I'm going to get this out of the way at the
onset: this video is not a death match to determine which game is better. I'll tell you right now, I prefer It's About
Time to Wrath of Cortex. It's not even close. That isn't really what this video is about. Rather, I wanted to compare the two as sequels
to the original trilogy. What context were their developers afforded,
what direction did they take, what inspirations did they latch onto, and how did that affect
their legacy, or in the case of It's About Time, how might that affect its legacy? While I do think the Crash 4 title for the
new game was a good idea to tidy up the somewhat messy continuity, it doesn't change the fact
that Wrath of Cortex ostensibly held the position in the discourse as an attempted sequel to
the original trilogy. Whether or not you want to consider it Crash
4 is your own business: it was clearly trying to be Crash 4. Despite my preference for one over the other,
I think there was a clear passion for the series in both instances, and just because
one came out a little half-baked doesn't make all of their effort null and void; just as
Toys for Bob didn't nail everything out of the park with their attempt. This video will have more of a negative slant
toward Wrath of Cortex, but I think it's a decent enough Crash game, and I have a lot
of respect for Travelers Tales. Now then, let's talk about Crash Bandicoot
4. --
What is the appeal of Crash Bandicoot? -- Finding the core appeal of Crash Bandicoot
is a bit of a tricky one. My own personal interest in the series is
geared toward its satisfying 100% grind. I'd like to think most other fans have that
same completionist kick, but it's hard to say. I wouldn’t really call Crash an incredibly
difficult platformer when you aren’t going for all the gems or time trial relics. Janky as the first game might feel to control,
its level design isn’t ball-busting until you go after the gems, which in the OG Playstation
version required you to do every level without dying. It’s likely the hardest game in the original
trilogy to complete normally, though even then I wouldn’t personally compare it to
Dark Souls or something. Which, by the way, I don’t think is necessarily
wrong. A lot of people have never played a platformer,
or just don’t count platformers in the realm of their expertise: that’s fine. Difficulty is subjective and I’m not gonna
make fun of someone for saying they struggled with a video game hard enough that it was
a comparable experience to Dark Souls. I don’t blame people for thinking Crash
is hard when the first game especially harkens back to the NES and SNES era so blatantly. Where games like Super Mario 64 were charting
their own ambitious paths in a 3D space, I wouldn’t say there’s a better set of PS1
era 3D platformers that so faithfully recreate the tight, linear platforming you’d see
in 2D Mario, Mega Man, and Donkey Kong Country. Crash 1, 2, and 3 are (mostly) no nonsense
platforming. Stylistically, the series takes a lot of inspiration
from Looney Tunes and other similar cartoons. It's easy to take for granted just how many
unique death animations there are across the series, but it adds to the chaotic energy
of the characters and the scenarios they're placed in. It was a stroke of pure genius to make the
villains mad scientists, it lends a lot of manic energy to the principal villains and
failed lab rat premise that only gets better as the series goes on. Ripper Roo, N.Brio, N.Tropy, Dingodile: there's
not a whole lot to them, but damn do their appearances make a great impression. I guess the appeal of Crash is a jaunt through
the jungle, snow, ruins, factories, castles, machines, and all the different eras throughout
our history. It’s goofy, but it’s a fun kind of goofy. When I think of Crash, I think of the Tiny
Tiger theme from Crash 2 [play theme]; I think about that weird look Crash gives when he's
about to ride a polar bear, and that odd victory dance he's so eager to perform. It's a delightfully silly, challenging platformer
with a hook for perfectionists. I suppose the million dollar question is:
how do you follow that up? --
Mask on, Mask off -- It's the year 2000, we need another Crash
Bandicoot game. Mark Cerny is all for it, pitches an ambitious
free-roam puzzle plarformer called Crash Bandicoot: Worlds. Travelers Tales is contacted for development,
they make an awesome tech demo, and then Universal wrenches the series away from Sony exclusivity,
claims the property as its own, Mark Cerny says goodbye, the project is forced to start
from scratch, and now there are only 12 months to make Crash 4. What would you do? I would probably play it safe. Take the old formula, add new levels, don't
fix what isn't broken, huzzah: you survived game development! It's really no surprise Wrath of Cortex ended
up the way it did, but I'll at least commend the team for trying their best to continue
the series. One of their new ideas was to introduce four
elemental masks. Figure they were probably onto something there. Aku-Aku and Uka-Uka are entertaining enough,
so expanding the lore a bit and throwing more masks into the mix is interesting. It also fits that these masks are being used
by Crunch, Cortex's successful attempt at a Bandicoot general for his army. Crunch gets to use masks just like Crash does,
symmetry. But at what cost? Despite all the Crash 3 villains getting a
spot at the round table, for better or worse, all they really do is… stand around as obstacles
for you in stages. Every single boss fight is Crunch with a new
mask, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a little lame. Let’s look at the introduction of a boss
like N.Tropy. [you're on my time] You get a little insight
into his personality before you fight him, he serves his role well, and then you move
onto the next evildoer. I think that's always been a dope part of
the Crash bosses, they always have entertaining intros to not only set the scene for the boss,
but to leave a strong impression as a character. [Toast line] Crunch doesn’t really get that. His fights just sorta… start. I think it's fun that the elemental masks
get their digs in Crash 3 style. They have some fun one-liners. I just… I don't think they can carry an entire rogues
gallery. The fun of Crash villains are that they come
in all shapes and sizes, and represent the different shades of mania. Ripper Roo has big swirly eyes, his arms are
restrained by a straightjacket, and he can’t even string together a coherent set of words,
it’s all laughs with him. N.Tropy is a condescending, narcissistic genius. He is so in tune with his prized mastery over
time itself that he’s turned his own body into a clock. A terrifyingly devoted force to contend with. The elemental masks are a bit generic by comparison. Rok-Ko is quick to anger, Wa-Wa is aggressive,
Py-Ro is level-headed but has a fierce side; they just kinda blend together, and nothing
about their designs imply anything about their character other than to embody their elements. If you really want to stretch it, you could
say that Rok-Ko is stubborn as a rock, or that Py-Ro’s anger is a slow burn. I don’t know, it’s just not the same,
I had to look up these names on fuckin… Bandipedia. Crunch can be intimidating, but he can’t
carry an entire game. Feels kinda like making Tiny Tiger or the
Komodo Brothers main villains, they just don't have enough of a presence. It's About Time also introduces new masks,
but this time they're allies and game mechanics. Talk about bang for your buck. I wouldn’t say they’re absolutely genius
designs or anything, but they are much more memorable. Ika-Ika allows the player to shift gravity,
and so it was designed to have a split personality, optimistic and pessimistic. Kupuna-Wa allows the player to control time,
so she has hourglasses earrings and her headdress depicts the phases of the moon, implying she’s
been around a long time. Her age also endows her with an almost infinite
wisdom. She’s cute, probably my favorite new mask
of them all. Like I said, they aren’t brilliant characters,
but they don’t have to be: they just have to stand out amongst the crowd and make an
impression in the player’s mind. Not only did they do the four masks concept
justice, they’ve also done justice to the antagonistic force headed up by N.Brio, N.Gin,
N.Tropy 1 and 2, and Cortex. I'd say they played it a bit safe with those
picks until I learned that Dingodile, Tawna, and Cortex were playable characters. I'd say that's a sufficient shakeup. Plus, those old villains get just as much
room to make their mark, adding just a touch more to what was already there. N.Tropy going out and finding a female version
of himself from another dimension, which he then flirts with, is peak writing for a villain. It’s genius, his ego is so inflated it could
burst at any moment. I don't take these guys for granted anymore,
having fun villains taunt you throughout the levels is the glue that holds the wacky adventure
together, maybe even more so than the actual story. --
Where I talk about story in a Crash Bandicoot game real quick
-- Alright, so I'm about to complain a bit about… Crash Bandicoot stories, so let me just preface
that on my list of Crash priorities, having a good story is not all that high up there. However, I do think these two games stumble
in interesting ways when framing a Crash narrative. The OG trilogy relied on memorable, yet infrequent
dialogue to act as a throughline for the adventure. There’s a basic premise like Cortex asking
Crash for help, or Uka-Uka awakening from his slumber, usually ending with Crash getting
the one-up on ol’ Neo. It’s simple, yes, but I don’t think I’d
have it any other way. Crash being such a soft spoken protagonist
who’s not always… mentally there, means that it’s a lot more fun to watch the villains
endlessly taunt that simplicity, only for them to come face to face with the wrath of
Sonic’s ass. While that simplicity is cathartic, I’m
not gonna say there isn’t a fun continuity behind it. Crash 2 picks up exactly where Crash 1 left
off, just as Crash 3 picks up where Crash 2 left off. It’s an admittedly loose continuity, but
one that Saturday morning cartoons also had. You can pick up an episode of Crash, know
who the good guys are, who the bad guys are, pick up on the fact that they’ve had a history
together, nonetheless enjoying that episode individually. It’s a continuity that provides fans with
a little treat for playing all the games, and lets new fans wonder about the other games. Wrath of Cortex doesn’t take place directly
after 3, there’s a bit of context that’s missing. All of a sudden, the Legion of Doom is in
a space station, sitting around a table, workshopping ways to get rid of Crash Bandicoot. How did they escape being stuck in the stone
age? I wouldn’t be surprised if returning fans
felt like they’d skipped over a game for something. N.Gin reminds Cortex that he's been working
on a super special project to destroy Crash Bandicoot, it feels kinda clumsy. What baffles me about this is that the previous
games weren’t even thoroughly plotted. Cortex literally falls into a cave after Crash
1, finds a crystal, and hatches an entire world domination plan right then and there. It sets the tone for a sequel, while providing
a decent enough hook for new players, and it’s barely even a few sentences. Wrath of Cortex ends in a good place, I like
the reversal of Crunch betraying Cortex in the end and joining the good guys, especially
since he's the most well characterized of the new cast. It also helps that the story is about as hands
off as its always been, giving brief tidbits before levels as the villains get more and
more desperate. However, with the lack of any interesting
characters outside of Crunch and Cortex, it's a pretty bland outing, easily the least memorable
of the four games. Doesn’t help that it frames its story in
the exact same fashion as Warped, with the villains taunting the heroes before they enter
the level, with five levels to choose from in a nonlinear order. Seems a touch uninspired. As much as I love It's About Time, I wouldn’t
call its story bulletproof either, which is a shame because I really love parts of it. Travelling back to before the events of Crash
1 is really cool, I love how Cortex doesn't believe in his future self, I love how Crash
caused the accident to happen in the first game, and I love that Cortex gets to relax
on a beach in solitude, for a little while anyway. It takes place directly after the third game,
the characters are very well realized, especially Dingodile. I have no idea why they made him into a playable
character, but it’s exactly the kind of left field addition that I can’t get enough
of. Glad one of my favorite boys is sharing the
spotlight this time. Unfortunately, there are things about the
way the story is told that bother me. I really like Tawna, her design is awesome,
her backstory is pretty dark for Crash standards. She's a great addition to the cast, but having
a moment where she tries to fight the N.Tropys on her own is eye-roll worthy. This is a kids game, still manages to drop
a swear every now and then, but it is still a kids game. A message like this isn't out of place in
a kids game… but it does feel out of place in a Crash Bandicoot game. I'm not trying to be an obstacle to change
or evolution, I think it's fine to take the series’ storytelling approach in a new direction. I absolutely love how the hijinks of Twinsanity
was turned up to 11, it was essentially a comedy and in that way, it took on a new meaning
of the word "cartoon". You just never knew what crazy thing was gonna
happen next, I loved it. It's also why I don't mind them pulling from
that more pathetic, comedic rendition of Cortex. Clancy Brown's Cortex was a lot more sinister,
but I've always preferred his portrayal in games like Twinsanity. You could even say that, as the games have
gone by, he's taken these attempts at world domination less and less seriously, becoming
a lot more blasé about it all. Except this game also sorta implies that even
before Crash 1 he was just as pathetic, which doesn’t exactly reflect in the original
trilogy as clearly, but oh well. I'm willing to take the weird semi-retcon
in this instance because it makes for some of the most engaging dialogue in the series. Any scene with Cortex in it is amazing, his
dialogue is so well-written, and his animations are superbly done. I’m torn because I do think it was somewhat
necessary to add more cutscenes, and I mostly like the approach they took, but then I watch
this line from Coco and it just makes me shrink back into my seat for
a few minutes. I love that there's an entire world where
Crash and friends bum around and eat food. In any other series it would seem like filler,
but it works in a Crash game. It's really only a minor thing, a few lines
of dialogue are cringeworthy, and it doesn't all fall into place perfectly, but I guess
it at least succeeds in its pacing. Meeting a new mask at the end of every other
world, getting a few exchanges in before they become mechanics, it has a nice rhythm to
it. Do a few levels, more interactions, and then
more levels. Rinse and repeat. It's a villain of the week, fly by the seat
of your pants narrative style where you never really know what's about to happen until it
happens. Maybe Cortex isn't the villain this time,
until he is right at the very end. I'm not saying you could never try for something
like a thematic throughline or a message in a Crash Bandicoot game, but it's likely gonna
come off as forced as it was here. Not necessarily bad to have a more overt presentation. If they're gonna make more of these, I'd like
more of a wild Twinsanity than a meaningful, heartfelt tale about friendship. Crash Bandicoot ain’t really the vehicle
you want to choose for that. --
Level Design -- What's always rung true about Crash Bandicoot
for me, the reason I've always loved it, is that it's one of very few series that can
effortlessly summon forth my inner perfectionist. When I play the Crash trilogy, I am committed
to an endurance test. Can I find and break every box? Can I locate the hidden paths for colored
gems? Can I reach the deathless pathways? Can I get that ever elusive platinum relic? From the outside looking in, it's absolute
madness. It's just me throwing myself at a wall over
and over and over again. Yet, there's something so enchanting about
these tests of skill, a prospect that straddles the line between what is possible and what
isn't. It's an initial task demanding enough to fill
you with a sense of dread, while also supplying just enough hope to see you through to the
end. This is part of the reason why I've always
had an appreciation for Crash 1. It is uncompromising in this sense. Its levels are crafty, pinpoint precise, and
often quite long. Sucks it had to control… the way it does. Where Crash 2 and 3 added more gimmicks and
made some of the moment-to-moment platforming more accessible, Crash 1 remains one of the
most satisfying 100% experiences I've ever had, especially on the N.Sane trilogy where
there were time trial relics to seek out and you didn't have to spend a significant amount
of time wrangling with the controls. Crash 2 and 3 have their difficult moments,
and I still really like them, but their popularity meant that a sequel was surely gonna default
to their likeness. Wrath of Cortex reminds me a lot of Warped. Some levels are really fun, some of them exist,
and some of them make me want to rip my arms off. Weathering Heights is pretty fun, there are
some tricky enemy placements, it’s a decently challenging box gem, and I really love the
theme of being inside an airship. It’s reminiscent of a classic Crash level,
not doing much to innovate, but definitely doing a good job emulating. I would say most of the fun levels in Wrath
of Cortex are more emulation than innovation. Gold Rush is a western theme, really dope
song, love the dynamite and pack mules, and the platforming is pretty standard Crash faire. Avoiding explosives, jumping over pits, doing
both at the same time. I’ll even commend the medieval castle levels
for being challenging, having interesting level obstacles to avoid that are very evocative
of the time period, complete with a dragon chase sequence that still makes me smile. I think Wrath of Cortex handled the medieval
theme a thousand times better than Crash 3, which was basically just the renaissance fair
five times over. While these levels are fun, they do tend to
blend together in my mind a bit. They have distinct theming that makes them
stand out on the surface level, but very little about their level design feels like it’s
taking the Bandicoot in a fresh new direction. Crash and Burn is one of the only traditional
platforming levels that’s attempting something cool and unique. It’s set during an active volcano, and the
level’s design winds around this volcano, getting more and more severe the further you
make it to the top. I love this level, it has some difficult jumps,
platforms that disappear under the lava, meaning you’ll have to be using the death tornado
spin, some sections with falling rocks to avoid. Even then, as unique as the theme is, the
rest of the levels are the textbook definition of a fun, yet safe Crash outing. All of the abilities you get are rehashes
of the same abilities from Crash 3, the only new addition being this… tiptoe move that
lets you slowly crawl across Nitro crates, marginally faster than the speed Crash can
crawl across ceilings. This decent platforming, by the way, is when
the levels are at their best. These fun levels are only half of the equation,
the other half a set of insufferably hit or miss ideas harkening back to the worst of
what Crash 3 had to offer on steroids. For every fun platforming adventure, there’s
a tedious swimming level, or a dogfight level, or a racing level, or a ball rolling level,
and their quality ranges pretty low. I’ll say right off the bat that the ball
levels are actually pretty fun. I enjoy wrangling with the physics, trying
to keep Crash on course, and hunting for all the boxes. It’s a strange gimmick, for sure, but I
had my fun with it. They’re usually fast-paced, difficult, and
don’t overstay their welcome. I could do without the excessive Rumble though. So much as move the stick and your controller
could be mistaken for a vibrator. No, where my issues lie are in the other gimmicks. Swimming is worse than it was in Crash 3,
where it was already a bit slow and repetitive. Now, you can barely see enemies before they
run into you, there's more space to swim around in, which means more time faffing about for
hidden boxes. They force you into this weird submarine device
which can face toward the screen sometimes, the purpose of which is unknown to me since
the ability to turn toward the camera only ever seems to make it harder to maneuver the
damn thing. Dogfight levels are a little more involved
than in 3, at the cost of there being more of them. All of them end in a matter of seconds and
serve as nothing content. Same with the buggy stage, which is way too
slippery. You're likely gonna be playing this twice;
good luck getting the box gem while also in first place, it's just not gonna happen. These are distractions from the core Crash
gameplay loop, a way to ensure the player doesn't notice how repetitive Crash platforming
can really be. In the second game, some levels were so easy
that I noticed the cracks in its exterior a bit. This is why I imagine Warped had so many gameplay
gimmicks, because Naughty Dog were legitimately running out of ideas as to how to push the
series forward. Wrath of Cortex has 10 levels out of its 30
total which do not revolve around Crash platforming, and I even excluded a few that only had the
gimmick for half the stage. You get around 20 traditional stages, and
not all of them are fun or difficult. For instance, some levels have you using the
mech suit, oh what a joy this thing is. Do you like a target reticle that only functions
in the split second where you let go of the target button? Do you like only being able to jump while
moving, lest you find yourself clumsily flying into Nitro crates or bottomless pits? What an unfortunate mechanic to place front
and center, presumably the thing you wanted players to care about the most, and all I
ever hear is people complaining about how limited it is. Everytime there's a wall cling segment, my
heart sinks because of the abysmal speed decrease from Warped. Why did this even happen? What was the impetus? These are the continuous roadblocks to Wrath
of Cortex's success. It barely has anything new to call its own,
what it can call its own is hit or miss, in essence placing it a rung below even the third
game it took the most inspiration from. You could strike it from the record and no
one would notice; the mark of a truly unremarkable sequel. Crash 4, on the other hand, is so reminiscent
of Crash 1 it's a little creepy. Its levels are much longer, and have more
of a difficult foundation. What would be 2 or even 3 levels in the OG
trilogy are crammed into one. Bears Repeating is half platforming and half
polar bear. The first half focuses on the time stop mask. First you're introduced to platforms which
rise and fall like seesaws, which get progressively more difficult as they appear, until you have
to use your time stop mask in conjunction with falling ice platforms. The two bonus pathways have their own unique
time stop uses as well, one a cheeky reference to the High Road, and the other revolving
around Nitro crates. This is the average length of a Crash Bandicoot
level that would probably appear near the end set of levels. This one is at the halfway point, and there's
still an entire polar bear section to do. It is the first polar bear section, so it
isn't overwhelmingly difficult, but it's a fairly solid mid-level. As you'd imagine, though, 100% requirements
are affected by things like baseline challenge and length. To 100% this level, you have to break every
box without dying, collect enough wumpa fruit, and find the hidden gem. That without dying part is the linchpin here. You have to break every box in a flawless
run, you're only allowed death in the bonus room. This is just a relatively simple mid-game
level, so how about one of the endgame levels? I don't mean to be insulting, since I love
Crash Bandicoot and the OG trilogy is fantastic, but Crash 4's final few worlds are exceptional
in a way Crash has just never been. There's a sense of evolution to the level
design here. You'll be using the masks to their fullest
potential, sometimes one after the other. Food Run uses all of the masks in one level,
and Cortex Castle uses them all back to back in a masterful final platforming section. These wall runs are used in fairly standard
ways early on, but gradually become harder. They're used with phase shifting and even
gravity shifting later on. These levels also need to be completed with
zero deaths for the perfect relic, a truly maddening prospect. I'm frankly surprised that Toys For Bob were
so willing to crank up the challenge this hard when most people I've ever seen talk
about Crash cite the first game as their least favorite for many of the same reasons. But for me, it's my own personal masochistic
Crash heaven. They even went out of their way to fix things
about the 100% Crash experience to eliminate a lot of the jank that was often associated
with the task in past games. For instance, you can obtain the colored gems
before encountering their colored gem pathways, which is something Wrath of Cortex was completely
okay with maintaining. There don't necessarily have to be instances
where you reach a level and literally can't complete it 100%. If you're skilled enough, and perceptive enough,
you can complete every level 100% on your first try. For repeat playthroughs, this means far, far
less repeating of the same levels. Really, only one colored gem requires you
play the level twice, but considering the challenge for it is to not break any of the
crates, and it's infinitely harder than the no crate challenge in Crash 2, I'll let that
one slide. I do wish the Yellow gem wasn't so… obvious. It was the last one I found and it was a bit
of a letdown. The other three gems had hints drawn in the
background, alluding to what you had to do. Jump on platforms in a specific sequence,
find a secret RC car to blow up a Nitro crate, and a message telling the player to break
none of the boxes. The Yellow Gem is just kinda… hidden off
screen, above some boxes. A bit lame considering each level already
has a hidden gem like that, tucked away in some far off corner. I adore that each level, and its N.Verted
counterpart, have a hidden gem to find. Not all of them are winners, but some of them
are hidden about as devilishly as the boxes, and it really promotes a thorough exploration
of the scenery. None of this difficulty feels artificially
inflated either. I don’t mind completing Cold Hard Crash
or Piston it Away, but it’s undeniable that they are insane difficulty spikes for Crash
2, effectively the equivalent of asking the player to juggle blindfolded on a unicycle
after having just learned how to juggle. Crash 4 has a more natural evolution. Earlier levels are shorter and more simple,
so they aren’t as bad to fully complete. Later levels are longer, hide more of the
boxes, and are much harder to fully complete. Natural 100% curve, rather than twisted nightmares
followed by braindead hallways. It's like Crash 2 in the sense that it's straight
Crash platforming for the majority, with a few polar bear segments thrown in and the
occasional secondary character. Wrath of Cortex introduced levels where you
could play as Coco in actual platforming bits, and I always thought that was cool! Though a bit less exciting, since Coco didn't
have access to any of the abilities Crash did, it was still nice to have another character
to control. That said, she really had zero unique attributes
to call her own, begging the question as to why she wasn't just playable to begin with. Crash 4 answers that the same way the N.Sane
trilogy did: Crash and Coco play identically, and you can choose between them for every
main level in the game. In addition, there are three new playable
characters, who each control fundamentally like Crash, but with unique abilities. Tawna has a grapple hook, Dingodile has a
vacuum, and Cortex has a ray gun which can turn enemies into platforms. Already, they're a much better compromise
between breaking up the pace and keeping consistent with Crash's core platforming tenets; however,
they're also mostly optional, meaning even if you'd rather stick to pure Crash platforming,
you can. It's About Time is pure Crash platforming
bliss at the peak of its effectiveness. --
Takeaway -- What, then, can we say about these two games
as sequels? One is safe, was produced in a very short
amount of time following some truly unfortunate upper management fallout, and what we ended
up with was a fairly mediocre follow-up to the original trilogy. To their credit, though, Travelers Tales was
probably on the right track with a lot of their ideas. They went for the same four mask setup as
Toys for Bob, their levels each had unique music, the ball levels were a fun new addition
to shake things up, and they even followed through with the neat inverse of Crash himself
with Crunch. I think the best levels of Wrath of Cortex:
Gold Rush, Banzai Bonsai, Crash and Burn; all of them are evidence that there was a
passion behind the project, a desire to make a worthy successor to the original trilogy,
that was just never meant to be. A mixture of decreased development time, new
hardware, and a lack of new ideas that weren't poorly lifted from previous games. I think what I love most with It's About Time,
is that it doesn't talk down to these successors. Aside from like one joke at Wrath of Cortex's
suspense, which even then is arguably a light jab more than anything, the game actually
implies that Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity could have existed in alternate dimensions. There are pictures of the elemental masks
in the prehistoric dimensions, as well as pictures of the twins in the Bermugula dimension,
where Nitrous Oxide shows up as a cameo. Nothing about Crash 4 is attempting to rewrite
history; if anything, it took some ideas from Wrath of Cortex. Making half the level platforming and the
other half a gimmick, giving each level a unique music track, adding four masks that
play a vital part in the story. If it had paraded its success in the face
of those who came before, I think my opinion of it overall would be much lower. Let's put it this way: Wrath of Cortex failed
to advance the series in any meaningful way. It was an interesting experiment that can
yield a bit of fun every now and then, but it's not something I'd replay as readily as
the originals. It's About Time brought so much to the table
in terms of advancements. Clear difficulty evolution, more interesting
level design, a game that strikes at the heart of what makes Crash great, with a bit of its
own flair. It's a sequel I can get behind, not one without
its own slew of issues, but one that confidently takes the series in a new direction. I know a lot of people aren't a fan of the
longer stage length, added difficulty, or the one-upped completion requirements. I completely understand and respect that,
but I really don't see how you could make a new Crash game without upping the ante so
furiously. We've already had three relatively similar
cracks at this, so I'm glad the fourth game has dawned its own identity, however contentious.
Interesting video. I get his points, even if I don't really agree with him. I get all his flaws with WOC, but I think due to its redeemers I actually prefer that one, I just don't savour IAT's constant busywork at all and really hope that doesn't become an ongoing staple.
One detail I'd like to dabble over. I don't mind Crash having 'poignant' moments in dosage. I liked the little moments of sentiment and drama in Crash Nitro Kart and Crash of the Titans, however I think they got how to execute such a thing in a way only Crash can.
Crash 4 tries for a rather cliche drama moment that could be done in any story, in any franchise, in any market. It even tries to be a bit forcibly 'dark' about it, again in a way that feels shoehorned and isn't really to the benefit of the Crash universe. It doesn't help that it is very character discriminate, Coco and Tawna are the 'serious' characters and pretty much everyone else (even the main character) is more restrictively less competent comic relief, this leaves the former two driving the plot in its more serious moments but their more generic personalities unable to give it a new twist. I think that is the thing that is more cringeworthy in that scene King K points out, not just the line, the whole character and narrative handling is completely generic because the writers have looked at these characters in a very black and white way.
Compare it to something like say Crash giving Krunk his trademark yoyo and looking genuinely sad when he leaves. This is a much more subtle poignant moment but it is one more in tone and distinctive of the series and surprising in how it shows how versatile a character Crash really is. Same for stuff like Crash and Coco's bonding moments in previous games, the fact they are so subversive and revolved around how unexpectedly goofy and flawed they equally are means they can get as cutesy as they like and will still never NOT be charming. Same for something like Cortex being so proud of what a backstabbing "skank" Nina is, sweet if in a strange tongue in cheek way. There's a difference between making a touching moment and a touching Crash moment.
This was a great video and you managed to criticise WOC without offending me lol a lot of people critics for sake of criticism nowadays. I think both games have something to offer to the crash experience but Crash 4 takes it to the next level. I like how you pointed out the flaws of pure platforming in crash 2 as that's always looked at as a positive and to it's benefit it is but that game more then the other 5 gets the most Same-y with 3 and a half almost identical snow levels, river levels and so on, for as flawed as WOC is, it's overabundance of variety keeps it from every level feeling the same but is the opposite as it's unfocused but crash 4 has reestablished the series, going into crash 5, I think having roughly 30 base levels similar to crash 4, thay can afford to add the odd gimmick levels to mix things up since crash 4 was pure platforming and it would help the next game stand apart from the last, especially if thay put the same amount of work into them, could you imagine a full atlasphere stage in crash 4, so many possibilities
Fantastic video!