Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time vs. Wrath of Cortex 

This video was a bit late, I apologize. I hope you enjoy it, and there's much more to come from here to the end of the year!

In the context of its development, that Wrath of Cortex is even a playable, finished game is a miracle. Traveller’s Tales were done pretty dirty.

Falling through space for what felt like forever in WOC is iconic.

Ooo, I like this angle.

I just want a twinsanity remake that includes a the cut levels and content and refines the whole game.

Crunch is my favourite character in the series, not because he's a villain, but because he becomes a hero. He's like the straight man to Crash's silly antics, and fills in the big brother role very well. It's a shame that they devolved him into a Mr T parody, because he's got a lot of potential.

*Dingodile tries to fry a penguin alive* "We get a strong impression of his character" *Reforms and opens a diner*

I really like Crash 4, but I do think that doubling the completion requirements and making you do everything again on Nverted mode is just bs. A better alternative would be to just complete the level on that mode rather than have to do all boxes and what-not

I would say the biggest appeal of Crash is that it's simple enough for beginners to pick up and play, yet also provides a good challenge for advanced players who want 100% completion. Plus, it's just fun and well-designed, with an unforgettable cast of characters, fantastic music, and spectacular level design.

"You can collect every box in a level on your first go in Crash 4 " Oh yeah, absolutely, if you're a psychic, there's no reason to miss the shitload of hidden crates in each level. ( i'm just kidding by the way, i understand what you were trying to point )

I disagree haaaaard on the hidden boxes. These DO feel like artificial difficulty/length enhancers. I was not a fan at all of hidden boxes being out of screen or some nonsense like that.

I like wrath of cortex. It was a big part of my childhood and I still thinks it’s a fun play

Fun fact: Wrath of Cortex is Crash 4 in Japan The 2020 Crash 4 is also Crash 4 in Japan

The “We’re a team” line really offset me too. Like, really, since when? I only played as Crash so it always felt like it was just him putting in the work. But even if you switched between Crash and Coco, it still never felt like we were a team with anyone but Cortex. Dingodile never helped out intentionally, Tawna was always at a distance and her levels were few and far between. Even when you fight the N. Tropys, it starts with the five of them but ultimately is just Crash or Coco fighting them. Coco shouting, “We did it, team!” Just feels off.

The one thing Wrath of Cortex has over It's about time is that it has CRUNCH !!!!!

And seriously, Warped's ending being left open ended just didn't bug me. It felt like a standard cartoon comeuppance that doesn't really NEED continuation. It'd be like if instead Cortex and Tropy floated away as annoyed angels at the end of the game. Of course they'll be back next story good as new.

"Wrath of Cortex didn't do well as we hoped--" Years later. "It's About Time did well but--"

The reason I like Crash is that the characters are fun to watch - hell, I still watch the ads for Crash Bandicoot despite not playing the games before because they're the essence of a 90s game that genuinely (irreverently) grew with its audience. Also, when you have someone who has never played the games wanting an actual cartoon made out of them with the games' artstyle intact? You done good.

Crash 3 regular ending - Wrath of Cortex Crash 3 100% ending - It’s About Time!

Ahhh so that's why the villain is named Crunch

Yeah I needed this video right about now. Perfect distraction

Whether you love or hate it, Wrath of Cortex has one of the best soundtracks.

I hope Wrath of Coretex and Twinsanity are getting remastered

The Wrath of cortex was my first game I ever played as a kid.

The problem with Crash 4 is it basically bought back the main problem that was fixed with the remake of Crash 1 that plagued the original version of said game. You can't die. Like at all. If you want to 100% Crash 4 you have to beat all levels (except the boss levels) without dying once. Doesn't sound bad right? Wrong. Crash 4 is as we know a hard game. It has hard levels. These Perfect Relics as they are called I think would be a major turn off for completionists. And I know what you are thinking. Just don't get them. That's the problem. You NEED the Perfect Relics to view the true ending of the game. That's just stupid. The relics should be for achievements. Nothing more nothing less.

The biggest thing I miss from Wrath of Cortex is Mr. Krabs.

Perfect timing, been waiting for this

Crazy because I literally was searching your channel for a video to watch. Great timing lol

Thank you so much for this, KingK. Crash WOC is definitely flawed but I still feel like it’s an important part of the franchise, so I’m glad someone is actually shedding some light in it. That being said, IAT is still far more enjoyable and I’m glad it solidifies Crash’s comeback. XD

Hey kingK just wanted to say I really dug this video! The fact you even included the script in the description is something very valuable to people who also would like to get into script writing of their own for a game review so it's a nice thing to see that many RU-vidrs don't do. I haven't had the time to checkout crash 4 myself but this conparison to a childhood game I'm sure many of us played on the launch of the ps2 as kids is something a lot of us can remember and see if it holds up today. How long did it take you to make the script, edit and obtain footage of for this video? A lot of time is needed to do this and I feel this gets overlooked a lot when a video is finally released out into the wild. Good work and I look forward to more videos from you!

Hey KingK! You are currently my favorite RU-vidrof all time. Your video essays are always a joy to listen to and I find myself re-listening them every 3 months or so. Thanks and I’m so psyched for the SA2 video!

I don´t get your problem with the Tawna moment, I don´t find it wrong in any way for that to happen. She saw them die once, of course she wouldn´t want that happening again, and of course Coco (being the most centered character out of all) would react like that. I liked that moment and the story as a whole, it gave it a bit more of stakes and let´s say "edgyness" (which when done right, just like here, can be interesting). Of course I like Crash games as a Comedy and I would never change that for nothing, but that bit of drama nearing the "climax" was pretty neat. However, I still love that that wasn´t the end and the end itself was a comidic one overall, because it was hilarious and satisfying.

My only gripe with It's About Time is it effectively axed Crunch, who was my favourite character post Naughty Dog. Also, I knew the reasons why Naughty Dog and Insomniac left Crash and Spyro respectively (they hated working for Universal), but I didn't know why Mark Cerny left Universal, so thanks for that bit of info.

I just realized that “it’s about time” has a double meaning: it’s about time for a new crash, and the game is about time

The Virgin Elementals VS The Chad Quantum Masks

Great video!! Been playing these games for 22 years and will never stop

WoC was my first Crash game. Since played Warped, and I do concede it's a better game, but I still fondly remember WoC's music and environment variety.

Personally I always thought Crash was kind of too basic without variety thrown in, hence why I don't like Crash 1 or 2 particularly much. So Crash 3 and WoC have always been my favorites, as I think the gimmicks were more hit than miss, even if I could've done without the underwater or shooting stages. Crash 4 certainly does a lot of things to keep the platforming interesting, though I gotta be honest. I do kind of miss some gimmicks and I'm kind of burned out from playing it. EDIT: I also wanna add that completionism is definitely a core appeal of Crash. However, despite my efforts, I almost never get all the crates on my first go in Crash 4 because of some devilishly hidden ones, which kind of sours my enjoyment of it a bit.

You know, I feel like the N. Sanely Perfect Relics are just a little too hard for my liking though they're doable so obviously I did them. The one thing I couldn't do, the one thing I've never been able to do in any Crash game, is the platinum relics. I understand how much of a series staple they are at this point but I feel like perfect completion shouldn't be quite that intense

I love how well written and thought out all your content is. I haven't played any of the original crash games, but damn if this video didn't get me thinking.

I love your long ass videos, always good having something to listen to!

Great discussion on those 2 fourth entry games! I'm loving It's About Time. My first run was mostly solid fun with yells of frustration for the final levels (starting with Crate Escape almost breaking me in that Crash section). Going through each level again for what I have the patience for (gems and Flashback tapes) feels mostly satisfying for me. I loved retrieving the final tapes from the final world levels to make sure I mastered them well (I'm still surprised I got all the gems in most of the Cortex Island levels, except Seeing Double). I have an issue with needing Platinum Relics for completion instead of literally any kind of relic like previous games. That and the perfect relics in the Polar related levels are why I'm not aiming for 106%. Great much needed step forward for the franchise!

Good video! Some thoughts of mine: 1) When you talked about the colored gems, you should've shown footage of those gems and paths, it was a bit hard to understand what you were talking about compared to the rest of the video, just a bit of constructive criticism. 2) I think something should've been said about how often they hid crates from the camera or behind parts of the scenary in 4, it happens in a lot of levels and discouraged a lot of people from attempting to 100% the game. 3) Another thing about 4 I didn't like is how they lifted Polar and the jetboard from 2, as well as the theme of time travelling from 3. We are told that we are travelling through dimensions, but most of the worlds could've easily fit into 3, sharing very similar themes like pirates, prehistoric jungle, future city. I wanted to see more out there levels like the alien planet or the city with the music. Feels like there was a lack of creativity/bit of too much nostalgia pandering there. 4) I think the emotive/serious aspects have a place in Crash Bandicoot stories. Part of why I love Twinsanity so much besides its comedy is those aspects. Cortex is humanized in that game through Nina who may or may not be his daughter and the Twins, being his childhood pets and him being kinda sad about losing them, while they only want revenge. I think the reason why that moment fell flat for you is that you barely see Tawna being a team with the Bandicoots, since she mostly goes alone and secretly looks out for them. What her and Fem.Tropy's dimension is like, also should've been developed a bit further I think. I also think N.Brio working with Cortex again, and Cortex allying with Crash should've been a bit of a bigger deal. I get it wasn't a priority, since MoM and Twinsanity already did that really well, but with N.Brio specifically I think it was important since his whole motivation in 2 is getting back at Cortex, and having these rivalries between the villains is something the series has always done. I don't want the series to be grimdark or anything, it should remain mostly comedic, but I want those circumstances and stakes to be serious and believable enough to care about the story they're attempting to tell. Otherwise you end up like the modern Sonic games that are constantly trying so hard to make bad jokes or be self-aware that there are no stakes at all. Anyway, hope you make videos on Twinsanity and the Titans games sometime, would love to see it. Keep up the good work!

Just discovered your channel like a week or two ago and it's great

great video, I just chilled watching it while enjoying a hot drink

6:12 I disagree with that, because do you really wanna try and defeat the same bosses from crash 3 all over again? Crunch was something new and refreshing in my opinion because each elemental mask gave him a different ability with each fight which made it interesting.

I will say it was awesome that the Elemental Masks were voiced by some big name voice actors, I mean they did get Mark Hamill and Jess Harnell.

I will say that while I think Crash Bandicoot The Wrath of Cortex is the weakest Crash Bandicoot game that plays like a Crash Bandicoot game, I did like Crunch. Although I like him because of the games after his introduction.

I always enjoyed Wrath of Cortex music

Awesome video man, been a massive fan of crash for so long and i looooove the platforming on crash 4 haha (even if people i know said it was too hard) also i was happy they include coco as a playable character!

I will come back and watch this in a month because I want to play this on next gen or pc if available and I don't want spoilers, love your videos, can't wait to see this one

Great video as always KingK! Also, the Bug Fables video was fantastic. I ended buying the game because of it and really enjoying it. I’m also anxiously awaiting your Gen 3 Pokémon retrospective (if you’re gonna do one that is). Keep up the great content!

As a kid WOC was the only Crash game I could play because I had a gamecube. So I have a nostalgic soft spot for it. That said, I completely agree with this video.

I know this isnt releated to anything but listening to your voice makes me feel like Im watching binging with babish talk about crash, very satisfying

Hey man. This was a lovely review. I rarely subscribe to gaming channels but this was incredibly done. Keep up the great work!

twoc has a special place in my heart as it was the first video game i ever played, but im hoping i can play its about time if it releases on pc

Interesting take and perspective to both games, i'm also similar player who likes to complete all levels in single run and also favor crash 1 over later games but when to comes collectibles in crash 4 i have to come out and say personally i don't feel the new difficulty meshes well with completion quest I think the first way to take it in is that while at first hearing about crash 1 style collectible brought joy, in practice it probably become the most frustrating thing i have played recently. Firstly is that as you mentioned the levels are already longer then original trilogy and keeps getting longer and harder which again is similar to crash 1 progression, i think the difference is that crash 1 maintained runtime between 4-9 minutes per level while crash 4 cranks that up to 7-16 minutes not countaing occasional death routes, to me it becomes problem with N.Sanely perfect relics where you have to do perfect run without messing up single box, level like *bear repeating* took me over 46 tries just because i kept messing up 1 or 2 boxes and the punishement of my failure is to redo entire thing (12 minutes) everytime feels like overkill (not countaing long load screens), with platforming levels i can at very least have complete control and not be raiding on rails, moments like this what kills my investment in doing completion run, and i haven't mentioned Time trials now implimented explosive crates and requiring platnium relic , complete any level fully rarely brought me joy like classic games but instead made me just glad i got to move on into a new level i will probably grow more fond next time when i go back to replay crash 4 having memorized the levels (so i won't keep going in circles) good vid eitherway

Man i love your voice. Its so relaxing❤️

Crash 4 is an homage to WoC and Twinsanity. By incorporating the ancient masks but in a different way, instead of the evil twins we got two evil N Tropys. But still a push forward of the franchise.

One thing where no crash game will probably top wrath of cortex for me - music. Top notch

for the first time, i'm regretting not having a PS4, just because i want to play this game THAT badly. every video ive seen on it convinces me more and more that it's a game i'm gonna love, and considering i share your love for crash 1's tight focused platforming, i'm more anxious than ever to get my hands on it

“Crunch” should’ve been the name of Fake Crash. 😂

nice vid man well done

Both Tawna and Dingodille are from a different dimenssion, thats why they look different and help the heroes. I find funny that a lot of people didnt got that and think those two are different out of nowhere.

At 12:39, I was listening to this in my car when I was t-boned in the parking lot by some kid who wasn't paying attention. Came back now to finish it. I've listened to it before, but I am listening again as inspiration to continue working on my crash bandicoot content. Thank you for this King K! -Nate

yo I love ur videos, keep it up yayal

One thing WoC has over IAT is that it's MUCH easier to 100%

Crash Wrath of Cortex is the game that introduced me to this series and I will always love it for being a great starting point, however I vastly prefer Crash 2, 3 and 4 for being more polished & fleshed out titles

Man.. the wrath of cortex was genuinely one of the first games I loved and 100% completed because a family member could finish it in a sitting and taught me lil things. I miss the days of passing the controller and it will always hold a spot in thy heart lol

it's a purely semantic point but Wrath of Cortex is called Crash 4 in the Japanese release. It's About Time is also called Crash 4 in Japanese, confusing the 500 hardcore japanese fans I'm sure.

Dingodile is bae. Also I was happy to see Nina in the credits.

I can say that the Ball levels of Crash4 was a stroke of genius. I wish theybwould have bring those back. I loves replaying those.

“but I really don't see how you could make a new Crash game without upping the ante so furiously” How about by following in the footsteps of Twinsanity? Expand on everything the game did well. The semi-open levels that are actually connected, having actual puzzles to solve, increased focus on the story, other playable characters, having collectibles be unrelated to achieving the ‘true’ ending and most importantly having true 3D levels and movement (with some traditional, pseudo 3D segments mixed in) which facilitates many of the other improvements

My theory is that the OG Crash games all the way too Twin-sanity was its own universe, and the remakes is its own universe.

I believe that at one time there was going to be more story to Wrath of Cortex as my copy of the game's strategy guide contains some cutscene storyboards in the back page as a bonus and they show some things that happen no where in the final game and I've never seen it documented anywhere.

GreT video as always

I actually like SOME aspects of WoC. I think Crunch was a GREAT addition. Having to fight HIM each time as a boss, not so much. As for Dingodile being playable- I was actually making a joke about wanting to play a spinoff game starring Dingodile AND Ripper Roo together as a sort of "Pyro teaming up with a demo-man" sort of deal. Dingo's slow and big, Ripper's small and quick, and explosives and fire work together.

I consider myself a Crash's fan but I didn't even knew that Death of Cortex existed o.o.

Crash 4 is great... but the thing I love about the OG trilogy is that I can fire it up at any time and enjoy myself while fully completing them. And I can do that even now that I am full time employee. Crash 4? Great to play while not focusing on collecting stuff in this collectathon, but full completion? That feel like a second job.

I’m still yet to buy crash 4 it’s about time but this video makes me really want to get it now and since psychonauts 2 isn’t coming out this year i might buy it

Good lord, your voice is as smooth as butter.

I feel like the intro offers a fair comparison.

Thought I was subbed, just subbed 😆

With you talk about story and level length I wonder what you’d think of Crash of the Titans

Great video 🥰

Strangely enough, the one thing I hate about the ending of It's About Time is the implication that Crash was the cause of the vortex rejection. I just hate time paradoxes in general so I prefer to believe him breaking that light bulb is just a reflection of the rejection making him a bit more of a klutz. 😁

Thanks for the video as always. Your voice audio was a little low for this one, just letting you know.

Not sure I agree about crash 4's story being cringeworthy. Alt-tawnas character was established summarily, and acted according to her traits. Is it pretty standard? Yeah. But it also lends some tension as one of the N. Brios actually got the drop on coco and crash. Crash and coco acted like siblings that get along, dingodile was a lot of fun, the masks were memorable, and cortex's thruline was actually pretty good. It was about his desire to just give up vs. his lingering desire to win, which considering he lost 3 times in a row(even in 3 he was getting tired) is understandable. i liked when crash hugged him. , i liked when he visibly drooped on being called a bad guy, and honestly he just made the story pretty good. The plot can be barebones, yeah. Theres definitely leaps between scenes. but the character action that IS there is on point, and MILES above anything before.

Unpopular opinion: Crash 4 is Sonic Forces but properly made. Thank you.

Good work

Honestly, I felt like the scene with Tawna going to fight the N. Tropys by herself was kind of a parody of that trope, mostly because of Dingodile's line and how Tawna just gets her ass handed to her later on and they never mention it again

Wrath of Cortex wasn’t that bad, it just had too many ‘vehicle’ gimmicks. I can still go back and play it. Currently playing Crash 4 right now, and I’m loving it

I love hearing your voice

Wrath of Cortex was the very first crash game I ever played after getting my ps2. special place in my heart

I don't know if anyone have thought of this but I think that the gems found in Knight Time and Solar Bowler (not the box gems) in TWOC kind off inspired those hidden gems in Crash 4 It's About Time because of how hidden they where.

I miss Clancy Brown as Cortex

I love IAT and how it has no gimmicky levels which for me somewhat ruined 3 and WoC but it's just too damned hard to 100% without having to switch to a guide every 5 minutes because the box placement is pure bullshit.

I love your videos!!!!!!

I love both games

I still don't get why everyone jumps to the "alternate dimension" card when mentioning the canon of past games. Has nobody heard of midquels? Saying "It's About Time" retcons "Wrath of Cortex" is like saying "Sonic Mania" retcons "Sonic Adventure."