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Post by Ayen on Nov 23, 2020 18:03:57 GMT -6
Crash Bandicoot is a platforming video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released on the Sony PlayStation console in North America on September 9, 1996. It stars a bandicoot turned super by Dr. Neo Cortex and goes through N. Sanity Island to rescue his girlfriend Tawna from Dr. Neo Cortex. This game sparked a trilogy on PlayStation and further sequels and spinoffs after that. This is Crash Bandicoot.
Gameplay: In the game you control Crash as he travels three different islands to rescue his girlfriend from Dr. Neo Cortex. You can jump and use a spin attack to break various crates that have either Wumpa Fruit or Aku Aku masks that protect Crash along his adventure. Collecting three Aku Aku masks and Crash earns temporary invincibility.
The first installment of the Crash Bandicoot series introduced some staples to the series. Like the stage where you’re being chased by a large boulder, or riding on an animal to progress through the stage while avoiding obstacles, or the water levels where you’re attacked by killer plants. The further you get into the game, the harder it gets, and sometimes the difficulty can be hair pulling frustration when you get to the latter stages.
Other crates include checkpoint crates which allow you to go back to that point when you lose a life, and TNT crates that countdown from 3 to 0 when it goes off. If you get a perfect through a stage you’ll earn a gem which is used at the end as platforms to get to the true game’s ending. Miss any crates and they’ll count the total of crates you miss by having it fall and break on Crash’s head.
Bosses include Papu Papu, Ripper Roo, Koala Kong, Pinstripe Potoroo, Brio, and Dr. Neo Cortex himself. Papu Papu is easy enough to beat, but it gets trickier once you get to Ripper Roo and beyond. At least the first time you ever play them you have to figure out the pattern and then it’s easy. Like any good game, really.
In order to save the game or get a password, you have to complete a bonus stage. There are three different bonus stages you can unlock during a level that differs from the last. If you collect three faces of Tawna you get the regular bonus stage. If you collect three Brio faces or Cortex faces you get an even harder bonus stage. At the end of the bonus stage you can save the game or write down a password to get back to that part of the game. More on that later.
After beating Cortex you get to a room where you require all the gems needed to get to the real ending, jumping on them like platforms until you reach Tawna and fly away from the island. Then you get an aftermath of all the bosses and the credit scene rolls. If you don’t have all the gems by this point, you can always go back to an older level to get them. That’s one of the best things about Crash, if you love a level you can go back and replay it as much or as little as you want.
Story: If you wait on the title screen long enough you get the opening scene where Dr. Neo Cortex and his assistant Brio are creating Crash and put him into the Cortex Vortex to make him completely obedient to Cortex. That fails and Crash escapes, but leaves behind his girlfriend Tawna who Cortex decides to use next for his experiments.
Crash then has to go through all three islands of N. Sanity Island defeating a crazy tribal chief, and Cortex’s goons before reaching Cortex’s assistant who mutates himself and sets the castle at the top of the island on fire leading to Crash on top of Cortex’s airship fighting Dr. Neo Cortex himself. After beating him Cortex falls down into who knows where and Crash takes off with Tawna having been victorious.
Graphics: The graphics and art style of Crash Bandicoot is so good that it still holds up well now as it did back in 1996. You know what everyone is, where everything is, and it’s fun to look at and enjoy while you’re playing the game. While some PS One games’ graphics have aged terribly, Crash has aged more like a fine wine and it’s fantastic to see it all over twenty years later.
Flaws: The main faults I can find in the game are the bonus stages. You can’t save your progress unless you complete a bonus stage, and that’s a matter of even being able to find the bonus stage icons to get to the bonus stage to begin with. So if you miss it by any chance or fail to complete it you can’t save your game. It’s not a problem now as we have the internet and can look up all the passwords to advance through the game, but back then it was a pain in the butt.
Summary: Overall, Crash Bandicoot is a fun, challenging game that looks great for its time and is still fun to play today as it was over twenty years ago. It’s no secret why Sony chose Crash to be their number one mascot back in the day and it’s great to see how well the game has aged through the years. Nothing more to say than:
Get It!
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