RANKING: CRASH BANDICOOT [ORIGINAL TRILOGY]
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Thirty years ago today, on September 9, 1996, a genetically engineered bandicoot named Crash made his debut on the original PlayStation and quickly became one of gaming’s most recognizable characters.
Created by Naughty Dog, the original Crash Bandicoot TRILOGY helped establish the PlayStation as a home for colorful, character-driven 3D platformers. Across three releases, Naughty Dog expanded Crash’s world, refined its gameplay, introduced memorable characters and pushed the technical limits of the PlayStation hardware.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Crash’s debut, we’re looking back at the original trilogy — Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped — and ranking them from worst to best.
CRASH BANDICOOT 2: CORTEX STRIKES BACK
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Release date: November 6, 1997 — North America
European release: December 5, 1997
Japanese release: December 18, 1997
Cortex convinces Crash that he has changed and wants to save the world from an approaching planetary alignment. Crash must collect crystals scattered throughout different environments — while N. Brio secretly encourages him to collect gems instead.
The game ultimately became one of the best-selling PlayStation titles, with Guinness listing approximately 7.58 million copies sold.
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CRASH BANDICOOT
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Release date: September 9, 1996 — North America
European release: November 8, 1996
Japanese release: December 6, 1996
Crash is an ordinary bandicoot who is genetically mutated by Dr. Neo Cortex and Dr. Nitrus Brio. After escaping Cortex’s experiments, Crash sets out to stop Cortex and rescue Tawna, another bandicoot who has been captured by Cortex. The original Crash Bandicoot established the foundation for everything that followed: the characters, Wumpa Islands, crates, Aku Aku, Cortex, Coco’s eventual introduction and Naughty Dog’s distinctive approach to 3D platforming. It was also an enormous commercial success, eventually selling approximately 6.82 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games on the original PlayStation.
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CRASH BANDICOOT 3: WARPED
© NAUGHTY DOG | SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT
Release date: November 3, 1998 — North America
European release: December 11, 1998
Japanese release: December 17, 1998
When an ancient evil known as Uka Uka is released, Cortex and his allies attempt to manipulate time to conquer the world. Crash and Coco travel through different historical periods to collect crystals and stop them.The game ultimately sold around 7.13 million copies, according to the figures cited by Guinness World Records.
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