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Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a popular video game character of Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot series created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Next to Jak and Daxter, Crash Bandicoot is Naughty Dog's signature franchise, and served as an unofficial mascot of Sony, having sold over 34 million copies worldwide.

In the games, Crash is described as a genetically-advanced Eastern Barred Bandicoot whose quiet life on N. Sanity Island (an island located southeast of Australia) is frequently interrupted by his nemesis Doctor Neo Cortex, and must defeat him to put his life back in order. He is often accompanied by allies such as Aku Aku, Coco Bandicoot, and Crunch Bandicoot.

Conception and creation

Creation

Crash (prototype name, Willy the Wombat) was created by Naughty Dog intentionally as a character unique to the current design of the 3-D genre, being able to portray multiple emotions merely by facial expression, (a feature rare then due to basic technology in games). The choice of an obscure, commonly unknown animal was commonplace in the platforming industry at the time. Crash's final design (created by cartoonist and Spyro the Dragon designer Charles Zembillas) seems to be largely based on traditional Western animation (suiting his American origin and target audience) such as Looney Tunes, indeed much early concept work (and even vague elements of his final design) resembles characters such as the Tasmanian Devil and Wile E. Coyote.

Actor portrayal

Since his debut, Crash has had a total of five voice actors: Brendan O'Brien in the Naughty Dog games, plus Crash Bash (developed by Eurocom), and The Wrath of Cortex (developed by Traveller's Tales), Steven Jay Blum in Crash Nitro Kart, Animaniacs and Animaniacs star Jess Harnell in Crash Tag Team Racing and Crash of the Titans, Kappei Yamaguchi in the Japanese dub of the games, and Makoto Ishii in Crash Boom Bang!. With a few exceptions, Crash himself does not talk in his early games for the PlayStation, with the exception of a few lines of proper speech in Crash Bandicoot. This is in fact common with video games as to allow the audience to play through the perspective of the character (noticeably, Coco Bandicoot was mute in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped). When he does, he speaks in a somewhat high pitched garble, though some of his comments are very obvious. Although it is proven in Crash Tag Team Racing that Crash speaks (albeit through unintelligible gibberish), his speaking lines are usually short and rare interjections rather than actual conversations. An early CGI commercial for Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back does in fact show Crash speaking fluent English. Interestingly he is given a completely different voice, as well as an Australian accent. This advert is somewhat infamous to the community.

Characteristics

Personality

Naughty Dog once referenced the development of Crash as a character both 'goofy yet heroic', and being able to portray it well. Originally however, he took the role of a silent protagonist and thus expressed little of his personality or opinions (a trait developer Jason Rubin later claimed to regret), though in more recent games he has played a larger role.

Crash's personality is hard to pinpoint, sometimes varying from game to game. Overall, he has a rather wacky, cartoonish personality, in simple terms, he is a tornado. His demented behavior was in fact extended to actual sadism/masochism in Crash Tag Team Racing, in which he took pleasure in torturing innocent animals, park drones, and even himself (it should be noted that the game is criticised for its over-caricaturisation or even complete change in character personalities). Despite this however, Crash is usually kind-hearted and laid back, rarely showing true sorrow or anger (though he detests evil, such as Cortex), though he is also rather simple, to some fans almost to the point of retardedness and lack of awareness. In some parts of games, he speaks english, like in the introduction of Crash Bandicoot when he accidently ran through a window and fell a tall height, whilst Neo Cortex was prepearing Tawna Bandicoot (He said "Uh-oh").

Appearance

Crash generally appears as an orange marsupial-like creature with a black nose, thick eyebrows, green eyes and a red tuft of hair on his head. Crash's main attire consists of a pair of blue denim jeans, white boxers with red hearts on them, and a dark-red pair of sneakers, though he can don other attires when needed, such as scuba diving gear, a biker's jacket, and numerous others. Crash can also be seen with fingerless gloves, which he has worn throughout much of the series, with the latest exception being the upcoming Crash of the Titans, in which he loses them to reveal a series of black tattoos similar in appearance to that of the logo of the video game Shadow the Hedgehog.

Abilities

Crash's most common ability is his tornado spin, upon which he twirls insanely to hit a nearby opponent. The power of this attack varies in different games, to the point he can spin constantly or even float on air when using it, however these advancements generally come as power ups in most games often gained by defeating a boss character. He can also spin objects, living or not, to gain a better hit radius. Like other platformers, he can also jump on opponents as well as slide and body slam. Some of these also gain power ups depending upon the game. A large amount of special abilities can be obtained in various titles. Crash can also ride a whole range of vehicles without ever obtaining his driving license, such as motorcycles, bi-planes, wave-boards, 4X4 jeeps, karts and a whole range of other cars. In a common tradition to the platform genre, he can also be seen riding a minecart at times.

In Crash Bandicoot, Crash can only jump and spin. In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, not only can he spin and jump, but can also slide, crawl, dig underground and body slam. In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, he can perform the previous abilities as well as an upgraded body slam, double jump, super-fast tornado spin, Crash Dash (being able to sprint) and the ability to wield a bazooka that uses Wumpa Fruit as ammo. In Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex, Crash is also able to tip-toe, which allows him to walk on Nitro crates.

In Cortex Strikes Back, he is allergic to bees. This is compounded by one of the levels in Twinsanity, which forces Crash to stay away from the bees while helping Cortex at different points in the game.

Appearances

Crash being the title character of the series, has appeared prominently in every game as the protagonist and a playable character, though it is unknown if he would play a part in the as-of-currently unreleased spin-off, Cortex Chaos.

1996-1999

Crash debuted with the August 31, 1996 release of the video game Crash Bandicoot in North America. Described as an ordinary bandicoot who was mutated by Doctor Neo Cortex and subsequently rejected as the general of his Cortex Commandos, Crash assumes the role of the generic hero attempting to rescue the damsel-in-distress Tawna (and N. Sanity Island) from the evil scientist, who aims for world domination. Crash eventaully defeats Cortex and rescues Tawna.

In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash sleeps soundly until his sister awakes him and commands him to deliver a new laptop battery. Halfway through his trip, he is abducted by Doctor Cortex, who tells him that they need 25 Power Crystals to save the world from the devastation of the upcoming planetary alignment. It is up to Crash to obey the reformed Doctor Cortex's orders and gather the Crystals. All the while, Coco is learning of Cortex's true intentions, which involve a space station and a new Cortex Vortex, and Doctor Nitrus Brio is attempting to stop Crash from gathering Crystals with his own army of superanimals. When Crash realizes the truth, he'll collect the gems for Brio's laser which will be used to shoot down Cortex's station.

In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, immediately after Cortex Strikes Back, Cortex's ruined space station plummets to the Earth and crash-lands into a large monument in the middle of the jungle, releasing an evil entity known as Uka Uka. Many eons ago, Aku Aku, Uka Uka's twin brother, locked him there to prevent the world from his malice. With his newfound freedom, Uka Uka teams up with Doctor Cortex and Doctor Nefarious Tropy to gather the Crystals in their original places in time. Crash and his friends then begin a journey to use N. Tropy's Time Twisting Machine and collect the Power Crystals before the villains do so. When Crash defeats Cortex for the final time, he will escape with Coco, Aku, Pura, and Baby T and Cortex will be warped back in time to become a baby with N. Tropy while they fight over Uka.

2001-2004

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex takes place years after the events of Warped. Crash decides to take a break at N. Sanity Beach. Little do the Bandicoots know that Doctor Cortex, Uka Uka, and many other villains are holding a bad guy convention and plotting his demise. All is well until a volcano erupts, a thunderstorm brews, and a tsunami ravages the coastline. Crash is informed that the Elementals have been unleashed and that he must use Coco's Portal Chamber to gather Crystals and put the Elementals back to their hibernation state. However, soon Crash, Coco and Aku Aku realize that there is more to Uka Uka and Cortex's plot of releasing the Elementals than they first thought. Cortex has created a super bandicoot called Crunch Bandicoot, who threatens to destroy Crash Bandicoot, and take over the world, with the power of the Elemental masks. Crash rescues Crunch and they escape with Coco. Uka and Cortex are left in a wasteland for three years.

In Crash Twinsanity, set three years after the events of Wrath of Cortex, Crash once again lives a peaceful life, digging up stuff at the beach, when Cortex disguised as Coco calls for him and lures him into the bay, introducing him to the 40-feet-tall Mecha Bandicoot. When Crash defeats the robot, Cortex attacks Crash, sending both of them "rollerbrawlling" through a cavern, eventually coming across the Evil Twins, who've come to destroy Crash's island and devastate Earth. Crash and Cortex team up to destroy these two upstarts with the Psychetron, a machine that'll allow them to travel between dimensions. However, it soon becomes apparent that these twins are from Cortex's past, in fact predating Crash as his first experiment. Recruiting his niece, Nina Cortex, the trio set out to right the wrongs and sweep the rug (or "wrong the rights and sweep the past under the rug" as Cortex plainly puts it). After they defeat the Evil Twins, Cortex attempts to bury Crash but is instead put in Crash's brain. As a bonus, Crash and Cortex go to therapy, where Crash fails at a trust exercise.

2007-present

In Crash of the Titans, Crash is working to stop Cortex and his army of mutated titans and he has new markings on his arms and wrists to control the Titans.

Other appearances

Crash is a playable character in all three of the Crash racing titles. In Crash Team Racing, Crash and his friends prepare to enter a kart-racing tournament being held. However, this attracts the attention of Nitros Oxide, who challenges the fastest driver on Earth to a race. If he loses, he leaves Earth in peace. If he wins, he turns the whole planet into a concrete parking lot. Once Crash wins, Oxide returns to his planet and leaves them alone. In Crash Nitro Kart, Crash is relaxing when his entire house is abducted. The Bandicoot family exit the house and finds themselves on another planet. Cortex and his cronies have also been abducted. A giant holographic display appears and explains that he is Emperor Velo XXVII, ruler of his planet. He has heard word about their racing skills, and that they must race to entertain his people. If they do not race, he will destroy the Earth. Both Team Crash and Team Cortex accept, and they now must race on a number of tracks and defeat Velo, with the intention of returning to Earth. When Crash wins, he is given the rule of the galaxy there, but instead returns home. In Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash and the others agree to recover the Power Gems of Von Clutch's MotorWorld and find whoever stole them. Crash's personality is very different in Crash Tag Team racing because he is able to speak gibberish and unlike other games takes a sadistic pleasure in the pain and suffering of chickens and MotorWorld's Park Drones. When he finds all the gems and the culprit, Crash will defeat Cortex again - via jamming one of his flying machines with a live chicken - and be given control of the amusement park, which he returns to the owner.

Crash is also a playable character in the Crash party games. In Crash Bash, Crash's sleep is interrupted by Aku Aku, who has summoned him to take part in a battle of good and evil against Uka Uka in a series of minigames. Since Cortex's team outnumbered Crash and Coco, Tiny and Dingodile were chosen to join the good side. After Crash wins, Aku saves the crystals and leaves Uka to float in space. In Crash Boom Bang!, Crash is one of the attendees of the World Cannonball Race. In the ending, just before the Viscount can make his wish, Crash leaps forward and makes his wish for a thousand Wumpa Fruit to fall from the sky.

Crash is the main player character in the Game Boy Advance titles. In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, Aku Aku sends Crash on another mission to gather Crystals, which Coco can use to build a device which will reverse the effects of Cortex's Planetary Minimizer, which has shrunk the world to the size of a grapefruit. After he defeats Cortex, Cortex is merged with his minions to becoem a monster, which Crash escapes from. Coco returns the earth to its normal size and Crash returns to earth. In Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced Crash awakes to find Crunch and Coco being abducted by a strange vortex. When the vortex begins to take him, he is rescued by Aku Aku and the vortex ends up taking Fake Crash. Aku Aku informs Crash that N. Tropy is behind the abductions, and that N. Tropy has used N. Trance to hypnotise Coco and Crunch into working for him. Crash must rush to save his friends and defeat N. Trance and, ultimately, N. Tropy. After he does so, they capture N. Tropy and are at peace.

In the crossover game Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, Cortex and Spyro's nemesis, Ripto have decided to team up and attack the heroes' worlds. Crash also appears in the other game of the crossover Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy. When Crash and Spyro defeat Cortex and Ripto, Spyro agrees to come to Crash's aid shoudl their enemies team up again.

Alternate forms

Many alternates of Crash are known to exist, either as fellow experiments, relatives or forms from alternate worlds.

Fake Crash

A deformed duplicate of the bandicoot, his origin is hinted merely as 'an experiment gone horribly wrong'. It is suggestible that he was created as a reattempt for Cortex's general, either being a failed clone or a prototype. His alliegence is unclear, though he has helped Crash from time to time. While Crash's intelligence can be put into question, Fake Crash almost certainly is brainless, spending most of his time mirroring his original clone. Interestingly, it has been revealed in the Game Boy Advance version of Crash Nitro Kart that he can speak English.

Evil Crash/Nega Crash

Crash's form from the 10th Dimension is the complete opposite of his heroic alternate, vicious, inhospitable and lacking rational thought. It also has a tendency to eat anything in sight, and seems to have a liking to Nina Cortex. He would however ironically (and unknowingly) save the day by devouring the Evil Twins.

Bandifish

Found as an enemy in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Crash's prehistoric ancestor resembles his desendant, having already developed a nose and orange skin. Like Crash, it embiggened great power despite its docile look, spin attacking its foes (including Crash) or even swallowing them whole within its huge jaws. There seemed to be a great amount of them during its era, though spent most of the time simply flipping up and down on the shallow water grounds.

Love interests

In the first Crash game, Crash had a crush on Tawna. However, according to an early build of the official website, in a matter of months after he rescues her from Cortex, Tawna leaves him a note, informing him that she has dumped him for Pinstripe. This is a storyline plot not initially true, but it was used to cover up the sudden disappearance of Tawna due to her unsuitable sillouette. It seems to have been made canon according to her bio in Crash Boom Bang! Crash now lives with his sister Coco, Tawna's child replacement. However, in Crash Tag Team Racing, Pasadena O'Possum appeared to be interested with Crash. Whenever Pasadena flirted with him, Crash was apparently disturbed. However, Pasadena seems to sometimes suggest her interests with Crash are simply a joke. It is unknown if Crash has feelings for her, as he often switches to being disturbed by her interests, and suddenly showing interest in her, himself. When she talks about kissing, Crash looks like he would vomit. When she asks for a favor, Crash pants like a dog (both of these however may be simply due to the limited animation used in the dialogue cutscenes). Generally, some fans claim that Pasadena is a new love interest with Crash. Though she's not in Crash Boom Bang!, she might appear in future Crash games.

His future girlfriend has been placed as unknown, and her appearance is under progress.

Both Tawna and Pinstripe are playable characters in Crash Boom Bang! However, it's unknown if Tawna will appear in the next few games.

Crash in other media

Crash has rarely appeared officially outside his game franchise, (it is rumored a cartoon was being produced during early development of the game series, though this has not been expanded upon) however he has become a popular icon and thus is referenced on occasion. Crash was also a pivotal marketing icon like Sonic the Hedgehog was for Sega, or even Mario for Nintendo, appearing in many Pizza Hut and Playstation television ads and also in print.

Crash has made several appearances in the Spyro the Dragon game series, also produced by Universal. As well as the crossover title, Crash Bandicoot Purple (Fusion in PAL regions), this has ranged from promotional demos, to cameo appearances, though he has appeared less consistently than vise-versa. That said, Crash did make a cameo appearance in the Nintendo DS version of The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, in the Dante's Freezer level as a part of the background. He was apparently hung over a campfire by the dark armies.

In The Simpsons episode "Lisa Gets an "A"", Dash Dingo an obvious spoof of Crash Bandicoot. The villain in the game projects himself as a hologram in a circular room before Dash, which is a parody on Crash 2's warp room holograms. A tweaked-out soundtrack is used, sounding uncannily similar to the games.

In Johnny Test, there is a spoof of Crash called Smash Badger.

In the movie Baby Geniuses, Crash can be seen in a clothing shop in a game screen.

In Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, news anchor Tom Tucker looks like he is masturbating because of the camera angle, making panting and groaning sounds, but then it is revealed he is playing a Crash Bandicoot game for an early Game Boy system (although Crash games for Game Boy so far have only been on the Game Boy Advance) and says, "Eat my dust Crash Bandicoot!"

Crash Bandicoot has also made appearances in a few Jhonen Vasquez comics, mainly on people's shirts in the comics.

In the Nintendo 64 game GoldenEye 007, in the Aztec level one of the wall engravings appears to have Crash Bandicoot chained to some torture device.

In 1999, Crash Bandicoot was placed on the #98 car of Rick Mast during the NASCAR Winston Cup Series NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway as part of marketing for the then-upcoming release of Crash Team Racing for the Sony PlayStation. At the time, the team was sponsored by Universal, who publishes the Crash series.

In the movie Monsters Inc.when Boo knocks over Mike's video games, one of them is called Crash Monster with deformed versions of Crash and Cortex on the case.

See also

• List of Crash Bandicoot characters

References

1. "Introduction to Vivendi games" (PDF). Vivendi. June 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
2. "Early Crash Bandicoot 2 promotion". Retrieved 05-10-2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

• Crash Mania's Crash-O-Pedia article on Crash Bandicoot.

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