Rude Awakening

Rude Awakening is the first story level of N. Sanity Island and the first level of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time.

Overview
The opening starts with Cortex fighting a Crash mannequin. Nefarious Tropy calls Cortex to help them exit their time prison, indicating that they've been trapped there for over 20 years. Then, Uka Uka uses all of his power to open a quantum rift and gets exhausted. Cortex checks if Uka Uka is dead but N. Tropy tells Cortex to leave Uka Uka behind, stating that the evil mask has "served his purpose". Meanwhile, in N. Sanity Island, Aku Aku wakes Crash up and tells him about a great power having awakened from N. Sanity Peak. The two head there, grinding through the natives’ village and climbing a mountain along the way.

Normal Mode

 * The level is a beach and jungle.
 * The grind mechanic is introduced for the first time.
 * New enemies.

N. Verted Mode

 * The level is covered in darkness.
 * You can light up the level by performing a spin, slide or body slam, Crash himself emits a small light that pulsates every two seconds.
 * Level elements are colour-coded. Crash and checkpoint crates are light-blue, regular crates are brown, hazards such as enemies, TNT and pitfalls are red, ropes are green, platforms that fall are yellow and bumpa beries are magenta.
 * Music is distorted by flange which increases in depth when Crash performs a spin, slide or body slam.
 * The theming of the filter is based off submarine sonar radars.

Enemies/Hazards

 * Cantankerous Crab
 * Boar
 * Rolling Stone
 * Spider
 * Jungle Spirits
 * Water

Trivia

 * This level's music lifts the motif from the main theme in Crash Bandicoot.
 * This is the first level in the entire series to introduce the grinding mechanic.
 * The television next to the couch can be spun to show an image, sequentially showing the title screens of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and the title screen for It's About Time. Doing this 5 times will reward the player with the "Channel Surfer" trophy/achievement.
 * The radio can even be spun that plays that game's music depending on what's shown on the television.
 * If the player returns to Rude Awakening after achieving 106% completion and spins the TV 5 times, a mysterious logo will appear for a second before disappearing after the It's About Time title screen. The logo consists of a Wumpa Fruit with an orange dash above it and a blue dash below. This serves as a teaser for the then-upcoming game Crash Team Rumble.
 * A Spyro floatie can be seen on the beach.
 * The magnets on the fridge spell out Crunch.
 * The sombrero near the bar can be worn if it is spun on. As the player approaches the stage's first crate, a gust of wind will always blow the sombrero off.
 * The pattern on the purple surfboard matches the tattoo patterns on Crash's hands in Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind Over Mutant.