Crash Bandicoot is undoubtedly one of the biggest and most recognizable platforming icons in the video game industry. However, unlike his contemporaries, the orange marsupial hasn’t had the best history when it comes to fully-realized titles. As a result of his rights jumping from one company to another, multiple Crash Bandicoot games have been tragically canceled over the years.
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Crash became a popular character thanks to his classic PlayStation 1 trilogy, but he unfortunately had quite a tumultuous saga after that. Over the course of several years, many developers unveiled their stories on promising Crash Bandicoot titles that ultimately went unreleased. The following games are some of the most fascinating examples that we wish had seen the light of day.
8 Crush Bandicoot
A Wacky Sci-Fi Adventure With An Evil Doppelgänger
Magenta Software was a relatively small British studio that mostly worked on licensed games until its closure in 2015. However, they were in the running for developing a brand-new Crash Bandicoot game back in 2004, when they pitched an interesting concept to Vivendi Universal that was simply called Crush Bandicoot.
Not much is currently known about this canceled project, but it was revealed by artist Andy J. Davis a few years ago, and it was luckily archived later by the site Crash Mania. The main selling point of the game was going to be the introduction of Crash’s evil twin, Crush Bandicoot, and the entire experience would have had a focus on sci-fi environments and wacky vehicles. It was definitely an intriguing pitch, but it was ultimately rejected by the publisher.
7 Crash Bandicoot Evolution
An Ambitious Project That Was Ruined By The Release Of Ratchet & Clank
Crash Twinsanity is one of the most beloved PlayStation 2 entries in the franchise, which is quite impressive for a game that wasn’t developed by Naughty Dog. The original incarnation of this zany 3D platformer was much bigger, more innovative and more ambitious, to the point it was considered an entirely different game titled Crash Bandicoot Evolution.
Several developers who worked at Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studios revealed this unseen project when talking to Crash Mania in interviews. After the release of Wrath of Cortex, they immediately began working on this massive space adventure that mixed platforming with RPG elements. The plot was about the Evil Twins stealing Crash’s Island from Earth and the marsupial ultimately trying to stop them.
A lot of work & effort was put into Crash Bandicoot Evolution, as this would’ve definitely been one of Crash’s most impressive adventures. The developers came up with fascinating concepts for locations, characters, and even alien races. Unfortunately, when Insomniac released Ratchet & Clank in 2003, Traveller’s Tales believed the two projects were too similar and decided to start from scratch, which led to the development of Crash Twinsanity. As a small Easter Egg, most of the concept art for Evolution can still be found within the extras of Twinsanity.
6 Crash Twinsanity 2
One Of The Franchise’s Most Popular Games Almost Got A Sequel
The unexpected popularity of Twinsanity should not be underestimated, as this felt like a fresh new direction for the franchise, and Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studios came up with many unique ideas for different follow-ups. This included a proper sequel that ultimately went nowhere, which was revealed by developer Keith Webb in a 2012 interview for Crash Mania.
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Crash Twinsanity was already quite a creative game, but Crash Twinsanity 2 was potentially going to take it to a whole new level. This sequel would’ve seen Crash stuck inside a TV and having to explore several levels themed after popular tropes & genres, including a Wild West show, a black-&-white cartoon, a cooking show hosted by Rusty Walrus, and even a medical drama. This was a really fun idea that is reminiscent of the Gex franchise, but it was sadly rejected by Universal, alongside many other related projects.
5 Crash Clash Racing
The Original Version Of Tag Team Racing Was A Twinsanity Sequel
Crash Clash Racing was yet another idea for a sequel to Twinsanity that Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studios began working on after the release of their hit game. What’s especially curious about this project is that its plot would’ve been a direct follow-up to Twinsanity, which is quite unexpected for a racing spin-off.
Once again, Paul Gardner and Keith Webb revealed the existence of this game to Crash Mania, where they even revealed unused concept art of Evil Crash driving a spooky personalized car. The main gimmick of Crash Clash Racing would’ve been the fusion of vehicles between two different characters. So, when Vivendi Universal canceled this title, they handed the development over to another studio: Radical Entertainment. They ended up using most of these ideas in order to make the 2005 racing game, Crash Tag Team Racing.
4 Cortex Chaos/The All-New Cortex Show
A Game Full Of Brilliant Ideas, Starring The Main Villain Of The Franchise
Out of every idea that was created by the success of Twinsanity, the project known as both Cortex Chaos and The All-New Cortex Show is undoubtedly the most interesting one, and it has left fans wanting to see it as a reality someday. After all, Neo Cortex is a fun & hilarious antagonist, so an entire adventure led by him would’ve been extremely entertaining.
While this was also revealed on Crash Mania by former developers, the YouTube Channel DidYouKnowGaming recently talked to Paul Gardner and managed to acquire some fascinating design documents for this project. What’s especially peculiar is that they pitched two different – but equally promising – ideas that would’ve featured some really inventive gameplay mechanics.
The first concept was titled the "Trials of Cortex," in which the other evil doctors from the franchise would put Cortex on trial for his past failures. He, in turn, would have to overcome different challenges to prove his evilness by using various gadgets and weapons. The second concept was titled "Clones of Cortex," where the doctor had created multiple miniature clones of himself called Duplets, and controlling them would’ve been reminiscent of games like Lemmings or Pikmin. Sadly, all these brilliant concepts were ultimately rejected by Vivendi Universal because of the disappointing sales of Crash Twinsanity, and they decided to move onto other projects and developers.
3 Crash Landed
A Promising Reboot That Could Have Saved Crash During The 2010s
Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant got a mixed reception in the late 2000s, so developer Radical Entertainment immediately began working on a brand-new title that would’ve been released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which at the time were impressive next generation HD consoles. This promising new project was known as Crash Landed, and its cancelation frustrated fans for many years.
This is because unused content of this game was revealed around 2013, during one of the longest droughts in the franchise's history. Crash Landed was meant to be a complete reboot of the franchise that would’ve explored Crash’s origins with new expressive designs and a cartoony art style. On the other hand, the gameplay was going to have a big focus on different tools & gadgets (like jetpacks or guns) that Crash could create by combining items he could find in the overworld. The map was even going to be a semi-open world, similar to Twinsanity.
Several artists who worked on the game published unused concept art and animations, an almost complete press kit by Ansell Creative Group was found, and even a brief demo for a Nintendo DS port was discovered later. So, what exactly happened to Crash Landed? After two years of development, Activision acquired Sierra Entertainment and all of its subsidiaries, which resulted in numerous layoffs at Radical Entertainment and the inevitable cancelation of Crash Landed.
2 Crash Team Racing (2010)
Crash Landed Almost Got Its Own Kart Racing Spin-Off
It’s evident that Radical Entertainment had high hopes of Crash Landed potentially bringing Crash back into the spotlight, because they even had plans for a racing spin-off before development of this project was even finished. Simply titled Crash Team Racing (referencing the original PS1 racing game from 1999), it was briefly developed by High Impact Games, and it used several elements and characters from Crash Landed.
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Crash Team Racing (2010) was going to share the same art style as Crash Landed, had high-octane racing gameplay that was going to include customizable vehicles, and it would’ve starred characters like Crash, Dingodile, Polar, and the brand-new Land Shark. This looked really fun and would’ve definitely helped fans grow attached to this unseen new iteration of the marsupial. Nevertheless, Crash Team Racing (2010) was canceled alongside its companion piece, and many fans believe it was retooled into Dreamworks Superstar Kartz. However, an anonymous developer revealed to Crash Mania that Crash’s new kart racer was going to be much more ambitious in comparison.
1 Crash Bandicoot 5
The Success Of Crash 4 Was Not Enough To Greenlight A Crossover With Spyro The Dragon
Video game journalist Liam Robertson recently revealed this game to the public, and the story of this unbelievable project's cancelation is nothing short of heartbreaking. Toys For Bob developed Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, and it was a huge critical and commercial success, so they immediately shifted focus to two different new projects: their idea for a multiplayer game (which became Crash Team Rumble) and a sequel to Crash 4, tentatively titled Crash Bandicoot 5.
This game was largely inspired by Twinsanity and it would’ve taken place in Madame Amberly’s Academy of Evil. In a concept that is reminiscent to Psychonauts, Crash was going to explore the minds of iconic villains like Cortex, N. Gin, or Tiny Tiger, and discover their origins in some unique & creative levels. The most captivating part about Crash Bandicoot 5 is that it was also going to work as a crossover with the Spyro the Dragon franchise, as the evil Uka Uka was going to use a device in order to travel to Spyro’s dimension and possess the Dragon Elders of that universe.
Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon are two closely related franchises that fans have wanted to see crossover into a real platforming adventure for decades, so this concept had the potential to be a huge success. Unfortunately, Activision’s exceedingly high sales expectations for Crash 4 and their new tendency to favor live-service games led them to reject Toys For Bob’s brilliant idea. The studio suffered many layoffs and the remaining developers began working on Crash Team Rumble and providing assistance in the development of Call Of Duty: Warzone.