Bowling Bomb

''This article refers to a specific weapon in the Crash racing games. For other uses of bombs, see Bomb.''

Bowling Bombs are a weapon seen in most racing games of the Crash Bandicoot series. They are round black cherry bombs marked with a skull and cross-bones. Unlike the Homing Missile, a bowling bomb rolls in a straight line until it hits a wall, another kart, or an explosive. Racers can even fire the bowling bomb backwards as a surprise attack on incoming racers, or even to intercept other weapon attacks except the Warp Orb and Invincibility Mask. Players can manually detonate a bowling bomb by pressing the weapon button, a tactic that works if the bomb just barely misses the opponent's kart. Sometimes, players can get 3 bowling bombs from a single weapon crate, though no more than one bowling bomb can be used at a time.

When juiced up (i.e. 10 Wumpa Fruit have been collected by the player), the explosion radius of the bowling bomb becomes bigger, allowing racers to blast multiple karts with one roll. The bowling bomb is the main weapon of choice for boss racer Pinstripe in Crash Team Racing and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, who rolls them backwards to prevent the player from passing him. They are also used by the final boss Nitros Oxide in CTR, and the final boss Emperor Velo in Crash Nitro Kart. There is also a cheat code in CTR that gives the player an infinite supply of bowling bombs.

Crash Team Racing
"Normal - Roll these bombs at karts in front of you to blast them into a tumbling crash. They only roll straight ahead so carefully aim your release. You can also detonate the bomb before it hits something by pressing the button again after you've released it. If you're really good, you can sometimes get more than one kart in the blast radius. Juiced Up - Now the bomb has a bigger blast radius. NOTE: Sometimes you get three of the bowling bombs at a time."
 * Manual

"Normal: This bomb also rolls straight on the ground but it will track the next kart before exploding on impact with an opponent or a wall - creating a small blast radius. Juiced Up: The bomb will travel faster and has a larger blast radius. NOTE: Large Bowling Bombs come in sets of 1 or 3."
 * Prima strategy guide

Crash Nitro Kart
"When Velo goes bowling, he doesn't fool around! These bombs shoot out from your kart in a straight line until they explode against a wall or, hopefully, another kart! If your aim is a little off, you can detonate the bomb remotely when it's next to your target. To do this, just press the fire button again. Or if there's a kart (or missile) on your tail, hold down on the directional buttons or left analog stick and press the fire button to shoot the bomb backwards. Juiced - The bomb moves faster and the explosion radius is even bigger."
 * Console manual

"When Velo goes bowling, he doesn't fool around! These bombs shoot out from your kart in a straight line until they explode against a wall or, with luck, another kart! If your aim is a little off, you can detonate the bomb remotely when it's next to your target. To do this, just press the fire key again. If there's a kart (or missile) on your tail, hold +Control Pad Down and press the fire button to shoot the bomb backwards. Juiced - The bomb moves faster and the explosion radius is even bigger."
 * GBA manual

"When Velo goes bowling, he doesn't fool around! These bombs shoot out from your kart in a straight line until they explode against a wall or, with luck, another kart! If your aim is a little off, you can detonate the bomb remotely when it's next to your target. To do this, just press Power-up Key again. If there's a kart (or missile) on your tail, hold Controller Key Down and press Power-up Key to shoot the bomb backwards. Juiced - The bomb moves faster and the explosion radius is even bigger."
 * N-Gage manual

Appearances

 * Crash Team Racing
 * Crash Nitro Kart
 * Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
 * Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2
 * Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

Names in Other Languages
Bombe bowling