History YMMV / CrashBash

** Space Bash, though a really fun crystal challenge, is also pretty easy to win. Due to ArtificialStupidity, the AI tends to end up inevitably dropping into holes, and considering all crates are explosive, you pretty much just have to go nuts hitting every crate in sight.

** Manic Panic starts you off without your bear. In any other arena, this would be a serious problem. But this arena has the bombs, which give you an alternate (and arguably easier) way to dispose of your enemies, and is something that the AI is terrible at using. Pretty much everyone who played this challenge would just bomb all three opponents and either throw another when they got the chance, or push them off after ''they'' lost their bear too.
** Drain Bash makes it so that... you can't open the special crates by kicking, or else you die. Seriously. That's it. Otherwise, it plays exactly like the regular arena. The difference is almost hard to even ''notice.''

** Ballistix Crystals seem to be as much nightmarish as possible in general. The very ''first'' level expects you to win without kick, which is very big disadvantage that greatly reduces the effective range of your hovership, while ''Beach Balls'' make one [=CPU=] ''invulnerable'' at any given time, which turns endgame into hell when the last one gets picked.

** Bearminator isn't too hard at first, but not only does he blow up a quarter of the stage after each hit, he'll also send out an extra robot bear, all of whom will fire a rocket at you which will be pretty much an automatic game over if it hits you. The last part involves having to deal with 3 of them while half the stage is gone, meaning you'll have very little space dealing with three enemies gunning for you. There is a technique to sending the bears flying off the stage as soon as they land, but there's no [[GuideDangIt hint on how to properly do it in-game.]]

** While Ballistix as a whole is infuriating, N. Ballism takes the cake. There are two gimmicks: Magnet powerups that repel the ball and N. Gin apearing and firing balls in a counterclockwise direction. Considering how the computer players [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard can easily get the magnets]], the level becomes the hardest Ballistix level, even more than the next one. The crystal challenge for it makes it worse by making it so that N. Gin will ''only attack your goal.'' This is somewhat alleviated by him shooting the balls in the same location every time and having bigger gaps between each shot, (likely due to him supposed to be firing at the AI but programmed in the challenge not to) but still.

* ThatOneBoss: Almost all the bosses are mercliess.

* HilariousInHindsight: In the game's story mode, Dingodile is forced to team up with Crash and Coco in order to even out the playing field between the teams. Two decades later, Dingodile would team up with the Bandicoots again (this time as a [[HeelFaceTurn legitimately good character]]) in a [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime main series title]].

* DisappointingLastLevel: Quite a few people think that Ballistix-based minigame isn't great for a final boss battle that decides the fate of a world. Not to mention those dreaded red balls. Fortunately, in the co-operative mode (if you pick one good and one evil character) you will both be forced into a legitimately intense one-on-one Crate Crush battle that decides the ending.

** Having two players in the Dash games is already quite handy, but you can break it wide open if you have one player not bother racing but instead stay in one place to harass and attack the AI. If done right one player will get all their laps done whilst the AI stuck on their first couple thanks to the other player constantly getting in the way.

* BrokenBase: Many players believe that Aku-Aku should've picked Nitrus Brio into his side, since at one point [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack Brio helped Crash during his adventure (even though it was fueled by his envy toward Cortex and not a change of heart)]]. Some other players believe that Brio is better in villain role and no change should be made about him. Picking the iconic bad guys Tiny and Dingodile for Aku's team instead was met with similar divisiveness (though some have warmed up to the idea with Dingodile, see HilariousInHindsight).

** The Crystal Challenge for Dragon Drop. It's already hard enough grabbing a gem, and holding onto it long enough to throw it at the moving target. Now part of the scoreboard is flashing, and you can only get points if you throw it while standing on the flashing segment. [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules But the AI can still score on any part of the board]], because [[SarcasmMode that wouldn't be fair, would it?]] Oh, and nine times out of ten, instead of the AI going for any player holding a gem, [[GangUpOnTheHuman they'll lock on to YOU exclusively, whether you're holding a gem or not.]]
* TierInducedScrappy: Dingodile and Rilla Roo are widely considered to be the worst characters in the game due to their poorly designed selection of abilities: their charge in Polar Push doesn't go far enough for the amount of energy it takes up, their duel-shot ability in Tank Wars means their shots deal less damage than the other characters, and it doesn't work like it should since the first shot grants opponents MercyInvincibility upon being hit (thus protecting them from the second shot) and they aren't particularly fast, are big targets and only have a slightly farther throw distance in Crate Crush, with their biggest strength - their spin attack, which can send crates further than any other "kick" attack - hindered by rendering them completely immobile. When compared to the [[JackOfAllStats well-rounded]] Crash, Coco, Cortex and Brio, or the {{Mighty Glacier}}s Tiny and Koala Kong, Dingodile and Rilla Roo are [[MasterOfNone Masters of None]] in comparison.

** "Desert Fox" and "Metal Fox", two military march pieces very reminiscent of the theme to ''Film/TheGreatEscape''. "Jungle Fox" too, resembling a native battle march songs.

** Nitros Oxide, even as the FinalBoss, is simply ''unforgiving.'' So much so, the chances of beating him first try are simply next to none. Firstly, you'll have to fly after him, going past waves of walls, rockets and nitro boxes among other obstacles. Thankfully, if you die in the next phase, you won't have to deal with that again, but the final phase is where the trouble ''truly'' starts. Firstly, you'll have to play Ballistix against Oxide, but not only does he have near perfect AI in keeping the ball away from him, (This seems to decrease with each game over you get) but he'll also bring out dual rockets from the corner to fire at you while you're trying to keep the balls a way. As if that wasn't cruel enough, they also fire more than once! And unlike the other bosses, having a teammate here can possibly be more of a detriment with both characters occupying the same corner, unlike in the other Ballistix games. Oh, and to top it all off? The red balls from the Sky Ball Crystal Challenge will appear and Oxide is, of course, not only immune to them aswell, but won't even take damage if they go past him!

** Sky Balls, Crystal Challenge. Any player who has made any serious attempt to actually complete this task is probably still haunted by it in their sleep. There are red balls that randomly show up this time, and they will kill you in ''one hit.'' That doesn't mean you wait a few seconds to spawn again; it means you ''instantly'' fail on the spot! Of course, [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules the AI can kick these all day]] without any issue. If they go through your goal, they don't count against you; however, what really makes this a pain is that sometimes the regular balls will, completely randomly, turn red when a computer kicks one, and in many cases, you will have no time to react. And worse yet, sometimes the balls will end up going at just the right angle to make them [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable completely unavoidable by traveling all the way across your goal area, ensuring you die through no fault of your own.]] The icing on the cake? You still have to feed ''ten regular non-deadly balls into all of the AI's goals.'' Yes, despite the fact that ''they themselves'' can hit the red balls, ''they still don't take off from any of their scores!'' Oh, AND if you manage to not touch any red ball for the entire duration of the round, '''you can ''still'' fail the challenge''' if ten regular balls go into your own goal! It's pretty clear that this stage was not given enough proper playtesting, as it stacks the odds ''way'' too high in the AI's favor. Oh and those red balls? They re-appear in Oxide's boss battle, working exactly the same as they do here.

** Nitros Oxide, even as the FinalBoss, is simply ''unforgiving.'' So much so, the chances of beating him first try are simply next to none. Firstly, you'll have to fly after him, going past waves of walls, rockets and nitro boxes among other obstacles. Thankfully, if you die in the next phase, you won't have to deal with that again, but the final phase is where the trouble ''truly'' starts. Firstly, you'll have to play Ballistix against Oxide, but not only does he have near perfect AI in keeping the ball away from him, (This seems to decrease with each game over you get) but he'll also bring out dual rockets from the corner to fire at you while you're trying to keep the balls a way. As if that wasn't cruel enough, they also fire more than once! And unlike the other bosses, having a teammate here can possibly be more of a detriment with both characters occupying the same corner, unlike in the other Ballistix games. Oh, and to top it all off? The red balls from the Sky Ball Crystal Challenge will appear and Oxide is, of course, not only immune to them aswell, but won't even take damage if it goes past him!

* ThatOneBoss: Like ''CTR'', the bosses are a LOT tougher in this game. Even Papu Papu puts up a fight, like in ''CTR''. The Komodo brothers are probably the most notorious; being a grueling two-phase fight fight that, unlike the final boss which also has two phases, has no checkpoint and demands you fight both the brothers in their tanks at once, which is a nightmare in single player.

** Sky Balls, Crystal Challenge. Any player who has made any serious attempt to actually complete this task is probably still haunted by it in their sleep. There are red balls that randomly show up this time, and they will kill you in ''one hit.'' That doesn't mean you wait a few seconds to spawn again; it means you ''instantly'' fail on the spot! Of course, [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules the AI can kick these all day]] without any issue. If they go through your goal, they don't count against you; however, what really makes this a pain is that sometimes the regular balls will, completely randomly, turn red when a computer kicks one, and in many cases, you will have no time to react. And worse yet, sometimes the balls will end up going at just the right angle to make them [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable completely unavoidable by traveling all the way across your goal area, ensuring you die through no fault of your own.]] The icing on the cake? You still have to feed ''ten regular non-deadly balls into all of the AI's goals.'' Yes, despite the fact that ''they themselves'' can hit the red balls, ''they still don't take off from any of their scores!'' Oh, AND if you manage to not touch any red ball for the entire duration of the round, '''you can ''still'' fail the challenge''' if ten regular balls go into your own goal! It's pretty clear that this stage was not given enough proper playtesting, as it stacks the odds ''way'' too high in the AI's favor.

* TierInducedScrappy: ADingodile and Rilla Roo are widely considered to be the worst characters in the game due to their poorly designed selection of abilities: their charge in Polar Push doesn't go far enough for the amount of energy it takes up, their duel-shot ability in Tank Wars means their shots deal less damage than the other characters, and it doesn't work like it should since the first shot grants opponents MercyInvincibility upon being hit (thus protecting them from the second shot) and they aren't particularly fast, are big targets and only have a slightly farther throw distance in Crate Crush, with their biggest strength - their spin attack, which can send crates further than any other "kick" attack - hindered by rendering them completely immobile. When compared to the [[JackOfAllStats well-rounded]] Crash, Coco, Cortex and Brio, or the {{Mighty Glacier}}s Tiny and Koala Kong, Dingodile and Rilla Roo are [[MasterOfNone Masters of None]] in comparison.

** While Ballistix as a whole is infuriating, N. Ballism takes the cake. There are two gimmicks: Magnet powerups that repel the ball and N. Gin apearing and firing balls in a counterclockwise direction. Considering how the computer players [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard can easily get the magnets]], the level becomes the hardest Ballistix level, even more than the next one. The crystal challenge for it makes it worse by making it so that N. Gin will ''only attack your goal.'' This is somewhat alleviated by him shooting the balls in the same location every time and having bigger gaps between each shot, but still.

* TierInducedScrappy: As mentioneed above, Dingodile and Rilla Roo are widely considered to be the worst characters in the game due to their poorly designed selection of abilities: their charge in Polar Push doesn't go far enough for the amount of energy it takes up, their duel-shot ability in Tank Wars means their shots deal less damage than the other characters, and it doesn't work like it should since the first shot grants opponents MercyInvincibility upon being hit (thus protecting them from the second shot) and they aren't particularly fast, are big targets and only have a slightly farther throw distance in Crate Crush, with their biggest strength - their spin attack, which can send crates further than any other "kick" attack - hindered by rendering them completely immobile. When compared to the [[JackOfAllStats well-rounded]] Crash, Coco, Cortex and Brio, or the {{Mighty Glacier}}s Tiny and Koala Kong, Dingodile and Rilla Roo are [[MasterOfNone Masters of None]] in comparison.

* TierInducedScrappy: Dingodile and Rilla Roo are widely considered to be the worst characters in the game due to their poorly designed selection of abilities: their charge in Polar Push doesn't go far enough for the amount of energy it takes up, their duel-shot ability in Tank Wars means their shots deal less damage than the other characters, and it doesn't work like it should since the first shot grants opponents MercyInvincibility upon being hit (thus protecting them from the second shot) and they aren't particularly fast, are big targets and only have a slightly farther throw distance in Crate Crush, with their biggest strength - their spin attack, which can send crates further than any other "kick" attack - hindered by rendering them completely immobile. When compared to the [[JackOfAllStats well-rounded]] Crash, Coco, Cortex and Brio, or the {{Mighty Glacier}}s Tiny and Koala Kong, Dingodile and Rilla Roo are [[MasterOfNone Masters of None]] in comparison.

** Sky Balls, Crystal Challenge. Any player who has made any serious attempt to actually complete this task is probably still haunted by it in their sleep. There are red balls that randomly show up this time, and they will kill you in ''one hit.'' That doesn't mean you wait a few seconds to spawn again; it means you fail on the spot! Of course, [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules the AI can kick these all day]] without any issue. If they go through your goal, they don't count off; however, what really makes this a pain is that sometimes the regular balls will, completely randomly, turn red when a computer kicks one, and in many cases, you will have no time to react. And worse yet, sometimes the balls will end up going at just the right angle to make them [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable completely unavoidable by traveling all the way across your goal area, ensuring you die through no fault of your own.]] The icing on the cake? You still have to feed ''ten regular non-deadly balls into all of the AI's goals.'' Yes, despite the fact that ''they themselves'' can hit the red balls, ''they still don't take off from any of their scores!'' Oh, AND if you manage to not touch any red ball for the entire duration of the round, you can STILL LOSE because you lost your ten points too! It's pretty clear that this stage was not given enough proper playtesting, as it stacks the odds ''way'' too high in the AI's favor.

* BrokenBase: Many players believe that Aku-Aku should've picked Nitrus Brio into his side, since at one point [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack Brio helped Crash during his adventure (even though it was fueled by his envy toward Cortex and not a change of heart)]]. Some other players believe that Brio is better in villain role and no change should be made about him.

** Sky Balls, Crystal Challenge. Any player who has made any serious attempt to actually complete this task is probably still haunted by it in their sleep. There are red balls that randomly show up this time, and they will kill you in ''one hit.'' That doesn't mean you wait a few seconds to spawn again; it means you fail on the spot! Of course, [[RulesAreForHumans the AI can kick these all day]] without any issue. If they go through your goal, they don't count off; however, what really makes this a pain is that sometimes the regular balls will, completely randomly, turn red when a computer kicks one, and in many cases, you will have no time to react. And worse yet, sometimes the balls will end up going at just the right angle to make them [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable completely unavoidable by traveling all the way across your goal area, ensuring you die through no fault of your own.]] The icing on the cake? You still have to feed ''ten regular non-deadly balls into all of the AI's goals.'' Yes, despite the fact that ''they themselves'' can hit the red balls, ''they still don't take off from any of their scores!'' Oh, AND if you manage to not touch any red ball for the entire duration of the round, you can STILL LOSE because you lost your ten points too! It's pretty clear that this stage was not given enough proper playtesting, as it stacks the odds ''way'' too high in the AI's favor.

** The Crystal Challenge for Dragon Drop. It's already hard enough grabbing a gem, and holding onto it long enough to throw it at the moving target. Now part of the scoreboard is flashing, and you can only get points if you throw it while standing on the flashing segment. [[RulesAreForHumans But the AI can still score on any part of the board]], because [[SarcasmMode that wouldn't be fair, would it?]] Oh, and nine times out of ten, instead of the AI going for any player holding a gem, [[GangUpOnTheHuman they'll lock on to YOU exclusively, whether you're holding a gem or not.]]

* RootingForTheEmpire: This game is made as pure catharsis for fans of the ''Crash'' villains. Not only can you play as most of the key bad guys here, you can get a "bad ending" where you help Uka Uka outright ''take over the world''! And if you have a second player handy, you can have them play as a good guy so you fight them directly to win the game. You can have Cortex beat the living tar out of Crash!

** Sky Balls, Crystal Challenge. Any player who has made any serious attempt to actually complete this task is probably still haunted by it in their sleep. There are red balls that randomly show up this time, and they will kill you in ''one hit.'' That doesn't mean you wait a few seconds to spawn again; it means you fail on the spot! Of course, [[RulesAreForHumans the AI can kick these all day]] without any issue. If they go through your goal, they don't count off; however, what really makes this a pain is that sometimes the regular balls will, completely randomly, turn red when a computer kicks one, and in many cases, you will have no time to react. And worse yet, sometimes the balls will end up going at just the right angle to make them [[UnwinnableByMistake completely unavoidable by traveling all the way across your goal area, ensuring you die through no fault of your own.]] The icing on the cake? You still have to feed ''ten regular non-deadly balls into all of the AI's goals.'' Yes, despite the fact that ''they themselves'' can hit the red balls, ''they still don't take off from any of their scores!'' Oh, AND if you manage to not touch any red ball for the entire duration of the round, you can STILL LOSE because you lost your ten points too! It's pretty clear that this stage was not given enough proper playtesting, as it stacks the odds ''way'' too high in the AI's favor.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Quite a few people think that Ballistix-based minigame isn't great for a final boss battle that decides the fate of a world. Not to mention those dreaded red balls. Downplayed for the co-operative mode, where if you pick one good and one evil character respectively, you will both be forced into a legitimately intense 1-on-1 Crate Crush battle that decides the ending.

** ''Pogo-A-Gogo'' can be won very easily by just making 2x2 or 3x3 V-pattern in a corner where your color is. Even better with speed shoes.

* {{Narm}}: The announcer's voice is so deep and intimidating for a [[VocalDissonance party game]] that the player would often expect him to say "[[Franchise/MortalKombat Fatality]]" after announcing the winner.
* NarmCharm: He still sounds extremely cool though.

* Having two players in the Dash games is already quite handy, but you can break it wide open if you have one player not bother racing but instead stay in one place to harass and attack the AI. If done right one player will get all their laps done whilst the AI stuck on their first couple thanks to the other player constantly getting in the way.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: One of the many reasons behind the game's divisive reception is its SurpriseDifficulty of the story mode compared to the Naughty Dog games. The main problem is that while all the matches are technically a free-for-all, [[GangUpOnTheHuman the computer players will very frequently team up on you.]] Having a second player can help even out the odds, but even then the story mode is still very difficult.

* ThatOneBoss: Like ''CTR'', the bosses are a LOT tougher in this game. Even Papu Papu puts up a fight, like in ''CTR''.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: One of the many reasons behind the game's divisive reception is its SurpriseDifficulty of the story mode compared to the Naughty Dog games. The main problem is that while all the matches are technically a free-for-all, the computer players will very frequently team up on you. Having a second player can help even out the odds, but even then the story mode is still very difficult.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: One of the many reasons behind the game's divisive reception is its SurpriseDifficulty compared to the Naughty Dog games.