Its hard to believe that Crash Bandicoot came out 30 years ago for the original. Crash Bandicoot was developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Crash Bandicoot was a big deal when it came out because it felt like Sony’s first major platform game on the original PlayStation console. Crash Bandicoot felt like Sony’s mascot for PlayStation in order to rival the likes of Nintendo’s Super Mario and Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Crash Bandicoot had colorful 3D visuals and gameplay that became increasingly challenging as players progressed throughout the game. The original Crash Bandicoot game had 32 levels and players had the option of collecting 26 gems along with obtaining to keys in order to get the true game ending. The game opened with a pre-rendered CGI cinematic cutscene with Crash escaping from a laboratory. The main antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex along with another in-game boss Doctor Nitrus Bio attempted to use Crash for their diabolical experiment using the Cortex Vortex and the Evolvo-Ray. After escaping the two sinister doctors Crash’s girlfriend Tawna ended up being imprisoned. Even though the original Crash Bandicoot was not heavily story-driven, its opening prologue gave players a general idea of the game’s plot. One of the coolest things about Crash Bandicoot was the variety of its levels. The first stage was very basic and straight-forward while other levels appeared more unique. The Boulders level was influenced by Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones which made for a pretty cool cultural reference. The water design Upstream stage in Crash Bandicoot looked wonderful by ’96 PS1 standards.

The Hog Wild felt different because players had to complete normal levels while riding an actual hog. While Crash Bandicoot primarily featured 3D gameplay there were also 2D side-scrolling levels like Native Forest and the Lost City. The Temple Ruins was arguably the best stage in Crash Bandicoot in terms of level design despite how difficult it was. There were also stages like Heavy Machinery which kind felt outta place in relation to other levels. There were stages like the High Road which felt odd yet alluring because of how misty the level looked. The fog effect used in the High Road stage looked unique because it looked very different from anything one has seen in a platform game. Crash Bandicoot also featured a stage called Lights Out where players could only see certain parts of a level before moving forward. The original Crash Bandicoot game is considered to be legendary because of how raw and experimental most of the in-game levels felt. Crash Bandicoot was one of the most creative platform titles to appear on PS1. Crash Bandicoot felt like a game that served as a blueprint for future 3D platformers post-1996 like Sega’s Sonic Adventure which appeared on Dreamcast in 1998. While Crash Bandicoot sold less than Super Mario 64 which also came out in ’96 it was still a massive commercial success.

After its release Crash Bandicoot managed to sell more than 6.8 million copies worldwide on the original PlayStation. Even though, Super Mario 64 sold more than eleven million on the N64 many feel the game is overrated today. Crash Bandicoot is a game that people remember more fondly because of how raw and innovative it was. Also, while Crash Bandicoot started off campy in the beginning the game felt darker and intense towards the end which made it more memorable. The atmospheric and tone shift players saw in the original Crash Bandicoot was something that added to its overall appeal. Crash Bandicoot felt like Sony’s first official mascot and he felt edger than Mario but not quite as cool as Sonic. Crash Bandicoot is widely seen by many as one of the pioneers of 3D platform gaming during a transitional period in the gaming industry back in the mid-90’s. The original PlayStation console had games like Crash Bandicoot that forced both Nintendo and Sega to step up their game when it came down to producing titles on the N64 and Dreamcast. Crash Bandicoot is also a game that has gained a massive cultural following within the past three decades due to how it helped shape the 3D platform genre of gaming in general.