History VideoGame / CrashBash

''Crash Bash'' (''Crash Bandicoot Carnival'' in Japan) is the fifth and last ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' game on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and the first that was not developed by Naughty Dog, who produced the original trilogy as well as ''Videogame/CrashTeamRacing''. ''Crash Bash'' was the only Crash game developed by Eurocom, and since then the franchise has seen many developers and publishers. This was also the last Crash Bandicoot game to be exclusive to Sony before going multi-platform in the sixth generation of consoles.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:If you beat Adventure Mode with a member of Uka Uka's team, he assumes complete power from the crystals and fully intends to devastate the Earth and all its inhabitants. Aku Aku laments his faith in goodness and sends Crash and Coco to run for their lives, and the game ends on a sharp dive into CosmicHorrorStory territory]].

* TheBadGuyWins: An epic variation for completing Adventure Mode as a member of Uka Uka's team, with Aku Aku [[DespairEventHorizon even begging Crash and Coco to run for their lives upon realizing how dire the situation is]].
-->'''Uka Uka:''' There is nowhere to hide from the wrath of the mighty UKA UKA!!! BWAHH HA HA HA!!!

* DownerEnding: If you beat Adventure Mode with a member of Uka Uka's team, he assumes full power and intends to dominate the universe, implying a heavy dive into CosmicHorrorStory territory.

* DownerEnding: If you beat Adventure Mode with a member of Uka Uka's team.

''Crash Bash'' (''Crash Bandicoot Carnival'' in Japan) is the fifth and last ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' game on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and the first that was not developed by Naughty Dog, who produced the original trilogy as well as ''Videogame/CrashTeamRacing''. ''Crash Bash'' was the only Crash game developed by Eurocom, and since then the franchise has seen many developers and publishers.

It was only released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork in Japan, so [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes only the PS One discs exist for the NA and EU regions.]]

** The Crystal challenge for Metal Fox has instant kill mines periodically dropping onto battlefield being targeted at you.
** In Melt Panic, Uka Uka's ray's effects are always negative.
* CycleOfHurting: In the Crash Dash minigames, it's pretty easy to get knocked out of the tracks into the pit right after you respawn from it.

* ExplosiveBarrels: Aside from the standard explosive crates (the TNT and Nitro), the game also has actual exploding barrels in Keg Kaboom minigame.

** The Crystal challenge for Keg Kaboom has a bomb that walks around the edge of the arena, which kills you if you get hit by it.

** The Crystal challenge for Drain Bash has the purple ? crates, normally breaking open with a kick to reveal Wumpa Fruit or special weapon inside, will instead explode and OneHitKill you if you kick them (the opponents naturally can open them normally). [[OutsideTheBoxTactic There's still a way to open it, though...]] [[spoiler:by ''throwing'' the crate.]]

** In Tank Wars, the AI can rotate their turret ''faster than you.'' This is because of the fact they have the ability to "lock on" to you, where as you simply have to rotate left and right until you get your aim down.

** Point-based games like Pogo Pandemonium and Medieval Madness take it to ludicrous extremes, as the AI will actively coordinate to take you down. One player will typically focus on racking up as many points as possible, the second will block you off from scoring and obtaining powerups, and the third will act as a bodyguard for the scorer and attack you whenever possible.
** In Crash Dash, although the AI can't actively gang up against you, they still will ''only'' use weapons on you. This goes for the Pogo Pandemonium levels as well.

** The Crystal challenge for Mallet Mash has PoisonMushroom that kills you if you mistakenly smash them.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The first six game types (Ballistix, Polar Push, Pogo Pandemonium, Crate Crush, Tank Wars, and Crash Dash) have four arenas that all play very similarly to each other with usually a gimmick or two unique to each of the specific levels. However, the Medieval Madness levels all play completely different from each other, the only thing consistent between the four being that all of them take place in a circular arena.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The first six game types (Ballistix, Polar Push, Pogo Pandemonium, Crate Crush, Tank Wars, and Crash Dash) have four arenas that all play very similarly to each other with usually a gimmick or two unique to each of the specific levels. However, the Medieval Madness levels all play completely different from each other, the only thing consistent between the four being that all of them take place in a circular arena.

** Games like Ballistix and Crash Dash, where there's no real way to impede your progress directly, generally avert this.

* SpecialEffectBranding: in many of the minigames, each type of character would use things themed to them. For example, in the minigame Pogo Pandemonium, Crash and Coco use actual pogos, Dingodile and Rilla Roo use... some kind of modified gas-powered pogo that shoots flames, Tiny and Koala Kong use spring coils attached to their heels, and Neo Cortex and N. Brio use JumpJetpack.

* TheBadGuyWins: An epic variation for completing Adventure Mode as a member of Uka Uka's team, with Aku Aku [[DespairEventHorizon even begging Crash and Coco to run for the lives upon realizing how dire the situation is]].
-->'''Uka Uka:''' There is no where to hide from the wrath of the mighty UKA UKA!!! BWAHH HA HA HA!!!

** In the boss fight against Bearminator, every time you knock off a third of his health, he'll fire a big grenade to the arena to reduce its size to 3/4 and then 1/2. The arena, by the way, is a Polar Push-type arena that are not just slippery but also tilting.

* BreakablePowerUp: In the Crate Crush, Pogo Pandemonium, Crash Dash and Medieval Mayhem sets of minigames, you'll lose the PowerUp you're currently holding if you get hit.

** Koala Kong (who was absent after the first game) is also a playable character, while Komodo Moe rejoins his brother as a boss battle, thus acting as an effective Bus return for all the cast that ''didn't'' appear in ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'' par the "retired" Tawna.

* TheCameo: Penta Penguin, Ripper Roo and N. Gin are reduced to being this in Snow Bash, El Pogo Loco and N. Ballism respectively.

* DuelingPlayerCharacters: If playing a two player game with one good and one evil character, the two players must duel each other to decide whether good or evil triumphs. There are no ties, and tiebreakers are given after all games are played.

* ExcusePlot: Aku Aku and Uka Uka decide to settle their rivalry by having their minions battle it out with the teams determining which alignment is better, since their ancestors' beliefs forbid them from duking it out themselves. This outright ignores the fact that the two already fought each other in the third Crash game.

* LongSongShortScene: [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]]; some of the lesser-used tracks in ''Warped'' are put to greater use in this game, including the N. Gin boss track. A lot of the remixes are truncated significantly however.

* MoodWhiplash: Despite the game upholding the series' usually wacky tone for the most part, the two alternate endings are pretty damn serious. [[spoiler: One has Uka Uka throw an [[VillainousBreakdown epic tantrum]] before [[DisneyVillainDeath getting shot into hyperspace]], the other has him [[TheBadGuyWins gain control of all the crystals]] "[[ChewingTheScenery and ALL OF THE POWER]]", leading Crash and Coco into exile). Naturally both fall into CanonDisContinuity.]]
** But what happens in co-op when one character is good and other is evil, you ask? [[spoiler: Why, the two of you, who have working together exclusively up to this point, are pitted against each other in a winner-take-all showdown to determine the ending.]]
* NintendoHard: Adventure Mode quickly becomes extremely difficult. Especially the Gems and Relics challenge which involve a lot of cheating CPU.

** The Crystal challenge for El Pogo Loco has Ripper Roo creating Nitro squares instead of TNT ones. These instantly kills you if you get hit.
** The Crystal challenge for Drain Bash has the purple ? crates, normally breaking open with a kick to reveal Wumpa Fruit or special weapon inside, will instead explode and OneHitKill you if you kick them (the opponents naturally can open them normally). [[OutsideTheBoxTactic There's still a way to open it though...]] [[spoiler:by ''throwing'' the crate.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: Papu Papu, while still the first boss, puts up much more of a fight than in the first game. Not only is he smart enough to position himself where the player can not conventionally attack, his cane whacks are now powerful enough to cause harmful quakes on the ground and he now seems to possess the ability to voodoo several of his own little mini-Crashs to do his bidding.

* GangUpOnTheHuman: It zigzags depending on the difficulty level - in last-man-standing games such as Tank Wars, the AIs will usually off each other just as often as they try to off you. In Adventure Mode, however, this trope becomes more noticeable. In the Gem, Crystal, and Relic challenges, this trope becomes [[SpitefulAI full-blown]], with opponents neglecting easy attacks at fellow CPU opponents to kill you, and only you. However, Adventure Mode is hardly even meant to be fair; the Gem challenge usually gives your CPU opponents a numerical advantage of some kind, and the Crystal challenges usually give you a situational disadvantage.

* AsymmetricMultiplayer: Unlike ''MarioParty'', a few of the games give different attributes to each pair of characters. This is good for variety, but, as usual, some characters will probably be perceived as better than others depending on the game and the players. A good example is Crash and Coco using their spins as a "kick" in the crate war games, which cover all directions with less ending lag than the other kicks. In contrast, heavy characters like Koala Kong and Tiny can hurl crates great distances and do it fast, but cannot kick them far. Another example is Cortex and Brio having a charge move in the Panic (shoving) games that is more powerful but uses their entire charge bar instead of half of one. However, Dingodile and Rilla Roo have a less potent charge, but use less energy to charge their pushes.

** The Crystal challenge for El Pogo Loco has Ripper Roo creating Nitro squares instead of TNT ones. These instantly kills you if you gets hit.
** The Crystal challenge for Drain Bash has the purple ? crates, normally breaking open with a kick to reveal Wumpa Fruit or special weapon inside, will instead explode and OneHitKill you if you kick them (the opponents naturally can open them normally). [[OutsideTheBoxTactic There's still a way to open it though...]] [[spoiler:by ''throwing'' the crate.]]

* CosmeticAward: Platinum relics are only good for increasing your completion rate and proving your supreme skill against computer opponents in that game.

* GangUpOnTheHuman: It zigzags depending on the difficulty level - in last-man-standing games such as Tank Wars, the AIs will usually off each other just as often as they try to off you. In Adventure Mode, however, this trope becomes more noticeable. In the Gem, Crystal, and Relic challenges, this trope becomes full-blown, with opponents neglecting easy attacks at fellow CPU opponents to kill you, and only you. However, Adventure Mode is hardly even meant to be fair; the Gem challenge usually gives your CPU opponents a numerical advantage of some kind, and the Crystal challenges usually give you a situational disadvantage.

* SpecialEffectBranding: in many of the minigames, each type of character would use things themed to them. For example, in the minigame Pogo Pandemonium, Crash and Coco use actual pogos, Dingodile and Rilla Roo use... some kind of modified pogo that shoots flames, Tiny and Koala Kong use spring coils attached to their legs, and Neo Cortex and N. Brio use JumpJetpack.

* TheBadGuyWins: An epic variation for completing Adventure Mode as one of Uka Uka's team, and a stern scolding for his brother's theme.

* RegionalBonus: The Japanese version has Fake Crash as an unlock able player character via cheat code.

* Ballistix: Where players on mini hovercrafts must defend their goals from iron balls. Players have limited amount of life points, and one ball pass through their goals, one point down; a player will die if their life point reach zero. The last man standing wins.

* BottomlessPits: In Space Bash, Nitro and TNT's explosions may damage the floor, causing holes on them. Falling into the holes result in instant death.

** N. Brio was last seen in the second game where he helps Crash against Cortex if Crash collects all the gems. He comes back here, representing Team Evil alongside Cortex. This is a bizarre, erroneous choice on behalf of Eurocom, since Team Evil is forced to relinquish two of their candidates to the good side...neither of which include Brio, who hates Cortex with a passion.

* DuelingPlayerCharacters: If playing a two player game with one good and one evil character, the two players must duel each other to decide whether good or evil triumphs. There are no ties, and tiebrekers are given after all games are played.

** The Crystal challenge for Drain Bash has the purple ? crates, normally breaking open with a kick to reveal Wumpa Fruit or special weapon inside, will instead explode and OneHitKill you if you kick them (the opponents naturally can open them normally).
*** [[OutsideTheBoxTactic There's still a way to open it though...]] [[spoiler:by ''throwing'' the crate.]]

** The Crystal challenge for Mallet Mash has PoisonMushroom that you must not hit instead of the regular mushrooms.
* PaddedSumoGameplay: the "Panic" games involve shoving everyone else off before the time limit. While just one fall results in elimination, there are times where it's hard for one player to get the decisive shove on another, especially when it's down to two players who are moving conservatively.