History Videogame / CrashBandicoot1996

* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: The levels Slippery Climb and the DummiedOut Stormy Ascent has you climb up lots of stairs.

* DummiedOut:
** "Stormy Ascent", the harder version of "Slippery Climb", was taken out at the last minute for being too difficult and because the Bonus Round was bugged with not enough time to fix it. It still exists in a mostly complete form (everything but the bonus level) and can be played with a Gameshark code. Over 20 years later, it finally got an official release in the form of DLC for ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy''.
** The prototype version included "POW" crates, explosive crates that destroyed surrounding boxes without harming Crash. They were removed in the final version, presumably because they were redundant with the TNT and had very little use outside of auto-collecting the other crates’ contents.

** Gem paths consist of platforms of gems that you have to jump your way into the side path of the level, instead of a floating platform that flies up towards the side path of the level. All gem paths also contain crates that are needed for breaking and thus getting the gem of the stage, while in later games they don't always contain crates and have a second gem.[[note]]In ''Crash 2'''s own version of this trope, it's one or the other.[[/note]]
*** Additionally, this is the only game in the series to feature a clear gem path.

** This is the first of only three ''Crash'' games with a world map; the second was ''N-Tranced'' for the GBA 7 years later, and the idea of a world map wouldn't be touched upon again until ''Crash 4: It's About Time'' fourteen years later.

** Gem paths consist of platforms of colored gems that you have to jump your way into the side path of the level, instead of a floating platform that flies up towards the side path of the level. All gem paths also contain crates that are needed for breaking and thus getting the gem of the stage, while in later games they don't always contain crates and may contain a second gem instead.

** TNT crates (which have a countdown) are the only explosive crates, with Nitro (which explode on touch) only appearing from the second game onwards.
** Levels in the series traditionally have punny, aliterative or otherwise humorous names; not so much this one, where they have more straightforward names like "The Great Gate", "The Lost City", "The High Road" or "The Lab".

* ExplodingBarrels: The TNT crates. The gangsters in Toxic Waste also throw actual exploding barrels at you.

* WhatCouldhaveBeen:
** A fully finished level called ''Stormy Ascent'' was scrapped due to the level being too difficult. This level eventually got officially released in the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy''.
** In early prototypes Sunset Vista originally had a very different and difficult level layout seen compared to the final game.
** There is an unused ''POW'' create in early prototypes. These creates function as harmless ''TNT'' creates.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2561_front_1_3.jpg]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crash1_4304.jpg]]

** This is the first of three ''Crash'' games with a world map; the second was ''N-Tranced'' for the GBA 7 years later, and the idea of a world map wouldn't be touched upon again until ''Crash 4: It's About Time'' fourteen years later.

** Several character staples such as Coco, N. Gin, and Tiny are completely absent. And the only female character this game ''does'' have is Tawna, which wouldn’t reappear until ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'', ''23 years later''.

** This is the first of two ''Crash'' games with a world map; the other is ''N-Tranced'' for the GBA 7 years later.

* DummiedOut: "Stormy Ascent", the harder version of "Slippery Climb", was taken out at the last minute for being too difficult and because the Bonus Round was bugged with not enough time to fix it. It still exists in a mostly complete form (everything but the bonus level) and can be played with a Gameshark code. Over 20 years later, it finally got an official release in the form of DLC for ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy''.

** Levels in the series traditionally have punny or aliterative names; not so much this one, where they have more straightforward names like "The Great Gate", "The Lost City", "The High Road" or "The Lab".

* ButtonMashing: Pressing Square (the spin attack) too rapidly causes Crash to stall and make an odd noise. You have to wait a couple seconds before you're able to spin again. This was presumably put in so players couldn't just [[GameBreaker spin their way through everything.]] This feature was also present in the next two sequels.

** Several character staples such as Coco, N. Gin, and Tiny are completely absent. And the only female character this game ''does'' have is Tawna.

This game, along with ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack Cortex Strikes Back]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped Warped]]'', were [[VideoGameRemake remastered]] on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 4}} with updated graphics and new features, as part of the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy''.

** Crash, while still a HeroicMime, was a bit more vocal in this game. He lets out a shout in the main menu, he utters an "Uh-oh" in the opening cutscene, he sings "Da-da-daaah!" when he gets a gem, and shouts "Yee-haw" whenever he beats a boss. Every game since then limited his vocabulary to him saying "whoa" whenever he dies.

** Papu Papu [[spoiler:sells Cortex's ruined castle to a real estate developer to raise money to support his tribe's welfare.]]
** Ripper Roo [[spoiler:undergoes extensive therapy and higher education, getting a doctorate in psychology and writing a book about his experiences called ''Through the Eye of the Vortex: A Study of Rapid Evolution and its Consequences''.]]
** Koala Kong [[spoiler:moves to Hollywood to become an actor, paying for counselling to improve his diction.]]
** Pinstripe [[spoiler:moves to Chicago to work at a sanitation company before attempting to work his way up to becoming a state governor.]]
** N. Brio [[spoiler:goes back to his old hobby of tending bar after Cortex's disappearance.]]
** As for Cortex, [[spoiler:while he hasn't been heard from since after his defeat, the game notes that scientists like him "are harder to squash than cockroaches."]]

! This page contains unmarked spoilers. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

** Papu Papu sells Cortex's ruined castle to a real estate developer to raise money to support his tribe's welfare.
** Ripper Roo undergoes extensive therapy and higher education, getting a doctorate in psychology and writing a book about his experiences called ''Through the Eye of the Vortex: A Study of Rapid Evolution and its Consequences''.
** Koala Kong moves to Hollywood to become an actor, paying for counselling to improve his diction.
** Pinstripe moves to Chicago to work at a sanitation company before attempting to work his way up to becoming a state governor.
** N. Brio goes back to his old hobby of tending bar after Cortex's disappearance.
** As for Cortex, while he hasn't been heard from since after his defeat, the game notes that scientists like him "are harder to squash than cockroaches."

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Available after HundredPercentCompletion.

** As for more minor differences, the following two games use a completely different character model for Crash.[[note]]except for certain death animations[[/note]] Crash also moves somewhat slower, and he doesn't have his slide and belly flop moves.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: You actually have to wait a little on the title screen in order for the game's opening cutscene to play. Pressing Start and New Game just immediately throws you onto the game's world map. Most impatient players because of this or if they didn't bother reading the manual would immediately miss the game's overall plot: Evil scientist Dr Cortex mutates Crash planning him to lead his army of mutant animals to take over the world, doesn't go according to plan with Crash escaping so Cortex decides to use a female bandicoot named Tawna instead to be the army leader and Crash is out to rescue her due to having romantic feelings for her.

* DynamicDifficulty: After a few deaths, you'll get a free Aku Aku mask to help you.