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Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time |OT| Let's do the Time Warp again

disgraciau

disgraciau

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,901
Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain
I'm surprised. When I thought I was finishing the story it just keeps going on.

It's a 9/10 for me right now. I wish the crate hit detection wasn't so strict and I have some problems with specific camera angles which makes you difficult to know exactly where to land even with the Enhanced Shadow.

Despite that, it's my favourite Crash Bandicoot for the moment.
 
Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,980
I don't even care for going for platinum or perfect relics or whatever else, but breaking crates is Crash for me. Going for all gems in the trilogy is fun for me because I just like the execution of breaking every crate.

This nook and cranny thorough searching for boxes in really long levels just to not be rewarded for the time I spent breaking all the rest of the abundance of boxes because I missed one or two placed off screen is the complete opposite of satisfying to me. It's like every level is Cold Hard Crash, which isn't even hard to me but damn if it isn't long on top of that one deviously placed box that I always forget about on replays.

I dunno, I just think an aspect I genuinely love about the series has been completely compromised and it's definitely leaving me a little sour on the whole thing. I'm just gonna beat the game and leave it at that, but it sucks I don't even want to do more than that.
 
F-Pina

F-Pina

Nerd Monkeys
Verified
Nov 3, 2017
233
Lisbon
I searched but it seems there are not retail boxes for this game?
Or is there some exclusive deal on some shops or something?
 
Gartooth

Gartooth

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,440
I find myself completely agreeing with the comments about the All Crates gems being annoying. Honestly I think the game would be improved if they had just cut it and built the entire system around getting the 3 gems from the wumpa gauge so you wouldn't have to do a pixel count for boxes.

Also I think the levels being so long hurts it too in a sense. Many of them have so many checkpoint crates I wonder why they didn't bother splitting the levels into two.

I got 100% on each game in the N. Sane Trilogy but really can't see myself doing it here. At most I will go for all costumes since at least N. Verted mode means you only need half.
 
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Gartooth

Gartooth

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,440
For some positives, I so far love playing as all 3 new characters and also think the mask powerups are a ton of fun so far. Controls took a bit to get adjusted too but it feels 95% good outside some particular scenarios. The landing shadow is an incredible need. Art direction is beautiful, lots of easter eggs and great callbacks, N. Verted mode is great.

I feel like this game took some inspiration from modern platformers too, in particular Tropical Freeze. It succeeds in some areas, but in others I just wish they could've cut down on some of the kaizo shit.
 
blanton

blanton

alt account
Banned
Jul 28, 2020
1,576
Is performance better for anyone else in N. Verted mode on base PS4 or is it just me?
 
MisterGrey3000

MisterGrey3000

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,823
GOOD LORD! Getting the colored gem in Tranquility Falls was no joke...that one part where you gotta use 'Akano to jump towards and over a huge stack of crates without spinning them was waaay tougher than it looked.
 
TheBored23

TheBored23

Member
Aug 10, 2018
961
So, this is my first time playing a Crash game, and mostly I'm enjoying it so far. There are some clever ideas in the level design, and the settings are fairly unique for the platformer genre, at least from what I've encountered. I feel compelled to smash all the boxes, but also I recognize that inevitably I'll miss a good chunk of them and that work will have been tedium for little reward.

One thing though is that the game seems a bit...unfocused in terms of its ideas. You have your base levels, n.verted levels (do these change anything beyond the art style?) the levels where you play as Tawny, flashback tapes... Hey, it's a $60 game, I'm glad there's a lot of content, but I think the net effect is a bit distracting, rather than feeling like a cohesive whole.
 
Zonic

Zonic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,439
Just occurred to me there's no death route paths. Guess they replaced them with the video tapes. I'm alright with this change. They also got rid of the backtracking from what I can tell, another thing I'm glad they got rid of.
 
OP
OP
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,577
So, finally sitting down to write my overall impressions on the game (finished it, no 100% though):

  • I don't want to say it's my favorite Crash Bandicoot game because we're a day away from the release but it's my favorite Crash Bandicoot game. It feels like an entire goddamn trilogy crammed into a single game, lmao.
  • Gameplay-wise it's fantastic. They fully nailed the momentum of Crash making all the tough platforming feel really, really precise (goodbye pill hitbox too, thank god); plus having all the skills unlocked from the beginning means they designed the whole game around them vs something like Warped. It's gonna lead to some crazy speedruns, that's for sure.
  • All of the masks are a fantastic way to spice up gameplay, as pretty much every stage has differently-designed challenges that make full use of their abilities. Towards the end there's a stretch where they make you constantly switch between them and it feels so good to nail that section.
  • Story-wise, it's pretty much what I wanted from a Crash sequel. Loved them cramming constant references and nods in the cutscenes, and the game can actually be pretty funny at times.
  • I prefer the Crash 3 style Warp Room system to the map on this one. When you want to play two stages from different islands it takes a bit to actually reach it in the map due to the animations and stuff, if you could at least swap islands with the shoulder buttons it'd be better.
  • While this makes sense narratively and I get why they did it this way, I also prefer the old way of having the levels of the same theme mixed with others. Generally it's not an issue because even within the same theme the levels are pretty different, but the Asia levels in particularly overstayed their welcome.
  • The other playable characters are a great addition. Cortex is probably the weakest one, but Dingo and Tawna are super fun to play as (especially Dingo, I loved him in this game). Also glad they're mostly optional for the people that just want the Crash gameplay and don't care about them.
  • The bosses in this game are.... meh? Crash has never been a franchise notorious for good bossfights to be fair, and the first and last ones in particular are fun, but that's about it. The chase and vehicle sequences are easily the best of the franchise, though.
  • Mostly positive on the music of this game. It's true that for the first stretch of the game it's unremarkable, but that's... pretty much every Crash game from the trilogy, to be honest. The bangers are still there, although I'll say that Crash 3's and CTR's OST is better.
  • Speaking of Crash 3, I was disappointed to see it not get pretty much any recognition? Crash 1 and 2 got a lot of references and throwbacks, while Crash 3 gets N.Tropy and a Pura balloon in one of the stages, lol. That said, I'm glad there's also a lot of references from the following games in the timeline as some people were worried this game was making them non canon.
  • The skins are great. I'm still unlocking them all but it's a very fun goal to work towards to.
  • I think it's missing a last polish pass. Nothing major, but stuff like the UI or loading screens feel pretty amateur-ish and I also had a glitch where the music for the level stopped midways through a few times. Hopefully that can be fixed, and again, you're on the main menu for like 10 seconds anyways so it's really not a huge issue.
I love this game, it really is pretty much everything I could've asked for in a new Crash game. Hopefully it'll sell well and they'll make more like these, because some of the issues I had with it could be very easily adressed in another game, especially now that Toys for Bob already has the experience of making a full, fat Crash game. If I had to give it a rating it'd probably be 9.5/10 but I'm tremendously biased so :P
 
luca

luca

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,518
Is the story satisfying for somebody like me who grew up with the trilogy and CTR and Bash, but also appreciates the sequels done by other developers? Not only talking about references.

Really want this game but the asking price is very high for me.
 
Zonic

Zonic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,439
Get to the end of Draggin' On after like 20 attempts

Make it to the final ledge with no crates broken, you see the exit

Use dark matter spin to try & jump over enemy

For some reason, something bounces off you & it flys to hit a crate

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
 

Deleted member 70647

User requested account closure
Banned
May 31, 2020
1,100
Pachimari said:
Is the story satisfying for somebody like me who grew up with the trilogy and CTR and Bash, but also appreciates the sequels done by other developers? Not only talking about references.

Really want this game but the asking price is very high for me.
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This is one of the best platformers ive ever played, and I've played a lot of platformers. $60 is absolutely worth it (story is fun so far too!)
 
Belthazar90

Belthazar90

Banned
Jun 3, 2019
4,316
Lant_War said:
So, finally sitting down to write my overall impressions on the game (finished it, no 100% though):

  • I don't want to say it's my favorite Crash Bandicoot game because we're a day away from the release but it's my favorite Crash Bandicoot game. It feels like an entire goddamn trilogy crammed into a single game, lmao.
  • Gameplay-wise it's fantastic. They fully nailed the momentum of Crash making all the tough platforming feel really, really precise (goodbye pill hitbox too, thank god); plus having all the skills unlocked from the beginning means they designed the whole game around them vs something like Warped. It's gonna lead to some crazy speedruns, that's for sure.
  • All of the masks are a fantastic way to spice up gameplay, as pretty much every stage has differently-designed challenges that make full use of their abilities. Towards the end there's a stretch where they make you constantly switch between them and it feels so good to nail that section.
  • Story-wise, it's pretty much what I wanted from a Crash sequel. Loved them cramming constant references and nods in the cutscenes, and the game can actually be pretty funny at times.
  • I prefer the Crash 3 style Warp Room system to the map on this one. When you want to play two stages from different islands it takes a bit to actually reach it in the map due to the animations and stuff, if you could at least swap islands with the shoulder buttons it'd be better.
  • While this makes sense narratively and I get why they did it this way, I also prefer the old way of having the levels of the same theme mixed with others. Generally it's not an issue because even within the same theme the levels are pretty different, but the Asia levels in particularly overstayed their welcome.
  • The other playable characters are a great addition. Cortex is probably the weakest one, but Dingo and Tawna are super fun to play as (especially Dingo, I loved him in this game). Also glad they're mostly optional for the people that just want the Crash gameplay and don't care about them.
  • The bosses in this game are.... meh? Crash has never been a franchise notorious for good bossfights to be fair, and the first and last ones in particular are fun, but that's about it. The chase and vehicle sequences are easily the best of the franchise, though.
  • Mostly positive on the music of this game. It's true that for the first stretch of the game it's unremarkable, but that's... pretty much every Crash game from the trilogy, to be honest. The bangers are still there, although I'll say that Crash 3's and CTR's OST is better.
  • Speaking of Crash 3, I was disappointed to see it not get pretty much any recognition? Crash 1 and 2 got a lot of references and throwbacks, while Crash 3 gets N.Tropy and a Pura balloon in one of the stages, lol. That said, I'm glad there's also a lot of references from the following games in the timeline as some people were worried this game was making them non canon.
  • The skins are great. I'm still unlocking them all but it's a very fun goal to work towards to.
  • I think it's missing a last polish pass. Nothing major, but stuff like the UI or loading screens feel pretty amateur-ish and I also had a glitch where the music for the level stopped midways through a few times. Hopefully that can be fixed, and again, you're on the main menu for like 10 seconds anyways so it's really not a huge issue.
I love this game, it really is pretty much everything I could've asked for in a new Crash game. Hopefully it'll sell well and they'll make more like these, because some of the issues I had with it could be very easily adressed in another game, especially now that Toys for Bob already has the experience of making a full, fat Crash game. If I had to give it a rating it'd probably be 9.5/10 but I'm tremendously biased so :P
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You can warp straight to any stage through the pause menu.
 
MisterGrey3000

MisterGrey3000

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,823
You guys weren't kidding about Off Beat, that level was absolutely fantastic!
It felt like a Rayman level, a Mario level, and a Crash level had a baby.They've been killing it with the level theming in this game.
 
luca

luca

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,518
Wrinkly Kong said:
This is one of the best platformers ive ever played, and I've played a lot of platformers. $60 is absolutely worth it (story is fun so far too!)
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Sure thing, I don't doubt that. I don't have much money to play around with after fixing my PC. I was more looking for an answer to my question, if the story itself also addresses all the sequels. :)

Reading the last 5 pages there's a lot of frustrations expressed for 100%-ing, and me being on a PS4 Lite has me worried.
 
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PaulloDEC

PaulloDEC

Visited by Knack
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,419
Australia
Gartooth said:
I find myself completely agreeing with the comments about the All Crates gems being annoying. Honestly I think the game would be improved if they had just cut it and built the entire system around getting the 3 gems from the wumpa gauge so you wouldn't have to do a pixel count for boxes.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I feel like the messaging regarding the gems could've used a few tweaks. Right now the game puts all six gems on the same footing, when really there's the "easy" gems (the first two wumpa gems and the hidden gem) and the "hard" gems (the third wumpa gems, the 3 lives gem and the crate gem).

If the game made more of an effort to reassure players that not getting the hard gems was okay, I think we'd be seeing less frustration.

Thanathorn said:
The levels in this game are so long. There's no way I'll ever get the platinum relics.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Right? I feel like I ought to grab a stopwatch and compare the new levels with the earlier games, because they feel absolutely massive now. Easily long enough to have been split into two stages each and still have been substantial.
 
MisterGrey3000

MisterGrey3000

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,823
dmr87 said:
Came to post, so good!

Also, the Dark Matter spin is amazing.
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Yeah, 'Akano's ability is really fun.
The way that they're using the mask has been stellar so far. This is exactly how Wrath of Cortex should've used the elementals. Instead of just sticking them in 5 lame boss battles against the same character.
 
blanton

blanton

alt account
Banned
Jul 28, 2020
1,576
MisterGrey3000 said:
You guys weren't kidding about Off Beat, that level was absolutely fantastic!
It felt like a Rayman level, a Mario level, and a Crash level had a baby.They've been killing it with the level theming in this game.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Off Beat is in contention for the best level of the game and maybe even best level of 2020 just for its art direction alone.
 
Thanathorn

Thanathorn

Member
Dec 10, 2019
1,187
I'm just playing through the levels and not forcing myself to break every box. I already know I'm going to replay these levels so I'll get the gems then.
 
Zonic

Zonic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,439
Shocked that a classic outfit is unlocked for only beating a boss & not for doing all the flashback tapes. Either way, aw yeah, using them for both Crash & Coco.
 

Deleted member 70647

User requested account closure
Banned
May 31, 2020
1,100
I might sound crazy, but does anyone else feel like this is one of the best games ever?? Holy shit it's like they put everything I love in a game in one beautiful package
 
hipsterpants

hipsterpants

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,581
The game is pretty generous with checkpoints, it even gives you new ones if you die a lot as I discovered lol. I dunno, it doesn't seem too terribly difficult if you aren't trying too hard to get all the crates, just sometimes you have to die a lot for it to get easier.
 
MisterGrey3000

MisterGrey3000

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,823
The time mask is adorable. I like her accent. Is it some flavor of Polynesian?
Icedragon said:
I will say though, I think the music is pretty forgettable. That's probably my biggest complaint so far
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Agreed.
There are some stand out tracks here and there, and as far as my musically untrained ears are concerned the music feels generally well composed, but it could stand to be a whole lot more video game-y and less animated movie score.
 
J_ToSaveTheDay

J_ToSaveTheDay

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
18,821
USA
I only got the demo last week and finally got around to playing the first few levels this morning when I got off of work (night shift).

Absolutely fantastic game. There's been a ton of lovely nostalgia-driven experiences for me this generation. Sonic Mania, Tony Hawk 1+2, Shadow of the Colossus, RE2/RE3 Remakes, Streets of Rage 4, the Crash and Spyro Trilogies, CTR, and now a proper new Crash Bandicoot game styled in the classic way.

For me at least, all of this stuff holds up well and feels just as viable as any other modern game and I'm overjoyed that all of it is getting these positive comeback stories.

Tonight's my last shift for this work week and I'll be spending my days off diving hard into Crash 4. All of the aforementioned games outside of Crash 4 have had a tendency to temporarily become my obsession, and I'm getting a good sense that Crash 4 is of the same quality of the rest of the wave I've personally been riding.

So damn excited for my weekend... Gonna make this shift go so slow...
 
blanton

blanton

alt account
Banned
Jul 28, 2020
1,576
That moment in Hole in Space...
hqdefault.jpg

They actually did it.
 
Electric Sheep

Electric Sheep

Member
Jan 6, 2019
452
I was actually really disappointed in Off Beat after everyone hyping it up. The presentation was great, but the level itself was pretty pedestrian, and not as cool as the rhythmic levels in Mario or Rayman. I'm not a huge Crash fan, but I do like the original trilogy and Twinsanity. I'm finding the game as a whole kinda....uninspired? Like there's not a lot of innovative or surprising ideas, and a lot of the levels run together in my mind. I have problems with depth perception too, which makes some extra deaths and extra tediousness. The difficulty is all over the place too. The second boss was waaaaaaay easier than the first. I very quickly noped out of getting all the boxes. Some of them blend into the background or are shadowed so that I can't see what kind of box they are. I don't like those levels with the other characters where half the level is something you already played. All that being said....I do like the game a lot. It's pretty, it's a good challenge, and I did make it 19 levels in only a day, so I'm obviously into it. I just hope they are a bit less conservative with the next one (but I'm a weirdo that loves Twinsanity the bestfor its weirdness).
 
OP
OP
Lant_War

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,577
Electric Sheep said:
I was actually really disappointed in Off Beat after everyone hyping it up. The presentation was great, but the level itself was pretty pedestrian, and not as cool as the rhythmic levels in Mario or Rayman.
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I thought the same about Off-Beat. It's very cool aesthetics-wise but I wouldn't call it a standout level.
 
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