Crash Bandicoot
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Wikipedia-Article "Crash Bandicoot"
- This article is about the character and the video game franchise. For the video game, see Crash Bandicoot (video game).
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Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a popular video game character created by Naughty Dog, who stars in a video game franchise of the same name. Originally a straightforward platformer for the PlayStation, it has since expanded to the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox with various spin-off games in different genres.
With a few exceptions, Crash himself does not talk in his early games for PlayStation; when he does, he is voiced by Brendan O'Brien. However, he was voiced by Rob Paulsen, Steven Blum and Jess Harnell in his later games.
The platformers
The first three Crash games, as well as several subsequent Crash games, were platform games.
Gameplay
In short, the player will be in control of Crash (in some scenarios, however, other characters may be available), and has to maneuver him through several levels. The scenarios differ from each other, depending on what kind of action is requested of Crash.
There are Aku Aku masks sparsely scattered throughout the levels. Collecting an Aku Aku mask while Crash already has one turns the one he has gold. Collecting another mask while Crash has a gold one grants Crash limited-time invincibility, after which the mask reverts to being gold. Getting hit will reduce the mask from gold to normal or from normal to nothing. If Crash gets hit when he does not have a mask, he will meet his end in a sometimes comical animation.
In some of the Crash platformers, not including the original, some levels have a skull platform. Stepping on it brings Crash to a difficult part of the level. To be able to use the platform, Crash must not have died before reaching it. The benefit to stepping on a skull platform is the acquisition of special game items called gems.
Obstacles in Crash's path include animal-like creatures and other badguys; Dr. Neo Cortex's henchmen, dressed in labcoats; various machinery; and physical barriers. To surmount these, Crash can use his jump move and his spin attack. In Crash platformers after the first, he can also do a body slam, slide, duck, crawl, and perform an extra-high jump by sliding or ducking and then jumping. In Crash platformers after the second, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash can also collect a special move after defeating each boss.
Crates
There are crates scattered throughout the levels. Most crates contain some bonus. Some have wumpa fruits in them, and collecting 100 of the game's "Wumpa fruits" gives the player an extra life. Others have Aku Aku masks or Extra Lives.
The player can get one gem per level by breaking all of the crates in one level. Most gems are white, but some are colored. In the original Crash Bandicoot, but in none of its sequels, some gems acquired by breaking all of a level's boxes are colored. The remaining white and colored gems must be collected by finding and touching them. They are invariably positioned in an area that is difficult to reach.
In addition to crates that provide bonuses, there are also TNT crates. If Crash attacks one, he loses a life. If he jumps on one, a short countdown is started, after which the TNT crate explodes. Some TNT crates are useful to clear obstacles. Some crates have on them an arrow pointing upwards. Landing on one will spring Crash into the air, much like a trampoline does.
With the exception of the original, there are Nitro crates in all Crash platformers. If Crash touches one, he loses a life. Attacking a metal, green crate with an exclamation mark on it destroys all of a level's Nitro crates.
Also present in all Crash platformers except for the original are normal crates that are protected by a metal gridlock surrounding their edges normally destroyed by using the body slam move.
Beginning with the third Crash game, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, some crates are shifting crates. They shift among different kinds of crates. The rate at which a shifting crate changes gradually increases, until finally the crate becomes metallic and indestructible.
Characters
Crash Bandicoot
Mascot
The original Crash Bandicoot was one of the earliest 3D platformers and was a major seller. Sony unofficially made Crash the mascot for the PlayStation.
Crash is often compared to Mario, as both of them were mascots of their respective consoles. Both the original Crash Bandicoot and Super Mario 64 were early 3D platformers. After the first three Crash games, much like Mario before him, Crash branched out, starring in a racing game, analogous to Super Mario Kart, and a party game, analogous to Mario Party. All of this contributed to the perception that Crash is Sony's equivalent of Mario. However, with the release of Crash games on other platforms, this is no longer the case.
Crash was also influential in reviving the character archetype of an anthropomorphic animal starring in a platform game. This practice was pioneered by Sonic the Hedgehog a few years earlier and achieved improved popularity during and after the Crash era with characters such as Blinx, Sly Cooper, and Spyro the Dragon. However, it should be noted that animal mascots littered the 16-bit era with such characters as Bubsy the Bobcat, Aero the Acrobat, Awesome Possum, Mr. Nutz, and others. The impact of Crash on future animal mascot games is debatable (especially now that Crash's popularity has, ironically, "crashed" in recent years).
Developers
The first four Crash Bandicoot games were developed by Naughty Dog. Crash Bash was developed by Eurocom, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and Crash Twinsanity were developed by Traveller's Tales, Crash Tag Team Racing was developed by Radical Entertainment, and all of the games were published by Vicarious Visions.
Even though the games were originally published by Sony for the PlayStation, Vivendi Universal owns the copyrights to the games and characters, which is why multiple developers have worked with the property, and why games have been released for Nintendo and Microsoft consoles.
Installments
- Crash Bandicoot (PlayStation - 1996)
- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PlayStation - 1997)
- Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PlayStation - 1998)
- Crash Team Racing (US) / Crash Bandicoot Racing (Japan) (PlayStation - 1999)
- Crash Bash (US) / Crash Bandicoot Carnival (Japan) (PlayStation - 2000)
- Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox - 2001)
- Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (US) / Crash Bandicoot X/S (UK)(Game Boy Advance - 2002)
- Crash Bandicoot: N-Tranced (Game Boy Advance - 2003)
- Crash Nitro Kart (PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, GameBoy Advance, N-Gage, Mobile - 2003)
- Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage / Crash Bandicoot Fusion (UK) (GameBoy Advance, 2004)
- Crash Twinsanity (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Mobile - 2004)
- Crash Tag Team Racing (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS (Canceled) - 2005)
Cameos
- Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PlayStation - 2000) - In the level Haunted Tomb, an Egyptian dog asks Spyro a riddle. Spyro is given three possible answers. One of them is a bandicoot (a reference to Crash).
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PlayStation 2 - 2001) - While Naughty Dog can't include any characters from the Crash series since Vivendi Universal owns the franchise, there are some references to the Crash series. For example, Jak's spin is similar to Crash's spin. In addition, in Samos' hut at the beginning of the game, there is a large "snapper plant", one of the best known enemies from the Crash series.
- Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy / Spyro Fusion (UK) (Game Boy Advance - 2004) - This is basically the same game as Crash Bandicoot Purple, but told from Spyro's perspective, so Crash obviously makes a lot of appearences in the game's story.
Crash in pop culture
In The Simpsons episode "Lisa gets an A", Dash Dingo an obvious spoof of Crash. A tweaked-out soundtrack is used, sounding uncannily similar to the games.
See also
External links
- Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot site
- Vivendi Universal's official Crash Bandicoot site
- Crash Bandicoot Series at MobyGames
| Crash Bandicoot series |
|---|
| Crash Bandicoot | Crash Bandicoot 2 | Crash Bandicoot: Warped | Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex | Crash Twinsanity |
| Handheld titles |
| Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure | Crash Bandicoot: N-Tranced | Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage |
| Racing titles |
| Crash Team Racing | Crash Nitro Kart | Crash Tag Team Racing |
| Spinoffs and related titles |
| Crash Bash |