The Lost City

Good, you've beaten the mad Ripper Roo, but can you beat The Lost City? - Level description

The Lost City is the twelfth level (including boss fights) and is the third level of the second island in Crash Bandicoot and is the first ancient ruins type of level. It includes enemies such as bats and lizards that jump around, as well as moving walls that push the player into the water or into a hole. It serves as a prelude to the later stage, Sunset Vista. Clearing this level will reward the player with the green gem. It's also the first level of the game and the entire series to contain a colored gem.

Types of crates

 * Arrow Crate - iron (Beta Tawna bonus round only)
 * Arrow Crate - wooden (not in Beta)
 * Basic Crate
 * Bounce Crate
 * Checkpoint Crate
 * Crash Crate (not in Beta)
 * ! Crate
 * Iron Crate (not in Beta)
 * Outline Crate
 * ? Crate
 * TNT Crate (only in the Brio bonus round)

Enemies
The only enemies in this level are "leaping lizards" and bats. The bats, like in similar levels, move in groups from one hanging bat to another. The only way to prevent the bats from returning is to spin away the two "bookend" bats. Spinning consecutive bats will earn the player extra wumpa fruit, even, if enough are hit, an extra life.

The "leaping lizards" hop from spot to spot, overall consisting of three separate areas to land on. These lizards can only be defeated by being jumped on when they are landing or readying for another leap. If spun they will knock Crash back.

Bonus level
When the three Brio icons are collected in the level, Crash is magically transported to a mine, deep below the surface, where they encounter a very challenging Brio bonus round. This bonus level focuses on the player's ability to keep their cool when working under the pressure of a TNT countdown. Overall, if the player is good with handling TNTs, the bonus level can be very simple and easily manageable.

Password
This is the prototype password corresponding to this level:

Crash - Papu Papu - Doctor Nitrus Brio - Koala Kong - Koala Kong - Pinstripe Potoroo

Environment/layout
The Lost City seems to be in a humid, swampy area of the island, hence the stones being covered and moss and the attraction of reptilian/amphibious life. The ruins may not even be abandoned at all, due to the fire still being lit and the continuous operation of the traps and obstacles throughout the level, which gives an eerie feel to the level, along with the haunting music accompanying the creepiness of the level.

Stage parameters

 * Aku Aku Crates: None.
 * TNT Crates: None.
 * Other Crates: 26
 * Tawna Bonus Round Crates: 33 (17 in Beta)
 * Brio Bonus Round Crates: 21
 * Cortex Bonus Round Crates: None.

Trivia

 * Several real world locations are referred to as "lost cities" as well, perhaps most notably the famous Lost City of Atlantis, said to have sunk into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune". Due to this undersea association, contemporary fantasy portrayals of Atlantis sometimes involve mermaids or "reverse mermaids", also tying into Cortex's well-known animal-crossing schemes surprisingly well.
 * This is the first level to feature a colored gem (except in the Japanese version where Hog Wild had a colored gem too).
 * This level goes inside and outside the temple.
 * The ! crate at the end of the level triggers the two nearby outline crates, but they get broken immediately. This is the only level in the series where outline crates are broken immediately by hitting the corresponding ! crate.
 * In the Japanese version, this level contains the red gem instead of the green gem.
 * In the Japanese version, this level's name is "(Use) Lizards to Big Jump" literally, which suggests this level's strategy.
 * In the prototype version, there is no splash animation, so Crash will always get the falling sound even if he falls into water.
 * The bats have much smaller hitboxes in the prototype, making them much easier to avoid.
 * The player can go out of bounds by spinning while being pushed during a narrow time-frame. The player must then repeatedly press X many times until Crash reaches the top of the invisible wall. Crash can then walk on it, avoiding every obstacle. The player can leave that area by simply jumping into the level again.
 * The second switch box in the prototype version of this level is much harder to get and survive due to an invisible wall.
 * This is the level with the most standalone Aku Aku masks in the game, having two.