Crash Bandicoot Review

Crash Bandicoot

Publisher: Sony Developer: Naughty Dog Platform: Sony PlayStation Players: 1 Release: 1996 Genre: 3D Platformer / Action Rating: 8.4 \ 10.0: Great

Above is a scene from the game's first stage


NOTICE: If you read the original version of this review, please disregard my complaints-- that draft was ... incomplete to say the least. I wasn't lying when I said that Crash Bandicoot can be brutally challenging, but as a nine-year old I whined about how frustrating the earliest stages of the game were. Playing them now, they're pretty much a breeze. Had I played the infamous Sunset Vista and Slippery Climb stages back then, I may have broken a controller.

While Crash Bandicoot is quite entertaining, my expectations were a little bit too high. It was Sony's attempt to create a mascot that could rival Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, and throughout the latter half of the '90's, the crazed orange marsupial did. You'll need to wait on the title screen and watch a cut scene to understand the exposition: The despicable, massive-headed Dr. Neo Cortex and his assistant  Nitrus Brio (N. Brio ... embryo, how clever!) is creating an army of anthropomorphic marsupials. However, Crash the bandicoot breaks away from the operating table before he can be mutated. In the ensuing scuffle, Crash jumps out the window of Cortex's castle, then floats in place and plummets with a shrug in slapstick style into the ocean and washes up on N. Sanity Beach (N. Sanity-- insanity-- this game has puns aplenty). Crash grew fond of the bandicoot Tawna during his time in the lab. She's up next in line for experimentation, so it's up to him to rescue to rescue his sweetheart fro Cortex's clutches.

The graphics are colorful, vibrant, and are an impressive showcase of the PS1's visual capabilities. The atmospheric lighting and storm effects in the infamous Slippery Climb and the rough-looking yet beautiful backdrops in the temple stages left me questioning if this was on fifth-gen hardware. Sadly, there are only several unique level themes that you'll explore throughout the game, which is both a good and bad thing. While I do wish there was more variety, there's just something about the jungle aesthitic that's so charming, and the amount of detail in most areas is excellent. The linear 3D platforming gameplay is greatly entertaining and . You explore exotic stages pressing the Circle or Square button on the controller to make Crash, the humanoid, foxlike protagonist, twirl around like a tornado to smash crates and defeat enemies. These crates release Wumpa fruit, the Crash equivalent of coins and rings-- collect 100 to earn an extra life. You'll also come across Aku Aku crates. This spirit-inhabited Tiki mask shield you from a hit. If you collect another, you'll be protected from an additional blow. Build up three, and you'll become temporarily invincible, allowing you to plow through enemies and boxes with ease and only flinch when coming in constant with a normally lethal obstacle. The soundtrack is an atmospheric, catchy and occasionally calming blend of xylophones, didgeridoos, flutes, and more and is one of the game's strongest aspects. The main theme and boss themes are especially catchy, with the former being a serious earworm. One of my favorite touches is the cartoony feel of the game. Everything from the comical yet fairly dark-humored death animations, Crash's eyes darting left and right when you leave him standing still, and bouncy sound effects never fail to charm me. One of the primary issues with this game is the process by which you must save. It's ridiculous that the only way to save your progress is to gather  three tokens marked with a specific character, which teleports you to a brief bonus stage. Completing a Tawna bonus stage allows you to save and gives you a password, and an making your way through an extremely difficult Cortex bonus round earns you a key, unlocking a secret stage. If you enter in a password on the main menu, you can resume your progress from that point. This is even more obnoxious than the Mega Man series' password system but the Blue Bomber is off the hook, as cartridges with saving capabilities were very expensive to produce at the time.

I must warn you: There are quite a few instances where you will be humbled by the level of challenge. The first five levels well accustom you to the game, but at least half of everything onwards, and people who grew up with this title will likely agree, may result in some broken controllers. You better save up your lives, because unless you're a platforming veteran, you'll be hearing Crash exclaim "Whoa!" a lot. If the saving system didn't require you to beat a couple levels at a time without losing all your lives (c'mon, Naughty Dog, little kids played this!), I wouldn't mind as much that this game is full of trial and error. This is a given in the hog riding and Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque boulder chase sequences, you'll frequently need to detect the patterns of enemies, moving and crumbling platforms, torches that turn on and off, and more. I hated how much I had to redo at a time, but it felt incredibly satisfying to clear such segments. It should also be noted that the control scheme is definitely not bad, but is stiff. It well suits the many parts of the game in which you have to make timed or accurate jumps, but it doesn't help that the  PlayStation controller lacked analog sticks at the time of Crash Bandicoot's release-- I hope you can tolerate using the directional pad. The PlayStations' D-pads have always been surprisingly solid, so the only downside is the sore thumbs you'll occasionally get, and the downloadable PS3 / PSP rerelease doesn't support analog control either.

There's much fun to be had when you play this game straightforwardly, but have a dozen controllers on hand if you plan on going for 100% completion. Back in the day, doing this without the internet was such a feat that I'm sure some kid had to bring his memory card of to his friend's house to prove he wasn't lying that he completed the game entirely. In order to earn the gem in a stage, you must reach the end of the stage both without dying and without forgetting to smash a single crate! To make matters worse, some crates can only be reached by using paths composed of colored gems that are found in select stages. Why yes, fellow Super Mario World players, this is most likely influenced by the secret colored block switches in the aforementioned 16-bit classic. I will probably never fully complete the game, but to my knowledge, the immensely satisfying and amusing reward is almost worth the effort. While Crash Bandicoot does have its errors and frustrations, it should provide plenty of fun to anyone looking for a serious platforming challenge. It's a great game, but it would have benefited from some structural tweaks.


Ups

Looks fantastic for a 32-bit game

Simply beautiful at times

Calming and catchy soundtrack with Aussie influence

Cartoony feel is ever so charming


Downs

Too challenging for prolonged saving opportunities

Themes are overused an repetitive

Lots of trial and error

Stiff controls


Also available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita


The System Difference: If you were hoping that the PlayStation network rerelease of this game would support analog control, you're out of luck. I recommend playing the game on whatever PlayStation system has your favorite controller.


ESRB: E for Everyone Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $5.99 (Download)