Yes, even this series has moments that will leave you feeling down...and we're not talking about all those times you were one box short of a gem.
Games with their own pages:
- N. Gin's entire character arc can be considered this when you stop and think about it. Once an aspiring scientist, a failed missile experiment causes him to be partially paralyzed for life and we see his sanity slowly fall apart. He is constantly defeated by Crash and Coco no matter how hard he tries, is forced to betray his master Dr. Neo Cortex by his vindictive niece in Titans (though shrewdly helps Crash overthrow her), and is ultimately abandoned by Cortex and replaced with Dr. Nitrus Brio in Mind Over Mutant. What makes the last example particularly heartwrenching is that N. Gin was originally created to replace N. Brio in Cortex Strikes Back, so for the same thing to happen to him must have been devastating for him.
- N Brio didn't exactly have it much better. He's a long time colleague of Cortex, though as time passed, Cortex became more domineering and self centered, along with taking credit for all the inventions he created working models for. Even in Mind Over Mutant it's clear some things haven't changed, he still gets buttered up into working with Cortex (who ultimately still steals from him and hijacks their scheme for himself in the end), and is now a No-Respect Guy with a massive Inferiority Superiority Complex as a result of years in his shadow.
- Some of Coco's lines referring to her lack of parents.Tag Team Racing: I'm telling mom! If we had one.Mind Over Mutant: I'm telling Mom... who is she anyway?
- Supposedly, Crash and Coco's father was eaten by a fox. It's unknown what happened to their mother, but she's probably still a normal bandicoot.
- Throughout Crash of the Titans, Crash is constantly worried over Coco. who has been kidnapped by Uka Uka, with the villains' taunting him and threatening do horrible things to her only making it worse. This is one of the few times you see Crash visibly distressed, and for a Radical title, it's played pretty earnestly, showing just how much he cares about his baby sister. Turns into a Heartwarming Moment when they finally reunite.
- All the boss racers in Crash Nitro Kart are rather bluntly dismissed by Velo after you defeat them (and implied to be punished offscreen). Krunk in particular looks rather dejected from losing his world key. Though Crash makes it better with a gift in the Hero story, he is still sent away in disgrace. While Crunch and Coco are exchanging wary and unsettled looks from this, Crash just looks rather downbeat at losing a new friend.
- The evil ending to Crash Bash is this mixed with a tall order of Nightmare Fuel. After Uka Uka gets his "hands" on all the crystals, Aku Aku, powerless to stop him, questions his theory of good always triumphing over evil, and begs Crash and Coco to run and save themselves.
- Von Clutch's Disney Death in Tag Team Racing definitely counts, although it's followed by a Funny Moment when Crash pats the Black Gem out of Von Clutch's chest.
- Nina’s boss-introduction in Crash Bandicoot On The Run sums up the tragic (in a darkly comedic sense) nature of her character in about five seconds. The look of helplessness and despair with which she regards her own robotic hands as they malfunction and crush the bird she was lovingly petting makes you realize that, even if she still has a gentle side to her, she may never be physically capable of expressing it again without hurting something. You can see her panic as she tries to stop herself, and her angry shout afterwards is almost certainly directed at herself.
