Crash Bandicoot Retrospective

Two years ago, Crash Bandicoot was voted second in the all time list of top PlayStation characters, losing out to Snake from Metal Gear Solid but finishing ahead of the likes of Spyro the Dragon. That a character that's nearly 20 years old has endured the tests of time says huge amounts for the original game - so I thought I'd revisit it. Obviously gaming has changed dramatically since the mid-nineties but, nostalgia aside, Crash is still highly playable - if a little easier than it was in 1996 when I was six. Video games today are so immersive that it's hard to see how a game from the mid-nineties could compete. So just how did they make Crash so damn addictive?

Graphics
For 1996, Crash's graphics were pretty impressive. Not only was the gameplay colourful but it also made what was actually quite a limited and straight-forward game seem extremely busy. For levels like 'Boulder Dash', where you're chased through the jungle by a giant rock Indiana Jones-style, the simple straight line run becomes mildly anxious with the addition of basic Aztec-looking scenery. Simple tricks for simple beings. Again, trying to complete a relatively harmless platform level like 'Slippery Climb' is made frustrating and difficult by a bit of rain and lightning to put you off. Game designers weren't blessed with a whole heap of options, so complicating things for the eye adds an extra element that really shouldn't best you, but does.

Your Own Worst Enemy
Watch any Crash walkthrough and you'll see that the game shouldn't be difficult in any way, shape or form. Everything about it is based on relatively short patterns so, if you have the patience, getting past a swinging axe and across an unstable platform isn't all that difficult. Unfortunately, 18 years on, I'm probably less willing to wait than I was when I was six. Cue countless lost lives and controller tantrums.

This Lil' Piggy
Remember 'Hog Wild'? Nearly two decades later, it's a wonder levels like this were ever even considered a challenge? Again, everything is based on fixed patterns that never change so simple trial and error will get you through. Crash's raised eyebrows at the start appear to have been a design in-joke lost on my innocence though. Who knew the Japenese could be so seedy?!

Camera Angles
If you ever wanted to be annoyed by the simplest of things, the camera angles on Crash Bandicoot are it. Platform games follow a pathway - veer from that pathway and you're gone. Imagine, then, being on your last life and trying to jump onto a crate you that have no idea whether you're in line with. Crash fans, I give you more enraged paddies. 

The Music
Ahh the sweet sounds of xylophones, drums and a keyboard tuba on loop. Have a listen to this clip  on repeat and see how long you can last before your body temperature involuntarily rises. Throw in an annoying checkpoint that you just can't reach and you start to wonder whether this is really actual fun.

A Little Help?
When it comes to beating bosses and other nasties, you get very little help from the game. You simply get on with the trial and error process. After all, you can jump and spin, and that's about it. Today, there are YouTube walkthroughs and highly populated internet forums. Back then, you'd be waiting for the next issue of PlayStation mag to come out or your mates to work it out for you. So half your time is spent working out whether to spin that lizard or just let it be. Either way, it's going to take some lives from you before you beat it.

Bonus Levels
Just when things all seemed a bit much, the game throws you a bonus level. A change from the jungle drums to some western music and the chance to grab some vital lives to take away from the anxiety and sweaty palms of a far-off save point. And then there's the eye candy of the female bandicoot to celebrate your success - but isn't that Crash's sister, Coco? Animals.

So, in retrospect, it turns out Crash Bandicoot was - and still is - actually quite hard and, more than anything, annoying. Take away the joys of the Ooga Booga mask and riding pigs and it's pretty clear why I failed to get past the first few bosses in 1996. Don't be tricked by nostalgia, kids - it's all lies.