Story
In a recently built space station, Uka Uka holds up a bad guys' convention. The invitees- Dr. Cortex, N. Gin, N. Tropy, Tiny and Dingodile. When everyone gathers together, Uka Uka shouts and insults the baddies for always failing him. Everyone frowns and Cortex uses the old bandicoot excuse: it's all Crash's fault for always ruining their plans. Uka Uka agrees with this, so the next course of action should be eliminating the orange marsupial once and for all. N. Tropy asks Cortex about the progress of his latest scheme, but the latter tries to keep it hush-hush. Not realizing that, N. Gin blurts out that Cortex has been working on a new secret weapon since the last time he was defeated by Crash. Uka Uka gets impatient and asks if he has a plan. Cortex reveals that his new weapon is almost finished, lacking only the power source. It is then that Uka Uka remembers The Elementals.

The Elementals are four renegade masks who were put in a hibernation state by the Ancient Ancestors, a long time ago. They used to be responsible for all kinds of catastrophes, such as ice ages, floods and earthquakes. Their names are Rok-ko (the earth Elemental), Wa-Wa (water), Lo-Lo (air) and Py-Ro (fire).

With the Elementals, Cortex's new weapon would be complete, enabling him to finally beat his arch-nemesis, Crash Bandicoot. Cortex bursts out in an evil laughter.

Back on Earth, Crash and Coco are having fun with a jet-ski, with Aku Aku and Pura watching from the beach. Just then, a volcano erupts and storm clouds appear. A huge wave gobbles up Crash and Coco, who wind up back at the beach, unharmed. Aku Aku suspects this might be the work of his evil twin brother, so he tells Crash and Coco he will be off for some answers. 

Uka Uka awaits his brother inside a mystical floating temple. Aku Aku soon materializes in front of him and asks him about his plans. It is then that Uka Uka reveals the four Elementals, woken up from their captive slumber. They almost finish Aku Aku off, but he escapes back to Crash's home. He informs the bandicoots of the situation and tells them that each Elemental can be put back to sleep with five special Crystals.

The crew heads for Coco's latest invention: the VR Hub System. This large station can send them to any point on the planet. They will be using it to get the Crystals they need to stop the Elementals. Their process is briefly interrupted by Cortex, who talks to Crash through the main computer screen. He presents to him his latest creation: Crunch Bandicoot, a large buff creature who was genetically modified by the evil scientist. He is everything Cortex wanted Crash to be, and he's the one who will harness the power of the Elementals. Crunch and Cortex mock Crash and end the transmission. Crash isn't giving up without a fight, so he sets out to collect the Crystals and defeat the cocky bandicoot.

Characters: Crash Bandicoot/Coco Bandicoot/Crunch Bandicoot/Aku Aku/Uka Uka
Dr. Cortex/Dr. N. Gin/Dr. N. Tropy/Dingodile/Tiny Tiger/Rok-Ko/Wa-Wa/Lo-Lo/Py-Ro/Pura
Nitros Oxide*
*Cameo

Generalities
Crash finally returns to his platforming roots after a couple of spin-offs, this time using the power of the then new 128-bit consoles. However, most of that power just goes towards aesthetical effects and nothing more. Despite that, the game's noteworthy graphics engine doesn't go to good use, as most characters look quite terrible (and sometimes polygonal), and the sceneries aren't exactly charming either, with most of them looking bland and too different from the usual Crash style. The gameplay is exactly the same as in Crash 3, offering little to no innovation. Some mechanics have been changed, mostly for the worse.  The music is another thing that deserves mention, because it's completely different from previous games: most of the time, it's trance. You will either love or hate this aspect, depending on whether you like this kind of music or not.

As mentioned above, the gameplay is exactly the same as before, with a few, mostly unnoticeable additions. Although you get the same Super Powers you did in Crash 3, you also get a Tip Toe power, which lets you walk over suspended Nitro Crates unharmed. There are also the rare Invisibility Crates (which, for some reason, make you invincible). Other than showing off what the graphics engine is capable of, they're really not that interesting.

The levels in this game are larger, but considerably less fun. Their designs are flawed by useless vehicles and brainless enemies. You can literally stand next to an enemy without being harmed, because he'll just continue throwing a projectile in a preset direction. That's how dumb the enemies are in this game. But sometimes, certain hazards move much too quickly or erratically to be avoided (especially underwater). All enemies have very little intelligence, but there is a tremendous inconsistency in how dangerous they can be.

Time Trials work the same way as before, but they're much less fun to go through. Since the levels are so big now, so are the Time Trials. This makes things very frustrating, because if you die near the end of a level, you have to go aaaall the way back.

Vehicles are more abundant now, but not necessarily better. It's worth noting that you will change between walking on foot and using a vehicle at times, if the level decides you to. You can ride a plane, a robotic firefly, a completely useless mech that only slows things down and an underwater sub, which is quite possibly the worst idea ever. The sub takes ages just to turn around, which is more than enough time for a tiny little fish to zoom in and completely obliterate your sub at the slightest touch. Yes, every enemy is faster at moving and shooting than your sub, which happens to be just as fragile as Crash, so he'd be better off without it. Now imagine Time Trials with that. The mech isn't much better, because you have to aim to shoot, which requires you to come to a complete stop (good luck with actually hitting anything, though). Since it's so big, you can't move or jump as freely as on foot. Again, you'd be better off without it, since you can do the same with just walking and shooting with the bazooka and get better results. So a question soon comes to mind: what exactly is the point of all these moronic vehicles, and just what on Earth were they thinking? Last, but thankfully not least, Crash will sometimes have to roll inside a glass ball to traverse certain levels. The glass ball is more well-implemented than most other vehicles and is generally more fun to use, thank goodness. While riding inside of it, you will need to make good use of Crash's weight and momentum, which is just about the only interesting addition this game has to offer.

Oh, and Coco is fully playable now. Unfortunately, she's right there with the vehicles, in that she's worse than Crash in every way, and there's no reason why you should play as her. No wait, yes there is- you're forced to sometimes. Coco can't use Super Powers (except for the Crash Dash and Super Belly Flop), and she also can't crouch, slide or high jump. Instead, she does a pointless low kick that stops her from moving completely. Just ignore that move entirely. Coco can ride on a scooter, a snowboard and a small space ship, which, thankfully, work a lot better than Crash's vehicles.

Character Moves:
Crash Bandicoot
Jump [PS2: X / GC: A / Xbox: A]- Crash jumps in the air. For a higher jump, hold the jump button longer. To get maximum height, hold the jump button whilst bouncing off of enemies and crates (2 crates height).
Note: The Double Jump power has a 4 crates height.

Spin Attack [PS2: Square / GC: B / Xbox: X]- Crash spins for a small amount of time, enabling him to defeat enemies that make contact with him.

Crouch [PS2: Circle or R1 / GC: X / Xbox: B]- Crash ducks to avoid hazards.

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

Slide- Moving and tapping the crouch 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 crouch button and pressing the jump 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 a 5 crates height.

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

Hang- To hang from meshes and boarded ceilings, simply jump up to them. You can move around and spin when hanging, but spinning will cause a complete stop.

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

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

Coco Bandicoot
Jump [PS2: X / GC: A / Xbox: A]- Coco jumps in the air. For a higher jump, press the jump button longer. To get maximum height, try to bounce off of enemies or crates (2 crates height).

Spin Kick [PS2: Square / GC: B / Xbox: X]- Press the spin button to do a Spin Kick.

Low Kick [PS2: Circle or R1 / GC: X / Xbox: B]- Press the crouch button for a low kick. Note that Coco comes to a complete stop by doing this.

Stomp- Jump and press the crouch button to stomp. It's useful for breaking Locked Crates.

Super Powers- Crash Dash/Super Belly Flop

Rides (note: getting hit in these vehicles will cost you a life):
Atlasphere- Roll around with the left analog stick/D-Pad.

Mine Cart- Push the left analog stick/D-Pad forward to accelerate, and backwards to slow down. To avoid obstacles, push the stick sideways.

Crash Glider/Space Fighter- As if you were piloting a real plane, pull the left analog stick/D-Pad backwards to go up, and forward to dive. Do barrel rolls with the shoulder buttons and shoot with the crouch or jump buttons. If your health bar reaches 0%, you'll lose a life.

Jeep- Hold the jump button to accelerate and the spin button to brake.

Sub- When using the sub, press the jump button to drop aquatic bombs, and the spin button to fire projectiles forward.

Firefly- Move around like with the Crash Glider, sans the barrel roll. To lock on to enemies, hold down the jump button. To fire, release the button when the crosshair flashes red.

Scooter/Snowboard- Press the crouch button to accelerate, and jump to avoid obstacles. You can't backtrack with these boards.

Copter-Pak- Use the left analog stick/D-Pad to position Crash up, down, left, or right. Press the jump button to go forward, and the crouch button to go backwards. To spin, press the spin button as usual.

Red Mech- You're in constant movement with this machine, and you can't track back. Move sideways, and press the spin button to release a jet of water (use it moderately, or else you'll slow down). It is possible to jump too.

Yellow Mech- You can move around freely with this mech. Jump, run and shoot fruit at enemies or crates by holding down and releasing the spin button (aim with the left analog stick/D-Pad).

Trolley- Tap the jump button repeatedly to accelerate, and press the spin button to do a back flip.