I finally finished what I expected to finish, a platinum trophy for all 3 games, and all platinum relics outside of the original, where it's a mix of Gold (mostly) and Platinum. Had a great time and figured i'd share some thoughts.
Crash Bandicoot
I actually did not like this game as a kid, and always viewed the real beginning of the series to be the sequel. However with age and some enhancements in the remake, it's actually a fun, very focused platformer that has a bit of flakey collision detection and in my mind, not as well balanced relic trials considering the sort of levels and duration they often run for. Obviously the game was not made with them in mind, but I found it the most frustrating due to it, and did not bother going for perfect runs. Overall, I'd give it a 7.5
Crash Bandicoot 2
As usual, this is my favorite and nothing has changed here, everything people complain about is something that just doesn't bug me in this, sans the ice controls on a few levels. I love that there something like 25 levels of pure platforming goodness with tight controls, much expanded moveset, a much better story presentation, better music, and overall a more interesting tone. While it doesn't beat the original in every way, it's a far more consistent game with a much greater feeling of evolution. If not for the notable input lag (especially in the riding segments) and a couple wonky things in the remake, it would be a near perfect game for my taste. The relics are also fantastic in the majority of the levels, being even better than the game they originated from in many instances. I'd go with a 9.2 or so, with a bit of an upgrade if they ever patch it a bit.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
This is a game I enjoyed a lot as a kid, and with the introduction of relics, I guess I felt I got enough of what I wanted with it, however unfortunately it is more obviously a mixed bag for me now. While I enjoy the new themes, new move sets, and what I consider often superior level designs and concepts to even Crash 2, the sheer amount of gimmick levels is just astonishing. There are really around 30 levels total if you include the 2 hidden ones, and not even half of them I believe are actually on foot, and even less so are just normal platforming levels. While I understand them feeling the need to spice it up and experiment, it just leads to an experience where you will spend more time using vehicles, being under water, or whatever, then you do just playing normal Crash. I personally enjoyed the water levels, the riding levels and the chase levels enough to not mind them continuing to be parts of the series, but there are still 4 jet ski levels, 4 motorbike levels, I think 3 plane levels, meaning over 1/3 of the game isn't really especially great, just inoffensive (sans the bike levels which are just not good)
What you have here is a game that is superior to Crash 2 when it is actually focusing on what Crash 2 does, and I would say an upgrade in the animal riding levels and chase levels too, the addition of water levels was interesting, but the rest just had no real right to be there. The fact the entire final secret world does not have a single non vehicle level (and rather, just 2 'alternate route' spots for 2 existing levels, is just outright gross. The final levels (from the real level 30, to the secret level 32, etc) are also all gimmick levels. When going for relics, i'm pretty sure I spent a lot more time using vehicles, then using Crash. Still, it's a fun game that is just very inconsistent, I would hope if they make another that they leave the mechanical vehicles behind. I'll give it an 8 since most of it is still fun, with only the bike being particularly offensive.
Overall the whole trilogy set is still really compelling, I enjoyed Crash 1 a lot more than I thought, still love 2, and 3 is amazingly fun while being dull as well. A great remake effort on a set of games that have their ups and downs.
I also have uploaded 2 different playlist for platinum relic runs for Crash 2 and 3, so feel free to have a look if you need help or are bored.
Crash 1 (didn't do videos for this since I didn't do platinums)
Crash 2 Platinum runs
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBtoFv_OkauifcKE77ng8vffXKZQBgmK1
Crash 3 Platinum runs
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBtoFv_OkaugV-4FE34yT84nAoZf84iup