Crash Bandicoot

Celebrating 25 years since jorts became high fashion

Now known for harrowing cinematic hits like The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog got its start creating “Sonic’s Ass Game”. You’ll know it as Crash Bandicoot – the devs gave the platformer its nickname because you spend most of your time staring at the hero’s behind.

Back in ’96 PS1 was so new, there weren’t many 3D genre tropes. Naughty

Dog sought to crack the three-dimensional platformer code. While some turn their noses up at Crash’s rigid levels and runner-like gameplay, for many it defined the genre for a new generation.

Reader @Byronb_86 has a scandalous admission: “25 years since I fell in love with a bandicoot.” It’s almost hard to believe it’s been so long (“It is a scandal how old I am!” he admits). Yet, that’s exactly what makes it special for so many: it arrived at a pivotal gaming moment, alongside the birth of PlayStation. For a long time, Crash was something of a mascot for the brand.

SPINNING UP

“First videogame franchise I’ve ever played, the whole reason why I’m into platformers in general, more so than other genres in gaming,” says @tabreezsiddique. While the genre has waned lately, platformers were huge on PS1. In part, thanks to the popularity of the spinning bandicoot himself.

What grew into a trilogy of loved games (check out remaster N.Sane Trilogy on PS4 for a modern twist) became a must-play on the system. En Gee couldn’t help themselves: “I remember getting a PlayStation and Crash bundle for Christmas that year… I found out where my folks hid it and managed to get a few goes on it while they were still at work after I got home from school... the hard bit was putting it back in the box!” At times notoriously tough, it’s a platformer that even when revisited is hard to put down. Not bad for a title pushing 25.

Even more than the others, the first Crash has some notoriously demanding levels. Simply finishing some of them is a thrill.

INFO PUB Sony Computer Entertainment DEV Naughty Dog RELEASED ON PS1 RELEASE 1996 IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY THIS… There’s a wealth of beloved cartoon animal platformers – Spyro, Gex, and Croc, for starters. But if you want a deep cut, try Bugs Bunny: Lost In Time, released for PS1 in 1999.