Crash, Coco, Aku Aku and Polar are taking a well deserved time-off just outside their house. Suddenly, they notice a sinister force soaring through the air above them, chuckling maliciously. Aku Aku knows what's going on. His evil twin brother, The Great Uka Uka has been freed. After everyone runs inside, Aku Aku tells the bandicoots the story of how he locked up Uka Uka long ago. Now that he's free again, he's sure to start all sorts of chaos. Aku Aku relies on Crash and Coco to help stopping him.

Meanwhile, Uka Uka is giving a lecture to none other than Dr. Cortex. It seems that all this time, Cortex has been following orders from Uka Uka, given from inside his prison. Uka Uka is furious at Cortex for having failed him twice, but since his last failure actually resulted in his release, he gives Cortex another opportunity to help with World domination. Since the Gems and the Crystals are lost, there is no other way to amass enough power to enslave the planet. But Uka Uka thought ahead and recruited the help of an old friend, Dr. Nefarious Tropy. This blue fellow of Uka Uka's built the Time Twister, a machine capable of warping anything through time. Uka Uka plans on getting the crystals from their original time locations.

Crash, Coco and Aku Aku soon arrive at the Time Twister. It's up to them to retrieve the Crystals before Cortex's minions do so.

Characters: Crash Bandicoot/Coco Bandicoot/Dr. Neo Cortex/Aku Aku
The Great Uka Uka/Dr. Nefarious Tropy/Dr. N. Gin/Tiny Tiger/Dingodile/Polar/Pura
Baby T-Rex/Fake Crash

Generalities
Crash 3 isn't the massive change the previous game was, but it still manages to improve on an already successful formula. The graphics look even better and the gameplay is much more varied than in the previous game, although basically the same in most of Crash's levels. There are still a few interesting innovations to the normal gameplay, though:

After you retrieve a level's Crystal, a yellow stopwatch will pop up when you revisit that level. Touch it and you enter Time Trial mode. In this mode, you'll have to get to the end of the level as fast as you can, in order to get new prizes called Relics. Relics unlock extra levels and passages, so getting them is more than a simple extra activity. Depending on your times, you can get Sapphire (lowest), Gold or Platinum (highest) Relics. To make things more interesting, Time Crates are added to the levels. Breaking them freezes the timer for 1, 2 or 3 seconds, depending on which number the Crates have. These are crucial for getting Relics.

Then we have Super Powers. These are new moves that Crash learns after defeating bosses. Most of them improve some of the abilities you already have. Your belly flop gains a wider range, you can double jump, spin for longer (enabling you to glide in mid-air), run faster and even use a fruit bazooka with unlimited ammo.

The Coloured Gems aren't half as fun to find as in Crash 2, because they're no longer associated with imaginative gimmicks. Getting them is just a matter of going through Death Routes and extra passages.

With the aid of proper equipment, Crash is now able to swim underwater in 2D levels. You can move freely in any direction, and the spin remains your basic means of attacking.

Motorcycle levels (accessible by Crash) have you racing against Lab Assistants for a Crystal, which you'll only receive if you finish in first place. Make sure you use the turbo pads along the road and watch out for potholes and police cars. You won't get arrested if you ram into one of those, but you'll obviously lose time.

Plane levels let you fly freely as you shoot down blimps and warplanes. Both Crash and Coco are able to fly a plane, but there is no difference between either of them.

Jet-Ski levels, accessible only by Coco, are the biggest in the series so far. These are huge sea levels in full 3D, so you can backtrack in case you've missed anything. The boundaries are marked by buoys, red (left) and yellow (right). Going off ramps allows you to break mid-air Crates, and also perform stunts for fun.

Coco can ride a tiger cub named Pura. These segments are just like the warthog and Polar levels from previous games. However, Pura is the best one yet, since he can charge for as long as you like.

Crash gets a new pet too- a baby T-Rex. You only get to control him for a couple of times (one of them being in a secret level), which is a bit of a shame. The T-Rex isn't always moving, so you can walk and stop freely, just as you would with Crash. He is faster and stronger than Crash, and jumps much higher, but has no means of attacking other than jumping on enemies. If you are hit while riding the T-Rex, he will escape to the nearest nest, where you can get a hold of him again.

Character Moves:
Crash Bandicoot
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 button to spin for a small amount of time, enabling Crash to defeat enemies that make contact with him.

Crouch- Press the O or R1 button to duck and avoid hazards.

Crawl- Holding down the O or R1 button and moving around makes Crash crawl. Useful for getting through low barriers.

Slide- Moving and pressing the O or R1 button makes Crash slide forward. Used as an attack, it's especially useful against enemies with harmful/protected upper halves.

High Jump- By holding down the O or R1 button and pressing the X button, Crash will jump higher. To jump farther, use the slide move and jump at the same time (3 crates height).
Note: Combine this with the Double Jump power to get the maximum height of 5 crates.

Belly Flop- Jump and press the O or R1 button to make Crash perform a belly flop. It's useful for breaking Locked Crates.

Hang- To hang from meshes, simply jump up to them. You can move around and spin while hanging, but spinning will stop you from moving.

Underwater- When underwater, Crash can swim around; spin; swim faster (by tapping the X button repeatedly).

Super Powers- Super Belly Flop/Double Jump/Death Tornado/Fruit Bazooka/Crash Dash

Coco Bandicoot
Jump- Press the X button to jump in the air. For a higher jump, press the X button longer. (3 crates height).

Rides:
Pura (Coco only)- When riding Pura, you'll be in constant movement and you can't turn around. To charge, hold down the Square or O buttons. Jumping while charging makes you go higher.

Baby T-Rex (Crash only)- You can move around freely when riding the T-Rex. Any contact with a crate will break it. If you get hit, the T-Rex will run away to the next nest. The T-Rex is capable of moving and jumping.

Jet-Sub (Crash only)- If you get one of these whilst underwater, you'll automatically move to the direction you're heading. To go faster, simply move to the place you want to go. Press the X or O buttons to shoot forward projectiles, and the Square button to get a speed boost forward. If the Jet-Sub gets hit, it will be destroyed.

Jet-Ski (Coco only)- To accelerate, hold down the X button. When jumping off of ramps, pull the left analog stick/D-Pad in any direction to perform different flip stunts. When landing in the water, pull the left analog stick/D-Pad forward to dive (good for getting underwater goodies).

Motorcycle (Crash only)- Hold down the X button to accelerate and the Square button to brake. It is impossible to turn around with the Motorcycle. Falling into holes or going off-track will not cost you lives, but it will slow you down.

Bi-plane- As if you were piloting a real plane, pull the left analog stick/D-Pad backward to ascend, and forward to dive. Do a barrel roll with the Square button and shoot with the O button. If you go through a speed ring, roll into it to get a faster boost. If your health bar reaches 0%, you'll lose a life.