I Waited 22 Years For This Sequel, Then It Absolutely Crushed Me (In A Good Way)

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I was thrilled when I finally got a PlayStation 1, and one of the first games I bought was Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. Along with Final Fantasy 7, which came out the same year, it was a great way to begin my experience with PlayStation consoles.

I was immediately impressed by how creative Crash 2 was. I especially enjoyed the central hub world, the diverse levels, and its bright, playful atmosphere. While Crash doesn’t have many moves, the game keeps things interesting with unexpected moments – like running towards the screen from a massive polar bear, or even riding on a small one.

I didn’t feel like I needed to play the first game to understand what was happening, as the opening cutscene in Cortex Strikes Back explained everything well. But what really captivated me was the concept of collecting gems – both for smashing crates and for finding hidden gems that unlocked secret areas in later levels.

I’ve beaten the original Crash Bandicoot games completely, and I did it again when the remastered N-Sane Trilogy came out (even with the slightly different jumping!). It’s no surprise I bought Crash Bandicoot: Warped the next year. While I think the second game is a little better than the third, Warped was special. It really mixed things up with levels featuring motorcycles, planes, and swimming, plus the cool addition of time travel, fun new characters, and some great boss battles.

The Relics were a welcome addition, offering a playful challenge against the clock. That is, until you tried to collect all the incredibly difficult Platinum Relics!

I consider these two games to be among the best platformers ever created – true classics for the original PlayStation that are still enjoyable today. I’d thought the series would always consist of just the first three games. However, 22 years after the release of *Warped*, a fourth main installment arrived: *Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time*.

Crash 4, It’s Not You, It’s Me

The 2020 installment is full of exciting features. It brings back familiar enemies, introduces the Quantum Masks for a fresh gameplay experience, and lets you play as characters like Dingodile, the charming villain Neo Cortex, and Tawna. It’s a strong addition to the series. However, it’s also incredibly challenging.

Longtime Crash Bandicoot players are used to finding hidden boxes in tricky places, and the levels in It’s About Time are generally much bigger than those in previous games. This makes the already challenging task of finding every single box even more difficult.

The original Crash Bandicoot games were pretty manageable if you just wanted to play through the story and collect the crystals. Trying to get absolutely everything was really hard, but that was a choice you made. However, the fourth game seems much more difficult overall – just finishing the game feels like a real accomplishment.

What’s frustrating is the game encourages you to collect everything, offering rewards like silly costumes, but then makes it incredibly challenging to actually get all the items needed.

I think the “Booty Seeker” pirate skin for Crash is really cool. However, I don’t have the ability or patience to collect everything in the game. The levels are already quite difficult, and the extra challenges combined with very few checkpoints make earning all the rewards feel impossible.

As Nickelback famously asked, “Are we having fun yet?” Honestly, after dealing with all the N-Verted levels, Flashback Tapes, and the constant stream of gems and boxes in the normal stages, the answer is no. It’s simply too much to handle.

I was so excited to finally get a new Crash Bandicoot game, and it was packed with content! It really felt like the developers put everything they had into it as a special treat for longtime fans. However, I personally found that a lot of the game was frustratingly difficult, which took away from the enjoyment.

The game sold very well, which is a good sign for future Crash Bandicoot titles. However, similar to the huge excitement around Silksong, I’m curious how many people who initially bought it actually finished playing it.

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2025-10-08 00:39