Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a platform game and the sequel to Crash Bandicoot. It was developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation and released in the United States of America on the Halloween of 1997.

Taking place in and around the fictional N. Sanity Island, Crash Bandicoot 2 follows the anthropomorphic bandicoot Crash. Crash is abducted by the series villain 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 N. Sanity Island 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, who is suspicious of Cortex's true intentions, and partially by N. Brio, who tries to convince Crash to gather Gems instead of Crystals.

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 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, so that Brio may use the Gems to destroy Cortex. 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 human being 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, temporarily ending Cortex's threat... for now, that is.

Intro Story
The Intro can be viewed here.

Ending Story
The ending can be viewed here.

100% Ending Story
The 100% ending can be viewed here.

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.


 * Warp Room 1 (N. Sanity Island)
 * Turtle Woods (Crystal, Clear Gem and Blue Gem)(Jungle)
 * Snow Go (Crystal, Clear Gem and Red Gem)(Snow) *
 * Hang Eight (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Waterfall)
 * The Pits (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Jungle)
 * Crash Dash (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Boulder)
 * Ripper Roo


 * Warp Room 2 (Snow)
 * Snow Biz (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Snow)
 * Air Crash (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Waterfall) *
 * Bear It (Crystal, Clear Gem)(Bear)
 * Crash Crush (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Boulder)
 * The Eel Deal (Crystal, Clear Gem and Green Gem)(Sewer)
 * The Komodo Brothers


 * Warp Room 3 (River)
 * Plant Food (Crystal, Clear Gem and Yellow Gem)(Waterfall)
 * Sewer or Later (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Sewer)
 * Bear Down (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Bear)
 * Road to Ruin (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Ruins) *
 * Unbearable (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Boulder)
 * Tiny Tiger


 * Warp Room 4 (Ruins)
 * Hangin' Out (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Sewer)
 * Diggin' It (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems) (Forest)
 * Cold Hard Crash (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Snow)
 * Ruination (Crystal, 2 Gems)(Ruins)
 * Bee-having (Crystal, Clear Gem and Purple Gem) (Forest)
 * Doctor N. Gin


 * Warp Room 5 (Cortex Space Station)
 * Piston it Away (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Space Station)
 * Rock It (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Jet Pack)
 * Night Fight (Crystal,2 Clear Gems)(Jungle)
 * Pack Attack (Crystal and Clear Gem)(Jet Pack)
 * Spaced Out (Crystal, 2 Clear Gems)(Space Station)
 * Doctor Neo Cortex

Maximum percentage: 100% (25 Crystals, 37 Gems, 5 Colour Gems, and all secret paths in the sixth warp room)
 * Warp Room 6 (Cortex Castle Ruins)
 * Totally Bear (Clear Gem)(Bear) **
 * Totally Fly (Clear Gem)(Jungle) **

If a level has a * marked next to them this level has an unlockable passage in the sixth warp room

Unless if a level has a ** marked next to them this level has a crystal

Normal
Directional buttons: Move

X: Jump

O: Crouch / Crawl

�: Spin

Directional buttons + O: Slide

X + O: Body Slam

O + X: High Jump

Directional buttons + O + X: Long Jump

O + X +�: Very High / Long Jump

Jet-ski
Directional buttons: Move

X: Speed Boost

Bear
West directional button: Move left

East directional button: Move right

X: Jump

O: Speed Boost

O + X: Long Jump

Hanging from meshes
Directional buttons: Move

X: Let go of meshes

�: Spin *

O: Legs Up *

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

Jet Pack
Directional buttons: Move

X: Move forward

�: Spin

O: Move backward

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

Trivia

 * 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 1, 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 appered in front of it.(The third island cannot be seen since presumably, you are already on it)
 * Each Warp Room (except for the fourth one and the sixth one) is based off of different level designs. Warp Room 1 is based off of Turtle Woods, and all of the forest levels. Warp Room 2 is based off of Snow Go and all the snow levels. Warp Room 3 is based off of The Eel Deal and the sewer levels. Warp Room 5 is based off of all it's levels except for Night Flight.