you should be all good! A short cutscene will play, and that Goal will be crossed out.
