(Originally published to Glitchwave on 5/8/2024)
[Image from igdb.com]
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: SCE
Genre(s): 3D Platformer
Platforms: PS1
Release Date: November 6, 1997
I’ve heard of direct sequels, but this is ridiculous. The events of Crash 2 start quite literally seconds after Crash’s triumphant victory over Cortex at the end of the first game. Simultaneously as Tawna is preemptively giving Crash a smooching sampler of what she has in store for him later that night after rescuing her, if you know what I mean, we see another perspective during this scene when Cortex is tumbling down from his flying, pink zeppelin in defeat. After screaming his uvula off, Cortex miraculously survives the fall after he lands on a soft patch of land underneath the ground in a cavern. To add to this fortunate circumstance, Cortex also experiences a stroke of dumb luck when he sees a glowing pink crystal hovering around his landing zone. Context to Cortex’s joy is not given to the player, but everyone assumes that spotting this oblique, luminescent rock has inspired him to cook up another dastardly plan. During an errand mission to retrieve his sister Coco’s laptop battery charger, Crash is suddenly transported to a circular room with minor lighting issues. At the room’s center is a hologram of Cortex informing Crash that Dr. Nitrus Brio is the true figure of ultimate scum and villainy in this series and that he plans to create something deadly with the power of the crystals if Crash does not proactively snatch the twenty-five remaining crystals left on Earth. In reality, it’s Cortex that is building a colossal space weapon and needs Crash’s assistance to obtain all of them and fully power his magnificent (in the pejorative sense) new machine. Because Crash’s brain is just as misplaced as his shirt, he complies with Cortex’s demands without question.
Admittedly, the only players who wouldn’t understand the context behind Cortex’s enthralled reaction to seeing a pink crystal are those who experienced this game initially back on its 1997 release date. With decades of hindsight behind us, any current fan of Crash Bandicoot will recognize the franchise’s main collectible in a heartbeat. They might be a valuable source of immense power for the series’ antagonists but in the grand scheme of things, their status as a collectible serves to organize the Crash Bandicoot level structure. You know how Mario exits a level in Super Mario 64 upon obtaining a star, namely the one attached to the vague objective selected in the level’s menu? Well, the crystals similarly signify that a level is nearing its end and is about to be successfully completed. One major difference in Crash 2 is that the linear level design validates Crash’s ejection from said level, for there is little ground left unexplored unlike in the sprawling playgrounds found in Super Mario 64. A warp room exhibits five levels per floor, and Crash accesses the elevator at the center to enter the next series of five levels after the interruption of a boss. The straightaway journey with little to no spatial fracturing that comprised all of the levels in the first game has been scrapped for something that compliments the direct nature of Crash Bandicoot’s levels. Everything is neatly symmetrical and cromulent, unlike the first game which disrupted the progress with a milestone whenever it pleased. Also, earning a crystal per level will sustain a sense of satisfaction by simply surviving to the finish line as opposed to browbeating the player for glossing over the extra mile of breaking every box. Oh, and to everyone’s delight, the player can save their progress any time in each warp room. Hallelujah!
Uninitiated players from 1997 will also be the only ones to scratch their heads at the sight of the female bandicoot nagging Crash at the end of the opening cutscene. Future fans of the Crash series will immediately determine from her overalls and blonde ponytail that this is Coco Bandicoot, Crash’s (younger?) sister who makes her series debut here. You may be wondering if Tawna’s absence in this recreational scene with all the good guys is because she’s been abducted once again, but Crash’s trophy girlfriend has actually been cut indefinitely from the series roster. Pamela Anderson was arguably the most significant sex symbol of the decade in which the PS1 Crash games were released. Since everyone, myself included, has dubbed Tawna as an anthropomorphic doppelganger of the busty, Baywatch babe, a few overseas Sony marketers were distraught that the most popular source of masturbatory fantasies was rendered with fur in a video game whose primary demographic is children. Of course, none of the pure, prepubescent brains playing this game would flare up seeing Tawna at all, so this is really a case of adults projecting their shameful arousal while glancing at their child’s digital pastime. In an effort to retcon this bosomy blunder, Naughty Dog has replaced her conceptual role with an innocent, yet precocious, younger female character with a strictly familial, platonic relationship with Crash who keeps her dumb brother from leading himself astray as the oft-token female character of the series. And I thought the odd Star Wars comparisons ended with Cortex holographically signaling to Crash that he is his only hope. The other non-villain character introduced in Crash 2 that pops up every so often in future releases is the adorable baby ice bear Polar, who Crash rides in a select few ice levels similar to the one warthog level in the first game. He also pays off splendidly in the frosty warp room with ten extra lives when Crash gives him a concussion by repeatedly jumping on his noggin. Leave him alone, Crash! He’s just a boy!
Besides the slew of introductions, an exemplary sequel should strive to rework the preexisting elements of the previous title closer to a standard of accessibility. One may not notice the differences in Crash 2’s gameplay at first glance, but the subtleties will be a total relief once they dawn on them. Navigating Crash’s orange ass through the wild terrain of the Wumpa Islands was rather taxing at times. Surviving anything precision platforming oriented in the first game was determined on what felt like a wing and a prayer thanks to both the stilted controls and the disparities coexisting between running on a 2D horizontal axis in a 3D development plane. Soon enough, the player will detect that Crash has undergone whatever the developer equivalent of physical therapy is because his general movement is as nimble as a newborn rabbit. In fact, Crash feels so spry and lively that he can now perform unprecedented feats of agility. Crash can crawl slowly under tight crevices, bodyslam those sturdier boxes, and skid his feet by sliding like Mega Man. The last maneuver mentioned will be combined frequently with his jump move to soar over gaps like he’s training for the decathlon. Rarely are any of these spirited acrobatics discouraged by the potential risk of Crash accidentally plummeting to his death unless it's truly obvious that a mistake has been made. Quasi-2D sections are implemented into the 3D space minimally as opposed to serving as the basis for a large sum of levels, and the developers have blocked off the awkward pits where slipping could be fatal.
One would think with Cortex teleporting Crash around the world to recover the valuable fuel to his deathly space station that the player will be treated to a geographical odyssey. Alas, all twenty-five of the main levels in Crash 2 seem to be shackled to a selection of specific level themes that persist throughout the game. The five warp rooms will often transport Crash to the untamed jungles, ancient Aztec temples, and chase levels where Crash runs towards the camera from a rolling earth formation as seen in the first game, and these returning level tropes are joined by a bevy of new ones that are sure to overstay their welcome. Crash will go spelunking through sewer systems with branching paths and hazardous electrical wires mixing with the water runoff to shocking effect. Besides the icy levels where Polar gallops like a horse, other levels featuring the Antarctic tundra foreground are free to traverse with Crash by his lonesome. Some levels feature some neat gimmicks such as Crash burrowing underground to evade swarms of bees that make him swell like a balloon animal upon being stung, and the guidance of a particularly radiant species of fireflies illuminating the pathway in total darkness. Still, one can’t help but notice that the foregrounds of these levels essentially boil down to reusing the jungle level motifs. The layout of a given warp room doesn’t signify any semblance of thematic cohesion either. The arctic warp room deviates from offering levels that fit its frosty promises, and it isn’t the only quintet of levels that catapult Crash into areas where he freezes his balls off. It isn’t until the game’s end that there is a noticeable space and factory theme exclusive to the rooftop warp room. Still, two of them involve flying a jetpack through a ventilated space tunnel, and these levels make me want to lynch the man who popularized inverted control schemes.
Even though the level variety on display in Crash 2 isn’t exactly a smorgasbord of creativity, at least the player won’t be tied down to the majority of them for too long. I’ve mentioned previously that saving one’s game in Crash 2 is now free and convenient, akin to using the bathroom in your own home where Crash 1 is like scrambling to find one in public before your bladder explodes. Other instances of quality-of-life improvements are littered aplenty. Crash no longer has to earn access to the bonus rooms by collecting three character tokens. The opportunity to amass wumpa fruits and extra lives in bulk is either beneath saloon doors or a downward plunge, whose locations are symbolized by a question mark. The Nitro Crates that radiate a noxiously green glow accompany the TNT crates as level hazards, and these volatile little boxes should be avoided at all costs. Still, none of them seem to be placed in narrow passages, nor are they strewn about plentifully turning a level into a minefield. Each level is paced accordingly as well. None of the levels are lengthy tests of endurance like “Sunset Vista” that made players beg for sweet release. I suppose the conclusion to arrive at is that Crash 2 is so accommodating that it verges on total ease, especially for returning players. Considering that I am someone of that distinction, I find Crash 2’s lenient difficulty curve to be absolutely pleasant. However, the game does eventually offer a sizable challenge with the two factory levels in the last warp room.
Crash Bandicoot’s bosses can also be brushed off in less than a minute, but returning players already knew that. The colorfully cartoony foes that await Crash to collect the string of crystals to beat him to a pulp are the sole consistency in difficulty this game shares with its predecessor. The contrasting Komodo Brothers pathetically fail to subdue Crash with their scimitar chucking, and the match between the ironically-named Tiny the Tiger is a cakewalk (or saucer walk in this case) because it's a duel of wits instead of physical might. Ripper Roo returns still cackling like a goddamn hyena, only with the newly wild, unkempt long hair and mustache combo like he plays bass in Hawkwind. Again, while I criticize these bosses for not meeting the standard of difficulty with the levels that precede them, I still have to commend them for their diversity and creativity. I adore Cortex’s new right-hand henchman N. Gin by default because I never tire of hearing characters whose voices are impersonations of Hungarian classic Hollywood actor Peter Lorre. His multi-phased mech battle is by far the most engaging and intimidating fight the game offers, but the scope of it is unfortunately diminished by the fact that all it takes for the mech to malfunction is to clog its engines with wumpa fruit. Still, that solution isn’t as stupid as the final fight of Crash 2, which involves nothing but chasing down Cortex through an asteroid belt using the jetpack. Either the player will swat at Cortex three times in a matter of seconds, or the chance to catch the evil little bugger is completely out of reach. This anticlimactic section would only work if it was the second phase of a hypothetical Cortex fight beforehand.
Fortunately, the player has the option to turn Crash 2 into a painful test of one’s patience if they please. Because Cortex is dragging his name through the dirt, N. Brio intercepts the holographic message receptor to warn Crash that Cortex has been manipulating him to be his useful idiot lackey in finishing the construction of what is essentially the Death Star. Coco attempts to convey this vital information to our empty-headed hero sooner to prove her usefulness as a clever aide supporting her brother’s cognitive blind spots, but the reception has been consistently staticky at best. To atone for all the damage he’s inadvertently done, N. Brio suggests that Crash instead gather the gems instead. However, the right path without any guilt and deceit is significantly harder than playing the fool for Cortex. Sure, the player will no longer have to perform pitch-perfect platforming while destroying every crate per level, but this task still isn’t a matter of doing some detective work on the field. A few of the gems in the later portion of the game are found through completing “death routes,” where floating platforms marked with skulls will transport Crash to a 2D platforming section designed similarly to a bonus level. Anyone curious enough to take these alternate routes with the prize of a gem at their finish line will be treated with what are certainly the steepest platforming sections in the entire game. That is if the player stops their completionist commission there. For those who really wish to use N. Brio’s super cannon to blast Cortex’s gaudy space station out of orbit, they’ll have to execute incredibly circuitous backtracking in the death routes with little margin of error to obtain all collectibles possible. Once again, this process becomes the most taxing with the two factory levels in the final warp room. Crash and his friends better just adapt to always seeing Cortex’s gaudy creation lying dormant in the sky like an eclipsing satellite.
I guess this is as good a time as any to reveal to you all my Crash Bandicoot bias. There is more than enough empirical evidence to claim that Crash 2 is leagues above its predecessor in every conceivable way possible. Almost every aspect of the first game is refined to a silky smoothness, including Crash’s mobile dexterity, progression structure, and overall accessibility achieved through its quality-of-life improvements. Both the unexpected ease of Crash 2’s general difficulty and the continued effortless fights with the series’ bosses are, however, not my personal detractors of the series. There is just something about Crash’s simplicity compared to other platformers that keep it away from being lauded in the same respects as the platformer monarchs Crash sought as competition. Call it unpretentiousness in its best-case scenario, but I’ve always been relatively disengaged with its unsophisticated nature. Is it fair to demerit Crash 2 for what it isn’t when it has improved the series remarkably? Crash 2: Cortex Strikes Back is objectively an exemplary 3D platformer, but something still isn't clicking for me.
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