Road to Nowhere

''Warning! This bridge is a Road to Nowhere! You can do it, but before that, win some lives or you may finish with a GAME OVER!'' - Level description

Road to Nowhere (きりの つりばしで lit. On the Foggy Suspension Bridge in Japanese) is the fourteenth level (including boss fights) and is the fifth level of the second island in Crash Bandicoot and is the first bridge type of level. It involves Crash running along several very old collapsing bridges, with several planks that fall when he walks on them casting him into the spike filled abyss below.

Level design
The entire level takes place on an old abandoned bridge that is overlooking a deep chasm filled with pointed rock-like structures protruding from the bottom of the chasm. At the beginning of the level, there is a giant "DANGER!" sign possibly warning individuals of the hazards of the bridge. The whole level is shrouded with a heavy fog, making it hard for an individual to see ahead. The bridge itself is worn out and falling apart in certain places. Certain planks on the bridge will collapse under one's feet if they stand in that place for too long. Likewise, there are various forms of wildlife roaming the bridge, including wild hogs and turtles. The bridge is also supported by large stone pillars, with the letter "C" engraved on each of the pillars, possibly referring to Dr. Neo Cortex.

Crash must cross the bridge in order to progress on the Wumpa Island. Since the entire bridge is shrouded in a heavy fog, Crash must take extreme caution when proceeding on the bridge. Since the bridge is old and worn out, many of the planks underneath his feet will begin to fall. Likewise, there are also many gaps he must jump over while crossing the bridge. While running across the bridge, he must look out for wild hogs. The hogs will run back and forth along the bridge, and cannot be defeated by any of Crash's moves. It is better for him to avoid the hogs as they can be jumped over easily. Crash will also come across turtles and turtle shells along the bridge, which he must use their shells to jump over even wider chasms.

Gem
In order to get all 33 crates and the clear gem, Crash must first get the red gem in the level Slippery Climb.

Types of crates

 * Aku Aku Crate
 * Arrow Crate - iron (only in the Tawna bonus round)
 * Basic Crate
 * Bounce Crate
 * Checkpoint Crate
 * Crash Crate
 * ! Crate (only in the red gem path)
 * Iron Crate (only in the red gem path and the Tawna bonus round)
 * Outline Crate (only in the red gem path)
 * ? Crate
 * Time Crate (1/2/3 seconds)
 * TNT Crate

Hazard Count

 * Hogs: 3
 * Turtles: 2

Stage parameters

 * Aku Aku Crates: 2 (1 hidden)


 * TNT Crates: 5 (4 hidden)


 * Other Crates: 26 (10 hidden)
 * Tawna Bonus Round Crates: 9
 * Brio Bonus Round Crates: None.
 * Cortex Bonus Round Crates: None.
 * Total Crates: 42

Enemies and obstacles

 * Wild Hogs - These wild hogs guard the bridge by running back and forth across it. Crash is unable to damage the hogs at all, so ignoring them is his best solution. Since the view of the bridge ahead is clouded by the fog, Crash must be wary while crossing the bridge as the hogs can be cloaked by the heavy fog. If you run into the Hog with an Aku Aku mask, you simply lose the mask, but the Hog doesn't die (this is fixed in the N Sane Trilogy)
 * Turtles - The turtles appear in certain sections of the bridge, acting as an obstacle in Crash's path. They can be easily defeated by spinning them away. Crash must use the turtle shells in certain sections of the bridge though to jump over wide gaps in the bridge. There are also idle turtle shells laying around the bridge, which Crash must use to maneuver around these large gaps.
 * Falling Planks - There are certain planks on the bridge that will fall once Crash walks on them. These planks can be distinguished by their dark brown color and chipped pieces in the base of the wood. When Crash walks on one of these planks, he must jump away as fast as he can so he doesn't fall into the chasm below.

Translation of Aku Aku Hints in the Japanese Version

 * The footings are weak here, and you have to advance with good tempo. Look at your own shadow carefully. Combine big jumps with small jumps. Hogs aren't on your side.

Trivia

 * Crash can jump onto the ropes and can walk on them. This is very helpful for time trials in the N. Sane Trilogy as players can skip across areas faster. One just needs to make sure their legs are on the middle of the rope.
 * The name of this level is a humorous reference to the song of the same name by the band Talking Heads.
 * In the prototype, Road to Nowhere is on the third island instead of the second one, and is located right before the other bridge-themed level, The High Road.
 * In the prototype, this level has iron and normal crates to the right of a rope on the right side of the bridge.
 * In the prototype, there is no red gem. The path that requires the red gem is not there. The second path is there, but it doesn't require the red gem (even in the final version) as Crash can jump over the portal and continue. The red gem was most likely added there, taking Crash over the portal, simply as a hint that there is a path on the other side.
 * The first red gem path's theme might be a hint that this level's geographic location is adjacent to the previous level in order, Temple Ruins.
 * This is the only level that has to be beaten twice in the US version but only once in the Japanese version, as the Japanese version has the red gem in the level The Lost City.
 * A glitch occurs at the password screen, where the names of this level and The High Road are reversed upon entering a password for a save point at either of these levels. This leads to speculation that the names of these levels were swapped at some point during the game's development.