Really faithful remakes of the classic crash games but god this is difficult. Crash 2 especially. Would recommend but mainly for seasoned gamers
This is the remake that made me adore Cash Banooca.
I broke a controller and almost a second over this game but its a great remaster.
The announcement of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy initially blew my mind, given my fond memories of playing Crash as a kid. The excitement of revisiting these beloved titles was palpable. However, the trilogy primarily served to revise my perception of the Crash games. Sadly, the games didn't live up to the nostalgia. The platforming, which should be the core joy of any platformer game, felt fundamentally flawed.
The main issues with the trilogy stem from its physics and camera angles. The jump mechanics in the game have zero float, which, when combined with camera angles that do not adequately convey the distance to enemies or obstacles, creates a recipe for frustration rather than challenge. This is compounded by level designs that feature overly tight jumps, transforming what could be challenging gameplay into mere irritation.
Although Crash 2 and Crash 3 introduced new moves to Crash's moveset, offering a slight improvement, they were not enough to elevate the games. The additions made the experience slightly better but the games still remained far from the top of any list of satisfying platformers. The fundamental issues with the gameplay mechanics held them back, solidifying their position towards the bottom in terms of platforming enjoyment.
The main issues with the trilogy stem from its physics and camera angles. The jump mechanics in the game have zero float, which, when combined with camera angles that do not adequately convey the distance to enemies or obstacles, creates a recipe for frustration rather than challenge. This is compounded by level designs that feature overly tight jumps, transforming what could be challenging gameplay into mere irritation.
Although Crash 2 and Crash 3 introduced new moves to Crash's moveset, offering a slight improvement, they were not enough to elevate the games. The additions made the experience slightly better but the games still remained far from the top of any list of satisfying platformers. The fundamental issues with the gameplay mechanics held them back, solidifying their position towards the bottom in terms of platforming enjoyment.
I feel like I have never sworn as much in a videogame as I did playing the first Crash Bandicoot. It took me ages to beat because I would need to go do something else having failing over and over on a level, each time slightly closer to the checkpoint I was starting at. Special mention to Slippery Climb for being the level to induce the most rage within me.
Crash 2 had a good balance between a few new mechanics and familiar difficulty. I liked the hub style worlds, and the ability to take the levels in whichever order you liked (in groups of 5). I missed the character tokens for the bonus levels, but that's alright. you can see them start to experiment with some new things like jetpack levels and nitro crates.
Crash 3. I don't know if playing the previous 2 unlocked something in me, or if this entry was just easier. I was breezing through levels like they were nothing. There were no walls, no frustrations on deaths, and I only got slightly slowed down by the bike levels. I think the many different types of levels (underwater, bike, tiger riding, etc) made it so the difficulty could only go so high, and the new abilities made a lot of the jumps way easier. Double AND being able to hover in the air was something else, and I could fly over chasms and enemies with ease. I liked the bosses and plot of this one the best by a mile though, having time travel based levels creates some really unique designs, my favorite probably being the dinosaur levels. I beat the entire game in one afternoon, no rage breaks required.
Towards the end of the 1st one I had considered that I did my duty and played a retro classic, and probably wouldn't play the other 2 as I felt these difficult platformers weren't for me, but then I got sucked in and I'm going to start Crash 4 later this week.
Crash 2 had a good balance between a few new mechanics and familiar difficulty. I liked the hub style worlds, and the ability to take the levels in whichever order you liked (in groups of 5). I missed the character tokens for the bonus levels, but that's alright. you can see them start to experiment with some new things like jetpack levels and nitro crates.
Crash 3. I don't know if playing the previous 2 unlocked something in me, or if this entry was just easier. I was breezing through levels like they were nothing. There were no walls, no frustrations on deaths, and I only got slightly slowed down by the bike levels. I think the many different types of levels (underwater, bike, tiger riding, etc) made it so the difficulty could only go so high, and the new abilities made a lot of the jumps way easier. Double AND being able to hover in the air was something else, and I could fly over chasms and enemies with ease. I liked the bosses and plot of this one the best by a mile though, having time travel based levels creates some really unique designs, my favorite probably being the dinosaur levels. I beat the entire game in one afternoon, no rage breaks required.
Towards the end of the 1st one I had considered that I did my duty and played a retro classic, and probably wouldn't play the other 2 as I felt these difficult platformers weren't for me, but then I got sucked in and I'm going to start Crash 4 later this week.
Goated remake
Played with Metalish