Backlog Game Reviews 55: Crash Bandicoot on the PS1

 

   Hey there, and welcome to Backlog Game Reviews. For this review, let's look at the PS1 platformer Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot first came out in North America on September 9^th, 1996. It then came to Europe on November 8^th of the same year, and Japan was the last country to get it on December 6^th, 1996. It was very well received by critics and sold very well worldwide. Crash Bandicoot is one of the best-selling PS1 games of all time, selling 700,000 copies in Japan alone, making it the first non-Japanese game to achieve commercial success in Japan.

 

 The first level in the game

 

  Critics heavily praised the graphics, calling it one of the best-looking games on the Playstation at the time. The gameplay received somewhat mixed reviews during its release. Most critics stated that while the gameplay was fun, it didn't bring anything new to the table, and played like your standard platformer.

 

 One of the game's many bonus levels.

 

  Is Crash Bandicoot the basic platformer that reviewers of the time made it out to be, or is there more to it? And is it still a fun game to play today? Let's take a look and find out.

 

The Story

        

 You play as the titular character, Crash Bandicoot. Crash was a normal bandicoot, living a normal bandicoot life, until one day he was captured by the evil scientist Dr. Cortex and his assistant Dr. N. Brio. They took Crash back to their lab and used N. Brio's creation, the Evolvo-Ray, on him. The Evolvo-Ray evolved Crash from a normal bandicoot into a somewhat intelligent humanoid animal.

 

 The Evolvo-Ray being used on Crash.

 

   Cortex chose Crash to be the general of his army. And so, he decided to use the Cortex-Vortex, a machine Cortex created himself on Crash. The Vortex was supposed to brainwash Crash into being loyal to Cortex and turn him into a genius capable of commanding an army.

 

 Crash going into the Cortex Vortex.

 

   But the Vortex was not yet complete and didn't work as intended. And despite Brio's urging to figure out why it didn't work. Cortex went through with his plan. But just like Brio said, the Vortex was not ready for use, it rejected Crash, and broke down. During the Vortex's breakdown, Crash was able to escape from Cortex's castle. But during his escape, he left his girlfriend, Tawana behind. Crash being the good guy he is, decides that he can't leave Tawana with Cortex, so he decides to go back to Cortex's castle to save her, starting the bandicoot's first adventure.

 

                      

 Tawana in Cortex's castle.

 

 Crash Bandicoot's story is pretty basic, which is nothing new for a platformer like this. One thing I do like about the story is that you're not on a quest to save the world. If left to his own devices, Dr. Cortex will eventually take over the world. But Crash isn't concerned about that, all he wants is his girlfriend back. And by saving her, Crash accidentally saves the world from Cortex. It's a different take from most platformers, where the story is to stop the bad guy from taking over the world.

 

 Crash escapes Cortex's castle.

 Gameplay

 

The easiest way to describe Crash Bandicoot is that it’s a platformer. Your goal is to jump past obstacles and enemies and reach the end of the stage. That's all there is to the core gameplay. It's an easy game to pick up and play. Anyone can understand what to do without any instructions.

 

 Crash's signature spin attack.

 

 Just because the mechanics are easy to understand doesn't mean the game is easy. Crash Bandicoot is a very difficult game. A good number of stages require precision platforming, so you have to master Crash's jumping physics. The game's levels are not just difficult, they are also long. Some can take up to three or so minutes to complete. The difficulty of the levels combined with their long length can wear you down during long play sessions.

 

 These bridge stages are some of the hardest levels in the game.

 

  The game gets even more difficult when you try to complete it 100%. Every stage has boxes that you can break. Doing so will give extra lives and other items, some boxes are also check points. If you want to get a 100% completion score, you need to break all the boxes in every stage. If you break all of a stage's boxes you will be rewarded with a gem. Every gem in the game is needed to get the game's secret ending.

 

 Break all the boxes in a level to get a gem.

 

  It may sound easy, but breaking all of the boxes in a level is much easier said than done. That's because you have to beat the stage and break all of the boxes without dying. Dying restarts your box count, so when you die and restart at a checkpoint, you have one of two options: you can either backtrack to the start of the level and re-break all of the boxes, or you can exit the level and restart from the beginning. Like I said before, some of these stages are very long, making it all the harder to get a perfect run.

 

 Complete a level without breaking all the boxes and the game will let you know how many you missed.

 

   If your main goal is just to get to the end of the game and see the normal ending, then you’ll be in for a challenging but enjoyable ride. But if you want to 100 percent the game, then prepare to get frustrated. Crash Bandicoot is a fun game. Just as long as you're not trying to get the secret ending.

 

Presentation

 

  When Crash Bandicoot first came out it got a lot of praise for its visuals. Calling it beautiful and one of the best-looking games on the PS1 to date. All of that praise was rightfully deserved, the 3D models all look very good for being an early PS1 game. The level backgrounds all look great. They make you want to stop playing and just look at the scenery.

 

 The background art in this game is very nice.

 

   The music in the game is good, just not very memorable. It's all very atmospheric. Its immersive, but you'll quickly forget how each song went once you turn off the game. The only exception is the overworld map and title theme. It's a little short, but it is a very upbeat and catchy theme. It'll quickly get stuck in your head and stay there for a long while.

 

 These hog stages are fun, but there are not very many of them in the game.

Conclusion

 

Crash Bandicoot isn't the best platformer on the PS1, but was and still is a very fun game to play. If you just want to get to the last boss it's a somewhat short but enjoyable adventure. It isn't worth completing the game one hundred percent because of how hard it is, but if you like a challenge, then give it a try. If you're a fan of retro platformers then Crash Bandicoot is a game deserving of your time.

 

       That’s all I have to say about Crash Bandicoot on the PS1. Thanks for reading! I hope to see you again here at Backlog Game Reviews.