Not for everyone, but in my eyes it's one of the greats, if not the greatest Crash game. The only things I can really hold against it are the factors ourside of the game which held the title back. Bugs, not enough playtesting in certain places (looking at the final boss where I wasted over 50 lives to grappling hook and bullet scatter shenanagins) and a lack of checkpoints around bosses all come to mind as issues. These issues likely could've been fixed with more time, and the copious amounts of cut content could've made it in too, all things I can't really blame the game for as much as I can the rushed development time.

Well thought-out levels, a bold new direction, a great soundtrack, beautiful visuals and most importantly a fun game to play make this a favourite of mine in this series, it's just a shame it's let down on a few occasions by factors not at fault of the game itself but rather the conditions it was made under.