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Crash Bandicoot (character)
Encyclopedia
Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a video game character and the primary protagonist
of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot
that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex
and was soon banished from Cortex's castle for his perceived unworthiness. Throughout the series, Crash acts as the opposition against Cortex and his schemes for world domination. While Crash has a number of offensive maneuvers at his disposal, his most distinctive technique is one in which he spins like a tornado at high speeds and knocks away anything that he strikes.
Crash was created by Andy Gavin
and Jason Rubin, and was originally designed by Charles Zembillas. Crash was intended to be a mascot character for Sony to use to compete against Nintendo
's Mario
and Sega
's Sonic the Hedgehog
. Before Crash was given his name (which stems from the visceral reaction to the character's destruction of boxes), he was referred to as "Willie the Wombat" for much of the duration of the first game's production. Crash has drawn comparisons to Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog by reviewers. His animations have been praised, and his voice has been criticized, while his redesign in the Radical Entertainment games has drawn mixed reactions.
One of the main reasons Naughty Dog chose to develop Crash Bandicoot (at the time jokingly codenamed "Sonic's Ass Game") for the Sony PlayStation was Sony's lack of an existing mascot character that could compete with Sega
's Sonic the Hedgehog
and Nintendo
's Mario
. Naughty Dog desired to do what Sega
and Warner Bros.
did with the hedgehog
and the Tasmanian Devil
respectively and incorporate an animal that was "cute, real, and no one really knew about". The team purchased a field guide on Tasmanian mammals and selected the wombat
, potoroo
and bandicoot
as options. Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin went with "Willie the Wombat" as a temporary name for the starring character of the game. The name was never meant to be final due both to the name sounding "too dorky" and to the existence of a non-video game property of the same name. The character was effectively a bandicoot by October 1994, but was still referred to as "Willie the Wombat" because a final name had not been formulated yet. Wanting their mascot game to be multi-dimensional in character depth as well as gameplay, Gavin and Rubin chose not to base Willie around one attribute such as "fast" or "cute". The team felt that Willie should be "goofy and fun-loving, and never talk"; the character's muteness was based on the theory that voices for video game characters were always "lame, negative, and distracted from identification with them."
American Exitus artist Charles Zembillas was hired (alongside environmental artist Joe Pearson) and met with weekly to design and develop Willie and the other characters of the game. It was decided early on that there would be no connection between the real animal and Willie's final design. Instead the design of the character was determined "51% by technical and visual necessity and 49% by inspiration". To determine the color of Willie's fur, Gavin created a list of popular characters and their colors, and then made a list of earthly background possibilities (such as forests, deserts, beaches, etc.). Colors that wouldn't look good on the screen were strictly outlawed, such as red, which would "bleed horribly" on older televisions. Orange was selected as the color of Willie's fur as the last available color. Willie's head was made large and neckless to counter the low resolution of the screen and allow Willie's facial expressions to be discernable. Jason Rubin noted the increased difficulty in turning Willie's head with this type of design. Small details such as the gloves, the spots on Willie's back and a light-colored chest were added to help the player determine what side of Willie was visible based on color. Willie was not given a tail or any flappy straps of clothing due to the PlayStation's inability to properly display such pixels without flickering. The length of Willie's pants was shortened to keep his ankles from flickering as they would with longer pants. Andy Gavin owns the original ink sketches of Crash by Charles Zembillas.
Willie's final game model was made from 512 polygons with the only textures being for the spots on his back and his shoelaces. It took Andy Gavin a month to settle on that number of polygons. Because of the game's use of vertex animation, Willie was cabable of more facial expressions than other video game characters at or before the time. Willie's jumping, spinning and bonking mechanisms were refined as the Naughty Dog team developed the levels "Heavy Machinery" and "Generator Room". While preparing for the game's demonstration at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the team decided to finally rename the titular character "Crash Bandicoot" (the particular name being credited to Dave Baggett and Taylor Kurosaki), with his surname being based on his canonical species and his first name stemming from the visceral reaction to the character's destruction of boxes ("Dash", "Smash" and "Bash" were other potential names). The marketing director of Universal Interactive Studios insisted that the game and character be named "Wez/Wezzy/Wuzzle the Wombat" or "Ozzie the Otzel". The name Crash Bandicoot prevailed after Naughty Dog threatened to leave the production.
After Naughty Dog presented Crash Bandicoot to Sony's Japanese division, the executives of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan stated their dislike of the character and were unimpressed by the renderings of the character made specifically for the meeting. During a break following the initial meeting, Andy Gavin approached Charlotte Francis, the artist responsible for the renderings, and gave her fifteen minutes to close Crash's huge, smiling mouth to make him seem less aggressive, change his eyes from green to "two small black "Pac-Man" shapes" and make his spike of hair smaller. Sony Japan bought Crash Bandicoot for Japanese distribution after being shown the modified printout.
Crash served as a mascot for Sony Computer Entertainment from his creation until September 2000 when Universal Interactive Studios and Konami entered an agreement that would enable Konami to publish a Crash Bandicoot game (which would later become Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
) for next-generation game systems
, with Universal Interactive handling the production of the games; the agreement served to break the Crash Bandicoot franchise's exclusivity to Sony-produced consoles and effectively made Crash Bandicoot a mascot character for Universal rather than Sony. Crash's game model in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was composed of approximately 1,800 polygons, which allowed an increase in detail compared to past models, including a more complex and realistic tuft of hair, a visible uvula, stitching on his jeans and shoes and a designer label
on his pants.
Upon beginning development of Crash Nitro Kart, Vicarious Visions chief executive officer and chief creative officer Karthik Bala noted that Crash's physical appearance had been inconsistent since his debut in 1996 and decided to "explore the original vision of the character" in an attempt to bring him back to his roots. Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson were tracked down and enlisted for guidance during development of the game and were faced with the challenge of evolving the character and the franchise visually while retaining their "cartoon-like charm". To redesign Crash and the other mainstay characters of the series for Crash Nitro Kart, the Vicarious Visions team reviewed a number of original development sketches from Zembillas's archives and then redesigned the main characters by incorporating details from the concept art and adding girth to the characters; Crash's appearance in the game, compared to the previous two games, sports a slightly larger nose, fuller eyebrows, and a far more textured body. Zembillas noted that "Crash is slimmer and more appealing now. There's also more emphasis on his eyes, and you can see the craftiness in his personality. That's Crash to me, and he's alive again in Nitro Kart."
Crash is voiced by Brendan O'Brien
in Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Crash Bash, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Crash Bandicoot 2: N. Traced by Billy Pope in Crash Team Racing
, by Steven Blum
in Crash Nitro Kart and by Jess Harnell
in Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind over Mutant. In the Japanese versions of the games, he is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi
up to Crash Nitro Kart and by Makoto Ishii
in Crash Boom Bang!
.
In the beginning of the series, Crash's sole offensive maneuvers were jumping onto his enemies and a distinctive technique in which he spins around like a tornado, kicking away anyone or anything that he strikes. In later games Crash can expand his range of abilities by defeating boss characters
. The expanded abilities include a powerful splash, the ability to jump while in the air, the "Death Tornado Spin" (a variation of his spinning technique that allows him to hover through the air for a limited time), a bazooka
that fires Wumpa Fruit, increased running speed, the ability to safely tip-toe on top of explosive crates, and the ability to jump at incredibly high heights. The games Crash of the Titans
and Crash: Mind over Mutant
allow Crash to further expand his offensive abilities with new fighting moves learned from collecting a magical substance known as "Mojo".
before he was snatched from the wild by Doctor Neo Cortex and subjected to the Evolvo-Ray as part of Cortex's plan to make Crash the "general" of his "Cortex Commandos", which would be used to dominate the world. However, he is later deemed unworthy of being in Cortex's army and is dismissed from Cortex's castle. As an act of revenge and to rescue a female bandicoot named Tawna, Crash travels through the Wumpa Islands, defeating Cortex's henchmen along the way. He eventually steals Cortex's airship, defeats Doctor Cortex, and escapes alongside Tawna. A year later in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
, Crash is sent off to get a new laptop battery for his sister Coco, but is soon abducted by Doctor Neo Cortex, who claims to have changed his ways. Crash is then ordered to gather Crystals for Cortex while fighting off opposition from Doctor Nitrus Brio. Once Cortex reveals his hidden intentions, Crash sends Cortex flying off into space and aids Nitrus Brio in destroying Cortex's space station. In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, when the remains of the space station crash into Earth and set the demonic Uka Uka free, Crash is recruited by Aku Aku to use Doctor Nefarious Tropy's Time-Twisting Machine to gather the powerful Crystals in their original places before Cortex does. Crash eventually gathers all 25 Crystals and defeats Nefarious Tropy, causing the Time-Twisting Machine to implode on itself. In Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
, Crash is recruited to gather Crystals and return a group of destructive masks named the Elementals to a hibernation state and stop Cortex's new superweapon Crunch Bandicoot. In Crash Twinsanity, after foiling another plot by Doctor Cortex to eliminate him, Crash teams up with Cortex in order to defeat the Evil Twins and restore the natural order of the universe.
In Crash of the Titans, Crash aids Coco in the development of a butter-recycling device. This is interrupted when Neo Cortex arrives and kidnaps Aku Aku and Coco. Crash throws Coco's machine at Cortex's airship, severing the chain holding Aku Aku's cage, which causes the cage to fall into the nearby forest. After Crash rescues Aku Aku, they discover that Cortex and Uka Uka are stealing Mojo from a nearby temple and decide to stop them. Crash is unable to rescue his sister but manages to defeat Cortex, and he begins his search for Coco, interrogating Tiny Tiger, N. Gin, and Uka Uka on her whereabouts. Crash finally confronts and defeats Nina Cortex inside of the Doominator robot, liberates his sister, and averts the destruction of Wumpa Island. Feeling happy for themselves, Crash and his family decide to celebrate their victory with pancakes, which he blurts out (speaking for the first time) in joy. Soon after, in Crash: Mind over Mutant, the NV, a personal digital assistant
that everyone must possess, is released to the public. However, this turns out to be a plot by Doctor Cortex and his old partner Doctor Nitrus Brio, who use the NV's Mojo-transmitting powers to control everyone who uses the device. Because Crash is unaffected by the NV, he is able to free his friends from the control of the NV and stop Cortex's and Brio's plot.
and Crash Bash
. The epilogue of Crash Team Racing states that Crash sold his life story, titled "The Color Orange", to a major film studio, set to be released by the Christmas season. In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
, Crash is recruited to gather Crystals to power a device built by Coco that will reverse the effects of Cortex's Planetary Minimizer, which has shrunken the Earth to the size of a grapefruit. In Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
, Crash is awoken from his nap by the kidnapping of Coco and Crunch by Nefarious Tropy and N. Trance. Crash is almost kidnapped himself before being rescued by Aku Aku. He is then sent off to rescue Crunch and Coco, recruit Fake Crash, and defeat N. Trance and Nefarious Tropy. Crash is a playable character in Crash Nitro Kart, in which he is abducted (along with other characters) by Emperor Velo XXVII and forced to compete in the Galaxy Circuit. When Velo relinquishes his power to Crash, Crash seriously considers the possibility of ruling over Velo's empire, but he refuses the offer and leaves Velo with his empire. In Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, Crash is tricked into thinking that Spyro the Dragon is attacking the Wumpa Islands, but he discovers the truth after a fight on a bridge, and teams up with Spyro to defeat the combined forces of Doctor Neo Cortex and Ripto. In Crash Tag Team Racing
, Crash is recruited (along with other characters) by Ebenezer Von Clutch to gather the stolen Power Gems of his amusement park and win the park's ownership. He also finds Von Clutch's lost Black Power Gem by the end of the game. Crash is a playable character in Crash Boom Bang!, in which he interrupts the Viscount's wish to the Super Big Power Crystal and wishes for a vast amount of Wumpa Fruit.
s produced by the now-defunct Resaurus. For Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Resaurus produced a "Jetboard
Crash" (a Crash Bandicoot figure bundled with the jetboard seen in the game) and a "Jet Pack
Crash" (a goggle
-wearing Crash Bandicoot figure bundled with the jet pack seen in the game). The Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped series featured three different figures of Crash, including one bundled with Aku Aku and Coco Bandicoot figures.
As a mascot character, Crash has drawn numerous comparisons to competing mascots such as Mario and Sonic by reviewers. Dave Halverson
of GameFan praised Crash's animations, appearance and mannerisms as "100% perfection". A reviewer for Game Revolution
praised Crash's "quirky mannerisms" as "always refreshing", and John Broady of GameSpot
described Crash as "disarmingly cute and fuzzy". Doug Perry of IGN
was critical of the character, seeing him as "insanely capitalistic", negatively comparing his voice to Luigi
of the Mario
series and accusing him of being "the most see-through, copycat mascot that ever existed." Louis Bedigian of GameZone
also disliked Crash's voice, remarking "it is really annoying to hear a child say, 'Whoa!' every time you fall in the water, especially when you realize that the child's voice is supposed to be Crash." Crash's animations, particularly in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, have been praised as humorous by reviewers. Ryan Davis of GameSpot
analyzed Crash's "overextended running style and self-punishing attacks" as establishing him as an "empty-headed but enthusiastic character", and compared his facial contortions to those of comedian Red Skelton
. Crash has been included in a number of GameFAQs
' "Character Battle" contests, but never progressed more than one round each time. In a poll held by MSN
in late 2008 to determine the most iconic video game character, Crash ranked at #8. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
from 2011, he was voted as the eleventh best video game character. However, he also ranked eighth on IGN
's top 10 list of video game characters who should die, adding that it would be a mercy killing. IGN editor Colin Moriarty stated that his games add little to innovate the series over the years, rendering the character useless.
Crash's aesthetic design in the games developed by Radical Entertainment has received mixed reactions from reviewers. Brian Rowe of Game Revolution
noted that Crash's fingerless gloves have been replaced with "equally outdated" tribal tattoos and that Crash's personality had been altered from his "obnoxiously extreme attitude" to that of a "bluthering, googly-eyed idiot". Although Rowe wondered when and why the change happened, he concluded that "it’s better than the popular goatee-of-rage that so many other platform giants are sporting these days." Arnold Katayev of PSX Extreme, while admitting that the character detail on Crash was "pretty nice", expressed unhappiness with the artistic choices made for the character; he described Crash's tribal tattoos as "a little pretentious" and noted that the increased definition on his mohawk patch made Crash come off as "trying too hard to be cool". He added that Crash's new fighting style begot a stance that consists of Crash "putting up his dukes like a boxer", which he deemed "out of character" for Crash. Finally, while critiquing the voice acting in Crash of the Titans, he remarked that Crash "especially sounds awful, largely because he doesn't actually speak - he just blabs annoying gibberish, which makes him sound like he's an infant." Matt Keller of PALGN
also criticized Crash's voice, which he said made Crash sound "like a confused baby". Louis Bedigian of GameZone
stated that "Crash’s character design has gone from cool to goofy and now to the dreaded place of being dorky" and said that the minute and gradual changes made to Crash's design throughout the series "have really hurt Crash’s appearance as a leading game character". Craig Harris of IGN
was more positive on Crash's new appearance and noted that Crash "looks a little floofier and a lot edgier, gaining a spikier Mohawk and trading in his fingerless gloves for tribal ink all up and down his arms" while comparing his incoherent squawking vocalizations to Kazooie of the Banjo-Kazooie series. He concluded that "ultimately he's been changed for the better. He looks a little cooler and more appealing than his more 'Japanese-inspired' edits over the years."
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot
Eastern Barred Bandicoot
The Eastern Barred Bandicoot was once distributed across the Basalt Plains of south west Victoria, and in Tasmania. It is a small, rabbit sized marsupial weighing less than 1 kg with a short tail and three to four whitish bars across the rump. It lives for just two to three years and is not...
that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex
Doctor Neo Cortex
Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex, often referred to as "Doctor Cortex" or simply "Cortex", is a video game character and the main antagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. His name is a play on the term neocortex, an area of the brain...
and was soon banished from Cortex's castle for his perceived unworthiness. Throughout the series, Crash acts as the opposition against Cortex and his schemes for world domination. While Crash has a number of offensive maneuvers at his disposal, his most distinctive technique is one in which he spins like a tornado at high speeds and knocks away anything that he strikes.
Crash was created by Andy Gavin
Andy Gavin
Andy Gavin is a programmer notable for co-founding the video game company Naughty Dog with childhood friend Jason Rubin in 1986. Naughty Dog's games are known for their combination of exceptional technology, great graphics, and polished gameplay...
and Jason Rubin, and was originally designed by Charles Zembillas. Crash was intended to be a mascot character for Sony to use to compete against Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
. Before Crash was given his name (which stems from the visceral reaction to the character's destruction of boxes), he was referred to as "Willie the Wombat" for much of the duration of the first game's production. Crash has drawn comparisons to Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog by reviewers. His animations have been praised, and his voice has been criticized, while his redesign in the Radical Entertainment games has drawn mixed reactions.
Concept and creation
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
. Naughty Dog desired to do what Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
did with the hedgehog
Hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...
and the Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...
respectively and incorporate an animal that was "cute, real, and no one really knew about". The team purchased a field guide on Tasmanian mammals and selected the wombat
Wombat
Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as...
, potoroo
Potoroo
The Potoroo is a kangaroo/rat like animal about the size of a rabbit. All three extant species are threatened, especially The long-footed Potoroo and Gilbert's potoroo...
and bandicoot
Bandicoot
Bandicoots are a group of about 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia.- Etymology :...
as options. Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin went with "Willie the Wombat" as a temporary name for the starring character of the game. The name was never meant to be final due both to the name sounding "too dorky" and to the existence of a non-video game property of the same name. The character was effectively a bandicoot by October 1994, but was still referred to as "Willie the Wombat" because a final name had not been formulated yet. Wanting their mascot game to be multi-dimensional in character depth as well as gameplay, Gavin and Rubin chose not to base Willie around one attribute such as "fast" or "cute". The team felt that Willie should be "goofy and fun-loving, and never talk"; the character's muteness was based on the theory that voices for video game characters were always "lame, negative, and distracted from identification with them."
American Exitus artist Charles Zembillas was hired (alongside environmental artist Joe Pearson) and met with weekly to design and develop Willie and the other characters of the game. It was decided early on that there would be no connection between the real animal and Willie's final design. Instead the design of the character was determined "51% by technical and visual necessity and 49% by inspiration". To determine the color of Willie's fur, Gavin created a list of popular characters and their colors, and then made a list of earthly background possibilities (such as forests, deserts, beaches, etc.). Colors that wouldn't look good on the screen were strictly outlawed, such as red, which would "bleed horribly" on older televisions. Orange was selected as the color of Willie's fur as the last available color. Willie's head was made large and neckless to counter the low resolution of the screen and allow Willie's facial expressions to be discernable. Jason Rubin noted the increased difficulty in turning Willie's head with this type of design. Small details such as the gloves, the spots on Willie's back and a light-colored chest were added to help the player determine what side of Willie was visible based on color. Willie was not given a tail or any flappy straps of clothing due to the PlayStation's inability to properly display such pixels without flickering. The length of Willie's pants was shortened to keep his ankles from flickering as they would with longer pants. Andy Gavin owns the original ink sketches of Crash by Charles Zembillas.
Willie's final game model was made from 512 polygons with the only textures being for the spots on his back and his shoelaces. It took Andy Gavin a month to settle on that number of polygons. Because of the game's use of vertex animation, Willie was cabable of more facial expressions than other video game characters at or before the time. Willie's jumping, spinning and bonking mechanisms were refined as the Naughty Dog team developed the levels "Heavy Machinery" and "Generator Room". While preparing for the game's demonstration at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the team decided to finally rename the titular character "Crash Bandicoot" (the particular name being credited to Dave Baggett and Taylor Kurosaki), with his surname being based on his canonical species and his first name stemming from the visceral reaction to the character's destruction of boxes ("Dash", "Smash" and "Bash" were other potential names). The marketing director of Universal Interactive Studios insisted that the game and character be named "Wez/Wezzy/Wuzzle the Wombat" or "Ozzie the Otzel". The name Crash Bandicoot prevailed after Naughty Dog threatened to leave the production.
After Naughty Dog presented Crash Bandicoot to Sony's Japanese division, the executives of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan stated their dislike of the character and were unimpressed by the renderings of the character made specifically for the meeting. During a break following the initial meeting, Andy Gavin approached Charlotte Francis, the artist responsible for the renderings, and gave her fifteen minutes to close Crash's huge, smiling mouth to make him seem less aggressive, change his eyes from green to "two small black "Pac-Man" shapes" and make his spike of hair smaller. Sony Japan bought Crash Bandicoot for Japanese distribution after being shown the modified printout.
Crash served as a mascot for Sony Computer Entertainment from his creation until September 2000 when Universal Interactive Studios and Konami entered an agreement that would enable Konami to publish a Crash Bandicoot game (which would later become Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, released in the PAL region as Crash Bandicoot XS and in Japan as Crash Bandicoot Advance, is a platform game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Vicarious Visions for the Game Boy Advance...
) for next-generation game systems
History of video game consoles (sixth generation)
The sixth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox...
, with Universal Interactive handling the production of the games; the agreement served to break the Crash Bandicoot franchise's exclusivity to Sony-produced consoles and effectively made Crash Bandicoot a mascot character for Universal rather than Sony. Crash's game model in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was composed of approximately 1,800 polygons, which allowed an increase in detail compared to past models, including a more complex and realistic tuft of hair, a visible uvula, stitching on his jeans and shoes and a designer label
Designer label
The term designer label refers to clothing and other personal accessory items sold under an often prestigious marque which is commonly named after a designer. The term is most often only applied to luxury items...
on his pants.
Upon beginning development of Crash Nitro Kart, Vicarious Visions chief executive officer and chief creative officer Karthik Bala noted that Crash's physical appearance had been inconsistent since his debut in 1996 and decided to "explore the original vision of the character" in an attempt to bring him back to his roots. Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson were tracked down and enlisted for guidance during development of the game and were faced with the challenge of evolving the character and the franchise visually while retaining their "cartoon-like charm". To redesign Crash and the other mainstay characters of the series for Crash Nitro Kart, the Vicarious Visions team reviewed a number of original development sketches from Zembillas's archives and then redesigned the main characters by incorporating details from the concept art and adding girth to the characters; Crash's appearance in the game, compared to the previous two games, sports a slightly larger nose, fuller eyebrows, and a far more textured body. Zembillas noted that "Crash is slimmer and more appealing now. There's also more emphasis on his eyes, and you can see the craftiness in his personality. That's Crash to me, and he's alive again in Nitro Kart."
Crash is voiced by Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (voice actor)
Brendan O'Brien is an American voice actor who is best known for providing voices for the Crash Bandicoot video games during the Naughty Dog years...
in Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Crash Bash, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Crash Bandicoot 2: N. Traced by Billy Pope in Crash Team Racing
Crash Team Racing
Crash Team Racing is a racing video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The game was released in North America on September 30, 1999 and in Europe and Australia later the same year. It was re-released for the Sony Greatest Hits line-up in...
, by Steven Blum
Steven Blum
Steven Jay Blum is an American voice actor known primarily for his work in anime dubs and video games, using his distinctive deep voice. Among his credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Mugen of the anime series Samurai Champloo...
in Crash Nitro Kart and by Jess Harnell
Jess Harnell
Jess Q. Harnell is an American voice actor and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos since 1998.-Life and acting career:...
in Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind over Mutant. In the Japanese versions of the games, he is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi
Kappei Yamaguchi
, better known by his stage name of , is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Fukuoka, affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox.He is best known for the roles of Ranma Saotome , Jackson Neil , Tombo , Yattaro , InuYasha , Ryuichi Sakuma , L , Usopp...
up to Crash Nitro Kart and by Makoto Ishii
Makoto Ishii
is a male Japanese voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Mausu Promotion.-Television animation:*Black Jack *Fafner in the Azure *Futakoi...
in Crash Boom Bang!
Crash Boom Bang!
Crash Boom Bang! is a party game developed by Dimps and published by Sierra Entertainment for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on July 20, 2006, in North America on October 10, 2006, in Europe on October 27, 2006, and in Australia on November 2, 2006...
.
Characteristics
Crash was genetically engineered through the use of Cortex and Doctor Nitrus Brio's Evolvo-Ray. Before being ejected from Doctor Neo Cortex's island fortress, Crash became romantically attached to a female bandicoot named Tawna, who was another one of Cortex's experiments. Crash's separation from Tawna at the hands of Cortex serves as the primary root of Crash's antagonisation of Cortex. Crash is a very emotional character who is quick to laugh and quick to cry. While he has a danger-loving, fearless nature and loves a good fight, he prefers relaxing in the sun and rarely seeks out trouble deliberately. Crash has an extremely limited vocabulary, preferring to speak in unintelligible gibberish; the few English words he is capable of speaking include 'Whoa!' (which he often exclaims upon being physically harmed), 'Nina' and 'pancakes'. To the ire of his friend Crunch, but the amusement of his sister, Coco, Crash is prone to impolite personal habits such as belching or scratching his posterior.In the beginning of the series, Crash's sole offensive maneuvers were jumping onto his enemies and a distinctive technique in which he spins around like a tornado, kicking away anyone or anything that he strikes. In later games Crash can expand his range of abilities by defeating boss characters
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
. The expanded abilities include a powerful splash, the ability to jump while in the air, the "Death Tornado Spin" (a variation of his spinning technique that allows him to hover through the air for a limited time), a bazooka
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
that fires Wumpa Fruit, increased running speed, the ability to safely tip-toe on top of explosive crates, and the ability to jump at incredibly high heights. The games Crash of the Titans
Crash of the Titans
Crash of the Titans is an platform video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360. The Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions of the game were developed by Amaze Entertainment...
and Crash: Mind over Mutant
Crash: Mind over Mutant
Crash: Mind over Mutant is a platform video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable , Wii and Xbox 360. The Nintendo DS version of the game was developed by TOSE...
allow Crash to further expand his offensive abilities with new fighting moves learned from collecting a magical substance known as "Mojo".
Appearances
As seen in Crash Bandicoot, Crash was once an ordinary Eastern Barred BandicootEastern Barred Bandicoot
The Eastern Barred Bandicoot was once distributed across the Basalt Plains of south west Victoria, and in Tasmania. It is a small, rabbit sized marsupial weighing less than 1 kg with a short tail and three to four whitish bars across the rump. It lives for just two to three years and is not...
before he was snatched from the wild by Doctor Neo Cortex and subjected to the Evolvo-Ray as part of Cortex's plan to make Crash the "general" of his "Cortex Commandos", which would be used to dominate the world. However, he is later deemed unworthy of being in Cortex's army and is dismissed from Cortex's castle. As an act of revenge and to rescue a female bandicoot named Tawna, Crash travels through the Wumpa Islands, defeating Cortex's henchmen along the way. He eventually steals Cortex's airship, defeats Doctor Cortex, and escapes alongside Tawna. A year later in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a platform video game published by Sony Computer Entertainment, produced by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation...
, Crash is sent off to get a new laptop battery for his sister Coco, but is soon abducted by Doctor Neo Cortex, who claims to have changed his ways. Crash is then ordered to gather Crystals for Cortex while fighting off opposition from Doctor Nitrus Brio. Once Cortex reveals his hidden intentions, Crash sends Cortex flying off into space and aids Nitrus Brio in destroying Cortex's space station. In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, when the remains of the space station crash into Earth and set the demonic Uka Uka free, Crash is recruited by Aku Aku to use Doctor Nefarious Tropy's Time-Twisting Machine to gather the powerful Crystals in their original places before Cortex does. Crash eventually gathers all 25 Crystals and defeats Nefarious Tropy, causing the Time-Twisting Machine to implode on itself. In Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game video game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube video game consoles. The PlayStation 2 version was released in North America on October 29, 2001, in...
, Crash is recruited to gather Crystals and return a group of destructive masks named the Elementals to a hibernation state and stop Cortex's new superweapon Crunch Bandicoot. In Crash Twinsanity, after foiling another plot by Doctor Cortex to eliminate him, Crash teams up with Cortex in order to defeat the Evil Twins and restore the natural order of the universe.
In Crash of the Titans, Crash aids Coco in the development of a butter-recycling device. This is interrupted when Neo Cortex arrives and kidnaps Aku Aku and Coco. Crash throws Coco's machine at Cortex's airship, severing the chain holding Aku Aku's cage, which causes the cage to fall into the nearby forest. After Crash rescues Aku Aku, they discover that Cortex and Uka Uka are stealing Mojo from a nearby temple and decide to stop them. Crash is unable to rescue his sister but manages to defeat Cortex, and he begins his search for Coco, interrogating Tiny Tiger, N. Gin, and Uka Uka on her whereabouts. Crash finally confronts and defeats Nina Cortex inside of the Doominator robot, liberates his sister, and averts the destruction of Wumpa Island. Feeling happy for themselves, Crash and his family decide to celebrate their victory with pancakes, which he blurts out (speaking for the first time) in joy. Soon after, in Crash: Mind over Mutant, the NV, a personal digital assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
that everyone must possess, is released to the public. However, this turns out to be a plot by Doctor Cortex and his old partner Doctor Nitrus Brio, who use the NV's Mojo-transmitting powers to control everyone who uses the device. Because Crash is unaffected by the NV, he is able to free his friends from the control of the NV and stop Cortex's and Brio's plot.
Other appearances in the series
Crash appears as a playable character in Crash Team RacingCrash Team Racing
Crash Team Racing is a racing video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. The game was released in North America on September 30, 1999 and in Europe and Australia later the same year. It was re-released for the Sony Greatest Hits line-up in...
and Crash Bash
Crash Bash
Crash Bash is a party video game published by Sony Computer Entertainment, produced by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation. The game was released in North America on November 6, 2000 and in Europe on December 1, 2000...
. The epilogue of Crash Team Racing states that Crash sold his life story, titled "The Color Orange", to a major film studio, set to be released by the Christmas season. In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, released in the PAL region as Crash Bandicoot XS and in Japan as Crash Bandicoot Advance, is a platform game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Vicarious Visions for the Game Boy Advance...
, Crash is recruited to gather Crystals to power a device built by Coco that will reverse the effects of Cortex's Planetary Minimizer, which has shrunken the Earth to the size of a grapefruit. In Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, released in Japan as is a platform game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Vicarious Visions for the Game Boy Advance...
, Crash is awoken from his nap by the kidnapping of Coco and Crunch by Nefarious Tropy and N. Trance. Crash is almost kidnapped himself before being rescued by Aku Aku. He is then sent off to rescue Crunch and Coco, recruit Fake Crash, and defeat N. Trance and Nefarious Tropy. Crash is a playable character in Crash Nitro Kart, in which he is abducted (along with other characters) by Emperor Velo XXVII and forced to compete in the Galaxy Circuit. When Velo relinquishes his power to Crash, Crash seriously considers the possibility of ruling over Velo's empire, but he refuses the offer and leaves Velo with his empire. In Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, Crash is tricked into thinking that Spyro the Dragon is attacking the Wumpa Islands, but he discovers the truth after a fight on a bridge, and teams up with Spyro to defeat the combined forces of Doctor Neo Cortex and Ripto. In Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Tag Team Racing is a racing video game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation Portable. A Nintendo DS version, which was to be developed by Sensory Sweep Studios rather than...
, Crash is recruited (along with other characters) by Ebenezer Von Clutch to gather the stolen Power Gems of his amusement park and win the park's ownership. He also finds Von Clutch's lost Black Power Gem by the end of the game. Crash is a playable character in Crash Boom Bang!, in which he interrupts the Viscount's wish to the Super Big Power Crystal and wishes for a vast amount of Wumpa Fruit.
Merchandise
Crash has been featured in two series of Crash Bandicoot action figureAction figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s produced by the now-defunct Resaurus. For Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Resaurus produced a "Jetboard
Jetboard
The Jetboard was an early powered longboard surfboard. It is one of the earliest, if not the earliest motorized sufboard, produced from 1965 to 1968. The original designer was a former engineer from Boeing Aircraft. It was designed to use an aircraft trim tab roller control with your foot for...
Crash" (a Crash Bandicoot figure bundled with the jetboard seen in the game) and a "Jet Pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
Crash" (a goggle
Goggles
Goggles or safety glasses are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and in woodworking. They are often used in snow sports as well,...
-wearing Crash Bandicoot figure bundled with the jet pack seen in the game). The Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped series featured three different figures of Crash, including one bundled with Aku Aku and Coco Bandicoot figures.
Critical reception
Dave Halverson
Dave Halverson is the founder of video game magazines GameFan, Gamer's Republic, Play and currently the new version of "Gamefan," which comes in digital PDF versions as well as print....
of GameFan praised Crash's animations, appearance and mannerisms as "100% perfection". A reviewer for Game Revolution
Game Revolution
Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots, and videos...
praised Crash's "quirky mannerisms" as "always refreshing", and John Broady of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
described Crash as "disarmingly cute and fuzzy". Doug Perry of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
was critical of the character, seeing him as "insanely capitalistic", negatively comparing his voice to Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
of the Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
series and accusing him of being "the most see-through, copycat mascot that ever existed." Louis Bedigian of GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
also disliked Crash's voice, remarking "it is really annoying to hear a child say, 'Whoa!' every time you fall in the water, especially when you realize that the child's voice is supposed to be Crash." Crash's animations, particularly in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, have been praised as humorous by reviewers. Ryan Davis of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
analyzed Crash's "overextended running style and self-punishing attacks" as establishing him as an "empty-headed but enthusiastic character", and compared his facial contortions to those of comedian Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
. Crash has been included in a number of GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
' "Character Battle" contests, but never progressed more than one round each time. In a poll held by MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
in late 2008 to determine the most iconic video game character, Crash ranked at #8. In the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is a Guinness World Records book dedicated to video games. The first edition was released in February 2008 in association with the video games world records' tracking organization Twin Galaxies. The second edition was released in 2009...
from 2011, he was voted as the eleventh best video game character. However, he also ranked eighth on IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's top 10 list of video game characters who should die, adding that it would be a mercy killing. IGN editor Colin Moriarty stated that his games add little to innovate the series over the years, rendering the character useless.
Crash's aesthetic design in the games developed by Radical Entertainment has received mixed reactions from reviewers. Brian Rowe of Game Revolution
Game Revolution
Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots, and videos...
noted that Crash's fingerless gloves have been replaced with "equally outdated" tribal tattoos and that Crash's personality had been altered from his "obnoxiously extreme attitude" to that of a "bluthering, googly-eyed idiot". Although Rowe wondered when and why the change happened, he concluded that "it’s better than the popular goatee-of-rage that so many other platform giants are sporting these days." Arnold Katayev of PSX Extreme, while admitting that the character detail on Crash was "pretty nice", expressed unhappiness with the artistic choices made for the character; he described Crash's tribal tattoos as "a little pretentious" and noted that the increased definition on his mohawk patch made Crash come off as "trying too hard to be cool". He added that Crash's new fighting style begot a stance that consists of Crash "putting up his dukes like a boxer", which he deemed "out of character" for Crash. Finally, while critiquing the voice acting in Crash of the Titans, he remarked that Crash "especially sounds awful, largely because he doesn't actually speak - he just blabs annoying gibberish, which makes him sound like he's an infant." Matt Keller of PALGN
PALGN
The PAL Gaming Network is an Australian based video game news and reviews website that focuses on the videogame industry and culture in PAL territories, particularly Australia and the UK. It was launched in 2003 by a group of PAL forum members on the IGN message boards who were disenfranchised by...
also criticized Crash's voice, which he said made Crash sound "like a confused baby". Louis Bedigian of GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
stated that "Crash’s character design has gone from cool to goofy and now to the dreaded place of being dorky" and said that the minute and gradual changes made to Crash's design throughout the series "have really hurt Crash’s appearance as a leading game character". Craig Harris of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
was more positive on Crash's new appearance and noted that Crash "looks a little floofier and a lot edgier, gaining a spikier Mohawk and trading in his fingerless gloves for tribal ink all up and down his arms" while comparing his incoherent squawking vocalizations to Kazooie of the Banjo-Kazooie series. He concluded that "ultimately he's been changed for the better. He looks a little cooler and more appealing than his more 'Japanese-inspired' edits over the years."
External links
- Crash Bandicoot at Bandipedia at Wikia