File:Crash Bandicoot Prototype, Part 15 Sunset Vista-0

Description
Hardest Crash Bandicoot level ever!

Sunset Vista and Slippery Climb are often considered the hardest levels in Crash Bandicoot, but they are nothing compared to the unused level Stormy Ascent. When I played that level a few years ago, I thought I would never play a harder level, but that changed yesterday. This version of Sunset Vista is without a doubt the hardest Crash Bandicoot level I've ever played.

There are so many differences here, it's like playing a whole different level. The first half isn't that different in design, but the moving blocks and bats are faster, so it's more difficult than it usually is. The second climb adds some difficulty as well with faster and more tricky platforms. Most of the third floor is also unchanged in design, but the moving block patterns are completely different and much harder than they usually are. Oh, and let's add some bats to some of the hardest parts to spice things up a little.

When you reach the top, the shit really starts hitting the fan. Normally, the top floor is rather short and easy, but now it's extended and the game decides to throw some of the hardest shit ever at you. The parts with the moving torches are pure evil, but yet so beautiful and brilliant. It's a shame they were cut from the final version, but if the whole of Stormy Ascent was deemed to hard, this clearly had to go as well. In addition to the major differences, there's the usual box and enemy stuff. Of course, there are far less checkpoints and masks in this version.

In case you haven't already figured it out, this level is hard. However, the difficulty is not all due to the level design. There are some flaws and glitches here. The platform at 2:23 is not as long as it looks, which is why I move closer to the wall before I approach it. It's also not as wide as in the final version, so that jump is very hard to do right. There's a similar problem with the platform at 1:39, but there's no gap beneath it, so it's nothing to worry about. The bats at 3:28 are too fast, so you can just barely make it, but if you do, the next group will simply disappear.

I wanted to master this level before I recorded it, so I divided it into three parts and played these over and over again until I had everything memorized and knew exactly what to do in all the tricky spots. Then I started recording and after somewhere between 10 and 20 attempts, I nailed it. A few of these ended pretty close to the finish, which did not exactly make me happy. To add to the difficulty, I was also very tired when I did this and I was only a few attempts away from calling it a day when I finally completed it.

And that's pretty much all there is to say about my 900th video.