Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy Reviews

Too narrow, hard to move wrong and fall a little. Obstacles are sometimes too far away the cage is too close the same as checkpoints when difficult are far away when easy are close. Most die silly rather than die from Obstacles

I literally played the ever loving shit out of these games when they were first released. Crash 2 was probably the very first 3d game on PlayStation I tried because of the PlayStation underground demo discs. So I know how the games work, how they're supposed to feel and look and how the mechanics are supposed to be. I do appreciate the updated graphics and look but they dropped the ball on it. Crash is supposed to look cartoony and act goofy and it just looks weird and off like how sonic looked when they showed the movie trailer. The characters just look like an abomination of what they're supposed to be. Literally all of them including enemies. Animations aren't really right either, they sped up certain actions. Kinda like crash looks when he warps or teleports. They slowed down effect from the original gave it substance and dramatic effect. The new sped up animations just goes to show how impatient the current generation of gamers and developers are. Zero feel or artwork to it. Certain areas I remember nailing like the slide jumping around things and over stuff just doesn't work anymore. Or being slowed down when you wade through mud or water is gone. Like it's too annoying when in the old games before that was done on purpose to make it difficult to break boxes and now it's not. The music isn't even that good anymore. It's not the same. Overall this just made me download the original roms instead and I had a blast with them.

good game but can give you some grave depression

I played these games as a child and i found them as an adult and it brings sooo many memories. I recommend all 3 of them to everyone its so much fun and the time passes sooo fast i can totally say that i am addicted

A great port of the original games with only minor issues and extra content. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a fun challenge.

Okay so short review, here's the thing. This game is a perfectly passable update to the original games, which are as fun as they ever were. That said, as someone who really appreciates and relies on subtitles, I'm shocked and kinda pissed they didn't take the time to add them to this. It's a basic accessibility need in this day and age, and to re-release three games without this basic improvement is mind-boggling to me. So ya, fun games but apparently the devs didn't really care about improving them for deaf folks, or even just people like me who sometimes like to play their games on mute because their overstimulated.

Really Good I love crash, Activision free crash and release new games and bring back the old ones

I played these games when they first came out, so lots of nostalgia. It can be a challenge, but it was intended to be when it came out.

Pretty good remaster. Graphics and SFX have been updated well enough. Not sure why the game tries to lock you at 48 fps though. Maximum this game runs at is 60 fps which feels unacceptable. Crash 2 > Crash 3 >>> Crash 1

[h1]The original innovators of the 3D platformer genre[/h1] If Super Mario 64 was the game that made open world collect-a-thon 3D platformers popular, then Crash Bandicoot was the game to invent the trend of linear action focused 3D platforming. Both were groundbreaking games in their day that set the foundations of the 3D platformer genre going forward, but this review will obviously be about the latter. The original developers at Naughty Dog pushed the PS1 beyond its limits during the development of these games, allowing for graphical detail and animation quality not normally possible. Levels were loaded in chunks that swap as you play to fit levels much larger than the console's RAM could fit. If you want to know more, check out this excellent video by one of the creators of the original games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izxXGuVL21o The controls are so simple to understand, even if you've never played a video game before you shouldn't have too much trouble getting the hang of things. For Crash 1, jump and spin are the only actions you get. The sequels add more moves like the slide and high jump, but without taking away from the simple pick up and play experience. These games were designed for the original PS1 controller that didn't have analog sticks; you may find them more comfortable to play using the d-pad instead of the left stick. Crash took inspiration from 2D side-scrollers like Donkey Kong Country and making that work in 3D. These games use a fixed camera with no way to control it yourself, but depth perception was never an issue thanks to effective use of drop shadows and good camera angles always giving you an idea on where you're going to land with every jump you make. Side-scrolling segments are also abundant, but these usually retain the 3D movement of the hallway levels. There are also a few levels where you're getting chased by a boulder or riding a wild hog forcing you to keep moving. Much like a lot of older platformers, be prepared to die a lot as they can get pretty challenging. It's easy to gain plenty of extra lives, but you may need them for some of the trickier levels especially if you're not very good at platformers. At least death is entertaining with all the ways Crash can die in these games. Crash 3 also introduced time trials into the mix. Many games have implemented a similar feature, but very few have done it better. After beating a level, you can grab a clock to start a timer; breaking numbered crates freeze the clock for the seconds shown on the box which is a great twist on the traditional time trial and makes them more than just rushing past everything. Levels must be completed on one life, but if you're fast enough you'll get a relic of either sapphire, gold or platinum. Only sapphire is required for 100%, but you need all golds for the final gem that can bring your total up to 105% (108% in the remake). Platinum relics grant nothing but bragging rights. Crash 1 is mostly how you remember it, but with some changes to make them a bit easier to play through. The original save system required you to collect 3 tokens to gain access to a bonus round, then reach the end to save your progress. This version allows you to save on the world map to match the sequels, with 3 save slots and an autosave slot. Clear gems can be obtained without having to play through level on one life; only the coloured gems require no deaths. Although there isn't much to say about Crash 2, if you find this version of Crash 3 to be easier than you remember it being on PS1, there's a reason for that. These games are based on the original American release. The PAL version of Warped that released after was adjusted to be made more difficult by changing enemy patterns, speeding up enemies or removing mask crates from levels. Sadly, there are no difficulty settings available in this trilogy, so you're stuck with the easier version of Warped. The third game also added various vehicle levels into the mix, such as motorcycles, jet skis and planes. These are very mixed in quality IMO. I have no problem with the scuba diving or jet ski levels as they fit the core Crash gameplay of breaking boxes, avoiding hazards and reaching the end, but the motorcycle levels change genres entirely by making it about racing; you need to place first to obtain the crystal. The plane levels are really boring as all you do is just shoot down blimps and the occasional plane shooting at you. These were boring on PS1 and they're no better here. These vehicle levels are all mandatory to progress through the game, so they are not optional mini-games or side content even though these take up almost the entire chunk of optional bonus levels in the game as well. Of the 5 bonus levels, only 1 of them is pure Crash gameplay - 2 of them use the jet ski and 1 of them is another race. The final bonus level, unlocked with 25 relics, is literally just Superman 64 where all you do is race other planes through a series of rings and is not worth the effort to unlock. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3426986060 I still really enjoy Crash 3 despite this, but the other two games definitely had a stronger focus on the core platforming gameplay. Cutscenes are almost one to one with the original featuring almost the exact same script, albeit with new voice casts and new animations. Lex Lang replaces Clancy Brown as Cortex and he does a great job with the character. Sadly, these remakes have no subtitles option during cutscenes which isn't a problem for the first game due to barely having any story, but 2 and 3 could really benefit from that with how much more dialogue they have. The music was also remixed, and while I do like most of these, there's no option to use the original OST. The N. Sane Trilogy adds 2 new levels; one for the first game, and one for Warped. Stormy Ascent was a level cut from the original PS1 release due to the developers finding it way too difficult, but this version has it available right from the very start. I wouldn't recommend playing it until you've played through the entire game first. Future Tense is a brand new level created for this remake, and a really good one at that, making great use of all of Crash's unlocked abilities. All 3 games now feature time relics from Warped, and although welcome additions, it's obvious that Crash 1's levels were not built for speedrunning at all due to the slower, much tighter platforming and the hog levels have a fixed speed with no way to move faster unlike the Polar or Pura levels in the sequels. They're a good fit for Crash 2, although you should get the speed shoes first before you try for the relic times. All gold relics are required for max completion and all achievements. They did a great job with the PC port, making this the best version of the N Sane Trilogy. Having fully completed all 3 games at 60FPS, I never came across any glitches or technical issues whatsoever, and this extends to the cutscenes which are all rendered in engine and load times were very short. The console versions only run at 30FPS with no 60FPS patch for PS5 or XBOX Series X. The only issue I ran into is that the online leaderboards for time trial mode don't seem to work for any of the games. This is an excellent collection of three fantastic games, remade from the ground up with modern graphics. I can easily recommend this to anyone who's into platformers, or wants to get into the genre for the first time. It is well worth the asking price for the content you get with it and goes on sale regularly. It's also a good fit for the Steam Deck if you're looking for some fun games to play on the go.