IMO it's one of those "you had to be there" kind of games
the crash games (well the first one, so the blueprint for the franchise) came out before mario 64, in that time period when there was no real standard for how 3D platformers should work, so developers tried different things.
Crash is kind of in this weird place where it's basically a 2D platformer, but then the camera was put behind the playable character and the space was converted into a 3D plane (if that makes sense).
The Crash games aren't perfect (they're rough by today's standards, even in the new collection) but what I loved about them (and still love about them) is how pure they seem. They were loaded with personality, memorable characters, challenges, secrets, and solid level design.
It was an era when 3D gaming was relatively new and so developers were always trying new things, with mixed results, but it kept things fresh. The Crash games are also just simple fun - nothing but your character with a few basic moves, and then you're set off to play against these levels that developers designed to be interesting and challenging. They didn't really care about cinematic storylines, multiplayer, and all the bullshit that is focused on today in games, just a bunch of passionate devs trying to give a player a good gaming experience
does the remake improve some of this though? I also have never played one before and was on n64 growing up ---
