Crash Bandicoot is one of the most popular platformer mascots of all time. In the late 90s, he almost surged to the role of PlayStation mascot, before switching to multi-platform releases withCrash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. And while his popularity would slowly begin to fade during the 00s, he made a great comeback in 2017 with the release ofCrash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which was the beginning of a new era for the bandicoot celebrity.
As it happened to Mario before, Crash’s popularity lead to the creation of many spin-offs based on the series. Over the years, players have seen Crash test his abilities on karts, at parties, and more. But whichCrash Bandicootspin-off games are the best?
6Crash Boom Bang!
Crash Boom Bangis the spiritual successor toCrash Bashnobody asked for. The game was released in 2006, exclusively for Nintendo DS. Instead of replicating theCrash Bashformula, which was essentially just a minigames collection,Crash Boom Bang!attempts to recreate a completeMario Partyexperience by adding board gameplay to the mix. And while that may sound good on paper, the idea is very poorly executed.
First off, board gameplay makes little to no sense. Instead of having a set number of turns, players need to race towards the end of the board while also completing certain objectives, or else they won’t be able to access the finish line. However, the winner is decided by who has the most points at the end of the game, so a first place in the “board race” is not equal to a win. Other than that, mini games are simply abysmal and one of the worst examples of touch-screen use on the system. Not even die-hardCrash Bandicootfans will find enjoyment in this game, and it’s not surprising that many consider itone of the worst games of all time.
5Crash Tag Team Racing
Crash Tag Team Racingis the third kart game in theCrashseries, and is the worst one by far. The game introduces a clashing mechanic, that allows players to “clash” with an opponent’s kart to create one single vehicle, where one character is driving, and the other is shooting other racers. While the idea might have been interesting on paper, it’s completely unbalanced, making racesutterly uninteresting and insultingly simpleonce you know which characters combination works best.
Not only that, but the game has some of the most boring track-design the series has ever seen. There’s a reason why not a single track for the game was brought back fromCrash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. One thing this game did right are the platforming bits, which were a surprising addition for a racing game, but resulted in being the most fun part of the experience. Sure, there are many better platforming stages in this series, but this is quite a nice addition in a game that would’ve probably been hard to recommend otherwise.
4Crash Nitro Kart
Crash Nitro Kartis the second kart game in theCrashseries, and while it is unfortunately nowhere as good as the first entry, players looking for agreat arcade-style racing game on PS2can still have a good time with this game.Crash Nitro Kartbrings back the adventure mode that made the first game famous, but this time players can choose between teams of three racers with each member of the team having different statistics to better suit any play style.
Track-design is quite good too. There are some incredible tracks in the game, and luckily they have been given a second chance to shine onCrash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. What makes the game fall flat is the driving itself. The game has barely any sense of speed, and it’s much less satisfying to play when compared to its predecessor. Surprisingly, the Game Boy Advance port of the game provides a better experience for the system it runs on, delivering a good sense of speed on handheld.
3Crash Bash
Crash Bashis the only worthy party game in the franchise so far, andis a blast to play with friends. While the game may look like aMario Partyclone, it does have enough personality to set it apart from Nintendo’s party offering. For starters, there are no boards to be found inCrash Bash. Instead, the game has an adventure mode where players need to complete each and every mini game multiple times, with varying and increasingly more challenging stipulations.
The adventure mode provides some serious dumb fun, especially if played together with a friend. What holdsCrash Bashback from greatness is the severe lack of content. There are only 28 mini games, and most of them are basically the same four to five mini games repeated with different rules. To put things in perspective,Mario Party 3, which came out in the same year, had 71 mini games, plus boards.
2Crash Team Rumble
Crash Team Rumbleis the latest spin-off addition to the franchise, and is easily one of the best. The game takes the core platforming gameplay the series is known for and transforms it in a competitive 4v4 battle, that takes cues from many different gaming genres while also providing a fresh and unique experience.Every character has unique abilities to use, which make for a very different playstyle based on the character the player chooses.
And while the game was initially lacking in content, subsequent updates managed to add much more stuff to do, ranging from new competitive game modes,new powers to pick for every hero, co-op mini games, and more. Sadly, the game suffered from a poor marketing campaign, which left many players in the dark about the game’s gameplay or even about its very existence. Still, this is a must-play for everyCrash Bandicootfan, especially for those who love Crash’s platforming gameplay first and foremost.
The best Crash Bandicoot spin-off game is easilyCrash Team Racing, which shares the spot with its remake,Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. While the game may seem like a standardMario Kartclone, it has a completely different feel to it. There is also an incredibly fun adventure mode, which takes players through every track in the game, providing some extra challenges for them to complete. Of course, multiplayer is the best part of the game, and it provides everlasting fan when playing with friends.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueledis a 1:1 remake of the game, and that’s the reason why it shares the spot with its original counterpart. The game however adds a ton of extra content. Every track fromCrash Nitro Kartis in the game as well, plus there are completely new tracks and characters along with a whole customization suite for karts that were completely absent in the original game. This is, without the shadow of a doubt, the definitive way to experienceCrash Team Racingwhich was alreadyone of the best arcade racing games of all time.
