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Crash Bandicoot Retrospective - Warped

Great retrospective, OP!

If I can advise one thing about the crash ones, would it be possible to include all of the neat extras that the Japanese releases get in lieu of waiting a bit longer?

For example, Crash 2 had Dual Shock support and that crazy hidden version while Crash 3 had Pocketstation support, etc.
 
Motorbike and plane stages bring this game down so much

2>1>3

Pretty much any level where you're not doing regular Crash Bandicoot shit is boring. That, and the bazooka trivializes a lot of the platforming after you unlock it. There's one level where there's people throwing bombs that light the ground on fire, and you can just shoot the people with bazookas to nullify the entire challenge.
 

RK128

Member
Great retrospective, OP!

If I can advise one thing about the crash ones, would it be possible to include all of the neat extras that the Japanese releases get in lieu of waiting a bit longer?

For example, Crash 2 had Dual Shock support and that crazy hidden version while Crash 3 had Pocketstation support, etc.

Didn't know about that....okay, will edit the Crash 1 and 2 threads later today with information about the JP releases and update this OP in the Development history portion for the JP version.
 
Didn't get a chance to edit your information into the OP yet, so will be doing that later today. Looking for work and filling out a lot of applications takes quite a bit of time :(.

But I agree; WoC isn't a bad game at all and for a title that Travelers Tales had to rush out in under a year, it was a very solid attempt at making a Crash title.

I think they started before Crash Bash released, it's a pretty complete game, I think they didn't give themselves time to optimize it though, but nowhere as incomplete as Twinsanity, which still did a really good job otherwise.

Like I said I think WoC reveals the issues with Crash 3.
 
Didn't know about that....okay, will edit the Crash 1 and 2 threads later today with information about the JP releases and update this OP in the Development history portion for the JP version.

Wait Crash 2 had duel shock support in the U.S. in alter copies.

However the japanese version does have some uh, questionable additions like this playing after defeating Tiny Tiger :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnP-lMWs4XA

Trying to remember because I played it once, the two headed guys in the later village level only have one head. Crash and COCO make annoying sounds after doing actions similar to Megaman X4, Aku Aku crates give hints which I think is a bit insulting unless japanese players really find it that hard, and quite a few things are removed. Enemies are missing, pits are missing, some icons look like place holders, and you get a cheat code after beating the game.

Pal one is interesting as well, such as the underwater levels turning all Aku AKu crates into regular boxes if you have 2 masks. I think they did that because you can't get 3 in those but the reason still is a bit odd. Also Pal version fucked up the Bazooka controls.
 

RK128

Member
I think they started before Crash Bash released, it's a pretty complete game, I think they didn't give themselves time to optimize it though, but nowhere as incomplete as Twinsanity, which still did a really good job otherwise.

Like I said I think WoC reveals the issues with Crash 3.

I think so to, or that was when Mark Cerny's Crash game was being prototyped and he left the project, leaving Travelers Tales about a year to make WoC.

Twinsanity is a very interesting case for its development and will get to that when I make that retrospective, but yes, it was incomplete.
 

Timu

Member
I'm playing through all 3 games right now and I think Crash 2 might be the best of the PS1 trilogy.
 

RK128

Member
Wait Crash 2 had duel shock support in the U.S. in alter copies.

However the japanese version does have some uh, questionable additions like this playing after defeating Tiny Tiger :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnP-lMWs4XA

Trying to remember because I played it once, the two headed guys in the later village level only have one head. Crash and COCO make annoying sounds after doing actions similar to Megaman X4, Aku Aku crates give hints which I think is a bit insulting unless japanese players really find it that hard, and quite a few things are removed. Enemies are missing, pits are missing, some icons look like place holders, and you get a cheat code after beating the game.

Pal one is interesting as well, such as the underwater levels turning all Aku AKu crates into regular boxes if you have 2 masks. I think they did that because you can't get 3 in those but the reason still is a bit odd. Also Pal version fucked up the Bazooka controls.

Thank you for the information! Would you mind if I put this about the JP version in the OP?
 
Crash 3 is a great game, but I find myself returning to it less than Crash 2.

There's just that breaks up the platforming goodness. Levels like the polar bear runs, planes, etc. are great, but they're a little too frequent in 3.
 

PSqueak

Banned
Oh wow, i had never seen that japanese music video, the fact that the audience are all female versions of Cortex's minions is a nice touch.
 
Wait Crash 2 had duel shock support in the U.S. in alter copies.

However the japanese version does have some uh, questionable additions like this playing after defeating Tiny Tiger :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnP-lMWs4XA

Trying to remember because I played it once, the two headed guys in the later village level only have one head. Crash and COCO make annoying sounds after doing actions similar to Megaman X4, Aku Aku crates give hints which I think is a bit insulting unless japanese players really find it that hard, and quite a few things are removed. Enemies are missing, pits are missing, some icons look like place holders, and you get a cheat code after beating the game.

Pal one is interesting as well, such as the underwater levels turning all Aku AKu crates into regular boxes if you have 2 masks. I think they did that because you can't get 3 in those but the reason still is a bit odd. Also Pal version fucked up the Bazooka controls.

Really? I know all the US versions had analog support, but thought only the JPN one had vibration. Do you know which revision had full DS support? Thanks

Didn't know about that....okay, will edit the Crash 1 and 2 threads later today with information about the JP releases and update this OP in the Development history portion for the JP version.

If it helps, try these guys for more info...

https://tcrf.net/Crash_Bandicoot#Japan-Exclusive_Music
 
Thanks man :). You rock :D.

The Nigerian Version of Crash 3 has you fight Tiny twice, 2nd time with Crotex shooting at you like in the last boss. Also you actually fight knights in the castle, can't find a iso of the game to play though because nobody is selling that ver on ebay. So I'll have to do some digging, but that version I need to record. Lots of interesting stuff.
 
Me too :).

I think that game is a lot better then most give it credit. It does a lot right and continues the foundation that Crash 3 established.

Same here. I never got why it gets so much flack. Although I did have the Xbox version of the game so maybe I just missed out on the most glaring issues like load times.
 
Same here. I never got why it gets so much flack. Although I did have the Xbox version of the game so maybe I just missed out on the most glaring issues like load times.

I think most complaints (aside from the original PS2 version's load times) are that it plays too safe and ends up feeling like an expansion pack.

While that's not a bad thing today with games like Shovel Knight, New Super Mario Bros U, or Ratchet and Clank (2016) being un-innovative in almost every sense of the word but having some refined game design and polish, this was back in 2001 or so. Games like Jak and Daxter, and Sonic Adventure 2 were hitting the scene with things that were basically impossible to do on previous gen hardware, so people maybe expected more out of WoC and were let down by it.
 
Same here. I never got why it gets so much flack. Although I did have the Xbox version of the game so maybe I just missed out on the most glaring issues like load times.

Those load times were insane. Like Sonic 06 level of badness.

I haven't played the game since it was released, but I hated it as a kid. I loved the original trilogy so much, that by the time 4 came around I was just about willing to love anything with the Crash name. Wasn't the case. IIRC, there are some really bad difficulty spikes, and the level design isn't up to par with the previous games.

Wrath of Cortex and Sonic Heroes might be the two games that have disappointed me the most.
 

RK128

Member
I think most complaints (aside from the original PS2 version's load times) are that it plays too safe and ends up feeling like an expansion pack.

While that's not a bad thing today with games like Shovel Knight, New Super Mario Bros U, or Ratchet and Clank (2016) being un-innovative in almost every sense of the word but having some refined game design and polish, this was back in 2001 or so. Games like Jak and Daxter, and Sonic Adventure 2 were hitting the scene with things that were basically impossible to do on previous gen hardware, so people maybe expected more out of WoC and were let down by it.

That is my impression too; people wanted Crash to evolve, not continue the path the PS1 series of games laid out.

Will touch on this during my Retrospective on the game (which I have written up as of this post; just gotta add a bit more to it and then work on adding gifs/images/music), but the game overall is a solid title. Just not as 'fresh' compared to its competition of the time period.
 
Great game and I have great memories of playing this as a kid (I remember when I stayed home one day from school as I had fever and played Crash 3 all day lol). Next up is by far the best Crash game though (CTR).
 
My mind was absolutely blown when I found the UFO secret for the first time.

Also a nice Fake Crash cameo in this game.

latest
 
Those load times were insane. Like Sonic 06 level of badness.

I haven't played the game since it was released, but I hated it as a kid. I loved the original trilogy so much, that by the time 4 came around I was just about willing to love anything with the Crash name. Wasn't the case. IIRC, there are some really bad difficulty spikes, and the level design isn't up to par with the previous games.

Wrath of Cortex and Sonic Heroes might be the two games that have disappointed me the most.

Not only that, but just *look* at it.


It just looks and feels wrong. Something about the entire aesthetic of the game felt creepily off model and overly grey and gloomy. It felt like someone took Crash's skin and wore it over their body. Luckily Traveler's Tales really knocked it out of the park with Twinsanity's look:
 

SNURB

Member
Not only that, but just *look* at it.



It just looks and feels wrong. Something about the entire aesthetic of the game felt creepily off model and overly grey and gloomy. It felt like someone took Crash's skin and wore it over their body. Luckily Traveler's Tales really knocked it out of the park with Twinsanity's look:

Wrath of Cortex is pretty miserable and HARD to come back to playing. Half the character designs look as though they came straight out of a Rankin-Bass stop motion holiday special.

Warped is one of my favorites, behind Crash 2 of course but I wish ND didn't rely on the vehicles too much.
 
Not only that, but just *look* at it.



It just looks and feels wrong. Something about the entire aesthetic of the game felt creepily off model and overly grey and gloomy. It felt like someone took Crash's skin and wore it over their body. Luckily Traveler's Tales really knocked it out of the park with Twinsanity's look:

No the game looks fine, you're looking at the PS2 version look at the Xbox version.
 
Those load times were insane. Like Sonic 06 level of badness.

I haven't played the game since it was released, but I hated it as a kid. I loved the original trilogy so much, that by the time 4 came around I was just about willing to love anything with the Crash name. Wasn't the case. IIRC, there are some really bad difficulty spikes, and the level design isn't up to par with the previous games.

Wrath of Cortex and Sonic Heroes might be the two games that have disappointed me the most.

Well you played the PS2 version. WoC is basically warped.

I think most complaints (aside from the original PS2 version's load times) are that it plays too safe and ends up feeling like an expansion pack.

While that's not a bad thing today with games like Shovel Knight, New Super Mario Bros U, or Ratchet and Clank (2016) being un-innovative in almost every sense of the word but having some refined game design and polish, this was back in 2001 or so. Games like Jak and Daxter, and Sonic Adventure 2 were hitting the scene with things that were basically impossible to do on previous gen hardware, so people maybe expected more out of WoC and were let down by it.

WoC was impossible on previous gen hardware, especially the Xbox version. but the other versions as well.
 
The bottom screenshot at least, is from the Xbox version. They added the extra fur layer for that port and some other effects, on top of greatly improved loading times. Doesn't change the fact that it felt like I expected:



an instead I got:

Just saying they are quite different, look at gameplay videos of each.

gJPj06.gif

o2Pr5K.gif


As for the gray and gloomy, which is fixed quite a bit in many areas but still there in the XBox version, can be explained.

Ir's an early PS2 game, the low contrast and the shadowing allow the game models and objects/backgrounds to look better and hid poly count. Add in the fact that they were trying to go a more realistic route in a game that was trying to be an early PS2 game (likely they worked with the PS1 and then enhanced everything later) that leads to things like that opening cutscene, the very obvious early attempt at a higher level CG. Now technically the CG of that table of bad guys and crash are "better" than the ones in warped. However it's basically the equal of early PSX Cg near the PSX launch.

I think the realistic like approach tot he levels and designs was also for a mistake for an early PS2 game that is supposed to be cartoonish.
 
Just saying they are quite different, look at gameplay videos of each.

gJPj06.gif

o2Pr5K.gif


As for the gray and gloomy, which is fixed quite a bit in many areas but still there in the XBox version, can be explained.

Ir's an early PS2 game, the low contrast and the shadowing allow the game models and objects/backgrounds to look better and hid poly count. Add in the fact that they were trying to go a more realistic route in a game that was trying to be an early PS2 game (likely they worked with the PS1 and then enhanced everything later) that leads to things like that opening cutscene, the very obvious early attempt at a higher level CG. Now technically the CG of that table of bad guys and crash are "better" than the ones in warped. However it's basically the equal of early PSX Cg near the PSX launch.

I think the realistic like approach tot he levels and designs was also for a mistake for an early PS2 game that is supposed to be cartoonish.
I totally get that it's a victim of being an early PS2 title, where the tendency was to crank up the geometry for little-to-no thought to the art direction. As a result, a lot of the character models suffered from overly rounded surfaces, which the shading and lighting did no favors in the appeal department.

It's not a "bad" looking game, and is actually extremely technically sound. It's simply a failure of aesthetics and art direction imo.
 
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