Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy review: Praise be to the badger!

When developer Naughty Dog released Uncharted 4: A Thief's End in 2016 and included a playable level from the first Crash Bandicoot, rumors about a possible remaster were immediately heard. These were initially denied and fans of Crash were disappointed. Then, at last year's E3, Sony let the badger out of the bag and announced the N.Sane Trilogy, a remaster of the first three Crash games.

Now the remaster is finally here, and we've taken a trip down memory lane for you to face the challenges of the Crash Bandicoot series once again.

Cortex instructs Crash.

What is Crash Bandicoot actually about?

In the jump'n'run Crash Bandicoot everything revolves around the conflict between the eponymous Crash Bandicoot, supported by the medicine man mask Aku Aku, and the evil scientist Dr. Neo Cortex, at whose side stands Aku Aku's brother Uka Uka, among others. If you only understood what we were saying, don't worry: we'll break it down for you.

Together with his assistant Dr. Nitrus Brio, Cortex has created the so-called "Evolvo-Ray", with which he wants to equip animals with superhuman powers. One of his test objects is Crash, a previously normal badger. After the experiment, Crash was supposed to lead Cortex's army - but the whole thing backfired and Crash crashed through a window. From then on, Cortex's hunt for Crash takes its course.

Part one is dedicated to the rescue of Tawna, a lady badger that Crash has grown very fond of during their captivity. In part 2, the somewhat simple-minded Crash is persuaded by Cortex to collect crystals for him - after all, the doctor wants to save the world and has no intention of using the power of the crystals to run his brainwashing machine! After Crash has blown up Cortex's space station, he also confronts Dr. Nefarious Tropy in part three: he has built a machine that allows time travel in order to collect more of the powerful crystals.

And what about the masks? Aku Aku is the guardian of the Wumpa Islands, Crash's home, which are fictional Australian islands. He is the ghost of an old witch doctor trapped in a wooden mask. Uka Uka is the evil twin brother who was actually imprisoned by Aku Aku a long time ago.

In addition, Crash is also assisted by his sister Coco. She is quite clever and thus actually the exact opposite of her big brother.

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Jumping, whirling, collecting fruits

The gameplay of Crash Trilogy seems simple at first glance. He can jump and whirl and later duck. Different types of crates are distributed throughout the game's tube levels.

The normal board crates spit out a Wumpa fruit. Once Crash has collected 100 fruits, he gets a bonus life. Crates with question marks can contain multiple fruits, but also face tokens, for example. Three of these are needed in the first Crash Bandicoot to unlock bonus levels.

Then there are crates with struts - they can't be destroyed by whirling. Instead, Crash has to jump on the crates, as they work like a trampoline and then spit out several fruits as well. Last but not least, there are rare crates with Crash's face, which contain an extra life, and Aku Aku, which provide us with the mask.

Crash should give the nitro and TNT crates a wide berth. The reason for this should be obvious.

Mistakes are not forgiven

As simple as the gameplay seems - tube levels, a bit of whirling and hopping - the game is so unforgiving when it comes to mistakes. If Crash bumps into an opponent, he ascends to heaven as an angel. If he gets too close to a carnivorous plant, only his sneakers remain. If he lands in a fire, he fits directly into a matchbox. And if he falls somewhere, his shoes come flying up again to rub salt into the wound of failure.

We only have a buffer if we have collected an Aku-Aku mask. The guardian spirit averts most evils at least once, then the mask is used up. We can save up a maximum of two free attempts, at the third mistake Crash goes over the Jordan and he spawns again at the last checkpoint box he destroyed.

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Run, Crash. Run!

In addition to the normal levels, in which Crash has to get from A to B and overcome numerous obstacles on the way, there are also other types of levels. For example, time and again he has to run away from a rolling stone or something similar, in which case the pouch badger runs towards the camera instead of being chased by it.

At another point, he rides a wild boar, for example. The controls here are limited to left and right as well as jumping, stopping is not provided.

And then, of course, there are boss opponents. The first boss in the Crash story is the tribal chief Papu Papu. However, the same applies to all bosses: Watch attack patterns, wait for a chance, and then jump on their heads. And of course, as befits video game classics, do this at least three times until the villain is finally defeated.

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Original vs. remaster

Vicarious Visions have done a great job with the remaster of Crash Bandicoot. The levels shine in new splendor and have been designed with great attention to detail. At the same time, the remaster has remained absolutely faithful to the original. Every stone is still there, where you can find it in the original - only now it has much more detail.

The jungles, but also ice worlds or underwater levels in the N.Sane Trilogy not only provide a lot of nostalgia, but are simply impressive when you compare them to the original.

And if you want to play the games like in 199x, you can at least do that in terms of controls: Crash can not only be steered with the left stick, but also via the directional pad. On the other hand, we simply don't need the right stick, because the rigid camera from the originals has remained.

The remaster runs absolutely smoothly and without stutters, and there is also nothing to complain about in the controls. It is still just as precise as before - for better or worse. Unfortunately, the big toe is not enough for Crash to stop on a platform.

The only drawback is that it is not possible to switch between old and new graphics. However, since Vicarious Vision have developed the game completely from scratch and without the old basic framework, there is simply no basis to fall back on for this.

What is Crash Bandicoot about?

Conclusion

With Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, Vicarious Visions has reimagined one of my childhood heroes. And even though it's been almost 20 years since I first got to know Crash in part 3, most of the levels go by as easily as if it was just yesterday. But that's a good thing, because I have all the more time to take a closer look at the beautiful new levels and enjoy the many little details that are hidden in the remaster versions. The Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy is a must-have for any fan of the old platformers, but hopefully also brings the games closer to a new generation that hasn't played the originals. I would hope so - because hopefully the better the chances of a completely new game.

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy will be released on June 30, 2017 for the PlayStation 4 only, but there is a rumor that a version for the Xbox One could also be released.

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