Crash Bandicoot is a pretty good platformer, especially for it's time. In comparison to SM64, which takes a different approach where you have a freedom of control and sometimes even room for error, Crash is a lot more linear and precise, and it what makes it really enjoyable.
Most of the levels require some patience, where you need to take your time and get through stages in an exact fashion. In the beginning, you will mess up way too often, missing maybe a inch on one jump or a second before a plant eats you. It's a bit frustrating yes, but as you go across the levels you'll get better at it, and your skills will naturally improve. There is some gimmick levels sprinkled into the game (boulders and riding a hog) but they don't overstay their welcome. Even with these repetitions, each stage has a slight twist to it, or is amped up in its difficulty. Every way you can platform is introduced in a supposedly easy way, but testing it is where the true fun lines. For instance there are various "bridge" levels where you need to jump across the walkways on a bridge. The first level is fine at first, with a few platforms falling if you land on them. Then ice platforms and hogs start appearing, the hog in particular forcing you to start moving if he's nearby. In the next two levels, you need to use the back of turtles to make it precisely across the level, and need to also recognise when some falling platforms aren't the best to land on, along with the previous conditions. Once you finish the game and start collecting the gems for the true ending (which you need 100% for), the first few levels you struggled with will be a breeze, and it makes the gameplay satisfying. Replaying the third level, an introduction to the 2D-inclined stages, which took me 15 minutes to beat before, now takes maybe 3 minutes since I rarely get hit and the Aku-Aku (tokens that give you one more hit resistance) are given generously. If you understand the mechanics, you can beat that level being practically invincible the whole time. Essentially, Crash Bandicoot rewards patience and learning the mechanics to really master the game, and it is not that difficult if you go along with that.
The story is pretty bare-bones, but the variations in the environment hold up well, even at it's internal resolution. First you start off in the jungle, then you venture into ancient ruins, temples, bridges in the sky, abandoned castles, and industrial areas. The audio is nice also, with good ambient and some catchy tunes every few levels or so. The jungle levels have alot of fauna making noise, and some chirping. The industrial areas have music that is a bit more stark or robotic, while the boss fights have tunes that compliment their respective boss. It's less of the focus compared to the visuals, but it does add to them in a sometimes subtle, other times exaggerated way. The boss fights themselves are easy if you get the patterns, but their art direction and Looney Tunes-inspired look add some enjoyment to them even if they are a bit predictable.
However, the game does suffer from some QoL issues. Every time you die, the boxes you smashed in that level are reset, meaning you have to go back and collect the previous ones before your checkpoint, which may be impossible depending on the obstacles. Saving can only be done after a bonus round, or getting a gem, and sometimes only beating a boss. But a password system is in place if you want to avoid this. Also, the camera is not that great in some levels (mainly the ones in temple ruins) where it's difficult to know if you can make a jump or not. Hitboxes may also be a bit of an issue depending on the timing you make with your jump or spin. Also, Crash has some subtle ways of moving that is a hard to understand at first, like the spin attack making him slightly move or cancel the height on his jump. In those cases, you depend on his shadow to know where you will really land. But, the game does have generous Coyote time, so even if you do mess up, if your wits are good enough you can avoid it. Also, it doesn't really make the controls bad, in fact it is the opposite. Crash moves exactly how you make him, and that is due to the fact that the game does not support analog (at leas the original release doesn't).
The best way to remedy the biggest culprit (box reseting) is to emulate it IMO. Keeping a save state at each checkpoint and start of bonus round is good enough to retain an authentic experience without having to deal with unnecessary hassles like box reseting. If your a purist however, it can definitely turn you off from really beating the game, and the same can be true if you're coming back from Crash 2 or Crash 3. If you're not, i'd still recommend playing the original game, as the physics were changed in N. Sane trilogy and the colors and artstyle were a bit toned down, and the audio sounds a bit tinny comapred to the original. It's not hard to find either, depending on if you want to play the PSN Version, PS1 Disc, or emulate it (which is easy to run even on extreme budget hardware)
In general, Crash Bandicoot is a stellar platformer, but some minor inconvenience, and the occasional boss fight may prove to be an annoyance they do not sell the game short of being a fun time. Naughty Dog easily achieved their point of making a characteristic, approachable platformer that is tricky to master.
Most of the levels require some patience, where you need to take your time and get through stages in an exact fashion. In the beginning, you will mess up way too often, missing maybe a inch on one jump or a second before a plant eats you. It's a bit frustrating yes, but as you go across the levels you'll get better at it, and your skills will naturally improve. There is some gimmick levels sprinkled into the game (boulders and riding a hog) but they don't overstay their welcome. Even with these repetitions, each stage has a slight twist to it, or is amped up in its difficulty. Every way you can platform is introduced in a supposedly easy way, but testing it is where the true fun lines. For instance there are various "bridge" levels where you need to jump across the walkways on a bridge. The first level is fine at first, with a few platforms falling if you land on them. Then ice platforms and hogs start appearing, the hog in particular forcing you to start moving if he's nearby. In the next two levels, you need to use the back of turtles to make it precisely across the level, and need to also recognise when some falling platforms aren't the best to land on, along with the previous conditions. Once you finish the game and start collecting the gems for the true ending (which you need 100% for), the first few levels you struggled with will be a breeze, and it makes the gameplay satisfying. Replaying the third level, an introduction to the 2D-inclined stages, which took me 15 minutes to beat before, now takes maybe 3 minutes since I rarely get hit and the Aku-Aku (tokens that give you one more hit resistance) are given generously. If you understand the mechanics, you can beat that level being practically invincible the whole time. Essentially, Crash Bandicoot rewards patience and learning the mechanics to really master the game, and it is not that difficult if you go along with that.
The story is pretty bare-bones, but the variations in the environment hold up well, even at it's internal resolution. First you start off in the jungle, then you venture into ancient ruins, temples, bridges in the sky, abandoned castles, and industrial areas. The audio is nice also, with good ambient and some catchy tunes every few levels or so. The jungle levels have alot of fauna making noise, and some chirping. The industrial areas have music that is a bit more stark or robotic, while the boss fights have tunes that compliment their respective boss. It's less of the focus compared to the visuals, but it does add to them in a sometimes subtle, other times exaggerated way. The boss fights themselves are easy if you get the patterns, but their art direction and Looney Tunes-inspired look add some enjoyment to them even if they are a bit predictable.
However, the game does suffer from some QoL issues. Every time you die, the boxes you smashed in that level are reset, meaning you have to go back and collect the previous ones before your checkpoint, which may be impossible depending on the obstacles. Saving can only be done after a bonus round, or getting a gem, and sometimes only beating a boss. But a password system is in place if you want to avoid this. Also, the camera is not that great in some levels (mainly the ones in temple ruins) where it's difficult to know if you can make a jump or not. Hitboxes may also be a bit of an issue depending on the timing you make with your jump or spin. Also, Crash has some subtle ways of moving that is a hard to understand at first, like the spin attack making him slightly move or cancel the height on his jump. In those cases, you depend on his shadow to know where you will really land. But, the game does have generous Coyote time, so even if you do mess up, if your wits are good enough you can avoid it. Also, it doesn't really make the controls bad, in fact it is the opposite. Crash moves exactly how you make him, and that is due to the fact that the game does not support analog (at leas the original release doesn't).
The best way to remedy the biggest culprit (box reseting) is to emulate it IMO. Keeping a save state at each checkpoint and start of bonus round is good enough to retain an authentic experience without having to deal with unnecessary hassles like box reseting. If your a purist however, it can definitely turn you off from really beating the game, and the same can be true if you're coming back from Crash 2 or Crash 3. If you're not, i'd still recommend playing the original game, as the physics were changed in N. Sane trilogy and the colors and artstyle were a bit toned down, and the audio sounds a bit tinny comapred to the original. It's not hard to find either, depending on if you want to play the PSN Version, PS1 Disc, or emulate it (which is easy to run even on extreme budget hardware)
In general, Crash Bandicoot is a stellar platformer, but some minor inconvenience, and the occasional boss fight may prove to be an annoyance they do not sell the game short of being a fun time. Naughty Dog easily achieved their point of making a characteristic, approachable platformer that is tricky to master.