Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - Wumpa Island As You Have Never Seen It Before [Game Review]
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - Playstation 4 remastered
The orange spinning, jumping and Wumpa-loving possum is back!
Who can forget Crash Bandicoot? The orange possum that during the later part of the '90s not just became Sony's answer to the then big mascots Mario and Sonic, but also created the megahits Uncharted- and Last of Us, i am talking of course about Naughty Dog.
It was however not Sony or Naughty Dog that owned the rights to Crash bandicoot, so when new consoles began to emerge Crash was tossed around like a rag-doll between different developers - with a large range of both okay games and just really bad games. But this time our beloved Bandicoot gets a new chance in the form of a remastered, revitalized version of the three first, without a doubt, best games.
Game joy and torture in the same package
It's easy to mistake Crash Bandicoot for a simple kids game. The colorful main hero lurks trough the cozy and variate platform-levels that are filled with, at first glance, easy obstacles and cute enemies. Because Crash basically only can walk, jump and spin, it helps the illusion that this will be a super friendly platform game.
But anyone who have played Crash's first adventure know that this is no kids-game. This is torture. Torture that might be filled with charm and gaming joy, but still torture. Cute turtles, fluffy bunnies, hang-bridges, stone-pillars, water, fishes - everything wants to kill Crash. That you can only take one hit before meeting the Bandicoot Buddha up in the heavens doesn't make it any easier.
Quick fingers and refined, tight controls
Every level is a new trial on your gaming skills and nerves. Crash has to jump so quickly and precise i almost forgotten how hard old platforming games were. This leads to both justice and some unfair deaths and at least as many newly created profanities.
Still i can't lay down the controller, the adventure is just to much fun. Extra-life's and checkpoints are relatively plentiful in the occasionally over-the-top difficulty platformer, which makes it more manageable. Also the controls are more tight and smooth in this remake, partly thanks to the analog joystick.
A drunk cameraman
The challenging platforming doesn't become any easier by the camera acting sinister sometimes. The angle flips around a lot and variates multiple times per level. Fortutantly the behind-the-back view of Crash is most common, but it does sometimes go into a side-view mode, where you can't just go left and right, but also go inwards and outwards. There are also levels where Crash will be running right towards the camera, but we also have the old 2D level feeling from the old games - and it's only the lastly mentioned mode that works seamlessly.
When we get a backside-view, where we get to hang on to Crash's back which is the most common angle, it can sometimes be hard to judge distances to both platforms and enemies, and when it's time to run towards the camera it's so close and tight to Crash that it's impossible to avoid some obstacles as you won't even manage to see in time
The camera problems might sound worse then it is, in the big all and all the platforming is working fantastic. But at the same time i can't close my eyes to the many deaths i have to contribute to the camera, somethings that's never okay - especially not in a platformer.
An equally amazing as frustrating time trip
Crash Bandicoot Nsane Trilogy is a thoughtful remake of the three first Crash-games. Mid-sequences, characters, death-animations, enemies, levels and bosses - this game is just filled with over the top stuff to make even the most demanding nostalgic-player press out a big smile.
Even though much is recognized from the originals i do find some little and some big improvements since the original release. The graphics is what got the most attention and every little detail is looking amazing. Something that has been left untouched though is the unbalanced difficulty. On the one hand, i like that the experience hasn't been simplified, i just don't like all the deaths that comes from just not seeing what you are doing.
But how much i may swear at unjust deaths and questionable camera angles i can't help myself from feeling true enjoyment as i run around collecting wumpa-fruit. Crash Bandicoot is pure gaming joy at it's finest and will work for both nostalgists and newcomers alike. One could think that with the current advancement i gaming and tech, games like Crash Bandicoot would need some super game mechanics revamp to even stand a chance in today's climate - this is not the case as this titles is just as entertaining today as it was in the '90s.
Game In Peace Friends!
Days Gone - A Post-Apolytic Zombie World
Diablo III - Rise of The Necromancer
Dishonored 2 - Death Of The Outsider
Bloodborne - Hunt Your Nightmares
Horizon: Zero Dawn - A lush post-apocalyptic world
Conan Exiles - Survive, Build & Dominate The Hyborian Age
Agony - A Hellish Trip Into Madness
Skull & Bones - Become The Ultimate Pirate
Overwatch - Fight For The Future
Sources
1.https://www.playstation.com/sv-se/games/crash-bandicoot-n-sane-trilogy-ps4/
2.http://crashbandicoot.wikia.com/wiki/Aku_Aku