You know when you want to play a game, but you just can't find the time to play it. Well that was my long running excuse on why I haven't played Crash 2 after all these years. But I finally found some time, so here is what I thought of the game.
Crash 2 Cortex Strikes Back is the second game in the series, and the first I played through on PlayStation (well DuckStation but same game). And trying to get started with this game was... difficult for me. For some reason I want to play this game like a Spyro title, trying to get all the collectibles and gems on my first playthrough. But even after multiple runs of the first level I couldn't get all the gems. Nor with the second level. While before this mentality made me want to put the controller down, this time I just decided to say F it, and just get the Crystals and make it past the first warp room.
And what can I say but wow is this a fun, but extremely difficult platformer. Crashes jumps are heavy, platform collision detection is small, and the ice physics are brutal. But I'd never call this game unfair. The game always provides lots of opportunities to get extra lives, and with checkpoint and box placements, it's always just a matter of time before I can complete a stage. I mean I only ever game overed once in my entire playthrough.
No if I had to criticize this game, it's that this is a "Strategy Guide" game. A game which basically demands the player to get the official strategy guide for the game, so you can get that 100% completion. What this means for Crash 2 is that there is no in game hints and tricks to lead the player to get the various hidden gems. Especially the colored ones. Thankfully you can beat the game without one and Gamefaqs exists so it's not difficult to find the secrets on your own.
But I kind of was hoping the Crash was going to be like Spyro. A game which you can play at beat on your own just by playing around and not running into every wall to find one you can clip through. But for what Crash 2 is, it's a very good, beautiful, polished, almost essential PlayStation experience. Out of the 3 games this is the one I'd recommend picking up first. If I am honest though unlike the Reignited Trilogy for Spyro which I feel is hit or miss for the spyro games, I feel the Insane Trillogy is the definitive way to play any of the Crash games.
Completely agree about the Strategy Guide nature of those crash games. Some of the levels you'd have to go all the way to the end, just to run all the way back to the beginning.
In a linear game like crash, often with one way ledges, I wouldn't have even considered going backwards most times.
Nonetheless, Naughty Dog always puts out hits