Title: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Vicarious Visions/Toys For Bob (Switch version)
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: June 29th, 2018 (NA)
Review copy provided by Activision
It finally happened. The first three original Crash games created by Naughty Dog that Sony-published on the original PlayStation (or simply PS1) have finally landed on a Nintendo platform. Releasing last year on the PS4 in a 3-in-1 trilogy pack, all three said games got full-fledged remakes by Vicarious Visions. So how do all three games fare on Switch? Let’s find out!
The main menu featuring all three games.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy comes with three games, shocking right? Well each game is of a decent length and all for a modest price of $40 USD and $50 CDN. So right away you’re getting a nice amount for your buck, and it’s all in the cartridge too, totaling at just over 5GB.
Let’s start with Crash Bandicoot or simply Crash 1. Crash 1 is where it all began, and it frankly shows. Naughty Dog as far as I know never made anything like this prior and obviously had to do a lot of things for the first time and made some glaring errors as such, stuff that would get fixed/better in the sequels.
Crash at the beginning of the first level (Crash 1).
Crash is your classic “Point A to Point B” game. Your goal is mainly to reach the end without losing all of your lives. A major thing for folks who like to collect and 100-whatever-percent the game will be happy to know there are gems and other things to collect. In each level there’s an abundance of wumpa fruit to collect which are your typical coins/rings/whatever where if you get 100 you earn an extra life. There are also tons of crates in the levels, each giving you some wumpa fruit if broken. If you break all of the crates in a level, you get a white gem at the very end where the goal is (also so in the other two games).
Another collectable are crests which are obtained from time-trial runs where you reach the goal before a specified time (also in the other two games). In most levels there are also TNT and Nitro crates which explode (the TNT ones are timed, Nitros are instant) so be careful around those. You can jump on a TNT crate to start the countdown, but Nitro crates have to be avoided period.
Crash with Aku Aku in a bonus room (Crash 1).
Also you have your buddy Aku Aku the mask who can be freed from crates marked with his face that gives you a free hit. Something like the Super Mushroom in the Mario series. But you can upgrade Aku Aku to get a second free hit by breaking another of his crates while carrying him around. Doing so a third time will grant you invincibility which not only instant kills basic enemies, but also instantly breaks any create without worry. Once that wears off you revert back to Stage 2 Aku Aku.
Every few levels has Crash also taking on a boss. Some are typical “wait for an opening” sort of boss, but others have their own gimmick such as Ripper Roo in Crash 1 tasking you to time TNT crate explosions to take him out. In Crash 2 Ripper Roo goes for the more typical approach. In Crash 3 you even earn new abilities after a boss (like in Wrath of Cortex in fact), so that’s neat. Later on you unlock the option to play as Crash’s sister Coco who actually didn’t debut until Crash 2 (this option is in all three games to boot). In each level there are also bonus levels. In these you have more crates to break, an extra life or so for your troubles, and plenty of wumpa fruit to collect. What’s nice in these is that you don’t lose lives if you die in them, and you warp back to where the bonus level portal is, so you can just retry until you finish it properly.
Fighting against Ripper Roo (Crash 2).
The issue with Crash 1 is that it’s a VERY technical kind of platformer that demands utter precision (this is not as bad but still apparent in the other two games). You have to time jumps almost supernaturally (you’ll dread the bridge levels in Crash 1…). The other thing is the issue with depth perception. Some jump distances are just so hard to gauge on where you can safely land, hence the precision part. But this also can extend to the side-scrolling levels also. Some levels have vertical sections and there’s a LOT of trial and error on these with the spinning platforms. Overall I just wasn’t having that much fun with Crash 1 to be perfectly honest.
Crash Bandcoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, or simply Crash 2, is when things start looking up a bit. Things are a bit different where you’re not only seemingly a bit faster than in Crash 1, but level themes aren’t as repetitive (you’re in jungles for what feels like a HUGE chunk of Crash 1). Crash 2 also introduces special gems you can earn by fulfilling certain objectives, such as finishing one level without breaking any creates, or locating secret paths in others.
Crash is loving his new bear rug! (Crash 2).
Crash Bandicoot: Warped, or simply Crash 3, then introduces vehicle levels such as one where you’re Coco on a hovercraft in a level that’s extremely similar in appearance to Whale Bay in Diddy Kong Racing. Crash 2 actually has some sections where you go on a hovercraft mid-level. In both cases, you move by moving the left stick in the direction where you want to go. Makes sense, but it legit takes some adjusting to how it controls.
Also a very important note is how bonus levels are handled. From what I saw, in the original games (at least in Crash 1) on PS1 used a horrible save system where you could only save in said bonus rooms by completing them, and you only get one try in each. Here it’s eons better. You can save at anytime in the hub sections in each game with 3 manual save files and 1 optional auto save file. Bonus rooms now can be re-attempted if you fail them over and over again with no cost in lives. I’m guessing PS1 memory limitations were the cause back then? Why anyone would do this I have no idea.
Crash looking at a crystal (Crash 3).
Visually the game is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand it’s surprisingly close to how the PS4 original looks in terms of assets, lighting, etc. On the other the game is only 720p docked and notably lacks anti-aliasing so that doesn’t help. Also worth noting is that the game surprisingly to me looks almost cleaner in portable mode. It’s apparently lower-res (something like 480p or 540p), but it holds up much better on the small screen. Granted this is comparing to a 43 inch 4K TV sooo…
One major visual issue to me is not that they removed the fur-shading from the characters, it’s what they replaced them with. The characters now feature this really iffy-looking bump-mapping surface to try and… “replicate” the fur and it some cases it’s horribly low-res (see Tiny in Crash 3 below when you see his giant head talking to you). In my opinion they should not have bothered with the effect and just made smooth-colored models more like the GC days. Or whatever the PC version looks with the fur-shading turned off.
Coco in a hovercraft level (Crash 3).
Audio-wise it’s good. It’s fully voice-acted with Jess Harnell returning as Crash from the Radical Entertainment-era (and also was Spyro in Spyro: A Hero’s Tail and Spyro: Shadow Legacy, fun fact) and Lex Lang also re-appearing as Cortex from all the way back starting in Crash Twinsanity. Basically every character’s voice actor who started in Crash Twinsanity or later is back here again.
Music is basically modern remixes by an unnamed composer from Vicarious Visions (they don’t even say who in the credits oddly). The music itself sounds good though and seemingly faithful to the PS1 originals from what I could tell (as someone who’s never played them though), I personally found the same original team’s work in the original Jak & Daxter on PS2 to be much better personally.
An example of the low-res bump-mapping (Crash 3).
Overall I found that while the game is an outstanding package and value, I found that the game’s trial and error gameplay does sour me a bit, especially in Crash 1. This is a game I want to adore but the difficulty in the games turn me off a bit. Some will love the challenge but I’m more of an easy-going person who wants to enjoy my time in a game, not have to repeat levels from dying over and over again. Oddly I highly recommend it if you’re a Crash fan and really want to play this on the go. The challenge wasn’t my cup of tea, but it may be yours.
You’ll Love:
+ Three games, all in one cart and a pretty damn good value at $40 USD/$50 CDN.
+ Fully voiced in English. Characters are VERY well animated and the voice-acting is fantastic.
+ Music is decent but not super impressive to me. I much prefer the original Jak & Daxter from the original composers.
+ Bonus rooms allow you to replay them at no cost of lives if you fail them.
+ Auto and manual save options during hub sections in each game. With 3 manual save files (and 1 auto) in each available.
+ Has screenshot support.
You’ll Hate:
– The games are VERY difficult and are so very often. It seems to be worst in Crash 1. Prepare to lose MANY lives over and over again.
– Visuals do look a bit muddy in docked mode, though surprisingly it’s much nicer in portable mode, despite it apparently being even lower-res.
– Again visually, the replacement for the fur-shading effect is not done well, mostly in up-close shots. Should’ve just ditched whatever they did in favor of smooth textures.
– Has no video capture support.
Score: 8/10
I’m enjoying playing it a lot 👌🏻