The first proper hardflips were almost like pressure flips. The first one I remember was Daewon's over that tiny gap in Love Child. After that everyone was hardflipping and fronside flipping everything in sight. I used to TRY to do illusion flip b/c of the Muska, but could never get them.
The manual game has become a lot more important lately. Manuals used to be a random thing to do while joking around or while you were hurt. Now every video part has a bunch of super tech wheelies. Henry Sanchez and the guys at the old World park really kicked that off.
I vividly remember freaking out when in New World Order Koston does a switch 360 flip nosemanual and Henry does a frontside flip to fakie manual. That shit was inconceivable then.
I skated with a lot of the Planet Earth/Rhythm guys way back when, and Ryan Bartsma did a switch hardflip switch nosemanual which was insane as well. Mariano did it years later....
People have been doing proper hardflips forever though. It's really nothing new.
In recent years the things that have been shocking to me were the tricks I mentioned before, and:
Luan- Berrics SKATE when he does that switch heel bigger-spin out of nowhere on flat
Not that recent, but Russ Milligan did the first switch backside 360 flip on flat I'd ever seen
Lucas- Frontside nollie flip fakie 5-0 revert
Wade- nollie pop shove bs nosegrind revert, nollie inward heel crooked grind
Suciu- nollie bs 180 bs nosegrind revert the hard way and fakie bs 5-0 frontside halfcab flip out
Ishod- wallie frontside 360
Wes - the tricks everyone has mentioned
Yaje- fakie gap to fakie 50-50 (I consider that an nbd because who the fuck would try that?)
Rowan- He's on some game changing shit en total
There's a euro dude that's down with Skate Mafia and he fucking straight kills it with shit you've never seen...I just can't remember his name.
It may be just me, but whoever started the frontside 180 to switch crook pop out in the middle of ledges deserves some props. I know Henry did it first at EMB and Scott Johnston pretty much did the illest one ever, but they were both done at the beginning of the ledge, not in the middle. Love that trick.