I kinda miss the "think of a mad animal and give it special powers and it is now your new platforming mascot" era.
I’ve recently gained a platformer addiction over the past month, to be more specific, with PS1 platformers. I’ve played the Spyro & Crash remakes multiple times but I thought it might be worth playing through the originals, seeing how much they got right and what changes were made in the future re-releases. And beginning with the one that started it all, Crash Bandicoot is a fun time, but not a well polished one in terms of its collecting, difficulty & movement.
At its core, Crash is a very simple game. You go through the course, hit as many boxes as you can, finish the level, rinse & repeat until you get to the end. To mention the goods, I think the original has a lot more charm which you don’t really see in the remake; the limitations of the hardware works in its favour and environments have beautiful colours and vibrancy alongside a catchy soundtrack and crunchy sound effects (that live in my head rent free). I also enjoy how it tries to create some sort of journey between each level, rather than what the series became known for afterwards, the hub worlds, which feels more disjointed. I think the Jungle/Tech/Castle themes all fit really well and the designs of each of the characters are just as goofy as Crash!
Crash himself feels okay to control, though maybe having the option to play with joysticks on later controllers would’ve been a nice touch as sometimes on the harder courses the d-pad only movement makes it all the much worse. To coincide this, the lack of movement options does make him feel very rigid. Compared to 2 & 3, there's no slide kick, ground pound or unlockable powerups, just a simple walk, jump, hit & Aku-Aku for extra defence. This setup paired with some of the awkward depth perception issues results in stressful gameplay, especially if you’re trying to get all the boxes on say the bridge levels. I’d say the level design and environments themselves are great! But It’s that camera and movement that turns it into a nightmare for completionists.
Speaking of a nightmare, the difficulty spikes. The base game wasn’t too bad to get through, even with the problems with the perspective, but OH LORD trying to 100% this is an entirely new beast. So, not only do you have to hit all the boxes without dying (which is a big ask considering how long the harder levels are), but then some require a coloured gem to unlock secret paths which you get through specific bonus stages in levels. There's also extra levels you need to unlock by getting keys… and none of this is ever properly explained to you, you’re just meant to figure out where they are. It’s a fun challenge to add for replayability, but some levels can be downright grating to finish, and once you finally collect everything the secret ending doesn’t add much value, so it's not really worth it. I also found the boss stages to be easier than any of the platforming levels, even Cortex, so the balancing is really mismatched, you’ll never know when the next hardest challenge is.
This does start to show a general lack of polish throughout the game. It’s like how you can only save when you’ve completed a level for the first time or doing a bonus area in a level, but once you’ve used that bonus it doesn’t return so you have to find another to go to??... or how lives reset every time you boot the game back up… or how enemies can sometimes be hidden until the last second, ruining the principles of planning where you want to go (this was extremely noticeable in the ‘Fumbling In The Dark’ level). There's just a certain threshold it passes when it's more annoying than difficult.
I’d say that if you were to check out this game yourself, then probably just play the remake version as it does add more QoL improvements that make 100%ing the game much more enjoyable and the definitive way to play. The controls feel better, you can die in a stage and still get standard gems (just not coloured ones), you can save at any point & there's even a box counter so you can see how many you have left to get instead of having to guess and hope that you’ve gotten everything. There's also the addition of time relics too that weren't in the base game however, so take that how you will as me personally, im terrible at them.
I think the only things I’ve ended up preferring in the original is the style & music. Crash Bandicoot is still a good platformer, but it hasn’t aged as well as say Spyro. It shines best with its design, story & general silliness and less-so its controls and progression. Anyone CAN pick up and play it, but depending on how your experience goes with platformers you might just end up pulling your hair out trying to fully complete it if you don’t get along with it well.
At its core, Crash is a very simple game. You go through the course, hit as many boxes as you can, finish the level, rinse & repeat until you get to the end. To mention the goods, I think the original has a lot more charm which you don’t really see in the remake; the limitations of the hardware works in its favour and environments have beautiful colours and vibrancy alongside a catchy soundtrack and crunchy sound effects (that live in my head rent free). I also enjoy how it tries to create some sort of journey between each level, rather than what the series became known for afterwards, the hub worlds, which feels more disjointed. I think the Jungle/Tech/Castle themes all fit really well and the designs of each of the characters are just as goofy as Crash!
Crash himself feels okay to control, though maybe having the option to play with joysticks on later controllers would’ve been a nice touch as sometimes on the harder courses the d-pad only movement makes it all the much worse. To coincide this, the lack of movement options does make him feel very rigid. Compared to 2 & 3, there's no slide kick, ground pound or unlockable powerups, just a simple walk, jump, hit & Aku-Aku for extra defence. This setup paired with some of the awkward depth perception issues results in stressful gameplay, especially if you’re trying to get all the boxes on say the bridge levels. I’d say the level design and environments themselves are great! But It’s that camera and movement that turns it into a nightmare for completionists.
Speaking of a nightmare, the difficulty spikes. The base game wasn’t too bad to get through, even with the problems with the perspective, but OH LORD trying to 100% this is an entirely new beast. So, not only do you have to hit all the boxes without dying (which is a big ask considering how long the harder levels are), but then some require a coloured gem to unlock secret paths which you get through specific bonus stages in levels. There's also extra levels you need to unlock by getting keys… and none of this is ever properly explained to you, you’re just meant to figure out where they are. It’s a fun challenge to add for replayability, but some levels can be downright grating to finish, and once you finally collect everything the secret ending doesn’t add much value, so it's not really worth it. I also found the boss stages to be easier than any of the platforming levels, even Cortex, so the balancing is really mismatched, you’ll never know when the next hardest challenge is.
This does start to show a general lack of polish throughout the game. It’s like how you can only save when you’ve completed a level for the first time or doing a bonus area in a level, but once you’ve used that bonus it doesn’t return so you have to find another to go to??... or how lives reset every time you boot the game back up… or how enemies can sometimes be hidden until the last second, ruining the principles of planning where you want to go (this was extremely noticeable in the ‘Fumbling In The Dark’ level). There's just a certain threshold it passes when it's more annoying than difficult.
I’d say that if you were to check out this game yourself, then probably just play the remake version as it does add more QoL improvements that make 100%ing the game much more enjoyable and the definitive way to play. The controls feel better, you can die in a stage and still get standard gems (just not coloured ones), you can save at any point & there's even a box counter so you can see how many you have left to get instead of having to guess and hope that you’ve gotten everything. There's also the addition of time relics too that weren't in the base game however, so take that how you will as me personally, im terrible at them.
I think the only things I’ve ended up preferring in the original is the style & music. Crash Bandicoot is still a good platformer, but it hasn’t aged as well as say Spyro. It shines best with its design, story & general silliness and less-so its controls and progression. Anyone CAN pick up and play it, but depending on how your experience goes with platformers you might just end up pulling your hair out trying to fully complete it if you don’t get along with it well.
NUNCA faça 100% nesse jogo
pior erro da minha vida!!!
pior erro da minha vida!!!
Crash Bandicoot, lançado em 9 de setembro de 1996 pela Universal Interactive Studios e Naughty Dog, é um verdadeiro clássico dos videogames que deixou uma marca indelével na indústria. Como o primeiro jogo da série Crash Bandicoot, ele não apenas estabeleceu o personagem icônico de Crash, mas também solidificou a reputação da Naughty Dog como uma das principais desenvolvedoras de jogos.
A história de Crash Bandicoot nos leva a uma jornada emocionante através de várias paisagens e ambientes exóticos, enquanto tentamos frustrar os planos malignos do vilão Doctor Neo Cortex. A criação do protagonista, Crash, e sua batalha contra as forças do mal são envolventes e nos mantêm cativados do início ao fim.
A jogabilidade de Crash Bandicoot é onde o jogo realmente brilha. Com sua mistura única de plataformas desafiadoras, combate divertido e momentos de ação intensa, o jogo oferece uma experiência verdadeiramente satisfatória para os jogadores de todas as idades. Os controles são simples e responsivos, tornando a jogabilidade acessível para jogadores de todos os níveis de habilidade.
Os níveis em Crash Bandicoot são projetados com maestria, oferecendo uma combinação de desafios de plataforma, quebra-cabeças inteligentes e batalhas emocionantes contra chefes. A variedade de perspectivas, incluindo visões laterais e de deslocamento para frente, mantém a jogabilidade fresca e empolgante a cada novo nível.
Além disso, os visuais vibrantes e coloridos de Crash Bandicoot ajudam a trazer o mundo do jogo à vida de maneira impressionante. Cada ambiente é ricamente detalhado, com gráficos impressionantes que aproveitam ao máximo o hardware da época.
Em resumo, Crash Bandicoot é um tesouro dos videogames que merece seu lugar no panteão dos clássicos. Por sua jogabilidade envolvente, sua história cativante e seu legado duradouro, eu daria a Crash Bandicoot uma nota digna de 8/10. É um jogo que continua a encantar e desafiar os jogadores até hoje, e sua influência na indústria dos videogames é inegável.
A história de Crash Bandicoot nos leva a uma jornada emocionante através de várias paisagens e ambientes exóticos, enquanto tentamos frustrar os planos malignos do vilão Doctor Neo Cortex. A criação do protagonista, Crash, e sua batalha contra as forças do mal são envolventes e nos mantêm cativados do início ao fim.
A jogabilidade de Crash Bandicoot é onde o jogo realmente brilha. Com sua mistura única de plataformas desafiadoras, combate divertido e momentos de ação intensa, o jogo oferece uma experiência verdadeiramente satisfatória para os jogadores de todas as idades. Os controles são simples e responsivos, tornando a jogabilidade acessível para jogadores de todos os níveis de habilidade.
Os níveis em Crash Bandicoot são projetados com maestria, oferecendo uma combinação de desafios de plataforma, quebra-cabeças inteligentes e batalhas emocionantes contra chefes. A variedade de perspectivas, incluindo visões laterais e de deslocamento para frente, mantém a jogabilidade fresca e empolgante a cada novo nível.
Além disso, os visuais vibrantes e coloridos de Crash Bandicoot ajudam a trazer o mundo do jogo à vida de maneira impressionante. Cada ambiente é ricamente detalhado, com gráficos impressionantes que aproveitam ao máximo o hardware da época.
Em resumo, Crash Bandicoot é um tesouro dos videogames que merece seu lugar no panteão dos clássicos. Por sua jogabilidade envolvente, sua história cativante e seu legado duradouro, eu daria a Crash Bandicoot uma nota digna de 8/10. É um jogo que continua a encantar e desafiar os jogadores até hoje, e sua influência na indústria dos videogames é inegável.
I hate the camera but still legendary.