Story
Somewhere in a small Australian archipelago, the evil scientist Dr. Neo Cortex
is snatching
marsupials off of their natural habitats to create an army of super
animals, with the intention of taking over the World and shutting up those
who laughed at his ideas. To do this, he has
requested the help of Dr.
Nitrus Brio, a long-time friend and a bit of a rival. Brio created the
first fully functional Evolvo-Ray, a machine capable of
increasing intelligence in animals and giving them human-like qualities. In
short, it evolves any animal that gets zapped with it. After the evolution, one
final step is added: the exposure of the animal to the Cortex
Vortex, a mind-controlling device created by Dr. Cortex himself.
With the plan established and everything ready, Dr. Cortex gives the
experiment a green light and starts evolving and brainwashing the
marsupials. Amidst these marsupials is Crash, an Eastern Barred Bandicoot, and the
general-to-be in Dr.
Cortex's marsupial army. Though the evolution goes fine on Crash, the Cortex Vortex
soon rejects him for his kind nature.
This makes Dr. Cortex throw Crash away as garbage- his second big mistake
of the day. Before Crash got the
boot, he met a beautiful she-bandicoot named Tawna, and he's not going to
give up on her without a fight, even if that means he has to confront the
evil doctor himself.
Crash is washed away
by the sea, drifting unconsciously and eventually arriving to
what they call N. Sanity Island. Protecting this island and the whole
archipelago is the spirit of Aku Aku, a once great and benevolent witch doctor.
When he learns that Crash is out to defeat Dr.
Cortex (and thus, stop his pollution), Aku Aku decides to help
him. Aku Aku protects and communicates with Crash through the aid of a special
mask. They both set out to stop Dr. Cortex's plans, and this marks the
beginning of an endless feud between a scientist and his creation.
Characters:
Crash Bandicoot/Aku
Aku/Tawna/Dr. Neo Cortex/Dr. Nitrus
Brio
Papu Papu/Ripper Roo/Koala
Kong/Pinstripe Potoroo
Generalities
The game that started it all. Crash Bandicoot is a simple 3D
platformer which, despite having aged worse than its next two sequels, is
still a classic among platformers.
The gameplay is simple and straight to the
point. You control Crash Bandicoot in straight 3D routes, while spinning
to defeat enemies and to break Crates. Spinning is Crash's basic form of attack. Jump across gaps to make your way through and reach the end of
the level (marked with a glowing yellow Warp Pad). Bosses will pop up
every so and then, attempting to defeat you. Most of them follow a pattern
and they all have a weak spot, which is up to you to find out.
Crate-smashing is an important activity in this game. Not
only do Crates offer you goodies (such as Wumpa Fruit, Witch Doctor Masks
and extra lives), but breaking all the Crates in a level also awards you a
Gem. Keep an eye out for Checkpoint Crates. You will respawn at the last
Checkpoint you've opened, in case you lose a life. Watch out for TNT
Crates, as they will explode if you spin them. To get rid of them, jump on
them and get clear before the timer reaches 0.
Gems are the most important item in the game, and each Gem
allows you to save your progress. Gems are obtained by breaking all the Crates in a level. Coloured Gems
unlock secret passages in levels, which usually contain Crates. This means
you'll have to backtrack sometimes, because more often than not, you will
not have the required Coloured Gem to open a secret passage at first. Collecting all the Gems in the game unlocks an
alternate ending and the epilogue.
Wumpa Fruits are the common pick-ups in the game.
Like with many other platformers, collecting 100 of these will offer you an extra
life. Other pick-ups include the Witch Doctor Masks, which summon the good
spirit Aku Aku. For each mask you possess, you gain an extra hit point (up
to a total of 2). By picking up 3 masks, you are granted a short burst of
invincibility.
Asides from Crash mugs (which give you lives), you can
also find Tawna, Brio and Cortex mugs. These transport you to bonus
stages, where 2D gameplay reigns above bottomless pits. Tawna's bonuses
are important, because completing them offers you a chance to save your
progress. Completing a Cortex bonus gives you a special key, which unlocks
a secret level (very important for 100% completion). There are only 2 of these.
As for Brio's bonuses, they're the only ones that can be replayed as many
times as you like, and serve merely as a way to stack up extra lives. In
any of the bonus stages, you will not lose a life if Crash dies.
The
graphics are, of course, dated by now, as 3D doesn't age as well as 2D
does (although despite that, the game's two direct sequels are still
pretty good and run on the same hardware). For its time though, it was as
good as it could get. The music in this game was always too simple though.
It was performed by the Mutato Muzika, who greatly improved their quality
for Crash 2, 3 and CTR.
Character Moves:
Jump-
Press the X button to jump in the air. For a higher jump, hold the X button
longer. To get maximum height, hold the X button whilst bouncing off of enemies and crates (2
crates height).
Spin Attack-
Press the Square or O button to spin for a small amount of time, enabling Crash
to
defeat enemies that make contact with him.
Rides:
Warthog- When riding the warthog, you'll be running forward at high
speed, and with no means to brake or go back. Move sideways with the D-Pad
and jump to avoid obstacles and holes.
