i don't love those collecatbles, theres a lot of overlap in objective, and too many collectables reduces their value to me
like i honestly think crash 4 would be a better game if 4-5 gems were removed in every level, i don't need 3 gems every level as a consolation prize, the hidden gem is pointless 90% of the time because its right next a crate so it's just a crate gem with less steps and the 3 deaths or less gem? brooooooo i've got the flashback tape, the nsanely perfect relic and goddamn time trials, i've shown you i can beat the level without dying at least twice already, is that not good enough? no? i gotta do n.verted mode too? fuck off
colour gems in every level is super lame too, not only bc a puzzle is much less fun after the first time you solve it, but now i'm restricted in how i can design levels because every level needs to be possible without breaking a crate, or using the slide or whatever
those kind of challenges i am completely fine with leaving to peoples intrinsic motivation, you don't need a shiny badge on your savefile to tell you you beat the game without ever touching a wumpa fruit
if you love a game enough to want to play it again with new modifiers/restrictions, just play it for the love of the game man