A perfect score hasn't ever been something I've given out lightly, but I have rarely been more certain about a game that has deserved to take maximum points for it's level of challenge.
When you look back through the Crash Bandicoot timeline, it looks like a clear scale in difficulty has occurred throughout. The N'Sane Trilogy, which contained reboots of the first 3 Crash Bandicoot titles originally released on the Playstation 1, all scored 5/10 - A leisurely re-introduction to the series where all 3 titles could be beaten within a sub-25 hour timeframe.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled kicked things up a notch scoring an 8/10 - A challenging racer with difficult to master game mechanics and unforgiving time trial requirements.
Then we finally got Crash Bandicoot 4 : It's About Time, which absolutely blows the ceiling off from a difficulty perspective. It's also the first Crash Bandicoot title developed by Toys for Bob, who clearly wanted you to suffer all the way through this experience - At least from a Trophy hunters point of view. If you're not of the disposition that attaining full completion matters, then you'll probably come out the end of this experience with your sanity (and thumbs) fully in tact, otherwise strap yourselves in.
The gameplay experience of Crash Bandicoot 4 : It's About Time is very different to the previous 3 Crash Bandicoot titles in the series. It is important to remember that, despite the N'Sane Trilogy only preceding this title by a handful of years, these were just effectively a series of remasters from titles that were released over 20 years ago, so whilst they have a few gameplay improvements, they're still mostly carrying the same formula as they did 20 years ago when they first came out.
Levels are much lengthier, complex and varied in comparison, and there are a number of big changes to the game when matched up against the original Crash titles. This time round, you'll take control of a variety of different characters, all with their own specific character traits. Tawna has a grappling hook that you'll need to swing through levels, Dingodile possesses a suction gun that can suck up boxes from a distance, as well as fire them back out as projectiles and Dr. Neo Cortex has a raygun, which can be used to change enemies into different states of matter, such as jelly and metal, to allow you to progress through the level in different ways.
Speaking of which, the game also introduces a variety of different Quantum masks. When donned, these allow you to make changes to the environment and come in 4 flavours. Lani-Loli allows you to pause time, 'Akano allows you to consume Dark Matter, which increases the length, distance and height of the spin ability, Kupuna Wa allows you to slow time and Ika Ika allows you to manipulate gravity. This is the strongest addition to the game, and it's implemented really cleverly throughout the vast number of levels, making them incredibly dynamic. Once you reach the latter stages of the game, you'll notice that you play through levels which contain the use of multiple masks and this is where the challenge becomes much more apparent - but it's still a fun game mechanic that adds layers of the depth to the game.
Something that never seems to change is the plot. Dr Neo Cortex is attempting to take over the universe (again), and it's Crash's job to stop him (again). You'll encounter a familiar cast of antagonists who join Dr. Cortex, and you'll still transverse through dimensions in time as you go through the game - Prehistoric, Futuristic and even pirates, to name a couple of the 10 different dimensions.
Outside the familiar, usual platforming levels, you'll also encounter timelines, flashbacks and boss battle arenas, which adds to the already impressive levels of depth this sequel goes to. Timelines are a handful of levels where you'll play as an alternate character, mentioned above, and flashbacks are somewhat like a mini sub-story, which tells the tale of Crash's attempts to escape as a subject within Cortex's experimentation lab.
Despite being one of the most challenging trophy journeys I've ever been on, it's still an excellent game, and it's a worthy sequel which improves upon the original titles in every way, shape and form.
This trophy list contains 52 trophies, including the Platinum trophy, and will require you to beat practically everything the game has to offer for full completion of this list. There is nothing done by halves here - You are all in on this experience, whether you like it or not, and whilst the majority of the trophies all work up towards beating the game to 106% completion, each of them contains individual challenges that are worth mentioning here.
Firstly, " The Fourth Time" trophy, awarded for Defeating Dr. Neo Cortex, requires you to beat the game, which simply involves progressing through all 38 story levels, as well as each boss battle arena, culminating in defeating Dr. Neo Cortex and saving the universe once more.
This is probably the least challenging element of this list, but it's important to use this opportunity to get familiar with the layout of levels and some of the game mechanics you'll need to heavily rely on, such as map knowledge, effective use of movement, Quantum masks and techniques like the slide spin and triple spin.
There is a noticeable difficulty curve as you progress through the game, and levels begin to get more complex, longer and use multiple different masks that shift the environment constantly. I recall when playing through these levels originally how impossible it seemed to be to have to eventually beat all of them without dying, but that's why the aforementioned is so important - A grasp on all of the above is imperative to success, and this should be the focus of your first run.
The "King of Bling" trophy, awarded for Earning ALL of the Clear Gems, is the next natural step towards the Platinum trophy. Each of the 38 levels contained within the story has a total of 6 Gems to collect. 3 of these are awarded for collecting 40%, 60% and 80% of the Wumpa fruit contained with the level. 2 of these Gems are awarded for finding all boxes and beating the level within 3 lives. The final Gem is awarded for finding the hidden Gem somewhere within the level.
This is an extremely time consuming exercise, and will require you to play through levels multiple times to acquire all 6 Gems attached to each level. Ultimately, you have to beat every level in the game without dying whilst collecting every box, which will automatically fulfil the requirements of 2 of these Gems anyway, however, the kicker here is that you'll need to perform this feat twice, for the games N'Verted mode.
N'Verted mode just applies a mirrored filter to the level, usually just for aesthetic purposes, but you'll also need to earn all 6 Gems for each level within this mode too, which will award you the "gnilB fo gniK" trophy. 38 levels times by 6 is 228 Gems, and when you further times this by 2 to account for N'Verted mode, this means you'll need to collect a whopping 456 Gems in total. This was an incredibly grindy task and whilst I don't have many complaints about this game, this was definitely my least favourite part of it - It's incredibly repetitive and N'Verted mode did not feel like a necessary addition to the game outside of some classic content padding.
The "Perfectionist" trophy, awarded for Earning ALL N'Sanely Perfect Relics, is where this challenge really kicks off.
In order to earn an N'Sanely Perfect Relic, you need to beat a level without dying whilst collecting all boxes in one life. The most important thing to mention here is that you can take your time on this. Failure will often come from making silly mistakes through rushing and the lack of acknowledgement to the key fact that you can take your time with this task.
Some of these levels can take 15-20 minutes to beat under normal circumstances, and the pains experienced with this trophy will involve alot of smaller nuances. Realising you've failed to collect every box at the end of the level, dying through a silly lapse in concentration or missing a well hidden box are all included within this, and it's tough to progress through some of these longer levels just to slip up agonisingly close to the end.
Many would argue just getting through these levels without dying is a great enough challenge, let alone having to collect every box at the same time. There are so many easy ways to die in this game - Having to focus on not dying whilst trying to remember the location of every box is sensory overwhelm and once you reach the latter part of the game and this is happening all over your screen, it's easy to see how lapses in concentration can lead to death and/or missing boxes.
This trophy is another reason why it's important to get to know each level in detail. Forecasting hazards and memorising where all the more difficult to spot/hidden boxes are the best way to be prepared for this challenge. It may be something you also have to learn the hard way at times, but it will make a difference to progress.
Also, when I say there are so many easy ways to die/fail, the game adds elements of non-platforming that can be tough to negotiate sometimes. Chase segments where you have to run towards the camera and cannot see what's ahead of you, grind rails (the game loves a grind rail) and traversing the landscape via riding a Polar Bear or Jet-ski are not only very easy to die from, but also very easy to miss boxes from too, because you cannot turn round and correct any errors. It's a feat that's worthy of being responsible for a couple of difficulty points on it's own, and it's mad to think that it still isn't the peak of the list in terms of challenge.
The "Faster than Sound" trophy, awarded for Earning ALL of the platinum Time Trial Relics, is exactly where that peak lies, and requires the player to beat each of the 38 levels to Platinum standard - The highest pass time in the game. The Time Trial Relics are a staple of the Crash Bandicoot series, but the previous Crash titles only required the player to beat the Time Trials to a Gold standard, and this is the first time this standard has been set to Platinum.
This trophy will require a mastery of everything for you to succeed. Map knowledge? Check. Hazard awareness? Check. Perfect understanding of the triple and slide spin? Check. The requirements for the Platinum relic are tight and require practically zero margin for error.
The rules are exactly the same as they have been for any previous Crash game. You'll need to beat the level from start to finish without dying within an allotted amount of time to earn a Relic, and this challenge is only cut out for the very best. The box layout is exactly the same as it is for any normal level, however, some of the boxes will change to a number between 1 and 3, which indicates the amount of time the clock will be frozen for in seconds should you smash that box, which is key to establishing a quicker pass time.
Mastering the triple and slide spin is also incredibly important, and if you can't do this, you won't achieve these Platinum Relics. Executing a consistent pattern of triple and slide spinning will allow you to always achieve maximum speed, but this isn't an easy rhythm to maintain whilst also trying to avoid environmental hazards and enemies, and you may be often required to react or think quickly to avoid death. It's also made tougher by the fact you have to be consciously aware of smashing timed boxes wherever you can too, and this sometimes means deviating from the best path or exposing yourself to risky moves that can cause cheap death. It's a necessary evil though.
There are, of course, the standard things to consider when it comes to Time Trial trophies too. There's alot of trial and error, alot of practice and hard yards to put in and alot of perseverance required. As far as Time Trial related trophies go, this is one of the most gruelling I've ever had to put myself through, to the point where I actually developed a blister within the crease of my thumb once I'd earned all 38 Platinum Relics. The constant triple slide spinning really did take it's toll, and it is quite easily the most difficult task in this list.
The "OVER-Overachiever" trophy, awarded for Watching the 106% bonus ending, effectively ties up everything mentioned above. For maximum clarity, the requirements checklist includes collecting all 228 normal Gems, collecting all 228 N'Verted Gems, earning all 21 Platinum flashback Relics (which isn't mentioned above), earning all 38 N'Sanely Perfect Relics and earning all 38 Platinum Time Trial Relics.
With all of this accounted for, and the remainder of the list mainly just down to a very quick clean up procedure, it took me a whopping 175 hours according to my save file to beat this game, which is an incredible length of time. I managed to finish the hardest elements of this game within an overall time period which spanned around 4 months, and whilst this wasn't through playing the game religiously every single day, it was consistent enough to ensure that I didn't become rusty and have to re-learn the more complicated elements required to reach it's highest demands - and that's a big complimentary show of respect to the level of difficulty of this game.
I'd actually go as far as to suggest that this is within my Top 3 hardest Platinums in my entire collection. When I look at the select group of games that have fit the billing for a 10/10 on the difficulty scale, and the reasons they're in that group, some of them don't tick as many boxes as Crash Bandicoot 4 does.
It's grindy, it has a high standard of mastery and it demands perfection in everything you do, and if you needed the tie-breaker for any reason of doubt, there isn't another game that has given me actual blisters on my thumbs.
Notable Trophies -
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| The Fourth Time - Defeat Dr. Neo Cortex. King of Bling - Earn ALL of the Clear Gems. Perfectionist - Earn ALL N'Sanely Perfect Relics. Faster Than Sound - Earn ALL of the platinum Time Trial Relics. OVER-Overachiever - Watch the 106% bonus ending. |
