History VideoGame / CrashBandicoot

* SmallTaxonomyPools: Being set somewhere around Australia, this was bound to be averted. While the obligatory Australian fauna (koalas, kangaroos, dingoes, etc.) are present, they end up sharing the spotlight with rare or unknown creatures like potoroos, thylacines, and obviously bandicoots.

* SeldomSeenSpecies:
** Bandicoots are really rare in real life.
** The series also includes a potaroo, a thylacine and a half-dingo hybrid.

* PositiveDiscrimination:
** Coco early on acts as the token female, super intelligent, [[WomenAreWiser closer to Earth]] and near equally skilled physically as her brother (even if outdoing [[IdiotHero Crash]] intelligence-wise isn't exactly much of a challenge). However, as more female characters were inserted, Coco started to gain her own [[TookALevelInDumbass idiotic]] and [[TookALevelInJerkAss obnoxious]] tendencies.
** Nina Cortex, despite being younger than the other villains, actually goes on top for once and become a serious threat despite her odd traits. In ''Crash of the Titans'', Aku Aku himself points out that Nina is far more competent than Cortex could ever hope to be. Played with since Nina still proves as clownish as the other villains, and is ultimately punished by her uncle as a demonstration of his own menacing side.

* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Of the bandicoot trio, originally at least, [[CheerfulChild Coco]] was Nice, [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Crunch]] was Mean, and [[CloudCuckooLander Crash]] was In Between. Following Radical's reimagined characters however, [[ManChild Crunch]] was Nice, [[BrattyHalfPint Coco]] was Mean, and [[CloudCuckooLander Crash]] was still In Between.

** VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime is widely considered to be the hardest game in the franchise yet, cranking the already hard difficulty of the original trilogy UpToEleven. Thankfully, this game also does away with the old [[VideoGameLives lives system]] of the original games by default (although you still have the option to turn it back on), so you can die an infinite amount of times and never get a game over.

* NoEnding: ''Crash Mind Over Mutant'' fails to provide any kind of closure. [[KarmaHoudini Cortex escapes the ruin of his space station]], while the Bandicoots have to deal with the wreckage ([[RunningGag again]]). Given that the villains [[MadeofIron survived everything the heroes threw at them for TWELVE STRAIGHT YEARS, and always manage to come back in the next game unharmed, and with another fortress fully stocked with doomsday weapons and armies]], it's a given that Cortex is still out there, plotting his next evil scheme.

** Cortex's power station is even worse. Huge pits of bubbling toxic green waste are scattered about, there's exposed electric machines and red hot pipes and steam all over, the generator room is pitch black and has exhaust flowing around indoors, and metal platforms without rails are suspended over toxic goo or bottomless pits. At least Pinstripe gives a clear warning to be careful in the lowest part of the power station; which is where vast amounts of radioactive slime are dumped straight into the ocean.

* ActionGirl: Coco becomes this following her first playable appearance in ''Warped''.

* ArchEnemy: Crash Bandicoot has Doctor Neo Cortex. In the same series there is also the rivalry between sentient voodoo mask twin brothers Aku Aku and Uka Uka.

* BeardOfEvil: Cortex sports one, and N. Tropy has a rather unique one. Uka Uka also has a really ragged one.
* BehindTheBlack: A pathway to a secret portal and few boxes on ''Crash Bandicoot 2'' are hidden offscreen (two mostly and two completely).

* BareYourMidriff: Tawna in all her appearances prior to the remakes, Liz the Trophy Girl in ''Crash Team Racing'' and Coco Bandicoot starting with ''Crash Nitro Kart''.
* BeamOWar: Aku Aku and Uka Uka have one of these during the final boss fight in ''Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped''. Be careful, their beams can hurt you.
* BearsAreBadNews: "Un-Bearable" level in the second game.

* BigGood: [[WitchDoctor Aku]] [[ExpressiveMask Aku]].

* BilingualBonus: Von Clutch occasionally throws some German into his otherwise mostly English dialogue. (Also overlaps with PoirotSpeak.)

* BodySurf: Crash throughout ''Crash of the Titans''. [[PeoplePuppets "Jack" a Spike]] with Aku Aku, then keep Body Surfing on up the chain of more powerful mutants!

** In the first game, Ripper Roo is '''invincible'''. The only way to harm him is to jump on TNT that's moving down the river between the two platforms and hope that the explosion hurts Ripper Roo. In the third game, N. Tropy has you at the far end of the arena from him, and thus you can't do a thing, not having a distance attack. Until he switches the platforms to create a direct trail to him... and then takes that moment to catch his breath and stop attacking you.[[note]]If you go back to fight him again after getting the Death Tornado Spin and uses it to get to Tropy earlier than intended, he'll slam his tuning fork into the ground to create a blast that kills you instantly.[[/note]]
** In the same game, Dingodile, who is also not invincible.[[note]]You can try entering his boss stage again after getting the DoubleJump; slide + double jump can let you leap over his barrier and hit him directly.[[/note]] However, he is protected by spinning barriers of crystals... until he decides to blast you with his flamethrower through it, destroying large chunks of them with each shot.

** Also, the Komodo Bros. Komodo Joe is lean yet intelligent, Komodo Moe is brawny yet... not so intelligent. The two make a formidable team.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Done a ''lot'' in the series, courtesy of Dr. Cortex's specialty of turning animals into his loyal slaves (to varying degrees). His signature Cortex Vortex is his MindControlDevice, and the entire plot of ''Crash Bandicoot 2'' is Cortex building a massive laser gun on his spaceship - the second iteration of the Cortex Vortex - to brainwash the planet. In ''The Wrath of Cortex'', Crunch is brainwashed by Cortex to work with the Elementals and try to kill Crash. In ''Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced'', Crunch, Coco and Fake Crash are brainwashed by N. Trance into trying to kill Crash. In ''Crash Nitro Kart'', N. Trance brainwashes Polar, Pura and Dingodile to form an entire race team to put against the Bandicoot. In ''Crash of the Titans'', Coco is brainwashed to work on the Doominator (thus trying to wipe out Wumpa Island... and kill Crash). In ''Mind Over Mutant'', Crunch, Coco, and a lot of mutants are brainwashed with the [=NVs=] to turn evil... and try to kill Crash. Let's do some maths; not counting the mutants, there have been ''ten'' cases of brainwashing, ''six'' individuals involved, across ''five'' games, with ''two'' of the individuals being brainwashed and crazy ''three'' times. This does not take into consideration all the mutants in the latter-most game, which could make the individuals and cases into the hundreds or thousands. Oh, and we haven't even mentioned the whole deal with the Cortex Vortex and Cortex Commandos. If ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is "Brainwashed: the Series", Crash Bandicoot is easily "Brainwashed and Crazy: the Series".

** The later games have some notable instances. In ''Crash Twinsanity'', a skunk in one of the opening stages expresses his displeasure at having acted as a common enemy to get stomped on for ten years, and a group of penguins hold Cortex hostage for his power crystal, with him arguing that the reason that he couldn't pay them was because ''The Wrath of Cortex'' didn't sell as well as he had hoped. In ''Crash of The Titans'', Tiny Tiger berates Crash for not including him in the previous video game (''Crash Tag Team Racing''), and Uka Uka prolongs a cutscene so he can enjoy the dramatic music. ''Mind Over Mutant'' features Nitrus Brio angrily shouting out how he was in the first game.
** Also, during some of the EnemyChatter in ''Titans'', the Voodoo Bunnies are discussing Uka Uka's personality issues, saying that he's feeling self-conscious about not having a body, and mentioning that "He had body briefly in ''Twinsanity'', but that was no fun for nobody".

* BuffySpeak:
--> '''Park Drone:''' Again, you come back to haunt me?! Like some kind of haunting thing?! Haunting... and coming back?!
** Actually seems to be a favored trope with the newer Radical games, a large amount of random gameplay quotes not devoted to cultural parody humor usually have the characters go blank and irregularly mangle their sentence, outtake style. Even {{Big Bad}}s like Cortex and Uka Uka drift into this on occasion though Coco is perhaps the biggest culprit...and stuff.
* TheBrute: Tiny, a gigantic, overly muscled brute of a thylacine, who prefers attempting to stomp Crash flat or smashing him with his muscles.
* ButtMonkey:
** Poor, poor Cortex.
** Almost as bad are poor N Gin, or poor Crunch, or poor Crash, heck, nearly every character has undergone some horrible amount of AmusingInjuries in the franchise.

* CardCarryingVillain: Most of the main villains as of ''Crash Bash''.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: You can use the spin attack against Wumpa fruits, and they'll fly off just like enemies do. This also means that they won't be added to your counter.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2NTranced'' (2003) -- After the previous game ended with Cortex trapped in his destroyed space station and lost in space, Uka Uka decides to make N. Tropy into his [[TheDragon right-hand man]] in his place. N. Tropy's first act under Uka Uka's employ is to look into the future, and sees a vision of himself surrounded by Crash, Coco, and Crunch. He interprets this as the bandicoots [[FaceHeelTurn joining their side]], so he brings out a new recruit named N. Trance, with the intent on making the bandicoots BrainwashedAndCrazy. They proceed to pull the bandicoots into their dimensional hideout, but Aku Aku interferes when they attempt to take Crash, and the villains unknowingly end up taking Fake Crash. Crash must now travel between dimensions, gathering crystals, freeing his friends and Fake Crash from the hypnotism, and stopping N. Tropy and N. Trance from doing any further harm. The second portable game. This one ends with Uka Uka witnessing his failure yet again and deciding to forgo all [[TheDragon dragons]] and take on Crash himself. This plot thread is LeftHanging. Similarly to ''The Huge Adventure'', [[NostalgiaLevel the selection of]] videogame settings makes this game a bit of a portable version of ''Crash 3'', with a bit of ''Crash 2'' thrown in.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Crash's main form of offense.

* ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'' (2019) -- A remake of ''Crash Team Racing'' in the same style as the ''N. Sane Trilogy''. In addition to bringing the [=PS1=] classic into the modern age, the game also features a metric ton of additional content, including all of the tracks, characters and vehicles from ''Nitro Kart''. Monthly Grand Prix events expand the roster over time, adding brand new tracks, karts, and characters, culminating in a massive roster of [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters nearly every character who has ever appeared in the series]].

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheHugeAdventure'' (''XS'' in PAL regions, 2002) -- Cortex develops the Planetary Minimizer and uses it to shrink the earth. Crash learns of this and sets off to retrieve yet more crystals so that Coco can reverse the effects. This is the first game developed by Vicarious Visions. This is also the first Crash game developed for a handheld console (the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance). [[NostalgiaLevel The selection of]] VideoGameSettings makes this game a bit of a portable version of ''Crash 2'', with a bit of ''Crash 3'' thrown in.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2NTranced'' (2003) -- After the previous game ended with Cortex trapped in his destroyed space station and lost in space, Uka Uka decides to make N. Tropy into his [[TheDragon right-hand man]] in his place. N. Tropy's first act under Uka Uka's employ is to look into the future, and sees a vision of himself surrounded by Crash, Coco, and Crunch. He interprets this as the bandicoots [[FaceHeelTurn joining their side]], so he brings out a new recruit named N. Trance, with the intent on making the bandicoots BrainwashedAndCrazy. They proceed to pull the bandicoots into their dimensional hideout, but Aku Aku interferes when they attempt to take Crash, and the villains unknowingly end up taking Fake Crash. Crash must now travel between dimensions, gathering crystals, freeing his friends and Fake Crash from the hypnotism, and stopping N. Tropy and N. Trance from doing any further harm. The second portable game. This one ends with Uka Uka witnessing his failure yet again and deciding to forgo all [[TheDragon dragons]] and take on Crash himself. This plot thread is LeftHanging. Similarly to ''The Huge Adventure'', [[NostalgiaLevel the selection of]] VideoGameSettings makes this game a bit of a portable version of ''Crash 3'', with a bit of ''Crash 2'' thrown in.

** ''It's About Time'' squashes this trope by introducing several new female characters, including Alternate Tawna and Kupuna-Wa on the good side and [[Spoiler:N. Tropy (F)]] on the evil side.

** Coco in ''Warped'', despite being a half-time playable protagonist, ''plays this straight'', no matter if she had Vicki Winters voicing her in the second installment or not.
** And, again, Japanese version adds a couple of grunts to her. Because, actually, it did almost the same for Crash.

* WomenAreWiser:

** The gender swapped N Tropy from Alt!Tawna's universe is treated as the most menacing villain in the series so far, having ''killed'' her universe's Crash and Coco.

** Cortex himself is often paired with N Tropy as Uka Uka's Co-Dragons. Though the power chain isn't clear in Warped, in most later games they are equals and rivalistic towards each other. In the GBA games Uka Uka interchanges between using Cortex or Tropy as his main schemer, while in It's About Time, after they both betray Uka, they form a BigBadDuumvirate, though with Tropy clearly spearheading and [[spoiler:eventually betraying Cortex as well in favour of a more efficient accomplice]].

* GuestFighter: Franchise/{{Spyro|TheDragon}} is in the GBA version of ''Crash Nitro Kart''.

* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Crash has shoes, gloves and ''pants!'' However, he is lacking a shirt. Several other characters are half-dressed as well.

* HollywoodNatives: The tribesmen of N. Sanity Island, who worship various monoliths and attempt to capture and/or eat anything that entered their territory. They are led by Papu Papu, an obese chieftain who wears a grass skirt and has his hair tied up in an elaborate tribal mask/headdress.

* HulkSpeak: Tiny Tiger before the Radical Entertainment games.

* HurricaneOfPuns: N. Tropy is rather fond of throwing out time-related puns.

* TheIgor: For Cortex, there's Doctor N. Gin in the new Radical games, and N. Brio in the first game.

* ImprobableInfantSurvival : Used with Polar in the second game. While [[IronButtMonkey Crash]] [[TheManyDeathsOfYou can kill himself in numerous ways]] in the snow levels, the little bear cub is shown making his way out of each obstacle completely unscathed (in one Crash's angel is even shown ascending upward carrying the still alive and unharmed Polar in his arms). Used near identically with Pura in ''Warped'' (at least one instance subverts this however, with Coco jumping out of harm's way just before the baby tiger runs smack into a pile of barrels).

** ''Two'' of Coco's podium animations ''Nitro Fueled'' involve her being shrunk in some comical way (though in one it [[CameBackWrong doesn't quite work right]] and her head is still left normal sized on her tiny body, her expression says it all).
* IndyEscape: Every platformer game in the series has at least one of this.

** Also in the second game was the secret passage in a certain level where you would drop down from the broken bridge after a giant polar bear smashes through it, and about midway in would be 2 hidden crates right after a checkpoint containing 2 one ups in which you could die and continue to break the crates and receive the reward.

* IronicName:
** "Tiny" is large, muscular and towers over most of the other characters.

* JokeCharacter: Coco was often this in the earlier games, either being a weaker skin of Crash with less abilities, or even just a limited vehicle rider that can only walk and jump otherwise. Most of her levels it would be more productive to just play as Crash. ''Mind Over Mutant'' subverts this by making her a co op character who matches all of Crash's abilities, thus still redundant but at least useful.

** The absence of Crash and Coco's parents is lampshaded in the Radical Entertainment games. If Crash spin attacks Coco in ''Tag Team Racing'', one of the things she says is "I'm telling mom... if we had one." If the same action is performed in ''Mind Over Mutant'', she says "I'm telling mom! Who is she, anyway?".

%%* LargeAndInCharge: Papu Papu, Madame Amberly.

* LaughingMad: Ripper Roo, after being exposed to different experiments from Doctor Cortex, became a raving, laughing lunatic. In fact, after his brain was tampered with, all of his dialogue consists of insane laughter with subtitles to translate. He did almost talk in CTR. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi2X6HH3Lb8 Here's the cut audio.]]

* MascotWithAttitude: One of the few who have managed to fare better than the rest.

* MercyInvincibility: Whenever you lose an Aku-Aku mask due to getting hit, you'll be invincible for a few seconds. In the racing games, if you fall into a pit, Aku-Aku or Uka-Uka will momentarily cover you as you're being put back on track.
* MercyMode: Dying too many times in a given level will cause you to start re-spawning with mask power ups, which let you survive an extra hit. Even more death, even with the masks, leads random boxes to turn into checkpoint boxes.
* MinecartMadness: "Dragon Mines" in ''Crash Team Racing'', "Compactor Reactor" and "Ghost Town" in ''Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex''.
* MiniDungeon: Aside from the {{Bonus Stage}}s, the first three games in the series have special mini-stages that is accessed through special means: Collecting N. Brio or Neo Cortex icons or stepping onto a colored platform ([[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996 first game]]) and stepping on a colored platform or skull-patterned platform, aside from other things ([[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack second]] and [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped third]] game). These stages - often called "Gem Routes" or "Skull Routes" - are much harder than the actual levels and rarely have a checkpoint. In the case of Skull Routes, you also have to reach the place without dying beforehand. Completing succesfully the Neo Cortex stages will net you keys that open secret levels; completing the Skull Routes will net you gems (in some rare cases colored ones, which are the ones that give access to the Gem Routes). The Gem Routes themselves only have regular gems as rewards.

* MixAndMatchCritters: Dingodile, being a mix of a dingo and a crocodile. Likewise Rilla Roo (a gorilla and a kangaroo).

* NintendoHard: The original trilogy (including its HD remakes), ''Wrath of Cortex'' and 4: It's About Time, only.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Peter Lorre as Doctor N. Gin, Mike Tyson as Tiny Tiger, Mr. T as Crunch Bandicoot, Jerry Lewis as the Ratnicians, Orson Welles as Doctor N. Brio.
* NoDamageRun: Getting gems in the first ''Crash Bandicoot'' required you ''finish the level without dying'' in addition to breaking all of the crates. In the second and third game, getting the Skull Routes require you to not die before getting to it; if you do, you can't access it.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: Uka Uka spends a lot of titles barely contributing anything towards the villains' plots, leaving Cortex or another head minion to create the scheme and act as the de facto BigBad. This was excused in the first two games, where he was still in his prison temple the ancients had banished him to eons ago.

* PlatformingPocketPal: Technically, while Aku-Aku has been around in the first game as Crash's SingleUseShield, only in ''Warped'' does he get fleshed out and become more of a "pal".

%% * PowerUpFood
* PowerupMount: Each of the Naughty Dog games had one such animal per game, with two levels in each game dedicated entirely to riding them through their respective obstacle courses (an unnamed wild boar in ''Crash Bandicoot'', Polar the polar bear in ''Crash 2'', and Pura the tiger, along with a baby T-Rex in ''Warped'').

* RememberTheNewGuy: While most of the FunnyAnimal cast are implied to have been created by Cortex or his fellow MadScientist cronies, a good few seem to randomly appear out of nowhere, with no implication of Cortex's hand in their existance. Even Coco seems like a random entry unless [[AllThereInTheManual you have read bios]] stating she was created by Cortex shortly after Crash.

** ''Warped'' introduces pterosaurs and triceratopses as enemies in the prehistoric levels, along with the boss Dingodile, who is 50% crocodile and 50% dingo. The ''adorably'' cute [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter baby T. Rex]] is the only exception.

* SaveGameLimits: In the original ''Crash Bandicoot'', the only way to save your game (or collect a password) was to go from the overworld map into a level, collect a series of hidden bonus tokens and beat the ensuing bonus level, or collecting a gem by beating a level without dying while breaking all the crates in the area. And when you restored the game, you snapped back to just three lives. Fortunately, the sequels made it easy to save your progress in-between levels and keep your lives.

* SissyFight: [[spoiler:Dr Cortex vs Real Velo in the closing to Crash Nitro Kart. Tiny breaks it up.]]

** Played straight throughout most of the early games, played with as the series went forward. In the Naughty Dog games, there is only one female character per game: Tawna in the original game, Coco throughout the latter games. Coco continues to be the only female until ''The Cortex Conspiracy'', when Nina joins the roster. However, Nina is an evil character; she only fights on the side of good if the world is threatened by a greater evil than Uka Uka. ''Crash Tag Team Racing'' is the only game that has more than [[TwoGirlsToATeam two female characters]]; Pasadena joins the roster for that particular game. In ''Crash Boom Bang!'', the series enters TwoGirlsToATeam territory, when Tawna makes an unexpected return, and is playable alongside Coco. Later on, the series returns to Smurfette territory with Coco being the only female on the side of good, and Nina remaining firmly on the side of evil.

* SnapBack: ''Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2'' undid most changes during Radical's tenure and utilised the designs and aesthetics of the earlier games.
* SpeechImpediment: Doctor Nitrus Brio used to have one in the early ''Crash Bandicoot'' series, but was removed later on.

* SssssnakeTalk: Komodo Joe in ''Crash Team Racing''.

* StockScream: The Howie Scream is heard in the first two games.

** Many other bosses play the same way, like Ripper Roo in the second game (deliberately detonating Nitro panels with his own body for one), Tiny Tiger in the same game (you can lead him to jump into a pit), or Dingodile in the third (he shoots through and destroys the crystal barriers that protected him, making bigger openings). Justified in all 3 cases in that Ripper Roo is completely insane, Tiny is a single-minded buffoon, and, according to Aku Aku in N.Sane Trilogy, Dingodile is [[PyroManiac too caught up on trying to set things on fire]] to notice the damage hes causing to his barrier.
%%* TakeMeInstead: Cortex does this in ''Crash Twinsanity'' to save Nina from Crash's evil doppelganger.

%%* TemporaryPlatform: Especially the first game.
* TeenGenius: Coco Bandicoot still looks like a young girl and yet she's good with technology, being capable of hacking into Cortex's holographic projector and then into his computer to uncover his plans. In ''The Wrath of Cortex'' she even makes her own teleporter hub similar to the Time Twister Machine.

%%* TerrifyingTiki: Uka Uka, the Elementals from ''Wrath of Cortex'', and Tikimon from ''Twinsanity''.

%%* ThisCannotBe: Aku Aku does this in the intro of ''Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped'', [[BookEnds bookended]] by Uka Uka doing it in the real ending.

** Somewhat averted with Nash from ''Crash Nitro Kart'' - he may be a shark, but he's actually quite adorable (if obnoxious). Coco refers to him as a "poor little shark-thingy".

* TrueFinalBoss: N. Tropy in the second GBA game.

** Uka Uka does have boss fights in Crash: Twinsanity and Crash of the Titans, though he is not the final boss in either of these games.

** Crash, while rarely engaging in conversation, usually had the odd grunt in every game. In ''Crash Twinsanity'' however he is completely mute.

** Coco, who starts off as a genius hacker who plays the rational, sensible woman to Crash's antics. This...[[TookALevelInDumbass fluctuates in later games,]] where Coco is given more foibles and comical qualities, though games like ''It's About Time'' still imply her to be [[SuperiorSuccessor a far more competent mirror of her air headed brother]].

* YourSizeMayVary: Several characters changed sizes throughout the series, especially due to the constant redesigns. Cortex in particular ranged from being a midget even compared to the other dwarfish scientists or roughly the same height as Crash. Coco also ranged from a [[BigLittleBrother Big Little Sister]] to the smallest character of the cast. Boss characters such as Tiny and Dingodile could also range from towering over Crash to being only a head or so taller than him.

When a redesigned Spyro appeared in the new, wildly successful ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' franchise, it was only a matter of time before Crash followed suit -- which he did In ''Skylanders Imaginators'', where Crash and Cortex each have their own playable toys that unlock an extra Crash-themed level. Furthermore, Crash made his WesternAnimation debut in the Creator/{{Netflix}} animated series, ''WesternAnimation/SkylandersAcademy'', SuddenlyVoiced to boot. The exchange isn't one-sided, either; Spyro himself has appeared as cameos in some ''Crash'' games, as well as becoming a playable racer in both ''Nitro Kart'' and ''Nitro Fueled''. As noted above, Toys for Bob, the developer for ''Skylanders'', eventually went on to develop a ''Crash'' game, having been also responsible for overseeing a ''Spyro'' [[VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy remake compilation]].

* ''VideoGame/CrashBash'' (2000) -- The Great Uka Uka decides that it's time to settle his conflict with Aku Aku once and for all, but Aku Aku informs him that they can't fight directly as it is forbidden by the ancients, so he instead suggests that they hold a contest to determine the resolution. Uka Uka relents, and they summon Crash and Cortex to choose their partners. However, Cortex chooses too many players (Koala Kong, Dingodile, N. Brio, Tiny Tiger, and newcomer Rilla Roo), while Crash only has Coco by his side. Aku Aku forces Cortex to relinquish Tiny and Dingodile to the good side to make both sides even, and the contest finally starts.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex'' (2001) -- Intending to make up for his past failures, Cortex creates a secret weapon to destroy Crash -- a bandicoot named Crunch. To give Crunch the power he needs to accomplish this, Cortex frees the Elementals, a group of masks with destructive [[ElementalPowers powers over]] [[DishingOutDirt earth]], [[KillItWithWater water]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], and [[BlowYouAway air]]. Meanwhile, Crash and his friends become aware of the natural disasters occurring due to the Elementals, and use Coco's new Portal Chamber to once again collect crystals in order to seal away the Elementals again and stop Crunch and Cortex at all costs. This was the first game to make a leap to a next-gen console, developed by Traveler's Tales' Knutsford division and originally released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and later ported to the UsefulNotes/XBox and UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube.
* ''VideoGame/CrashNitroKart'' (2003) -- One day, Crash and his friends are going about their day when they are suddenly abducted by a UFO. Around the same time, Cortex is working on yet another plot to destroy Crash when he gets abducted as well. Crash and Cortex find themselves in a galactic racing circuit, where the ruler of the galaxy, Emperor Velo XXVII, forces them to race for his people's entertainment until they can go free, or let the Earth be destroyed. With no other choice, Crash and Cortex agree to participate in the races. The second racing game and the first console Crash game developed by Vicarious Visions, ''Nitro Kart'' was to ''Crash Team Racing'' what ''Wrath of Cortex'' was to ''Crash 3''.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheHugeAdventure'' (''XS'' in Europe, 2002) -- Cortex develops the Planetary Minimizer and uses it to shrink the earth. Crash learns of this and sets off to retrieve yet more crystals so that Coco can reverse the effects. This is the first game developed by Vicarious Visions. This is also the first Crash game developed for a handheld console (the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance). [[NostalgiaLevel The selection of]] VideoGameSettings makes this game a bit of a portable version of ''Crash 2'', with a bit of ''Crash 3'' thrown in.

* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootPurpleRiptosRampage'' (''Crash Fusion'' in Europe, 2004) -- Cortex and Ripto agree to destroy Crash and Franchise/SpyroTheDragon together using genetically altered Riptocs to trick them into fighting each other. This plan works for a while, but during their fight, Crash and Spyro realise what's really going on and team up to save their worlds from Cortex and Ripto. This game is a {{crossover}} with the ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'' franchise by Vicarious Visions. Shares a story with ''VideoGame/SpyroOrangeTheCortexConspiracy''. (''Spyro Fusion'' in Europe)
* ''Crash Boom Bang!'' (2006) -- A Tasmanian devil called the Viscount is searching for the fabled Super Big Power Crystal as it has the power to grant wishes, but as his quest is ending in failure, he decides to con unsuspecting people into helping him, so he sends them invitations to the "World Cannonball Race". Of course, Crash and Cortex are among those who are invited. The Viscount sends the contestants to find and give him four stone tablets (so the location of the crystal can be revealed), but Cortex ruins everything by attempting to steal the map and ends up tearing it apart. This makes the Viscount confess the truth of the situation to everyone, so they are willing to help him find the Crystal in turn for a great sum of money. This is the second party game to be released, and is developed by Dimps, being the first game to be developed by a Japanese company.

* ''[[VideoGame/CrashOnTheRun Crash Bandicoot: On the Run!]]'' (2021) -- An [[EndlessRunningGame Endless Runner]] MobilePhoneGame set to be released on [=iOS=] and Android on March 25th, 2021, and developed by ''VideoGame/CandyCrushSaga'' makers King. Similarly to ''It's About Time'' but taking far more from the post-Naughty Dog and Radical eras, it follows a dimension-shifting plot where Cortex summons foes from across the multiverse to deal with Crash and Coco. The game first soft-launched on the Google Play Store in select countries such as Malaysia on April 22nd, 2020, and is currently only available in other select regions such as Canada.

* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: Most of the evolved animals have normal coloured coats/skin, with the exception of Crash, Coco and Tawna, who are orange, and Ripper Roo, who is blue. More startling with the bandicoots because Crunch is closer to an actual [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_barred_bandicoot eastern barred bandicoot]] (Crash's species) in color.
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: Crash was "cutened" up for the Japanese release. He even got a funky dance created by the Japanese that was carried back into the American versions.
* AnachronismStew: The Activision-era games and remakes ostensibly take place during the 90s, yet they have the presence of devices and concepts that originated in later decades, such as smartphones, tablets and e-sports.

** Coco is a teenage-looking humanoid bandicoot and is quite pretty, yet can also go in her own adventure starting in the third game.

** During the climax of ''Cortex Strikes Back'', neither Crash nor [[spoiler: Neo]] use a spacesuit to navigate the outer space.

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] for Coco in ''N-Tranced'', though, where she traverses the space fully equipped.

* BareYourMidriff: Tawna in all her appearances prior to the reboot, Liz the Trophy Girl in ''Crash Team Racing'' and Coco Bandicoot starting with ''Crash Nitro Kart''.

** ''Team Racing'': Nitrous Oxide.

* BigBallOfViolence: ''Crash Twinsanity'' has this as a gameplay feature during moments when Cortex just gets too pissed off at Crash and the two end up as this. The player then has to roll them like a hamster ball through the upcoming obstacle course. If the ball is left still, an IdleAnimation will play of one of the two characters getting the upper hand, including one where Cortex... spanks Crash...

* BonusStage: The first ''Crash Bandicoot'' had bonus stages that could be gotten to by collecting three of certain items. Later games have 2 kinds of this: one where Crash jumps onto a special platform that will take him to the bonus stage that contains lots of boxes and Wumpas, and another that's usually marked with a skull-and-crossbones and are usually much harder, hence the nickname "Skull Route".
* BootstrappedTheme: ''Crash Bandicoot: Warped'''s main theme became the theme of the whole series for a while.

** In the first game, Ripper Roo is '''invincible'''. The only way to harm him is to jump on TNT that's moving down the river between the two platforms and hope that the explosion hurts Ripper Roo. In the third game, N. Tropy has you at the far end of the arena from him, and thus you can't do a thing, not having a distance attack. Until he switches the platforms to create a direct trail to him... and then takes that moment to catch his breath and stop attacking you.[[note]]If you go back to fight him again after getting the Death Tornado Spin and uses it to get to Tropy earlier than intended, he'll stab his tuning fork on the ground that creates a blast that kills you instantly.[[/note]]
** In the same game, Dingodile, who is also not invincible.[[note]]You can try entering his boss stage again after getting the DoubleJump; slide + double jump can let you leap over his barrier and hit him directly.[[/note]] However, he is protected by a barrier of crystals... until he decides to blast you with his flamethrower through it, destroying large chunks of it with each shot.
* BossOnlyLevel: Every game before ''Crash Twinsanity'' does this with every boss, more noticeable in the original where the boss levels are counted as part of level completion. After ''Twinsanity'', this is largely averted as bosses are typically used to end levels, although the DS version of ''Crash of the Titans'' plays it straight and in the console version of the same game, every level with a boss fight is pretty easy and fairly short, discounting the tougher boss battle.

** Crash and Coco are regularly depicted as such. The most recurring formula for the series involves Coco creating devices or providing intellectual assistance as Crash collects {{MacGuffin}}s to power them. Crash is at least intelligent enough to use a lot of Coco's inventions himself however, while Coco also sometimes provides physical support.

* CanonImmigrant: Some minor characters and events are based on those from Japanese media such as the manga series. Penta Penguin originated from ''Dansu! De Jump! Na Daibouken'' for example, as did the often officially supported claim that Tawna dumped Crash for Pinstripe. Crash's trademark victory dance also originated from Japanese commercials for the first game. Even Fake Crash is this, having been created by the Japanese marketing team for promotional materials for the second game before Naughty Dog had him make occasional appearances in the third game as a joke.

* CastingGag: Coco, a scientist bandicoot, is voiced by Creator/DebiDerryberry, who voiced [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]]. Additionally, in ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'', one of her quotes upon having her kart destroyed is "Aww, derryberries!".

** Nina Cortex's first handful of appearances lacked a consistent direction for her, swerving from anything from a SilentProtagonist to a KiddieKid. Like Coco, ''Tag Team Racing'' defines a lot of the quirks that would make her finalised characterisation, making her a moody, conniving BrattyHalfPint, as well as giving her spoken dialogue for the first time.
** Tawna, despite appearing in the very first game, was pretty much a voiceless SatelliteLoveInterest for Crash, DemotedToExtra after Coco appeared and only getting a few sporadic cameos throughout the series afterwards. The ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' remake of Crash 1, however, retools the cutscenes to give her more of an ActionGirl personality, with ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'' capitalising on that, giving Tawna her first full speaking role and establishing her as the sassy confident leader of the Nitro Squad (themselves evolved from the blank trophy girls in the original game).

** Tawna, Crash's girlfriend from the first game, was pretty much removed from the series from the second game and onward, after her intended character design was {{bowdlerize}}d from the original concept. The designers lost interest in her and came up with a flimsy excuse for her absence (she dumped Crash for Pinstripe Potoroo of all characters). Her sole return appearances aside from the first game's remake were ''Crash Boom Bang!'' and ''Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled''. She returns in ''It's About Time'' with a new ActionGirl design, but she isn't the original Tawna; rather, she comes from an [[AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome alternate timeline]].
** N. Tropy was absent from the Radical Entertainment-developed entries of the series.

** Cortex himself is often paired with N Tropy as Uka Uka's Co-Dragons. Though the power chain isn't clear in Warped, in most later games they are equals and rivalistic towards each other. In the GBA games Uka Uka interchanges between using Cortex or Tropy as his main schemer, while in It's About Time, after they both betray Uka, they form a BigBadDuumvirate, though with Tropy clearly spearheading and eventually betraying Cortex as well in favour of a more efficient accomplice.

* ComedicUnderwearExposure: In addition to the DefeatByModesty entry below, in ''Crash Bandicoot 3'', hitting a Wizard enemy with the Fruit Bazooka (in the North American version) or any attack ([[DifficultyByRegion in the European version]]) will strip him to his underwear.

* CreativeClosingCredits: Starting with ''Crash Tag Team Racing'', the ending credits feature commentaries from assorted characters, often saying something amusing about the games' staff members. In ''CTTR'', this was omitted from the PAL release of the game, for some reason, but the PAL versions of both ''Titans'' and ''Mind Over Mutant'' feature it. In ''CTTR'', the commentary is provided entirely by Cortex and N. Gin, but later games feature some of the other characters, too (although less prominently).
* CreepyTwins: ''Crash Twinsanity'' has the Evil Twins, a pair of alien bird-thingy, as the BigBad. They're revealed to be the two parrots that young Cortex had experimented his prototype Cortex Vortex on and got accidentally warped into the 10th dimension.

* DownTheDrain: It also had the 'Tomb Wader' level set in a nilometer where the water level constantly shifted.

** Tiny Tiger, at least before ''Crash of the Titans''.

* EarlyBirdCameo: [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996 In the first game]] at the end of the level Jaws of Darkness, You can see a carving on the wall that looks to be an ancient statue of Uka Uka. After all, it is the same temple that gets destroyed at the beginning of [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped Crash 3]], Leading to his freedom.

* EverythingFades: The [=PS1=] games just showed enemies flying into the distance after being slapped by the titular character. Unless you jumped on them, in which case they disappeared in a cloud of smoke, occasionally being flattened first.

** There's a fish-like enemy in the prehistoric level in ''Warped'' that can do Crash' spin attack as well. If Crash spins while it does and they clash, Crash will be flung backwards.

* ExposedAnimalBellybutton: Crash originally had one, but it stopped appearing starting in ''The Wrath of Cortex''.

** The large majority of the cast have evolved into expies or parodies of celebrities or pop culture figures via Radical's redesign of the franchise (eg. Crunch is an expy of Mr. T, N. Gin is one of Peter Lorre, Tiny of Mike Tyson). One of the larger criticisms of the Radical titles is how unique characterization has been replaced with stock characters and parodies.

* FelonyMisdemeanor: In ''Mind Over Mutant'', Aku Aku calls Uka Uka a "jerk". Not for his many crimes, such as trying to take over/destroy the world... but for sending their mother socks for her birthday. "Honestly! Who sends socks to a magic mask with no feet?"

** ''Team Racing'': Nitrous Oxide.

** ''Nitro Kart'': [[spoiler:Emperor Velo XXVII]]

* FlunkyBoss: Papu Papu in ''Crash Bash'' summons mini-Crashes to attack you. They all die in one hit, though. Bearminator in the same game deploys one, then two, then three robot polars at you.

** Tawna's absence in later games was hand waved in some official bios, stating she had dumped Crash for Pinstripe Potoroo shortly before the second game.

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: A staple of the series. Cortex has yellow skin, N. Tropy has blue skin, Nina has chalk white skin (later becoming deep blue), as does N. Gin in the Radical games, and Von Clutch from ''Crash Tag Team Racing'' has green skin. Just about the only human characters who have normal skin colors are Papu Papu, N. Brio, N. Gin prior to the Radical games and Madame Amberly.

* ''Crash Nitro Kart 2'' (2010) -- A Java-based mobile phone racing game that is a successor to ''Crash Nitro Kart'' InNameOnly, bringing back some familiar faces and adding a new one (a panda named Yaya). Noticeably reverts back to the original aesthetics of the series, with only a few remnants of Radical's retool (and even changes by previous developers) still apparent.

Unlike many other popular game franchises, Crash hasn't spawned too much in terms of alternate media. Besides the aforementioned PoorlyDisguisedPilot in ''Skylanders Academy'', Crash has also received three separate Japanese manga in CoroCoroComic; ''Crash Bandicoot'', ''Crash Bandicoot: Dansu! De Jump! Na Daibouken'' and ''Crash Bandicoot: Kattobi! Spin World''. These manga were never officially localized outside of Japan, but [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros a character from ''Dansu! De Jump!'', Penta Penguin, appears as a secret unlockable character in CTR and its remake Nitro-Fueled]].

Unlike many other popular game franchises, Crash hasn't spawned too much in terms of alternate media. Besides the aforementioned PoorlyDisguisedPilot in ''Skylanders Academy'', Crash has also received three separate Japanese manga in CoroCoro Comic; ''Crash Bandicoot'', ''Crash Bandicoot: Dansu! De Jump! Na Daibouken'' and ''Crash Bandicoot: Kattobi! Spin World''. These manga were never officially localized outside of Japan, but [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros a character from ''Dansu! De Jump!'', Penta Penguin, appears as a secret unlockable character in CTR and its remake Nitro-Fueled]].