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Crash Bandicoot is the
title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
and main
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the '' Crash Bandicoot'' franchise. Introduced in the 1996 video game '' Crash Bandicoot'', Crash is a
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It i ...
eastern barred bandicoot who was genetically enhanced by the series' main antagonist
Doctor Neo Cortex Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex is a character and the main antagonist of the '' Crash Bandicoot'' video game series. He has appeared in every mainline game in the series as Crash Bandicoot's archenemy, as well as a playable character in several s ...
and soon escaped from Cortex's castle after a failed experiment in the "Cortex Vortex". Throughout the series, Crash acts as the opposition against Cortex and his schemes for world domination. While Crash has a number of offensive maneuvers at his disposal, his most distinctive technique is one in which he spins like a tornado at high speeds and knocks away almost anything that he strikes. Crash was created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin, and was originally designed by Charles Zembillas. Crash was intended to be a
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
character for
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
to use to compete against
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
's
Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...
and
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
's
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
. Before Crash was given his name (which stems from the visceral reaction to the character's destruction of boxes), he was referred to as "Willie the Wombat" for much of the duration of the first game's production. Crash has drawn comparisons to mascots such as
Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...
and
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
by reviewers. His animations have been praised, while his voice has faced criticism. He has been redesigned several times throughout many games, which have drawn mixed reactions.


Concept and creation

One of the main reasons Naughty Dog chose to develop ''Crash Bandicoot'' (at the time jokingly codenamed "Sonic's Ass Game") for the Sony PlayStation was Sony's lack of an existing mascot character that could compete with
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
's
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
and
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
's
Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...
. By this time video game mascots were seen as increasingly unimportant, since they were overshadowed by cross-licensing and the aging games market meant most gamers were too old to find mascots appealing, but Sony were nonetheless interested in covering all bases. In Japan, Sony had used Captain Rock from '' Motor Toon Grand Prix'' as a ''de facto'' mascot during PlayStation's launch, although SCEA chose not to and instead introduced the purpose-made Polygon Man. Following a negative reception, SCEA picked Sofia from ''
Battle Arena Toshinden ''Battle Arena Toshinden'', released as in Japan, is a 1995 fighting video game developed by Tamsoft and published by Takara for the PlayStation. It was one of the first fighting games, after ''Virtua Fighter'' on arcade and console, to boas ...
'' as a mascot. Later in Japan, MuuMuu from '' Jumping Flash!'' was a ''de facto'' mascot. Sony brought out their in-house Mario/Sonic-like platformer, '' Hermie Hopperhead: Scrap Panic'', in 1995, but this was not released outside Japan due to SCEA's strict policy at the time against releasing 2D games for the American market. For the game's lead character, Naughty Dog wanted to do what
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
and Warner Bros. did while designing their respective characters – Sonic the Hedgehog and the
Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now con ...
– and incorporate an existing animal that was appealing and obscure. The team purchased a field guide on Tasmanian mammals and selected the
wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials of the family Vombatidae that are native to Australia. Living species are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are ...
,
potoroo Potoroo is a common name for species of ''Potorous'', a genus of smaller marsupials. They are allied to the Macropodiformes, the suborder of kangaroo, wallaby, and other rat-kangaroo genera and is the only genus in the tribe Potoroini. All three ...
, and
bandicoot Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipela ...
as options. Gavin and Rubin went with "Willy the Wombat" as a temporary name for the starring character of the game. They never intended the name to be final due both to the name sounding "too dorky" and to the existence of a non-video game property of the same name; the name was also used by
Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company known for releasing numerous titles across video game consoles, home computers, and mobile phones. Headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo, it also maintained an office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. F ...
for its Japan-exclusive Sega Saturn
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
''Willy Wombat''. The character was effectively a bandicoot by October 1994, but was still referred to as "Willie the Wombat" because a final name had not been formulated yet. Wanting their mascot game to be multi-dimensional in character depth as well as gameplay, Gavin and Rubin chose not to base Crash around one attribute such as "fast" or "cute". Epoch Ink artist Joe Pearson and American Exitus artist Charles Zembillas were hired and met with Naughty Dog weekly to design and develop Crash and the other characters of the game. Zembillas' initial sketches of Crash depicted him as a "squat, hunkered-down" character. After Pearson drew a version of Crash that was leaner, had a larger nose and wore a
Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...
-like mask, Zembillas began drawing Crash as "a little more manic and insane". Naughty Dog decided early on that there would be no connection between a real animal and Crash's final design, which would instead be determined "51% by technical and visual necessity and 49% by inspiration". Gavin determined Crash's fur color by creating a list of popular characters and their colors, and then making a list of earthly background possibilities (such as forests, deserts, beaches, etc.). Colors that would not look good on the screen were strictly outlawed, such as red, which would bleed on older televisions. Orange was selected by process of elimination. Crash's head was made large and neckless to counter the low resolution of the screen and allow his facial expressions to be discernible. Jason Rubin noted the increased difficulty in turning Crash's head with this type of design. Small details such as the gloves, the spots on Crash's back and a light-colored chest were added to help the player determine what side of Crash was visible based on color. Crash was not given a tail or any flappy straps of clothing due to the PlayStation's inability to properly display such pixels without flickering. The length of Crash's pants was shortened to keep his ankles from flickering as they would with longer pants. Andy Gavin owns the original ink sketches of Crash by Charles Zembillas. Crash was originally written by Pearson as a speaking character who, as a result of his subjection to the Cortex Vortex, communicated in a series of bizarre non sequiturs derived from classic literature and pop culture. The team ultimately decided that Crash would be mute because they considered past voices for video game characters to be "lame, negative, and distract ngfrom identification with them". Crash's final game model was made from 512 polygons with the only textures being for the spots on his back and his shoelaces. It took Andy Gavin a month to settle on that number of polygons. Because of the game's use of vertex animation, Crash was capable of more facial expressions than other video game characters at or before the time. Crash's jumping, spinning and bonking mechanisms were refined as the Naughty Dog team developed the levels "Heavy Machinery" and "Generator Room". While preparing for the game's demonstration at E3 1996, the team decided to finally rename the title character "Crash Bandicoot", a name credited to Kurosaki and Dave Baggett. The character's name was based on his species and the visceral reaction to his destruction of boxes. The names "Dash", "Smash", and "Bash" were also considered. The marketing director of Universal Interactive Studios insisted that the game and character be named "Wez/Wezzy/Wuzzle the Wombat" or "Ozzie the Otzel". The name ''Crash Bandicoot'' prevailed after Naughty Dog threatened to leave the production. After Naughty Dog presented ''Crash Bandicoot'' to Sony's Japanese division, the executives of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan stated their dislike of the character and were unimpressed by the renderings of the character made specifically for the meeting. During a break following the initial meeting, Andy Gavin approached Charlotte Francis, the artist responsible for the renderings, and gave her fifteen minutes to close Crash's huge, smiling mouth to make him seem less aggressive, change his eyes from green to "two small black "Pac-Man" shapes" and make his spike of hair smaller. Sony Japan bought ''Crash Bandicoot'' for Japanese distribution after being shown the modified printout. The Japanese television advertising campaign for ''Crash Bandicoot'' included a dance performed by a costumed Crash Bandicoot mascot; the dance was created by Sony Japan's marketing manager Megumi Hosoya. The success of the campaign influenced Naughty Dog to incorporate the dance into the games. In 1997, Sony Computer Entertainment America signed a deal making Crash a licensed character with the expectation of making it their third and new mascot.


Post Naughty Dog designs

Crash served as a mascot for Sony Computer Entertainment from his creation until September 2000 when Universal Interactive Studios and Konami entered an agreement that would enable Konami to publish a ''Crash Bandicoot'' game (which would later become '' Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'') for next-generation game systems, with Universal Interactive handling the production of the games; the agreement served to break the ''Crash Bandicoot'' franchise's exclusivity to Sony-produced consoles and effectively made Crash Bandicoot a mascot character for Universal rather than Sony. Crash's game model in ''Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'' was composed of approximately 1,800 polygons, which allowed an increase in detail compared to past models, including a more complex and realistic tuft of hair, a visible
uvula The uvula (: uvulas or uvulae), also known as the palatine uvula or staphyle, is a conic projection from the back edge of the middle of the soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose glands, and some muscular fi ...
, stitching on his jeans and shoes and a designer label on his pants. Upon beginning development of ''Crash Nitro Kart'',
Vicarious Visions Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions, Inc.) is an American video game development division of Blizzard Entertainment based in Albany, New York. Founded in 1991, the company was acquired by Activision in January 2005. In January 2021, Vica ...
chief executive officer and chief creative officer Karthik Bala noted that Crash's physical appearance had been inconsistent since his debut in 1996 and decided to "explore the original vision of the character" in an attempt to bring him back to his roots. Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson were tracked down and enlisted for guidance during development of the game and were faced with the challenge of evolving the character and the franchise visually while retaining their "cartoon-like charm". To redesign Crash and the other mainstay characters of the series for ''Crash Nitro Kart'', the Vicarious Visions team reviewed a number of original development sketches from Zembillas's archives and then redesigned the main characters by incorporating details from the concept art and adding girth to the characters; Crash's appearance in the game, compared to the previous two games, sports a slightly larger nose, fuller eyebrows, and a far more textured body. Zembillas noted that "Crash is slimmer and more appealing now. There's also more emphasis on his eyes, and you can see the craftiness in his personality. That's Crash to me, and he's alive again in ''Nitro Kart''". Crash and the rest of the series' cast were redesigned for ''
Crash of the Titans ''Crash of the Titans'' is a 2007 platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. It is the first game in the '' Crash Bandicoot'' series not to h ...
'' to realign the characters into a unified style as well as make them more modern and distinct from other cartoon characters; the new designs were described by producer Kirsten Forbes as having a "punk" edge to them. For '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time'', the development team set updating Crash's design for the game as their earliest task, which prompted conversation within the art team attempting to determine Crash's personality. They eventually honed in on what art director Josh Nadelberg described as "this dude who's always in the wrong place at the wrong time" who "just manages to get himself out of all these crazy situations in a heroic way, but he's not your classic hero". The team's concept artists created various designs for Crash, with Kole being tasked with combining the most suitable elements from each iteration. Artist Nicholas Kole did not find photographic references to real bandicoots helpful in the design process, as his attempts to incorporate them resulted in a deviation from the character's spirit; Kole likened Crash's general design to an artist's attempt at drawing a bandicoot from memory a couple years after having seen one. Artist Ryan Jones took the liberty of omitting Crash's flesh-colored lips in favor of a simpler two-toned fur treatment, which was incorporated into his final design. Crash's lack of a neck was the most difficult aspect of his design for the development team's modelers to translate; as Kole observed: "He's just shoulders and then a head. It was actually kind of a big technical challenge to pull that off just right."


Voice portrayal

Crash Bandicoot was originally voiced by Brendan O'Brien from 1996 to 2001; O'Brien came in contact with Rubin through Pearson and recorded his dialogue below the
Universal Studios Lot Universal Studios Lot is a television and Film studio#Typical components, film studio complex located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California, and is part of the entire Universal Studios complex, which also includes the adjacen ...
's Hitchcock Theater. The character was later voiced by Chip Chinery in ''
Crash Team Racing ''Crash Team Racing'' (stylized as ''CTR: Crash Team Racing'') is a 1999 kart racing game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fourth installment in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series ...
'' and
Steve Blum Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series ''Cowboy Bebop''; Amon from ''The Legend of Korra''; Heatblast, Ghostfreak, and ...
in ''
Crash Nitro Kart ''Crash Nitro Kart'' is a 2003 kart racing game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox (console), Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance, with abridged ports later released in 2004 for the ...
''.
Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor. His roles include Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Captain Hero in '' Drawn Together'', Jerry in the first two seasons of '' Totally Spies!'', Ironhide in the first three ''Tr ...
voiced the character for fifteen years from 2005 to 2020, beginning with '' Crash Tag Team Racing'' to '' Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!''. In 2020,
Scott Whyte Scott Whyte is an American actor, best known for his role as Chris Anderson on '' City Guys''. He has also appeared in television series such as ''That '70s Show'' and ''Just Shoot Me!'' and the films '' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' and its sequel, '' ...
voiced the character in '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time''.
Carlos Alazraqui Carlos Jaime Alazraqui (born July 20, 1962) is an American actor. His voice acting roles include the original voice of Spyro from '' Spyro the Dragon'', the Taco Bell chihuahua in the Taco Bell commercials, Rocko on ''Rocko's Modern Life'', D ...
provided his voice in promotional trailers for ''Cortex Strikes Back,'' also switching out live performances as him with
Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...
at
E3 1997 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo) was an annual trade event for the video game industry organized and presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It was held principally in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2019, with its final ...
. In the Japanese versions of the games, he was voiced by
Kappei Yamaguchi , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and '' rakugoka'' affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox.Doi, Hitoshi"Yamaguchi Kappei" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2011. After making his ...
up until the release of ''Nitro Kart'', and by
Makoto Ishii is a Japanese voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Rimax. Filmography Television animation *2003: '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'' as Tsujisaki Yū, Hotel man *2004-2023: ''Fafner in the Azure'' as Kazu ...
in ''
Crash Boom Bang! ''Crash Boom Bang!'', known in Japan as ''Crash Bandicoot Festival'', is a party video game developed by Dimps and published by Vivendi Universal Games for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in July 2006, North America and Europe in Octob ...
''. In ''Skylanders Academy'', he is voiced by Eric Rogers and later by
Rhys Darby Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. He is known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nomin ...
.


Characteristics

Crash was genetically engineered through the use of Cortex and Doctor Nitrus Brio's Evolvo-Ray. Before escaping from Doctor Neo Cortex's island fortress, Crash became romantically attached to a female bandicoot named Tawna, who was another one of Cortex's experiments. Crash's separation from Tawna at the hands of Cortex serves as the primary root of Crash's antagonism of Cortex. Crash is a very emotional character who is quick to laugh and quick to cry. While he has a danger-loving, fearless nature and loves a good fight, he prefers relaxing in the sun and rarely seeks out trouble deliberately. To the ire of his friend Crunch, but the amusement of his sister
Coco Coco or variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Coco'' (2009 film), a French comedy film * ''Coco'' (2017 film), an American animated fantasy film * '' Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle'' (), a 2020 Japanese anime film ...
, Crash is prone to impolite personal habits such as belching or scratching his posterior. Crash is generally depicted as a mute character, with the frequent exception of exclaiming "Whoa!" upon losing a life. In the
Radical Entertainment Radical Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing '' The Simpsons: Hit & Run'' (2003), '' Scarface: The World Is Yours'' (2006), ''Prototype'' (2009) and '' Prototype 2'' (2 ...
games, Crash speaks in unintelligible
gibberish Gibberish, also known as jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense: ranging across speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsid ...
, but gives a verbal exclamation of excitement in the ending sequence of ''
Crash of the Titans ''Crash of the Titans'' is a 2007 platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. It is the first game in the '' Crash Bandicoot'' series not to h ...
''. In the '' Skylanders Academy'' web series, he speaks in full sentences with an
Australian accent Australian English (AuE) accents are the non-rhotic pronunciations of English used by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, Australian English is a relatively regionally homogeneous variety of the English language. Australian English i ...
and frequently uses
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
. Crash narrates the epilogue of '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time'' in a fully articulate voice that Dalton Cooper of ''Game Rant'' described as "
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...
-esque". In the beginning of the series, Crash's sole offensive maneuvers were jumping onto his enemies and a distinctive technique in which he spins around like a tornado, kicking away anyone or anything that he strikes. In later games Crash can expand his range of abilities by defeating boss characters. The expanded abilities include a powerful splash, the ability to jump while in the air, the "Death Tornado Spin" (a variation of his spinning technique that allows him to hover through the air for a limited time), a
bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...
that fires Wumpa Fruit, increased running speed, the ability to safely tip-toe on top of explosive crates, and the ability to jump at incredibly high heights. The games ''
Crash of the Titans ''Crash of the Titans'' is a 2007 platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. It is the first game in the '' Crash Bandicoot'' series not to h ...
'' and '' Crash: Mind over Mutant'' allow Crash to further expand his offensive abilities with new fighting moves learned from collecting a magical substance known as "Mojo". In '' Skylanders: Imaginators'', Crash has the ability to throw TNT crates, and can use his Yo-yo to bring in enemies to spin attack.


Appearances


Main series

'' Crash Bandicoot'' (1996) depicts Crash's origin as an ordinary eastern barred bandicoot who was snatched from the wild by Doctor Neo Cortex and subjected to the Evolvo-Ray as part of Cortex's plan to make Crash the
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
of his "Cortex Commandos", which would be used to dominate the world. However, he is later deemed unworthy of being in Cortex's army and escapes from Cortex's castle. As an act of revenge and to rescue a female bandicoot named Tawna, Crash travels through the Wumpa Islands, defeating Cortex's henchmen along the way. He eventually defeats Cortex, steals his airship, and escapes alongside Tawna. A year later in '' Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back'' (1997), Crash is recruited by a supposedly reformed Cortex to gather crystals that will ostensibly avert a catastrophe. In '' Crash Bandicoot: Warped'' (1998), Crash and his sister Coco thwart a plot by Cortex that spans several time periods. In '' Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'' (2001), Crash and Coco collect crystals to defeat a genetically-engineered super-soldier created by Cortex and powered by four ancient and destructive masks. ''
Crash Twinsanity ''Crash Twinsanity'' is a 2004 Platformer, platform game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Vivendi Universal Games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox (console), Xbox. It is the eleventh installment in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series an ...
'' (2004) sees Crash and Cortex being forced to team up to save the world from a pair known as the Evil Twins. ''
Crash of the Titans ''Crash of the Titans'' is a 2007 platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. It is the first game in the '' Crash Bandicoot'' series not to h ...
'' (2007) and '' Crash: Mind over Mutant'' (2008) showcase a redesigned Crash in a
beat 'em up A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...
style of gameplay as well as his new ability to control (or "jack") large beasts known as Titans. '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time'' (2020), which returns to the original trilogy's gameplay style and narratively follows ''Crash Bandicoot: Warped'', shows Crash and Coco seeking out four Quantum Masks to save the
multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...
.


Other games

Crash appears as a playable character in the racing titles ''
Crash Team Racing ''Crash Team Racing'' (stylized as ''CTR: Crash Team Racing'') is a 1999 kart racing game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fourth installment in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series ...
'' (1999), ''
Crash Nitro Kart ''Crash Nitro Kart'' is a 2003 kart racing game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox (console), Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance, with abridged ports later released in 2004 for the ...
'' (2003) and '' Crash Tag Team Racing'' (2005), as well as the party titles ''
Crash Bash ''Crash Bash'' is a 2000 party video game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software in association with Cerny Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the fifth title in the '' Crash Bandicoot'' serie ...
'' (2000), ''
Crash Boom Bang! ''Crash Boom Bang!'', known in Japan as ''Crash Bandicoot Festival'', is a party video game developed by Dimps and published by Vivendi Universal Games for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in July 2006, North America and Europe in Octob ...
'' (2006) and '' Crash Team Rumble'' (2023). Crash first appeared on a handheld console in '' Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure'' (2002) for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
, which was followed the next year by '' Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced'' (2003). Other handheld games featuring Crash include the crossover titles ''Crash Bandicoot Purple'' and ''Spyro Orange'' (2004) and the
Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...
versions of ''
Crash of the Titans ''Crash of the Titans'' is a 2007 platform game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. It is the first game in the '' Crash Bandicoot'' series not to h ...
'' (2007) and '' Crash: Mind over Mutant'' (2008).


Appearances outside of the series

Crash makes an appearance in '' Uncharted 4: A Thief's End'' (2016) in a playable recreation of a level from ''Crash Bandicoot''. Additionally, Crash appears in '' Skylanders: Imaginators'' (2016) alongside
Doctor Neo Cortex Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex is a character and the main antagonist of the '' Crash Bandicoot'' video game series. He has appeared in every mainline game in the series as Crash Bandicoot's archenemy, as well as a playable character in several s ...
as a playable Skylander. Here he is accompanied by Aku Aku, who serves as his translator. Crash also makes recurring appearances in '' Skylanders Academy'' (2016-18), being transported from his own world into the world of Skylands. Unlike his appearance in ''Skylanders: Imaginators'', Aku Aku does not accompany him. Also unlike any of his other appearances, he speaks fluent English with an Australian accent, provided by showrunner Eric Rogers in the first season and by
Rhys Darby Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. He is known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nomin ...
in the third season. Crash, Coco, Aku Aku, Cortex, and Kapuna-Wa appear in the PlayStation 4 "It's time to play" commercial alongside other gaming characters. Crash and Aku Aku make a cameo appearance in '' Astro's Playroom'' (2020) and its sequel ''
Astro Bot is a 2024 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5 to coincide with PlayStation's 30th anniversary. Following ''Astro's Playroom'' (2020), it is the fifth overall installment in ...
'' (2024).


Cultural impact


Merchandise

Crash has been featured in two series of ''Crash Bandicoot''
action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...
s produced by the now-defunct Resaurus. For ''Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back'', Resaurus produced a "
Jetboard A jetboard is a motorized surfboard, where the rider controls the speed using a handheld remote control (wireless or tethered) and uses the bodyweight transfer to maneuver the board. The driveline typically consists of a water jet module (simil ...
Crash" (a Crash Bandicoot figure bundled with the jetboard seen in the game) and a "
Jet Pack A jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack or flight pack is a device worn as a backpack which uses jets to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and the first working experimental d ...
Crash" (a
goggle Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and i ...
-wearing Crash Bandicoot figure bundled with the jet pack seen in the game). The ''Crash Bandicoot: Warped'' series featured three different figures of Crash, including one bundled with Aku Aku and Coco Bandicoot figures. A Crash figurine was released as part of the ''Skylanders: Imaginators'' starter pack for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
in October 2016; he was made to be playable across all platforms. To promote the series comeback, various shirts, keychains, and other types of merchandise was officially licensed from
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
with Numskull Product Design.


Paleontology

Paleontologists have named an extinct bandicoot from the Miocene of Australia after the character, ''Crash bandicoot''. Although somewhat unusual for the scientific community, the name was used in an entirely unaltered form, without attempting to return to Latin or Greek roots.


Reception

As a mascot character, Crash has drawn numerous comparisons to competing mascots such as Mario and Sonic by reviewers.
Dave Halverson Dave Halverson is an American video game journalist who has been the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of ''GameFan'' (where he wrote reviews as E. Storm, Skid and Takahara), ''Gamers' Republic'', ''Play'', and currently the new versions o ...
of ''
GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising, and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and imported video games. It was notable for it ...
'' praised Crash's animations, appearance and mannerisms as "100% perfection". A reviewer for ''
GameRevolution Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male ...
'' praised Crash's "quirky mannerisms" as "always refreshing", and John Broady of ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' described Crash as "disarmingly cute and fuzzy". Doug Perry of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' was critical of the character, seeing him as "insanely capitalistic", negatively comparing his voice to
Luigi Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...
of the ''
Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...
'' series and accusing him of being "the most see-through, copycat mascot that ever existed." Louis Bedigian of ''GameZone'' also disliked Crash's voice, remarking "it is really annoying to hear a child say, 'Whoa!' every time you fall in the water, especially when you realize that the child's voice is supposed to be Crash". Crash's animations, particularly in ''Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex'', have been praised as humorous by reviewers. Ryan Davis of ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' analyzed Crash's "overextended running style and self-punishing attacks" as establishing him as an "empty-headed but enthusiastic character", and compared his facial contortions to those of comedian
Red Skelton Richard Bernard Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national old-time radio, radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelto ...
. Crash's aesthetic design in the games developed by
Radical Entertainment Radical Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing '' The Simpsons: Hit & Run'' (2003), '' Scarface: The World Is Yours'' (2006), ''Prototype'' (2009) and '' Prototype 2'' (2 ...
has received mixed reactions from reviewers. Ravi Sinha of ''GamingBolt'' considered the design among the worst in video games, noting that the developers should not have tried "to make Crash look 'cool'". Brian Rowe of ''
GameRevolution Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male ...
'' noted that Crash's fingerless gloves have been replaced with "equally outdated" tribal tattoos and that Crash's personality had been altered from his "obnoxiously extreme attitude" to that of a "bluthering, googly-eyed idiot". Although Rowe wondered when and why the change happened, he concluded that "it's better than the popular goatee-of-rage that so many other platform giants are sporting these days". Arnold Katayev of ''PSX Extreme'', while admitting that the character detail on Crash was "pretty nice", expressed unhappiness with the artistic choices made for the character; he described Crash's tribal tattoos as "a little pretentious" and noted that the increased definition on his mohawk patch made Crash come off as "trying too hard to be cool". He added that Crash's new fighting style begot a stance that consists of Crash "putting up his dukes like a boxer", which he deemed "out of character" for Crash. Finally, while critiquing the voice acting in ''Crash of the Titans'', he remarked that Crash "especially sounds awful, largely because he doesn't actually speak - he just blabs annoying gibberish, which makes him sound like he's an infant". Matt Keller of ''PALGN'' also criticized Crash's voice, which he said made Crash sound "like a confused baby". Louis Bedigian of ''GameZone'' stated that "Crash's character design has gone from cool to goofy and now to the dreaded place of being dorky" and said that the minute and gradual changes made to Crash's design throughout the series "have really hurt Crash's appearance as a leading game character". ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' named Crash's new design as the second worst video game character makeover ever. Craig Harris of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' was more positive on Crash's new appearance and noted that Crash "looks a little floofier and a lot edgier, gaining a spikier Mohawk and trading in his fingerless gloves for tribal ink all up and down his arms" while comparing his incoherent squawking vocalizations to Kazooie of the ''
Banjo-Kazooie ''Banjo-Kazooie'' is a platform game series developed by Rare, a British company. The games feature a male bear named Banjo and his friend, a large female red bird named Kazooie, both of whom are controlled by the player. Banjo originally mad ...
'' series. He concluded that "ultimately he's been changed for the better. He looks a little cooler and more appealing than his more 'Japanese-inspired' edits over the years". Crash has been identified by gaming publications as one of the best and most iconic video game characters. In 2024, a poll conducted by
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
with around 4,000 respondents named Crash Bandicoot as the fifteenth most iconic video-game character of all time. However, he was also included on ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s 2009 list of top video game characters who should be retired; ''IGN'' editor Colin Moriarty, describing such an event to be a "mercy killing", stated that his games add little to innovate the series over the years, rendering the character useless.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandicoot, Crash Animal characters in video games Anthropomorphic marsupials Anthropomorphic video game characters Crash Bandicoot characters Fictional racing drivers Genetically engineered characters in video games Male characters in video games Mutant characters in video games Orphan characters in video games Mascots introduced in 1996 Universal Pictures characters Video game characters introduced in 1996 Video game mascots