Crash Bandicoot 4 has been generally well-received by fans and critics alike. I had my ups and downs with it, but one of my favorite parts of the game was the selection of skins. The skins, which dramatically change the look for Crash and Coco, are a lot of fun to use. But they aren’t a lot of fun to unlock. That’s because of some of the difficult challenges involved with collecting gems. But there is a way around it that you can take advantage of after a while.
Crash Bandicoot Easy Skins Guide
Each skin is tied to a level, and costs six gems to unlock. The first time you encounter each level, there are six gems available to earn. The first three gems are tied to the number of wumpa fruits you collect throughout the level. The next one is associated with your number of deaths, one of them is just a straight-up gem hidden in each level. The toughest one, however, is finding all the crates. There’s no margin of error there, and missing one crate by the end of a level means you need to start over.
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Getting all the crates is a huge task, even for Crash Bandicoot veterans. Whether or not that’s a good thing is still up for debate, but luckily as long as you’re getting through the levels, there’s another way to hit that gem requirement. And knowing about it ahead of time could be a big de-stressor, as the skins are so enticing it’s hard to not want them right away. In order to get this pseudo-shortcut available, you do have to make some progress in the game first.
As you make your way through the first couple worlds, try not to stress out too much about missing stuff or dying. You don’t really need to worry about more than grabbing fruits, which will net you a minimum of three gems per level. Eventually you’ll run into boss encounters in typical platformer fashion. To get to where we want to be, you need to defeat the third boss, N. Brio. Once you get through that, before you head to the next group of levels you’ll unlock N. Verted stages.
N. Verted stages, which you can choose before starting each level, flip each stage around and drastically change the game’s colors and visual effects. It’s a little extra challenge, but more importantly it’s a brand new source of gems. The game even tells you as much! Each N. Verted stage has the same set of six gems, and getting them counts towards your overall total for the level. So if you aren’t a crate master, you don’t need to worry about it at all.
It’s definitely frustrating to try to get the crates, and personally that impacted my experience playing Crash 4. It’s a solid game, but the way collectibles are hidden irks me on a foundational level. But thanks to the N. Verted stages, some of that frustration can be alleviated. You just have to wait a while to get there, but it’s nice that they’re available before the end of the story.
Were you struggling with the gem requirements before you realized there were more opportunities? Or has finding all the crates been a cinch for you? Do you have a favorite skin or stage yet in Crash Bandicoot 4? Let us know over at the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter channels!
