Plant Food

Plant Food is the eleventh level in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. It is the third and final stream-themed level in the game, in which Crash gets to ride his jet-board! As in Hang Eight, a timer will activate if Crash reaches the first checkpoint in time; because this level is harder, if the player is able to make it to the end of the stage before time runs out, his reward will be the ultra-rare Yellow Gem for his masterful efforts. Venus Fly Traps dominate this stretch of stream, being more plentiful here than in any other level in the series, and placed such that the time trial almost requires the player to have Aku Aku handy to take a hit or two.

Trivia

 * While it is theoretically possible that this level's name could be referring to "fertilizer", sometimes referred to as "plant food", it is far more likely to be a reference to fan-favorite street drug "4-methylmethcathinone", aka "mephedrone", which is also sometimes referred to as "plant food". This is appropriate, as trying to achieve the Time Trial Yellow Gem in this stage can send players into a violent mouth-foaming fit of convulsions, exactly like the drug.
 * Because of the excess of Venus Fly Traps (aka Piranha Plants) in this level, it is obviously an exact remake of World 7, "Pipe Land", of rival Nintendo's NES game Super Mario Bros. 3. It can be assumed that this was Naughty Dog's way of telling Nintendo that they would like to make a brand-new Mario game if only they were allowed to develop for the N64, though Nintendo somehow missed the obvious hint.