Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Release Date - October 31, 1998 (NA)
Developer - Nintendo, HAL Laboratory
Publisher - Naughty Dog
Platform - PlayStation
The PlayStation never really had an ‘official’ mascot in the same vein that Sonic was for Sega and that Mario was for Nintendo, but Crash Bandicoot definitely came close to filling that role. In some gamers’ eyes, he was the de-facto face of the PlayStation.
It isn’t hard to see why, with Crash Bandicoot becoming one of the PlayStation’s best selling titles, and spawning an equally successful sequel; Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. Both games were also lauded by critics, but for many, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, would be the crown jewel of the franchise.
Familiar to fans of the series will recognise the platforming levels, and they look stunning with great use of colour and 3D modelling.
While the gameplay initially doesn’t seem significantly different to Crash Bandicoot 2, the third game is a refinement and improvement over the previous titles, and adds some new sections that make it stand out above its predecessors. Once again, players take control of the titular bandicoot, this time chasing his arch-rival Cortex through a time travelling adventure. Crash journeys through prehistoric jungles, ancient Rome and China, Medieval England and 1950’s America among more globe spanning locations and eras.
The game will still consist of traversing dangerous stages, collecting apples and breaking crates while disposing of or avoiding baddies in a mix of 2D and 3D stages. Moves like the Death Tornado Spin and Super Body Slam return, and new abilities (including a laser guided fruit bazooka) can be learned.
The variety in Crash Bandicoot: Warped is to be commended. The first world alone sees a combination of platforming, underwater navigation and jet-ski riding!
Crash can now also take control of period-appropriate vehicles and beasts to ride on! Dinosaurs, motorbikes and airplanes feature, and even Coco, Crash’s sister, gets in on the action riding her pet tiger during some stages. These sections not only add some more flavor to the time travel and world spanning element of the setting, but also break up the gameplay with a great variety of different challenges for the player to take on and overcome. This all gels nicely with the existing platforming stages, making a game with an excellently balanced difficulty curve. Each stage is just that much harder than the previous, challenging the player and urging them to try just one more time to try and master a difficult selection. For those wishing for more challenge, You can revisit levels once beaten and complete them in Time Trial mode, racing to finish them as fast as possible. This mode even has a nifty name entry screen so you can challenge your friends and keep track of your own best runs.
The game is tied together neatly with this cool hub-world allowing Crash to warp between each different era and location.
Crash retains his bombastic style, and the sense of cartoon shenanigans is spot-on. Crash is brilliantly animated from his movement through levels to his celebratory dances (including hip thrusts), even through to his death animations. The death animations are genuinely funny, and surprisingly varied depending on the context. Getting cut up in half by a sword wielding knight results in Crash’s legs walking away from his separated upper body, getting flattened by a stone means Crash gets compressed to just a head and a pair of shoes waddling away. You’ll probably want to save some lives just to see the excellent animated deaths!
Crash hits the road in this vehicle level, outrun greasers and look good doing it.
(Screenshot from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lemj-MCaY)
The time travel theme obviously lends itself well to including a huge variety of beautiful and impressive stages, and the game even includes different weather effects and times of day to really showcase the fun settings to explore. The variety and details in the stages go a long way to making this one of the most memorable Crash Bandicoot games.
Antagonists popping in to insult you was a nice touch. Being fully voiced and really nicely animated meant that they added a lot of personality to the baddies.
As you progress through the game, friends and foes will give you either help or hurl insults at you before levels. This is great when you’re getting some advice on the game from your pal Ooga Booga, and just as much fun when you’re getting threatened by the end of world bosses! Each boss will communicate with the player through their respective levels, giving you a taste of their personality and adding even more character to a game already dripping with it. The fights themselves don’t disappoint when you finally come face to face with them too, with each being different and having some truly creative battles to figure out before you can put them down. Once you defeat the boss, you’ll unlock a new move for Crash which can be put to use in the following levels, or upon revisiting earlier stages.
Crash has quite a versatile moveset in this game, even being able to monkey-hang from the ceilings. (Screenshot from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lemj-MCaY)
To date, Crash Bandicoot: Warped is considered one of the best, if not the best, game in the franchise, no small feat considering the amount of love that this series has received. A tribute to the games lasting appeal, the original trilogy was remastered and released for Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC, allowing more players than ever before to experience this excellent platformer.
If all else fails… just use a bazooka.