Heavy nostalgia bias plays part in this but even today i love this game. Its combination of a platformer/collect-a-thon and a racer makes it among the more unique of the crash entries and i think this combination works for the most part. The difficulty is pretty much non-existent, and tracks are painfully linear compared to the previous entries, but the game compensates by making the driving and shooting (yes, shooting) fun thanks to its fusion system in its races. The platforming levels are also just big enough that it doesn't get boring exploring them and getting every single thing within it and the game makes sure to reward you for all of this, so 100% this game was a blast the whole way through. Also...it has a dedicated fart button during loading screens. Can't go wrong with that.