Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a 1997 platform game created by Naughty Dog and released by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the follow-up to Crash Bandicoot (1996) and part of the Crash Bandicoot series. The game takes place on a fictional group of islands near Australia. In this game, Crash Bandicoot, a human-like bandicoot, is captured by Doctor Neo Cortex, the main villain of the series. Cortex tricks Crash into believing he wants to save the world. Crash is sent to different areas of N. Sanity Island to collect crystals, which Cortex needs to control the power of a special event in space and prevent the planet from being destroyed. Crash’s sister, Coco, and Cortex’s former assistant, Doctor Nitrus Brio, try to warn Crash about Cortex. Brio advises Crash to collect gems instead of crystals.
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back received good reviews from critics and is often seen as better than the first game. Many praised the game’s graphics, controls, and music. Some criticism focused on the gameplay requiring repeated attempts to solve challenges, limited variety in levels, easy boss battles, and lack of new ideas for a platform game. The game became one of the most sold PlayStation games ever. It replaced the first game as the top-selling Western title in Japan at the time, selling over 800,000 copies there by April 1998. A remastered version was released in 2017 as part of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
Gameplay
Cortex Strikes Back is a platform game where the player controls Crash Bandicoot, the main character. The goal is to collect 25 crystals for Crash's enemy, Doctor Neo Cortex. These crystals are found in 25 levels, which are grouped into areas called "Warp Rooms." Each Warp Room contains five levels. To complete a level, Crash must collect its crystal and reach the end, which returns him to the Warp Room. After finishing all five levels in a Warp Room, the player must defeat a boss character to unlock the next Warp Room.
The player starts with a set number of lives. Lives are lost if Crash is attacked by an enemy, falls into water, or drops into a pit. If all lives are lost, the game ends. However, the player can continue by choosing "Yes" on the "Continue?" screen.
Crash can jump, spin in a tornado-like motion, slide, and perform a body slam. Jumping after a slide allows Crash to jump higher. These actions help defeat enemies, which block progress. Some enemies cannot be jumped on, while others require a body slam. Enemies with sharp necks, like certain lizards or robots, can only be defeated by sliding into them.
Boxes are important in the game and can be broken using Crash's abilities. Most boxes contain "Wumpa Fruit," which give an extra life when 100 are collected. Some boxes hold a Witch Doctor's Mask, which protects Crash from one attack. Collecting three masks in a row gives temporary protection from minor dangers. Boxes with upward arrows boost Crash's jump height and can only be broken with a spin attack. Boxes with an exclamation mark (!) make previously intangible objects solid. TNT Boxes explode after a three-second delay when jumped on, while Nitro Boxes explode on contact. Touching a green box with an exclamation mark detonates all Nitro Boxes in the level at once. Checkpoint boxes let Crash return to the last checkpoint if he loses a life. Completing all boxes in a level, including Nitro Boxes and those on alternate paths, earns a gem. Some gems can also be earned by finishing levels quickly or completing them without breaking boxes.
"Bonus Paths," marked by question marks on platforms, lead to secret areas with extra Wumpa Fruit and lives. If Crash fails in a Bonus Path, he loses collected items but keeps his lives and returns to the main level.
Plot
After losing a battle with Crash Bandicoot on his airship, Dr. Neo Cortex falls into a cave filled with strong crystals. One year later, Cortex and his new assistant, Dr. N. Gin, create an improved device called the Cortex Vortex in space. This device needs 25 more crystals to work fully, but Cortex has no helpers on Earth. He plans to trick Crash into collecting the crystals for him.
At the same time, Crash’s younger sister, Coco, asks him to get a new battery for her laptop. However, Crash is sent by Cortex to an old Warp Room on N. Sanity Island. Through a hologram, Cortex tells Crash that a future planetary alignment will release energy that could destroy Earth. He asks Crash to use the Warp Room to collect crystals to stop this energy. Unknown to Cortex, his former assistant, Dr. Nitrus Brio, also contacts Crash. Brio tells him to gather gems to destroy Cortex’s space station. Brio warns Crash that he will use his forces to stop Crash from collecting more crystals. During his search, Crash fights these forces: the mad Ripper Roo, the sword-wielding Komodo Brothers, and the hungry Tiny Tiger.
Coco breaks into Cortex’s hologram system and warns Crash not to trust Cortex. Eventually, Cortex tells Crash to bring the crystals to Dr. N. Gin, but Crash defeats Cortex instead. After Crash collects all 25 crystals, Coco explains Cortex’s final plan: using energy from the planetary alignment, Cortex will power his giant Cortex Vortex on his space station and control everyone on Earth. Crash reaches Cortex in space, defeats him again before the crystals can be used, and leaves the Vortex untouched. After gathering all 42 gems, Crash and Dr. Brio use them to direct the planetary energy into a laser that destroys the Cortex Vortex.
Development and release
The production of Cortex Strikes Back began in October 1996. Development lasted 13 months and had a budget of $2,000,000. The concept art for the game's environments was mainly created by Naughty Dog employees Bob Rafei, Eric Iwasaki, Erick Pangilinan, Charlotte Francis, and Jason Rubin. Rafei led concept development, art direction, level assembly, and vertex lighting. The jungle levels were originally planned to include ground fog, but this idea was abandoned after magazines and the public criticized other developers for using fog to hide the number of polygons in their games. Instead, sunlight and depth were tested to enhance these levels. Naughty Dog designed the sewer levels to include "dirty" locations in the game. Color contrast was added to the sewer levels to show depth and reduce the monotony of the pipes. The character Coco Bandicoot was created by Naughty Dog to balance the game's characters. This was done to satisfy Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, who were uncomfortable with Tawna, Crash's girlfriend in the first game, being described as "super sexy." Character designer Charles Zembillas drew the first sketches of Coco on March 18, 1997.
For the game, Crash Bandicoot co-creator Andy Gavin programmed a new engine named "Game-Oriented Object LISP 2" (GOOL 2). This engine was three times faster than the previous one, allowing it to handle ten times more animation frames and twice as many polygons. A flat plane z-buffer was created for the game. The water surfaces and mud in the jungle had to be perfectly flat on the Y-axis, so there could be no waves, and the subdividing plane could not be at an odd angle. This effect only worked on objects in the foreground and was used on Crash, some enemies, and a few boxes at the same time.
The soundtrack of Cortex Strikes Back was written by Josh Mancell from Mutato Muzika. The sound effects were created by Universal Sound Studios, which included Mike Gollom, Ron Horwitz, and Kevin Spears. The characters were designed by Charles Zembillas of American Exitus, Incorporated. Clancy Brown provided the voice of Doctor Neo Cortex, Vicki Winters voiced Coco Bandicoot, and Brendan O'Brien voiced Crash Bandicoot, Doctor N. Gin, and Doctor Nitrus Brio. The game was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 1997, where it received positive feedback from the game industry.
The game entered the alpha stage in August 1997. Around this time, Dan Arey, the lead designer of Gex: Enter the Gecko, joined Naughty Dog and improved the level design. A "Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment" system was added, which changed parts of the game based on how players performed to balance difficulty. The IGDA considers the testing process for Crash Bandicoot 2 the moment when the field of Games User Research "came of age." The game was released in North America on November 6, 1997, and in Europe on December 5.
A death animation in which Crash is squashed into a stunned head and feet was changed for the Japanese version of the game. This change was made because the animation resembled the severed head and shoes left by a real-life event in Japan at the time.
On July 26, 2007, Cortex Strikes Back was released on the European PlayStation Network but was removed on August 7, 2007, along with Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer and MediEvil, as a precaution when the latter two games had technical issues. The game was released on the North American PlayStation Network on January 10, 2008, and re-released on the European PlayStation Network on February 2, 2011.
Reception
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back received positive reviews, earning an average score of 89% on GameRankings. Many reviewers called it a better follow-up to the first game. Paul Anderson and Andy McNamara of Game Informer, along with "Major Mike" of GamePro, said it was one of the best platformer games on the PlayStation. PlayStation Magazine compared it favorably to popular franchises like Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Reviewers noted improvements in gameplay, including new abilities, changes to level design, and more variety. Major Mike pointed out that moves like sliding and climbing helped players defeat enemies and break boxes creatively. Game Informer highlighted that new features such as the jetpack and rocket surfboard added unpredictable challenges, making the game more complex than the original. Consoles+ and Francesca Reyes of Ultra Game Players said these changes forced players to adjust their reflexes, adding new challenges. The introduction of Warp Rooms, which let players choose levels in any order, was praised for reducing frustration and monotony. John Broady of GameSpot called this system a "great innovation" because it allowed players to progress at their own pace. Joe Rybicki of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine said this structure helped players take breaks from tough levels. Consoles+ and Game Informer also noted that the game’s difficulty was better balanced, with shorter levels and helpful tools like extra checkpoints or masks to assist players after repeated failures.
Most reviewers said the controls were precise, but some had issues with the analog controller, which made jumping harder in certain situations. The D-pad was often preferred. The ability to save at any time in Warp Rooms was seen as a major improvement over the original game’s strict save system, which Broady called "horrific." IGN said the bonus stages helped players learn new moves without losing lives.
The game’s visuals were praised for their bright, cartoon-like graphics, detailed animations, and special effects. Major Mike said the graphics were a "quantum leap" over the original, with better animations like Crash’s expressive reactions. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) and Next Generation praised the smooth, high-quality graphics and animations, with Next Generation noting Naughty Dog’s skill in using the PlayStation’s graphics engine. Mark Cooke of GameRevolution called the visuals "cartoon quality," setting a new standard for PlayStation games. The audio was also well-received, with Major Mike comparing the music to a mix of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and the B-52s. Shawn Smith of EGM highlighted Clancy Brown’s "booming" voice as a standout feature. Cutscenes were praised, with EGM’s Shawn Smith calling them "some of the best in-game cutscenes [he has] seen," though Andrew Reiner of Game Informer thought the endings were too short.
Some critics had minor complaints. Broady said the 3D environment was sometimes hard to navigate, and he criticized the trial-and-error gameplay as unfair, noting that players often had to lose many lives to learn level layouts. IGN said the level design lacked variety, with environments like jungles, snow, and water reused from the first game. They also called the boss levels too easy. Major Mike agreed, saying the bosses looked good but were too simple. Mark Cooke said the game did not add much to the platforming genre, comparing it to 16-bit games from the past with better graphics.
In its first month, Crash Bandicoot 2 was the seventh best-selling home console game in the United States and reached fourth place in the following two months. By late February 1998, it had sold 1 million copies in the U.S., 800,000 in Japan, and 340,000 in Europe. It reappeared in the top 20 best-selling chart in September 1998 and remained there for the rest of the year. According to the NPD Group, it was the ninth best-selling video game of 1998 by unit sales. By February 1999, 4.08 million copies had been shipped worldwide, with 1.49 million sold in North America alone. It stayed in the best-seller chart for the first four months of 1999. By December 2007, it had sold 3.78 million copies in the U.S. and 1.3 million in Japan, making it one of the best-selling PlayStation games of all time. The game was re-released as part of the Sony Greatest Hits lineup in August 1998 and the Platinum Range in 1999. It replaced Crash Bandicoot as the highest-selling non-Japanese title in Japan, selling over 800,000 copies by April 1998.
Crash Bandicoot 2 was nominated for "Console Game of the Year" and "Console Action Game of the Year" at the first Interactive Achievement Awards.