‘Gex Trilogy’ Heads To Everything Except Nintendo Switch 2

Feel that ‘90s breeze blowing in? It sure smells like Book It! personal pan pizza to me, but it’s also carrying Gex Trilogy, a remastered collection of all three Gex platformers from Limited Run Games. The revamped compilation features the original 2D Gex, plus both 3D sequels in Gex: Enter the Gecko and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko.

The new release is hitting all major consoles except Nintendo’s imminent Switch 2, so for those wondering, that’s legacy Switch, PS5, Xbox and PC. LRG is asking $39.99 for the digital collection, which I think it pretty fair, given that the Croc: Legend of the Gobbos remaster goes for $29.99, and it doesn’t include Croc 2, but Gex Trilogy gives you all three major releases in one convenient package. However, I’d wager much more work went into re-releasing Croc, at least from what I can currently see.

As per usual, Limited Run Games is selling physical editions of Gex Trilogy, like the Classic ($75), which arrives in a retro PS1-esque box with a steel book, poster and soundtrack sampler. The Tail Time edition ($200) is the big one here, featuring box art by none other than acclaimed Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano (I guess it pays that the Gex IP is owned by Square Enix), a full soundtrack, a steel book with art by Marcos Lopez, a poster with art by Alex TJ Campbell, an inflatable Gex doll, a debonair Gex statue, a pin and some trading cards.

I truly have mixed feelings about anything ‘collectible’ these days, because I think the human race has more than enough stuff for a thousand generations—as well as a thousand landfills—but I am really looking forward to playing the Gex Trilogy and reliving some solid gaming memories.

I’ve actually never played the oringial Gex, so that will be cool, but I did live inside the worlds of Gex: Enter the Gecko and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko on the PlayStation for quite some time. They were commendable if somewhat average 3D platformers on a console that, in a lot of ways, couldn’t compare to the N64 in such an arena. And I bought a copy of Jersey Devil, man. We were starving.

Speaking of, I’m not sure what kind of ports these are specifically, as in PlayStation or N64, because both consoles had their own versions of the later two games. From early footage, it looks like LRG is porting from the PS1 versions, if I had to guess. A recent trailer touts new features, such as widescreen support and analog controls, and while those are great, the announcement of analog controls feels a bit… strange? The 3D Gex titles always had such options, even on the PS1. Maybe they’ve been improved? Hopefully.

Otherwise, it seems we’re basically getting the old Gex games wrapped in LRG’s Carbon Engine, kind of like their release of Tomba! Nothing too incredibly special, unfortunately, and I haven’t seen any Crocumentary-style museum extras announced just yet. Maybe they’re in there, though. Additionally, it also looks like it’s exclusively the Dana Gould voice-acting in the remasters, which is what I grew up with, but I’ve read how some UK fans aren’t too happy about this, because the actors were different overseas. A toggle would have been nice, though I’m sure it’s a rights issue.

Granted, even with all it’s sure to be outdated pop culture references, I’m still excited to dive back into the Gex universe, mostly because the barebones games remain pretty special to me, even if they were never top-tier experiences. I only wish these titles had gotten a more overhauled and loving treatment, because I think they would have truly shined with a noticeable graphical update. It appears perhaps more effort went into the physical collector’s editions than the actual remasters, but I’ll reserve official judgement for June 16.