The original Crash Bandicoot is impressive, but a relic of its time. Its level design is pretty good overall, but the stupid D-pad controls make it needlessly difficult to the point that I gave up on the third-to-last level and bought this instead. Don’t get me wrong, though; Naught Dog has my absolute respect for managing to make a linear 3D platformer so early in the history of video games, and I’m happy that Crash 1 led to both a successful franchise and an acclaimed career for Naughty Dog themselves.
Still, the N. Sane version of Crash Bandicoot is better than the original in practically every day. The analog stick means that Crash now has a much wider range of movement that makes him hella fun to control. The graphics and art style are nice and vibrant, looking surprisingly good even on my dying Switch. The voice acting and cutscenes have been completely redone for the modern day. You no longer lose all your boxes upon dying. You can save anytime you want. Oh, and did I mention that the controls are better? I did? Well, I had to say it again, because they’re such a staunch improvement over the PS1 game. There is simply NO REASON to go back and play the original when I have this instead.
That being said, I do think some aspects just aren’t fun. I don’t like some of the backtracking required to get gems and some levels are too hard for their own good (skill issue, I know, but don’t pretend that The High Road is actually a fun level).
There are some standout levels that I really enjoyed, so here we go:
— Jungle Rollers and Rolling Stones: I don’t know why, but I find the rolling rocks to be a super fun gimmick that makes for some great timing-based platforming.
— Boulders and Boulder Dash: Like the mine cart levels in Donkey Kong Country, these are fast-paced, reaction-based trials that are as stressful as they are rewarding.
— Upstream and Up the Creek: Some relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable breathers after two VERY difficult levels.
— Road to Nowhere: A super challenging, yet highly engaging gauntlet that requires precision and quick thinking to get through. Way better than The High Road.
— Heavy Machinery: A badass sidescroller as Crash breaks into Cortex’s facilities and methodically lays waste to his operations.
— The Lab: My favorite level, The Lab is an absolutely amazing, difficult, and impressive final challenge that acts as a perfect culmination of everything that led up to it.
Yeah, Crash 1 N. Sane is awesome, if imperfect. Good thing it came bundled with two even better sequels.
Still, the N. Sane version of Crash Bandicoot is better than the original in practically every day. The analog stick means that Crash now has a much wider range of movement that makes him hella fun to control. The graphics and art style are nice and vibrant, looking surprisingly good even on my dying Switch. The voice acting and cutscenes have been completely redone for the modern day. You no longer lose all your boxes upon dying. You can save anytime you want. Oh, and did I mention that the controls are better? I did? Well, I had to say it again, because they’re such a staunch improvement over the PS1 game. There is simply NO REASON to go back and play the original when I have this instead.
That being said, I do think some aspects just aren’t fun. I don’t like some of the backtracking required to get gems and some levels are too hard for their own good (skill issue, I know, but don’t pretend that The High Road is actually a fun level).
There are some standout levels that I really enjoyed, so here we go:
— Jungle Rollers and Rolling Stones: I don’t know why, but I find the rolling rocks to be a super fun gimmick that makes for some great timing-based platforming.
— Boulders and Boulder Dash: Like the mine cart levels in Donkey Kong Country, these are fast-paced, reaction-based trials that are as stressful as they are rewarding.
— Upstream and Up the Creek: Some relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable breathers after two VERY difficult levels.
— Road to Nowhere: A super challenging, yet highly engaging gauntlet that requires precision and quick thinking to get through. Way better than The High Road.
— Heavy Machinery: A badass sidescroller as Crash breaks into Cortex’s facilities and methodically lays waste to his operations.
— The Lab: My favorite level, The Lab is an absolutely amazing, difficult, and impressive final challenge that acts as a perfect culmination of everything that led up to it.
Yeah, Crash 1 N. Sane is awesome, if imperfect. Good thing it came bundled with two even better sequels.