Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (Japanese: クラッシュ・バンディクー2 コルテックスの逆襲!) is a platform game and the second game of the Crash Bandicoot series. It was developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation and released in the United States of America on the Halloween of 1997. It was also released on the PlayStation Network for download so it can be played on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.

Taking place at the three islands, Crash Bandicoot 2 focuses on a bandicoot under the name of Crash. Crash is abducted by the main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex, who has apparently turned over a new leaf and is now willing to save the world. Crash is then thrust into several parts of the islands in order to gather Crystals and allow Cortex to contain the power of the upcoming planetary alignment and keep the planet from being destroyed. He is joined by Coco, his sister, who is suspicious of Cortex's true intentions, and partially by Dr. Nitrus Brio, who tries to convince Crash to gather gems instead of crystals, in hope of destroying his arch-enemy, Cortex.

Story
Taking place right after the previous game's events, in which Crash fights Cortex on top of an Airship, Cortex is defeated, and the rocketsled he was standing on explodes. Cortex falls to the ground, and he lands in a mine, where he discovers a large Crystal, and has a flash of inspiration. One year later, he is seen in a space station, being told by his new assistant Dr. N. Gin that to harness the Master Crystal's power, he will require an additional 25 "Slave Crystals", which are scattered across the Earth. Cortex then abducts Crash (while he is searching for a spare battery for Coco's laptop) and persuades him to gather the Slave Crystals, telling him that he will use them to harness the power of the aligned planets and prevent Earth from certain doom.

Throughout his quest, Crash is contacted by his sister Coco, who is continuously searching into Cortex's scheme and trying to figure out what Cortex is really using the Crystals for, as well as Cortex's former assistant, Dr. Nitrus Brio, who tells Crash that if he truly wants to save the world, he must collect Gems instead of Crystals, but then Brio may use the Gems to destroy Cortex, who took credit for Brio's creation of the Evolvo-Ray. He is also Crash's primary opposing force, claiming to use all of his strength to prevent him from gathering crystals.

At the end, when all of the Crystals are collected, Coco reveals that Cortex actually intends to harness the force of the Crystals to turn every single creature on Earth into Cortex's mindless slaves with his new and improved Cortex Vortex, and Crash defeats Cortex once again, banishing him deep into space, but leaving his space station operational. After Crash gathers all 42 Gems, N. Brio uses the Gems to destroy Cortex's space station with a laser beam, leaving the station in space untill it crashes into a mysterious temple on earth.

Game
Crash Bandicoot 2's game play is largely similar to that of the original. However, there are some differences. Players make their way through a limited environment whilst breaking of crates, each of which containing some kind of bonus. Breaking all of a level's crates earns the player that level's clear gem. The player can collect additional clear and colored gems by finding and touching them. Colored gems activate secret areas. If a player collects all of the gems in the game, the secret ending is activated.

Crash has several moves: jump, spin attack, body slam, slide, duck, crawl, and an extra-high jump performed by sliding or ducking and then jumping. Stepping on a question-mark platform/trap door takes Crash to a bonus level. Going to special locations, where something is somehow out of place, brings Crash to one of five secret levels.

Also, if the player manages to reach a certain point in some levels without losing a single life, the player can hop onto a platform with a Skull and Crossbones logo on it. This takes Crash to another path in the level of the main path and contains boxes and other secrets one might notice not being found on the main path. This marked the first appearance of the Death Route.

Warp Room & Levels
There are six warp rooms, twenty-five main levels, five boss arenas, a bonus warp room with three secret entrances and two extra levels. Boss fights are in bold

Jungle
Levels similar to the jungle/forest/beach levels of the first Crash Bandicoot game. The final two take place in the dark, with Crash using a firefly to see. This element was later reused in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped in Bug Lite.
 * Intro/Demo
 * 1. Turtle Woods
 * 4. The Pits
 * 23. Night Fight
 * 27. Totally Fly

Snow
Levels that take place in the snow. Parts of it contain ice, in which when Crash walks on it, he gently slides while standing. The first part of these levels is 3D walking forward gameplay, which second part is side scrolling, and the final part returns to 3D gameplay, similar to the future levels of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped.
 * 2. Snow Go
 * 6. Snow Biz
 * 18. Cold Hard Crash

Stream
Swamp levels just like the ones from the first game, except with more enemies and detail.
 * 3. Hang Eight
 * 7. Air Crash
 * 11. Plant Food

Chase
Like the chase levels of the first game, except in a snowy region. The final level (Un-Bearable) of this type involves Crash being chased by a giant polar bear, and for part of the level while riding Polar.
 * 5. Crash Dash
 * 9. Crash Crush
 * 15. Un-Bearable

Polar
In these levels Crash rides Polar in a similar fashion to the levels with the hog in the first Crash game and the levels in ancient China with Pura in Crash 3. Some of the ice elements of the snow levels have been incorporated in these levels.
 * 8. Bear It
 * 13. Bear Down
 * 15. Un-Bearable (Last quarter of the level)
 * 26. Totally Bear

Sewer
These levels are set in sewers, in which Crash must avoid cleaning robots, lab assistants, and mutated animals. On some of these levels, there is a part where Crash hangs from metal wires. This reused in the Arabian levels of Crash 3.
 * 10. The Eel Deal
 * 12. Sewer or Later
 * 16. Hangin' Out

Ruins
These levels take place in ancient ruins, with thin platforms that break often. Similar to the Egyptian levels of Crash 3.
 * 14. Road to Ruin
 * 19. Ruination

Mountains
These levels take place in a mountainous region, filled with bees, bullet spitting Venus Fly Traps, and lumberjacks. In these levels Crash can dig into some parts of the ground (in a style similar to Bugs Bunny's) to avoid bees.
 * 17. Diggin' It
 * 20. Bee-Having

Mechanics
These levels put Crash in a futuristic factory-esque region. He faces robots and machines while making his way through the levels.
 * 21. Piston It Away
 * 25. Spaced Out

Jetpack
In these levels Crash flies around in a jetpack. This style of level was not used again in later games.
 * 22. Rock It
 * 24. Pack Attack

Boss-stages
There are 5 boss levels.
 * Boss 1. Ripper Roo - Fought on a platform surrounded by rivers. (most likely in the same area as the stream levels)
 * Boss 2. Komodo Brothers - Fought in a circus tent.
 * Boss 3. Tiny Tiger - Fought in a futuristic lab.
 * Boss 4. Dr. N. Gin - Fought in a space port.
 * Boss 5. Dr. Neo Cortex - Fought in an asteroid tube in space.

Normal
Directional buttons: Move

X: Jump

O or R1: Crouch / Crawl

Square: Spin

Triangle: View Inventory

Directional buttons + O: Slide

X + O or R1: Body Slam

O or R1 + X: High Jump

Directional buttons + O + X: Long Jump

O or R1+ X +Square: Very High / Long Jump

Jet-ski
Directional buttons: Move

X: Speed Boost

Polar
West directional button: Move left

East directional button: Move right

X: Jump

O: Speed Boost(hold down to keep it up)

O + X: Long Jump

Hanging from meshes
Directional buttons: Move

X: Let go of meshes

Square: Spin *

O: Legs Up *

If the control was marked with * it completely stops you from moving

Jet Pack
Directional buttons: Move(vertical controls are inverted)

X or L1: Move forward

Square: Spin

O or R1: Move backward

Digging
Square: Dive under (When on pink coloured ground)

Directional buttons: Move

X: Jump out

Others
Directional buttons (If you are on a select screen): Select

X (If you are on a select screen): Confirm

Triangle: Show Progress

Start: Resume / Pause Game

Easter Egg:In Warp Room 2, Belly Slam on Polar and you'll get lifes.

Trivia

 * You can choose to fight bosses again. On the platform in the middle of the Warp Room and press up while holding triangle then you'll be fighting the boss.
 * In the NTSC version of this game Tiny Tiger was misspelled as Taz Tiger in the pause screen. This was fixed in the PAL and Japanese versions. This is thought to be a prototype name that wasn't removed.
 * The Secret Warp Room is made of the ruins of Cortex Castle. The castle was destroyed in Crash Bandicoot, as it is seen as being on fire during the last boss fight. N. Brio uses it as the base for his laser beam.
 * The secret Warp Room also contains the 3D models of the first two islands in Crash Bandicoot, although they cannot be seen clearly if a portal has already appeared in front of it (The third island cannot be seen since presumably, you are already on it).
 * Each Warp Room is based off of different level designs. Warp Room 1 is based on Turtle Woods, and all of the forest levels. Warp Room 2 is based on Snow Biz and all the snow levels. Warp Room 3 is based on Sewer or Later and the sewer levels. Warp Room 4 is based on Diggin' It and Bee-Having. Warp Room 5 is based on all its levels except for Night Fight. The Secret Warp Room is based on Road to Ruin and all the ruin levels.
 * This game introduced Nitro Crates to the series.
 * During Nitrous Brio Holograms remixes of the Nitrous Brio boss fight theme from Crash Bandicoot can be heard.
 * A slight goof, regarding Crash's burning animation, involves Crash briefly turning into his Crash Bandicoot model before being reduced to cinders. This odd glitch also happens in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
 * Strangly the secret Warp Room almost looks like the Time Twister from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
 * Here's a way to get Cortex mad at you play any of the levels in the first Warp Room and don't get the Crystal. When you return Cortex will appear slightly annoyed do this a couple more times and Cortex will get angry.
 * In the Intro for Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped you can see Crash's, strangely bigger, old surfboard hanging on the wall.
 * His surfboard probably is so big that it is the size of Crash himself, most likely hindering him from riding it.
 * Both levels in the sixth Warp Room begin with the word "Totally".
 * This game is where Crash's pink boxers are first seen (when him and Polar run into an explosive Crate, or when Crash gets electrocuted). They are also visible in Crash 3.
 * One of Ripper Roo's books reads "CRASH
 * The Japanese version of the game features Aku Aku giving out hints to the player. This makes this game his first speaking appearance, and not actually Crash 3.
 * Coincidentally, there is an actual street in Louisiana called N. Gin Street.
 * As found by Hacc, Monty Hall was the original name for the Warp Rooms. If one takes a look at the game's coding, each Warp Room is listed as "obj_monty_hall". The same happens in Crash 3, since it was built on a Crash 2 basis. This is a reference to the game show host Maurice "Monty Hall" Halperin.

Puns and references

 * "Snow Biz": pun with "show-biz".
 * "Bear It", "Bear Down" and "Un-Bearable": pun on the noun "bear" and the verb "to bear". "Un-Bearable" is also a pun on the word "unbelieveable".
 * "Sewer or Later": pun on "sooner or later".
 * "Bee-Having": pun on "behaving".
 * "Rock It": possible pun with "rocket" (homophones).
 * "Pack Attack": Pun on "Hack attack".
 * In the cover of the game (see above), Crash isn't wearing his gloves. Naughty Dog wanted to say that "the gloves are off" with the sequel.==remixes==
 * The main theme is actually a remix of the one from the original game.
 * The same goes for all the character themes for everyone who's appeared in the first game (Cortex, Brio and Ripper Roo, although Brio's is basically just a sped-up version).