OK, so its time for part 2 of my look at my pick of the top 10 hardest Crash Bandicoot levels and these posts are based on the levels taken from the N-Sane Trilogy that was recently released for the PS4.
So let's carry on with the list and see what torturous levels made it into the top 5....
5. Ruination (Crash 2)
So, at No.5 is this punishing level from Crash 2, "Ruination", which while its tricky to get through only for the crystal its manageable, but to try and get every box, its a nightmare!
Basically in the level, Crash must navigate his way through an old ruins as he runs and jumps through a series of high rise stone structures some of which collapse as well as some rotating platforms, which Crash needs to watch he doesn't fall off. Also along the way, Crash must try and avoid monkeys, cyborg clamidosaurus's and gorillas, who throw wooden logs at you. There are also fire beathing statues that Crash has to carefully time his way past or else he will be burned to a cinder.
And as I said what makes this level so difficult is trying to break all the boxes in order to gain the two clear gems and this involves having to navigate a very tricky bonus round and worst of all a green gem path. The bonus round is the easier of the two but only just as Crash needs to break a series of locked crates (or boxes if you like) as well as break a series of trickily placed bounce crates that will see Crash fall to his death if you mistime your jumps there.
Worst of all however is the green gem path, which sees Crash having to make his way through a dangerous route where he must avoid a series of wooden logs being thrown at him by a big gorilla and its all too easy to mess this one up! The fact that you have to deal with the log throwing gorilla from the right, left side and front on angles makes this all the more frustrating to try and get through and it makes this level a real test.
So "Ruination" is fairly tricky if you are just going for the crystal but if you want both gems then it soon becomes a very trying experience and easily one of the toughest Crash levels that deserves its place in the top 5.
4. Road to nowhere (Crash 1)
OK, so at No.4 is this infuriating level from the first game but its no comfort in knowing there is a level similar to this that is even worse! Yes, "Road to nowhere" sees Crash having to make his way across a very dangerous suspension bridge, which is missing quite a few planks. So, this basically means Crash once again needs to be very careful and time his jumps carefully or he will fall into the abyss.
The level for starters is made difficult simply by the nature of the suspension bridge missing so many planks of wood and this causes Crash to be extra careful that he times his jumps to land on the planks that are left. There are also icy planks and brown coloured planks that give way once Crash has landed on them as well as incomplete planks, which if Crash hits then he will fall to his death.
There are also other obstacles too such as the inclusion turtles, which Crash must use to actually bounce on so he can jump large gaps in the bridge and even more annoying are the hogs that appear in the level that run up and down certain parts of the bridge. However the hogs can be avoided by performing a well timed jump as they run towards Crash, they can end up behind him and they will stay put.
So, this level is another frustrating pain in the you know what and its one that deserves its place on here at No.4.
3. Fumbling in the dark (Crash 1)
At No.3 is this......lovely level....if you want to call it that, which is actually thankfully not one of the main levels of the game and a bonus one, which is unlocked so far into the game but its basically the same level as "Lights out" which featured earlier on, except its way worse.
Yep, this is a level that took me over 60 lives to get through alone and to say its a tough one is an understatement and a half and its just as well it doesn't involve completing in order to gain a coloured gem without dying as it would be next to impossible to do.
Basically the title says it all really, as Crash has to wander around the dark hallways of Cortex castle and his only guiding light are Aku Aku masks, which are spread throughout the level but they only have a limited time for which they stay lit then its lights out and Crash will be in darkness. And if this happens then Crash will surely fall down one of the gaps between platforms to meet his doom once more. Also add into the mix rats, spiders and deadly swinging blades and it all adds up to a deeply frustrating experience that will test any gamer. Oh, and there are also some hidden boxes at the start of the level, so if you forget them then you will have the dubious pleasure of having to play the level all over again just to get them!
So, if you are going to survive "Fumbling in the dark" I strongly suggest you stock up on extra lives as you will sure need to or you will be staring at the annoying "Game Over" screen again and again before you can finally conquer it and move on to recover yourself.
So overall its a nasty beggar of a level and one that more than deserves its place on the list.
2. The High Road (Crash 1)
I think the makers of the first Crash Bandicoot must have been into petty minded sadism in a big way because I can think of no other reason why a level in a game should be SO hard! And "The High Road" is one of these levels.
Yep, this little nasty fecker of a level is infamous among fans of the Crash series and if often tops the toughest levels of any Crash list and its no surprise that I would add it to mine. THIS level took me two days and nights to complete and I kept seeing the "GAME OVER" screen come up time and time again so much it made want to throw the PS4 out the window! (well not quite by nearly!).
Yes, "The High Road" sees Crash being forced to brave another suspension bridge with even less planks to walk on than before and this time Crash has to resort to using a series of turtles to bounce on so he can get to the other side without plummeting to his death. Although one curious thing about this level is if Crash falls to his death by breaking the half planks instead of bouncing on the turtles, the turtles are still suspended in thin air and they don't fall themselves! Weird!
However that's not all because if Crash wants to collect the clear gem, he must also go backwards to claim the hidden boxes in the level that are at the start of the level behind where he starts from. And this is certainly not fun as he will need to tread carefully as the wood planks only appear as he walks over them and there are still gaps to be found, so you need to be extra careful if you are going for all the boxes.
So, yeah this level has alot to answer for when it has claimed many a gamer's sanity and patience as they try and complete this hellathon. However it is said that the easiest way through the level is for Crash to simply jump up on the ropes and walk over the bridge that way although that would be cheating (and I myself would struggle to keep Crash in a straight line!).
Anyway so "The High Road" definitely deserves the runner-up spot here and its infuriating difficulty level is enough to drive anyone nuts, who might dare to try it.
And the number one toughest Crash Bandicoot level of them all is..........
1. Slippery climb (Crash 1)
Yes, at No.1 is this horror of a level from the first Crash Bandicoot game (not surprising eh?!) "Slippery climb" which is often seen near the top or at the top of many a Crash Bandicoot list of tough levels and its pretty easy to see why. This level is a monumental challenge make no mistake about it.
And the level itself sees Crash attempt to make his way into Cortex castle as he traverses outside the castle and must make a series of very tricky jumps onto moving platforms, retractable staircases as well as time careful jumps onto large birds in order to reach another platform. These jumps require very careful timing and not only that but there are also some cubby hole type passages that Crash will need to jump into to get some of the boxes. This will then force Crash to make another very careful jump in order to get back onto the moving platforms that will take him further forward.
Crash will also face some human enemies such as Cortex's lab assistants, who will throw potion beakers at him and prisoners, who try and grab Crash with their hands although they are much easier to deal with and are the easiest thing about this level.
Now it was a close call between this level and "The High Road" however "Slippery climb" pips it to the post for one main reason and that reason is because if you want the red coloured gem, you will need to go through this whole level WITHOUT DYING!! And that as far as I am concerned is literally 100% impossible (or just about!) as it is such a tough test to overcome and it remains the biggest obstacle in the entire game, especially if you want to complete the game 100%.
So, for me "Slippery climb" is the toughest level in the first three Crash Bandicoot games, although I can't speak for the others in the series because I haven't played them but on the basis of the N-Sane trilogy, this level is as tough as it gets, so it takes the top spot.
Right, so that's it for now and I'll be back on here with another post soon.
Till then its Ooga Booga from me!
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