Crash Bandicoot was a series that can be described as lucky, even for video game standards. Out of the countless mascot platformer games of the 90s, Crash is one of the few that was not just the product of a fad and lived on as its own successful work. What was even more impressive is Crash Bandicoot being developed by a crew with a lack of notability in its track record, unlike Sega with Sonic the Hedgehog and Rare with Banjo-Kazooie. Decades later, Crash remained one of the lucky few among its brethren and among old gaming series in general. The original trilogy and the racing game it spun off were both beloved enough to get remade, and the series even got its first new mainline game in more than a decade.
The Crash Bandicoot games traditionally pit the titular protagonist against Doctor Neo Cortex, the scientist that mutated Crash into the Looney Tunes-like caricature the player controls and familiarizes themselves with. The series has introduced an impressive ensemble of characters over the years, with most of them consisting of mutated animals and the quirky scientists that partake in similarly unethical experiments. The scientists, such as the aforementioned Cortex, but also doctors N. Gin, N. Brio, and N. Tropy, tend to dominate whatever plotline the games have. The next Crash game should instead focus on the animal antagonists.
More Focus, But Not at the Scientists’ Expense
One interesting but often overlooked aspect of the Crash Bandicoot series is how it combines its influences and inspirations. Shorts from the golden age of American animation, especially Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes, were immensely influential on the series’ art style. Crash’s iconic death animations are the epitome of the loony influence. One understated effect on the Crash series is the Oceanian fauna.
Except for the Komodo Brothers, whose species is native to the neighboring Indonesia, every mutant animal character that was introduced in the first three Crash games belongs to a species native to Australia. Most notably, Crash and his sister Coco are bandicoots. They are also pop culture’s biggest, if not sole representatives of their species. True to the inspiration that came from classic cartoons, the characters, not just the animals, are caricatured to put emphasis on their specific characteristics.
However, what makes the animals stand out is how caricatured they are. Crash’s animal cast is often so specifically designed so that the characters only slightly resemble the animal they are supposed to be. Crash looks like a tailless fox, Tiny “Tiger” looks more like a hulking lion rather than a thylacine, Ripper Roo is a blue kangaroo with a doglike face, and Pinstripe looks more like the weasels from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? than a potoroo, and so on. In a series as visually appealing as Crash, this adds to the characters’ appeal. The designs are unique and have the potential to incorporate various kinds of body language and facial expressions.
The animal antagonists hold the distinction of being overlooked in favor if the scientists. Aside from the bandicoots, the only mutated animals to remain major characters after Crash’s Naughty Dog era ended were Tiny Tiger and Dingodile. Even then, their presence in games like The Wrath of Cortex, Nitro Kart, and The Huge Adventure seems to be a byproduct of their status as bosses in Warped, a game Crash games in the 2000s tried replicating more than once. Among the other animal villains, Ripper Roo was a recurring boss in all Naughty Dog Crash games sans Warped, and the others were minor characters at best.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and Crash Bandicoot 4 gave the cast more characterization, and the villains the series usually neglect were no exception. Crash 4 exclusively made the scientists bosses to flesh them out even further. Its successor could do the same to the mutant animals without sacrificing the special fights usually provided by the likes of Cortex and N. Gin.
There are no current plans for a new Crash game, and with Activision-owned properties planning to be bought by Microsoft, the series’ future is currently uncertain. If a new game were to happen, more focus on the animal villains could balance out all the time spent with the scientists in the “official” fourth game. After all, they are just as important to the series, and foundational to its very premise.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.