Ryannumber1gamer

I feel like Twinsanity’s buginess is severely overstated. It’s not an unfinished game because of it being unpolished, what is there is mostly stable in my opinion, it’s an unfinished game due to how rushed it was and how much content was ultimately cut, and even at - Crash Twinsanity’s narrative - which having plot holes - isn’t a total mess or anything. Comparing it to 06 is too far IMO.

In fairness to this (100% ending spoiler): I also have to say it feels weird to me that the dimension hopping was a thing. It feels like they wanted to go all-in on time travelling, only to realise "oh shit, Crash 3 was about that, we need something different" and switched it to dimension hopping. Like, both the title, and the locales of the game scream time travel. Pirates, Ancient Japan, the future, hell - a revisit to Crash 1, but the game's premise isn't about time travel, it's about dimensions being torn open and flung everywhere, and it doesn't justify that. The dimension rifts don't actually go to different dimensions, the closest thing we get is that the snow world references taking place in one of the dimensions mentioned in Twinsanity (the 11th, I believe). I don't mind having all the different time travel locales, but it would've been neat to mix in levels from other games too. Why stop at just referencing Crash 1? Why not have stuff like the rollerball sections from WoC, or hell - even the Crash/Cortex team up levels from Twinsanity? There's even concept art that implies that not only were the mine-cart stages from WoC (one of the best mechanics in that game) was set to come back, but that Crash and Cortex would've done them together ala Twinsanity, and it just got canned:

I think Caddicarus has a point when he says it's a greatest hits, but unfortunately, it also manages to devalue several of those greatest hits. Crash 1's mechanics making a return in 4 isn't fun, or good - it's tedious and makes it more frustrating. Crash 2's secrets have been flanderised to the point that every single level just isn't fun to play if you want to go for full completion. Crash 3's Time Trials aren't handled well whatsoever, between the removal of the Crash Dash, replacing it with a much more dangerous and inferior option, and the ridiculous times required for platinums (when Crash 3 required gold at best). Twinsanity's multiple playable characters are not handled as well. Tawna and Dingodile can be fun on occasion, but their usual long stretches of levels, mixed with forcing you to do another tedious section of a level with Crash and Coco right after kills it. Cortex in short just isn't much fun at all IMO, I really don't like his playstyle in 4. Even Tag Team Racing's costume mechanics is ruined by the gem hunting, and the ridiculous requirements in later parts of the game. It's like it brings back so many aspects that should all be gold when brought together, but they add in these silly caveats that ruin them. The only one I think of that works well is the WoC stuff, and even at that - mask power ups can be fucking infuriating sometimes in some levels.

To be honest, and this is a bit of a hot take - I still prefer Twinsanity over It's About Time. I was getting really tired of the game around the futuristic food world, namely because every single level, I just had an apathetic empty feeling knowing I just didn't have it in me to go for completion. When you're someone like me who plays Crash (and Spyro for that matter) a specific way, and you're essentially just forced to fight against your instincts to complete levels, it just left me feeling disheartened by the end. Twinsanity is just a good blast of fun start to finish, even if it's shorter in comparison. Maybe my thoughts will change if I give Crash 4 a second run in the future, but for now, I haven't even bothered with the N Verted or Timeline levels.

hoo boy

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