Activision Talks Physics Disparities In The Original Crash And N. Sane Trilogy

Crash Bandicoot fans have noticed that the jumping physics have changed between the original Crash Bandicoot and the N. Sane Trilogy remake and Vicarious Visions wrote a blog explaining why.

The blog comes from editorial manager at Activision, Kevin Kelly, who confirms that, yes, Crash falls faster in the remake then he did in the past, but the control disparity is not a mistake or development shortcoming on Vicarious Visions’ part – it was an intentional change. You can find the full blog post here, but below you will find some highlights from the post.

“Many fans have picked up on the fact that Crash’s jump isn’t quite the same as it was, particularly in the first game, Crash Bandicoot.”

“We spent a lot of time studying the three titles and chose the handling from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped as our Trilogy’s starting point; it represented the most improved and modern approach as it gives players the most control. We went through rounds of internal testing, user testing, and iterations to get each game’s handling to just the right place. In the end, we ended up tuning jump differently for each game, so that the jump metrics are the same as the originals. However, there are a few subtle differences in Crash Bandicoot, chief among these being the fact that you fall more quickly upon release of the X button than you did in the original first game.”

“An increased precision is now required in the first game, which makes the gameplay experience different. Particularly if you are a new player, you may want to start with the second and third games first, and then come back to try Crash Bandicoot after you’ve had more practice. For those of you who played the originals and acquired a fair amount of muscle memory, re-learning the handling in our game may present an additional challenge you weren’t expecting. But we’re sure you up to the task.”

For our review of Crash Bandicoot: The N. Sane Trilogy, head here.

[Source: Activision, via Eurogamer]

Our Take
I always appreciate in-depth look at game mechanics like this. Little changes, like the speed at which Crash Bandicoot falls, feel small, but it really does make a big difference in how the game plays.