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The Crash Bandicoot franchise turns 25 years old.
While I think is arguable, I always thought Crash deserved some merit for being one of the few platforming franchises that actually had a chance to take a piece of cake in-popularity against Mario and Sonic.
What can I say? Crash is just a franchise that's easy to like.
If you have some hours for spare, I recommend search one of the multiple documentals about the creation for the franchise and how a couple dudes just started a journey for create a character that would finally be the second most worthy rival for Nintendo's invincible plumber.
Anyway, while it seem the franchise will may start another hiatus, I just want to say that at the very least Crash games are some of the most enjoyable platforming games I ever played.
Also.
While most of the I wouldn't talk about what I think about all games in a franchise I will do it this time since it's just like 20 games.
- Crash Bandicoot
The original, it feels really out-dated and needed some stuff to iron out before printing but... it's still an enjoyable game and it's fun just replay it again and play a couple worlds.
- Crash Bandicoot 2 Cortex Strikes Back.
A way better game that fixed most stuff that the first one done bad but adding new bad stuff to the game, still it's a pretty solid game and while 100%-it, it's sometimes just a burden, it make you feel it worth it, it is also Crash's little sister debut, "Coco Bandicoot" that just as her brother is pretty popular.
- Crash 3 Warped.
While it's quite a popular opinion 2 is just a way better game, I think 3 is actually the best one, the game is easier to get 100% and is just not as annoying and cryptic as Crash 2, also I like the bike levels that are just way more interesting than a bunch of Crash 2 levels.
- CTR Crash Team Racing
Maybe the first real Mario Kart clone that was just as good or actually better than Nintendo Karting franchise, it's just a fun game with stuff that's also really great like a hub and boss fights.
- Crash Bash
Mario Party but with Crash, eh....
It's fun and entertaining but just not amazing, it just feels way too clear than they didn't understand what made Mario Party such a fun and popular game.
- Crash Bandicoot The Wrath of Cortex.
The original idea with this one was to create a game like Mario 64 but with Crash but since stuff got heavy, it was scrapped and instead Crash WoC was made.
Sincerely? I don't think WoC is as hated and bad some people want it to be, taking some time reading opinions about the game looks clearly most people that played it, actually enjoyed it and have fond memories with it.
Anyway, I think is a good game, maybe flawed but there nothing in WoC that I would consider a bad game, it's truly enjoyable.
- Crash Nitro Kart
A sequel for CTR and sincerely just as good, but now with a more funny story.
- Crash The Huge Adventure.
It's a good just 2D Crash game, what I think is also amazing for the game is the fact that the graphics are pretty similar to the ones from the PSX games, it's not pretty amazing but is a good fun.
- Crash Bandicoot 2 N-Tranced.
A sequel for the GBA game, it's just a way better game and that's a good thing, more levels, more variety and more everything.
It's also cool for being the real first game when the player would get to play with Crunch Bandicoot in the main franchise.
- Crash Purple.
Crash Purple is maybe the second black sheep in the franchise and while the other games have quite a lot of fans it seem that opinions are really mixed for this one, but.... why?
Well, the game is the long waited crossovee between Crash and Spyro and it's also just available for GBA.
What it seem people truly hated about this one is the lot of minigames the game includes for allow the player keep progressing.
It's really that bad? Sincerely I don't think so, while that Purple is not amazing I would lie if I don't say it's pretty enjoyable and fun while it last, and besides the "minigames", the game is also a sort of 2D open world platforming game and if I am sincerely I truly loved it.
Meh, Purple is not amazing but I think it's enjoyable like most games for the character.
- Crash Twinsanity
Up to this day Twinsanity is one of the most loved and praised Crash games, the reason?
Twinsanity is just... a terrific adventure.
The gameplay is a sort of standard 3D platforming but with Crash stuff and it truly worked perfectly.
Also the clever dialogues for the game are still some of the most memorables ones I ever seen in a game ever and they still make smile.
While it's known that the game was rushed and had quite a lot of cut content, the game itself is still terrific and I can perfectly understand why the game is so loved and I perfectly recommend playing it.
- Crash Tag Team Racing
Sincerely while Tag Team indeed feels a bit flawed... I also think the game is actually really fun and mostly good, the game is a racing - platforming game and frankly, I think both parts done a good job for making the game feel somehow better than average, it's also worth-mention the game has an interesting mechanics for fuse your car with the opponent and cooperate together for win the race.
- Crash Boom Bang
Boom Bang is another party game and widely regarded as a terrible game, I can agree?
This time I can, while the game itself can be entertaining, the content of the game is just really poor and the few it has sometimes fails to work properly, also the game has a really weird mechanic with the story mode that doesn't care if you don't actually win the rounds, the game still keeps progressing and eventually get a closure, so even if you lose all the time, you can still see the ending with no problems.
- Crash of the Titans
I always loved Crash of the Titans, and while there some mixed opinions like always, it looks clearly that most people that played it actually loved it.
There something worth-mention about it?
Well the game is like a soft-reboot and all characters looks different for appeal to the stuff that was popular at the time and I love it.
The gameplay itself is good, it's still a platforming game but with a beat em up gameplay that works really well, while that another mechanic for the game is jack monsters that you can utilise for beat enemies and resolve puzzles.
I can't lie, I truly loved Crash of the Titans back then in 2008 and I still love it nowadays.
- Crash Mind Over Mutant
Just like the last game but this time is an open world platforming game and I would lie if I don't think it's really good, it also have some extra stuff I love like funny dialogues and for reason al most all cutscenes in the game look like animation styles that were popular at the time.
Certainly I can see why Mind Over Mutant almost won a prize for platforming game of the year.
The game is just something else.
- Crash Bandicoot 4 It's About Time.
One of my biggest fears was ended disliking Crash 4 more than I could actually like it and... it kinda happened even if I like the game.
There something wrong for it?
While that Crash 4 itself is a good game there a lot of stuff needed more thought instead of just shipped the game and call it a day.
But that's a story for another day, and if you are interesed on it, I want to believe, it mostly worth it even if you end feeling the story and other stuff in-game was just a big waste of time.
- Thank you for playing -
Congratulations again to Crash for the 25th.
Perhaps one of the few franchises that really managed to rival Mario and Sonic.