Have You Played... Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy?

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy is one of many cases where I've seen the internet lose their collective marbles. From the review that compared it to Dark Souls, to the complaints about the High Road, this much-anticipated re-imagining of the original Crash Bandicoot games became less of a celebration of what came before, and more of a battleground where people would rant about those two subjects ad nauseam.

And yet I don't see that. Yes, I died more times than I could count in the High Road and Road to Nowhere levels, but then I played the sequel, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. That was always the far better game anyway. It introduced us to the polar bears, and everyone loves polar bears. Then I played Crash Bandicoot: Warped which had levels set in the Jurassic era, and Medieval fantasy castles with mischievous goats and wizards. It had Coco's tiger friend who (while not as cute as the polar bear) was a highlight.

I couldn't even describe the majority of the first Crash Bandicoot's boss fights. They were utterly forgettable until the face off against Dr Neo Cortex. They got better in the games that followed. The sheer spectacle of the Tiny Tiger fight in Crash Bandicoot: Warped, set in a Colosseum as Tiny attacks you in gladiatorial garb, armed with a spear. It was easy, yes, but it showed imagination. What was Crash Bandicoot's first ever boss? Let's see... Ah yes, a fat chieftain who spins around a bit.

So don't remember this game for the stuff that came from the internet. Remember it for what it is: a collection of platforming gems that, while not perfect recreations, at least did bring back Crash Bandicoot. Really, that's what matters.