Back in the day, Crash Team Racing was the best kart-racing game out there, not only because the PlayStation was immensely popular and Crash Bandicoot was kind of its mascot, but also because it featured a story mode, something that not even Mario Kart had. If you were one of those that like us, invested dozens of hours racing in Crash Bandicoot's world and shooting missiles at your friends, you'll want to play this remake!

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is not just a remake of Crash Team Racing since it also includes a good chunk of content from its sequel, Crash Nitro Kart. All the assets have been updated, and the game looks even better with more detailed models and an even more colorful palette. However, the essence of the game remains intact, though there are a few improvements like online races and customization. Simply put, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is exactly what it should be: a fun, challenging racing game that has been updated for the modern era.

Just like the N. Sane Trilogy, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled looks beautiful, and it's always nice to see an upgrade to those characters that we grow fond of in the heavily polygonal era of the PSX. In addition to that, all courses look amazing and full of details, so even if you spent your childhood racing in the Sewer Speedway or Papu's Pyramid, just to name a couple of examples, launching a new game in CTR Nitro-Fueled will feel like love at first sight... for the second time. However, all this applies to the docked version of the game, because when playing in handheld mode it all feels rough around the edges, and that's a shame. Sure, this franchise is strongly tied to PlayStation, but the chance of playing on the go and finally having both CTR and Mario Kart clashing on the same platform is something we can't ignore, so we'd have loved to see Nitro-Fueled's best face even in smaller screens.

As in any remake, nostalgia plays a big role. From the get-go, we confess it's weird to hear 'fasten your seatbelts for a Beenox recreation' instead of 'another Naughty Dog creation', but that's pretty much the only "issue" we had with CTR Nitro-Fueled's sound department. From the title theme to the menu sound effects, everything feels just like playing the original game... but better. The lines every character delivers are the same, only reworked and quality-improved, and the same goes to the engines and power-ups. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

In the '90s and early '00s, and more precisely on PlayStation, kart-racing games were the norm. Speed Punks, Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour, Looney Tunes Racing, Chocobo Racing... there were options for all tastes, but only one game was able to overtake the likes of Nintendo's Super Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing: the mighty Crash Team Racing.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled lets you go back to 1999 (CTR's original launch date), collecting Wumpa fruit and beating every other racer just so you can defeat Nitros Oxide, the fastest racer in the entire galaxy, to save the world from its doom. That's the premise of the story mode, a chance to experience all courses, challenges, and boss races without feeling you're doing it just because. In this case, and thanks to these new customization options, you can switch characters and change the looks of your car and racer at any time by unlocking decals, car designs, and alternative skins, something that didn't exist before. However, you can still opt for the classic approach of the story mode, so don't worry!

If instead of going for the campaign you fancy playing with someone else, you can do so with a local group of friends, or just go online and test your skills against the world. In fact, internet access is recommended since you need to be online to earn Wumpa Coins in the story mode, a currency you can use in the Pit Stop, an online store of sorts that lets you buy some characters (brand new to CTR) and customization options that you can't unlock just by finishing the main adventure.

When it comes to battling your friends or chilling in the arcade mode, CTR Nitro-Fueled gives you more options than ever, with more game modes and more tracks than the original game. You can go for single races or cups, you can go for a time trial, you can go for Crystal and CTR challenges, or you can skip the racing aspects in favor of a deathmatch. The choice is yours! To be honest, CTR Nitro-Fueled brings nothing new to the table in terms of gameplay, but everything it does is flawlessly done

We know there are a lot of purists that will keep saying Super Mario Kart is the best kart-racing franchise out there, but we need to tell you this: you're all wrong. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is just as awesome as we dreamed it from the day it was announced. Heck, we've been dreaming of this remake since they announced Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy! Maybe now it became popular again we can start dreaming of a brand new entry...

So this is how our CTR Nitro-Fuel review ends, and that's great so we all can go play some more! Unlike in the original version, now there's always a challenge ahead thanks to Nitro-Fuel's online features, even if you don't have any friends to play with. Hit the gas, avoid all explosives and show the world who's boss!

If you already had a chance to play this game, let us know in the comments what you think about this highly anticipated remake. And as always, keep browsing Honey's Anime for more gaming and anime-related content.