Don’t let the cartoony characters and colourful graphics deceive you: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is hard. Like, brutally hard. Vicarious Visions has attempted to soften the challenge of Naughty Dog’s platforming classics with the addition of bonus checkpoints and insta-Aku Aku buffs that weren’t in the originals, but you’re still going to be staring down that Game Over screen more times than you’ve become accustomed to in contemporary releases without the word ‘Souls’ in the title. So, have we got any tips and tricks to help you get through these 90s nasties? You bet we have.
Keep a close eye on your shadow
What better way to aid you through these nostalgic titles than with a nostalgic tip: your shadow isn’t just a nifty graphical trick. Back in the early days of the 3D platformer, developers relied on shadows to show you exactly where your body’s going to land, and it’s exactly the same in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy’s trio of titles. Keep a close eye on Crash or Coco’s silhouette to make sure you always drop in the exact spot you intended.
Come back to levels later on
Don’t try to 100 per cent every level on your first attempt – it’s often impossible. To collect all of the White and Colored Gems in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy you’re going to need to come back to stages again and again, and that’s okay. Remember, games in the 90s were designed differently: the first Crash game only has some 25 levels, and if they weren’t so difficult, you could see them all in under an hour. Developers back in the day extracted replay value by hiding collectibles and giving you reason to revisit stages over and over again. And that’s true here, so don’t obsess over collecting everything on your first playthrough: take each stage easy and come back later if you’re missing something.
Earn lives from easy levels
On that note, if you find yourself struggling to complete stages with a stock number of lives, then go back to easier levels you know you can comfortably beat and use them to pad out your stock of retries. Stages like N. Sanity Beach can be beaten in well under a minute, and if you play through it three or four times you can have a good 20 or so lives stocked up. This is going to ease the pressure in those really tough levels, where you’re probably going to need more than five attempts. It’s also worth adding that there’s a Trophy in each game for stockpiling 99 lives.
Use your save slots wisely
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy adds four save slots that you can use in each game: three custom and one auto-save. In order to avoid grinding for extra lives, why not use these save slots to “bank” your lives before tackling a difficult level? Just tug the L2 trigger before starting a level, and save your progress. You can always pull this save back up if you work through your plentiful supply of lives and don’t fancy grinding for more.
Timing is everything
They may be platformers, but there’s a rhythmic element to the Crash Bandicoot games. Everything in the game works like clockwork, and learning when to move is key. Remember, unless you’re tackling the Time Trials for Relics, you don’t need to be sprinting all of the time. Stand still and survey the ground in front of you: are the hazards properly aligned so that you can navigate them – or are you going to get into trouble? If you wait for the optimal timing and don’t panic, you’ll clear the obstacles with ease.
The d-pad can be your friend
While the controls in Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy have been optimised for the PS4’s analogue stick, keep in mind that the originals were largely designed with the d-pad first and foremost. For this reason, some segments – like the 2D side-scrolling stages or bonus stages – can be more effectively controlled with the d-pad. Fortunately, you don’t have to pick which method of control you prefer, so try hopping between the two at will and find which works best for you in any given scenario.
Try to remain patient
You will die in Crash Bandicoot. A lot. The key is remaining patient and not trying to rush; losing concentration and attempting to blitz segments will lead to a swift death. If you can’t beat a particular stage then remember that this is the N. Sane Trilogy: there are two other titles for you to try. Without any meaningful narrative to sink your teeth into, there’s no shame in jumping between the different games and trying your hand at some alternative levels. And when you’re ready to return, you’ll probably find that you beat the portion you were stuck on with ease.
Do you have any other tips to share? Remember to check out our Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy White and Colored Gem guide for more information on collecting those, and our how to beat all Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy bosses guide if you need help with those.
Comments 24
@KratosMD Great tips, thanks for sharing!
This trilogy p*ssed me off really badly today.
I was really interested in trying this trilogy since I never played it growing up, but I'm too worried it'll drive me crazy. Sometimes I can get very frustrated in games if I keep dying and doing parts over and over. 😥
So good to have it back. Currently on level 13! Loving it! Spent a lot of time earlier trying to get through lost city without dying (for the colour gem) nope..
Another useful tip btw..
The bonus levels. They didn't count towards the number of boxes in the original games but they do in these new ones. Probably why we can replay them now.
Nice article and tips. Always enjoy this site.
I would like to offer a humble opinion - I do not think the swear word in the title of the article is necessary. I have always respected this site as a family friendly site, especially the headlines and articles
@OldGamer81 Clearly he was talking about donkeys. I know i don't want my donkey handed to me, he's heavy.
I'm on the 5th level on the 1st game , not to bad for now . Of course I know the later stages will be a pain .
GIT GUD
I
T
G
U
D
Lol forgot how hard this game is
Maybe it's because I've played these games to death, but Crash isn't that hard. Only the first game is really irritating, and even then it's much easier on N.Sane Trilogy. Most of my deaths so far are from adjusting to the control difference from the originals.
Any real difficulty will come from going for 100%.
@WebHead
Don't know which game you were playing but going through Crash 1, I ripped the f'ing disc right out of my PS4 and fired it across the room. I remember playing the first and thinking it was trash compared to Super Mario 64 but until this collection and replaying the first game, I had forgotten how much I disliked it. I've got a bad feel too that the love I have for the second game is going to prove to be more of a nostalgia thing than the game actually being good. I certainly can't believe these games are considered classics and even moreso I can't believe they came from Naughty Dog, a developer that I would today put on the same level as Nintendo and Rockstar.
I know the first game is hard. I always used that password that unlocked everything for you back in the day. Lol
@Gamer83 We all have start somewhere.
If I am honest here, I never owned Crash 1, only played a few levels here and there and didnt really like it. It was after 2 and particularly 3 that I loved these games.
I do remember than in those, if you kept dying a lot in the levels, they would throw Aku Aku to help you as soon as you respawned from the checkpoint.
Back in the day I had all the levels mastered to get my extra lives.
@OldGamer81 @Enuo some donkys are more equal than others i guess? what is life for a donky? donkys are cool..calm down..sorry just being a little facetious..
Still on the fence about Crash,Dunno man,nostalgia is the selling point for me..probably will get it in a bit.
I'm just starting playing the first one, this game is hard, can't wait to finish it and playing the third one, the vehicles section on the third one is my favourite part of the game.
@Gamer83 I had no problem finishing crash 1,2 and 3 when I'm still a child, maybe you're just not good enough
@wiiware
Ah yes, the typical 'git gud' response when you have nothing else to say. It's got nothing to do with not being able to beat the game. I did beat Crash 2 back in the day, which was the only game in the series I really spent a ton of time playing (if you don't count Team Racing which I also played a lot). The problem is the gameplay is deeply flawed, at least in the original, and has not held up well. I love the original Uncharted, it's not a hard game to play it at all but putting nostalgia aside, it's a flawed game, simple as that. I'm at a point in my life where I don't care about being good at games, I play to have fun. Crash 1 is not fun.
@Gamer83 I think crash games is not that hard, challenging yes, but it easier than souls game where you could lose 1 hour of gameplay time because there's no save point nearby.
But still, it's better to play other games if you're not having fun.
@Gamer83 I'm definitely going to take Sammy's tip to jump between the games. Crash 1 is infuriating at different points. I remember really liking 2 and 3, so I'm going to give them a shot. I do not think it's nostalgia that is the issue with perception of Crash games. I think '90s gamers views about what makes a game fun to play may have changed over time due to life experience plus changes in gameplay difficulty and mechanics over time. I was 11 years old when the original was released. I remember having fun despite the frustration. However, I also had a lot more time at that age to spend hours and hours replaying each level. I am very curious to know how gamers who are playing the trilogy for the first time are experiencing it.
Once you get to the bridge levels (road to nowhere etc) get good at jumping into the rope rather than going down the bridge itself. It will save you many many minutes of sweat pain and anger lol.
Why was this article given a vulgar title?
@Bluetrain7
My view on games has changed to a degree, and I'll also admit I have a tendency these days to have less patience with a game I find frustrating than I did back when I was younger because at that point in my life sitting down and trying to figure out how to master every aspect of a game was something I had a lot more time to do. These days, that's not a focus of mine.
@wiiware
And I will play other games while also still playing Crash (I paid $40 so I'm not going to just quit on it). I'm just stating I'm disappointed with the game and feel like I may have wasted some money. I'm not going around slamming people who are praising it so I don't understand why those of us who aren't loving the game aren't allowed to say so without being told 'git gud.'
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