You can die at bonus stages.
Anyway game be way easier than on PS1 (i personally compare to PAL, but that differences in remake are obvious anyway).

And you can die before first checkpoint. Same as on PS1, same as for Death Route's (in Crash2\Crash3)

Originally posted by Whatever.:

is idiotic game design

It is not idiotic - it is an entirely optional challange and i think - it's fine. There are many games where i did nto manage to get everything i wanted and that is part of the fun.

As a kid it was really hard just to finish the game and it took us a couple of YEARS to get the gems for the second finish. The remaster already has gotten a lot easiert to finish normally.

Crash 1 was their first project so level design was a bit less refined as it is in 2 and 3. I believe the developers are even on record talking about the difficulty and design of 1 and how they were just kind of doing things without a deeper creation knowledge that was realized by 2.

I personally really love the first game and its eccentricities. Some later levels are easier than levels on the first island so don't worry, you'll find your groove and hopefully learn to love it as well.

Originally posted by Whatever.:

I'm someone who's played through Crash 2/3 more times then I can count(even back on PS1), but ironically hardly touched Crash 1 to the point that I may as well be playing it blind-
Lost City is pissing me off more then it should. 80+ boxes in gimmicky locations/etc that may as well be purely RNG dependent, and requiring you not to die in the process, is idiotic game design. And don't even get me started on the fact there's an N.Bio stage here.

Clearly I need to get gud because I know full well there's harder stages beyond this, but stage design like this is probably why in later installments they move the death routes/etc closer while still retaining the same perfection "requirements".

If by """"dark souls of platforming xddd"""" you mean it is hard . . .
look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS2s8-QD3FI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8kWe_lkVuA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLyqvwU0bR4

Just play it with the basics and paying attention, it is not "idiotic game design" much less something you can not predict or memorize.
Also things are not RNG as you say, just happen stuff also work with a timer and depending on when you start moving, how well you do the level and how fast, you may find the same exact patterns always.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbaMQHgjEzY

<...>depending on<...>
...and FPS. 30 FPS lock for Time Trial. And 30/60 for rest of the game. Stable 30 or 60. No less and no more.
(no RNG)

Stuck on Slippery Climb- My brain cant process this stage.

Originally posted by Whatever.:

Stuck on Slippery Climb- My brain cant process this stage.

Good luck on Stormy Ascent if Slippery Climb is being that hard ...
Lucky for you SA is optional, but SC dont.

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

Originally posted by Whatever.:

Stuck on Slippery Climb- My brain cant process this stage.

Good luck on Stormy Ascent if Slippery Climb is being that hard ...
Lucky for you SA is optional, but SC dont.

Yea, something about the platforms and everything having erratic movements while they vaguely line up for proper jumps, all while "ha ha you cant die xdd" is breathing down my neck, is stressing me more then it should. I'm probably far too used to Crash 2/3's more formulaic level designs, and am expecting it from this game as well, despite the fact I'm still basically playing it blind, and I'm too stubborn to just finish the stage without the gem and come back to it later.

Originally posted by Whatever.:

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

Good luck on Stormy Ascent if Slippery Climb is being that hard ...
Lucky for you SA is optional, but SC dont.

Yea, something about the platforms and everything having erratic movements while they vaguely line up for proper jumps, all while "ha ha you cant die xdd" is breathing down my neck, is stressing me more then it should. I'm probably far too used to Crash 2/3's more formulaic level designs, and am expecting it from this game as well, despite the fact I'm still basically playing it blind, and I'm too stubborn to just finish the stage without the gem and come back to it later.

It can all be tied to "move forward and jump" with very small moments of waiting here and there, once you understand the level you will see it is not so erratic.

If you are talking about getting all crates with no deaths, just take your time, dont rush as it is not a time for a relic.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2578575674
The Lab is a stage that is filling me with far more rage and anger then any of these previous stages ever have. You hit the exclamation boxes to supposedly have the floors appear, but they still give out upon you setting foot on them, or at least what it feels like. The lab assistants can die in a fire. Respawning slime blobs aren't fair/just exist to mess up your timing. The bonus has a """hidden box""" that's brain-dead easy to miss/mess up. The walls are extremely vague if you can jump to them or not and half the time don't even seem like you are intended to do so. And to top it off, it's a colored gem stage. I swear to god, this game is not meant for people like me.

Originally posted by Whatever.:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2578575674
The Lab is a stage that is filling me with far more rage and anger then any of these previous stages ever have. You hit the exclamation boxes to supposedly have the floors appear, but they still give out upon you setting foot on them, or at least what it feels like. The lab assistants can die in a fire. Respawning slime blobs aren't fair/just exist to mess up your timing. The bonus has a """hidden box""" that's brain-dead easy to miss/mess up. The walls are extremely vague if you can jump to them or not and half the time don't even seem like you are intended to do so. And to top it off, it's a colored gem stage. I swear to god, this game is not meant for people like me.

I am far from the best, really really far, but in some 30min got the platinum there.

It is part of it, 30min to 1h isnt even much time tho.

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

I am far from the best, really really far, but in some 30min got the platinum there.

Slightly off topic, but I firmly believe that the reason why there's cheated times on the leaderboards is from people who just want the 102%/etc achievements/etc and to move on, and really aren't interested at all at the competitive aspect of doing them in the first place- contrary to the whole point behind them.

Originally posted by Whatever.:

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

I am far from the best, really really far, but in some 30min got the platinum there.

Slightly off topic, but I firmly believe that the reason why there's cheated times on the leaderboards is from people who just want the 102%/etc achievements/etc and to move on, and really aren't interested at all at the competitive aspect of doing them in the first place- contrary to the whole point behind them.

I also believe so . . . even tho considering at least 1 of these cheaters is able to do properly as that player have a youtube channel under the same name, it would probably just take 1 or 2 tries to get the platinum at all stages as his times are way faster than the platinum requirements . . .

Still, yes, people that seek an achievement or just to show off on top of a leaderboard, even if that is a wall of shame with more than obvious cheaters.

For racing games like Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed there is only 1 time trial achievement for 1 track with 1 character, still you find cheated times (like, a hell of cheated times) on all tracks with any characters . . . people just dont want to be off from "the best times" and I really dont understand the meaning behind this.
You may be fast by abusing of glitches and crossing walls, going over stuff, etc, I believe it is all possible with glitches, still no glitch would grant a 1s lap time, 0.001s lap time . . . the time trial barely start and that player already set a time faster than the press of a button, lol.

That is why I say, "just play it for your own goals and enjoyment" and forget these leaderboards, or if one day you decide to, check the speedruns or videos with the gameplays of the time trials.

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2578889134
There. 100%.
Not doing Stormy Ascent any time soon, knowing full well what that stage is like.

Originally posted by Whatever.:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2578889134
There. 100%.
Not doing Stormy Ascent any time soon, knowing full well what that stage is like.

Give it at least some tries :)