#long overdue since I finished my playthrough since August lol

[the-sapphire-general]

My Thoughts on Crash N. Sane Trilogy

Just like with Final Fantasy 15, I am going to discuss how I feel about Crash N. Sane Trilogy and other games I will play in the future. Well then, I have completed the game a long time ago, so this is way overdue! The game was a wonderful experience! The nostalgia was powerful, I couldn't stop admiring the game. I can't wait to play this game with my nephew when he's older (if he will like Crash). :D 

First off, the game is awesome! Not only did it stay faithful to the original trilogy many of us grew up playing back in the PS1 era, but it also received additional features and changes. There's more life into it, particularly with the cartoon-like aspects of the game. It all plays the same as the originals, but I'm aware that it's harder than the original trilogy. "Wait a minute, hard? The games aren't hard," some people say. Believe me, just because N. Sane Trilogy gave the original Crash trilogy a PS4 HD makeover (which I hope can be used for a Spyro trilogy and Crash Team Racing remake) doesn't mean it plays the same as it did back then. I didn't notice it at first, but when I died on the first level (yes the first level!), something was up. I thought I was just rusty, but I told myself "How the heck am I rusty enough to lose on the very first level???". Then I noticed my jumps were a little off. I just made the assumption that I'm rusty despite my growing suspicions, and much to my relief, they were later confirmed online. Apparently, you have to be precise with your jumps, and if you mess up in a hazardous section, you're done. You'll lose a life, no questions asked. lol You can easily slip off of things such as the ledges and crates and you cannot let go of the X button or you may possibly fall to your demise. So new physics were applied, and it was difficult to get used to that. There were countless times I believed I would make certain jumps with flawless skill only to be taken by surprise of Crash (or Coco) slipping off where I thought they landed safe and sound. However, I think I mastered the new physics and did a better job than the first Crash game by the time I started Warped. I did a decent job in Cortex Strikes Back, but I did screw up once in a while just because of the jumping.

I mentioned Coco moments ago. You guessed it! Coco Bandicoot is playable in all three games, and that doubles the fun! I always wanted to play as Coco more often, and I was always disappointed as a kid that I couldn't play as her in Crash 2 and 3 (outside of her own levels in Warped obviously). But now we can play as her in every level!...Minus the bosses. And specific levels from each game that are exclusive to Crash. Oh well! At least she's playable in most of the levels. Next are the time trials for Crash 1 and 2, which I will play at my own time. I'll record them and think about whether or not I should strive for platinum relics. I tried that for Crash 3 only to give up after a while. Getting platinum relics isn't an easy task. XD They're hard, and I mean real hard. I stopped partly due to how insanely difficult they are, and also because I didn't want to slow down the playthrough more than I already did by getting the first platinum relics. But the good news is gold relics count for 105% completion on all three Crash games so no need to go berserk, everybody! 

Also, there's Stormy Ascent! A new level cut from the original Crash Bandicoot, Stormy Ascent is a difficult version of its sister level, Slippery Climb. I understand that it really is pretty hard. I died 46 times (47 if you count the stupid blunder I made in the bonus round), my mistakes ranging from simple miscalculations to ridiculous decisions. Yet surprisingly I wasn't frustrated along the way. The time trial, however, may be a different story. Will I do the time trial? Will I shoot for the platinum relic? I honestly don't know, but when (or if) I do, I'll record it. I won't be doing it anytime soon, though! Lol

As mentioned from my posts prior to the game's release, now everybody knows the whole truth regarding the difficulty. I hope those who have been criticizing people for dying easily or being super cautious or whatever during levels regret judging their gaming skills. Crash N. Same Trilogy is literally harder than the original trilogy. They're not terrible gamers, they're gamers who have struggled with how the game works! Newcomers and experts both have to deal with the new physics of the game. Think about it. It's like playing these games for the first time all over again.

Hmmmmmm what else? Oh yeah! Crash N. Sane Trilogy has made some changes to the game besides the gameplay and the inclusion of Coco, Stormy Ascent, and the time trials. I won't mention every single one, but I'll point out one example. One of the few changes that sort of disappointed me was N. Gin having most of his lines removed in Crash 2 and 3. 

Cortex Strikes Back (Original), N. Gin's defeat:

"Dr. Cortex will be very displeased with your resistance! Prepare to suffer his wrath!”

Warped, N. Gin's lines during his boss battle:

Beginning - "Prepare to be pulverized, bandicoot!”

End - "Arrrgh! Not again!!"

It didn't bother me much, but I still wonder why they weren't included. Even Dingodile doesn't say his line when he's defeated. And the crowd during Tiny's battle in Warped doesn't boo at Crash. But I won't hate those bits, it's not like everything in the games were changed.

The music is a masterpiece in my book! After I finished playing Crash, I downloaded the soundtracks because it's just that great. They made the songs more memorable than they were before, and I like that. Well, that is the end of my review! I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves Crash and has grown up playing the series or to newcomers that are curious about this legendary bandicoot. It's worth buying because it's just that awesome. :D On a random note, I still hate how the orange gem only appeared once and never showed up again. Poor orange gem. That's why it's one of my favorite gems to collect (aside from the blue gem, my ultimate favorite of all).

For a bonus, in case you want to know, my favorite songs of Crash N. Sane Trilogy are below:

Crash Bandicoot

Toxic Waste

Generator Room

Slippery Climb/Stormy Ascent

Dr. Neo Cortex's theme

Pinstripe's theme

N. Brio's theme and bonus

Lights Out/Fumbling in the Dark

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Turtle Woods/The Pits/Night Flight

The Eel Deal's Green Gem Route

Crash Dash/Crash Crush/Un-Bearable

Cortex's boss theme

N. Gin's boss theme

Tiny Tiger's boss theme

Crash Bandicoot: Warped

The Time Twister

Makin' Waves/Tell No Tales/Ski Crazed/Hot Coco

Tomb Time/Sphyxinator/Bug Lite (including their death route theme)

Hog Ride/Road Crash/Orange Asphalt/Area 51?

Future Frenzy/Gone Tomorrow

Rings of Power

N. Gin's theme

Dingodile's theme

Cortex's theme

Wow I like a lot of them. lol Now for my favorite levels:

Crash Bandicoot

Stormy Ascent

Generator Room

Toxic Waste

N. Brio 

Dr. Cortex

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Cold Hard Crash

Bear It/Bear DownUn-Bearable

The Eel Deal

Rock It

N. Gin

Dr. Cortex

Crash Bandicoot: Warped

Hog Ride/Road Crash/Orange Asphalt/Area 51?

Tomb Time/Sphyxinator/Bug Lite

Dingodile

N. Gin

Dr. Cortex

Now this is the end of my review! lol I hope you guys enjoyed Crash like I do. It has been my childhood, and it feels great to have him back. And let's hope that Crash gets a bright future that he deserves! Also, let's try to get Activision thinking about remaking Crash Team Racing and the Spyro trilogy while we're at it.