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Playing Crash 4 left me devastated

It's a great game and very refreshing to get something with some challenge. Is it really even that hard? I mean it's far from impossible. The hardest thing are those optional 2.5d areas and a couple boss fights. I'm not even a great player but you just need to concentrate to get through areas.
 

Lasha

Member
I just can't agree with this. I played them very recently.

Did you replay the first three on the original versions or in the trilogy bundle? The trilogy has QoL improvements that make the games easier in some ways. Stuff like saving and how checkpoints work.

I dunno how to judge this thread. Crash 4 required practice and paying attention but I never found it as difficult as you did. I also never knew DKC was held up as the exemplar for platformer difficulty. I always thought DKC was a romp once you learned the controls and how to jump properly.
 
Finally got around to playing this and.... kind of have to agree. I don't think the devs understand game design and progression even a little bit, whoever decided that on the THIRD LEVEL to introduce a polarity flipping game mechanic and require mid jump switching on the first level it is introduced should make their name prominent on their future games so I can avoid them. I feel like the game is actively trying to make itself not fun for the sake of "challenge", like the game cannot even introduce a fun rail sliding mechanic without immediately adding in obstacles everywhere and requiring the player to use a flip mechanic between the top and bottom of the rail, AND ALSO introduce swaying, all at once.

I hope Miyamoto never plays Crash 4 because he will have a stroke from it.

The levels really are way too long as well.
 

Skifi28

Member
Did you replay the first three on the original versions or in the trilogy bundle? The trilogy has QoL improvements that make the games easier in some ways. Stuff like saving and how checkpoints work.

I actually replayed both the remake as well as the originals very close together. If anything the ps1 games are easier, the remake seems to have some very weird collision issues where even if you do land on a platform you can still slide off requiring even more jump precision in a game not really built for it with the depth issues and all.

But despite that, even the remake is not too bad. Jumping from that to crash 4 has a huge difficulty increase to the point you wonder if it's even the same series.
 
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sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
I actually replayed both the remake as well as the originals very close together. If anything the ps1 games are easier, the remake seems to have some very weird collision issues where even if you do land on a platform you can still slide off requiring even more jump precision in a game not really built for it with the depth issues and all.

But despite that, even the remake is not too bad. Jumping from that to crash 4 has a huge difficulty increase to the point you wonder if it's even the same series.

I tried pointing this out here back when the remakes came out and aside from a few people, many thought i was crazy. You can't fuck with the precision in games like these.....it will completely ruin them.
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
I played the originals back in the day and loved them, then a few years ago, played the remakes and they're amazing. HOWEVER, I am now old and my reflexes are disgraceful, there is no chance of the platinums for me on any of these games unfortunately and I just find them insanely frustrating.

A totally different frustration and gameplay loop from say a souls game, I find these platformers really difficult now.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud
It's one of the best platformers in years, the best Crash game ever made and a total masterpiece. It is hard, but you're overselling it - especially if you're just looking to finish the game (though tons of people have the platinum trophy). Comparing it to Super Meat Boy is completely off base.
I tried playing it. Is shit
 
Donkey Kong Country for the SNES was considered hard?
I mean there is "hard" and then there is Donkey Kong Country for the SNES hard...
Was that supposed to be hard then? 🤔

Donkey Kong Country was only hard because the camera is too zoomed in, and that leads to moments where you need the reaction time of a god or have to take leaps of faith.

donkey-kong-country-mine-cart.gif
 
I tried pointing this out here back when the remakes came out and aside from a few people, many thought i was crazy. You can't fuck with the precision in games like these.....it will completely ruin them.

Crash 1 is near unplayable in the collection due to this because it's the worse impacted. The game requires precise and expert timing, especially in the few infamous levels, two of which involve bridges.
 

DonF

Member
I beat the og trilogy and only found some levels of 2 hard-ish. I think the first three games are very fun.

Im hating 4 right now. Just beat the first boss and I think it's just not fun. Also the controls feel like shit. For instance, the character has close to zero lateral momentum. The moment you let go of the direction mid jump you stop moving and drop. I'm very used to control the characters momentum by letting go of the direction but here it's just too sudden.
Also, sections are unnecessary long. This is specially noticeable on the first boss, which is super super simple, you have to jump a few obstacles until a particular enemy shows up and spin to throw him to the boss. I believe you have to do this 4 times. Sounds simple, but the enemy you have to use to hit the boss takes so long to show up! It's jumping and crouch avoiding lame obstacles for a loong period of time.
 

SALMORE

Member
it was unfairly difficult ! it ruined the experience for me , unfortunately it's a popular trend nowadays to make games extra hard 😖

btw i beat Ninja Gaiden Black on the highest difficulty
 
You don't have to worry there. Miyamoto will unashamedly admit the only game he finds worthy of his time are games made by Miyamoto.
lol that would not surprise me in the least. I made that comment not because I have any sort of worship over him (he actually does seem arrogant), but there are some very basic game design and progression elements that his games nail and it is like Crash is trying to literally do the opposite.
 

SenkiDala

Member
I mean there is "hard" and then there is Donkey Kong Country for the SNES hard...
Is that some kind of joke or meme or something I don't get ? I've seen a lot of people since a few years referring to DKC as very hard games, I mean I thought they were very easy / easy games ? Sure getting the 101% (102/103 in DKC2/3) can be a little hard and asks to explore the levels and a bit of skills, but I'd even call that "medium" difficulty. So the main game itself... I mean started playing video games late (was poor / no siblings), so I was 10yo when I played DKC 1 which became an instant classic to me (DKC 2 being was of my favorite game ever), I was a beginner gamer (played a little NES at friend's home and got a GB before where I played Mario Land, which I thought was difficult at that time... telling you my skill level), but I've always thought DKC was very easy, I finished all the games with no difficulty at all, and quickly (so I had to do the 101% stuff).

Anyway maybe that's just a joke I don't get. : /
 
Donkey Kong tropical freeze was way harder then that one I thought. I didn't realise people thought the original game was hard.
Most people considered DKC hard before they realized how the game had it's rhythm and that what seemed like you could do you had to trust that you could. Then it became easy.

I dunno for Crash 4
 
Is that some kind of joke or meme or something I don't get ? I've seen a lot of people since a few years referring to DKC as very hard games, I mean I thought they were very easy / easy games ? Sure getting the 101% (102/103 in DKC2/3) can be a little hard and asks to explore the levels and a bit of skills, but I'd even call that "medium" difficulty. So the main game itself... I mean started playing video games late (was poor / no siblings), so I was 10yo when I played DKC 1 which became an instant classic to me (DKC 2 being was of my favorite game ever), I was a beginner gamer (played a little NES at friend's home and got a GB before where I played Mario Land, which I thought was difficult at that time... telling you my skill level), but I've always thought DKC was very easy, I finished all the games with no difficulty at all, and quickly (so I had to do the 101% stuff).

Anyway maybe that's just a joke I don't get. : /
I don't think they're joking. Gamers who only grew up playing games in the last 15 years probably would think that's hard though. Games have gotten really easy. Not all games if course.
 

Thabass

Member
I played with Infinite Lives, so maybe I'm not the best example, but while I enjoyed it, the challenge made it all the better in my opinion. I'm glad they didn't dumb it down for new players and instead rewards you with good play.
 

Reallink

Member
Most levels had several areas of intentional troll design guaranteed to kill the player like all those meme Mario Maker and Meatboy levels. I personally enjoyed the difficulty (kept it from being boring) but recognize a lot of people probably just wanted an easy hop and bop platformer like a 3D Mario. Internet tough guy pro gamers aside the game is inarguably orders of magnitudes more challenging than Nintendo platformers.
 
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SenkiDala

Member
I don't think they're joking. Gamers who only grew up playing games in the last 15 years probably would think that's hard though. Games have gotten really easy. Not all games if course.
Oh so that would be gamers who plays since 15 years and played DKC many many years after its release, ok makes a little sense then, thanks.

Anyway Crash 4 is an awesome game, the 100% on this one is REALLY tough but just finishing the game is fairly easy imo. It's good that the developers didn't betray the licence to make it an easy game for newcomers, pretty risky. :)
 

Fox Mulder

Member
It’s a beautiful and creative game that was fun to go through the first time. You can’t say they didn’t try to justify a $60 price.

It’s only super hard if you go for full completion, which I had zero interest in even after enjoying doing that in the original trilogy. It’s not git gud hard, it’s just too tedious and not fun. Levels are like three times as long as they should be. They even replaced the running shoes in time trials with a stupid spin where you have to mash a button 300000 times in every level.
 
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Donkey Kong Country was only hard because the camera is too zoomed in, and that leads to moments where you need the reaction time of a god or have to take leaps of faith.

donkey-kong-country-mine-cart.gif
This thread was giving me an aneurysm, so I downloaded this on Snes9x and dug up a 100% save. Took me longer to find the mine levels than to actually clear them. I did the second one first and took a couple of lives to figure out the mechanics aside from that no problem with reflexes, and I'm in my 40s ffs. Half the jumps are just follow-the-bananas. I forget what you need for 100%ing the game, if you have to get those gold animal tokens I missed some of those surely, and I had to do a quick second run-thru to get the Kong letters on the second mine level. After that the first mine level was one and done.

Pro-tips, look at the right side of the screen not at your monkey. Also if all else fails it'd be pretty easy to clear the trickier parts with a few runs just to memorize.

No excuse, "gamers". Get it done, no complaining :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
The hit boxes were bullshit, and you fell into pits way too fucking easily if you miss your landing by even a fucking sliver.

I'd rather his feet have been invisible ffs, I shouldn't fall if my toes or barely the heel of a foot barely go over a jump/pit
 
This thread was giving me an aneurysm, so I downloaded this on Snes9x and dug up a 100% save. Took me longer to find the mine levels than to actually clear them. I did the second one first and took a couple of lives to figure out the mechanics aside from that no problem with reflexes, and I'm in my 40s ffs. Half the jumps are just follow-the-bananas. I forget what you need for 100%ing the game, if you have to get those gold animal tokens I missed some of those surely, and I had to do a quick second run-thru to get the Kong letters on the second mine level. After that the first mine level was one and done.

Pro-tips, look at the right side of the screen not at your monkey. Also if all else fails it'd be pretty easy to clear the trickier parts with a few runs just to memorize.

No excuse, "gamers". Get it done, no complaining :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Just wanted to chime in and say listing out a video game's flaw isn't the same as whining or complaining about it. Even the biggest fans of any franchise knows it's weak points. I still beat DKC but as a fan, I am aware that the camera in that game is too close for newcomers compared to Nintendo's own grandfather game:

nintendo-mario.gif


Thankfully, DKCR fixed that issue but managed to retain the difficulty:

donkey-kong-country-returns-wii.gif


It's a win-win.
 
The only positive thing I can say about my experience is I'm glad it was part of PS Plus and I didn't have to pay for it, I'd feel cheated.

I heard before that it was hard and I was ok with not going for 100% like I did with the previous games and sure enough, trying to get all boxes/gems etc. was quite brutal and I gave up early on that. Unfortunately, as you keep progressing the difficulty only goes up and by a lot. At the final world, I completely gave up on even picking the easiest of boxes/fruit considering how many times I had to retry. On the last level I played (Cortex castle) I gave up after about 50 deaths. The game is not difficult, it's sadistic to the point I had to question whoever designed it and tested it (or didn't). Was it really the intention of the developers for the game to be like this? I have to ask, who is it meant for? If I had to go a little more in-depth with my complaints:
  • Some of the sequences you are required to complete are absolutely insane with zero margin for error, even having to anticipate the timing of obstacles/enemies that are off-screen and far into the sequence.
  • The new masks while great for the new perspective on platforming they offer, were unfortunately used as a tool to increaste difficulty even more. How about going a little easier on us when playing with fresh mechanics? The zero-margin-for-error platforming is already very difficult, adding the dimension of gravity or time as well takes it on a whole new level.
  • The levels were simply too long and with far too few checkpoints in between. You have to die many times for a few more to pop up. Considering the difficulty they were going for, reducing checkpoints is sadistic.
I don't mind the idea of games being brutally difficult, but was it really necessary to turn crash into super meatboy? It's a sequel, the majority of people playing will be those invested in the previous games that were nothing like it. Why alieanate the existing fans? The visuals, controls, story were all excellent which made it all the more disappointing that they had to ruin the game like this to the point I didn't even finish it. As a Crash fan, i feel like 4 even ruined the previous games for me. I don't even want to think about playing any of them.
I too have gotten pampered by much of modern gaming. Everything you listed sounds real old school, except ironic how old school Crash was not one of those precision hard ones and now it is. Guess Naughty Dog always favored accessible games, even back in the day.
 

Hoppa

Member
I don’t think I made it halfway honestly. The second they introduced the time mechanic I knew my days were numbered. But just like Cuphead I enjoyed what I played, I just couldn’t be bothered investing time replaying levels over and over
 

Kupfer

Member
  • Some of the sequences you are required to complete are absolutely insane with zero margin for error, even having to anticipate the timing of obstacles/enemies that are off-screen and far into the sequence.
  • The new masks while great for the new perspective on platforming they offer, were unfortunately used as a tool to increaste difficulty even more. How about going a little easier on us when playing with fresh mechanics? The zero-margin-for-error platforming is already very difficult, adding the dimension of gravity or time as well takes it on a whole new level.
  • The levels were simply too long and with far too few checkpoints in between. You have to die many times for a few more to pop up. Considering the difficulty they were going for, reducing checkpoints is sadistic.
I didn't warm up to it. I tried it, wanted to like it, but didn't last an hour. Apparently just not my genre. And reading the OP, I'm glad I didn't invest much more time, as I definitely wouldn't have had any fun with it further on in the game :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
I mean there is "hard" and then there is Donkey Kong Country for the SNES hard...
The Lost World of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Krematoa of Donkey Kong Country 3... sure. Those are stupid hard in some levels.

Donkey Kong Country 1 is pretty easy though, and can be beaten in about an hour give or take.
 

Sybrix

Member
  • Some of the sequences you are required to complete are absolutely insane with zero margin for error, even having to anticipate the timing of obstacles/enemies that are off-screen and far into the sequence.
  • The new masks while great for the new perspective on platforming they offer, were unfortunately used as a tool to increaste difficulty even more. How about going a little easier on us when playing with fresh mechanics? The zero-margin-for-error platforming is already very difficult, adding the dimension of gravity or time as well takes it on a whole new level.
  • The levels were simply too long and with far too few checkpoints in between. You have to die many times for a few more to pop up. Considering the difficulty they were going for, reducing checkpoints is sadistic.

Off screen enemies?! - Try playing Crash 1 back in the day!

Get ready for zero-margin for error gameplay!! This is how platformers used to be!

Checkpoints!? How about one per level!!

Curb_Your_Enthusiasm__Survivor_Contestant_vs_Holocaust_Surv.gif
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
OP. I remember reading this thread and thinking ‘lol, what a bitch’. Having completed the Crash trilogy in 2019 and having the upmost faith in Toys for Bob, I thought you were nothing but a noob.

Last night I played through Cortex Castle and I’m now trying to get through Seeing Double…

What the actual fuck are these levels about?

Cortex Castle towards the end was literally just flat out retarded (the laser sequence where you have to use every ability). Not good level design, not good platforming, just poorly thought out and crap. Seeing Double seems like it’ll be the same thing.

I have no idea what they were thinking with this. Not only is a ridiculous difficulty spike for 4, but it’s a difficulty spike for the entire franchise. Pretty nuts.
 
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xrnzaaas

Member
The game is definitely too difficult even if you're trying to finish the story mode. The big spike probably starts around the prehistoric levels. I barely finished the castle level and I was very close to dropping it. I also went from trying to collect as much as I can to dying on purpose for the protection over the course of the game.

They definitelly messed up with the challenge. Crash 1-3 were good for "normal" play and the real difficulty started only when you tried to 100%+ them.
 
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