Crash Bandicoot has had a long history with demos. This history dates all the way back to the first game having a demo on Interactive Sampler Vol. 3. Since then, every single console game up until Titans has had a demo on a PS1, or PS2 demo disc. And the best part about it is that I own all of these demos throughout multiple discs, so why not look at every single one, and rate them with a letter grade. Before we dive in, keep in mind, I'm rating just the demo, and sometimes this may not reflect my feelings on the final game. I am also rating these on two aspects, if I find the demo fun, and if I think the content represents the final game well. With that said, let's spin on in.
Crash Bandicoot: B
Starting the list, we have the first Crash Bandicoot, funny how that works. The level they used in the demo is Jungle Rollers, the second level in the final game. The level plays like the final level, but I found it interesting that they unlock the green gem path in this level, which gives you a few extra lives. I think this is a good pick for the level to showcase, it's fun, but not too tough, and I just really don't care about N. Sanity Beach, so I'm glad they didn't go with it. If I can give one gripe, it's that I think there should be one more level. Boulders would've been a good pick in my opinion, because it's a different gimmick level, and one that I think stands out, especially since every Crash game would go on to have a chase level, which proves it worked wonders.
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back: A
Crash 2's demo picks Snow Go as the level to represent the final game. This is a decent level to go with in my opinion, as it shows off the new snow themed levels, shows off Nitro Crates, and overall is just a fun level. I again do think one more level would've cemented the demo into S rank, but this is still a great demo. If I could've picked one more level, I would've gone with Hang Eight for the Jet Board gimmick, and it's overall fun factor. You want to show what's new in Crash 2 to make it stand out from the first game, and I think Hang Eight would've done that perfectly.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped: D
Before we get into Crash Bandicoot 3, I have to mention that there are two demos for it. This is the only game we're talking about like this today, so I'm just going to treat both of them as one demo, this will make sense later. Crash 3 picks Under Pressure and Midnight Run as it's representing levels. Midnight Run is a decent pick, it's a fun level and it shows off Coco being playable in this game. However, Under Pressure is boring. Even though it does show off a new gimmick in Crash 3, it's definitely one of the least fun gimmicks in Crash 3. This, and the fact Midnight Run is not really a new gimmick is why I give Crash 3 a low rating, despite it being my favorite game in the series. If I were to change the included levels, I would either change them to Toad Village, or Makin' Waves. Toad Village is a fun first level that would put over the time travel motif of 3 well, and Makin' Waves is the first jet ski level, a new gimmick that's actually fun. Replacing Under Pressure with one of those two would improve Crash 3's demo by a few letters.
Crash Team Racing: C
We're at the first Crash racing game, and these are going to be harder to judge. I was never really into these games as a kid, and even now I would still rather sit with Mario Kart. Maybe one day I'll sit down with them properly, and learn them, but for now, don't take these opinions too seriously. Crash Team Racing's demo has three tracks, Papu's Pyramid, Dingo Canyon, and Blizzard Bluff. However these are divided into player numbers, so Papu's Pyramid is one player, Dingo Canyon is two player, and Blizzard Bluff is four player. I mostly just played the one player course as a kid, because I didn't have friends. It was fine, and I can't really say anything else, I'm just not into the game.
Crash Bash: S
Now we got everyone's favorite party game to bully. Crash Bash is a game I haven't played much, because who would want to play a party game by themselves? But the demo is actually pretty good. You get three levels to choose from, Pogo Painter, Polar Panic, and Pogo-a-Gogo. The amount is good, and the fact you can do the trophy, crystal, and relic challenge is neat. I kind of wished they picked a different game to replace one of the two pogo levels. CrashBall can be seen, but is inaccessible, and I think that would've worked better. Enough of the small talk though, because there is one other minor detail that gives Crash Bash the S rank, the fact that you can unlock the full game with a code. The developers accidentally left the level select debug in the game, and with a code you can enable it, and play everything. Knowing this, Crash Bash has to get an S rank.
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex: A
Wrath of Cortex's demo has two levels to play through, Arctic Antics, and Bamboozled. Both of these levels are pretty fun, and Bamboozled introduces the new ball levels, which were a highlight of Wrath of Cortex. I quite like Wrath of Cortex by the way, I think it gets too much hate. Sure it didn't change much from Crash 3, but not every game needs to be a grand leap, and I liked a lot of the things Wrath of Cortex tried to do. Anyway, going back to the demo, there is one complaint. The levels are on a time limit, and it can be easy to not finish the level before you get booted out, especially if you try to get every crate in Arctic Antics, but other than that the demo is great.
Crash Nitro Kart: D
Crash Nitro Kart is up next with a variety of characters to choose from, you can even play as the egg boy himself, N. Trance. There are two tracks to pick from, Jungle Boogie, and Out of Mime. I didn't have a fun time here, because Nitro Kart to me is a more clunky, slower Crash Team Racing. With that in mind, I have to rank it low, because it presents less than Crash Team Racing's demo, and it's just not fun.
Crash Twinsanity: S
Crash Twinsanity brings something pretty cool on boot up, some unique Cortex dialogue done by Lex Lang himself. The dialogue introduces you to the demo, while breaking the fourth wall, with Cortex calling himself the star of the franchise. After that you're free to play whichever level you wish from the three rooms, with the Iceberg Lair acting as a hub world of sorts for this purpose. The three levels in this demo are Jungle Bungle, Cavern Castatrophe, and Totem Hokum. These three levels are fun, and all of them do a good job of showing what makes Crash Twinsanity such a unique game. Honestly with the presentation, demo exclusive content, and it selling the game well, it deserves a very high ranking.
Crash Tag Team Racing: B
Finally, the last game we're going to talk about today, Crash Tag Team Racing. Booting the demo up, you will immediately notice the fifteen minute timer on the left of the screen. You only get fifteen minutes here, and it's honestly not enough time, so reload that demo to experience everything. You start out in the park on foot, and you can do side quests for some of the characters, play the bowling minigame, race in a few races, and do a few gags. There's honestly a lot here to do, and could keep you busy for a good half an hour. The biggest problem is that this is Crash Tag Team Racing, a game that's not particularly liked, and is definitely the weakest racer of the three Crash racers. However, this demo is very good, and would keep you busy for a bit, so in that sense, I feel a higher ranking is deserved.
Well, that's every single Crash demo ranked, and boy am my arms tired. I could do this again for another franchise, Spyro being a good option if I do this again, but not anytime soon. I'm crashed out for the time being, and adding a dragon will only make it worse. Anyway, have a great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment