‘Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy’ is a return to fun, frustrating times

Nostalgia is a powerful, transformative force, one with the uncanny ability to make an old memory seem as dazzling and emotionally powerful as a fresh experience.

Video game companies know this, which is why it’s no surprise we’re being flooded with remakes and remasters of venerated classics. And the latest franchise to receive this revival treatment? “Crash Bandicoot,” starring Sony’s eponymous mascot.

“Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” is a PlayStation 4 remaster of the first three games in the series – PlayStation 1 platforming hits “Crash Bandicoot,” “Cortex Strikes Back,” and “Warped,” which were released between 1996 and 1998. In other words, this package is as classic as it gets. While Naughty Dog developed the original trilogy, they had nothing to do with this remaster. We can thank Vicarious Visions for that.

Thing is, not all games age well, no matter how fondly you remember them. So do these three games stand the test of time? Or is the “Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” proof that old isn’t always gold?



A fresh coat of paint

The first thing you’ll notice about these games is how fantastic they look. They’re not quite “Horizon Zero Dawn,” but the visuals certainly call to mind those wonderful CG animated shorts before a Disney or Disney-Pixar film.

Crash has always been exceptionally expressive for a bundle of polygons, with a face capable of exhibiting a wide array of emotions, and a body as elastic as a Looney Tunes character’s. But now he also looks like he actually has fur, and there’s a life-like glimmer in his eyes that wasn’t originally there. He seems more tangible now, a real mascot creature that’s as goofy as he’s cuddly, as opposed to a mere graphical representation of an idea.

The environments haven’t gone untouched, either, now boasting numerous intricate details, vibrant colors, and gorgeous light and shadow effects. You’ll still find the occasional rough corner here and there, but definitely not in the same magnitude as in the originals.

Diehard Crash fans will be glad to know that while the graphics have been enhanced, Vicarious Visions did not mess around with the actual designs of the characters or environments. Case in point, Crash still looks like the Crash. The only difference is that he now looks as good as you imagined when you first played these games as a kid all those years ago.

Where the game could have benefitted from some tweaks is the gameplay, which, for better or worse, also remains unchanged.



Platforming ups and downs

“Crash Bandicoot” is a platformer franchise in the same vein as “Super Mario” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.” Crash runs, jumps, stomps on bad guys, and smashes crates. He also has a spin attack. In the second and third games, “Cortex Strikes Back” and “Warped” respectively, he also has a slide move and a body slam.

The “Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” games are also semi-3D platformers. I say “semi” because while you indeed have access to the Z axis, you can’t control the camera. The camera will follow Crash – and will sometimes change perspectives to turn the level into a 2.5D sidescroller – but at no point can you rotate it, pitch it up or down, or zoom in or out.

Many levels have the camera slightly tilted over Crash’s shoulders. There’s a lot of fun to be had coursing through levels this way. Dodging traps is exhilarating, and crushing bad guys and crates by spinning into them is always satisfying.

Jumping, however, is not always fun. Thanks to the camera angle, it’s often tricky trying to ascertain where you’ll land after a jump. This means you’ll misjudge the distance and fall down bottomless pits and die – a lot. Or accidentally end up impaled on spikes. Also a lot. You might even unwittingly land right in front instead of on top of an enemy, allowing them to touch and kill you.



It’s even worse when the camera is positioned almost directly in front of Crash. These levels are tributes to the “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” boulder scene, where a boulder is indeed rolling after Crash, and the only way to avoid getting crushed to death is to run towards the camera. Unfortunately, this means you won’t know what obstacles lie in the path ahead of Crash until they appear on the screen only a split second before you have any chance to react. So there will be more accidental deaths, which in turn means you’ll be doing a lot of trial and error if your level memorization skills aren’t up to snuff. Like it or not, games have evolved over the years to weed out bad design, and it would be extremely rare to find anyone today who’ll say this is good game design.

The games are at their best when the levels are sidescrollers. Here, the precise jumps with their zero margins of error become true tests of your jumping skills. Deaths, while still frustrating, feel less unfair because you can tell exactly where and how you screwed up. This in turn encourages you to strive for perfection, to master the challenges set out before you.

The truth is the levels, when they’re not being ridiculously tough, are quite ingenious, and will task you with surmounting a rich variety of obstacles, such as electrified waters, raging rapids, ancient temples, and even dragons on the Great Wall of China. The games’ diverse and gorgeous environments have a lot to offer in terms of sights, sounds, and fun.

In other stages, you’ll be tasked with riding an animal such as a baby tiger or polar bear, or a vehicle such as a motorcycle. They’re welcome palette cleansers from Crash’s usual activities, though the extra speed can render those tricky jumps even trickier.

The games do have other features that soften the blow of those many deaths. Wumpa fruits are strewn throughout every level; collect a hundred of these, and you gain an extra life. Some crates hide Aku Aku masks that provide Crash an extra hit point so he doesn’t die with a single touch; grab a third and you’ll be temporarily invincible.

There are extremely enjoyable bonus stages that have you bouncing on and smashing crates for Wumpa fruits. Then you have loads of secret levels, collectibles such as gems and relics, and more. Completionists will go nuts trying to collect every item and solve every mystery.

The remaster does make a few more welcome changes to all three games. In a majority of the levels, you can now play as Coco, who controls no differently than her brother, Crash. There’s a convenient autosave feature in addition to manual saving. Vicarious Visions even added spiffy pause menus and time trials.



Fun and frustrating times

“Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” brings back the iconic marsupial, allowing us to re-experience the first three adventures in the franchise. Nostalgic fans will undoubtedly get a kick out of the package and the beautiful work done on the overhauled visuals.

But elements that weren’t an issue almost two decades ago return today to remind us just how far games have improved. Thanks to questionable design, the games can be unfairly punishing, which is sure to turn off some newcomers.

Still, if you’re willing to take up the challenge, you’ll be entertained by Crash’s antics. The platforming itself can be fantastic, particularly in the sidescrolling levels. Lastly, it’s impossible to deny Crash’s charm; there’s a reason the character is so well-regarded, and will likely remain beloved for years to come. — TJD, GMA News

Rating: 8.5 if you’re a “Crash Bandicoot” fan; 7 for everyone else
Platform: PlayStation 4