When we think back to games from our childhood, our minds sometimes do a bit of mental touch-up work. Whether we remember the games looking better than they actually do, controlling more smoothly, or even sounding more crisp, our memories can be deceiving. Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot games have aged well considering they are roughly 20 years old now, but the fact remains that they were created on dated technology and may not live up how we recall them. Activision and Vicarious Visions now aim to reintroduce these classics to a new generation by remastering them from the ground-up, hoping to make sure these games play, look, and sound just as well as we thought. After so many years of absence, it is great to see the bandicoot back and better than ever.
The Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy -- as the name implies -- contains the three main PlayStation 1 Crash Bandicoot games. Each game has been carefully recreated with modern technology for a more contemporary experience. For those unfamiliar with the series, the games are platformers that often switch between 2D and 3D perspectives. Crash 1 keeps things relatively simple, only allowing players to run, jump, and spin attack. Meanwhile, Crash 2 & 3 add in a few more moves (such as a slide, a long jump, and a sliding spin) along with a somewhat overall faster pace. I feel that the addition of more movement options, combined with more interesting level design, puts the sequels ahead of the original.
The developers put a lot of care into making sure that these games still felt like the classics we fell in love with all those years ago. Crash still has his precise controls that make running through each level a joy. The orange bandicoot has a certain weight to him that makes spinning and flipping through the areas feel immensity satisfying. This satisfaction is amplified by the game’s powerful sound effects, offering crisp thuds when Crash lands from a jump or loud smashing sound clips when he breaks a box. These, combined with the games’ improved visuals, paint an immersive experience that is an overall pleasure to play, watch, and listen to.
Crash is not the only one sprinting through these levels this time around. The remastered trilogy also adds Crash’s sister, Coco, as a fully playable character throughout all three games. Crash and Coco play largely the same, but Coco comes complete with her own set of quirky animations. She brings her laptop everywhere (even using it to shield herself from falling boxes), pulls out her phone to take pictures of the scenery while idle, and even has her own humorous variation of Crash’s signature victory dance. Switching between the characters keeps things feeling fresh, with both being a delight to navigate through the levels.
The cheerful aesthetics do soften the decently challenging gameplay moments. These games were quite difficult when they first released, and still remain challenging platforming romps in their remastered forms. This, however, is thankfully made a bit less frustrating with the addition of a proper save system. Gone are the days of having to clear a bonus level to be given the option to save in the first Crash game. All three games now support auto-saving after each level, making the challenge of Crash’s debut adventure in particular much more enjoyable.
Failing a jump one-too-many times won’t be the only reason you’ll be replaying a level. Whereas Crash Bandicoot: Warped (aka Crash 3) was previously the only game to feature a “time trial” mode, all three titles now sport this feature. Racing through the stages while breaking crates to temporarily freeze the timer is just as addictive as it was 19 years ago. The way the game quickly snaps you back to the start of a level upon failure greatly encourages a “just one more try” mentality. Having this feature spread throughout all three games (complete with online leaderboards) is an excellent addition that adds a ton of replay value.
The stories of each game are all fairly simple, telling the narrative of our marsupial hero, Crash, setting out to stop the evil scientist, Dr. Neo Cortex, from achieving world domination. While Cortex’s methods vary from game-to-game (with the stories ultimately tying into each other and telling one long narrative), the main goal tends to remain the same. Everything is easy to follow, and the charming cast of characters makes the series of events enjoyable to watch play out.
Much like the delightful animation during gameplay, the story scenes present themselves wonderfully. All the visuals have been completely recreated, showcasing the imaginative landscapes and expressive characters better than they have ever looked before. From the dynamic camera angles to the endearing way the characters are now animated, each cinematic now looks like it could pass as a clip from an animated film. Both the dialogue and music have been rerecorded as well, making everything sound clearer than it did in the PS1 days.
Despite being roughly 20 years old now, the trilogy of Crash titles themselves are still entertaining to play. All three games remain very solid platformers that are still some of the best in the genre. While a bit difficult at times, they never feel unfair thanks to the very tight controls. The level design also keeps the experience compelling as you travel through the many locales the trilogy has to offer. From deep jungles to futuristic cities, the environments feel varied and never dull. Going back to each level to discover alternate paths, break all the crates for collectible gems, or set new records in the time trials gives each stage a good amount of replay value as well.
Vicarious Visions has clearly put a ton of effort into making sure everything felt right, and it shows. As someone who played through and loved these games back when they first released, journeying through this remastered trilogy felt like a heartwarming love letter to a series that was a big part of my childhood. It is incredible seeing the amount of care that was put into this project. The end result is a treat to both Crash Bandicoot fans and platforming fans in general. It is great having you back, Crash, hope you decide to stick around.
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