Highlights
- Crash Bandicoot games are known for their high difficulty level, especially when trying to complete the games 100%.
- Some of the hardest levels include Orange Asphalt, Whole Hog, and Totally Bear, which offer frustrating challenges and tight jumps.
- In Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, levels like Rush Hour, Crate Escape, and Toxic Tunnels are known for their length and difficult platforming sequences.
Ever since the first Crash Bandicoot game was released on the PlayStation 1 back in 1996, the orange marsupial has been one of gaming's most iconic and recognizable mascot characters. The bandicoot's staying power is impressive, as even the most die-hard Crash fan would admit that the platformer's gaming catalog struggled to impress on seventh-generation consoles. The franchise has since made a roaring comeback, however, most notably with the N. Sane Trilogy and recently released Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time.
One particular feature that Crash Bandicoot games are well known for - aside from the main series' corridor-like level design - is the high difficulty level, particularly when trying to complete each game 100%.
Updated on September 14, 2023, by Jack Pursey: When the N. Sane Trilogy was released, it not only breathed new life into the Crash Bandicoot franchise but also showed the industry that players were still interested in playing tough AAA platformers. The game's success led to Crash Bandicoot 4, which didn't tone down the difficulty level at all, instead ramping it up when it came to 100% completion. Although every Crash Bandicoot game was considered for this list, it's only stages from the N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Bandicoot 4: it's About Time that feature. To highlight the challenge of the hardest Crash Bandicoot levels even more, this list has been updated to include some more information.
13 Orange Asphalt
Boxes: 20
Sapphire Relic Time: 1:38:00
Gold Relic Time: 1:33:30
Platinum Relic Time: 1:23:80
When Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back was first released, the game was criticized by some for being too similar to its predecessor. To combat this, Naughty Dog added a variety of vehicle sections to the third game in the series, Crash Bandicoot: Warped. The vehicle stages in the game divide opinion, though many people believe that they provide a welcome change of pace.
Orange Asphalt is one of the final stages in Crash Bandicoot: Warped and is one of the game's motorbike levels that tasks Crash with finishing first in a race. This is far easier said than done, however, as the opposition gets a comfortable head start on Crash, and the motorbike moves painfully slowly, which can make avoiding the level's numerous obstacles frustratingly difficult.
12 Whole Hog
Boxes: 24
Sapphire Relic Time: 0:48.00
Gold Relic Time: 0:30.44
Platinum Relic Time: 0:26.87
Whole Hog is one of two secret stages from the original Crash Bandicoot. To access the stage, players need to obtain a key from the level Sunset Vista by completing the Cortex bonus room, a room that is not only difficult to complete but also difficult to simply access.
Once players have finally unlocked the secret stage, they will find that it's very similar in design to the level Hog Wild from the same game. However, Whole Hog significantly ramps up the difficulty from Hog Wild, making it one of the hardest levels in the hardest game from the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy.
11 Totally Bear
Boxes: 38
Sapphire Relic Time: 0:58.00
Gold Relic Time: 0:47.36
Platinum Relic Time: 0:41.63
Like the aforementioned Whole Hog, Totally Bear is a secret level. The level can be found in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and is accessed via the stage Un-Bearable. For players who are yet to find Totally Bear, playthrough Un-Bearable normally until the very end of the level, when the chasing polar bear will fall into a pit. Instead of heading to the exit, jump over the pit where the bear fell and continue moving forward until coming across Polar, which will cause Crash to teleport.
Totally Bear is considerably harder than the other Polar-riding levels in the game. It is a particular nightmare for those gunning for the Platinum time trial relic, which requires some ridiculously tight jumps.
10 Bee-Having
Boxes: 94
Sapphire Relic Time: 2:00.00
Gold Relic Time: 1:22.00
Platinum Relic Time: 1:13.42
As the name suggests, Bee-Having from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back differentiates from most other stages in the franchise with its bee enemies. Bee's may not sound like the most intimidating enemy type on paper, though players will soon change their tune when they are swarmed by an angry mob of stingers that are deceivingly hard to avoid or spin away.
Thankfully, players are able to hide from the bees under the surface, though that isn't too safe either when a guy with a giant hammer is lurking around trying to kill Crash too. Add to that electric fences and plants that - for some reason - shoot explosives, and players have a recipe for an infuriating level.
9 Rush Hour
Boxes: 441
Sapphire Relic Time: 4:58.04
Gold Relic Time: 4:32.23
Platinum Relic Time: 3:40.61
Like many games from the recently released Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, one of the main challenges of Rush Hour is its length, exemplified by its whopping 441 box count and 3:40.61 Platinum Relic time. The level is also tough as it forces players to complete tricky platforming sequences with Dingodile and Tawna, who are less agile and less familiar to players than Crash.
The level becomes even longer when playing the N.Verted version of the stage, as players are forced to trudge through water from beginning to end. If that wasn't enough, the N.Verted level also features what is perhaps the hardest-to-find hidden gem in the entire game. Unfortunately, it is one of several times in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time where the game's difficulty moves past "an enjoyable challenge" and into "frustratingly unfair."
8 The Crate Escape
Boxes: 122
Sapphire Relic Time: 3:01.02
Gold Relic Time: 2:22.33
Platinum Relic Time: 1:47.51
The Crate Escape makes this list for similar reasons as Rush Hour, except this time, players must control Crash's age-old nemesis, Cortex.
The level's difficulty peaks when players must take on the platforming challenge pictured above, where Cortex must ascend the side of a building that is full of enemies to avoid and tricky jumps to make. The vertical section isn't the end, however, as players are then unexpectedly in control of Crash again as they desperately jump between fast-moving platforms to try and reach a moving vehicle.
7 Cold Hard Crash
Boxes: 155
Sapphire Relic Time: 2:36.00
Gold Relic Time: 2:06.07
Platinum Relic Time: 1:35.99
There are a lot of things that the Crash Bandicoot series gets right, from its charismatic roster of villains to its extra challenges for completionists to its consistently superb linear-level design. However, one thing that the franchise has never been able to master, despite many attempts, is ice physics.
As the name suggests, Cold Hard Crash is full of ice sections, which makes avoiding dropping icicles, Nitro crates, and falling pillars frustratingly challenging. The level is also infamous with completionists, as breaking all the boxes in Cold Hard Crash is one of the Bandicoot franchise's hardest challenges, mainly due to the infuriating death route.
6 The High Road
Boxes: 45
Sapphire Relic Time: 1:28.00
Gold Relic Time: 1:13.29
Platinum Relic Time: 1:04.61
The bridge levels in the original Crash Bandicoot are among the most iconic platforming stages of all time. The stages are so difficult, in fact, that many players try to cheese them by running along the ropes, which is an incredibly tough challenge itself.
The High Road is the second bridge level in Crash Bandicoot and, much like its predecessor, tasks players with crossing a bridge that is falling apart. The bridge doesn't initially look too tough due to how straight and narrow it is, though the game throws a ton of hazards at players, including ice, for some cruel reason. It's also deceivingly difficult to see where Crash is going to land without the marker introduced in Crash 4, causing some infuriating deaths.
5 Toxic Tunnels
Boxes: 273
Sapphire Relic Time: 3:25.39
Gold Relic Time: 2:32.50
Platinum Relic Time: 2:01.66
Toxic Tunnels is the penultimate main story level in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. The level's cruelty is evidenced in the opening seconds when boxes are hidden behind Crash off-camera, and the stage becomes only harder as it goes along with numerous electrical hazards to avoid, fast-moving carts to hop between, and even a brutally hard red gem path for completionists to beat.
To make matters worse, the platinum relic time is brutally short, meaning that players can make no significant mistakes as they race through the level in hopes of achieving the elusive relic.
4 Slippery Climb
Boxes: 51
Sapphire Relic Time: 3:30.00
Gold Relic Time: 3:00.47
Platinum Relic Time: 2:26.08
Slippery Climb is another level on this list from the first Crash Bandicoot game, which is by far the hardest game from the original trilogy. The main challenge of the level is that so much of it is moving, whether it be stairs that sporadically turn into slopes, small platforms that stick out for little more than a second, or even conveniently placed birds that hover up and down and must be jumped on.
Speedrunners have found a neat trick that manages to skip the vast majority of the game's obstacles, as Crash can run across the top of the level off-screen; however, getting Crash to the top of the screen is even tougher to pull off than completing the level normally of most people.
3 Future Tense
Boxes: 145
Sapphire Relic Time: 2:01:52
Gold Relic Time: 1:15:43
Platinum Relic Time: 0:52:17
Future Tense was the second of two levels added to the N. Sane Trilogy that didn't appear in the original trilogy, with Stormy Ascent being the first (more on that stage later). Future Tense is thematically similar to Future Frenzy and Gone Tomorrow, though it ramps up the difficulty of those levels through the roof with considerably more hazards to avoid.
Future Tense was created by Vicarious Visions, and some people suspected - especially retrospectively now that Crash 4 has been released - that the stage may have been something of an audition for the studio to develop the new game. However, the job went to Toys For Bob.
2 Stormy Ascent
Boxes: 56
Sapphire Relic Time: 7:00.00
Gold Relic Time: 4:30.00
Platinum Relic Time: 3:10.00
The fact that Stormy Ascent was removed from the original Crash Bandicoot for being too difficult says everything that players need to know about why this stage ranks so highly on this list. Stormy Ascent is thematically the same as Slippery Climb but ramps up the challenge even further with a longer runtime and considerably tougher jumps to land.
Stormy Ascent was added to the N. Sane Trilogy post-release, giving fans the chance to finally try the level that was once deemed too tough. Despite the stage's brutal difficulty, there is one level in the Crash Bandicoot franchise that is even tougher...
1 Cortex Castle
Boxes: 170
Sapphire Relic Time: 2:55.58
Gold Relic Time: 2:34.49
Platinum Relic Time: 1:59.87
Cortex Castle is the final main story level in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, and it is fittingly difficult. The most notorious part of the level comes at the very end, where players are forced to quickly transition between mask powers to avoid a series of deadly hazards. In some ways, the level's final stretch is the game's true final boss, as it can only be completed by players who have truly mastered the game's various mask mechanics.
Seeing Double
It is also worth giving a special mention to the alternate timeline version of Cortex Castle, titled Seeing Double. The level replaces the first half of Cortex Castle with a stage where players control Cortex himself. The stage features some of the toughest platforming sections in the game, which makes for a punishingly difficult challenge as most players find Cortex harder to control than Crash and Coco.