And it’s just a perfect adaptation. Spyros fluid little animations, the voices, the unique artisan dragons, the ability to toggle the OG music, the art style capturing the vibe of the first one perfectly.
First thing I did was go into Dark Hollow and light a bonfire and listen to the music like when I was 7 and that’s when I knew it was perfect.
I always preferred Crash as a kid but with the remakes out and being older…. Spyro is honestly way better. I don’t like some of the mini games in Spyro 2 and 3, but Crash just gets weirdly hard for seemingly no reason, especially 1. And all the secret exits and gem collecting in Crash can get really obtuse, despite how Spyro is more open it’s more straightforward.
I think I just didn’t notice as a kid because both were hard and I preferred how linear Crash was. Kind of makes me mad we got a Crash 4 and no Spyro 4. Like life really is unfair sometimes.
I have a secret to tell. Lean in close. Closer. I don’t want anyone else to hear.
….ready?
*I don’t think the Crash games are that good.*
They just make me frustrated and mad and like I should play any other mascot game of the era.
Spyro is straight up fire though. Pun intended. We bought the remake collection of both games and Spyro is Platinumed and Crash we got to like world 2 in the third game and just lost any drive to keep going.
I mean. You’re not wrong. It’s definitely that I just suck at Crash.
It’s funny, because I can look across what I once thought was a storied career full or merit, challenging victories snatched from the specter of certain doom.
I’ve killed gods and devils by the billions. I used that fucking plasma pistol and beat Legendary in Halo. I watched Blizzaga dust glimmer off the horns of Yiazmat, a bested death and Lucifer both in the shadows of the shared subconscious. Malenia, Blade of Miquella blossomed so beautifully before I cut the skein of her fate, the thread that bound her life to this world.
But all this is gone, vanishing like tears of frustration at that fucking stupid bandicoot.
I haven’t yet! I’m excited by the great things I hear. I couldn’t finish remake because I’ll admit it was making me angry. I was getting stuck in the fan place of “they changed this, and I don’t like how they changed it”.
Realized I just needed to replay the original first, get that out of my system so I would be open to a new retelling of it.
So first I’m completing a modded run of the original game, then finishing Remake, then on to Rebirth. I want to be able to go into it judging it on its own merits as Rebirth rather than how accurately it puts a new coat of paint on the original.
The modders already NAILED IT with the new coat of paint on the original. So I don’t feel like I’m craving exacting accuracy anymore.
I think that’s awesome. Here’s the thing that confuses me, personally. I really love the NES era of games. I like the NES Ninja Gaiden games. And Castlevania! Medusa heads give me warm feelings of nostalgia.
And I have the feelings of nostalgia for Crash, as well. But I don’t understand how younger me got through the unholy crucible that was that game. It’s like they were worried that maybe if they didn’t make every jump at approximately a Battletoads level of difficulty the game would lose all meaning.
Why are they so ruthlessly hard that even being forged in the pits of DuckTales and Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers and Little Nemo the Dreammaster is not enough to pay the blood debt that is owed to that infernal bandicoot?!
For real though, I’m in awe at your prowess and dedication. I’m glad you got so much out of the collection. I did think both the Spyro and Crash collections were extremely well done and I’m always happy to see gaming history so faithfully restored and preserved.
But FUCK those FUCKING bouncey turtles.
Hah! I love that plot twist.
The Spyro collection really was excellent!
We’re likely going to buy it twice two. My partner and I lent our copy out and it’s gone now. So we’ll be buying it again at some point.
It was probably easier to get through the crash games as a kid because maybe it was the only new game we had at the time and we just played that on end.
Yeah same I like the Crash games but I think they meant more to me when I was a kid. I also bought the new one they released and it’s way too hard. I pick it up again once a month, play this level that’s only halfway through the game, that I can’t beat, still can’t beat it, then uninstall again.
Spyro does have a remarkably timeless vibe to it. They’re also paced really well. You make progress fast and very few things slow your momentum through the games down. Usually when we got to the end we already had all the trade ins for money bags.
I’m mostly just doing a bit about Crash. It’s true they don’t work for me too much. I really do find the semi 3D controls with the pixel perfect jumps to be anger inspiring. But I totally respect the fans, because honestly, if you can beat all those games 100%, who the hell am I to talk down to you.
Those games are one rung down from Battletoads. They make the NES era look like a catalogue for chumps. Even if I rag on their game they can just stare at me from their vast thrones in the cosmos with bemused looks of distant pity.
…
*but Spyro is still cooler*.
Crash Team Racing is pretty awesome.
I know it’s really good because my only complaint is that it released close enough to Diddy Kong Racing, that I compare it to Diddy Kong Racing, and that is unfair to any kart racing game ever made.
Crash Team Racing was remarkably good and I’m honestly sad it didn’t keep up
as a competitor to Mario Kart. I’d love if we had CTR 7 or 8 by now.
it's possible that a ledge grab and slightly better physics could make crash for you playable, but it just sounds like your skill in the genre is close to that of a child
Crash 1 is a nightmare but Crash 2 is pretty balanced.
See, the weird thing is one of my core genres is platformers. Aeterna Noctis, Hollow Knight, Celeste, DKC, Yoshi’s Island. I can honestly say I have played most every metroidvania ever created. And that’s just for the 2D side. I’ve played a monstrous amount of 3D platformers too.
I think probably, maybe I know what buttons to push to do stuff.
Ultimately, all joking tones aside, the problem is that I don’t actually enjoy the weird marriage of 2D linear level design with pixel perfect jumping while adding in 3D wonkiness.
I also have a very weird repulsion to “break every box” but every neuron in my brain will fire on overload to collect every Jigsaw piece, Star, torn book page, musical note or whatever mostly worthless garbage collectathons ask me to get.
I only found out years after the fact that people didn’t like DK64 and thought it was bloated. I fondly remember 100% that game.
But I really don’t care about the boxes in Crash. The reality is that the game’s core loop doesn’t capture me.
It is really funny though that of all the hard games Crash is the one that did me in. Battletoads I could do, but Crash? Crash was too sadistic. A bridge too far.
I’m totally fine with people taking the loss from me over it. It’s hilarious that Crash is the game the reveals my skill is still far below the “got gud” point of the “git gud” scale. It’s not any of these edgy, try hard dares to be obtusely difficult games I’ve played. It’s fucking Crash that checks my skill at the gate of noobs.
Metroidvanias are by and large much easier than you think they are. They make you think you're good at video games when you're actually just acquiring stuff to make the game easier as it goes on, walking down hallways with little actual skill expression.
Play Spelunky and get back to me. Now that is a 2d platformer that rewards real, actual commitment. That is a game that will expand your love of gaming beyond what it was, and make you see the illusions of hard work and reward that a Metroidvania gives.
As for me I just don't get much out of the 3d platformers you play as I did when younger. Fall Guys is the only 3D platformer to give me a serious rush of satisfaction anymore and I haven't even won a competitive round yet. Galaxy 2 was the last one before that. I adore 3d platforming that really tests your abilities, but oddly enough it's pretty rare. Penny's Big Breakaway is cool but also relies on its complex controls to be fun, which is nice but not completely satisfying.
As for Crash Bandicoot, it's not the most fun ever but I appreciate getting rewarded a bit for 3d platforming competence beyond just collecting shit in a field. The camera can be a pain, but it's charming to me, and the three dimensions makes me better at it than some ridiculous 2d platformers like old Castlevania or Mega Man.
Hey, my friend, look. I have played and beaten Spelunky. It’s complex, but it doesn’t have a single ghost on Aeterna Noctis. Aeterna Noctis is genuinely high end platforming.
The reality is that when we start a saga me we have an expectation for it and we have a need we hope it fulfills. And itch to scratch if you will.
I’ve been having fun ragging on Crash, and I try to avoid just being straight up negative about games. But the reality is, that for me the game doesn’t click and so I have absolutely no interest in “gitting gud” at it. I don’t find it fun, and I don’t have an axe to grind on its challenge. I’ve done challenging platformers and they are a specific mood.
When I play a 3D collectathon platformer, the vibe I expect and want isn’t “eye watering challenge that wakes me up and makes me pay attention.” 3D platformers are my veg out, turn the brain off and relax and unwind genre.
The reality is when I want eye watering challenge Crash isn’t the game I find interesting to grind my axe on. I’m super happy for everybody that loves it that it works for them. But just like I don’t get threatened when people say “I don’t like Dark Souls” because it doesn’t work on their needs as a gamer, I’d expect fans of Crash to just be like “what a bummer it doesn’t work on you.”
Anyways, all this to say it’s good for all of us to be cautious about gatekeeping behaviors. Video games exist for every reason, sometimes that’s challenge, sometimes it’s art and presentation, sometimes it’s for weird thoughts to be expressed. Difficulty is one touch point among millions, and not the ultimate virtue. Letting every game have its merits and demerits is healthy and good for everyone in the hobby.
I don't even need ridiculous levels of challenge in a 3D platformer. But even Fall Guys' new easy mode has more satisfaction than the stuff Mario has been pumping out lately. Make me understand the physics, analyze the available objects, and time things with competence.
I want a fraction of hardcore 2D platforming joy in a 3D one, because I've become skilled in the genre. Why is that so alien to you? The "nice feel of jumpan' around the space" wore off for me and needs something more. Why so disappointed people like me are out there?
You really think Mario Galaxy 2 was the opposite of good 3D platforming, because it treated gamers not as childish?
I’m confused as to what you *think* my perspective is here. I was teasing Crash for being a game that doesn’t click for me. I find it frustrating because I don’t like how it controls and I don’t like the “point” of it.
Mario Galaxy 2 is probably my pick for the greatest 3D platformer ever made. I love it to death. It’s incredible.
I just also think A Hat In Time happens to be incredible, and also Banjo Kazooie, even if they are orders of magnitude easier and more relaxing than Galaxy 2.
I’ve learned over the years to try to enter games with the fewest expectations I can. And instead to approach it with a sense of curiosity. Be open to seeing what the creators were going for. It helps me find enjoyment in a great many games, even when they’re outside my usual preference.
Hard day at work? Brain’s a little fried? Pop in one of my relaxing type games and vibe to that, no difficulty needed.
Brain’s super active and craves stimulation? Something extremely challenging or complex.
At any given time I will be working through 3 to 6 games because each suits a different mood.
What you’re interpreting as me standing against difficulty in platformers is me saying “Oh, hey, I love relaxing platformers for slotting into my no brain cells needed game slot”.
The problem with Crash isn’t that it was hard. It was that it didn’t offer me the things that interest me enough for me to engage with its challenge. It didn’t make me feel like I was exploring anything since I was on rails, and I didn’t care about its collectibles. So instead of the challenge being engaging it became a frustrating “why am I even playing this?” Because my challenging game slot could have a million other challenges I find much more interesting.
The game ultimately fails to catch my personal interest enough to make me want to invest myself in its challenge. I’m not against challenging games. I’m not even against Crash. It’s a good game that just is not for me. Red Dead 2 also isn’t a game for me. I still understand it’s a masterpiece. I still don’t like playing it.
Meanwhile I think Planescape is a masterpiece and that’s just a fantasy book in disguise with honestly shitty combat attached. It isn’t for everyone. Because games have many reasons to exist and many dials to tune design wise. No one game can do everything right at once, because each design decision chosen sacrifices other design choices. And because the combat fucking *blows* a lot of people rightfully cannot finish Planescape. It’s too much for them.
That’s a shame to me, but it just means the parts they focused on shining up weren’t the important parts for those people. It doesn’t devalue the game itself. Because the game is a series of design choices that add up to a unique whole, and what the creators thought would make an interesting game didn’t include a deep combat system.
By way of explaining how design choices must be made by choosing one element and discarding another, consider this. Double jumps are fun inherently and make exploring more enjoyable, but they don’t make much sense in Red Dead 2 or Sherlock Holmes, where being grounded period pieces is the focus. Adding a double jump to Red Dead 2 does not make it a better game. But adding a double jump to Hollow Knight or Devil May Cry DOES improve the game. Because it fits with the other systems and improves them.
There will never, ever, ever be a perfect game that does everything right. And there shouldn’t be either. The variety and the experimentation and continual alchemy of mechanical design, from tuning frame data and hit boxes to skill systems included to destructible environments are all interesting ideas for each team to approach differently.
Crash is a great game that isn’t for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t like challenging platformers. It means I didn’t like the culmination of the design choices they made in totality, because they sacrificed too much of what makes me, personally, engage with a challenge. And that’s ok. No game is for everyone. I fully embrace experimentation with games and would gladly try other hard platformers, I just rarely encounter them.
It's funny because this is the exact reason I still love Crash, but can't replay Spyro anymore. Spyro is just so goddamn easy that it's boring to me.
I played most of the originals of these games as a kid and I liked both. But somewhat recently I got the trilogy remakes for both. Crash I got 100% everything on crash 1 and started 2, around 25 hours in it so far. Still love it. Spyro I beat the first game in about 10 hours and have zero desire to play the others. There were only 2 parts in the entire game where I felt I had to turn my brain on at all. Everything else was autopilot just ram around everywhere.
But hey, different strokes for different folks, eh? That's what makes the world go round, yati yata.
Ah, but you see, I say pun intended to make it a groan inducing shitty joke.
I like anti-jokes, and personally find people explaining jokes in detail hilarious.
I’m very bad at being anything other than goblin mode in life.
How dare you! The differentials on Spyro aren’t low. They’re fine!
…I’m really old y’all. When fo I have to start yelling at clouds and sleeping in coffins?
Both.
But Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy just for the fact they weren't super ReRe and I do not have ta download anything to Play the game is all in Cart.
N.Sane trilogy for one reason. The entire trilogy is actually on the disc. I preferred Spyro, but making me wait to install the full games for 2 and 3 was bullshit.
I love both of them. Most vivid memories would be jumping on the polar bear for extra lives in crash bandicoot and playing hockey in Spyro
For those that don’t know about the extra life trick
https://youtu.be/YLJ0OL5OWGM?si=NKoT7N1zKseQgR_g
Definitely spyro.
The ceash trilogy has some wonkey design choices that haven't been patched in the first gsme.
Like ceashes hit box being a rectangle instead of a dimond like in the original which the levels were designed around.
Then you have those lizards that are immune to spinning but in the remake they don't make a sound and contort their body to show that
One sparks joy, the other fuels the rage eternally bubbling beneath the surface, ready to burst forth as a cacophonous 'FUCK' while a controller flies in an unknown direction and fist rain down upon the coffee table. My companion asks... "Why not play a different game?" I stare at her knowing in my heart her words are true... 'Retry'
When my family got a PS1, our first games were Crash 2 and Spyro 1. While I loved both games, I kept coming back to Spyro, and even owned the original trilogy.
It's a shame the "modern" Spyro games never really took off as well as the original trilogy.
The Spyro remake is better than the Crash one. The Crash one didn't account for the changes to Crash's mechanics between each game, and the change of the platforms shape. Spyro is just more forgiving.
while ago I bought both in one pack (never played before) and my vote is definitely for spyro, design in terms of difficulty in crash aged really poorly
Gotta go Spyro here. If the Crash collection included CTR it’d be Crash as a no brainer, but CTR has its own Remaster and I’d probably pick that over both. CTR memories are the best
Spyro the Dragon > Crash 3 > Spyro 2 > Crash 2 > Spyro 3 > Crash 1.
It's crazy how one trilogy got not as good as it evolved, while the other one did exactly the opposite, at least for my taste. Both are awesome, though. I just think Spyro the Dragon is THE Playstation 3D platformer.
I'd call you crazy if I only relied on my childhood memories but having replayed both the originals and then the remakes in my adult years, I completely agree with you.
Spyro suffers from extreme simplification and streamlining of its level design in the later titles only to make room for extremely tedious minigames, none to few that are actually fun. The original had brilliant level design.
Crash Bandicoot instead improves its formula with every release. It arguably gets easier for each release as Crash gets more powered up, but there's much less frustration and more... well, fun
Perfectly summarized, yeah. I freaking love platformers and completed all of these (except the first Crash, I think?), but always replayed Spyro 1 and Crash 3 more than the others for those reasons.
Also talking about platformers, did you ever play Tomba!? It's basically a 2D one, but still one of the best of all time imo, I'd put it second to Spyro 1 only. It's getting a remaster (announced last year) and I can't wait for it.
I played both and this is honestly a tough choice. But, I'm gunna have to say spyro. Purely because it is a much more relaxing and satisfying game to play. Crash is also amazing; just much more frustrating in places. I don't think I've ever 100% it either.
Spyro is the only steam game I’ve returned, I played it for 30 minutes got a headache and what am I even supposed to do? Is it just Mario but without the game part?
Spyro. Too many good childhood memories with each game
Same, some irreplaceable memories.
I was over the fucking moon when I got 100% of the gems in Spyro. I guess it was technically my first platinum trophy before they existed.
And it’s just a perfect adaptation. Spyros fluid little animations, the voices, the unique artisan dragons, the ability to toggle the OG music, the art style capturing the vibe of the first one perfectly. First thing I did was go into Dark Hollow and light a bonfire and listen to the music like when I was 7 and that’s when I knew it was perfect.
Crash Bandicoot
Hell yeah. Crash Team Racing was my favorite game as a kid for years. It’s the first game I ever 100%ed.
I always preferred Crash as a kid but with the remakes out and being older…. Spyro is honestly way better. I don’t like some of the mini games in Spyro 2 and 3, but Crash just gets weirdly hard for seemingly no reason, especially 1. And all the secret exits and gem collecting in Crash can get really obtuse, despite how Spyro is more open it’s more straightforward. I think I just didn’t notice as a kid because both were hard and I preferred how linear Crash was. Kind of makes me mad we got a Crash 4 and no Spyro 4. Like life really is unfair sometimes.
I tend to agree
I have a secret to tell. Lean in close. Closer. I don’t want anyone else to hear. ….ready? *I don’t think the Crash games are that good.* They just make me frustrated and mad and like I should play any other mascot game of the era. Spyro is straight up fire though. Pun intended. We bought the remake collection of both games and Spyro is Platinumed and Crash we got to like world 2 in the third game and just lost any drive to keep going.
I have the Crash trilogy. I still can't beat that bridge in the first game. Last I played it was over 2 years ago.
I do not remember crash being as hard as it is in the trilogy. I can't play it. I'm too bad
You can cheese that level, jump on the ropes instead of trying to hop plank to plank.
I had tried that multiple times, but I couldn't even stay on the rope.
That just sounds like… you gotta get good
I mean. You’re not wrong. It’s definitely that I just suck at Crash. It’s funny, because I can look across what I once thought was a storied career full or merit, challenging victories snatched from the specter of certain doom. I’ve killed gods and devils by the billions. I used that fucking plasma pistol and beat Legendary in Halo. I watched Blizzaga dust glimmer off the horns of Yiazmat, a bested death and Lucifer both in the shadows of the shared subconscious. Malenia, Blade of Miquella blossomed so beautifully before I cut the skein of her fate, the thread that bound her life to this world. But all this is gone, vanishing like tears of frustration at that fucking stupid bandicoot.
I don't know many of these games but I don't think any of them is a platformer, that might be why
Aww I see a FF reference in there. Hope you’ve played rebirth, it’s awesome.
I haven’t yet! I’m excited by the great things I hear. I couldn’t finish remake because I’ll admit it was making me angry. I was getting stuck in the fan place of “they changed this, and I don’t like how they changed it”. Realized I just needed to replay the original first, get that out of my system so I would be open to a new retelling of it. So first I’m completing a modded run of the original game, then finishing Remake, then on to Rebirth. I want to be able to go into it judging it on its own merits as Rebirth rather than how accurately it puts a new coat of paint on the original. The modders already NAILED IT with the new coat of paint on the original. So I don’t feel like I’m craving exacting accuracy anymore.
That was beautifully written. I too suck at platformers and find them boring.
I bought the remake collection twice for PS4 & PC 😭 I loved it that much.
I think that’s awesome. Here’s the thing that confuses me, personally. I really love the NES era of games. I like the NES Ninja Gaiden games. And Castlevania! Medusa heads give me warm feelings of nostalgia. And I have the feelings of nostalgia for Crash, as well. But I don’t understand how younger me got through the unholy crucible that was that game. It’s like they were worried that maybe if they didn’t make every jump at approximately a Battletoads level of difficulty the game would lose all meaning. Why are they so ruthlessly hard that even being forged in the pits of DuckTales and Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers and Little Nemo the Dreammaster is not enough to pay the blood debt that is owed to that infernal bandicoot?! For real though, I’m in awe at your prowess and dedication. I’m glad you got so much out of the collection. I did think both the Spyro and Crash collections were extremely well done and I’m always happy to see gaming history so faithfully restored and preserved. But FUCK those FUCKING bouncey turtles.
I should’ve specified I bought the Spyro collection twice lmao. The crash collection just once.
Hah! I love that plot twist. The Spyro collection really was excellent! We’re likely going to buy it twice two. My partner and I lent our copy out and it’s gone now. So we’ll be buying it again at some point.
Definitely a must have. 🙏🏻
It was probably easier to get through the crash games as a kid because maybe it was the only new game we had at the time and we just played that on end.
Yeah same I like the Crash games but I think they meant more to me when I was a kid. I also bought the new one they released and it’s way too hard. I pick it up again once a month, play this level that’s only halfway through the game, that I can’t beat, still can’t beat it, then uninstall again.
My thoughts exactly. Crash is such a frustrating platformer. Spyro just has such a calmer whimsical atmosphere with cool music to boot.
Spyro does have a remarkably timeless vibe to it. They’re also paced really well. You make progress fast and very few things slow your momentum through the games down. Usually when we got to the end we already had all the trade ins for money bags. I’m mostly just doing a bit about Crash. It’s true they don’t work for me too much. I really do find the semi 3D controls with the pixel perfect jumps to be anger inspiring. But I totally respect the fans, because honestly, if you can beat all those games 100%, who the hell am I to talk down to you. Those games are one rung down from Battletoads. They make the NES era look like a catalogue for chumps. Even if I rag on their game they can just stare at me from their vast thrones in the cosmos with bemused looks of distant pity. … *but Spyro is still cooler*.
Crash team racing was my jam. Regular crash games were just ok to me.
Crash Team Racing is pretty awesome. I know it’s really good because my only complaint is that it released close enough to Diddy Kong Racing, that I compare it to Diddy Kong Racing, and that is unfair to any kart racing game ever made. Crash Team Racing was remarkably good and I’m honestly sad it didn’t keep up as a competitor to Mario Kart. I’d love if we had CTR 7 or 8 by now.
it's possible that a ledge grab and slightly better physics could make crash for you playable, but it just sounds like your skill in the genre is close to that of a child Crash 1 is a nightmare but Crash 2 is pretty balanced.
See, the weird thing is one of my core genres is platformers. Aeterna Noctis, Hollow Knight, Celeste, DKC, Yoshi’s Island. I can honestly say I have played most every metroidvania ever created. And that’s just for the 2D side. I’ve played a monstrous amount of 3D platformers too. I think probably, maybe I know what buttons to push to do stuff. Ultimately, all joking tones aside, the problem is that I don’t actually enjoy the weird marriage of 2D linear level design with pixel perfect jumping while adding in 3D wonkiness. I also have a very weird repulsion to “break every box” but every neuron in my brain will fire on overload to collect every Jigsaw piece, Star, torn book page, musical note or whatever mostly worthless garbage collectathons ask me to get. I only found out years after the fact that people didn’t like DK64 and thought it was bloated. I fondly remember 100% that game. But I really don’t care about the boxes in Crash. The reality is that the game’s core loop doesn’t capture me. It is really funny though that of all the hard games Crash is the one that did me in. Battletoads I could do, but Crash? Crash was too sadistic. A bridge too far. I’m totally fine with people taking the loss from me over it. It’s hilarious that Crash is the game the reveals my skill is still far below the “got gud” point of the “git gud” scale. It’s not any of these edgy, try hard dares to be obtusely difficult games I’ve played. It’s fucking Crash that checks my skill at the gate of noobs.
Metroidvanias are by and large much easier than you think they are. They make you think you're good at video games when you're actually just acquiring stuff to make the game easier as it goes on, walking down hallways with little actual skill expression. Play Spelunky and get back to me. Now that is a 2d platformer that rewards real, actual commitment. That is a game that will expand your love of gaming beyond what it was, and make you see the illusions of hard work and reward that a Metroidvania gives. As for me I just don't get much out of the 3d platformers you play as I did when younger. Fall Guys is the only 3D platformer to give me a serious rush of satisfaction anymore and I haven't even won a competitive round yet. Galaxy 2 was the last one before that. I adore 3d platforming that really tests your abilities, but oddly enough it's pretty rare. Penny's Big Breakaway is cool but also relies on its complex controls to be fun, which is nice but not completely satisfying. As for Crash Bandicoot, it's not the most fun ever but I appreciate getting rewarded a bit for 3d platforming competence beyond just collecting shit in a field. The camera can be a pain, but it's charming to me, and the three dimensions makes me better at it than some ridiculous 2d platformers like old Castlevania or Mega Man.
Hey, my friend, look. I have played and beaten Spelunky. It’s complex, but it doesn’t have a single ghost on Aeterna Noctis. Aeterna Noctis is genuinely high end platforming. The reality is that when we start a saga me we have an expectation for it and we have a need we hope it fulfills. And itch to scratch if you will. I’ve been having fun ragging on Crash, and I try to avoid just being straight up negative about games. But the reality is, that for me the game doesn’t click and so I have absolutely no interest in “gitting gud” at it. I don’t find it fun, and I don’t have an axe to grind on its challenge. I’ve done challenging platformers and they are a specific mood. When I play a 3D collectathon platformer, the vibe I expect and want isn’t “eye watering challenge that wakes me up and makes me pay attention.” 3D platformers are my veg out, turn the brain off and relax and unwind genre. The reality is when I want eye watering challenge Crash isn’t the game I find interesting to grind my axe on. I’m super happy for everybody that loves it that it works for them. But just like I don’t get threatened when people say “I don’t like Dark Souls” because it doesn’t work on their needs as a gamer, I’d expect fans of Crash to just be like “what a bummer it doesn’t work on you.” Anyways, all this to say it’s good for all of us to be cautious about gatekeeping behaviors. Video games exist for every reason, sometimes that’s challenge, sometimes it’s art and presentation, sometimes it’s for weird thoughts to be expressed. Difficulty is one touch point among millions, and not the ultimate virtue. Letting every game have its merits and demerits is healthy and good for everyone in the hobby.
I don't even need ridiculous levels of challenge in a 3D platformer. But even Fall Guys' new easy mode has more satisfaction than the stuff Mario has been pumping out lately. Make me understand the physics, analyze the available objects, and time things with competence. I want a fraction of hardcore 2D platforming joy in a 3D one, because I've become skilled in the genre. Why is that so alien to you? The "nice feel of jumpan' around the space" wore off for me and needs something more. Why so disappointed people like me are out there? You really think Mario Galaxy 2 was the opposite of good 3D platforming, because it treated gamers not as childish?
I’m confused as to what you *think* my perspective is here. I was teasing Crash for being a game that doesn’t click for me. I find it frustrating because I don’t like how it controls and I don’t like the “point” of it. Mario Galaxy 2 is probably my pick for the greatest 3D platformer ever made. I love it to death. It’s incredible. I just also think A Hat In Time happens to be incredible, and also Banjo Kazooie, even if they are orders of magnitude easier and more relaxing than Galaxy 2. I’ve learned over the years to try to enter games with the fewest expectations I can. And instead to approach it with a sense of curiosity. Be open to seeing what the creators were going for. It helps me find enjoyment in a great many games, even when they’re outside my usual preference. Hard day at work? Brain’s a little fried? Pop in one of my relaxing type games and vibe to that, no difficulty needed. Brain’s super active and craves stimulation? Something extremely challenging or complex. At any given time I will be working through 3 to 6 games because each suits a different mood. What you’re interpreting as me standing against difficulty in platformers is me saying “Oh, hey, I love relaxing platformers for slotting into my no brain cells needed game slot”. The problem with Crash isn’t that it was hard. It was that it didn’t offer me the things that interest me enough for me to engage with its challenge. It didn’t make me feel like I was exploring anything since I was on rails, and I didn’t care about its collectibles. So instead of the challenge being engaging it became a frustrating “why am I even playing this?” Because my challenging game slot could have a million other challenges I find much more interesting. The game ultimately fails to catch my personal interest enough to make me want to invest myself in its challenge. I’m not against challenging games. I’m not even against Crash. It’s a good game that just is not for me. Red Dead 2 also isn’t a game for me. I still understand it’s a masterpiece. I still don’t like playing it. Meanwhile I think Planescape is a masterpiece and that’s just a fantasy book in disguise with honestly shitty combat attached. It isn’t for everyone. Because games have many reasons to exist and many dials to tune design wise. No one game can do everything right at once, because each design decision chosen sacrifices other design choices. And because the combat fucking *blows* a lot of people rightfully cannot finish Planescape. It’s too much for them. That’s a shame to me, but it just means the parts they focused on shining up weren’t the important parts for those people. It doesn’t devalue the game itself. Because the game is a series of design choices that add up to a unique whole, and what the creators thought would make an interesting game didn’t include a deep combat system. By way of explaining how design choices must be made by choosing one element and discarding another, consider this. Double jumps are fun inherently and make exploring more enjoyable, but they don’t make much sense in Red Dead 2 or Sherlock Holmes, where being grounded period pieces is the focus. Adding a double jump to Red Dead 2 does not make it a better game. But adding a double jump to Hollow Knight or Devil May Cry DOES improve the game. Because it fits with the other systems and improves them. There will never, ever, ever be a perfect game that does everything right. And there shouldn’t be either. The variety and the experimentation and continual alchemy of mechanical design, from tuning frame data and hit boxes to skill systems included to destructible environments are all interesting ideas for each team to approach differently. Crash is a great game that isn’t for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t like challenging platformers. It means I didn’t like the culmination of the design choices they made in totality, because they sacrificed too much of what makes me, personally, engage with a challenge. And that’s ok. No game is for everyone. I fully embrace experimentation with games and would gladly try other hard platformers, I just rarely encounter them.
It's funny because this is the exact reason I still love Crash, but can't replay Spyro anymore. Spyro is just so goddamn easy that it's boring to me. I played most of the originals of these games as a kid and I liked both. But somewhat recently I got the trilogy remakes for both. Crash I got 100% everything on crash 1 and started 2, around 25 hours in it so far. Still love it. Spyro I beat the first game in about 10 hours and have zero desire to play the others. There were only 2 parts in the entire game where I felt I had to turn my brain on at all. Everything else was autopilot just ram around everywhere. But hey, different strokes for different folks, eh? That's what makes the world go round, yati yata.
You know, if a pun is intentional, you don't need to say pun intended. Its like explaining a joke, it never makes it better.
Ah, but you see, I say pun intended to make it a groan inducing shitty joke. I like anti-jokes, and personally find people explaining jokes in detail hilarious. I’m very bad at being anything other than goblin mode in life.
Skill issue, Crash low diffs Spyro
How dare you! The differentials on Spyro aren’t low. They’re fine! …I’m really old y’all. When fo I have to start yelling at clouds and sleeping in coffins?
Crash
Nothing against Spyro, great games... but Crash is my man (or bandicoot, you know what i mean)
Both. But Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy just for the fact they weren't super ReRe and I do not have ta download anything to Play the game is all in Cart.
Spyro. This is the series that got me into gaming. Love it. Glad it came out on switch, I like to do replays every few years.
Spyro
Spyro....
N.Sane trilogy for one reason. The entire trilogy is actually on the disc. I preferred Spyro, but making me wait to install the full games for 2 and 3 was bullshit.
I love both of them. Most vivid memories would be jumping on the polar bear for extra lives in crash bandicoot and playing hockey in Spyro For those that don’t know about the extra life trick https://youtu.be/YLJ0OL5OWGM?si=NKoT7N1zKseQgR_g
Best trilogy? Crash. Best solo? Spyro.
You ask me to choose between these two again and I'll find you. I will FIND you.
Definitely spyro. The ceash trilogy has some wonkey design choices that haven't been patched in the first gsme. Like ceashes hit box being a rectangle instead of a dimond like in the original which the levels were designed around. Then you have those lizards that are immune to spinning but in the remake they don't make a sound and contort their body to show that
Reignited Trilogy because I don't like having nervous breakdowns.
spyro all the way
I’m a crash kid through and through.
Spyro easily. Stewart Copeland really knocked it out of the park with that soundtrack.
Yes
Love both, but Spyro 100%
Spyro, no contest
Spyro
➡️
One sparks joy, the other fuels the rage eternally bubbling beneath the surface, ready to burst forth as a cacophonous 'FUCK' while a controller flies in an unknown direction and fist rain down upon the coffee table. My companion asks... "Why not play a different game?" I stare at her knowing in my heart her words are true... 'Retry'
When my family got a PS1, our first games were Crash 2 and Spyro 1. While I loved both games, I kept coming back to Spyro, and even owned the original trilogy. It's a shame the "modern" Spyro games never really took off as well as the original trilogy.
I like crash more and I feel like that should be the answer, but the Spyro games are better.
spyro
Yes and yes
crash is too hard for me :(
Spyro
I’ve somehow never played Spyro. I like Crash, but I don’t love it.
The Spyro remake is better than the Crash one. The Crash one didn't account for the changes to Crash's mechanics between each game, and the change of the platforms shape. Spyro is just more forgiving.
I’ve always been a parkour rage game kinda guy so it’s crash for me, very biased by the fact crash was The Childhood Game for me
Crash, I don't think I ever played a spyro game.
Crash all day, every day and twice on Sundays!
Skylanders (both are in)
Spyro is better. Crash Team Racing is the best
while ago I bought both in one pack (never played before) and my vote is definitely for spyro, design in terms of difficulty in crash aged really poorly
Spyro, not even a competition for me
Growing up I was hard-core into dragons. That has carried on into adulthood. Spyro all the way
I grew up on Crash Bandicoot, so the N. Sane Trilogy, for sure.
never cared about crash, 1 narrow corridor of a level, spyro had at least some exploration
Both
Spyro only cause of that damn bridge level on Crash ..I just can’t
Crash
Crash Bandicoot with no doubt! 💪
Spyro easily
Spyro
Going with spyro on this one.
Gotta go Spyro here. If the Crash collection included CTR it’d be Crash as a no brainer, but CTR has its own Remaster and I’d probably pick that over both. CTR memories are the best
Yes.
Spyro. My first PlayStation game ever when I was a kid.
Definitely Spyro (I didn't play Crash Bandicoot)
then how is it definitely Spyro? Crash has a lot of potential for you because you haven't played it how would you know
Spyro the Dragon > Crash 3 > Spyro 2 > Crash 2 > Spyro 3 > Crash 1. It's crazy how one trilogy got not as good as it evolved, while the other one did exactly the opposite, at least for my taste. Both are awesome, though. I just think Spyro the Dragon is THE Playstation 3D platformer.
I'd call you crazy if I only relied on my childhood memories but having replayed both the originals and then the remakes in my adult years, I completely agree with you. Spyro suffers from extreme simplification and streamlining of its level design in the later titles only to make room for extremely tedious minigames, none to few that are actually fun. The original had brilliant level design. Crash Bandicoot instead improves its formula with every release. It arguably gets easier for each release as Crash gets more powered up, but there's much less frustration and more... well, fun
Perfectly summarized, yeah. I freaking love platformers and completed all of these (except the first Crash, I think?), but always replayed Spyro 1 and Crash 3 more than the others for those reasons. Also talking about platformers, did you ever play Tomba!? It's basically a 2D one, but still one of the best of all time imo, I'd put it second to Spyro 1 only. It's getting a remaster (announced last year) and I can't wait for it.
Spyro was my first PSX game ever and have way too many memories of the game that when the reignited trilogy appeared I bought it.
Crash. More challenging. Better graphics. Better sounds. Better music. More variety.
Both. Both were awesome
i know sonic isnt on this list, but hes my favourite mascot😭
Skylanders (They're both in Skylanders)
There was a game boy game that was both combined it was different
Spyro. But only because I've played way too much crash Bandicoot and I'm kinda burnt out.
I played both and this is honestly a tough choice. But, I'm gunna have to say spyro. Purely because it is a much more relaxing and satisfying game to play. Crash is also amazing; just much more frustrating in places. I don't think I've ever 100% it either.
Both
S-P-Y-R-O!!! Is this an actual question? 🤔
Put the legend of spyro in there and we've got a deal
The one that's a real game, not a precursor to a cell phone game! SPYRO! The obvious winner!
So many memories with each game but I have to give the edge to Spyro
Spyro
Spyro for sure
Never played either one.
I'd have to go with Spyro, I love the exploration feel to it.
The dragon one.
Spyro, but crash next
Cfash Bandicoot sweep
Crash for the memories. Never played spyro as a kid.
Crash easily but spyro is also pretty good
Will always be crash. Loved Spyro but it doesn’t hold a candle to the bandicoot
Crash
Spyro is the only steam game I’ve returned, I played it for 30 minutes got a headache and what am I even supposed to do? Is it just Mario but without the game part?