Once considered the PlayStation’s mascot (though never officially), Crash Bandicoot went from being called the Mario of the PS1 to starring in a string of mostly-disappointing games following his initial platformer trilogy and first kart racing game. That isn’t to say that all Crash games for the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and beyond were bad– though some certainly were– just that they weren’t top-tier, AAA experiences like the early titles.
Fortunately, the wiry marsupial has seen a resurgence in recent years, first with remasters of his greatest adventures and now with a brand new title on the way that looks to be in the style of the games that made him famous. And as we look forward to Crash’s future, we thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on his past, both the triumphs and the tragedies. Note: As this feature focuses on Metacritic scores and that site didn’t launch until 1999, you won’t find Crash’s first two games on the list.
10 Best: The Huge Adventure (78 Metascore, 7.9 User Score)
There had been side-scrolling segments in the Crash games from the beginning, so there was already a template for how to do a game in that style once the series came to Game Boy Advance. The Huge Adventure– get it, because it was on a handheld system?– was a pretty by-the-numbers platformer, but considering how much utter garbage there was on the GBA, it was nice to see a Crash game that actually had some thought and care put into it.
9 Worst: Nitro Kart (66 Metascore, 7.8 User Score)
Not many kart racing games can claim to be on the same level as Mario Kart, but Crash Team Racing was one of those games. Sadly, it was also the final Crash game from original developer Naughty Dog, and none of its four-wheeled sequels could quite recapture that magic. Some got close– Tag Team Racing was pretty solid– but Nitro Kart just didn’t quite get there. And if you had a GameCube, you were too busy playing Mario Kart: Double-Dash to bother with a mediocre kart racer.
8 Best: N-Sane Trilogy (80 Metascore, 8.5 User Score)
More than remasters but not quite remakes, the N-Sane Trilogy walks the line between old-school feel and new-school graphics wonderfully, adding some necessary quality-of-life improvements to the original Crash trilogy but leaving behind just enough of the original elements to make the games feel authentic (read: maddeningly difficult at times). It felt like a practice run for a brand new Crash game in that style, which turned out to be accurate once Crash 4 was announced and looked to be a continuation of the N-Sane versions of the first three games.
7 Worst: Twinsanity (64 Metascore, 8.3 User Score)
After years of mostly linear Crash games, Twinsanity finally brought the franchise up to the standards of its 2000s peers by featuring a more open-ended, free-roaming set-up. It was also unique in that it was structured as something of a reluctant buddy comedy with Crash and Cortex teaming up– but without a co-op option which felt like a missed opportunity. It was a well-meaning attempt to finally modernize Crash and a decent enough game, but it was still too little, too late compared to what other platformers were doing by that time.
6 Best: Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (84 Metascore, 5.8 User Score)
After the N-Sane Trilogy was a major success for Activision, it was a given that they were going to look to more games in the series to give that treatment. Unfortunately, there was only one game left that was universally hailed as a classic: Crash Team Racing, which they reworked into Nitro-Fueled. It feels a little light content-wise compared to N-Sane, and Activision pulled some shenanigans with DLC that soured the experience a bit, but it’s still one of the best kart racers ever made redone with modern graphics.
5 Worst: Wrath Of Cortex (62 Metascore, 7.1 User Score)
After Naughty Dog stepped away from the Crash Bandicoot franchise and moved onto Jak & Daxter, nobody quite knew what to expect from the former series going forward. Mario Party rip-off Crash Bash was fine but unremarkable, and it wasn’t until Wrath of Cortex that the first platformer in the series post-Naughty Dog was released. The result was a game that just kind of… there. It certainly wasn’t bad, but there was basically nothing special or unique about it, either. It was the very definition of “going through the motions.”
4 Best: Crash Team Racing (88 Metascore, 9.0 User Score)
No matter where you stood during the battle between the N64 and the PS1, one thing was clear: N64 had Mario Kart 64 and PS1 didn’t. At least, not until Crash Team Racing was released and, unabashed Mario Kart rip-off though it was, it gave MK64 a run for its money in almost every way. It even managed four-player split-screen with a rock-solid framerate, something very few PS1 games pulled off (or even attempted). And, if you ask us, it aged a little better than Mario Kart 64, too.
3 Worst: Mind Over Mutant (45 Metascore, 5.4 User Score)
The console version of Mind Over Mutant takes the Crash formula and re-tools it as a more action-focused game, at times ever feeling like a straight-up beat-em-up. And, especially as far as latter-day Crash games go, it’s pretty fun– that is, as long as you’re playing one of the console versions (the Wii incarnation being the best of the bunch). The DS port is an absolute abomination, looking like it was thrown together in about six months by how ugly the graphics are and how unpolished and clunky the gameplay is.
2 Best: Warped (91 Metascore, 9.0 User Score)
Finishing off the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy was Warped, which not only saw the most refined platforming gameplay and level design of the series but also introduced a variety of other play styles into the mix. Whether you’re having dogfight in a biplane, piloting a submarine, or playing a glorified game of Road Rash, there’s never a dull or poorly-implemented moment in Warped and it still stands as one of the best platformers of all time, even when bringing heavy hitters like Mario into the conversation.
1 Worst: Crash Boom Bang (37 Metascore, 4.6 User Score)
What in the world happened here? Crash Bash might have been a passable Mario Party clone for its time, but it wasn’t a concept that needed revisiting– especially not on the DS. And yet, here came Crash Boom Bang, a game that is even lamer than its cringe-worthy title suggests. Nothing about this “party game” is worth celebrating, from the abysmal graphics to the terrible minigames that are as shallow as they are painful to play. Stay far, far away from this embarrassing game.
Next: Crash Bandicoot Vs. Spyro The Dragon: Who Is PlayStation’s Best Platforming Mascot?
