List of ''Crash Bandicoot'' video games

Crash Bandicoot is a video game series created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin.^[1] It is published by Activision, Sierra Entertainment, Vivendi Universal Games, Konami, Universal Interactive Studios, and Sony Computer Entertainment, with entries developed by Polarbit, Radical Entertainment, Vicarious Visions, Traveller's Tales, Eurocom, and Naughty Dog. The series debuted in 1996 with the Sony PlayStation video game Crash Bandicoot, premiered in North America on September 9, 1996. Most Crash Bandicoot games have either been platform games or released for Sony consoles and handhelds.

Most of the games in the franchise are platform games, although the series also includes other genres such as racing video games and party games. Each game focuses on the titular protagonist Crash Bandicoot, an anthropomorphic orange bandicoot. It also features a large cast of other characters such as Doctor Neo Cortex, Aku Aku, Coco Bandicoot, Crunch Bandicoot, Doctor N. Gin, and Uka Uka. The latest game in the series is Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a remastered collection of the first three games for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Main series

Racing

Party

Spin-offs

Mobile

Compilations

Cancelled games

Crash Bandicoot Worlds/Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (Mark Cerny): With the turn of the new millennium, Universal Interactive Studios wanted the series to make the transition from the PlayStation to the sixth generation consoles. Universal was considering Mark Cerny as the designer for the new game (which came to be The Wrath of Cortex), and intended to have it distributed by Sony as a PlayStation 2 exclusive. Details about the game's progress and development are scarce, although Cerny has revealed that the game was to feature open, free-roaming environments, as opposed to the linear structure Crash Bandicoot was known for at the time. Universal was worried about handing the franchise over to a new studio after Naughty Dog's contract expired, which led them to bet on a safer approach of producing a game with similar gameplay mechanics to the previous installments, a decision that resulted in Cerny being ousted from development. By the time the game was overhauled by Traveller's Tales and released in 2001, it was no longer exclusive to the PlayStation 2 due to Universal's new partnership with Konami, and the free-roaming aspect had been abandoned.^[35][36]

Crash Nitro Kart (Traveller's Tales)

Following the release of The Wrath of Cortex, Traveller's Tales began working on a new racing game that served as a sequel to Crash Team Racing. This game was to be Crash Nitro Kart, but due to unknown circumstances Vivendi transferred development to Vicarious Visions. Few details have been revealed about Traveller's Tales' original vision, but it is known that the game was intended to mark Nina Cortex's debut in the series.^[37]

Crash Bandicoot: Evolution: Traveller's Tales began working on a title called Crash Bandicoot: Evolution. A prototype for Crash Twinsanity, it was set to create a new form of gameplay for the Crash Bandicoot series as it would have utilized a large-scale story with gameplay combining platforming and RPG elements. As a work in progress, it has since become unclear what exactly was intended to be in the game. One of the only solid facts is that a character known as Foofie, an animal that could transform into different shapes, was going to appear. Only a handful of aspects were kept for Twinsanity, such as The Evil Twins as the villains and Crash teaming up with Cortex to defeat them.^[38]

Crush Bandicoot

A game concept pitched by Magenta Software in 2004, Crush Bandicoot was intended to introduce Crash's evil twin called Crush, with Cortex being retained as the antagonist. The game was intended to feature zany, open-world sci-fi environments, and Crush would have been able to use a variety of vehicles. At least one playable test environment was created before the project was rejected by Vivendi Universal.^[39]

Bandicoot Brats

After Crash Twinsanity's release, Krome Studios (known for their work with the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger series) began working on a new Crash Bandicoot title for Vivendi Universal. Little is known about the game other than the intended title, Bandicoot Brats, and that a few pictures and some documents were produced, which cannot be publicly released due to legal issues. The project was ultimately cancelled very early into development, and all remaining staff were put to work on The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning.^[40]

Cortex Chaos/The All New Cortex Show

The names of a project started by Traveller's Tales Oxford Studio after the release of Crash Twinsanity. As the name implies, it was intended to star Dr. Cortex, who would have been evicted from the Evil Scientist League because of his fraternising with Crash Bandicoot during the events of Twinsanity. Cortex Chaos never got past the concept stage.^[41]

Crash Twinsanity 2

According to Keith Webb, one of the main artists for Crash Twinsanity, there was a plan to develop a sequel to the game. The plot would have centered around Crash getting sucked into various TV programmes (namely a wild west show, an old black-and-white cartoon, a medical drama and a cooking show hosted by Rusty Walrus) by an invention created by Dr. Cortex.^[42]

Crash Clash Racing

After developing Crash Twinsanity, Traveller's Tales Oxford Studio began developing another Crash Bandicoot game, a racing title which would have served as a direct sequel to Twinsanity. This game, called Crash Clash Racing, would have involved personalized cars for each character, all with the gimmick of fusing together with another car. It would have been set inside Crash's mind, with the tracks based around his dreams and memories. The project was eventually picked up Radical Entertainment and released as Crash Tag Team Racing, resulting in a product that was substantially different from the original concept.^[43]

Crash Tag Team Racing (Nintendo DS)

In 2005, Crash Tag Team Racing was initially planned to be released on the Nintendo DS alongside the other console versions. Due to the console's inferior hardware, this version was not going to be a direct port, but it was going to be as similar to the other versions as possible, and it was being developed by Sensory Sweep. The game was in development for 9 to 10 months before the studio was told by the publisher that it was going to be cancelled, as Mario Kart DS was scheduled to come out at the same time.^[44]

Crash Online

Halfway through the year 2006, a small article was published on the Internet, listing several online PC games which were meant to be released by Sierra. Amongst them there was a mysterious project named Crash Online. The game was set for a release in 2007, but a small copy of its logo was in fact the only thing that has ever been revealed. It was probably going to be exclusive to China and would have required players to pay a fee for each play session. The game can be classified as vaporware, given that it was never publicly cancelled.^[45]

Untitled Toys for Bob game

Sometime in 2008, Toys for Bob created a pitch for a new Crash game. But it was ultimately rejected.^[46]

Crash Landed/I Am Crash Bandicoot

Following Mind Over Mutant, Radical Entertainment started working on their next game, which was titled during various stages as either Crash Landed or I Am Crash Bandicoot. Development began on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and it was intended to be ported for Wii afterwards. A DS version was also being planned, but no team was ever decided for its development. Renegade Kid was one of the few contenders, going as far as producing a playable demo as their pitch. The game was a scrapped reboot of the franchise, and would have provided a new origin story for Crash, marking the beginning of a series of new adventures. After being mutated by Cortex, he would have gotten entangled with the task of rescuing his fellow bandicoots.^[47] Due to layoffs on February 11, 2010,^[48][49] after Activision heard rumors that Sony Computer Entertainment had plans to acquire the rights to publish the franchise, it was abandoned in favor of Prototype 2.

Crash Team Racing (2010)

Crash Landed was being accompanied by a directly related spin-off, a racing game with the likely provisory name of Crash Team Racing (not to be confused with the 1999 game), that was being developed concurrently by High Impact Games. Cancelled on February 11, 2010 due to layoffs after Activision heard rumors that Sony Computer Entertainment had plans to acquire the rights to publish the franchise, it was initially slated for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. It would have featured several playable characters as usual, but only Crash, Dingodile, Polar and a new character simply called Land Shark were finished before cancellation. The project was eventually retooled into DreamWorks Super Star Kartz.^[50]

Untitled Vicarious Visions game

In late 2012, a single concept picture featuring Crash with an all new design was leaked on the Internet. It came from a photo taken inside Vicarious Visions' studio.^[51] Although it was later revealed that the poster was from a cancelled Crash Bandicoot game, any details about the game itself are still unknown.^[52]

Untitled Crash Bandicoot game for PlayStation 4

Cerny Games originally wanted to develop a Crash title for the PlayStation 4. However, Sony Computer Entertainment didn't want to publish the game, and Activision Blizzard still have the ownership of the series, which caused Sony to lose the rights to the Crash characters. Crash Bandicoot for the PlayStation 4 was reworked into the game Knack in 2013.^[53]

References