The VHS tape collection objective in the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was inspired by Super Mario 64.
Neversoft adapted the idea of collecting stars in Nintendo's 1996 3D platformer into a skateboarding career structure. In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, each level contains five objectives represented by VHS tapes. Players complete those objectives to unlock additional stages and progress through the career.
The objectives made the levels more than timed skate parks. Players had to reach target scores, collect the letters in SKATE, destroy specified objects and locate a hidden tape. Completed goals were saved between runs, so a player could gradually clear a level rather than finish every task in one two-minute attempt.
The reference to Super Mario 64 was structural rather than thematic: the games share a collectible-based progression system, not a story or setting. The VHS tapes also fit the late-1990s skate-video culture surrounding professional skateboarding. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 retained the hidden videotape idea while expanding career objectives and adding cash rewards.