Throughout the PS1 era, Crash hit it big, having a trilogy of platformer games and a racing spin-off that all sold well and are still loved to this day. It's what also put Naughty Dog on the map, as they continued to make more critically acclaimed games afterwards like the Jak and Daxter trilogy, the Uncharted tetralogy, and The Last of Us.
I don't have much nostalgia for the series as a whole aside from watching a friend play Crash Twinsanity over ten years ago. It wasn't until I was in eighth grade that a former neighbor of mine gave me his copy of the first game. I've been wanting to review the Crash Bandicoot trilogy for a long time. I was waiting for just the right time to review them. September of 2016 marks the franchise's 20th anniversary and with a remastering of the original three coming to the PS4 roughly next year, I feel that now is the right time to do so.
In this post, I will review the game that started it all, simply titled Crash Bandicoot. Does it hold up after many years, or has it aged badly? Let's find out.
In this post, I will review the game that started it all, simply titled Crash Bandicoot. Does it hold up after many years, or has it aged badly? Let's find out.
You play as the titular protagonist. His main goal is to rescue his girlfriend Tawna from the clutches of his creator, Dr. Neo Cortex. You see, Crash was once a regular bandicoot who was mutated by the mad scientist himself to be the anthropomorphic creature we know now. Cortex attempted to put Crash under his control by using a machine called the Cortex Vortex. Something went wrong, causing Crash to escape captivity, resulting in him washing up on the shores of N. Sanity Beach, starting his journey.
That's the entire gist of it. We don't really play Crash Bandicoot for its story. It's like Super Mario Bros.: you have one goal in mind and that's to rescue the damsel in distress by jumping from platform to platform and defeating enemies. Both games have one thing in common: simplicity, which works really well here, especially with the gameplay.
Crash has two methods of attacking: jumping and spinning. Crash can stomp on almost every type of enemy he comes across. He can also use his signature spin attack to not just send enemies flying into the background, but to break crates as well. It's so amusing to hear the spin attack come in contact with an enemy and you hear the ricochet sound effect, which adds to the cartoony feel that the series has been going for.
There are various crates that Crash can break, which contain a certain power-up or a function. The most standard power-up is the Wumpa Fruit. Collecting 100 of them can earn Crash an extra life, those which can also take the part of tokens that have his face on it. There are also C-crates that, upon breaking them, will serve as a checkpoint in case you die along the way. There are also TNT crates which, upon stomping on them, will explode after 3 seconds.
Along the way, Crash can also collect Aku Aku masks for an extra hit point. Crash dies if he comes in contact with enemies (most of which do not even attack him) or certain obstacles if he does not have a mask floating with him, which makes Aku Aku very useful. Collecting three of them without getting hit will unlock temporary speed and invincibility and can defeat enemies or break crates if you're even near them. I always look forward to using the temporary invincibility. During that brief time, you're unstoppable and the music, which contains a lot of tribal drum beating, just adds to the excitement.
On the way, you'll also collect some tokens consisting of Tawna, Nitrus Brio, and Cortex. Collecting three of each will warp you to a bonus stage where you can collect Wumpa Fruit and extra lives. Tawna's stages have you saving your game progress; Brio's just has you reaching the end; and Cortex's awards you a key that unlocks a bonus level. The latter two stages do have some trial-and-error since they have their share of platforming puzzles. Screw up, and you might as well restart the level and collect those tokens again to complete them.
Every once in a while, there are boss fights that Crash can fight and... they're nothing to brag about. All bosses have a pattern that are easy to figure out. The most obvious way to defeat the first boss, Papu Papu, for example, is to jump on his head, whether he is staying still or spinning. Other bosses are all about dodging their attacks and waiting for the right moment to strike. The only boss I found even remotely challenging was Ripper Roo, which requires detonating the TNT crates with just the right timing.
I liked some of the variety in the levels. Aside from basic levels you just navigate through, you can also find yourself riding a warthog at high speed or running away from a boulder, Indiana Jones-style. They serve as great changes of pace and are pretty fun and tense to play through. Heck, the most tense levels to play through are the ones where you have to cross some dilapidated bridges. I feel scared of falling on some platforms that will fall off if you even touch them, so they make for some challenging gameplay.
For an early PS1 game, the game still looks beautiful. Sure, a lot of things like the character models look a little polygonal, but it has a lot of great backgrounds to admire. I especially love the textures in each level, like the temple ruins actually looking like ruins. Even in the PS1's early life cycle, the developers did their darnedest to make a visually appealing game despite graphical limitations. One thing that I did not notice until Caddicarus re-reviewed it was that the further you reach, the closer that Cortex's castle is. It's a nice little detail worth noting.
The music is another one of my favorite aspects of the game. Composed by Josh Mancell, the music tracks are upbeat and pretty catchy, each capturing the feeling of the levels you play through. When playing through some of the early levels of the first island, it has a tropical sound to them. When getting chased by a boulder, there will be a faster tempo to match the sense of urgency. When playing through some of the industrial levels, there will be a lot of electronic sounds. An example of the latter is when you play through the levels "Heavy Machinery" and "Castle Machinery." The beginning track sounds like a radio changing signals, which is pleasing to listen to for some reason.
Despite my praises, there are unfortunately some things in Crash Bandicoot that do not hold up as well today.
First, controlling Crash feels pretty stiff at times. Jumping can feel pretty heavy, requiring a lot of precision in some levels. In addition, this game came out at a time when analog control wasn't invented yet, so you had to resort to using the D-Pad, which isn't the best way to play a game where you can move a character at 360 degrees. However, after a while, I grew accustomed to them. The lack of analog control might alienate some players who are used to it nowadays, which I completely understand. Well, at least it's better than having to use tank controls; that would have made it worse.
On the way, you'll also collect some tokens consisting of Tawna, Nitrus Brio, and Cortex. Collecting three of each will warp you to a bonus stage where you can collect Wumpa Fruit and extra lives. Tawna's stages have you saving your game progress; Brio's just has you reaching the end; and Cortex's awards you a key that unlocks a bonus level. The latter two stages do have some trial-and-error since they have their share of platforming puzzles. Screw up, and you might as well restart the level and collect those tokens again to complete them.
I liked some of the variety in the levels. Aside from basic levels you just navigate through, you can also find yourself riding a warthog at high speed or running away from a boulder, Indiana Jones-style. They serve as great changes of pace and are pretty fun and tense to play through. Heck, the most tense levels to play through are the ones where you have to cross some dilapidated bridges. I feel scared of falling on some platforms that will fall off if you even touch them, so they make for some challenging gameplay.
For an early PS1 game, the game still looks beautiful. Sure, a lot of things like the character models look a little polygonal, but it has a lot of great backgrounds to admire. I especially love the textures in each level, like the temple ruins actually looking like ruins. Even in the PS1's early life cycle, the developers did their darnedest to make a visually appealing game despite graphical limitations. One thing that I did not notice until Caddicarus re-reviewed it was that the further you reach, the closer that Cortex's castle is. It's a nice little detail worth noting.
The music is another one of my favorite aspects of the game. Composed by Josh Mancell, the music tracks are upbeat and pretty catchy, each capturing the feeling of the levels you play through. When playing through some of the early levels of the first island, it has a tropical sound to them. When getting chased by a boulder, there will be a faster tempo to match the sense of urgency. When playing through some of the industrial levels, there will be a lot of electronic sounds. An example of the latter is when you play through the levels "Heavy Machinery" and "Castle Machinery." The beginning track sounds like a radio changing signals, which is pleasing to listen to for some reason.
Despite my praises, there are unfortunately some things in Crash Bandicoot that do not hold up as well today.
First, controlling Crash feels pretty stiff at times. Jumping can feel pretty heavy, requiring a lot of precision in some levels. In addition, this game came out at a time when analog control wasn't invented yet, so you had to resort to using the D-Pad, which isn't the best way to play a game where you can move a character at 360 degrees. However, after a while, I grew accustomed to them. The lack of analog control might alienate some players who are used to it nowadays, which I completely understand. Well, at least it's better than having to use tank controls; that would have made it worse.
Second, the way to complete this game 100% can be pretty frustrating at times. The biggest challenge that the game has to offer is the gem collecting. You collect a gem by breaking every box in each level. Some stages have colored gems that, once collected, will give the player access to areas in some levels that could not be reached before. You might notice in some levels early on that there are tiny gems floating around; that's because you haven't collected that particular colored gem. I will admit that it does give the player an incentive to check on areas that they might have missed the second time.
So why is collecting gems frustrating? I did mention that you have to break every single box in a level, but there is a catch: you cannot lose a life! If you die while trying to collect a gem in a level, you're better off restarting. The level that I struggled with the most when breaking all boxes was "Cortex Power" because of the branching paths and backtracking that I had to do. The game follows a fixed camera angle, which can be a little stressful when you have to run towards the screen and hope you don't fall to your death just to get the boxes.
What is the reward for collecting all 26 gems? Building a pathway in the penultimate level "The Great Hall" that unlocks an alternate ending which, in retrospect, is not canon with the rest of the series. It's not worth all the struggle, which makes the gem collecting completely optional.
Lastly, the save system does not hold up. You can't save anytime you want. Once you save during the Tawna stages, you cannot access them again. The only other way to save the game is to collect a gem in a level. It does also feature a password system for those who do not have a memory card, but did anyone even care about them anymore back then?
With that said though, I still think the original Crash Bandicoot is pretty good and mostly holds up to this day. It's simple to play, has great environments, and catchy music to boot. I also think that the challenge feels rewarding. I'm not talking about the gem collecting, which is merely bragging rights. Some people have complained that the game can get frustrating to play through. One level that is the bane of players' existence in "Slippery Climb." It does have tricky platforming, but I think it helps people learn how to time things right. It's all about learning from your mistakes. I like a good challenge every now and then and I got it here.
Aside from the gripes I mentioned, I will also admit that this game feels pretty dated by today's standards. It has been surpassed by its two sequels which are better implemented and have more replay value. Think of Crash Bandicoot as an experiment in finding out what sticks and what doesn't. The term is called Early Installment Weirdness, which is what a lot of first installments in a game series go through.
Still, with that said, Crash Bandicoot is still worth playing and the...
Lastly, the save system does not hold up. You can't save anytime you want. Once you save during the Tawna stages, you cannot access them again. The only other way to save the game is to collect a gem in a level. It does also feature a password system for those who do not have a memory card, but did anyone even care about them anymore back then?
With that said though, I still think the original Crash Bandicoot is pretty good and mostly holds up to this day. It's simple to play, has great environments, and catchy music to boot. I also think that the challenge feels rewarding. I'm not talking about the gem collecting, which is merely bragging rights. Some people have complained that the game can get frustrating to play through. One level that is the bane of players' existence in "Slippery Climb." It does have tricky platforming, but I think it helps people learn how to time things right. It's all about learning from your mistakes. I like a good challenge every now and then and I got it here.
Aside from the gripes I mentioned, I will also admit that this game feels pretty dated by today's standards. It has been surpassed by its two sequels which are better implemented and have more replay value. Think of Crash Bandicoot as an experiment in finding out what sticks and what doesn't. The term is called Early Installment Weirdness, which is what a lot of first installments in a game series go through.
Still, with that said, Crash Bandicoot is still worth playing and the...
GOOD OUTWEIGH THE BAD
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