Как пишется crash bandicoot

Crash Bandicoot
Genre(s)	Platform Racing Party Hack and slash Endless runner
Developer(s)	Naughty Dog (1996–1999) Traveller’s Tales (2001–2004) Vicarious Visions (2002–2004, 2017) Radical Entertainment (2005–2008) Toys for Bob (2020–present) Other developers: Eurocom Entertainment Software (2000–2001) Cerny Games (2000) Kaolink (2004–2005) Kuju Wireless (2004) Vivendi Games Mobile (2006) Dimps (2006) SuperVillain Studios (2007) Amaze Entertainment (2007) DeValley (2007) TOSE (2008) Virtuos (2008) IP4U (2008) Polarbit (2008–2010) Glu Mobile (2009) Iron Galaxy (2017) Beenox (2019) King (2021)
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment (1996–2000) Universal Interactive (1996–2006) Vivendi Games (2003–2006) Sierra Entertainment (2004–2008) Activision (2008–present) Other publishers: Konami (2001–2003) WonderPhone (2004–2005)[1] Digital Bridges (2004–2005)[2] In-Fusio (2005) Vivendi Games Mobile (2006–2009) King (2021)
Creator(s)	Andy Gavin Jason Rubin Charles Zembillas Joe Pearson
Platform(s)	PlayStation PlayStation 2 Game Boy Advance Java ME Xbox GameCube N-Gage PlayStation Portable Nintendo DS Xbox 360 Wii Symbian iOS Zeebo BlackBerry PlayStation 4 Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch Xbox One Android PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
First release	Crash Bandicoot September 9, 1996
Latest release	Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! March 25, 2021

Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony’s PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games; in 2007, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.

The games are mostly set on the fictitious Wumpa Islands, an archipelago situated to the south of Australia where humans and mutant animals co-exist, although other locations are common. The protagonist of the series is a genetically enhanced bandicoot named Crash, whose quiet life on the Wumpa Islands is often interrupted by the games’ main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex, who created Crash and wants him dead as he is a failed experiment. In most games, Crash must defeat Cortex and foil his plans for world domination.

History[edit]

Release timeline

1996	Crash Bandicoot
1997	Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
1998	Crash Bandicoot: Warped
1999	Crash Team Racing
2000	Crash Bash
2001	Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
2002	Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
2003	Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
Crash Nitro Kart
2004	Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage
Crash Twinsanity
2005	Crash Bandicoot
Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Racing
2006	Crash Boom Bang!
2007	Crash of the Titans
Crash of the Titans
2008	Crash: Mind over Mutant
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
2009	Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island
2010	Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017	Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
2018
2019	Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
2020	Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
2021	Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!
2022
2023	Crash Team Rumble

1996–2000: PlayStation exclusivity[edit]

After presenting Way of the Warrior to Mark Cerny of Universal Interactive, Naughty Dog was signed on to the company for three additional games.^[3] In August 1994, Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin began their move from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California.^[4] During the trip, Gavin and Rubin decided to create a 3D action-platform game, taking inspiration from 16-bit-era games such as Donkey Kong Country, Mario and Sonic.^[5] Because the player would be forced to constantly look at the character’s backside, the game was jokingly code-named «Sonic’s Ass Game».^[3] The basic technology for the game and the Crash Bandicoot series as a whole was created somewhere near Gary, Indiana. The rough game theory was designed near Colorado, Indiana. Soon afterward, Gavin and Rubin discarded their previous game design for Al O. Saurus and Dinestein, a side-scrolling video game based on time travel and scientists genetically merged with dinosaurs.^[4] After moving into the Universal Interactive backlot, Gavin and Rubin met with Mark Cerny, discussed the design of the game and made an agreement to go into production.^[3] In September 1994, Gavin and Rubin decided to develop their new game for the PlayStation, after which Rubin began character design.^[4] In November 1994, Naughty Dog hired Dave Baggett, their first employee and a friend of Gavin’s from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[3][4] Together, Gavin and Baggett created the development tool «Game Oriented Object LISP» (GOOL), which would be used to create the characters and gameplay of the game.^[3] In January 1995, Rubin became concerned about the programmer-to-artist ratio and hired Bob Rafei and Taylor Kurosaki as additional artists.^[3][4]

Needing a lead character for the game, Naughty Dog recruited artists Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson and met with them weekly to create the characters and environments of the game,^[3][4] eventually creating a character named «Willy the Wombat».^[6] The marketing director of Universal Interactive insisted that the character be named «Wez», «Wuzzles» or «Wizzy the Wombat».^[7] On creating the levels for the game, Zembillas and Pearson first sketched each environment, designing and creating additional individual elements later. They aimed for an organic, overgrown look to the game and worked to completely avoid straight lines and 90-degree corners. A Naughty Dog artist sketched every single background object in the game before it was modeled. The artists were tasked with making the best use of textures and reducing the amount of geometry. Dark and light elements were juxtaposed to create visual interest and separate geometry. The Naughty Dog artists would squint when sketching, texturing and playing the levels to make sure they could be played by light value alone. Correct use of color was an important goal for Naughty Dog’s artists; for example, mutually accentuating colors were chosen as the theme for the «Lost City» and «Sunset Vista» levels. The interior of Doctor Neo Cortex’s castle was designed to reflect Cortex’s twisted mind.^[8]

After the main character’s creation, the team went into three months of developing the game. The game first became functional in April 1995 and became playable in June 1995. The first 3 levels in the game were completed by August 1995. However, they were judged to be too difficult to appear so early in the game and were moved to the game’s power plant area. Artist Charlotte Francis joined Naughty Dog at around this time.^[4] In September 1995, a videotape of Crash Bandicoot was shown to Sony Computer Entertainment behind closed doors.^[3][4] While playing the game during development, Rubin realized that there were many empty areas in the game due to the PlayStation’s inability to process numerous on-screen enemy characters at the same time. Additionally, players were solving the game’s puzzles too fast. Rubin soon came up with the idea of a box and putting various symbols on the sides to create puzzles. Breaking these boxes would serve to fill in the boring parts of the levels and give the player additional puzzles.^[7] The first «crate» was placed in the game in January 1996, and would become the primary gameplay element of the series.^[4] Willy the Wombat’s destruction of the crates would eventually lead him to be renamed «Crash Bandicoot».^[4][7] In March 1996, Sony agreed to publish Crash Bandicoot, which went into the alpha stage in April 1996. Crash Bandicoot was first shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 1996.

Development of Cortex Strikes Back began in October 1996. For the game, Andy Gavin created a new engine and scripting language named «Game Oriented Object LISP 2» (GOOL 2) that was three times faster than the previous game’s engine, could handle ten times the animation frames and twice the polygon count.^[3][4] The jungle levels were originally to have featured ground fog, but this was abandoned when magazines and the public began to heavily criticize other developers for using fog to hide polygon count. Sunlight and depth accentuation was experimented with for these levels. Wanting to have some «dirty» locations in the game, Naughty Dog worked in the sewer levels and added color contrast to the levels to show depth and break up the repetitive monotony of the endless sewer pipes.^[8] A flat plane z-buffer was created for the game; because the water surfaces and mud in the jungle had to be a flat plane and be exactly flat on the Y-axis, there could be no waves and the subdividing plane could not be at an odd angle. The effect only worked on objects in the foreground and was only used on Crash, some enemies and a few boxes at the same time.^[3] The soundtrack of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back was provided by Mutato Muzika (consisting of Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell), while the sound effects were created by Universal Sound Studios (consisting of Mike Gollom, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears). The characters were designed by Charles Zembillas of American Exitus, Incorporated. Clancy Brown provided the voice of Doctor Neo Cortex, while Brendan O’Brien voiced the dual role of Doctor N. Gin and Doctor Nitrus Brio and Vicki Winters voiced Coco Bandicoot.^[9] The game was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1997 to a positive response from the game industry. The game went into the alpha stage in August 1997. Around that time, Dan Arey, the lead designer of Gex: Enter the Gecko, joined Naughty Dog and streamlined the level design.^[4]

Like the first, the second game was a commercial success, green-lighting a third game. Production of Crash Bandicoot: Warped began in January 1998, with Naughty Dog given only 10½ months to complete the game.^[3][4] Programmers Andy Gavin, Stephen White and Greg Omi created three new gameplay engines for the game. Two of the three new engines were three-dimensional in nature and were created for the airplane and jet-ski levels; the third new engine was created for the motorcycle levels in the style of a driving simulator. The new engines combined make up a third of the game, while the other two-thirds of the game consist of the tweaked engine used in the previous games. Jason Rubin explained that the «classic» engine and game style was preserved due to the success of the previous two games and went on to say that «were we to abandon that style of gameplay, that would mean that we would be abandoning a significant proportion of gamers out there». An arbitrary plane z-buffer was created for the jet-ski and flooded Egyptian hallway levels of the game.^[3] To create a completely fluid feel for the water on these levels, an environment map that reflects the sky was fitted onto the surface of the water. A real shadow was given to the Crash character at the request of the Sony Computer Entertainment America producers, who were «sick of that little discus that’s following him around.» To create an «arcade» experience in the airplane levels and to differentiate them from flight simulators, the enemy planes were programmed to come out in front of the player and give the player ample time to shoot them before they turn around and shoot the player rather than come up behind the player and hit them from behind. The Relic system was introduced to give players a reason to return to the game after it has been completed.^[10]

Also in 1998, Tiger Electronics released a series called 99X, each containing a black and white video game as opposed to the LCD games they were commonly known for. These were handhelds fitted with a dot-matrix screen, allowing for a wide variety of backgrounds and gameplay for a single game. Although running a software program stored in ROM, the systems were dedicated consoles, similar to the plug-and-play TV games of the 2000s decade.^[11] A Crash Bandicoot game, simply titled Crash Bandicoot, was released as part of this series. Despite its name and being a platformer like its predecessors, it is not an adaptation of nor bears any relation to the 1996 game, instead featuring a plot of its own involving Crash retrieving treasure from a mansion haunted by a ghost named Mr. Crumb and his cronies.^[12] This was the first handheld game to be released in the series, as well as the first to include a multiplayer mode.

While initially Naughty Dog was only signed on to make three games, Crash Team Racing was a possible Crash 3 as it started out in production after Crash 2 and the game which was finished first in production would be released first. However, Naughty Dog had already gotten far into the project and decided to finish it and release it. David Baggett produced the game’s soundtrack, with Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell of Mutato Muzika composing the music. Sound effects were created by Mike Gollum, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears of Universal Sound Studios.^[13] This marked the end of Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot games.

With the release of Crash Bash, Universal Interactive’s publishing deal with SCE had ended. Crash’s prominent status within the video game community prompted the company to make Crash a multiplatform series, giving the series to Mark Cerny and Vicarious Visions to develop two separate but connected games.

2001–2006: Transition to third party[edit]

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was originally to be designed by Cerny and published by Sony. After a falling-out between Universal and the two entities, developer Traveller’s Tales was forced to alter the game from a free-roaming title to a standard Crash title. Traveller’s Tales had to begin development of the game from scratch and were given only twelve months to complete it.^[14] The game received mixed reviews but made the Greatest Hits lineup due to strong sales.

The following year, Universal would have Vicarious Visions release their first Crash Bandicoot game, a handheld exclusive called The Huge Adventure was developed by Vicarious Visions and released to favourable reviews. The game would be noted for being extremely similar to Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot 3. This would warrant a sequel, N-Tranced, which would also be met to similar reception. During this time a subsidy of Traveller’s Tales—Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio were developing a new Crash game for console. This game was to be Crash Nitro Kart but due to unknown circumstances Universal moved development of Crash Nitro Kart over to Vicarious Visions. Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio then moved on to their next project, Crash Bandicoot Evolution.

Crash Bandicoot Evolution was set to create a new form of gameplay for Crash, with the game planned to be a platformer/RPG with many different elements planned for the game; it eventually became Crash Twinsanity. Although Traveller’s Tales planned on creating a Crash Bandicoot game titled Cortex Chaos and a sequel to Crash Twinsanity, Universal never picked up the games, effectively cancelling them. Vicarious Visions’s fourth and final game was Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage for the Game Boy Advance, a crossover with the Spyro franchise and companion game to Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy.

Although Cortex Chaos and the sequel to Crash Twinsanity were cancelled, Traveller’s Tales was nonetheless commissioned to develop one final Crash Bandicoot game. It was to be a kart racing game titled Crash Clash Racing. However, Traveller’s Tales was taken off the project as it was given to Radical Entertainment. The new studio proceeded to change the project into an entirely new game, keeping only two core ideas, clashing and fusion. The game marked the first game published under Universal’s Sierra Entertainment brand, and the first game to use Radical’s Titanium Engine, receiving the title Crash Tag Team Racing.

The following year Crash Boom Bang! was released on July 20, 2006. This was the first Crash game to be developed by a Japanese video game studio called Dimps. This was also the first game to exclusively feature a Japanese voice cast in all regional versions of the game.^[15]

2007–2010: Redesign[edit]

Development on Crash of the Titans, Radical’s second title, began after the completion of Crash Tag Team Racing.^[16] The graphics of the Wii version of the game was one of Radical Entertainment’s main focuses in the game’s development,^[17] with Radical stating that the Wii has «a lot of horsepower under the hood» and expressing their desire to make full use of it.^[18] They also considered implementing a feature to connect the Wii to DS during gameplay, but stopped due to technical issues and time limitations.^[19] The Xbox 360 version got a few extra months of development time to improve its graphics before setting a final release date.^[20]

While the game was being developed, the title’s main character, Crash Bandicoot, became the new mascot of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s «School and Youth» programs in an effort to promote the battle against blood cancer.^[21] In a bid to further promote the game, a Hummer was painted with imagery from the game and displayed at the Annual Balloon Fiesta in Bristol, United Kingdom.^[22] A «Monster Edition» of the game was released exclusively in Europe on October 12, 2007 for the PlayStation 2. This special edition of the game features «Making-of» videos, water-on tattoos, game hints, a cheat code list, and the game’s E3 and theatrical trailers in multiple languages. Due to its «mild cartoon violence and language», the game received a PG rating from the BBFC.^[23]

Development on Crash: Mind over Mutant, Radical’s third and final Crash title, began immediately after the completion of Crash of the Titans. The idea of preserving a Titan for later use came from the play testing sessions of Crash of the Titans, in which the testers were found to be reluctant to leave the Titans behind after an epic battle was won. Fans of the series were also a source of inspiration for Crash: Mind over Mutant, having such wishes as a free-roaming environment, Coco Bandicoot being a playable character and the return of the character Doctor Nitrus Brio. Full camera control was considered for the game, but was rejected for graphical reasons and to avoid having to insert a split-screen view in the cooperation mode.^[24] Online gameplay was also considered as a feature in the finished game,^[25] but was omitted due to the brief development schedule.^[26] Coco Bandicoot as a playable character was omitted from the PlayStation 2 version of the game due to her distinct animations taking up much of the console’s memory.^[26] The Wii version of Crash: Mind over Mutant was created first, with the graphics scaled up for the Xbox 360, and scaled down for the PlayStation 2.^[27]

In 2010, rumors appeared that Radical Entertainment was developing a fourth Crash Bandicoot title, under the name Crash Landed, but due to large layoffs in the studio, the game was cancelled with all remaining developers put to work on Prototype 2.^[28] The DS edition of this game would be in development by Renegade Kid for approximately two weeks before similarly being cancelled by Activision.^[29][30][31] High Impact Games was developing a reboot of Crash Team Racing for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, but the game was cancelled by Activision before the initial prototype. Several ideas for the game eventually made it into DreamWorks Super Star Kartz.^[32]

2011–2016: Hiatus[edit]

On a Kotaku interview with then-Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg regarding the future of the Crash series, he said, «I don’t have anything official to announce, but I can speak as an individual, I love Crash Bandicoot. Those were some of my favorite video games growing up. And I would love to find a way to bring him back, if we could.»^[33] Andy Gavin, co-creator of Crash Bandicoot, has said that he would love to see a HD version of the marsupial’s first four games, or even a full-blown reboot.^[34] Jason Rubin, co-creator of Crash Bandicoot, said he was hopeful that Activision would «bring Crash back to their glory days and that the character is still very dear to fans between 18–49 years».^[35] A new design of Crash Bandicoot was spotted in a photo from the Vicarious Visions’s studio, raising rumors that a new game might have been in development,^[36] though this was later confirmed to be concept art from a previous Crash Bandicoot cancelled game.^[37]

In June 2013, co-creator Andy Gavin suggested ways to revitalize the series. «Crash needs a total reboot. There’s an opportunity to reset the history, and go back to his creation story and the original conflict with Cortex. In that context, you could reprise classic Crash 1 and 2’s settings and villains. It would make sense to use a more modern, free-roaming style. I would concentrate on Looney Tunes-esque animation and really addictive action. That’s what we did with the original Crash, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be done today. Given the current Crash games, people forget that he was once cool. Our Crash had a certain whimsical edge to him. Sure, it was goofy—but it wasn’t dumb.».^[38]

In November 2013, rumours began circulating that Sony bought the rights to the franchise from Activision.^[39] Speculations were fueled after the release of PlayStation 4’s #4ThePlayers campaign, featuring a road sign with a silhouette of Crash, and an arrow pointing towards the orange diamond logo of Sony Computer Entertainment.^[40][41] Publications such as IGN reported that Crash was removed from Activision’s official website,^[42] which seemed to add further credibility to the rumor. However, shortly after, this was proven false, as an Activision representative told Game Informer that «[Activision still owns] Crash Bandicoot and we continue to explore ways in which we could bring the beloved series to life».^[43]

In July 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House revealed that reviving the Crash Bandicoot series was something that they have been thinking about, saying «It’s never off the table.», and Naughty Dog also revealed through an IGN interview the possibility that they may revive both series of Crash Bandicoot as well as Jak & Daxter.^[44] In January 2015, however, Naughty Dog’s Josh Scherr stated in an interview with Game Informer that Naughty Dog did not miss working on either series and had no intention of bringing them back to life.^[45] Despite this, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells stated that the company would love to return to Crash Bandicoot but did not see it as viable.^[46]

On December 5, 2015, rumors of a possible Crash Bandicoot return flared up once again when SIE Worldwide Studios Chairman and SCEA President and CEO Shawn Layden appeared onstage at PlayStation Experience wearing a Crash Bandicoot shirt. Layden, however, never mentioned the series at the event, and has yet to address why he wore the shirt.^[47] In February 2016, a new Crash game appeared to be on the horizon when NECA Director of Product Development Randy Falk stated in an interview with YouTuber Pixel Dan that the company had «a lot of stuff going on with Sony» before mentioning that «I see they’re bringing Crash Bandicoot back, so there’s some great stuff there.»^[48] Shortly after, however, an NECA representative clarified with GameSpot that Falk’s comments were misunderstood, and that Falk was only speaking of a hypothetical return of the series after seeing a fan-made Crash art just before being interviewed.^[49]

Naughty Dog’s 2016 game Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End features protagonist Nathan Drake playing a level from the original Crash Bandicoot, further adding to the rumor that a return for the series was imminent.^[50] Speculation was fueled even further when it was discovered that Activision’s legal ownership of the franchise was not mentioned anywhere in the game’s credits, sparking rumors that the franchise had been purchased by Sony.^[51] Lex Lang, the then-most-recent voice actor of Dr. Neo Cortex, also hinted on Facebook that he was asked to reprise his role.^[52] However, shortly after, the rumors and speculations were derailed when Sony VP of Publisher Relations Adam Boyes confirmed on Twitter that Activision still owns the rights to the franchise,^[53] and Lang clarified that he was not teasing a Crash Bandicoot revival, and that he had not been asked to return to the series, but would be open to potentially lending his voice to a new Crash game in the future.^[54]

2016–present: Revival[edit]

At E3 2016 during Sony’s press conference, after years of rumors, speculation and outcry, Crash Bandicoot finally made his official return when it was announced, in a timed partnership with Activision, that the first three games from the original PlayStation would be remade from the ground up. Crash would also be a playable character in Activision’s then-upcoming toys-to-life game Skylanders: Imaginators, released on October 16, 2016. It was announced at Gamescom 2016 that Dr. Neo Cortex would also be playable in Imaginators, and that a Crash-themed level was created for the game, «Thumpin’ Wumpa Islands».^[55] The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a collection of remasters of the first three games in the series, was developed by Vicarious Visions and released for the PlayStation 4 on June 30, 2017.^[56][57] Vicarious Visions had also expressed interest in making a new Crash Bandicoot game following the N. Sane Trilogy‘s release.^[58] Two additional levels were added as post-launch downloadable content, and the N. Sane Trilogy was eventually ported to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on June 29, 2018 with assistance from Skylanders developer Toys for Bob.

During an interview with Metro Game Central, Vicarious Visions producer Kara Massie refused to rule out the possibility of a remaster of Crash Team Racing for the PlayStation 4. Massie has also acknowledged that she was repeatedly asked about revivals of Crash Team Racing and Spyro the Dragon by fans.^{[citation needed]} At the time, Massie had not confirmed if the games would be in the works following the release of N. Sane Trilogy.^[59] A remake of Crash Team Racing was teased on December 4, 2018 when then-PlayStation Access presenter Hollie Bennett shared an image of two orange fuzzy dice on Twitter, with an announcement to come two days later at the 2018 Game Awards. The remaster, titled Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, was formally revealed at the awards show and released on June 21, 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch^[60][61] with no current plans for a PC version. The remaster was developed from the ground up by Beenox, another subsidiary of Activision, and also incorporates remastered characters, tracks & karts from Crash Nitro Kart (previously developed by Vicarious Visions)^[62] as well as remastered characters, karts, and skins from Crash Tag Team Racing.^[63] The game also features retro-themed content exclusive to the PlayStation 4 version and monthly timed Grand Prix races with additional unlockable characters at no extra charge.^[64][65]

On June 21, 2020, the official Crash Bandicoot social media channels posted a teaser revealing the title of the next Crash Bandicoot game, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time;^[66] the game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 2, 2020,^[67] and for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S on March 12, 2021.^[68] Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!, an endless running game for Android and iOS, was announced in July 2020,^[69] after soft launching on Android in select regions in Southeast Asia on April 22, 2020 under the title Crash Bandicoot Mobile.^[70] The game, developed and published by King in collaboration with Activision, was released on March 25, 2021.^[71]

In December 2022, multiplayer game Crash Team Rumble was announced for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, at The Game Awards. The game is set for a 2023 release.^[72]

Common gameplay elements[edit]

Crash Bandicoot is primarily a platforming series. The goal of each level is to guide Crash from the beginning to the end, travelling either into the screen, towards the player or left and right in a side-scrolling manner. Several levels place Crash in unique situations which require the use of motorbikes, jet skis, submarines and various wild animals to complete the level.

In the original Crash Bandicoot, Crash’s move-set is rather limited; he can run, jump and spin his way through treacherous environments and hostile creatures. Cortex Strikes Back introduces several new moves for Crash to utilize, including a high jump, high spin jump, body slam and slide attack. Warped expands on this by awarding the player with new abilities after each boss is defeated, which was carried over to The Wrath of Cortex. The player can also spin and slide at the same time when pressing the right buttons.

Collectibles[edit]

The most common collectible in the series is Wumpa Fruit, which is found on the main path of most levels, as well as inside most crates. Collecting 100 Wumpa Fruits will award the player an extra life. Wumpa Fruit takes on other uses in most spin-off titles, such as restoring health in certain Crash Bash levels and increasing weapon power in Crash Team Racing. In recent titles, Wumpa Fruit is used to replenish Crash’s health, with Mojo effectively replacing it as the new main collectible item. By collecting Aku Aku masks, Crash can be protected from harm from most enemies and obstacles (though certain elements such as bottomless pits will cause him to lose a life regardless). Crash can collect up to two masks for two extra hits of damage, with an additional mask granting him temporary invincibility. When Crash collects two masks, Aku Aku will turn gold in most games; however, in Crash Twinsanity, Aku Aku will sparkle.

The other major recurring valuables Crash finds on his adventures include Gems and Crystals. Most Gems in the series are won by breaking open every crate in a level. Starting with Cortex Strikes Back, an additional five colored Gems can be obtained by completing special tasks or finding hidden areas. Crash Twinsanity contains six colored Gems per level, most of which are earned by solving a small puzzle. Crystals, which play a key role in the plot of most Crash games following Cortex Strikes Back, are usually required to make progress through most games. Relics, first introduced in Warped, are earned in Time Trial modes, with more valuable relics earned for higher times. In the original game, players can also obtain two keys after completing two Cortex bonus rounds, which are used to unlock two extra levels.

Crates[edit]

Crates come in several varieties and can be found in abundance across Crash’s world. Most crates will assist the player’s journey through the game, providing Wumpa Fruit, additional hit points in the form of Aku Aku masks and extra lives. In most games, players will be awarded a gem if they break all the crates in a level.

TNT and Nitro Crates are the only boxes that can damage Crash. TNT Crates have a three-second fuse when jumped on, but Nitro Crates will explode instantly upon any contact with Crash or anything else that runs into them. Switch Boxes (distinguished by an exclamation mark) are used to make previously invisible crates appear. A green Switch Box will detonate all Nitro Crates in the level.

Crates marked with a «C» are checkpoints that Crash will return to if he is killed during play. Locked Crates are protected by a metal casing that can only be destroyed with Crash’s body slam move, while Spring Crates allow him to reach high up areas by bouncing on them. Slot Boxes rapidly switch between multiple types of crates, and if they are not broken in time, will become metallic and indestructible. Time Boxes are a special crate found exclusively in Time Trial mode. They will freeze the clock for the number of seconds displayed on the box, increasing the player’s chance of beating the time trial.

Structure[edit]

The original Crash Bandicoot uses a fairly linear structure in which Crash clears through levels on a map, with some areas accessible by locating gems. Beginning with Cortex Strikes Back, the game usually takes place in a hub world called a Warp Room, with levels divided up into sets of five. To progress, the player must find and collect a Crystal within each of the stages, which can be played in any order, before facing the boss of each room. From Twinsanity onwards, the games took a more free-roaming approach, with Crash travelling various areas on foot.

Music[edit]

Numerous composers have contributed music to the Crash Bandicoot series. Mutato Muzika’s Josh Mancell was responsible for the music of the first four games. After the fourth game, numerous other composers were responsible for the music in other games. Steve Duckworth composed music for Crash Bash, Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra for The Wrath of Cortex, Ashif Hakik and Todd Masten for Crash Nitro Kart and Spiralmouth composing a cappella for Twinsanity. The music for Tag Team Racing was composed by both Spiralmouth and Marc Baril, while Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant were composed by Baril alone.

Developers and publishers[edit]

The first four Crash Bandicoot games were developed by Naughty Dog. Bash was developed by Eurocom. The Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity were developed by Traveller’s Tales and its division Traveller’s Tales Oxford, respectively. The Huge Adventure (Crash Bandicoot XS in Europe), 2: N-Tranced, Nitro Kart, Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (Crash Bandicoot Fusion in Europe) and N. Sane Trilogy have all been developed by Vicarious Visions. Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans and Mind over Mutant were developed by Radical Entertainment. Boom Bang! was developed by Dimps. Team Racing Nitro-Fueled was developed by Beenox. It’s About Time was developed by Toys for Bob.

The first five Crash titles were published worldwide by Sony Computer Entertainment and produced by Universal Interactive Studios. Wrath of Cortex up until Twinsanity were published by Universal Interactive (now the defunct Vivendi Games). Tag Team Racing, Boom Bang! and Crash of the Titans were published by Sierra Entertainment. All games since Mind over Mutant have been published by Activision.^[73]

From Wrath of Cortex until Nitro Kart, Konami handled publishing and distribution for the Japanese market and also co-published the worldwide release of The Wrath of Cortex for PS2. The Japanese versions of N. Sane Trilogy were published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PS4^[74] and by Sega of Japan for Nintendo Switch;^[75] Sega subsequently handled Team Racing Nitro-Fueled for Japan as well.^[76]

Other media[edit]

Manga[edit]

In 1998, Coro Coro Comics developed a manga series titled Crash Bandicoot—Dansu! de Jump! na Daibōken, loosely based on the events of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. The series was drawn and produced by Ari Kawashima, with only two manga volumes being published to date, leaving the total number of comics unknown.

Animation[edit]

During the production of Crash Bandicoot, a pair of cutscenes featuring hand-drawn animation were produced by Universal Animation Studios to serve as the game’s intro and outro, as well as act as source material for a potential animated series if the game was well-received and commercially successful. The hand-drawn cutscenes were dropped after Sony Computer Entertainment picked up Crash Bandicoot for publication, as Sony desired to push the PlayStation’s 3D polygonal graphics. The cutscenes were uploaded to YouTube by producer David Siller in 2015.^[77][78]

In 2007, The Animation Picture Company produced four web-short films, to promote the game Crash of the Titans, titled Crash Bandicoot: No Use Crying, Crash Bandicoot Monster Truck, Crash Bandicoot – Titan Idol and Crash Bandicoot – Have Another, all lasting for about three minutes. These are available for free download on the Xbox 360 video service or are available to watch on the web, originally available for viewing on the Crash Bandicoot official website.

Crash also makes a guest appearance in the Skylanders Academy animated series. At the end of the episode «The Skylands Are Falling!», due to the actions of the Skylanders, Crash is inadvertently pulled through a dimensional rift while battling Cortex, ending up in the Skylands. The episode «Crash Landing» features Crash allying with Spyro and the Skylanders to recover the dark relic needed to return him to the Wumpa Islands. Crash’s appearance in Skylanders Academy differs from his appearance in Skylanders: Imaginators, but unlike other appearances, he is capable of speaking full sentences with an Australian accent. The third season of Skylanders Academy brought the character back starring Rhys Darby, who replaces Eric Rogers due to stepping down as a showrunner.^[79] Crash returned in the episode «Days of Future Crash», in which Dark Spyro and Eruptor brought him to the future for different reasons, messing up their timeline in the process. After retrieving a new time travel device, they sent him home. Crash appeared again in the season finale, «Raiders of the Lost Arkus, Part II», where he and Coco (voiced by Tara Strong) were brought from the Wumpa Islands by the Skylanders and Flynn to stop Kaos from destroying the Core of Light. Coco’s appearance in the series seems to be a combination of her Titans and Mind over Mutant design: like Crash, she also speaks in an Australian accent and seems to not only be capable of building her own weapons but able to control technology to the point of utilizing a thought-controlled boomerang in battle.

On January 13, 2021, test footage from a scrapped Crash Bandicoot series was leaked on Reddit. The series would have been a co-production between Activision and Amazon Studios. The series was allegedly canceled due to a script dispute.^[80]

In science[edit]

The earliest-known bandicoot fossil from the Miocene of Australia has been given the binomial Crash bandicoot.^[81][82]

Reception[edit]

The Crash Bandicoot series has been a commercial success. As of 2007, the series altogether has sold over 40 million units worldwide^[128]and grossed over $1 billion.^[129] According to Gamasutra, the first Crash Bandicoot game had sold 6.8 million units as of November 2003,^[130] making it the tenth-best-selling PlayStation game of all time. Cortex Strikes Back sold 3.85 million units in the U.S.,^[131] while Warped sold 3.74 million.^[131] The last 2 games on the PlayStation console, Crash Team Racing and Crash Bash, sold 1.9 and 1.1 million units in the U.S., respectively.^[131] Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex has sold 1.56 million units in the U.S.^[131]

On February 12, 2019, Activision announced in a press release for its «4th quarter and 2018 Financial Results», that N. Sane Trilogy has sold-in over 10 million units since its initial release in 2017.^[132]

The Crash Bandicoot series is one of the few Western video game series to find blockbuster success in Japan. Cortex Strikes Back and Warped sold 1.3 and 1.4 million units in the country, respectively,^[133] while the PlayStation 2 version of Wrath of Cortex sold 212,000 units.^[134]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Crash Bandicoot series at MobyGames

Crash Bandicoot
Genre(s)	Platform Racing Party Hack and slash Endless runner
Developer(s)	Naughty Dog (1996–1999) Traveller’s Tales (2001–2004) Vicarious Visions (2002–2004, 2017) Radical Entertainment (2005–2008) Toys for Bob (2020–present) Other developers: Eurocom Entertainment Software (2000–2001) Cerny Games (2000) Kaolink (2004–2005) Kuju Wireless (2004) Vivendi Games Mobile (2006) Dimps (2006) SuperVillain Studios (2007) Amaze Entertainment (2007) DeValley (2007) TOSE (2008) Virtuos (2008) IP4U (2008) Polarbit (2008–2010) Glu Mobile (2009) Iron Galaxy (2017) Beenox (2019) King (2021)
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment (1996–2000) Universal Interactive (1996–2006) Vivendi Games (2003–2006) Sierra Entertainment (2004–2008) Activision (2008–present) Other publishers: Konami (2001–2003) WonderPhone (2004–2005)[1] Digital Bridges (2004–2005)[2] In-Fusio (2005) Vivendi Games Mobile (2006–2009) King (2021)
Creator(s)	Andy Gavin Jason Rubin Charles Zembillas Joe Pearson
Platform(s)	PlayStation PlayStation 2 Game Boy Advance Java ME Xbox GameCube N-Gage PlayStation Portable Nintendo DS Xbox 360 Wii Symbian iOS Zeebo BlackBerry PlayStation 4 Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch Xbox One Android PlayStation 5 Xbox Series X/S
First release	Crash Bandicoot September 9, 1996
Latest release	Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! March 25, 2021

Crash Bandicoot is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony’s PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games; in 2007, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.

The games are mostly set on the fictitious Wumpa Islands, an archipelago situated to the south of Australia where humans and mutant animals co-exist, although other locations are common. The protagonist of the series is a genetically enhanced bandicoot named Crash, whose quiet life on the Wumpa Islands is often interrupted by the games’ main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex, who created Crash and wants him dead as he is a failed experiment. In most games, Crash must defeat Cortex and foil his plans for world domination.

History[edit]

Release timeline

1996	Crash Bandicoot
1997	Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
1998	Crash Bandicoot: Warped
1999	Crash Team Racing
2000	Crash Bash
2001	Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
2002	Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
2003	Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
Crash Nitro Kart
2004	Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage
Crash Twinsanity
2005	Crash Bandicoot
Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Racing
2006	Crash Boom Bang!
2007	Crash of the Titans
Crash of the Titans
2008	Crash: Mind over Mutant
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
2009	Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island
2010	Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017	Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
2018
2019	Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
2020	Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
2021	Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!
2022
2023	Crash Team Rumble

1996–2000: PlayStation exclusivity[edit]

After presenting Way of the Warrior to Mark Cerny of Universal Interactive, Naughty Dog was signed on to the company for three additional games.^[3] In August 1994, Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin began their move from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California.^[4] During the trip, Gavin and Rubin decided to create a 3D action-platform game, taking inspiration from 16-bit-era games such as Donkey Kong Country, Mario and Sonic.^[5] Because the player would be forced to constantly look at the character’s backside, the game was jokingly code-named «Sonic’s Ass Game».^[3] The basic technology for the game and the Crash Bandicoot series as a whole was created somewhere near Gary, Indiana. The rough game theory was designed near Colorado, Indiana. Soon afterward, Gavin and Rubin discarded their previous game design for Al O. Saurus and Dinestein, a side-scrolling video game based on time travel and scientists genetically merged with dinosaurs.^[4] After moving into the Universal Interactive backlot, Gavin and Rubin met with Mark Cerny, discussed the design of the game and made an agreement to go into production.^[3] In September 1994, Gavin and Rubin decided to develop their new game for the PlayStation, after which Rubin began character design.^[4] In November 1994, Naughty Dog hired Dave Baggett, their first employee and a friend of Gavin’s from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[3][4] Together, Gavin and Baggett created the development tool «Game Oriented Object LISP» (GOOL), which would be used to create the characters and gameplay of the game.^[3] In January 1995, Rubin became concerned about the programmer-to-artist ratio and hired Bob Rafei and Taylor Kurosaki as additional artists.^[3][4]

Needing a lead character for the game, Naughty Dog recruited artists Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson and met with them weekly to create the characters and environments of the game,^[3][4] eventually creating a character named «Willy the Wombat».^[6] The marketing director of Universal Interactive insisted that the character be named «Wez», «Wuzzles» or «Wizzy the Wombat».^[7] On creating the levels for the game, Zembillas and Pearson first sketched each environment, designing and creating additional individual elements later. They aimed for an organic, overgrown look to the game and worked to completely avoid straight lines and 90-degree corners. A Naughty Dog artist sketched every single background object in the game before it was modeled. The artists were tasked with making the best use of textures and reducing the amount of geometry. Dark and light elements were juxtaposed to create visual interest and separate geometry. The Naughty Dog artists would squint when sketching, texturing and playing the levels to make sure they could be played by light value alone. Correct use of color was an important goal for Naughty Dog’s artists; for example, mutually accentuating colors were chosen as the theme for the «Lost City» and «Sunset Vista» levels. The interior of Doctor Neo Cortex’s castle was designed to reflect Cortex’s twisted mind.^[8]

After the main character’s creation, the team went into three months of developing the game. The game first became functional in April 1995 and became playable in June 1995. The first 3 levels in the game were completed by August 1995. However, they were judged to be too difficult to appear so early in the game and were moved to the game’s power plant area. Artist Charlotte Francis joined Naughty Dog at around this time.^[4] In September 1995, a videotape of Crash Bandicoot was shown to Sony Computer Entertainment behind closed doors.^[3][4] While playing the game during development, Rubin realized that there were many empty areas in the game due to the PlayStation’s inability to process numerous on-screen enemy characters at the same time. Additionally, players were solving the game’s puzzles too fast. Rubin soon came up with the idea of a box and putting various symbols on the sides to create puzzles. Breaking these boxes would serve to fill in the boring parts of the levels and give the player additional puzzles.^[7] The first «crate» was placed in the game in January 1996, and would become the primary gameplay element of the series.^[4] Willy the Wombat’s destruction of the crates would eventually lead him to be renamed «Crash Bandicoot».^[4][7] In March 1996, Sony agreed to publish Crash Bandicoot, which went into the alpha stage in April 1996. Crash Bandicoot was first shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 1996.

Development of Cortex Strikes Back began in October 1996. For the game, Andy Gavin created a new engine and scripting language named «Game Oriented Object LISP 2» (GOOL 2) that was three times faster than the previous game’s engine, could handle ten times the animation frames and twice the polygon count.^[3][4] The jungle levels were originally to have featured ground fog, but this was abandoned when magazines and the public began to heavily criticize other developers for using fog to hide polygon count. Sunlight and depth accentuation was experimented with for these levels. Wanting to have some «dirty» locations in the game, Naughty Dog worked in the sewer levels and added color contrast to the levels to show depth and break up the repetitive monotony of the endless sewer pipes.^[8] A flat plane z-buffer was created for the game; because the water surfaces and mud in the jungle had to be a flat plane and be exactly flat on the Y-axis, there could be no waves and the subdividing plane could not be at an odd angle. The effect only worked on objects in the foreground and was only used on Crash, some enemies and a few boxes at the same time.^[3] The soundtrack of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back was provided by Mutato Muzika (consisting of Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell), while the sound effects were created by Universal Sound Studios (consisting of Mike Gollom, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears). The characters were designed by Charles Zembillas of American Exitus, Incorporated. Clancy Brown provided the voice of Doctor Neo Cortex, while Brendan O’Brien voiced the dual role of Doctor N. Gin and Doctor Nitrus Brio and Vicki Winters voiced Coco Bandicoot.^[9] The game was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1997 to a positive response from the game industry. The game went into the alpha stage in August 1997. Around that time, Dan Arey, the lead designer of Gex: Enter the Gecko, joined Naughty Dog and streamlined the level design.^[4]

Like the first, the second game was a commercial success, green-lighting a third game. Production of Crash Bandicoot: Warped began in January 1998, with Naughty Dog given only 10½ months to complete the game.^[3][4] Programmers Andy Gavin, Stephen White and Greg Omi created three new gameplay engines for the game. Two of the three new engines were three-dimensional in nature and were created for the airplane and jet-ski levels; the third new engine was created for the motorcycle levels in the style of a driving simulator. The new engines combined make up a third of the game, while the other two-thirds of the game consist of the tweaked engine used in the previous games. Jason Rubin explained that the «classic» engine and game style was preserved due to the success of the previous two games and went on to say that «were we to abandon that style of gameplay, that would mean that we would be abandoning a significant proportion of gamers out there». An arbitrary plane z-buffer was created for the jet-ski and flooded Egyptian hallway levels of the game.^[3] To create a completely fluid feel for the water on these levels, an environment map that reflects the sky was fitted onto the surface of the water. A real shadow was given to the Crash character at the request of the Sony Computer Entertainment America producers, who were «sick of that little discus that’s following him around.» To create an «arcade» experience in the airplane levels and to differentiate them from flight simulators, the enemy planes were programmed to come out in front of the player and give the player ample time to shoot them before they turn around and shoot the player rather than come up behind the player and hit them from behind. The Relic system was introduced to give players a reason to return to the game after it has been completed.^[10]

Also in 1998, Tiger Electronics released a series called 99X, each containing a black and white video game as opposed to the LCD games they were commonly known for. These were handhelds fitted with a dot-matrix screen, allowing for a wide variety of backgrounds and gameplay for a single game. Although running a software program stored in ROM, the systems were dedicated consoles, similar to the plug-and-play TV games of the 2000s decade.^[11] A Crash Bandicoot game, simply titled Crash Bandicoot, was released as part of this series. Despite its name and being a platformer like its predecessors, it is not an adaptation of nor bears any relation to the 1996 game, instead featuring a plot of its own involving Crash retrieving treasure from a mansion haunted by a ghost named Mr. Crumb and his cronies.^[12] This was the first handheld game to be released in the series, as well as the first to include a multiplayer mode.

While initially Naughty Dog was only signed on to make three games, Crash Team Racing was a possible Crash 3 as it started out in production after Crash 2 and the game which was finished first in production would be released first. However, Naughty Dog had already gotten far into the project and decided to finish it and release it. David Baggett produced the game’s soundtrack, with Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell of Mutato Muzika composing the music. Sound effects were created by Mike Gollum, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears of Universal Sound Studios.^[13] This marked the end of Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot games.

With the release of Crash Bash, Universal Interactive’s publishing deal with SCE had ended. Crash’s prominent status within the video game community prompted the company to make Crash a multiplatform series, giving the series to Mark Cerny and Vicarious Visions to develop two separate but connected games.

2001–2006: Transition to third party[edit]

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was originally to be designed by Cerny and published by Sony. After a falling-out between Universal and the two entities, developer Traveller’s Tales was forced to alter the game from a free-roaming title to a standard Crash title. Traveller’s Tales had to begin development of the game from scratch and were given only twelve months to complete it.^[14] The game received mixed reviews but made the Greatest Hits lineup due to strong sales.

The following year, Universal would have Vicarious Visions release their first Crash Bandicoot game, a handheld exclusive called The Huge Adventure was developed by Vicarious Visions and released to favourable reviews. The game would be noted for being extremely similar to Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot 3. This would warrant a sequel, N-Tranced, which would also be met to similar reception. During this time a subsidy of Traveller’s Tales—Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio were developing a new Crash game for console. This game was to be Crash Nitro Kart but due to unknown circumstances Universal moved development of Crash Nitro Kart over to Vicarious Visions. Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio then moved on to their next project, Crash Bandicoot Evolution.

Crash Bandicoot Evolution was set to create a new form of gameplay for Crash, with the game planned to be a platformer/RPG with many different elements planned for the game; it eventually became Crash Twinsanity. Although Traveller’s Tales planned on creating a Crash Bandicoot game titled Cortex Chaos and a sequel to Crash Twinsanity, Universal never picked up the games, effectively cancelling them. Vicarious Visions’s fourth and final game was Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage for the Game Boy Advance, a crossover with the Spyro franchise and companion game to Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy.

Although Cortex Chaos and the sequel to Crash Twinsanity were cancelled, Traveller’s Tales was nonetheless commissioned to develop one final Crash Bandicoot game. It was to be a kart racing game titled Crash Clash Racing. However, Traveller’s Tales was taken off the project as it was given to Radical Entertainment. The new studio proceeded to change the project into an entirely new game, keeping only two core ideas, clashing and fusion. The game marked the first game published under Universal’s Sierra Entertainment brand, and the first game to use Radical’s Titanium Engine, receiving the title Crash Tag Team Racing.

The following year Crash Boom Bang! was released on July 20, 2006. This was the first Crash game to be developed by a Japanese video game studio called Dimps. This was also the first game to exclusively feature a Japanese voice cast in all regional versions of the game.^[15]

2007–2010: Redesign[edit]

Development on Crash of the Titans, Radical’s second title, began after the completion of Crash Tag Team Racing.^[16] The graphics of the Wii version of the game was one of Radical Entertainment’s main focuses in the game’s development,^[17] with Radical stating that the Wii has «a lot of horsepower under the hood» and expressing their desire to make full use of it.^[18] They also considered implementing a feature to connect the Wii to DS during gameplay, but stopped due to technical issues and time limitations.^[19] The Xbox 360 version got a few extra months of development time to improve its graphics before setting a final release date.^[20]

While the game was being developed, the title’s main character, Crash Bandicoot, became the new mascot of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s «School and Youth» programs in an effort to promote the battle against blood cancer.^[21] In a bid to further promote the game, a Hummer was painted with imagery from the game and displayed at the Annual Balloon Fiesta in Bristol, United Kingdom.^[22] A «Monster Edition» of the game was released exclusively in Europe on October 12, 2007 for the PlayStation 2. This special edition of the game features «Making-of» videos, water-on tattoos, game hints, a cheat code list, and the game’s E3 and theatrical trailers in multiple languages. Due to its «mild cartoon violence and language», the game received a PG rating from the BBFC.^[23]

Development on Crash: Mind over Mutant, Radical’s third and final Crash title, began immediately after the completion of Crash of the Titans. The idea of preserving a Titan for later use came from the play testing sessions of Crash of the Titans, in which the testers were found to be reluctant to leave the Titans behind after an epic battle was won. Fans of the series were also a source of inspiration for Crash: Mind over Mutant, having such wishes as a free-roaming environment, Coco Bandicoot being a playable character and the return of the character Doctor Nitrus Brio. Full camera control was considered for the game, but was rejected for graphical reasons and to avoid having to insert a split-screen view in the cooperation mode.^[24] Online gameplay was also considered as a feature in the finished game,^[25] but was omitted due to the brief development schedule.^[26] Coco Bandicoot as a playable character was omitted from the PlayStation 2 version of the game due to her distinct animations taking up much of the console’s memory.^[26] The Wii version of Crash: Mind over Mutant was created first, with the graphics scaled up for the Xbox 360, and scaled down for the PlayStation 2.^[27]

In 2010, rumors appeared that Radical Entertainment was developing a fourth Crash Bandicoot title, under the name Crash Landed, but due to large layoffs in the studio, the game was cancelled with all remaining developers put to work on Prototype 2.^[28] The DS edition of this game would be in development by Renegade Kid for approximately two weeks before similarly being cancelled by Activision.^[29][30][31] High Impact Games was developing a reboot of Crash Team Racing for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, but the game was cancelled by Activision before the initial prototype. Several ideas for the game eventually made it into DreamWorks Super Star Kartz.^[32]

2011–2016: Hiatus[edit]

On a Kotaku interview with then-Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg regarding the future of the Crash series, he said, «I don’t have anything official to announce, but I can speak as an individual, I love Crash Bandicoot. Those were some of my favorite video games growing up. And I would love to find a way to bring him back, if we could.»^[33] Andy Gavin, co-creator of Crash Bandicoot, has said that he would love to see a HD version of the marsupial’s first four games, or even a full-blown reboot.^[34] Jason Rubin, co-creator of Crash Bandicoot, said he was hopeful that Activision would «bring Crash back to their glory days and that the character is still very dear to fans between 18–49 years».^[35] A new design of Crash Bandicoot was spotted in a photo from the Vicarious Visions’s studio, raising rumors that a new game might have been in development,^[36] though this was later confirmed to be concept art from a previous Crash Bandicoot cancelled game.^[37]

In June 2013, co-creator Andy Gavin suggested ways to revitalize the series. «Crash needs a total reboot. There’s an opportunity to reset the history, and go back to his creation story and the original conflict with Cortex. In that context, you could reprise classic Crash 1 and 2’s settings and villains. It would make sense to use a more modern, free-roaming style. I would concentrate on Looney Tunes-esque animation and really addictive action. That’s what we did with the original Crash, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be done today. Given the current Crash games, people forget that he was once cool. Our Crash had a certain whimsical edge to him. Sure, it was goofy—but it wasn’t dumb.».^[38]

In November 2013, rumours began circulating that Sony bought the rights to the franchise from Activision.^[39] Speculations were fueled after the release of PlayStation 4’s #4ThePlayers campaign, featuring a road sign with a silhouette of Crash, and an arrow pointing towards the orange diamond logo of Sony Computer Entertainment.^[40][41] Publications such as IGN reported that Crash was removed from Activision’s official website,^[42] which seemed to add further credibility to the rumor. However, shortly after, this was proven false, as an Activision representative told Game Informer that «[Activision still owns] Crash Bandicoot and we continue to explore ways in which we could bring the beloved series to life».^[43]

In July 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House revealed that reviving the Crash Bandicoot series was something that they have been thinking about, saying «It’s never off the table.», and Naughty Dog also revealed through an IGN interview the possibility that they may revive both series of Crash Bandicoot as well as Jak & Daxter.^[44] In January 2015, however, Naughty Dog’s Josh Scherr stated in an interview with Game Informer that Naughty Dog did not miss working on either series and had no intention of bringing them back to life.^[45] Despite this, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells stated that the company would love to return to Crash Bandicoot but did not see it as viable.^[46]

On December 5, 2015, rumors of a possible Crash Bandicoot return flared up once again when SIE Worldwide Studios Chairman and SCEA President and CEO Shawn Layden appeared onstage at PlayStation Experience wearing a Crash Bandicoot shirt. Layden, however, never mentioned the series at the event, and has yet to address why he wore the shirt.^[47] In February 2016, a new Crash game appeared to be on the horizon when NECA Director of Product Development Randy Falk stated in an interview with YouTuber Pixel Dan that the company had «a lot of stuff going on with Sony» before mentioning that «I see they’re bringing Crash Bandicoot back, so there’s some great stuff there.»^[48] Shortly after, however, an NECA representative clarified with GameSpot that Falk’s comments were misunderstood, and that Falk was only speaking of a hypothetical return of the series after seeing a fan-made Crash art just before being interviewed.^[49]

Naughty Dog’s 2016 game Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End features protagonist Nathan Drake playing a level from the original Crash Bandicoot, further adding to the rumor that a return for the series was imminent.^[50] Speculation was fueled even further when it was discovered that Activision’s legal ownership of the franchise was not mentioned anywhere in the game’s credits, sparking rumors that the franchise had been purchased by Sony.^[51] Lex Lang, the then-most-recent voice actor of Dr. Neo Cortex, also hinted on Facebook that he was asked to reprise his role.^[52] However, shortly after, the rumors and speculations were derailed when Sony VP of Publisher Relations Adam Boyes confirmed on Twitter that Activision still owns the rights to the franchise,^[53] and Lang clarified that he was not teasing a Crash Bandicoot revival, and that he had not been asked to return to the series, but would be open to potentially lending his voice to a new Crash game in the future.^[54]

2016–present: Revival[edit]

At E3 2016 during Sony’s press conference, after years of rumors, speculation and outcry, Crash Bandicoot finally made his official return when it was announced, in a timed partnership with Activision, that the first three games from the original PlayStation would be remade from the ground up. Crash would also be a playable character in Activision’s then-upcoming toys-to-life game Skylanders: Imaginators, released on October 16, 2016. It was announced at Gamescom 2016 that Dr. Neo Cortex would also be playable in Imaginators, and that a Crash-themed level was created for the game, «Thumpin’ Wumpa Islands».^[55] The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a collection of remasters of the first three games in the series, was developed by Vicarious Visions and released for the PlayStation 4 on June 30, 2017.^[56][57] Vicarious Visions had also expressed interest in making a new Crash Bandicoot game following the N. Sane Trilogy‘s release.^[58] Two additional levels were added as post-launch downloadable content, and the N. Sane Trilogy was eventually ported to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on June 29, 2018 with assistance from Skylanders developer Toys for Bob.

During an interview with Metro Game Central, Vicarious Visions producer Kara Massie refused to rule out the possibility of a remaster of Crash Team Racing for the PlayStation 4. Massie has also acknowledged that she was repeatedly asked about revivals of Crash Team Racing and Spyro the Dragon by fans.^{[citation needed]} At the time, Massie had not confirmed if the games would be in the works following the release of N. Sane Trilogy.^[59] A remake of Crash Team Racing was teased on December 4, 2018 when then-PlayStation Access presenter Hollie Bennett shared an image of two orange fuzzy dice on Twitter, with an announcement to come two days later at the 2018 Game Awards. The remaster, titled Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, was formally revealed at the awards show and released on June 21, 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch^[60][61] with no current plans for a PC version. The remaster was developed from the ground up by Beenox, another subsidiary of Activision, and also incorporates remastered characters, tracks & karts from Crash Nitro Kart (previously developed by Vicarious Visions)^[62] as well as remastered characters, karts, and skins from Crash Tag Team Racing.^[63] The game also features retro-themed content exclusive to the PlayStation 4 version and monthly timed Grand Prix races with additional unlockable characters at no extra charge.^[64][65]

On June 21, 2020, the official Crash Bandicoot social media channels posted a teaser revealing the title of the next Crash Bandicoot game, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time;^[66] the game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 2, 2020,^[67] and for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and Series S on March 12, 2021.^[68] Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!, an endless running game for Android and iOS, was announced in July 2020,^[69] after soft launching on Android in select regions in Southeast Asia on April 22, 2020 under the title Crash Bandicoot Mobile.^[70] The game, developed and published by King in collaboration with Activision, was released on March 25, 2021.^[71]

In December 2022, multiplayer game Crash Team Rumble was announced for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, at The Game Awards. The game is set for a 2023 release.^[72]

Common gameplay elements[edit]

Crash Bandicoot is primarily a platforming series. The goal of each level is to guide Crash from the beginning to the end, travelling either into the screen, towards the player or left and right in a side-scrolling manner. Several levels place Crash in unique situations which require the use of motorbikes, jet skis, submarines and various wild animals to complete the level.

In the original Crash Bandicoot, Crash’s move-set is rather limited; he can run, jump and spin his way through treacherous environments and hostile creatures. Cortex Strikes Back introduces several new moves for Crash to utilize, including a high jump, high spin jump, body slam and slide attack. Warped expands on this by awarding the player with new abilities after each boss is defeated, which was carried over to The Wrath of Cortex. The player can also spin and slide at the same time when pressing the right buttons.

Collectibles[edit]

The most common collectible in the series is Wumpa Fruit, which is found on the main path of most levels, as well as inside most crates. Collecting 100 Wumpa Fruits will award the player an extra life. Wumpa Fruit takes on other uses in most spin-off titles, such as restoring health in certain Crash Bash levels and increasing weapon power in Crash Team Racing. In recent titles, Wumpa Fruit is used to replenish Crash’s health, with Mojo effectively replacing it as the new main collectible item. By collecting Aku Aku masks, Crash can be protected from harm from most enemies and obstacles (though certain elements such as bottomless pits will cause him to lose a life regardless). Crash can collect up to two masks for two extra hits of damage, with an additional mask granting him temporary invincibility. When Crash collects two masks, Aku Aku will turn gold in most games; however, in Crash Twinsanity, Aku Aku will sparkle.

The other major recurring valuables Crash finds on his adventures include Gems and Crystals. Most Gems in the series are won by breaking open every crate in a level. Starting with Cortex Strikes Back, an additional five colored Gems can be obtained by completing special tasks or finding hidden areas. Crash Twinsanity contains six colored Gems per level, most of which are earned by solving a small puzzle. Crystals, which play a key role in the plot of most Crash games following Cortex Strikes Back, are usually required to make progress through most games. Relics, first introduced in Warped, are earned in Time Trial modes, with more valuable relics earned for higher times. In the original game, players can also obtain two keys after completing two Cortex bonus rounds, which are used to unlock two extra levels.

Crates[edit]

Crates come in several varieties and can be found in abundance across Crash’s world. Most crates will assist the player’s journey through the game, providing Wumpa Fruit, additional hit points in the form of Aku Aku masks and extra lives. In most games, players will be awarded a gem if they break all the crates in a level.

TNT and Nitro Crates are the only boxes that can damage Crash. TNT Crates have a three-second fuse when jumped on, but Nitro Crates will explode instantly upon any contact with Crash or anything else that runs into them. Switch Boxes (distinguished by an exclamation mark) are used to make previously invisible crates appear. A green Switch Box will detonate all Nitro Crates in the level.

Crates marked with a «C» are checkpoints that Crash will return to if he is killed during play. Locked Crates are protected by a metal casing that can only be destroyed with Crash’s body slam move, while Spring Crates allow him to reach high up areas by bouncing on them. Slot Boxes rapidly switch between multiple types of crates, and if they are not broken in time, will become metallic and indestructible. Time Boxes are a special crate found exclusively in Time Trial mode. They will freeze the clock for the number of seconds displayed on the box, increasing the player’s chance of beating the time trial.

Structure[edit]

The original Crash Bandicoot uses a fairly linear structure in which Crash clears through levels on a map, with some areas accessible by locating gems. Beginning with Cortex Strikes Back, the game usually takes place in a hub world called a Warp Room, with levels divided up into sets of five. To progress, the player must find and collect a Crystal within each of the stages, which can be played in any order, before facing the boss of each room. From Twinsanity onwards, the games took a more free-roaming approach, with Crash travelling various areas on foot.

Music[edit]

Numerous composers have contributed music to the Crash Bandicoot series. Mutato Muzika’s Josh Mancell was responsible for the music of the first four games. After the fourth game, numerous other composers were responsible for the music in other games. Steve Duckworth composed music for Crash Bash, Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra for The Wrath of Cortex, Ashif Hakik and Todd Masten for Crash Nitro Kart and Spiralmouth composing a cappella for Twinsanity. The music for Tag Team Racing was composed by both Spiralmouth and Marc Baril, while Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant were composed by Baril alone.

Developers and publishers[edit]

The first four Crash Bandicoot games were developed by Naughty Dog. Bash was developed by Eurocom. The Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity were developed by Traveller’s Tales and its division Traveller’s Tales Oxford, respectively. The Huge Adventure (Crash Bandicoot XS in Europe), 2: N-Tranced, Nitro Kart, Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (Crash Bandicoot Fusion in Europe) and N. Sane Trilogy have all been developed by Vicarious Visions. Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans and Mind over Mutant were developed by Radical Entertainment. Boom Bang! was developed by Dimps. Team Racing Nitro-Fueled was developed by Beenox. It’s About Time was developed by Toys for Bob.

The first five Crash titles were published worldwide by Sony Computer Entertainment and produced by Universal Interactive Studios. Wrath of Cortex up until Twinsanity were published by Universal Interactive (now the defunct Vivendi Games). Tag Team Racing, Boom Bang! and Crash of the Titans were published by Sierra Entertainment. All games since Mind over Mutant have been published by Activision.^[73]

From Wrath of Cortex until Nitro Kart, Konami handled publishing and distribution for the Japanese market and also co-published the worldwide release of The Wrath of Cortex for PS2. The Japanese versions of N. Sane Trilogy were published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PS4^[74] and by Sega of Japan for Nintendo Switch;^[75] Sega subsequently handled Team Racing Nitro-Fueled for Japan as well.^[76]

Other media[edit]

Manga[edit]

In 1998, Coro Coro Comics developed a manga series titled Crash Bandicoot—Dansu! de Jump! na Daibōken, loosely based on the events of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. The series was drawn and produced by Ari Kawashima, with only two manga volumes being published to date, leaving the total number of comics unknown.

Animation[edit]

During the production of Crash Bandicoot, a pair of cutscenes featuring hand-drawn animation were produced by Universal Animation Studios to serve as the game’s intro and outro, as well as act as source material for a potential animated series if the game was well-received and commercially successful. The hand-drawn cutscenes were dropped after Sony Computer Entertainment picked up Crash Bandicoot for publication, as Sony desired to push the PlayStation’s 3D polygonal graphics. The cutscenes were uploaded to YouTube by producer David Siller in 2015.^[77][78]

In 2007, The Animation Picture Company produced four web-short films, to promote the game Crash of the Titans, titled Crash Bandicoot: No Use Crying, Crash Bandicoot Monster Truck, Crash Bandicoot – Titan Idol and Crash Bandicoot – Have Another, all lasting for about three minutes. These are available for free download on the Xbox 360 video service or are available to watch on the web, originally available for viewing on the Crash Bandicoot official website.

Crash also makes a guest appearance in the Skylanders Academy animated series. At the end of the episode «The Skylands Are Falling!», due to the actions of the Skylanders, Crash is inadvertently pulled through a dimensional rift while battling Cortex, ending up in the Skylands. The episode «Crash Landing» features Crash allying with Spyro and the Skylanders to recover the dark relic needed to return him to the Wumpa Islands. Crash’s appearance in Skylanders Academy differs from his appearance in Skylanders: Imaginators, but unlike other appearances, he is capable of speaking full sentences with an Australian accent. The third season of Skylanders Academy brought the character back starring Rhys Darby, who replaces Eric Rogers due to stepping down as a showrunner.^[79] Crash returned in the episode «Days of Future Crash», in which Dark Spyro and Eruptor brought him to the future for different reasons, messing up their timeline in the process. After retrieving a new time travel device, they sent him home. Crash appeared again in the season finale, «Raiders of the Lost Arkus, Part II», where he and Coco (voiced by Tara Strong) were brought from the Wumpa Islands by the Skylanders and Flynn to stop Kaos from destroying the Core of Light. Coco’s appearance in the series seems to be a combination of her Titans and Mind over Mutant design: like Crash, she also speaks in an Australian accent and seems to not only be capable of building her own weapons but able to control technology to the point of utilizing a thought-controlled boomerang in battle.

On January 13, 2021, test footage from a scrapped Crash Bandicoot series was leaked on Reddit. The series would have been a co-production between Activision and Amazon Studios. The series was allegedly canceled due to a script dispute.^[80]

In science[edit]

The earliest-known bandicoot fossil from the Miocene of Australia has been given the binomial Crash bandicoot.^[81][82]

Reception[edit]

The Crash Bandicoot series has been a commercial success. As of 2007, the series altogether has sold over 40 million units worldwide^[128]and grossed over $1 billion.^[129] According to Gamasutra, the first Crash Bandicoot game had sold 6.8 million units as of November 2003,^[130] making it the tenth-best-selling PlayStation game of all time. Cortex Strikes Back sold 3.85 million units in the U.S.,^[131] while Warped sold 3.74 million.^[131] The last 2 games on the PlayStation console, Crash Team Racing and Crash Bash, sold 1.9 and 1.1 million units in the U.S., respectively.^[131] Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex has sold 1.56 million units in the U.S.^[131]

On February 12, 2019, Activision announced in a press release for its «4th quarter and 2018 Financial Results», that N. Sane Trilogy has sold-in over 10 million units since its initial release in 2017.^[132]

The Crash Bandicoot series is one of the few Western video game series to find blockbuster success in Japan. Cortex Strikes Back and Warped sold 1.3 and 1.4 million units in the country, respectively,^[133] while the PlayStation 2 version of Wrath of Cortex sold 212,000 units.^[134]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Crash Bandicoot series at MobyGames

Crash Bandicoot — популярная серия игр в жанре платформер. Первая часть была разработана компанией Naughty Dog. Создателями франшизы являются Энди Гэвин и Джейсон Рубин. Спустя четыре года после разработки Crash Bandicoot (и аккурат 4 выпущенных игры), Naughty Dog заканчивает свою работу над серией. С тех пор у франшизы сменилось огромное число разработчиков. На 2011 год серия охватывает 18 игр. События, как правило, начинаются на островах N. Sanity или Вампа, яляющихся архипелагом, который по задумке расположен на юге Австралии. Основные игры серии представляют собой платформер, в то время как спин-оффы варьируются совершенно в разных жанрах. Главный герой франшизы — восточный полосатый бандикут по имени Крэш, чья спокойная жизнь на острове N. Sanity часто прерывается главным злодеем, доктором Нео Кортексом, который некогда провел неудачный эксперимент над этим бандикутом и теперь не хочет ничего, кроме как его смерти. Серия Crash Bandicoot имела коммерческий успех: было продано около 50 млн. копий с играми по всему миру.

История

Naughty Dog

После демонстрации Way of the Warrior Марку Церни из Universal Interactive Studios, Naughty Dog подписали контракт на создание новых игр в течение последующих трёх лет. В августе 1994 года Джейсон Рубин и Энди Гэвин во время поездки из Бостона в Лос Анджелес решили создать 3D платформер.

Поскольку игроку предстояло постоянно смотреть на спину главного персонажа, кодовым названием игры стало шуточное «Sonic’s Ass Game» («Задница Соника: Игра»). Вскоре после того, как была обдумана формула будущей игры и её базовая технология, Энди и Рубин выбросили раннюю версию дизайна «Al O. Saurus and Dinestein», которая должна была быть в виде скроллинговой аркады, основанной на путешествии во времени (что, кстати, будет использовано в будущем для Warped), и повествовать об учёных, генетически слившихся с динозаврами. В сентябре 1994 года они начали разрабатывать свою новую игру на платформе PlayStation после того, как обсудили её будущее с Марком Церни. В ноябре 1994 года Naughty Dog наняли Дэйва Бэггета, друга Гэвина из Массачусетского технологического института, ставшего их первым сотрудником. Вместе Гэвин и Бэггет создали движок «Game Oriented Object LISP» (GOOL), с помощью которого в дальнейшем делались персонажи и геймплей игры. В 1995 году Рубин нанял дополнительных художников. Некоторый период название игры звучало как Willy the Wombat. Работа над первыми тремя уровнями завершилась в августе 1995 года. Во время разработки игры, Рубин понял, что на этих уровнях было слишком много пустого места, а головоломки, которыми его заполняли, игроки решали слишком быстро. Спустя некоторое время он придумал идею с разбитием ящиков. Первый ящик был помещен в игру в январе 1996 года, что вскоре стало основным принципом геймплея, благодаря чему название игры сменилось с Willy the Wombat на Crash Bandicoot. Впервые CB был показан на Electronic Entertainment Expo в мае 1996 года. Игру встретили с восторженной реакцией.

Разработка Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back началась в октябре 1996 года. Энди Гэвин усовершенствовал старый движок и назвал его «Game Oriented Object LISP 2» (GOOL 2), который стал в три раза быстрее. Первоначально на уровнях в джунглях должен был присутствовать такой тип врагов, как лягушка (опять же, уехало в Warped). Музыка к игре была написана студией Mutato Muzika, в то время как звуковые эффекты создавались в Universal Sound Studios. Дизайн персонажей создал Чарльз Зембиллас, работавший в корпорации American Exitus. Уже в августе 1997 года игра находилась на стадии альфа-версии. В то время CB2 была принята с огромным успехом.

Производство следующей части, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, началось в январе 1998 года. Naughty Dog было дано десять с половиной месяцев на её разработку. Программисты Энди Гэвин, Стивен Уайт и Грег Оми создали три новых игровых движка. Первые два были необходимы для того, чтобы показать окружающую среду со всех сторон в уровнях на аэроплане и водном мотоцикле Коко. Третий движок использовался для гоночных уровней. Все эти новые движки вместе со старым были задействованы в CB3. Джэйсон Рубин сказал: «если мы отбросим старый стиль геймплея, то мы отбросим и важную часть игроков». Однако эти нововведения были приняты игроками тепло, и новые уровни были едва ли популярнее обычных. В целом, Warped был всё также успешен, как и первые две игры.

Последней игрой в серии, разработанной компанией Naughty Dog, стал Crash Team Racing. Движок для него начали разрабатывать параллельно с Warped. Над игрой работали те же люди, что и над первыми тремя, в частности, дизайнером моделей был Джо Пирсон, а музыку по-прежнему писали сотрудники Mutato Muzika. В качестве главных фишек игры выступили новаторская в то время идея с ускорениями во время дрифта, что делало игру более динамичной и интерактивной, а также новый персонаж — Нитрос Оксид. По первоначальной задумке, он являлся очередным сумасшедшим учёным, пытавшемся разогнать мир «до конца времён».

Уже в августе 1999 CTR был на стадии альфа-версии, а в сентябре на стадии беты. Об успехе игры говорит хотя бы тот факт, что практически все игры жанра «гонки на картах» того времени (а это Mega Man Battle & Chase, Bomberman Fantasy Race, Diddy Kong Racing, Chocobo Racing, Mario Kart, тысячи их) провалились, когда Crash Team Racing был всё так же успешен, как и оригинальная трилогия. 1.71 миллиона проданных экземпляров в Европе, 2,64 миллиона в Америке и 500 тысяч в Японии говорят сами за себя.

После этого Naughty Dog прекратила работу над Бандикутом, и тут всё заверте~

Eurocom Sofware

Эта компания издала первую для себя и последнюю для всех игру о Бандикуте на PlayStation — Crash Bash. Несмотря на то, что эта часть исполнена совершенно в новом для серии жанре (party-game), она все таки вобрала в себя многие аспекты, полюбившиеся фанатам из предыдущих четырёх. Мы снова встречаем варп румы, кристаллы, драгоценные камни, реликты (в виде призов за победу) и битвы с боссами. Многие часто сравнивают эту игру c Mario Party.

Traveller’s Tales

Несмотря на то, что Naughty Dog прекратили свою работу над Crash Bandicoot, сама серия ещё окончена не была. Она оставалась всё с тем же издателем и находилась в руках Марка Церни, человека, причастного ко всем предыдущим играм о Крэше.

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex первоначально разрабатывалась

именно Марком Церни и Sony Computer Entertainment, но, после их ссоры, проект был передан в руки совершенно другой компании. Ей стала Traveller’s Tales, чья главная задача заключалась в том, чтобы переделать уже находившийся в разработке проект из игры с открытым игровым миром в стандартный для серии жанр. На разработку было дано лишь 12 месяцев. Игра получила смешанные отзывы, но тем не менее пополнила собой список PlayStation Greatest Hits.

Несмотря на то, что серия Crash Bandicoot перешла к Vivendi Universal, Sony всё ещё сохраняла права на распространение и порты первых пяти игр для других консолей. С передачей главных прав, серия моментально пополнила собой не только основные консоли, но и второстепенные. К примеру, несколько игр, разрабатываемых компанией Vicarious Visions, вышли на Gameboy Advance.

В это время подразделение Traveller’s Tales — Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio, занималось созданием новой игры серии для основных консолей. Этой игрой должна была стать Crash Nitro Kart, но, по непонятным причинам, её разработку передали Vicarious Visions. По сложившимся обстоятельствам, Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio перекинули на разработку совершенно нового проекта — Crash Bandicoot Evolution. Эта игра должна была включать в себя смесь жанров платформер и подобия RPG, но сам проект так и не вышел на свет. Он был полностью переработан и в последствии переименован в Crash Twinsanity. В итоге игра стала просто платформером, но с открытым игровым миром.

После разработки Twinsanity, Traveller’s Tales Oxford уже были готовы перейти к двум новым проектам, полагая, что Vivendi оставит права серии именно им. Первой игрой должен был стать прямой сиквел Twinsanity, Crash Clash Racing. По не оглашенным причинам, разработку этого гоночного проекта передали другой компании. Тогда Traveller’s Tales Oxford перешли к созданию концепции совершенно иной игры (ещё одного сиквела Twinsanity), повествующий нам о том, как Кортекса исключили из общества злодеев вселенной Бандикута. К тому времени уже даже было придумано само название игры — Cortex Chaos, но всё же Vivendi отменили этот проект. В конечном итоге, Vivendi переформировали в Radical Entertainment и переместили прямо в студию Traveller’s Tales Oxford. Cами же разработчики из Traveller’s Tales Oxford издали ещё одну игру, названную Super Monkey Ball Adventure, после чего их команда расформировалась.

Vicarious Visions

В частности, эта компания известна тем, что создала несколько игр серии для портативных консолей. Их первой полноценно разработанной игрой стала Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure для GameBoy, которая получила восторженную критику и довольно неплохие продажи. В дальнейшем последовал сиквел, названный Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced. Обе игры имели сильные сходства с музыкальными темами из Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back и Crash Bandicoot: Warped, ровно так же как и с дизайном уровней, геймплеем и многими другими не менее значительными деталями.

Позже Vicarious Visions получила права на разработку Crash Nitro Kart, которую изначально должна была выпустить Traveller’s Tales. Релиз CNK состоялся как на все основные игровые консоли, так и на Gameboy Advance. Эта игра получила положительные отзывы. Четвёртой и на тот момент последней игрой в серии от Vicarious Visions стала Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage для GameBoy Advance. В этот раз «портативный бандикут» получил лишь средние оценки, но, тем не менее, продался довольно хорошо.

Radical Entertainment

По одной из задумок Traveller’s Tales продолжением должна была стать игра Crash Clash Racing, по сюжету идущая сразу же после Crash Twinsanity. Концепция игры включала в себя новую деталь геймплея — слияние двух гоночных машин в одну. Сюжет фокусировался на семействе Бандикутов, которое отправляется в путешествие внутрь мозга Крэша, чтобы удалить оттуда нечаянно застрявшего Кортекса.

Однако чтобы сохранить деньги на этом проекте, его разработка было приостановлена, а затем его и вовсе отдали в руки одной из студий Vivendi — Radical Entertainment. Эта компания в свою очередь практически полностью изменяет суть проекта, оставляя лишь основной принцип геймплея: «столкновение» и «слияние» двух гоночных машин. Эта игра стала первой в серии, что была разработана компанией Radical Entertainment, опубликована Sierra Entertainment и сделана на новом движке Titanium Engine. Кроме того, её переименовали в Crash Tag Team Racing.

Следующей игрой от Radical стала Crash of the Titans. Для её разработки на Xbox 360 было дано несколько дополнительных месяцев с целью улучшения графики.

В период разработки Crash of the Titans, Крэш Бандикут стал новым маскотом программы Leukemia & Lymphoma Society под скромным названием «School and Youth». Его целью являлась пропаганда борьбы против рака крови.

Издание игры «Monster Edition», вышедшее 12 октября 2007 года, распространялось только на территории Европы и было лишь только для PlayStation 2. Оно включало в себя видеоролики о создании игры, водные татуировки, советы, список чит-кодов и трейлер с E3 на нескольких языках. Из-за умеренной мультяшной жестокости и диалогов, Crash of the Titans получил PG рейтинг.

Разработка Crash: Mind over Mutant, которая стала третьей и последней игрой от Radical Entertainment, началась сразу же после того, как была закончена Crash of the Titans. Основная формула «мутантов» была схожа с «титанами», но на этот раз перед релизом разработчики заинтриговали фанатов включением открытого игрового мира, появлением Коко в качестве играбельного персонажа и долгожданным возвращением Нитруса Брио. Кроме того, в планах было осуществить ещё и онлайн-геймплей, но этого так и не произошло из-за сжатых сроков разработки. Кроме того, играбельную Коко убрали из версии на PS2, поскольку её анимация занимала слишком много консольной памяти. Crash: Mind over Mutant знаменовал конец эры игр о Бандикуте от Radical Entertainment.

Три отмененные игры

В 2010 году прошла волна слухов, что компания High Impact Games занимается разработкой ремейка Crash Team Racing для PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 и Wii, но игра была отменена Activision ещё до появления первого прототипа. Позже Radical Entertainment занимались разработкой другой игры, являющейся сиквелом Crash: Mind over Mutant, но из-за череды увольнений в студии и этот проект отменили. DS версия игры, названная Crash Landed, разрабатывалась компанией Renegade Kid на протяжении двух недель, после чего и она была подвержена немедленному «удалению». Таким образом, в течение небольшого срока руками Activsion было отменено три игры.

Перерыв

В интервью, проведенном в блоге Kotaku, исполнительный директор Activision, Эрик Хиршберг сказал относительно будущего серии: «Я не собираюсь ничего официально анонсировать, но, как простой человек, могу сказать, что люблю Crash Bandicoot. Это была одна из моих любимых игр. И я хотел бы найти способ вернуть Бандикута назад, если мы сможем.» Энди Гэвин, один из создателей Крэша, в одном из интервью говорил, что хотел бы видеть HD версию первых четырёх игр или даже полноценный перезапуск серии. Кроме того, Джэйсон Рубин, именуемый вторым создателем серии, сообщил, что он полон надежд о возвращении компанией Activision «Крэша к его дням славы, поскольку этот персонаж очень дорог для его фанатов в возрасте 17-49 лет». В начале января 2013 года в альбоме Vicarious Visions на facebook была обнаружена фотография, содержащая постер Крэша Бандикута в совершенно новом облике. Данная фотография была загружена ещё в ноябре 2012 года. После того, как возбужденные возможным возвращением сумчатого зверька фанаты начали распространять изображение по сети, оригинальная фотография была удалена из альбома представителями компании. Однако, вскоре по интернету пронёсся ответ, отвечающий на эту загадку. Выяснилось, что постер является ничем иным, как изображением с давно удалённой игры о Бандикуте. 

В июне 2013 года Энди Гэвин дал несколько идей-предположений, которые могут вернуть серию к жизни: «Крэшу нужен полноценный перезапуск. Есть возможность рассказать историю заново, вернуться назад к рассказу о его создании и первоначальной борьбе с Кортексом. В данном контексте можно повторить окружающую среду, злодеев классических игр Crash 1 и 2. Использование усовершенствованного и открытого для передвижения мира было бы разумным. Я бы сконцентрировал свои силы на анимации в стиле Looney Tunes и захватывающим действиям. Это то, что мы делали с Крэшем, и нет причины, почему это не может быть сделано сегодня. Люди забывают, что когда-то Крэш был классным. У нашего Крэша были причудливые черты. Конечно, это было бестолково, но это не было тупо».

В ноябре 2013 года прошел ряд слухов и обсуждений по поводу того, что компания Sony выкупила права на серию у Activision. Инициатором данного стал видеоролик, рекламирующий Playstation 4, и содержащий в себе дорожный знак с Крэшем Бандикутом, со стрелкой, направленной к желтому ромбовидному знаку. Однако, вскоре произошло подтверждение ложности слухов: Activision заявили, что права до сих пор у них и они исследуют различные способы возрождения полюбившейся серии.

В июле 2014 года исполнительный директор Sony Computer Entertainment, Эндрю Хаус, сообщил о том, что возрождение серии — это то, о чем они раздумывают уже очень давно, а также Nauhty Dog во время интервью IGN сообщили о возможности возвращения как к Crash Bandicoot, так и к Jak and Dexter. Однако в январе 2015 года Джош Шерр, являющийся долгое время ведущим аниматором в ND, а с недавних пор и сценаристом Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, дал интервью, где ему был задан вопрос о том, желает ли их компания вернуться к мультяшной эпохе с играми наподобие Crash Bandicoot и Jak & Daxter. Он ответил: «Нет, не хочу. У нас есть команда замечательных людей, не редко создающих воистину впечатлительные сцены с нашими реалистичными персонажами на данный момент. Не поймите меня не правильно, анимировать мультяшек — это очень-очень весело, но истории, которые мы пытаемся рассказать сейчас, чуть более приближены к реальности и чуть более зрелые, чем они были во времена Джека и Декстера». На вопрос о том, является ли причиной подобному решению тот факт, что работники Naughty Dog всего-навсего становятся взрослей, он согласился: «И это тоже. А еще, думаю, в этом играет не малую роль направленность на рынок. На его потребностях наше решение по большей части и заложило основу для того, чтобы оставить Jak & Daxter и двигаться к чему-то наподобие Uncharted. А еще это то, что нам тоже нравится». Также Шерр добавил, что несмотря на некоторые безумные элементы серии Uncharted, эта история всё же привязана к реальному миру. Более того, он не думает, что в ближайшее время их подход к созданию игр может измениться.

Несмотря на это, сопрезидент ND Иван Уэллс сообщил, что компания была бы рада вернуться вернуться к Крэшу, что, тем не менее, маловероятно.

5 декабря 2015 года слухи о возможном возвращении серии Crash Bandicoot возобновились с новой силой. Во время PlayStation Experience президент южноамериканского подразделения Sony Computer Entertainment Шон Лейден вышел в футболке, на которой был изображенен Крэш. Однако во время конференции про серию не было упомянуто ни слова.

В январе 2016 года директор NECA Toys Рэнди Фок во время интервью с ютубером Pixel Dan заявил, что их компания сейчас активно сотрудничает с Sony, частью чего является и возвращение Бандикута. Однако вскоре представитель NECA Toys пояснил журналистам GameSpot, что комментарии Фока были неправильно поняты, и то, что на самом деле директор имел ввиду гипотетическое возвращение серии после того, как увидел фан-арт Крэша незадолго до самого интервью.

В начале мая 2016 года была обнаружена пасхалка с Крэшем в новой на тот момент игре от Naughty Dog — Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, где главный герой, Нейтан Дрейк, играет в один из уровней первого Crash Bandicoot,

что сделало слухи о возвращении серии еще более правдивыми. Разговоры на данную тему стали еще сильней после того, как в титрах игры была упущена Activision, что породило ряд слухов о том, что Sony наконец выкупили права. Кроме того, Лекс Лэнг на своей страничке в Facebook намекнул на то, что его попросили вернуться озвучивать доктора Нео Кортекса. Однако вскоре после вице-президент Sony Адам Бойес опроверг слухи, подтвердив то, что права на серию всё еще в руках Activision. Более того, Лэнг объяснился, что в его задумках не было никакого «тизера» возвращения франшизы и его просто не так поняли, однако он был бы рад озвучить Кортекса в новой игре.

Будущее

После нескольких лет безостановочных слухов и бурных обсуждений, Crash Bandicoot официально вернулся

на E3 в 2016 году. Вновь показавшийся на сцене выставки Шон Лейден анонсировал ремастер первых трёх частей серии (CB, CB2, CB Warped) «с нуля» для PlayStation 4 в сотрудничестве с Activision, а также появление Бандикута в качестве гостевого играбельного персонажа в игре от Activision — Skylanders: Imaginators. Над ремастером, названным Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, работу ведет Vicarious Visions, студия, в которой разрабатывались Crash Nitro Kart и игры серии на GBA. Выпуск намечен на 30 июня 2017 года.

Общие элементы геймплея

Изначально Crash Bandicoot — это игра в жанре платформер. Задача каждого уровня состоит в том, чтобы провести Крэша от его начала до самого конца. Помимо этого, для прохождения некоторых уровней необходимо использовать различные средства передвижения. На вашем пути может встретиться мотоцикл, самолёт, подводная лодка, различные животные и многое-многое другое.
В самой первой игре серии список приёмов Крэша крайне ограничен: он может бежать, прыгать и раскручивать волчком своих коварных врагов, встречающихся на протяжении всего приключения. Cortex Strikes Back уже расширяет ряд возможностей бандикута. Появляется высокий прыжок, удар телом о землю и атака скольжением. Warped в свою очередь этот спектр возможностей делает глубже, путём постепенного открытия супер способностей Крэша после победы над каждым боссом. Данная особенность используется и в The Wrath of Cortex.

Список игр

Основные

• Crash Bandicoot (1996)
• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)
• Crash Bandicoot: Warped (1998)
• Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2001)
• Crash Twinsanity (2004)
• Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Crash: Mind over Mutant (2008)
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017)

Гоночные

• Crash Team Racing (1999)
• Crash Nitro Kart (2003)
• Crash Tag Team Racing (2005)

Пати

• Crash Bash (2000)
• Crash Boom Bang! (2006)

Спин-оффы

• Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (2002)
• Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (2003)
• Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (2004)
• Skylanders Imaginators (Crash Edition) (2016)

Мобильные

• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (2008)
• Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island (2009)
• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 (2010)

Crash Bandicoot is a multi-million dollar video game series starring Crash Bandicoot as he battles his enemy and creator: the evil Neo Cortex. It was originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony’s PlayStation console and has seen numerous installments created by numerous developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games. In 2007, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.

The Crash Bandicoot series has been a major international success, selling over 160 million in dollars and is the 25th best-selling series as of March 31, 2011 with around 40 million copies sold since its debut in 1996. In September of 2011, the series celebrated its 15th anniversary. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that the first three Crash games would be remade from the ground up. ^[1] The series celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 9th, 2016.

Main characters

• Crash Bandicoot: The main protagonist of the series. He is a bandicoot who often foils Cortex’s plans. In the earlier games, despite himself not being so strong, he can use Aku Aku to defend himself and also uses the spin attack along with a range of other moves to destroy enemies. In the later games, he is considerably stronger as he can beat up titans using his bare fists and scale certain walls.
• Aku Aku: Once a human, his soul was absorbed inside a mask and now he acts as Crash’s sidekick. He often protects Crash from hazards such as enemies. He also acts as a shield for Crash in the later games. He’s the brother of Uka Uka.
• Doctor Neo Cortex: The main antagonist of the series. He is an evil scientist with a passion for mutating animals to create an army. Crash often foils his diabolical plans. However, Cortex has made many attempts to kill the bandicoot, but has always failed.
• Coco Bandicoot: Crash’s smarter, younger sister. She is very good with technology and has created numerous inventions to help Crash and Aku Aku out on their adventures. She is the only female major protagonist. She is also good at fighting.
• Uka Uka: Like Aku Aku, he was human until his soul was absorbed into his mask. He was then imprisoned by Aku Aku and the Ancients before meeting and teaming up with Cortex. He acts as the secondary antagonist.
• Crunch Bandicoot: A super-warrior of unbelievable strength, he was initially created to be General of the «Cortex Commandos» after Crash defied Cortex. However, Crash freed Crunch and the Super-Bandicoot had defected to the good side.

Overview

The plot arc of the Crash Bandicoot franchise mainly focuses on Crash, an Eastern barred bandicoot who was captured and evolved by the mad scientist, Dr. Neo Cortex who plans to take over the world. During his adventures, Crash vows to stop Cortex, or any other evil threat while maintaining peace around the island, with the help of his friends.

The gameplay in most of the Crash Bandicoot games is that of a 3D platformer game. The player controls Crash as he navigates through various obstacles like deep holes in the ground, moving platforms, enemies, and more. Crash’s main form of attack is usually either a jump or a spin that can break crates and defeat most enemies. Some of the common collectibles in the games include crystals, gems and Wumpa Fruit. Collecting 100 Wumpa Fruit will earn the player an extra life. In certain sequences, the player would experience different challenges, such as 2D-based platforming, escaping a giant boulder or having to ride a tiger or a polar bear to navigate through a level. In some instances, the player also took control of Coco, Crunch, Cortex, and Nina.

In some multiplayer or party-style games, such as Crash Team Racing or Crash Nitro Kart, the main gameplay is racing-based or in other games, such as Crash Bash, consists of minigames for multiple players to enjoy in short sessions.

In Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind Over Mutant, the player controls Crash going through levels collecting mojo, defeating enemies, and jacking titans.

Console games

Fifth generation (1996 — 2000)

• PlayStation — Crash Bandicoot (1996)
• PlayStation — Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)
• PlayStation — Crash Bandicoot: Warped (1998)
• PlayStation — Crash Team Racing (1999)
• PlayStation — Crash Bash (2000)

Sixth generation (2001 — 2004)

• PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube/Xbox 360 — Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2001)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube — Crash Nitro Kart (2003)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox — Crash Twinsanity (2004)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube/PlayStation Portable — Crash Tag Team Racing (2005)

Sixth/Seventh generation (2007 — 2008)

• PlayStation 2/Xbox 360/Wii/PlayStation Portable — Crash of the Titans (2007)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox 360/Wii/PlayStation Portable — Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008)

Eighth generation (2017 — Present)

• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch/PC — Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017)
• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch — Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (2019)
• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch/PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X/S/PC — Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (2020)
• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X/S — Crash Team Rumble — (2023)

Handheld games

Fifth/Sixth generation (1998)

• Tiger 99X — Crash Bandicoot (1998)
• PocketStation — Crash Anywhere (1999)

Sixth/Seventh generation (2002 — 2008)

• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (2002)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot Blast! (2002)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (2003)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Nitro Kart (2003)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (2004)
• Nintendo DS — Crash Boom Bang! (2006)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Nintendo DS — Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Nintendo DS — Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008)

Mobile games

• Crash Twinsanity 3D (2004)
• Crash Nitro Kart (2004)
• Crash Twinsanity (2004)
• Crash Bandicoot (2005)
• Crash Racing (2005)
• Crash Bandicoot Party Games (2007)
• Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Chokkan♪ Crash Bandicoot (2007)
• Crash Nitro Kart 2 (2008)
• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (2008)
• Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island (2009)
• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 (2010)
• Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! (2021)

Arcade games

• Interactive Pachislot Crash Bandicoot (2005)

Manga and Comics

• Crash Bandicoot (1996 — 1997)
• Crash Bandicoot: Dansu! De Jump! Na Daibouken (1997 — 1999)
• Crash Bandicoot: Kattobi! Spin World (1999 — 2004)
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Digital Comic (2019)

Artbooks and Sourcebooks

• The Crash Bandicoot Files: How Willy the Wombat Sparked Marsupial Mania (2018)
• The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (2020)

Compilations

• Crash Bandicoot Collector’s Edition (2002)
• Crash Superpack — Crash Nitro Kart/Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2005)
• Crash Superpack — Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced/Crash Nitro Kart (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Super Pack Volume 1 (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Super Pack Volume 2 (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Superpack — Crash Bandicoot Purple/Spyro Orange (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Superpack — Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure/Spyro: Season of Ice (2005)
• Crash Bandicoot Action Pack (2007)
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy + Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Bundle (2018)
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled/Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2019)

References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayStationEU/status/742536467159781376

Crash Bandicoot Series Games

Crash Bandicoot is a multi-million dollar video game series starring Crash Bandicoot as he battles his enemy and creator: the evil Neo Cortex. It was originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony’s PlayStation console and has seen numerous installments created by numerous developers and published on multiple platforms. The series consists predominantly of platform games, but also includes spin-offs in the kart racing and party game genres. The series was originally produced by Universal Interactive, which later became known as Vivendi Games. In 2007, Vivendi merged with Activision, which currently owns and publishes the franchise.

The Crash Bandicoot series has been a major international success, selling over 160 million in dollars and is the 25th best-selling series as of March 31, 2011 with around 40 million copies sold since its debut in 1996. In September of 2011, the series celebrated its 15th anniversary. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that the first three Crash games would be remade from the ground up. ^[1] The series celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 9th, 2016.

Main characters

• Crash Bandicoot: The main protagonist of the series. He is a bandicoot who often foils Cortex’s plans. In the earlier games, despite himself not being so strong, he can use Aku Aku to defend himself and also uses the spin attack along with a range of other moves to destroy enemies. In the later games, he is considerably stronger as he can beat up titans using his bare fists and scale certain walls.
• Aku Aku: Once a human, his soul was absorbed inside a mask and now he acts as Crash’s sidekick. He often protects Crash from hazards such as enemies. He also acts as a shield for Crash in the later games. He’s the brother of Uka Uka.
• Doctor Neo Cortex: The main antagonist of the series. He is an evil scientist with a passion for mutating animals to create an army. Crash often foils his diabolical plans. However, Cortex has made many attempts to kill the bandicoot, but has always failed.
• Coco Bandicoot: Crash’s smarter, younger sister. She is very good with technology and has created numerous inventions to help Crash and Aku Aku out on their adventures. She is the only female major protagonist. She is also good at fighting.
• Uka Uka: Like Aku Aku, he was human until his soul was absorbed into his mask. He was then imprisoned by Aku Aku and the Ancients before meeting and teaming up with Cortex. He acts as the secondary antagonist.
• Crunch Bandicoot: A super-warrior of unbelievable strength, he was initially created to be General of the «Cortex Commandos» after Crash defied Cortex. However, Crash freed Crunch and the Super-Bandicoot had defected to the good side.

Overview

The plot arc of the Crash Bandicoot franchise mainly focuses on Crash, an Eastern barred bandicoot who was captured and evolved by the mad scientist, Dr. Neo Cortex who plans to take over the world. During his adventures, Crash vows to stop Cortex, or any other evil threat while maintaining peace around the island, with the help of his friends.

The gameplay in most of the Crash Bandicoot games is that of a 3D platformer game. The player controls Crash as he navigates through various obstacles like deep holes in the ground, moving platforms, enemies, and more. Crash’s main form of attack is usually either a jump or a spin that can break crates and defeat most enemies. Some of the common collectibles in the games include crystals, gems and Wumpa Fruit. Collecting 100 Wumpa Fruit will earn the player an extra life. In certain sequences, the player would experience different challenges, such as 2D-based platforming, escaping a giant boulder or having to ride a tiger or a polar bear to navigate through a level. In some instances, the player also took control of Coco, Crunch, Cortex, and Nina.

In some multiplayer or party-style games, such as Crash Team Racing or Crash Nitro Kart, the main gameplay is racing-based or in other games, such as Crash Bash, consists of minigames for multiple players to enjoy in short sessions.

In Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind Over Mutant, the player controls Crash going through levels collecting mojo, defeating enemies, and jacking titans.

Console games

Fifth generation (1996 — 2000)

• PlayStation — Crash Bandicoot (1996)
• PlayStation — Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)
• PlayStation — Crash Bandicoot: Warped (1998)
• PlayStation — Crash Team Racing (1999)
• PlayStation — Crash Bash (2000)

Sixth generation (2001 — 2004)

• PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube/Xbox 360 — Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2001)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube — Crash Nitro Kart (2003)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox — Crash Twinsanity (2004)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube/PlayStation Portable — Crash Tag Team Racing (2005)

Sixth/Seventh generation (2007 — 2008)

• PlayStation 2/Xbox 360/Wii/PlayStation Portable — Crash of the Titans (2007)
• PlayStation 2/Xbox 360/Wii/PlayStation Portable — Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008)

Eighth generation (2017 — Present)

• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch/PC — Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017)
• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch — Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (2019)
• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Switch/PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X/S/PC — Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (2020)
• PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X/S — Crash Team Rumble — (2023)

Handheld games

Fifth/Sixth generation (1998)

• Tiger 99X — Crash Bandicoot (1998)
• PocketStation — Crash Anywhere (1999)

Sixth/Seventh generation (2002 — 2008)

• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (2002)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot Blast! (2002)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (2003)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Nitro Kart (2003)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (2004)
• Nintendo DS — Crash Boom Bang! (2006)
• Game Boy Advance — Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Nintendo DS — Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Nintendo DS — Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008)

Mobile games

• Crash Twinsanity 3D (2004)
• Crash Nitro Kart (2004)
• Crash Twinsanity (2004)
• Crash Bandicoot (2005)
• Crash Racing (2005)
• Crash Bandicoot Party Games (2007)
• Crash of the Titans (2007)
• Chokkan♪ Crash Bandicoot (2007)
• Crash Nitro Kart 2 (2008)
• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (2008)
• Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island (2009)
• Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 (2010)
• Crash Bandicoot: On the Run! (2021)

Arcade games

• Interactive Pachislot Crash Bandicoot (2005)

Manga and Comics

• Crash Bandicoot (1996 — 1997)
• Crash Bandicoot: Dansu! De Jump! Na Daibouken (1997 — 1999)
• Crash Bandicoot: Kattobi! Spin World (1999 — 2004)
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Digital Comic (2019)

Artbooks and Sourcebooks

• The Crash Bandicoot Files: How Willy the Wombat Sparked Marsupial Mania (2018)
• The Art of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (2020)

Compilations

• Crash Bandicoot Collector’s Edition (2002)
• Crash Superpack — Crash Nitro Kart/Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (2005)
• Crash Superpack — Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced/Crash Nitro Kart (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Super Pack Volume 1 (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Super Pack Volume 2 (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Superpack — Crash Bandicoot Purple/Spyro Orange (2005)
• Crash & Spyro Superpack — Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure/Spyro: Season of Ice (2005)
• Crash Bandicoot Action Pack (2007)
• Spyro Reignited Trilogy + Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Bundle (2018)
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled/Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2019)

References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayStationEU/status/742536467159781376

Crash Bandicoot Series Games

Серия «Crash Bandicoot»
Первоначальный логотип серии игр Crash Bandicoot
Жанры	Платформер Экшен Автосимулятор Party game
Разработчик	Naughty Dog (1996—1999) Eurocom (2000) Traveller’s Tales (2001, 2004) Vicarious Visions (2002—2004) Dimps (2006) Radical Entertainment (2005—2008)
Издатели	Universal Interactive (1996—2003) Sony Computer Entertainment (1996—2000) Konami (2001—2006) (японский маркетинг) Vivendi Universal (2003—2004) Sierra Entertainment (2005—2008) Activision Blizzard (2008—настоящее время)
Создатели	Andy Gavin Jason Rubin
Платформы	PlayStation PlayStation 2 Xbox GameCube Game Boy Advance N-Gage PlayStation Portable Nintendo DS Wii Xbox 360
Первая игра	Crash Bandicoot / 1996
Последняя игра	Crash: Mind over Mutant / 2008
Официальный сайт

Crash Bandicoot — серия видеоигр в жанре платформера, начатая компанией Naughty Dog в 1996 году (издатель — Sony Computer Entertainment), в дальнейшем разрабатывалась Radical Entertainment (издатель — Activision).

Основное место действия игры разворачивается на вымышленном архипелаге вблизи к югу Австралии, острова именуются Wumpa Islands.

В основных сериях игры жанр, в частности на игровых консолях, определяется платформером. В отличие от них, многие спин-офф определяются гоночным жанром. Главным героем серии является Крэш Бандикут, живущий на острове Вумпа, где он наслаждается тихой и безмятежной жизнью. Но в размеренные будни внезапно вторгается злой доктор-ученый Нео Кортекс, его создатель, который мечтает поработить мир.

Crash Bandicoot был коммерчески успешен, около 50 млн игр были проданы по всему миру^[1].

Игры серии выходили на разных игровых платформах, охватив основные телевизионные и портативные игровые консоли, существовавшие в период с 1996 года по настоящее время. Главный играбельный герой — бандикут по имени Крэш. Самые первые игры Крэша выходили на игровой консоли Sony PlayStation.

Игры от Naughty Dog

• Crash Bandicoot — PlayStation (1996)
• Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back — PlayStation (1997)
• Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped — PlayStation (1998)
• Crash Team Racing, Crash Bandicoot Racing — PlayStation (1999)

Игры от Eurocom / Traveller’s Tales / Vicarious Visions

• Crash Bash — PlayStation (2000, Eurocom)
• Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex — PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube (2001, Traveller’s Tales)
• Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, Crash Bandicoot Advance, Crash Bandicoot XS — Game Boy Advance (2002, Vicarious Visions)
• Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced — Game Boy Advance (2002, Vicarious Visions)
• Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage, Crash Bandicoot Fusion, Crash Bandicoot Advance: Waku Waku Friend Daisakusen! — Game Boy Advance (2004, Vicarious Visions)
• Crash Twinsanity — PlayStation 2, Xbox (2004, Traveller’s Tales)
• Crash Nitro Kart, Crash Bandicoot: Bakuso! Nitro Cart — PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, N-Gage (2003, Vicarious Visions)

Игры от Dimps / Radical Entertainment

• Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash Bandicoot: Gatchanko World — PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PSP (2005, Radical Entertainment)
• Crash Boom Bang!, Crash Bandicoot Festival — Nintendo DS (2006, Dimps)
• Crash of the Titans — Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP (2007, Radical Entertainment); Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance (2007, Amaze Entertainment)
• Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant — Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP (2008,)

См. также

• Список персонажей Crash Bandicoot

Примечания

Серия видеоигр о Крэше Бандикуте
Основная сюжетная линия	Crash Bandicoot | 2: Cortex Strikes Back | 3: Warped | The Wrath of Cortex | Twinsanity | Titans | Mind over Mutant
Ответвления	Team Racing | Bash | The Huge Adventure | N-Tranced | Nitro Kart | Purple | Tag Team Racing | Boom Bang!
Герои	Crash Bandicoot | Aku Aku | Coco Bandicoot | Crunch Bandicoot
Злодеи	Doctor Neo Cortex | Doctor N. Gin | Tiny Tiger | Uka Uka | Dingodile

Игровая серия Crash Bandicoot

Полный список игр серии Crash Bandicoot по порядку (хронологии) с рецензиями и оценками игроков.
Обзоры и отзывы, скриншоты и видео, гайды и советы по всем основным играм серии Crash Bandicoot.
Лучшие и худшие игры, сиквелы, приквелы и спин-оффы на
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и других популярных платформах.
Все об игровой серии Crash Bandicoot.