Crash 1 and 2 are pretty much equal in overall quality -- with 2 trading 1's environmental story telling in favor of more tightly tuned platforming.

Like the first one, Crash 2 is fun as long as you don't fuss over it... and the headaches start once you try to 100% it. Because checkpoints now save your progress with crates, with Crash 1's one-go rule (mostly) gone, the devs got more "creatively evil" to try compensate for it. Can't say much else but " Cold Hard Crash, Piston It Away and Totally Bear can kiss my ass."