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Stormy Ascent - Unreleased Crash Bandicoot Level Released Today for Free

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  • Stormy Ascent - Unreleased Crash Bandicoot Level Released Today for Free

    The "Stormy Ascent" level in Crash Bandicoot was never before released publicly. That is, it was never released before today. Those who own the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy can download this piece of history for free. You have until August 19 to get this content for free after which there will be a price tag slapped on it.

    Taylor Kurosaki, one of the original Crash Bandicoot developers at Naughty Dog joins N. Sane Trilogy Game Director, Dan Tanguay, to answer a few questions about this unreleased level.
    • How did this level come to be?

    Taylor Kurosaki:
    Early in production of the original Crash Bandicoot game, everyone at Naughty Dog often wore multiple hats. However, by year two we were somewhat specialized and I went from artist to game designer. I ended up designing and laying out ¾ of the levels in the original Crash Bandicoot. And Stormy Ascent was one of mine.

    Dan Tanguay: The team here at Vicarious Visions knew the fans really wanted Stormy Ascent, and so did we! One of the best players on the design team had beat the first game and wanted a new challenge. So, we told him to try the original Stormy Ascent. It took him 60 lives to get through it – needless to say it was much more challenging than he had expected. However, he still fell in love with it and we decided to bring it life.

    • Tell us about making Stormy Ascent
    Taylor:
    I was new to games and game design back then; I didn’t have a great understanding of a difficulty curve. This level was so close to the end of the game and, you guessed it, it ended up being insanely difficult. As in, so difficult that it was hard for me, and I’m the guy who knew exactly how far Crash could jump, how late a player could take-off, and so on.

    Dan: This is the “sister level” to Slippery Climb in the original Crash Bandicoot. It features the same assets but new challenges. It’s also roughly four times longer than any other level in the original game. 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.

    It was challenging to first master the level so that we could accurately remaster it. In particular, the timing of the level was challenging to get right. The hazards and platforms steadily increase in speed as you go along!



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