Crash Bandicoot has been delighting players for almost thirty years, and due to the incredible success of the franchise it looks as if this could stretch for another thirty without any signs of slowing down.
I remember playing Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation back in 1996, and scribbling down passwords because we didn’t have a memory card. Crash is an enduring icon of the video game industry, a character beloved by fans the world over.
The Bandicoot that spins more than Steve Aoki has graced a whopping twenty three games during his career but which ones are worth your Wumpas and which ones should you ran away from like you’re being chased by a stampeding triceratops?
That’s a tough question, but we’ve ranked all of Crash’s outings in this article. From platform games to racing and from party games to beat ’em ups, we’re bringing you the definitive ranking on our favourite marsupial’s gaming exploits.
1. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (1998)
It was a tough decision to choose which of the top two Crash games would ultimately wind up in our number one spot but Crash Bandicoot: Warped is a worthy winner thanks to it’s excellent level design, gameplay variety, humour and mix of power ups and abilities.
Players once again jump into Crash’s big red sneakers for the majority of the adventure but his sister Coco is along for the ride too, taking centre stage in several vehicle levels that see her zipping across the waves on a jet ski and racing along the Great Wall of China atop her tiger, Pura.
Naughty Dog’s final platforming game at the helm of the Crash series sees Crash spinning, double jumping and firing a Wumpa fruit powered rocket launcher through dozens of levels.
The environments are consistently stunning, with levels packed full of character and tricky obstacles to overcome in equal measure.
Crash Bandicoot: Warped was a commercial hit, and in Japan it became the first non-Japanese PlayStation title to sell over one million copies. So that says it all, you have to add it to your collection.
2. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back narrowly missed out on the top spot but on another day things could have been different. Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped are both phenomenal platforming adventures with very little between them in terms of overall quality.
During an errand to collect a new laptop battery for Coco, Crash is abducted by Doctor Neo Cortex and tricked into collecting power crystals under the pretense of saving the world. Typically, things are never that simple!
Double crosses and unlikely allies permeate the adventure with the story gradually unfolding as players ascend through the world hubs.
The level variety in Crash 2 is seriously impressive with the snow covered areas becoming iconic locations that have endured throughout the series legacy.
Crash Bandicoot 2 introduced unlockable abilities for the first time. Where the previous game saw Crash restricted to just two offensive moves, Crash 2 introduced a speedy slide dash and a thumping body slam.
Crash Bandicoot 2 will always hold a special place in my heart. The demo that came stuck to the front of the Official PlayStation Magazine back in ’97 enthralled ten year old Theo for weeks and Cortex Strikes Back still feels just as fluid and magical to play today almost thirty years later.
3. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017)
The 2017 remake of the original Crash Bandicoot Trilogy is a thing a undeniable beauty. Developers Vicarious Visions captured the essence of what made Crash’s first three adventures so beloved and delivered a gorgeous glow-up.
From the moment you join Crash as the waves lap his face on N. Sanity Beach to the climactic battle of Crash 3, there isn’t a pixel out of place. Each level has been meticulously and faithfully recreated, preserving the original design will bringing them closer to Pixar quality visuals than ever before.
It’s not just the levels that have seen drastic visual upgrades either with every NPC and enemy lavished in a new coat of paint, and Crash himself looking so fuzzy and fluffy you just want to reach into the screen and give him a cuddle.
Having a make over isn’t enough to impress however, we’re not that shallow. Thankfully, the N. Sane Trilogy delivers a package of exceptional value by packing all three of Crash’s original adventures and even bringing some hot new levels to collection to boot.
The previously unfinished level ‘Stormy Ascent’ was completed and added as DLC post launch and Vicarious Visions even created a brand new level titled ‘Future Tense’ that took place in the futuristic setting of some of Crash Bandicoot: Warped’s later levels.
After a long time away from consoles following the mediocre reception to Crash: Mind Over Mutant, The N. Sane Trilogy revitalised the franchise and sold a whopping ten million units worldwide!
4. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (2019)
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled was released in 2019 and was developed by Beenox and published by Activision. Much like the N. Sane Trilogy, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is another ground up remake the original PlayStation classic.
Prior to launch, our Founder Brandon was working as a video producer for another large gaming website and I was invited to the Activision Studios in London to preview the game. He remembers having so much fun with the Activision team. Their hard work and vision had made something great, greater.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled takes the original game, tunes up the engine, slaps on some go-faster stripes and overdrives the horsepower (I don’t know how cars work).
Beenox’s remake faithfully updates all of the content from the original Crash Team Racing and also includes a huge selection of tracks from Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Tag Team Racing.
The single player and local multiplayer components from the original CTR are all accounted for and joined by a new robust suite of online options, including a ever-changing shops for players to customise their rides just how they want.
I’ve clocked over one hundred hours racing around the courses of Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and genuinely believe, and I know this is controversial, that it’s better than a certain Nintendo-exclusive kart racing title.
5. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (2020)
2020’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time sees the titular bandicoot and his sister Coco team up to recover all of the Quantum Masks to stop Cortex from enslaving the world in one of the all-time best Crash Bandicoot games.
The two bandicoot siblings are the only playable characters however with former bad guy Dingodile heaving his hulking frame and his vacuum cannon around several levels and an alternate-dimension version of Crash’s friend Tawna proves to be a badass as she uses her grapple hook to quickly ping around levels.
Dr. Neo Cortex rounds out the playable ensemble and can use his ray gun to manipulate platforms and blast enemies and crates alike.
What makes this one of the best Crash Bandicoot games ever is the combination of solid old-school platforming with modern day graphics and inventive new abilities and power ups.
Those new powers are granted to Crash and Coco by the mysterious Quantum Masks. Each Quantum Mask that you collect includes a different power from a different universe. These powers can alter levels and provide ways to overcome obstacles and puzzles in new and exciting ways.
Crash Bandicoot 4’s colourful graphics hide a devilishly hard platforming game. The difficulty slowly ramps up as players progress through the multi-dimensional campaign but gamers looking for that elusive 106% completion (no that’s not a typo) will have to jump, slide and spin to within an inch of their life.
6. Crash Team Racing (1999)
Crash Team Racing is Crash’s first venture into kart racing and was developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation back in 1999.
The game focuses on Crash, Cortex and other characters from the first three PlayStation games. A new threat, the racing-mad alien, Nitros Oxide, has challenged Crash and co. to a race. The stakes are high as as Oxide promises to turn the planet into a giant parking lot if he wins. I always thought it was customary to waste a bottle of champagne when winning a race, not pave over an entire planet!
Players can choose from one of eight characters in adventure mode, using their kart to power slide around corners and collect weapons scattered around the tracks.
The power ups are varied and offer plenty of ways to scupper your fellow racers. Bowling Bombs can be rolled forwards or backwards to cause massive explosions, heat seeking missiles can track opponents around corners and TNT crates can be plonked in front of tailgaters, forcing them to hop repeatedly or be blown up after a short countdown.
Races are fun and frantic with nails-hard bosses punctuating the main campaign. Crash Team Racing remains a stone cold classic and goes down in history as one of the best games for the original PlayStation.
7. Crash Bandicoot (1996)
The game that started it all. Crash Bandicoot ushered in a new generation of 3D platforming for the PlayStation and remains a beloved piece of videogame history today for its challenging gameplay, memorable music, and of course, charming leading marsupial.
The story follows Crash after he escapes from Dr. Neo Cortex and his ‘Cortex Vortex’ machine. Cortex hoped to turn Crash into a superpowered bandicoot to lead his evil army on a quest for world domination. Unfortunately for Cortex, Crash slipped out the window and made his escape.
Freedom would beckon to Crash however, upon washing up on N. Sanity Beach, our orange hero realises his beloved Tawna is still incarcerated by Cortex, and he sets out on a rescue mission.
Crash Bandicoot features over 30 different levels for Crash to spin and jump through. Short bonus levels can be unlocked by collecting character tokens in certain stages and there’s a huge amount of replay value from finding hidden gems and secret paths.
The vibrant colours, awesome level design and memorable characters made Crash Bandicoot an instant classic. The game’s success cemented Crash as an unofficial mascot for the PlayStation. His rumbunctious attitude resonating with the slightly older demographic of PlayStation users who still enjoyed jumping around and amassing collectibles.
8. Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (2002)
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure marks the orange marsupials first appearance outside of his native PlayStation ecosystem.
The Huge Adventure on the GBA saw Crash once again trying to stop the evil Dr. Cortex. The diabolical mastermind has decided to shrink the Earth using his ‘Planetary Minimiser’ ray and it’s up to Crash to save the day by once again collecting all of the planet’s Crystals.
You’d think Crash would just keep them somewhere safe the amount of times he’s had to find them!
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure follows the hub and spoke format introduced in Crash Bandicoot 2, with our hero traversing over twenty levels of brilliantly designed platform challenges.
Those levels are chock full of secrets and collectibles too, with gems to discover and sneaky crates stashed away in hard to reach areas. The time trials from the later PlayStation games also return giving gamers an extra challenge to beat each level quickly, and without dying.
The final boss is worth the price of admission alone, with a bizarre body-horror twist that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
9. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 (2010)
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 was the follow up to Nitro Kart 3D that released exclusively on iOS in 2010, ditching it’s predecessor’s N-Gage and Symbian versions in favour of Apple’s more popular platform.
Nitro Kart 2 once again employed a mixture of touch and motion controls to bring the kart racing action to life.
Steering with motion controls enabled saw players twisting and turning their phones as if gripping a genuine steering wheel. Players could choose to disable the motion controls but would then miss out on those envious stares from other people when playing Nitro Kart 3D on the bus.
One massive improvement that Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D made over it’s predecessor was in its multiplayer options.
Local competitive games via Bluetooth were still on the cards but Nitro Kart 3D introduced a fully functioning online component, allowing players to race through the twelve new tracks with mobile gamers from around the globe.
Unfortunately, like many of the mobile Crash games, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 is no longer available on iOS and is sadly lost to time.
10. Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (2003)
It’s impossible not to become N-Tranced with this next title (I should get paid more for this comedy gold!).
You know that feeling when you’ve finally returned the world to normal and then everything goes pear shaped? That’s how Crash feels in this epic handheld classic. Not only does he have to battle against the evil Uka Uka mask and the insane Dr. Nefarious, but he’s also got to battle an evil clone of himself!
Talk about a tough day in the office!
Unlike the usual Crash Bandicoot games where players follow Crash from behind, the majority of N-Tranced is viewed from a 2D perspective. It’s primarily a side-scrolling game, but there are some 3D chase segments, those panic-inducing moments that we all love from the main series.
In the early 2000s skate culture was having a bit of resurgence and even Crash Bandicoot wasn’t immune to popping a kickflip and listening to Goldfinger. N-Tranced featured a mode called Atlasphere which combined the skating attitude of Tony Hawk with the ball-based madness of Super Monkey Ball.
In Atlasphere, Crash can roll around, gain huge air on half pipes and pull off mad tricks as he breaks open crates. It’s a nice touch that adds even more madness to an already crazy game!
11. Crash Nitro Kart (2003)
Building on the success of the original Crash Team Racing, developers Vicarious Visions took the wheel from series creators Naughty Dog in this kart racing sequel.
Vicarious Visions had previous experience with Crash, Coco, Cortex and co. having developed Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced for the Game Boy Advance.
The plot of Crash Nitro Kart sees Earth threatened by intergalactic dictator Emperor Velo XXVII, with Crash needing to protect the planet by driving really bloomin’ fast.
Gameplay remains mostly unchanged from Crash’s previous karting outing with players still needing to master the power slide mechanic to stand a chance of winning the tougher races.
The ever popular battle mode made a triumphant return in Crash Nitro Kart and ensured friendships were destroyed over intense rounds of Crystal Grab and capture the flag alternative, ‘Capture the Bacon’.
The race tracks from Nitro Kart would eventually be lovingly remastered by Beenox and included within Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled.
12. Crash Bash (2000)
Crash Bash was released in 2000 for the PlayStation and saw Crash and his friends and foes appear in a party game for the first time. It was the first ever Crash Bandicoot game not developed by series creators Naughty Dog.
Crash Bash features eight playable characters all with their own powers and skills. The storyline is pretty simple and sees the our heroes, led by Aku Aku, dueling against Uka Uka’s band of villains.
Throughout the game you can compete in a total of 28 different mini-games which are all split between Adventure, Battle and Tournament modes.
Crash Bash allows up to four controllers to play simultaneously using a PlayStation multi-tap. In the adventure mode you must compete in all of the mini games to collect trophies, gems and crystals.
Crash Bash brought families and friends together in a fun and competitive manner and it’s still lots of fun today. We’d recommend finding a copy of Crash Bash if you’re looking for some multiplayer marsupial action.
13. Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (2004)
The Game Boy Advance was the unofficial second home for Crash Bandicoot during the early 2000s but he wasn’t the only popular 90’s gaming icon making their presence known on Nintendo’s handheld.
Spyro the Dragon also made the leap to the GBA and the platforming pair starred in complimentary titles ‘Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy’ together.
The games were once again developed by Vicarious Visions and delivered excellent side-scrolling platforming action as the duo worked together after their longtime adversaries, Dr. Neo Cortex and Ripto join forces.
The crossover of the two platforming legends wasn’t the only experimental concept in Crash’s fourth GBA outing either. While the gameplay saw the heroes jumping, spinning and dashing through traditional platforming levels, a large chunk of the gameplay was dedicated to minigames.
Players could pilot a series of vehicles including tanks and jet packs and could even find and collect an array of trading cards by hitting certain criteria.
14. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex (2001)
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex was published by Universal Interactive Studios for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube in 2001.
It’s the fourth game in the main series and brings a wide number of awesome features and levels to the franchise. Dr Neo Cortex is up to no good once more and has recruited a bunch of masked spirits known as Elementals to cause havoc in the world.
It’s up to Crash and Coco to travel the world collecting magical Crystals that will return the Elementals to hibernation and settle the score with Cortex.
This is one of the best PS2 games out there and takes all of the brilliant classic Crash mechanics and turns it into an awesome game with some great new levels.
For example there are levels where Crash pilots aeroplanes, uses jet powered diving gear, flies with a helicopter backpack and even climbs inside a mech suit, turning Crash into an orange facsimile of Ellen Ripley from Aliens.
15. Crash Twinsanity (2004)
Crash Twinsanity was released in 2004 and developed by Traveller’s Tales for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox.
Twinsanity takes place three years after the events of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. Despite their long running feud, Crash and Cortex had to put their differences aside and work together.
The new dynamic between Crash and Cortex ushered in slightly more mature humour with the pair often fumbling through scenarios together. Twinsanity presents a semi-open world, allowing players to free roam between levels however they pleased.
Critics praised the new direction Twinsanity explored with its open world approach. The removal of the traditional hub room gave the series a fresh energy.
In addition to the standard 3D platforming, Crash and Cortex could also work together to traverse the world in numerous ways.
One of our favourites was the ‘HumiliSkate’, where Crash channels his inner Shaun White and rides Cortex like a snowboard. Humiliating for Cortex, yes, but Crash looks like he could win a medal at the Winter X-Games!
16. Crash Tag Team Racing (2005)
The stakes are considerably lower in Crash’s third kart racer. After fending off two previous threats of global destruction from outer space, Crash Tag Team Racing sees Crash Bandicoot and Dr. Cortex racing for the ownership of an dilapidated theme park… You’d never see Mario and Bowser racing for ownership of Blobbyland.
Tag Team Racing embraces Crash’s platforming roots by having the jort-loving marsupial hop out of his kart for platforming sections throughout the main campaign.
These sections also saw players finding and interacting with various characters from the Crash Bandicoot universe and completing simple minigames.
The biggest new addition to Crash Tag Team Racing was the ‘clash’ mechanic. Players could intentionally clash into opponents during a race to fuse the two karts together.
Once fused, one racer would continue to drive and navigate the racetrack and the other racer would take control of a power turret, capable of easily blasting other racers to bits like a ripe Wumpa fruit.
17. Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D (2008)
Crash’s first lap around the mobile games racetrack sees our hero and his buddies racing to save themselves from eviction at the hands of Nitros Oxide, Cortex and the crazed Ripper Roo.
An intuitive control scheme that saw players gripping their phones like steering wheels and tilting their devices to turn works surprisingly well. Crash Team Racing’s powerslide mechanic makes a return and is activated by tapping and holding the screen and weapons can be deployed in a similar fashion.
For a game that launched on iOS and N-Gage, there’s a surprisingly large amount of content on offer in Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D.
Only Crash and Cortex are playable at the start of the game but a further six racers are unlockable along with 20 different race tracks.
Nitro Kart 3D didn’t innovate much in the kart racing genre but what it did do was give a solid racing experience to mobile players itching for their CTR fix on the go.
18. Crash Of The Titans (2007)
Crash Of The Titans saw our orange, jort-clad hero sporting a new look, complete with tribal tattoos and a back mohawk. Is that a thing? I guess he’s furry enough to make it work.
It wasn’t just Crash that had undergone a visual transformation though as the entire cast now channeled a punkier aesthetic in their Crash Of The Titans.
The titular Titans established a new pillar for Crash games going forward, with a new ‘jacking’ ability that allowed Crash to take control of the towering behemoths to help him overcome obstacles and pulverise other giant foes.
Those Titans are the result of meddling from Dr. Neo Cortex and his gothic niece Nina. The diabolical duo have discovered a new substance called ‘Mojo’ and are using it transform the inhabitants of Wumpa Island into Titans.
A larger focus on combat was a big tonal shift for the series but one that fails to nail the landing. Fisticuffs with Crash was hampered by a terrible camera system and wonky AI.
In a bizarre bit of videogame trivia, to promote the game, publisher Vivendi Games sent a Hummer with a built in Wii console to Bristol Balloon Fiesta which takes place every year a short drive from Retro Dodo Towers.
19. Crash Bandicoot: On The Run! (2021)
Crash’s most recent foray onto mobile came in 2021 with the release of Crash Bandicoot: On The Run!
As the name suggest, On The Run! was an endless runner game with familiar gameplay to anyone that’s played the likes of Temple Run or Sonic Dash.
On The Run! topped the download charts on both iOS and Android when it debuted and proved a commercial success for developer and publisher King.
Unlike the majority of other endless runners, Crash Bandicoot: On The Run! featured a rogue’s gallery from the history of the Crash Bandicoot series, with enemies popping up as mini-bosses during each game.
I sunk several hours into Crash Bandicoot: On The Run! when it first launched and while it absolutely nails the aesthetic of the Crash universe, it suffered from a lack of challenge or meaningful updates.
King ultimately decided to pull the plug on the endless runner less than two years after it launched, shutting down the servers and rendering the game unplayable.
20. Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008)
Crash: Mind Over Mutant sees the titular hero and his pals rallying against mass consumerism in this semi-political beat ’em up. Yes, really.
Humour has always been front and centre of the Crash series but Mind Over Mutant takes the silly, slapstick comedy of previous games and skews it into something more relatable.
Cortex and his on-again, off-again partner Nitrus Brio have invented a new personal assistance device that the pair use to control the minds of the populous by transmitting ‘Bad Mojo’. Mind Over Mutant predicted the state of social media in 2024 way back in 2008.
Gameplay moved away from traditional platforming and instead focused on combat, with the orange marsupial busting out flurries of punches and kicks like he’s auditioning for the next Street Fighter.
While the gameplay punches fail to land the brilliantly written cutscenes prove consistently hilarious and feature a raft of different animation styles including ones based on classic anime and even South Park.
Mind Over Mutant’s lukewarm reception saw the Crash franchise enter an almost decade long hiatus on console before 2017’s superb N. Sane Trilogy reignited interest in the series.
21. Crash Team Rumble (2023)
After the successful reinvigoration of the Crash series on console following the N. Sane Trilogy, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, franchise owners Activision had a decision to make.
What should the next Crash Bandicoot game be? The series covered various genres including platforming, racing and party games, but the gaming landscape was changing.
Several live service games and multiplayer hero titles had secured almost bottomless revenue streams, and so Activision tasked developers Toys For Bobs to create a similar title in the Crash universe.
The result is Crash Team Rumble, an online multiplayer four versus four game where players compete to control the map by collecting Wumpa fruit and toppling their opponents. There’s some strategy involved by utilising each character’s unique abilities to defeat enemies and control key map points.
While each of the playable characters is fun to control, the core gameplay quickly becomes repetitive and the gorgeous visuals marred by extensive monetisation in each game mode.
22. Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island (2009)
Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island bridges the gap between Crash Of The Titans and Crash: Mind Over Mutant and is the only game on this list to be a BlackBerry exclusive. We don’t get many of those at Retro Dodo!
The game opens with Crash snoring his head off, as per usual. He’s woken by a fellow Bandicoot that informs him that Dr. Cortex has kidnapped his sister Coco.
Mutant Island consists of three different themed zones where Crash must find and employ the legendary Titans to help him overcome Cortex’s forces.
Despite some charming sprites, Mutant Island suffers from slow and dull gameplay where enemies seem nonplused by Crash’s spinning and jumping.
The side scrolling platforming action is mostly solid however with the usual array of Wumpa fruit, keys and gems ready to be snatched up by the zany ‘coot.
23. Crash Boom Bang! (2006)
Crash’s sophomore party game is the epitome of the difficult second album. Crash and co. spin onto the Nintendo DS in a series of minigames in an game that will feel familiar to anybody’s that dabbled in a little Mario Party action.
There’s a plot loosely tying each minigame together, that sees Crash and his ensemble racing to secure the ‘Super Big Power Crystal’. It’s goofy but demonstrates that Crash Boom Bang! isn’t completely devoid of the classic Crash charm.
So how does Crash Boom Bang! actually play? Unfortunately, not well. Players must use the Nintendo DS touchscreen for a majority of the games and the experience is unresponsive at best and unplayable at worst.
Wonky AI also means non-player characters show a lack of understanding of how to play the minigames, resulting in uneven and unrewarding gameplay.
This dull and somewhat lifeless entry in the Crash Bandicoot series is best left in the bargain bin at your local retro store.
