/vr/ - Retro Games

As a kid, I never really cared much for Crash 1 (inb4 "get gud"), so the debate for me for the better game was always 2 vs. 3.

I think that 3 was smart to add in the Time Trial mode. It gave the game a little bit more longevity, as I always wanted to see how many platinum relics I could get (if I remember correctly, I topped out around 6). I also think it had better boss fights, especially when you compare the final Cortex fights in 2 and 3.

Crash 2 had better music - especially in the jet pack levels - and, as another anon mentioned earlier, it did a better job at giving subtle hints about secret items. The controls did feel smoother in that game too.

So at this point, these games seem to better pretty dead even. However, Crash 2 had, hands down, the best level of all 3 games: Level 15 - Unbearable.

This level has it all. To start, it had two chase sequences, but this time with something much more engaging that that fucking boulder. And after you outrun the second bear, you can enter the secret area, which was challenging as shit, in the 2D environment that these games were always better at producing. Finally, you get to ride your polar while being chased by a third bear, all in reverse again, at hyperspeed. And after that is ANOTHER secret area.

I don't think any other level in the entire series had this many tricks up its sleeve. For that level alone, I would pick 2 over 3. Any time I pick up the game these days, I have to play that level at least 3 times before moving on to the next warp room.

Probably the only piece of Crash Bandicoot advertisement that I smiled at. Those TV ads were horrible, but on paper it's fun.