As with many games in the mid to late '90s, the original Crash Bandicoot game and its sequels in the original PlayStation 1 (PS1) are considered by most in the gaming world to be some of the best games made during that time, as Screen Rant found based on Metacritic's ranking of the best Crash Bandicoot games.
However, how did the 1996 original release inspire so many gamers to hail it as one of the greatest games ever introduced in the gaming world?
Crash Bandicoot Details: History, Plot, Gameplay
The original Crash Bandicoot game was a platform game developed by Naughty Dog for the PS1 in 1996, per the game's Crash Bandicoot Fandom page. It features the titular character, Crash bandicoot, in his quest to save his captured girlfriend and fellow bandicoot, Tawna, from the clutches of Doctor Neo Cortex and his assistant, Doctor Nitrus Brio. The two doctors wish to turn Crash and Tawna into their latest addition to Cortex's animal army.
The game lets players control Crash to dodge, run, and jump his way to safety, all the while he is chased by rolling boulders to force players to progress through the game's levels. Meanwhile, some of the game's levels were played from a traditional side-scrolling perspective as opposed to the game's third-person perspective where Crash moves toward the player instead of the camera following Crash around.
Crash can attack enemies and break crates by spinning, turning enemies into projectiles that could push away other enemies they bump into. Crash can also jump on them a la Mario, flattening them in the process.
He also has a limited number of lives; each time Crash takes damage due to a successful enemy attack or a map hazard, he loses one. Although losing all available lives leads to a "game over" screen, players who can collect 100 Wumpa fruits or pick up an extra life can extend the number of lives Crash has.
Players can protect Crash from damage by picking up an Aku Aku mask. Should the player collect all three available masks at a level, Crash will become invincible for a limited period.
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Breaking all crates without losing a life will grant Crash a gem to signify that that level was completed. Meanwhile, completing a level without breaking all will result in the game displaying the number of missed crates. Levels cleared while losing a life will send Crash back into the map screen directly after the level is completed.
While most gems are clear and colorless, six of them are colored. Crash can use these colored gems to access areas previously inaccessible in previous levels. Collecting all 26 gems unlocks a special epilogue upon the entire game's completion.
Crash Bandicoot Reception, Sequels, and Remaster
Reviews of the game were generally positive, with some praising the game's graphics and visual style, while some criticized it for its lack of innovation. Screen Rant mentioned the controls of the game were sort of limited, while Gamespot called its gameplay "flat as roadkill on a four-lane highway."
IGN mentioned in its review of the game that it was "pretty [a] standard platform game," but its surprising depth of field, graphics, and transition from a third-person perspective to a sidescrolling one added an element to the game rarely seen in platformers.
The game sold around 700,000 units in Japan, becoming the first game not from Japan to achieve commercial success in the country, according to Video Game Professional. The game's success led to it being included in Sony's Greatest hits line-up on September 15, 1997, for the PS1, per Wiki Wand.
The game's success also spawned two sequels for the PS1: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. These two games improved many aspects of the original, such as the game's controls.
The game was eventually remastered for the PlayStation 4 in 2017 as part of the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, which was published by Activision, the franchise's new owner. Naughty Dog also featured a part of the game in its 1996 iteration as a nostalgic mini-game easter egg within one of Naughty Dog's most popular video games, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
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