Coco Bandicoot

Lore & Background

The story begins when the ruins of Doctor Neo Cortex's space station crash-land on Earth, unleashing Uka Uka, Aku Aku's evil twin brother. Uka Uka recruits the time-obsessed Doctor Nefarious Tropy to help gather crystals and gems from different eras to enslave the planet. At the Bandicoots' home, Aku Aku senses this threat and leads Crash and Coco to the Time-Twisting Machine. This device acts as the game's hub, split into five chambers where players access portals to various historical levels. The narrative follows the siblings traveling through time to prevent villains like Tiny Tiger, Dingodile, and Doctor N. Gin from collecting these artifacts. Upon defeating all five bosses and gathering every crystal, the Time-Twisting Machine implodes. This event traps Uka Uka in a timeless prison alongside Cortex and Tropy, who are transformed into infants.

In Their Own Story

Crash and Coco start their journey with five lives each. The gameplay loop involves entering levels via portals from the Time-Twisting Machine to locate hidden crystals. Some crystals are found at the end of stages, while others require completing specific challenges. In certain levels, a "Bonus Platform" grants access to special areas where players can collect items without losing lives. After clearing five levels in a chamber, a sixth button appears to unlock a boss fight; defeating these bosses unlocks the next chamber. The game concludes only when all 25 crystals are found and all five bosses are defeated. Beyond crystals, the duo hunts for 45 gems (including 5 colored ones) by breaking every crate or completing secret areas. They also compete in "Time Trial" modes to earn Sapphire, Gold, or Platinum Relics by racing against the clock and freezing time with numbered crates.

Reader's Guide

Players control both Crash and Coco as they navigate levels using unique abilities. Crash can jump on enemies, spin like a tornado, slide, and perform body slams. Defeating bosses expands these moves. Boxes play a critical role: Check Point boxes save progress, TNT boxes explode after a three-second fuse when jumped on, and Nitro boxes detonate on contact. A green box with an exclamation point can detonate all Nitro boxes simultaneously, which is necessary to obtain level gems. To earn Relics, players must re-enter a level after collecting its crystal, touch the floating stopwatch to start a Time Trial, and break numbered yellow crates (1, 2, or 3) to freeze the timer for that many seconds. Collecting the first five Relics unlocks a level in the "Secret Warp Room," with every subsequent set of five unlocking another. These Secret Warp Room levels must be won to complete the game.

Did You Know?

• In Japan, *Crash Bandicoot: Warped* surpassed the sales of its two predecessors and became the first non-Japanese PlayStation title to sell over 1 million copies in the country.
• The game was developed by Naughty Dog with a budget of over $2 million in just ten and a half months starting January 1998.
• Doctor Nefarious Tropy's character design, including his wearable time-traveling device, was conceptualized on January 22, 1998, following initial descriptions by Naughty Dog staff.
• Dingodile was conceptualized by employee Joe Labbe II as a cross between a dingo and a crocodile, with Zembillas drawing the first sketches on February 4, 1998.
• A real shadow was added to the Crash character at the specific request of Sony Computer Entertainment America producers who were tired of "that little discus that's following him around."