Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Is A Remaster Made Mostly From Scratch

Usually, a game remaster is defined as the same game we’ve seen but with some slight tweaks to its graphics and audio for release on newer devices whilst a remake is classified as a game being recreated mostly from scratch while still capturing the same feel of the original game (like the Resident Evil remake, which was also later remastered in HD).

But what about a remaster that is mostly built from scratch?

That was the situation for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. The remaster of the first three Crash games developed by Naughty Dog is out now and receiving quite the success. In an interview with Ars Technica, it is told that the team at Vicarious Visions did not have the original source code for the game. Like many game projects of the time these are either gone or not properly archived. Only the three games’ 3D meshes were recovered, which informed the team on how the size of the levels and characters are.

Thankfully, the team managed to pull through. To ensure the remaster is faithful to its source material, the team compared each game prototype with video footage of the Playstation 1 games, and solicited feedback from hardcore Crash fans among the Quality Assurance team as well as from online discussions. A GDC talk by the original developers  of Crash also provided useful information in the recreation of the three games.

Also, the developers even observed the speedrunner community around this game and ensured the same exploits used to beat the games in record time are also available in the remaster.

It’s fascinating to see how much work it is required to bring back the unofficial Sony mascot of the 90’s. Whether you call it a remake but name or a very rigirous remaster, let’s appreciate all the work that went to produce this.

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