It feels strange to admit while I did grow up playing Crash games, they were mostly spin-offs like the cart racers and Crash Bash. I don't think I ever properly sat through the original trilogy until the 2017 remakes. While I did enjoy the remake, Crash 4 was the one to really click with me. It may be that all it took was for the franchise to be modernized and given a proper treatment, with well-animated characters and a goofy story to complement. Throwing away old habits like limited lives improves a game, who could have guessed. What does make this stand out is the collect-a-thon challenges and oodles of extra content that flows like an endless river. I also appreciate that it's not a copy-paste of the game physics from the trilogy remake, and instead forges its own mechanics with levels that work with those conditions. Everything about this game is well-made from the ground up, making it a great gateway into the Crash franchise.