It’s entirely possible that I have played N. Sanity Beach, the first level of the first Crash Bandicoot game, more than any other level in video game history saving Super Mario Bros. The sound of Crash falling into a pit, Aku Aku and his quiet but steady drumming during a power-up, and the satisfying melody of crates as you destroy them to find the succulent (at least I think it looks succulent…) wumpa fruit waiting inside bring back a flow of memories that just can’t be explained.
I was 8 years old when the first Crash Bandicoot game was released and, up until that point, the only games I had on my brand new Playstation system were the demo disc that came as a pack-in and the Namco Collection, Volume 1. I honestly don’t remember the circumstances around my procurement of the game that would change my life, but it’s safe to say it stayed in the system for quite some time.
Starting this review off with a bit of nostalgia may not give you a decent idea of where I sat when it came to my excitement upon hearing that the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy would be released. I simply didn’t care. There had been enough Crash Bandicoot in my life 20ish years ago that I didn’t really expect to fall in love all over again – updated graphics or not. But I was dead wrong.
Crash Bandicoot 1 (I’m doing these articles in installments as I haven’t had time to complete all three games yet) is a good game. Actually, it is a great game. Whether you are new to the game like my nearly 4 year old son, or somehow magically 100%’d it on the original Playstation, there’s still something to love about the orange, furry marsupial and his antics through jungles, streams, strange ruins, factories, and just about every other disjointed scenario you could imagine.
Nearly all the talk about Crash has been centered around the mechanics of the game and whether or not Activision should have messed with them. They said right here that they did and it has really irked some people since the characters don’t interact with the environment the same way that our insane muscle memory has lead us to remember.
Can I be honest for a minute? I didn’t realize it at first. The game plays exactly as I remember it – difficult. Perhaps the difficulty curb is a bit different for me after 20 years and having two children constantly running between myself and the television certainly didn’t help. But I expected the game to be hard, and the changed mechanics certainly did their job to help that along. Crash is a precision platformer, which automatically means it’s going to be more challenging that many other games that act similarly. You HAVE to nail your timing every single time or into the spear pit you go.
As I was playing I realized that sometimes (if I was doing rather poorly) I would find a new Aku Aku mask box or an extra life hanging around. Upon getting a “Game Over” and starting the level anew I would sail through it after all of that practice – and the power-ups and extra lives had disappeared. My initial assumption was that this had always been the way the game played and I just didn’t remember, but Activision also confirmed that they had played around with this mechanic as well. They call it Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment and, even though I still don’t remember it, the mechanic was present in the second and third original Crash Bandicoot games as well. Even though it makes a lot of sense that they would add it into the original title for consistency, it still doesn’t make me happy. I want to play this game as I did in the past – though I’d probably still be stuck in Native Fortress if I’m being honest.
Crash Bandicoot 1 has a lot of things wrong with it. These are not new with the N. Sane Trilogy and have not been overlooked by me, or nearly any other reviewer. But that doesn’t mean that the game is not a blast with incredible historical significance in a genre (and console) defining time period. The things that really irk me about Crash Bandicoot are also the things that endear me to the title that once took dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of my life.
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Recommendation: If you have nostalgic memories of any Crash Bandicoot title, you should 100% pick up the N. Sane Trilogy. If you are newcomer to the series, I would still definitely encourage you to play the game, even if only to understand the historical significance and appeal. Crash Bandicoot is still a solid game and it’s a game anyone who has a little patience should enjoy.
