This blog is designed to talk about anything geek and video games from Comic Books, to Movies, to Video Games, and even Professional Wrestling. Basically geek central.
So I may be a little late to the party considering that the return of Crash Bandicoot was announced at E3 this year, but as this blog is appropriately named the Bandicoot Banter, and as an avid Crash Bandicoot lover since the day I was born, I thought I would finally weigh in on my feelings about the Skylanders Game, the Remasters, and the media time that Crash has gotten as of late.
Skylanders Imaginators - Crash Bandicoot Edition
Crash Bandicoot as a playable character in Skylanders Imaginators
In the very beginning, when Crash Bandicoot's revival was nothing more than a fantasy in the land of forgotten and thrown away video game franchises, a common phrase was "never in Skylanders" the video game community had made it very clear that if Crash Bandicoot were to ever return, they didn't want it to be through Skylanders. However, that is exactly what happened, and people were definitely torn. When it was announced that Crash Bandicoot was going to be in the next installment of the Skylanders universe, it was met with mixed reviews, but many people stayed hopeful. The rebirth of Crash Bandicoot is a matter that shouldn't be taken lightly after all, and Activision surely knows that right? I haven't played the game, but I have seen multiple reviews and reactions online stating that the Crash levels in this game are the strongest points in the game and double as a respectable homage to Crash Bandicoot in his former glory, along with the playable Dr. Neo Cortex playing as a sorcerer as he should be. Across the board, Skylanders Imaginators has been seen with mixed reviews due to the sub-par story and the microtransaction prompts, however, they don't feel the same on the PS4 due to the addition of the better Crash levels, the nostalgia of playing as Crash again, and the all around better experience on the Crash side of things. This, in turn, has comforted diehard fans who were skeptical of the rebirth of Crash on this platform, and has proven that in the right hands, Crash Bandicoot can indeed make a successful comeback and become a mascot for the new generation of gaming, and be adored to the same degree as he once was.
Skylanders Academy - Netflix Original Series
Crash Bandicoot in Episode 10 of Skylanders Academy
Ok so this one is actually one of my guilty pleasures. I stumbled across this series on day while trying to find something on Netflix to watch and I watched a few episodes. I was pretty invested in the show, until Crash showed up. Yes. It was that bad. So let's start from the beginning. The episode in which Crash first appears is Episode 9 of Season 1: The Skylands are Falling! in which he appears at the very end. His appearance makes little to no sense, as he literally popped out of nowhere on top of a mound of sheep. He then begins to talk in a very broken and crummy Australian accent and attempts to coherently explain the plot of his first video game. Throughout his next appearance in Season 1, Episode 10: Crash Landing, he goes through the Skylands attempting to find a way home and along the way he begins to become Spyro's idol. Spyro keeps referring to Crash as 'so cool' and 'awesome' after seeing Crash's various antics, moves, and superhero comparisons. Crash ends up saving Spyro from a kidnapping, and solidifies himself as a 'hero' of the Skylands. This entire plotline, as well as the characterization of Crash in this show as a whole, is completely ludicrous. It throws the entire 20 year history of Crash Bandicoot out the window and inserts a fictional 'Crash' (I guess you could call him 'Fake Crash' in this scenario.) This 'Fake Crash' is nowhere near the character we have come to love over the last 20 years; he isn't goofy, he isn't relatable, and he certainly isn't mute. Honestly I can't stand this rendition of Crash and it just seems as a way to market the remasters (as the events of these episodes are happening at the same time as Crash 1) and nothing more. Thankfully though, these appearances are not canon in the Crash Bandicoot Universe.
Crash Bandicoot Remasters: The N. Sane Trilogy
As soon as these remasters were announced, I was excited. This is the thing that I have been waiting for for years and years. However, having the trailer dropped just a few days ago, I'm more than a little skeptical and nervous. At the very beginning of the announcement, I felt as if Crash was safe due to the fact that it was just a remaster. I kept reassuring myself that no developer, no matter how much they tried, could screw up a remaster of a 90s video game. However, the trailer that was dropped is a little concerning. For starters, the animations and sprites in the trailer look strikingly similar to Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex's. This is worrying because the animations, gameplay mechanics, and spacial issues of Wrath of Cortex were some of the biggest aspects of the game's downfall. If these new remasters were to follow in Wrath of Cortex's footsteps, it would ultimately be the end of Crash simply because it wouldn't be able to be picked up properly by fans and, as a result, would show video game developers that there wasn't as much interest in Crash as they originally thought. However, it is worth noting that after watching an immense amount of footage that has been released of these new remasters, it does seem to be a little better than anticipated. It doesn't look like the gameplay mechanics and flow aren't too floaty and it looks like they are extremely similar to the original games. However, another concerning as well as reassuring aspect is the new voices for the characters. The voices for N. Brio and Cortex are simply spot on, and the intro cinematic is simply amazing, however, the voice for Crash (or as much as I can tell) is a little weird. It may be because I am so used to the old voice and his signature 'whoah' but this voice just seems a little off. I can't really blame the developers strictly because they could not take any of the code from the PS1 due to all of the differentiating systems over time. So far, everything voice-wise seems promising. The visuals though, oh my god the visuals. Absolutely beautiful. The intro cinematic is gorgeous and the game has amped up everything from the original games and made them blossom into something completely different and beautiful. All in all, I am still definitely looking forward to this remaster, but I am still very nervous strictly because Crash is so near and dear to my heart.
What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments!
So one of my favorite game franchises of all time was the Ratchet & Clank Series. As a kid, I started with 'Going Commando' and worked my way through the series in a really weird order, but even so I loved every second of their adventures throughout the galaxy. These games were one of my first open world video game experiences, and I wanted to delve a little bit into the unknown facts behind Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet and Clank wasn't Insomniac's first PS2 idea After the Insomniac Games team left Spyro the Dragon behind, they were looking to develop a new IP for the Playstation 2. However, Ratchet and Clank wasn't their first idea for the PS2. A project called "I:5/Girl with a Stick" was their first idea, an action/adventure RPG that took inspiration from both The Legend of Zelda and Tomb Raider. This idea was eventually canned due to lack of entertainment value stemming from the game. This prompted the team to come up with a new idea in ju
So this is an idea that I thought would be fun to toy around with, and I hope you guys like it too. It's basically a who would win in a fight battle between two icons/heroes/fictional characters etc. Because this is such a lengthy process of research, determining outcomes, and simulation, this is probably something that will happen only once in a blue moon, but I hope you guys like this sort of thing. This is meant for you guys to enjoy, so I am very open to suggestions as to who you would like to see in a fight. The first battle on the list is Crash Bandicoot (yes another one I'm sorry, after this article I'll take a break from good old Crash) VS Spyro the Dragon. To truly analyze this fight, we have to go through the pros and cons of each character as well as any special abilities they may have and how the battle will go down. So without further ado, let's get into it. Crash Bandicoot Background Crash Bandicoot Crash is a failed experiment of Dr. Neo
To start off this weekly Superhero Spotlight, I'd like to dive into my favorite DC hero, The Green Lantern. Most of my superhero stuff on this blog have been about Marvel guys, strictly because I am a Marvel guy through a through, but there are a lot of DC heroes that need some love too, such as old Green man himself! Background The Green Lantern The Green Lantern has been portrayed by an astounding 7 characters; Alan Scott in the Golden Age, Hal Jordan in the Silver Age, Guy Gardner and John Stewart in the Bronze Age, Kyle Rayner in the Modern Age, and Simon Baz & Jessica Cruz in the New 52. It would take far too long to explain each one's origin, so let me just explain every Green Lantern's similarity: The Green Power Ring. The Green Lantern Power Rings belong to the Green Lantern Corps, which is a group of Green Lanterns dedicated to defending the universe against evil. Using their Green Lantern Power Rings which are powered by their willpower, they are
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