I had a difficult time trying to figure out whether the new Crash Bandicoot remasters were remasters or full remakes. I wasn’t a massive Crash fan back in the day, having only played bits and pieces of the runner series. In fact, I probably spent more time playing the first game built into Uncharted 4 than I ever did on an actual PlayStation.
Hey, I think I’ve been missing something, because if this is just a remaster it still comes off as super fresh and enjoyable.
At its basic core Crash Bandicoot’s N. Sane Trilogy is a visual remaster of the first three console games in the series. I had the chance to play the demo at an event recently and can confirm: you’re still running along, avoiding obstacles and jumping on platforms towards an end goal. These are the same levels from the original Crash games — one from the first and two from the second — with the same design quirks and puzzles that made them fun the first time around.
That sets the grounding for the game, in that good design doesn’t age poorly.
Though they function the same layout-wise, there actually are two considerable differences with these versions over the originals: controls and visuals.
With the very first games designed for the original PlayStation and its myriad of controllers, they never specialized in analog controls. The Trilogy makes sure that analog controls are consistent throughout, but because some of the platforms are smaller trying to aim jumps can result in missed landings (and in my case into a river, repeatedly). Thankfully the game lets us use the D-pad as well, so I would switch to that instead, finding it much easier to aim in some of the sections.
Crash wasn’t necessarily a pretty game in the past, but art direction did help add a specific flavor to the series. The Trilogy takes that to the nth degree, making it feel like a modern cartoon. It’s admirable how the aesthetics have held up. The upgraded visuals also smooth out some of the constraints caused by the hardware limits of the original console. The camera feels better, improving draw distance and view angle, and the levels are more expansive, letting us see more without the worry of the necessary visual fog. The push for consistency even delivers things like crate box numbers at the end of Crash 1‘s levels, something that didn’t occur until later in the series.
These changes also help accustom new fans to the series. Crash was a sort of mascot for Sony for a while, going up against Mario and Sonic. As he faded over the years, fewer games were released and his popularity waned. I imagine that this collection will rekindle some of that, exposing a new generation of players to the character and igniting nostalgia, perhaps in anticipation for a full revival with new games later on.
Crash Bandicoot’s N. Sane Trilogy feels great, and it’s commendable at the lengths that Vicarious Visions and Activision are going to nail that. It’s how we remember the best of Crash, without the technical issues that plagued consoles of that generation. It could end up being a good way to get the game in front of new fans and capitalize on nostalgia. The game launches in June for PlayStation 4.
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