Overview
See also: Common gameplay elements of the Crash Bandicoot series
N. Sane Trilogy is a collection of remasters of the first three games in the Crash Bandicoot series, Crash Bandicoot, Cortex Strikes Back and Warped, which all feature Crash Bandicoot traversing various levels in order to stop Doctor Neo Cortex. Like in the original games, Crash uses spinning and jumping techniques to defeat enemies, smash crates, and collect items such as Wumpa Fruits, extra lives, and protective Aku Aku masks. The trilogy adds new features across all three games, including unified checkpoints, pause menus and save systems, including both manual and automatic saving, time trials, which were first introduced in Warped, and the ability to play most levels in each game as Crash's sister Coco.[1] It also features high-definition 4K resolution and remastered audio and cutscenes, featuring newly recorded dialogue from past voice actors from the franchise.[2]
Development
A comparison between the first level of the original game (above) and the N. Sane Trilogy version (below)
In 2011, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg stated "I don't have anything official to announce, but I can speak as an individual, I love Crash Bandicoot. Those were some of my favorite video games growing up. And I would love to find a way to bring him back, if we could."[3] In 2012, co-creator of the series Andy Gavin said he would like to see a high definition version of the first four games.[4] The same year, co-creator Jason Rubin said he was hopeful that Activision would "bring Crash back to their glory days and that the character is still very dear to fans between 18–49 years".[5] In 2013, a new design of Crash Bandicoot was spotted in a photo from the Vicarious Visions's studio, raising rumors that a new game might be in development,[6] though this was later confirmed to be concept art from a previous cancelled Crash Bandicoot game.[7]
In June 2013, Andy Gavin suggested ways to revitalize the series. "Crash needs a total reboot. There's an opportunity to reset the history, and go back to his creation story and the original conflict with Cortex. In that context, you could reprise classic Crash 1 and 2's settings and villains. It would make sense to use a more modern, free-roaming style. I would concentrate on Looney Tunes-esque animation and really addictive action. That's what we did with the original Crash, and there's no reason it couldn't be done today. Given the current Crash games, people forget that he was once cool. Our Crash had a certain whimsical edge to him. Sure, it was goofy – but it wasn't dumb".[8]
In November 2013, rumors began circulating that Sony Computer Entertainment bought the rights to the franchise from Activision.[9] Speculations fueled after the release of a social media campaign, featuring a road sign of a bandicoot, with an arrow pointing towards the orange diamond logo of Sony Computer Entertainment.[10][11] However, an Activision representative told Game Informer that "[Activision still owns] Crash Bandicoot and we continue to explore ways in which we could bring the beloved series to life".[12]
In July 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House revealed that reviving the Crash Bandicoot series was something that they have been thinking about, saying "It's never off the table", and Naughty Dog also revealed through an IGN interview the possibility that they may revive both series of Crash Bandicoot as well as Jak & Daxter.[13] In January 2015, however, Naughty Dog's Josh Scherr stated in an interview with Game Informer that Naughty Dog does not miss working on either series and has no intention of bringing them back to life.[14] Despite this, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells stated that the company would love to return to Crash Bandicoot, but did not see it as viable at the time.[15]
In December 2015, rumors of a possible Crash Bandicoot return flared up once again when SIE Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden appeared onstage at a PlayStation Experience event wearing a Crash Bandicoot shirt. Layden, however, never mentioned the series at the event.[16] In February 2016, a new Crash game appeared to be on the horizon when NECA Two months later, NECA Toys director of Randy Falk stated in an interview that the company had "a lot of stuff going on with Sony" before mentioning that "I see they're bringing Crash Bandicoot back, so there's some great stuff there."[17] However, an NECA representative later clarified with GameSpot that Falk's comments were misunderstood, and that Falk was only speaking of a hypothetical return of the series after seeing a fan-made Crash art just before being interviewed.[18]
In May 2016, a Crash Bandicoot reference was discovered in Naughty Dog's 2016 video game Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, in which protagonist Nathan Drake is seen playing a level from the original Crash Bandicoot, further adding to the rumor that a return for the series was imminent.[19] Lex Lang also hinted that he had been asked to return to his role as voice actor of Dr. Neo Cortex.[20] However, the rumors and speculations were derailed when Sony VP of Publisher Relations Adam Boyes confirmed on Twitter that Activision still owned the rights to the franchise,[21] and Lang clarified that he was not teasing a Crash Bandicoot revival, and that he had not been asked to return to the series, but would be open to potentially lending his voice to a new Crash game in the future.[22]
At E3 2016, it was announced that Crash Bandicoot would make his return as a playable character in Activision's 2016 video game Skylanders: Imaginators, marking his first appearance in a video game since Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 in 2010. In addition, it was announced that the first three titles would be remastered for the PlayStation 4 for the 20th anniversary of Crash Bandicoot in a partnership between Sony and Activision.[23] The remasters are being developed by Vicarious Visions, the team behind several Skylanders titles and who previously developed Crash Nitro Kart (2003), as well as the Crash Bandicoot Game Boy Advance titles.[24] In July 2016, European PlayStation boss Jim Ryan hinted that the remasters could lead to new original Crash Bandicoot games in the future.[25]
The title's name was revealed as the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy at the PlayStation Experience event on December 3, 2016, which also revealed its 2017 release date. Vicarious Visions coined the term "remaster plus" in describing whether the N. Sane Trilogy is a remaster or a remake. They said that they do not consider it a remake, because they did not "fully remake" the original games, but rather used Naughty Dog's original level geometry to rebuild the gameplay from scratch. As the levels were coming together, they also added their own art, animation, and audio.[2] In February 2017, Activision announced the game would be released on June 30, 2017.[26] A contest, which ended in early April 2017, allowed fans to submit ideas for idle animations to be implemented into the game.[27] In June 2017, it was announced that the game would be released in Japan by Sony Interactive Entertainment on August 3, 2017.[28] On July 20, 2017, a deleted level from the original game, known as "Stormy Ascent," was added to N. Sane Trilogy as downloadable content.[29]