Line #42 VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4aeb9c1e_e59a_411a_8064_7d1128538aac.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''[[TagLine It's a full-blown battle on wheels. Buckle up.]]'']]
3	->''"Get ready to race for the fate of your planet!"''
4	-->-- '''Nitros Oxide'''
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6	The first spin-off of the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' series, as well as the last game of the series developed by Creator/NaughtyDog. A MascotRacer heavily inspired by ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', and also drawing several elements from ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'', ''CTR'' is often considered to be the best kart racing game on [[Platform/PlayStation the original Sony PlayStation]], if not the entire fifth generation of consoles, though its soundtrack typically isn't viewed with as much praise.
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8	An intergalactic visitor called Nitros Oxide arrives on Earth to challenge the world's fastest racers in a grand prix. Eight characters -- each one with unique abilities and under the command of either Aku Aku or Uka Uka -- will participate in races and win enough trophies to challenge him or else Oxide will turn the entire planet into a large concrete parking lot and enslave all its inhabitants. Also, other characters want to defeat Oxide on their own and will not tolerate any disturbances in their way.
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10	The game has a ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'' styled 1-player adventure mode; most levels have one of each of these items to get:
11	* Trophies: For winning a vanilla race.
12	* CTR tokens: Remember the Silver Coin Challenges in ''Diddy Kong Racing''? Well, they're back, but you only need to get 3 letters in each race this time.
13	* Relics: Similar to ''Crash 3'', the courses are littered with time-stopping crates. Break all the crates (if you can) for 10-second subtraction from your final time. Finish 3 laps with a good time for a sapphire or gold relic. Or platinum.
14	* There's also bosses (though unlike the ones in ''Diddy Kong Racing'', they're not giant, and they race you in basic karts) and multi-race cups through the adventure, and the battle arenas are converted into contests where you have to get all the crystals in the arena before running out of time (which is cut if you hit a Nitro crate).
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16	The game's roster consists of:
17	* '''Starting characters''': [[IdiotHero Crash Bandicoot]], [[MadScientist Dr. Neo Cortex]], [[DumbMuscle Tiny Tiger]], [[TeenGenius Coco Bandicoot]], [[TheIgor Dr. N. Gin]], [[MixAndMatchCritter Dingodile]], [[BearyFriendly Polar]], [[CuteKitten Pura]].
18	* '''Bosses''': [[LaughingMad Ripper Roo]], [[FatBastard Papu Papu]], [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Komodo Joe]], [[TheDon Pinstripe Potoroo]], [[BigBad Nitros Oxide]][[note]]Oxide is unplayable outside of hacks[[/note]].
19	* '''Other secret characters''': [[OddballDoppelganger Fake Crash]], [[TimeMaster Dr. N. Tropy]], Penta Penguin.
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21	This was followed by two indirect sequels in the sixth generation of consoles, 2003's ''VideoGame/CrashNitroKart'' and 2005's ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'', though different developers made these and recieved a mixed/mildly positive reception. Naughty Dog made their own DarkerAndEdgier SpiritualSuccessor in 2005: ''VideoGame/JakX: Combat Racing'', a well-received spin-off of the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series.
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23	With the success of the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' remaster, the original ''Crash Team Racing'' would [[VideoGameRemake receive similar treatment]] by the developer Beenox for Creator/{{Activision}}, under the title ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled''. Like the ''N. Sane Trilogy'' before it, ''Nitro-Fueled'' is available for Platform/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, released on June 21, 2019.
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25	------------------
26	!!Tropes used in this game:
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28	* OneHundredPercentCompletion: You have to complete all the tracks, get all the CTR tokens, all of the relics (including platinum!) and defeat all of Oxide's ghosts in time trial. Beating all of Oxide's ghosts unlocks the scrapbook for the main menu that is otherwise only seen when you complete Adventure Mode (or enter a code).
29	** In the Adventure mode, you must get all the trophies and beat all the bosses to race Oxide a first time, then [[DoubleUnlock get all the CTR tokens and win a relic on every track (sapphire is fine)]], then beat Oxide again for 100% and the Scrapbook.
30	* AbandonedMine: The Dragon Mines, which serves as Komodo Joe's home track. There exist [[MinecartMadness minecarts]] that serve as obstacles.
31	* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Sewer Speedway.
32	* AliensAreBastards: Nitros Oxide, who wants to turn Earth into a giant parking lot and enslave all its inhabitants.
33	* AlternateWorldMap: The Hub Worlds are all interconnected.
34	* ArrangeMode:
35	** The "CTR Challenges" have you race in the tracks with other characters, but you also have to [[SpellingBonus collect C, T, and R letters]] placed in different parts of the road ''and'' coming at 1st place.
36	** The "Relic Race" is similar to TimeTrial, but with a finite number of time crates around that you can break to stop the timer momentarily.
37	* AshFace: Getting burnt by any obstacles in the course only results in spinning out for a moment before shaking off the soot.
38	* AstralFinale: The final boss race with Oxide takes place in his track, Oxide Station, which is situated in space just off the Earth.
39	* AthleticArenaLevel: Tiny Arena is a [[VideoGame/MarioKart64 Wario Stadium]] {{Expy}} with all you can expect from it: the track is made of dirt, surrounded by big walls, it happens on night, and it's on the podium of [[MarathonLevel the longest tracks of the game]].
40	* BadassAdorable: Penta Penguin in the European/Australian version: he's a cute little penguin with maxed out stats across the board.
41	* TheBadGuyWins: Oxide states that if he wins, he will turn Earth into a giant concrete parking lot. Obviously he doesn't, but Battle Mode provides a hypothetical "WhatIf" scenario by naming one of the unlockable areas Parking Lot.
42	* TheBusCameBack: The first four bosses (not counting Oxide as he's new to this game) return for this one after being absent for a game or two; specifically, Papu Papu and Pinstripe from the first game and Ripper Roo and Komodo Joe from ''Cortex Strikes Back''.
43	* BalancePowerSkillGimmick: Crash and Cortex are balanced[[note]]according to the in-game stats, though they actually have below-average speed[[/note]], Tiny and Dingodile are bad-handling high-speed racers, Coco and N. Gin are high-acceleration racers with below-average speed[[note]]according to the in-game stats, though they actually have above-average speed[[/note]] and turning, and Polar and Pura are slow-moving but excellent turners. Unlockable racers follow this pattern as well, with the exception of Penta Penguin in the European/Australian version where he's a MasterOfAll.
44	* BigFancyCastle: Cortex Castle, the battle map Nitro Court, and the hub world Citadel City.
45	* CanonImmigrant: Penta Penguin originated from a Crash Bandicoot manga.
46	* ChaseSceneObstacleCourse: Players can drop trap-type obstacles that obstruct/slow down other racers.
47	* CheatCode: There are codes that unlock all of the unlockable racers (including N. Tropy), give unlimited Wumpa Fruit, automatic and unlimited turbo, automatic weapon gain (without breaking crates), unlocking the scrapbook (you need to 100% the Adventure mode normally to see it and beat Oxide's ghost on every track to unlock it on the menu), etc. Those that modify the gameplay can be used in Adventure, too, but you will need to open the 'New/Load' screen before the codes will work.
48	* CitadelCity: The fourth {{Hub Level}} is the TropeNamer.
49	* CivilizationDestroyer: Unused dialogue shows that [[BigBad Nitros Oxide]] was the reason there's no life on Mars. There ''was'', until Oxide showed up, challenged them to a racing competition, and won.
50	* ComebackMechanic: These weapons appear in more frequency if you're in the last (8th) place or close to it.
51	** Warp Orbs, which hits the player in first place (and all players ahead of you when it's juiced up).
52	** The clock weapon, which slows down all other players when it's used.
53	** And the Aku-Aku/Uka-Uka mask, which provides increased speed and [[InvincibilityPowerUp invulnerability]] for a short time, as well as able to knock over other karts by [[CarFu colliding into them.]]
54	* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
55	** The bosses in Adventure mode have infinite items (of the trap variety, and they are laid CONSTANTLY, though one uses the rolling bombs). Oxide ''starts the race before the green light''! [[TheComputerShallTauntYou He even laughs at you as he does this]].
56	** Oxide is also resistant to traps and missiles, merely spinning out just like when hit with the chemicals rather than tumbling like with the TNT and Nitro; he only tumbles if you hit him twice.
57	** It's implied that the bosses sans Oxide are cheating bastards because Oxide is an ''even bigger'' bastard than the other four; they have to make sure that you'll be up and prepared against Oxide's dirty tricks. Evidenced in the Purple Gem Cup where they race together with you normally with the same rules as a normal enemy racer.
58	** A subtle one for the main bosses: aside from the Purple Gem cup - where they run off their normal stats - ''all'' of the bosses will gain a speed boost if behind you no matter which racer you choose. Thus Komodo Joe and Pinstripe, who have speeds equal to Crash or Coco, will also be able to easily catch up to Tiny and Dingodile. Part of the challenge is having to be neck and neck with them the whole way, even if you chose a racer whose speeds should ideally blow them out of the water.
59	* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: Contrary to what the in-game stats tell you, "Balanced" characters are ''not'' faster than Acceleration characters. As the datamined stats indicate ([[https://crashbandicoot.fandom.com/wiki/Crash_Team_Racing#Playable_Characters noted on the game's wiki]]), Acceleration characters actually have a higher speed value than Balanced characters, and thus have higher stats than the latter in all but turning.
60	* CoolGate: The way to enter race levels in Adventure Mode is by driving onto a shining warp pod on the ground, which sucks the racer into it. The "boss garages" are also cool in their own ways, especially Oxide's.
61	* CoolKey: The rewards for beating bosses are keys that you'll need to open later areas of Adventure Mode and, in the end, the way to Oxide's boss race.
62	* CrosshairAware: If you're being targeted by a missile or Warp Orb, there's a crosshair on your back that alerts you.
63	* CrutchCharacter: Polar, Pura, Ripper Roo, and Penta Penguin (in the American version). They have good handling, but have inadequate top speed. As such, they are extremely slow initially, and they are not the quickest accelerators either, but they can make turns without slowing down that require faster characters to powerslide or brake, and thus are the best options for learning how to handle the more complex maps.
64	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Going into ''Crash Team Racing'' expecting ''Mario Kart''-style short hops before initiating a drift. Due to the height gained with a hop being much higher than in any of the ''Mario Kart'' games (not counting ''[[VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash Double Dash!!]]''), there's a bit more of a delay before you actually start drifting.
65	* DancingMookCredits: At the end, characters dance next to the credit roll.
66	* DeadlyForceField: The powershield power-up can be either used as a forcefield to negate one attack or attack another player by touching them, or launched ahead to attack another player in front of you.
67	* DeathMountain: Dingo Canyon, and the battle map Rocky Road.
68	* DeflectorShields: The bubble shield weapon you can take from the crates. They can protect you once from any attack, you can knock another racer off their wheels when you collide into one, and you can also launch them forward as a projectile attack. Normally if nothing happens to the shields they'll dissipate after a time passes, but when juiced up, they'll remain up indefinitely (unless, again, something happens to the shield and it's used up). The Aku Aku/Uka Uka masks also function as this, on top of boosting your speed.
69	* DeliberatelyJumpingTheGun: The FinalBoss starts driving before the final light.
70	* DoubleUnlock: To get to race Oxide for a second time and beat the game, all you have to do is beat the time trials on every course. Easy, right? Well, that includes a track that's only unlockable if you collect all five gems. How do you get those? Beat a cup race, four races in a row for one gem. How do you unlock those? Collect 4 tokens of the cup's respective color by beating races while collecting all 3 letters around the course or, for the purple tokens, by going into the arena levels and collecting all the crystals before time runs out.
71	* EasyLevelTrick: In the form of shortcuts. Some are intentional (e.g Crash Cove, Tiger Temple, Cortex Castle), a few others are not (e.g Oxide Station), and some have shortcuts of both varieties (e.g. Hot Air Skyway).
72	** Hot Air Skyway, in fact, has four shortcuts. The first is the obvious and only intentional shortcut branching to the right of the normal track when you jump off the first ramp. The second (jumping the barrier midway through the level) - the first unintentional one - is relatively simple. The third is almost Rainbow Road-esque, involving turning around and jumping to a lower layer. The fourth is just about impossible to non-competitive gamers, and involves jumping from the last ramp straight to the finish line. Demonstrated at full [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-H4KAyIK48 in this video]].
73	* EnemyMine: Everybody teams up against Oxide to save the world; most of the playable roster is made up of bosses from the previous games, in fact. That said, they are competing to be the one who races Oxide. Even the bosses (except for Oxide, of course) are really on your side and are essentially sparring partners. Their job is to make sure that Earth's champion is actually capable of defeating Oxide, because the entire planet loses if the champion loses.
74	* {{Expy}}:
75	** In the form of racetracks, some of which are similar to ones from ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' and ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing''. Crash Cove is one to Koopa Troopa Beach and Crescent Island, Coco Park is one to Luigi Raceway and Royal Raceway, and Tiny Arena is one to Wario Stadium.
76	** While the weapons differ from ''Mario Kart'' items, some of their uses are very similar: the Brio Beaker is an immobile trap like the Banana Peel, the Missile attacks the racer in front of the thrower like the Red Shell, etc.
77	* FlawlessVictory: Getting ''all'' the time-freezing crates in a time trial rewards a 10 second deduction from your final time. [[EnforcedTrope Quite often, this is necessary due to the ridiculous Platinum Relic times.]]
78	* FragileSpeedster: Coco, N. Gin, and Pinstripe all are high-acceleration karts. Because of this, they reach their top speeds (which is only second to that of Tiny, Dingodile, Papu Papu, and N. Tropy despite the game's stat display saying otherwise) more quickly and recover from hits more quickly as well. However, their karts handle worse than those of balanced characters.
79	* TheGhost: Downplayed; the Brio Beaker item is named after Dr. N. Brio [[AllThereInTheManual according to the instruction manual]], yet he is nowhere to be seen in the game.
80	* GoKartingWithBowser: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in the Adventure mode by way of EnemyMine. In order to see who is capable of representing their world in the race against Oxide, many of Cortex's allies and evolved animals from the original trilogy join in the race alongside Crash and the rest of the heroes, either by being one half of the main starting roster or serving as your opponent in the boss races that cap off each world.
81	* GoombaStomp: You can crush enemy cars, flattening and slowing them down for a few seconds, by hitting them with your upraised front when you get a full speed boost.
82	* GracefulLoser: N. Tropy when you beat him in all the Time Trials.
83	* GuideDangIt: Some crates in Relic Race and letters in CTR Challenge placed on shortcuts seem out of reach on certain tracks, with no obvious way to get to them, though this can be averted when observing Oxide's ghost in Time Trial.
84	* HomeStage[=/=]ThemeNaming: With only a few exceptions[[note]]Mystery Caves, Sewer Speedway, Blizzard Bluff, Slide Colosseum, and Turbo Track[[/note]], every stage in the game is named after one of the playable characters (Crash Cove, Roo's Tubes, Coco Park, etc) and serves as their home stage. An added MeaningfulBackgroundEvent is that if you are not playing said character, the AI racer who is put in first at the starting line will be said corresponding character. Hot Air Skyway and Dragon Mines are the two exceptions to be home stages that are not named after their characters (Pinstripe and Komodo Joe, respectively), unless you count Blizzard Bluff serving as [[SecretCharacter Penta Penguin]]'s home stage.
85	* HomingProjectile: The Missile weapon will track the opponent in front of you, provided that you don't fire it from too far away. When juiced up, it gets better tracking capability and travels ''much'' faster.
86	** The warp-ball is one for the leading racer, and as such a racer can only get it if they're lagging behind. When juiced up, the ball will also knock over other racers in the way.
87	* HubLevel: Appears in the Adventure Mode.
88	* {{Invisibility}}: One Battle mode-only weapon lets the user become invisible for a time. Only their wheels can be seen by the controlling user during this state.
89	* JackOfAllStats: [[SubvertedTrope Despite what the games shows]], the "balanced" characters actually are [[MasterOfNone Masters of None]]. See the trope below for further explanations.
90	** Considering the gameplay of the game, the [[FragileSpeedster acceleration based characters]] are closer to this trope: because of their actually good top speed and their low handling stat, they are a good introduction to drifts and turbo boosts.
91	** Penta Penguin is this in the European/Australian version of the game: he may have ''perfect stats'' all round, but MightyGlacier computers playing against them will have a slightly better top speed, making him fall into this trope by default.
92	* LethalLavaLand: Mystery Caves.
93	* LevelsTakeFlight: Hot Air Skyway.
94	* MadScientistLaboratory: N. Gin Labs, and the unlockable battle map Lab Basement.
95	* MagikarpPower: Polar and Pura initially start out as this, in Adventure Mode. Their karts do not have much in the way of [[OneStatToRuleThemAll top speed,]] and power sliding in a straight line is a troublesome task for them. After Papu Papu's boss fight is when tracks turn out more favorably for the handling-centric karts and the game gives myriad opportunities for them to come out on top. Notably, tracks such as Dragon Mines and Hot Air Skyway are turning-centric. While they would normally be difficult for someone without stellar handling, Polar and Pura have karts which make those tracks a breeze for them.
96	* ManEatingPlant: There are these in Papu's Pyramid, although the worst you suffer from them is lots of lost time.
97	* MarathonLevel: Tiny Arena and Oxide Station are the longest tracks in the game.
98	* MasterOfAll: In the European/Austarlian version, the cheat-only character Penta Penguin has perfect scores in all stats. When it comes to the race itself, though, he's often tiered lower than the high-speed-low-handling characters, due to how power-sliding works.
99	* MasterOfNone: Despite being presented as well-rounded in all areas, Crash, Cortex, Fake Crash, and Komodo Joe all ultimately fall into this: despite the game saying they have decent speed and acceleration, they're actually outclassed in speed by Acceleration characters and acceleration by the Turning characters (despite the game saying otherwise in both cases), leaving their one definitively good stat as handling, which isn't particularly useful in the earlier courses due to it ensuring they have trouble drifting in a straight line consistently and only sees some use in the later, harder courses.
100	* {{Mayincatec}}: Papu's Pyramid. Also the battle map Rampage Ruins and the hub world both tracks are placed in, The Lost Ruins. To some extent, Tiger Temple.
101	* MetaPowerup: The Wumpa Fruits are used to increase your max speed and, when you reach 10, upgrades all of your acquired weapons.
102	* MightyGlacier: Tiny, Dingodile, Papu Papu, and N. Tropy are all heavyweight karts with exceptionally good top speed. Because they're heavyweights, however, their handling suffers and they take their time to reach top speed.
103	** DifficultButAwesome: Once power-sliding is mastered, however, those guys can remain on their top speed the whole race, trivialize turns, and even, thanks to the low handling stat, powerslide in straight lines and chain drift boosts without losing time.
104	* MovingTheGoalPosts: Zigzagged; When Oxide arrives, he says that he'll leave Earth alone if he's beaten in the big race. Once you do, he relents and says that Earth gets to stay "all gushy and green"... but then claims that he won't leave until you gather up all his Time Relics and beat him ''again'' to prove that you're "the fastest in the Universe". As it so happens, getting all 18 Time Relics basically means you have to 100% the game! This can be subverted by the player however if they go for 100% completion before taking Oxide on the first time, causing Oxide to leave right away after his defeat.
105	* NitroBoost: The sliding boost mechanic can give the racers additional speed boosts while sliding. There are speed-up pads on many sections of the track, usually for crossing gaps. You can also acquire the Turbo and Super Engine weapons, both of which gives you a free boost, with Super Engine giving up much more (but is only available in Battle mode plays). The Aku Aku/Uka Uka masks also functions as this, on top of making you invincible.
106	* NonFatalExplosions: No matter how many Nitros, chemicals, [=TNTs=], bombs, missiles, or warp-balls (that work like the spiny shell in ''VideoGame/MarioKart'') the racers get hit with, the worst they get is a tumbling and then they always eventually land wheels-down to continue.
107	* NonlethalBottomlessPits: Whenever a kart falls into a pit, Aku Aku/Uka Uka will lift them back up.
108	* NostalgiaLevel: Many levels are straightforward homages to settings from the original trilogy. A few examples: Blizzard Bluff is one to the snow forest levels in ''Cortex Strikes Back'', Polar Pass to the snow and ice levels of the same game, Tiger Temple to the dark ruins levels of the first two games, and N. Gin Labs to the lab levels in the very first game.
109	* NotJustATournament: In the intro for the game, as well as all modes besides the Adventure mode, the cast just races for the fun of it and to win trophies, but then Oxide comes and threatens the whole planet to become slaves unless their racing champion can beat him at racing, kicking off the plot of the Adventure mode.
110	* OddballInTheSeries: A MascotRacer game in a series of platformers. At least, it was an oddball at the time, as racers became a staple of the series from then on.
111	* OneStatToRuleThemAll: Due to how power sliding works, acceleration tends to not be much of a factor for a good player, who will remain at top speed the whole race, and having a high turning stat may prove to be hindering, preventing a character from power sliding in a straight line ([[VideoGame/MarioKartDS sound familiar?]]); so characters are tiered pretty much based on their top speed.
112	* PalmTreePanic: Crash Cove, the battle map Skull Rock, and the hub world N. Sanity Beach.
113	* PlayerExclusiveMechanic: The CPU racers never get any of the ComebackMechanic weapons, unlike the player. They also never use the (harder) shortcuts, even in the hardest difficulty.
114	* PortalEndpointResemblance: Played with. While four of the five {{Hub Level}}s thematics are centered around one of their four tracks, subtle details around these tracks' portals refer to them. The most blatant example is CitadelCity which rooms are decorated [[MadScientistLaboratory to fit]] [[BigFancyCastle three tracks]] [[SpaceZone thematics]] while [[LevelsTakeFlight the fourth]] is placed at the exterior with a blimp above the portal, and the "boss garage" is right in front of it to show where it will happen.
115	* PurposelyOverpowered: Attempted with Penta Penguin in the European/Australian version. However, due to poor handling actually being an advantage, he's not actually top tiered.
116	* RefugeInAudacity: Cortex's epilogue, mentioned below.
117	* RegionalBonus: Penta Penguin, the most secret character, is a run-of-the-mill beginner character in the American version, but, in the European/Australian version, has all stats maxed out.
118	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: Nitros Oxide (note the lack of a U).
119	* RuinsForRuinsSake: Tiger Temple happens on a ruin temple which seems to worship tigers. Its HubLevel, the Lost Ruins, Papu's Pyramid, and the battle level Rampage Ruins fit too.
120	* RuleOfCool: Pinstripe, the tommy-gun wielding mafioso, has his level be a gloriously impractical length of twisty tarmac in the sky. This is in contrast to the more 'normal' levels of the other [[WarmUpBoss warm-up bosses]] (a SharkTunnel, {{Mayincatec}} temple and an underground cavern).
121	* SacrificialPlanet: Unused audio found in the game's files reveals that [[BigBad Oxide]] is the cause of the barren wasteland on [[OnceGreenMars Mars]]: the inhabitants on the planet failed to defeat him at racing and thus got obliterated. He threatens to do the same on Earth (by making the planet a parking lot and enslaving all its inhabitants) if they fail to defeat him at racing, too - setting up the story.
122	--> You're the fastest racer so far? You're the best this planet can offer? This is going to be a bigger joke than that last civilization I challenged. What was it called... on that red planet so close to here... Oh, yes. I think you call it Mars. Now that was an easy win. What? You say there is no civilization on the planet Mars? ''(laughs)'' Not anymore! They lost the race!
123	* SchizophrenicDifficulty: The tracks in Adventure Mode aren't placed in ascending difficulty. Many times, the courses are chosen because it fits into the theme of the world rather than difficulty. This is why, for example, the second world has both Coco Park and Papu's Pyramid, a simple track and a pretty hard track respectively. The Arcade Mode cups fix this and the tracks are in ascending difficulty.
124	* SecretAIMoves: When fought as bosses, Komodo Joe and Nitros Oxide demonstrate the ability to throw TNT crates into the air and have them explode upon hitting the ground. Outside of hopping to get a TNT crate off of a racer's head, this cannot be done in-game, as TNT crates can only be placed behind the player when used and cannot be made to explode at will.
125	* SecretCharacter: Penta Penguin is the only character who must be unlocked with a cheat code. The other hidden characters can be unlocked via cheat codes or accomplishing in-game tasks.
126	* SharkTunnel: Most of Roo's Tubes takes place in one of these.
127	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Blizzard Bluff is a relatively innocent snow level, while the harder Polar Pass' is a more technical pack ice level with seals, ice pools and a big jump. The HubLevel Glacier Park and the battle map The North Bowl are a midpoint between it.
128	* SNKBoss: Nitros Oxide is deliberately designed to be as unfair of a boss as possible. It's one thing that he drops the items of every single boss character, but he also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard crosses the starting line before the green light]], and datamining reveals that he's the only character in the game (besides Penta Penguin in the PAL release) who has perfect stats in every category.
129	* SpaceZone: The Oxide Station, which doubles as a MarathonLevel due to its extreme length. It's also the only track that cannot be played in multiplayer.
130	* SpringtimeForHitler: A meta example. Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin knew that their contract with Universal was about to expire, so to make the ''Crash Bandicoot'' license seem unappealing to contractors, they made Nitros Oxide the main antagonist, hoping that the inclusion of an alien would make everybody think they were JumpingTheShark. Unfortunately for them, Nitros Oxide became a popular character, and ''CTR'' is remembered as one of the [=PlayStation's=] best.
131	* SquashedFlat: A number of the track-specific obstacles can flatten the racers and make them run slower for a time, such as the rolling barrels in Sewer Speedway or the rolling rocks in Blizzard Bluff. You can also inflict this on other players with the Turbo weapon by activating it and then pressing the hop button when you're crashing behind them (it needs good timing).
132	* StockFootage: The Naughty Dog crate burst animation from the intro is exactly the same one from ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped''.
133	* ThrowDownTheBomblet: The rolling bomb weapons, sometimes called Bowling Bombs, which can only be shot in a straight line, forwards or backwards. You can also press Circle a second time to prematurely detonate it if you're slightly off-target, which becomes much more useful with a juiced-up Bomb as it gets a wider blast radius.
134	* TookALevelInBadass:
135	** Every item has a "juiced-up" version if you have the maximum 10 Wumpa Fruit (which are scattered around the course and also slightly increase your speed, like the coins in Mode-7 ''Mario Kart'' titles as well as ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart7 7]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart8 8]]'').
136	** One particularly noteworthy example is the Warp Orb. A normal Warp Orb acts like a Mario Kart blue shell and targets the player in first place, although other racers in its path can get hit if they aren't careful. The juiced-up Warped Orb? It hits '''EVERYBODY IN FRONT OF THE PLAYER'''.
137	** Penta Penguin in the European/Australian version has souped up stats everywhere, making him quite the speed demon.
138	* TheUnfought:
139	** N. Tropy in the main game; you only fight him in the TimeTrial mode. [[TimeMaster Quite fittingly.]]
140	** Same with Fake Crash and Penta, both of whom don't even show up as opponents in the game ''at all''.
141	* TheUnintelligible: Ripper Roo, who speaks in [[LaughingMad mad laughter]] outside of the Japanese version.
142	* VariableMix: In the hub world, each and every hub has a variation of the overworld theme that plays in the background.
143	* VehicularCombat: Battle Mode, where players try to shoot each other while speeding on their karts.
144	* WackyRacing: ''Crash Team Racing'' is essentially "''VideoGame/MarioKart'' meets the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''", essentially because the weapons are more hardcore: bananas are replaced by toxic beakers, fake item boxes by TNT crates, and shells by bombs and missiles.
145	* WakeUpCallBoss: Papu Papu, to racers who aren't Tiny or Dingodile. Top speed is his primary stat, and Papu's Pyramid does not offer much of a disadvantage for him as most of the turns needed are still wide enough for him (and Tiny/Dingodile) to make without much of an issue. The map is significantly more difficult than other levels within the same mini-hub. The trade-off is that Papu Papu's traps are the N. Brio beakers, which he throws far behind him, making them easier to dodge than the TNT crates Ripper Roo places directly behind him. After Papu Papu is defeated, the game's Adventure Mode begins to shape up.
146	* WarmUpBoss: Ripper Roo is a character with low top speed, a high handling that wouldn't do him any good in his challenge map (as said map, Roo's Tubes, is one of the simplest and most straightforward in the game), and while his trademark TNT traps are difficult to dodge, they can usually be easily shaken off (unless you're heading over a ramp, in which case you generally won't be able to get enough hops in to shake it off due to the decline making each hop longer).
147	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: PlayedForLaughs, of course, like how Pinstripe becomes a used car salesman in New Jersey and Cortex finds a new element he calls (and patents as) "Cortexrulestheworldium".
148	----
149	->''"Crash sold his life's story to a major movie studio. The film entitled ''The Color Orange'' will be released for the Christmas season. Crash can now be found on a beach down under, doing what he does best... dancing and napping!"''

Context VideoGame / CrashTeamRacing