Bonus Round

Bonus Rounds are a type of alternative route in a level that are accessible through exploring the standard path of a level. Out of all three types of alternative routes, (Bonus Rounds, Gem Paths and Death Routes) the bonus round is the most easily accessed. Unlike the other two alternative routes, the bonus round has no special qualifications for entrance. If the player dies while in the bonus round in the first Crash Bandicoot game, the player cannot return to it until they re-enter the level altogether. If the player dies while in the bonus round in the later games however, the player will nearly be returned to the bonus round platform without losing a single life. The only penalty of dying in the bonus round is losing all of the Wumpa Fruit, lives, and smashed Crate tallies obtained while in there. Once completed however, the bonus round cannot be accessed again until the player re-enters the level. Bonus rounds appear in all games up until Crash Twinsanity, where they were removed due to a three dimensional world design for levels in the game. They do make a reappearance in the Nintendo DS version of Crash of the Titans, however.

Crash Bandicoot
The bonus rounds that appear in the original Crash Bandicoot are triggered by collecting three different types of character tokens: Tawna, N. Brio, and Cortex tokens. In order to activate the bonus round, Crash must collect all three tokens for one of these characters in a single level to access it. The tokens can either be found lying around in the level or hidden inside of crates. Once Crash collects all three tokens of a certain character in a level, he will be transported to their respective bonus round area where he will be able to break crates and gain extra lives. He will be able to save in certain bonus rounds by going onto a Transport Pad. The bonus rounds do not affect the total amount of crates Crash must collect in a level.


 * Tawna Token - These are the most common tokens and are found in almost every level. When Crash collects three Tawna tokens, he will be transported to a forest-type environment where he will be able to break boxes and collect lives. At the end of the bonus round, Tawna will be standing by a portal and allows Crash to save his progress and to be given a password. Once Crash collects all of the Tawna tokens in a single level, he will not be allowed to participate in that bonus round again until the level is re-entered.


 * N. Brio Token - These tokens are uncommon and only appear in a handful of levels. When Crash collects three Brio tokens, he will be transported into a cave-like area. Brio bonus rounds are filled with TNT Crates and tricky jumps. Crash will be able to collect additional lives and Wumpa Fruit in this level. Unlike the other two bonus rounds, Crash can still participate in Brio rounds after completing one in a certain level. Brio Rounds do not allow Crash to save his progress however. The music in these bonus rounds is the same music heard in N. Brio's boss fight.


 * Cortex Token - These tokens are extremely rare and appear in only two levels (Sunset Vista and Jaws of Darkness). Most of these tokens are well hidden and are very hard to obtain. When Crash collects three Cortex tokens, he will be transported to a dungeon-like stage. Crash must travel through a path of TNT Crates in order to get to the end of the bonus round. Once Crash reaches the end of the level, Cortex will fly away, dropping a key for Crash to use that will unlock a secret level on the map, which are required to gather all of the gems in the game. The bonus round here will save Crash's progress unlike the N. Brio bonus round. These challenges are extremely difficult since the player only gets one chance. If the player fails, they must complete the level and then go back through it, collecting the tokens again.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back through Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
The bonus rounds that appear in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and later installments are all accessed by a special platforn in a level. When Crash utilizes the platform, he will fall, be teleported or transported to a special section of a level that is similar to the level or warp room's theme. In these bonus rounds, Crash can collect additional Wumpa Fruit, lives, and smashed crate tallies. Crash must collect the crates in the bonus round in order to collect the clear gem at the end of the level. If Crash dies in a bonus round, he will be allowed to retry it as many times as desired without losing a life. Crash will occasionally have to perform special techniques and tasks in later bonus rounds, an idea beginning in Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Unlike the previous bonus round style, the one used in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and in Crash Bandicoot: Warped displays the Wumpa Fruit, life, and smashed crate tallies at the bottom at all times, only added to the main tallies after the bonus round is complete. When the player exceeds 100 Wumpa Fruit in a bonus round, instead of a cyclical tally with a life being obtained after every one hundred fruit, the Wumpa Fruit tally will just continue to add up until the round is complete.

Crash Team Racing
The bonus rounds that appear in Crash Team Racing are accessed by beating an area's boss. To enter the bonus round, all the player has to do is drive onto a purple warp platform. The bonus round requires the player to collect all 20 Crystals before the time runs out. If successful, the player earns a purple CTR token. These levels include Skull Rock in the N. Sanity Beach area, Rampage Ruins in The Lost Ruins area, Rocky Road in the Glacier Park area, and Nitro Court in Citadel City.

Trivia

 * The bonus round in level 21, Crash and Burn, of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the only of all series to have a Aku Aku crate along the way.
 * Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is the only game in which Coco can play the bonus rounds and that they play from left to right as well as from right to left, while all other games have only Crash having run from left to right only.
 * Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and N-Tranced are the only games where, after completing the bonus rounds, they act as checkpoints.
 * Originally, there was going to be a minigame that led to the bonus round in Crash 1.
 * If you look carefully, most bonus rounds are in the form of the famous Super Mario Bros.