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Vicarious Visions has released a remaster of a level from the original Crash Bandicoot that was once said to be too difficult for people to play. Stormy Ascent was designed by original developer Naughty Dog, but was supposedly ‘too hard’, so instead of being cut entirely, it was hidden on the disc. Despite not being included with the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, however, Vicarious Visions has announced that this level will be a free download until August 19. Then you’ll have to pay.
While the level was included in the original PlayStation 1 Crash Bandicoot game, it was only accessible using a cheat disc like a GameShark. Taylor Kurosaki, one of the original members of the Crash Bandicoot team at Naughty Dog, is now at Vicarious Visions, and he said of the infamous level: ‘It was playable, but just too damn difficult, and we ran out of time to make it easier. It remained on the disc as it was less risky just leaving it rather than trying to remove it. It was basically hidden, but it was there’.
Stormy Ascent is roughly four-times longer than any other level in the original, with game director Dan Tanguary noting that not only was the level too long, but ‘getting through it is a feat of both skill and endurance! Taylor’s right, it’s considered to be not only one of the most difficult levels in the original Crash Bandicoot, but probably in the entire N. Sane Trilogy’.
Now the level has been unearthed given a nice current-gen polish and updated for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. It’ll be available to download for free until August 19, then it’ll cost $2.99 in North America. That’s three Donald dollars. No UK price has been announced yet.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is out now on PS4.
