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Crash Bandicoot - The Original PlayStation Mascot

Devil

Member
I'm loving the attention heh.

Listen, I pointed out that I understand why people liked Crash Bandicoot, but you also have to agree that the games are average at best (i'll also take them as being "ok") but they are not great.

lol, I don't have to agree to anything if I think you're wrong calling them mediocre at best. I love platformers and played the best of them there are on any platform. While some games from the past I liked have aged badly, Crash (especially 2 and 3) are still among the best of them which is a great achievement for 3D game of that era. It has little to do with nostalgia.

They may have not reached the perfection of Mario World, Galaxy or Tropical Freeze (if you can even compare them), but they are still by far more than "average at best".
 
Please. OP said that bringing mascot 2D platforms to 3D was "unheard of" before Crash's release. Not only it wasn't unheard of, but there was also already a game released on the market. A game that was actually genre-defining and that a ton of people in the west were anticipating.

I love Crash, even the first one (first PSX game I owned), but no one really cared about it before release. It was an unproven IP by an unproven studio. The original trilogy is great, but there's no need to give this franchise credit it doesn't deserve by implying it broke any sort of new ground. It didn't. Mario 64 made Crash's concept look dated from day one. I know people today, in hindsight, are able to appreciate both styles equally, but that was not the case back in 1996.

And lol @ 2 months not being "real time".

In that case mentioning Mario 64 is just as pointless because there were games that did it before both.

Also yes people did care about Crash before release that's revisionist history, the adds made people impressed with the graphics which turned heads.

You also must be joking about Mario 64, outside pretty much N64 games and Gex 3d, no mostly no 3D platformers used Marios formula, it was overrated, the camera controls were piss poor and it was divisive for actual buyers.

I mean hell Bubsy 3D broke more ground than Crash as well, that doesn't mean the ground did as much as you think in terms of impact outside reviewers wetting their pants.

It basically was one of the reasons the Playstation attracted people and that's all it needed to do.
 

pixelation

Member
My first Bandicoot experience was the second game, which rocked like a ton of bricks... never played the 3rd one and i've never been able to finish the first one... it's too dang difficult!!!
 

RK128

Member
Wait, I thought the PS1 Crash Bandicoot games were not compatible with the PSVita?

In EU (I think) they work but US, they do not. I got mine on my Vita via 'Great PSN Glitch of 2014', so I was lucky. Wish the games were natively compatible on Vita without lop-holes but whatever :l.
 
In EU (I think) they work but US, they do not. I got mine on my Vita via 'Great PSN Glitch of 2014', so I was lucky. Wish the games were natively compatible on Vita without lop-holes but whatever :l.
Who knows...maybe they will be once Crash Bandicoot returns at E3!
 

jmdajr

Member
Original mascot? Polygon Man am cry

r9y04oQ.jpg

Thank You!
 
It isn't, and it never really was. Crash and Sackboy were "once", Toro is forever. :p

"Toro is forever." I like that :)

It's a shame the poor little blighter never got the chance to make a proper impression on the west, because he's utterly delightful in his own games. Always felt like there was huge untapped potential in Toro being PlayStation's official mascot, not just in Japan, but worldwide.

I mean he's officially the best thing about PlayStation Battle Royale.
 
Ah, I would love that honestly :). That would be one hell of a way to make everyone happy at E3; Crash Bandicoot 1 for EVERYONE on PSN :D!
I have the PSone...I should try to buy the first three and Kart (I own them via PS1 Classics on PSP G0, just not the same as playing on a TV).
 

Salty Hippo

Member
In that case mentioning Mario 64 is just as pointless because there were games that did it before both.

Also yes people did care about Crash before release that's revisionist history, the adds made people impressed with the graphics which turned heads.

You also must be joking about Mario 64, outside pretty much N64 games and Gex 3d, no mostly no 3D platformers used Marios formula, it was overrated, the camera controls were piss poor and it was divisive for actual buyers.

I mean hell Bubsy 3D broke more ground than Crash as well, that doesn't mean the ground did as much as you think in terms of impact outside reviewers wetting their pants.

It basically was one of the reasons the Playstation attracted people and that's all it needed to do.

Way to completely miss (or most likely ignore) the point of everything I said.
 
crash-bandicoot-o.gif

crash-bandicoot-o.gif


Look at Crash's face and the lighting when he runs through a tunnel. And this was on the original PlayStation! It's little wonder why Naughty Dog's games look so darn good; even back then they pushed the envelope.
 
Like Naughty Dog's Uncharted 1, the original Crash feels like a work in progress that would eventually lead to something great. It's a perfectly playable game, but it never quite hits the highs of its sequels or contemporaries. For me, it's always the Crash game of the original trilogy that I'm reluctant to go back and as such I don't know it as well as the others.

I recommend people watch Doublefine's Let's play of the game with Jason Rubin and Tim Schafer. It's a really informative watch.
 

Drago

Member
Just finished a replay of this last night. Still a fun game and I appreciate it a lot for building the framework, but I don't think it holds up that well, especially when compared to 2 and 3. The controls and physics are pretty janky and stiff, and the level design can be really cheap at times. At least they hand out lives like candy I suppose. Not to mention the god awful saving system. Game can be really hard to enjoy at times, but when it shines it shines bright. The factory levels are my favorite ones. It really is so similar to DKC1, lol.

I think I'll run through Crash 2 today, I'm in the mood. That one is my favorite in the series.
 

Business

Member
Back in the day I had a Playstation and Crash felt like the poor man's Mario 64. Tried the demos but was never a fan.
 
Back in the day I had a Playstation and Crash felt like the poor man's Mario 64. Tried the demos but was never a fan.

The platforming was almost undeniably better in Crash than 64. For as great and untouchable as the player movement is in 64, the level designs do not make for engaging moment-to-moment platforming on the level of Crash.
 

RK128

Member
The platforming was almost undeniably better in Crash than 64. For as great and untouchable as the player movement is in 64, the level designs do not make for engaging moment-to-moment platforming on the level of Crash.

Mario 64 is very different from Crash, but both fall from the same tree.

Crash is a 2D Mario game literally brought into 3D but Mario 64 is a Mario game using the core Mario moveset (jumping, ground stopping, ect) in a massive open playground.

People who know the level design very well in Mario 64 have a lot of freedom to pull off crazy tricks and play with the bigger moveset Mario has :). Going to be making a Mario Retrospective in the future (not for a while though), so I will touch on this in great detail then.

Crash's levels are focused on 'pure' platforming and that allows for the simple gameplay to work very well with tight level designs Naughty Dog created with the PS1 Crash trilogy.
 
Thank you for explaining you points again; understand where you are coming from a bit more now :).

Your comparison to Crash with other mascots is understandable, as he meet the same fate as them sadly. But he had a great run on PlayStation 1 and when I cover the PS2 games, they are a lot better then most give credit for.

I hope you consider following my Retrospective through the series and that you enjoyed this Retrospective :D!

I kind of agree with the sentiment, but not the exact feelings on the matter. Crash is superior to Bubsy, Croc and other failed mascots, but Klonoa and Sparkster for instance deserve more recognition.
 
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