The original lead programmer of Crash Bandicoot, Andrew Gavin, has recently revisited the topic of the game’s remastered compilation, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, offering some critiques over eight years after its release. While he commended Vicarious Visions for their work, he expressed disappointment with the jumping mechanics, stating they “completely botched” this crucial aspect of gameplay.
Released exclusively for PlayStation 4 in the summer of 2017, the N. Sane Trilogy was subsequently ported to Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC a year later. This remaster features the first three games of the franchise that Naughty Dog originally developed between 1996 and 1998.
The trilogy received a positive reaction from both the public and critics, largely thanks to its updated visuals, which many praised as revitalizing the beloved series. Gavin shared his thoughts on LinkedIn, where he acknowledged the game’s graphics, emphasizing they “looked great” and remained faithful to the originals.
However, he was particularly critical of the jumping mechanics. Unlike the original games, where jump heights varied based on how long players held the button, the remastered version set all of Crash’s jumps to maximum height.
Gavin described this change as resulting in jumps that appeared excessively “huge and floaty.” He attributed some of these gameplay issues to technological differences between the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 4.
On the original system, the controller’s binary analog input allowed Gavin to develop a system that measured button press durations, making the gameplay more precise. He suspects that Vicarious Visions may have overlooked this crucial innovation when creating the remaster.
Although Gavin’s comments come years after the trilogy’s release, they arrive during a renewed interest in 1990s platformers. The recent success of titles like Donkey Kong Country Returns HD has reignited nostalgia among fans who are also hoping for new entries in classic franchises.
Meanwhile, plans for a new Crash Bandicoot game appear to have been halted, adding to the industry’s current climate of change and uncertainty.