Hang Eight

Hang Eight is the third level of the first warp room in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. It reprises the "stream" level archetype from the original Crash Bandicoot, where Crash must travel up a stream and avoid falling in the water. A new element is added to the level where Crash must ride around in a jet board and avoid hazards, which would include water mines, whirlpools, piranhas, venus fly traps, and falling in the water.

Level design
The level takes place in a river deep in the jungle. This and the levels Air Crash and Plant Food are based on the levels Upstream and Up the Creek from the first Crash Bandicoot game. Crash will be exploring a river filled with monstrous venus fly traps and piranhas jumping out of the water. The meandering path he traverses is made up of ancient tribal stones, suggesting that the path may have been created by a native tribe long ago. While progressing through the level, Crash must avoid jumping in the water as that will cost him a life. In addition, there will be moving platforms and hippos that require Crash to time his jumps. The hippos will not cause any damage to Crash, but they will immerse themselves in the water a few seconds after Crash jumps on their back, only to resurface a few seconds later.

The main feature in this level is the new jet board. Crash must ride the jet board over ramps and fences while avoiding a number of objects along the way. The main obstacle he must worry about are the water mines floating in the water. Crashing into one of these mines may cause him to lose his Aku Aku mask or even a life. He must also watch out for whirlpools lining the water, as they will suck him up if he is not careful of them. At one point in the level, if the player has a blue gem from Turtle Woods, they can take a secret path that contains more crates. The other clear gem is obtainable by activating the timer, that automatically starts just before Crash makes it to the first jet, and reaching the end of the level before the time runs out without dying.

Types of crates

 * Aku Aku Crate
 * Basic Crate
 * Bounce Crate
 * Checkpoint Crate
 * Crash Crate
 * ! Crate - standard (blue gem path only)
 * Iron Crate (bonus round and blue gem path only)
 * Nitro Crate (blue gem path only)
 * Nitro Switch Crate (blue gem path only)
 * Outline Crate (blue gem path only)
 * ? Crate
 * TNT Crate (bonus round only)

Stage parameters

 * Aku Aku Crates: 2


 * TNT Crates: 1 (1 in bonus/none in special passage)


 * Nitro Crates: 11 (none in bonus/11 in special passage)


 * Other Crates: 60 (11 crates in bonus)

Enemies

 * Venus Fly Traps - Crash will come across these monstrous plants regularly in the level. They will attack Crash by snapping their jaw towards his body. They will usually block the path that Crash is traveling on, meaning that Crash will have a hard time avoiding them. The safest way to defeat these vicious plants is by jumping towards them when they snap at Crash, then spin them away when they get near him.
 * Fish - These fish will attack Crash by jumping out of the water and snapping their jaw in midair. Crash can avoid these fish by ignoring them when they are inside of the water. However, he is able to defeat them if he times his jumps perfectly. Once the fish jump into midair, Crash must jump towards them and spin them away at the right time.
 * Water Mines - During the jet board areas of the level, Crash will come across mines floating in the water. The mines act as obstacles that Crash must avoid while steering the boat. The mines can either be stay immobile or will glide across the water. If Crash crashes into a mine without carrying an Aku Aku mask, his boat will explode and cause him to lose a life.
 * Whirlpools - In the jet board areas of the level, Crash will come across few whirlpools in the water. If he drives his boat into the middle of one, they will cause him to be sucked into the vortexes and cause him to lose a life. Crash can speed through the whirlpools with the jet-boats when he is near them.

Trivia

 * The level name is a pun on the surfer dude saying "Hang 10". Since bandicoots only have eight toes, the level's name is "Hang Eight" instead.
 * This level is the first in the series to have a time trial.
 * This level is also the first in the series to contain sections on foot and vehicle sections in the same level.
 * Originally, this level was only going to contain one gem.