CRASH on PS2

Crash Bandicoot is one of the most well-known video game characters of the 90s, rivaling Mario and Sonic and becoming a kind of unofficial mascot for Sony. But what happened to him in the 2000s with the arrival of the PlayStation 2? Find out below:

Crash, like many characters of his time, began to lean towards the action genre, becoming more radical and "dark." This had already been happening since the second game in the series, but it intensified in the 2000s. The first game of the new millennium was Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, released in 2001. For the first time, Naughty Dog would no longer develop the franchise, and the game would become multiplatform, also being available for GameCube and Xbox. In this title, Cortex creates a genetically modified bandicoot named Crunch to stop Crash. The game would be criticized for not presenting anything particularly new, but it has the merit of introducing Crunch.

The premiere of Crunch

Moving away from the main franchise for a moment, I'd like to highlight Crash Team Racing, released in 2003. In this game, an alien kidnaps the main characters and says he wants to see them race, otherwise Earth will be destroyed (?).

In 2004, the fifth game in the main franchise, Crash Twinsanity, was released. To avoid repetition, they decided to throw everything up in the air and make the craziest game in the series. In this game, Crash and Cortex must team up to stop two new enemies; much of the new gameplay involves using Cortex as a hoverboard (?). There's also the unique feature of a third unlockable character: Nina. This title received positive reviews, largely due to its humor.

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Back in 2007, with Crash Titans, the formula changed completely. Now developed by Radical Entertainment, Crash became even further removed from his first, innocent version. He started sporting tattoos and bandages (because bandages are cool somehow). The premise revolved around a newly discovered substance, Mojo, which allowed the creation of an army of mutants. The novelty in gameplay consisted of riding the mutants, as opposed to the traditional Crash platforming. It was widely criticized by veterans of the franchise.

Image banned in 104 countries.

On the other hand, this version, released in the YouTube era, was responsible for the emergence of iconic AMVs on the platform (if you can call them that).

The original no longer exists; this is a remake

Then came Crash Mind Over Mutant (2008), in which Cortex creates the NV, a device capable of controlling minds. Crash, the only one unaffected (since he has no brain), has the mission of saving the world. It's basically the same gameplay as the previous one, but in an open world. It has the unique feature of mixing different animation styles in the creation of the cutscenes, ranging from puppets and South Park to an anime parody. It's also possible to play as Coco (but only in the Wii version).

It was considered slightly superior by critics, but fans fiercely (and unfairly) criticized it, calling it the worst in the franchise, along with Titans. Because of this, the franchise would enter a long hiatus...

*What ended it?

Crash for Playstation 2 ended up being somewhat forgotten, with the later games even causing a hiatus in the franchise. Be that as it may, Mind Over made its mark on the younger generation of gamers who hadn't yet come into contact with the classics of the first Playstation.

*Special bonuses

It's not a Playstation 2 game, but I'd like to highlight Crash Mutant Island, released in 2009 for mobile phones. A sort of sequel to Mind Over, it was highly praised and revolves around Crash having to save bandicoots captured by Cortex. The game's 2D graphics are a highlight.

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