Originally introduced in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, the relic time trials have become a staple of the Crash Bandicoot series. With the N. Sane Trilogy adding the relic challenges to the first two games from the original trilogy, further replay value was added to the remastered games.
With the upcoming Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time confirming that the relics will be returning, many players will be revisiting the N. Sane Trilogy to get some much-needed practice. Each level in the trilogy, excluding bosses, has three different relics on offer. The sapphire relics are the easiest of the three and are essentially there as the games participation trophy, as they don’t add to the player’s overall completion percentage. The platinum relics, however, are a whole other story.
10 The High Road
Along with Road to Nowhere, the bridge levels in the first Crash Bandicoot game are notorious for their difficulty. Consequently, The High Road is one of the hardest platinum relics to achieve in the game. Despite the difficulty, it only comes in at number 10 on the list for two reasons.
Firstly, it is possible to run across the bridge’s ropes. Although it’s easier said than done, it can make the platinum relic trivial if players get the hang of it. Secondly, the level is simple in design. There are no moving platforms, no tough time boxes to reach, and no forks in the road. It’s by no means simple, but getting the platinum relic on The High Road is simply a case of timing Crash’s jumps correctly.
9 Hog Ride
The motorbike riding levels from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped are far from fan-favorites, making Hog Ride’s platinum relic one of the least enjoyable to achieve for many players. The motorbike’s turning is frustratingly slow, especially when boosting. So, the fact that the player has to complete the entire level on a single boost that must last the entirety of the level makes Hog Ride one of the most painful levels to platinum.
8 Hot Coco
Hot Coco is a unique level in the N. Sane Trilogy. Unlike most stages that have a fixed route for the player to travel in, Hot Coco is wide open with no indication of what the fastest route to complete the stage is. This means that players can complete the level with no mistakes, but still not achieve the platinum relic as they didn’t travel in the optimal route. Sure, players can just have a sneaky look on YouTube for a guide, but, for those not wanting to take the easy way out, Hot Coco can be a nightmare.
7 Snow Biz
Some Crash Bandicoot fans criticized the inclusion of relics in the first two Crash games in the N. Sane remasters, as they were not designed to be speedrun, and Snow Biz is one of the biggest proofs of this point.
Despite only being the sixth non-boss level in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Snow Biz is one of the toughest to speedrun, predominantly due to the ice and log traps. The ice physics aren’t too bad when playing the game normally, as players have all the time in the world to weigh up their jumps. But, when moving as fast as possible to achieve the platinum relic, the unpredictable movement of Crash when he hits the ice can test the player’s patience to its limits.
Adding the log traps on top of this, which periodically slam down on the player from above, require the player’s decision making to be on point. Moving too slowly will hurt their chances at achieving the platinum time, but risking running underneath the pillars too soon can result in a squished Bandicoot having to start the level again from the beginning.
6 Slippery Climb
The hardest level in the original Crash Bandicoot game—excluding Stormy Ascent for obvious reasons—is the opposite of The High Road, as it has a plethora of different obstacles in the player’s way. It has everything from hidden enemies that will grab at players’ ankles from a dark prison cell in the background to multiple moving platforms that require players to string perfectly timed jumps together, staircases that will vanish at a moment’s notice if the player is too slow in jumping off of them, and so, so much more.
5 Generator Room
With fast-moving enemies and platforms that suddenly appear from off-screen, achieving the platinum relic in Generator Room requires that the player’s reactions are at their absolute best. With time-consuming moving platforms testing the player’s patience, it’ll have players at the absolute edge of their seats as they try and try again to perfectly maneuver past each and every obstacle.
The player also must deal with a screen showing Cortex laughing his head off at the start of the level, adding insult to injury after they’ve mistimed a jump for the twentieth time.
4 Castle Machinery
The penultimate non-boss level in the first Crash Bandicoot game—unless you count The Great Hall—is unsurprisingly one of the toughest levels to platinum in the trilogy. Along with the level’s vast length, it has some of the toughest jumps in the trilogy that require near frame perfect accuracy when speeding through the stage.
Furthermore, the level features a whole host of timed obstacles that will punish players if they try to shave a few milliseconds off their time by risking passing through them quickly.
3 The Lab
From the penultimate non-boss level in the first game to the final one, the lab is a far easier stage to complete than its predecessor when playing through the game normally.
Despite players having a multitude of moving obstacles in their path, The Lab’s platinum relic requires that they charge through the stage without taking a single pause. This means that the player has to make several frame perfect jumps to bypass electric fences and land on moving platforms that were originally designed for the player to simply twiddle their thumbs and wait for their window of safety. Furthermore, the stage features numerous closed doors that require the player to spin a box to open, giving them little time to prepare themselves for what lies ahead.
2 Sunset Vista
Similarly to Snow Biz, Sunset Vista is an early stage that is not too difficult to beat when playing normally, but it’s a nightmare to speedrun. The stage has several timed obstacles that will either burn Crash to a crisp or push him off the stage if the player jumps the gun trying to rush through them.
Sunset Vista is one of the longest levels in the game, too, with the time required to achieve the sapphire relic being a whopping 5:30.00, while the platinum relic clocks in at 3:41.85.
1 Stormy Ascent
Stormy Ascent was intended to be in the original Crash Bandicoot game but was taken out as it was deemed to be too difficult. That alone should tell you everything you need to know about why Stormy Ascent is the hardest level to platinum in the N. Sane Trilogy.
Similarly to Sunset Vista, the level’s main challenge comes from its length, and that’s best exemplified by the sapphire relics’ huge time limit of 7:00.00! Add to this everything that made Slippery Climb difficult made even tougher, and you’ve got one of the hardest challenges in any platformer that isn’t fan-created.
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