*DISCLAIMER: This review will not be a blow-by-blow analysis of each "Crash Bandicoot" game, but rather an analysis of the collection itself.* *DISCLAIMER: This review will not be a blow-by-blow analysis of each "Crash Bandicoot" game, but rather an analysis of the collection itself.*

After "Crash: Mind over Mutant" in 2008, the once-iconic "Crash Bandicoot" series had proven to hardcore fans that it had lost its way, and was no longer the wonderful, charming, clever platformer series that it was in the mid-to-late 90s. Noticing that fans were growing tired of the beat 'em up style of the "Titans" series, Radical Entertainment was now tasked with making "Crash Landed," a game that would take Crash back to his roots (and take away the dreaded tattoos!), but due to some huge layoffs to the studio, the project was quietly cancelled, and years passed with no new "Crash Bandicoot" game.

There were several moments of speculation, from the Vicarious Visions Facebook picture with the "Crash Bandicoot" poster, to the PlayStation 4 Launch Easter Egg hinting that Sony had bought back Crash, to Shawn Layden's Crash Bandicoot T-shirt at the PlayStation Experience, and fans desperately clung to whatever information they could in regards to a new "Crash Bandicoot" game. Well, the fandom rejoiced when "Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy" was revealed, showcasing the original trilogy remastered from the ground up and looking incredibly faithful to their early counterparts. And fortunately, when the collection released, it was great!

There is so much love in this "Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy" collection. Each game has been lovingly re-crafted from scratch, and the brand-new graphics are bright, colorful, and all-around gorgeous. Furthermore, Vicarious Visions went to great lengths to make sure each game remained faithful to the original versions, and they succeeded. In fact, for the most part, it feels like the games haven't aged a day, and they all still play pretty wonderfully. And while there aren't any real inherent "fixes" to some of my problems with the first two games (the trial-and-error gameplay and the uninspired bosses), they still play very well and remain extremely enjoyable.

The only real gaping problem with the collection that holds it back for me is the loading times. Each game is absolutely STUFFED with quite a few load screens, to the point where they can get a bit tedious to sit through. I'm glad they kept things faithful, and I understand that having a more powerful system that allows for more detailed maps and bigger disc storage might cause the long load times, but it can get annoying when the remaster has longer load times than the original games (granted, I've heard the load times are faster on the PS4 Pro, but as someone that's had the same PS4 since Day One of the console's launch, I can't exactly test that).

Even so, the "Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy" is a wonderful, extremely faithful creation of some really great PlayStation platformers, and if you love "Crash Bandicoot," you should definitely pick up this collection, even if you already own the originals. I'm sure you'll have a great time with it.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 "Awesome" … Expand