After months of waiting, gamers finally got their hands on the long-awaited Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which was announced at least year's PlayStation Experience.
The trilogy, which consists of remastered versions of three platforming classics, was developed by Vicarious Visions.
What Is Crash Bandicoot
Originally developed by Naughty Dog, Crash Bandicoot was a series of platformers that were originally released on the PlayStation, before becoming multiplatform. While never as popular as Mario, the Crash Bandicoot series proved to be a popular platformer that resonated well with gamers. The series eventually went into hiatus though rumors of the character's return have been circulating for years.
At last year's Playstation Experience, Sony announced that gamers would get their hands on remastered versions of the games. The collection includes Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
While this is a remake, the developers didn't merely slap a fresh coat of paint and call it day. The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy offers several new features and gameplay options to make the 20+-year-old games more appealing to modern gamers.
Is The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Trilogy Any Good?
Overall, the reviews of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy appear to be fairly positive. The series currently holds a score of 80 on the review site Metacritic. Even the more critical reviewers, such as Simon Miller of Trusted Reviews, note that the game will likely be a hit with its target audience.
"It's no big surprise to say that the N. Sane trilogy is another pleasant form of fan service from Sony, which does seem keen on this kind of thing when you remember it's doing the same with Final Fantasy 7 and Shenmue 3. And the intended audience will love it," says Miller.
The biggest issue that reviews seem to have with the title is that, despite the updates made by Vicarious Visions, these games are about two decades old and their age shows in the basic structure of gameplay mechanics.
"Crash's original adventures aren't as inventive or surprising as they were 20 years ago," said Gamespot, who gave the game a score of 6/10.
Despite complaints, the game does appear to appeal to gamers who grew up with the Crash Bandicoot series. So, if you were a fan of the original, then this collection is probably worth checking out. If it does well, we might even see a proper sequel.
