Crash Bandicoot strategy

Below is a specificstrategy guide which will help you beat the game. Not all thelevel hints are complete, but it does tip you in the right direction.This strategy guide will allow you to find between 95% and 100%of the gems (if you're good enough). Good luck and may the mango be with you!

Gems
The Gems are the most sought after item in Crash Bandicoot.If you find one, you can consider yourself an avid gamer. However,if you happen to find them all, you will be praised by whoeverwitnesses this feat, and be hailed among the ranks of Zeus andIcarus as the ultimate gaming God.

There are two different kinds of Gems, the white and the multiplecolored. White Gems can be considered as the easy to find genericbrand. These only come into play at the very end of the game,forming a path to something terrific. The colored Gems are oneper color and are used as links to hidden areas that will allowyou to find certain boxes on specific levels.

Example: Let's say you find the Blue Gem on The High Road level.This Gem will open up other areas in certain levels (such as CortexPower) where it forms a bridge across a slime pit. Before youfind these colored Gems you may see a glimpse of a placement piecewhich is the same color as the Gem. This means you need that coloredGem to pass a certain feat on the level. Now, begin your hunt.

To find one Gem is a task in itself. You must pass a level withoutdying and destroy every box on the level. Most boxes are easyto reach, although maybe one or two are hidden. If you beat alevel without dying, you'll be greeted with either a Gem Screen(if you find all the boxes), or a Box Screen (meaning you've missedone or more). This screen will show you how many boxes you missedby dropping them on Crash's head. Do the level over, until youget a perfect.

Bonus Level
The Bonus Level is the only point in the game where savesor passwords are available. To find a Bonus Level you'll haveto find three strange clown-like icons hidden within a level.Once the third one is picked up, you'll instantly be teleportedto the hidden area where certain obstacles must be overcome beforea save can be managed.

There is also Boss Bonus Icons and Super Bonus World icons. Collectingthree Boss Icons brings you to a Bonus Level that doesn't allowyou to save, though it does offer many free lives. The Super BonusIcon acts in the same manner, but it holds a great surprise forthose who find its three icons. These icons are spread throughoutthe land. Three icons, three islands. Hint. Hint.

Aku Aku
Meet Crash's mighty sidekick. He not only journeys with Crashbut also gives him hit points. The hit point meter goes up totwo (once two Aku Aku masks are obtained). If you pick up three,Crash will throw on the Aku Aku mask and promenade around withpartial invincibility. Look for this mask in boxes, around corners,and sometimes floating in the open.

Boxes
These are what you're looking for. Seek and destroy! The boxescome in all different shapes and sizes. Some are damaging to yourhealth, others are bonuses that will put a smile on your face.Here's a breakdown of what to look for.

Aku Aku
Smash one of these and Crash will gain a hit point.

1-Up
This box has a picture of Crash on it. Open it and add the1-Up to your arsenal.

Exclamation
This box will trigger all the clear silhouette boxes you see.

Breakable Arrow
Jump on this to reach new heights.

Question Mark
What's inside is a mystery...?

Unlabeled
These boxes always contain one mango.

Unlabeled With Stripes
These boxes always contain ten mangos. Must be jumped on orbumped from the bottom to access this delicious fruit.

Dynamite
Ouch. These hurt Crash. Nonetheless, they come in handy fordestroying multiple boxes while on the run.

Island 1
This island acts as both an introductory course for the gamer and an essential base for Gem collecting. Learn how to move and pick up the accessible Gems before you proceed to Island 2.

Island 1 Level 1 -- Sanity Beach (White Gem)
Hint: The only trouble on this level will probably occur atthe exclamation switch. The consecutive box jump is difficultbut can easily be conquered by timing the jumps. Watch Crash'sshadow to see where you are going to land.

Island 1 Level 2-- Jungle Rollers (White Gem -- requires GreenGem)
Access to Bonus World 1

Hint: It's impossible to find all the boxes without having theGreen Gem accessed (The Lost City - Island 2). The rest of thelevel is a walk in the park.

Island 1 Level 3-- The Great Gate (White Gem -- requires YellowGem)
Access to Bonus World 2

Hint 1: Don't bother trying to find all the boxes on this levelunless the Yellow Gem is accessed (The Lab -Island 3).

Hint 2: When you approach a breakable arrow box that appears tolead nowhere (sky background), jump on it and push towards thebackground. A hidden 1-up is awaiting your arrival. Do the sameon the next breakable arrow box to find the hidden box on thislevel.

Island 1 Level 4 -- Boulders (White Gem)
Hint: Run like a mad dog! Use Crash's spin move to break theboxes on the boulder paths. Don't try to jump on them, you'lldie a horrible death.

Island 1 Level 5-- Upstream (White Gem -- requires Gold Gem)
Access to Bonus World 3

Hint 1: The first waterfall holds a box with a 1-Up behind it.Carefully jump across the Gold Gem path to find it. The Gold Gemis found in The Generator Room - Island 3.

Hint 2: The second Gold Gem path is at the very end of the level.Two boxes are found through this path.

Papu Papu (Boss)
Dodge Papu Papu's swinging stick attack and jump on his head.Do this procedure three times and he'll be beaten.

Island 1 Level 6-- Rolling Stones (White Gem -- requires BlueGem)
Access to Bonus World 4

Access to Boss Bonus World 1

Hint: Half-way through the level you'll encounter an unstableplatform with a rolling rock in front. If you look closely you'llsee the Blue Gem (The High Road - Island 3). Jump down the BlueGem path to uncover the missing level boxes and three extra lives.

Island 1 Level 7 -- Hog Wild (White Gem)
Hint: Get on your hog and ride! Utilizing skillful jumps andaccurate timing is the only way to be a flawless victor in HogWild.

Island 1 Level 8-- Native Fortress (White Gem -- requires PinkGem)
Access to Bonus World 5

Hint 1: Once on the top screen (sky background), locate a ledgewith a turtle, a plant and an unmarked box. Jump on the turtleso it flips on its back, exposing the bouncy stomach. Jump onthe stomach and break the unmarked box. On the second bounce,flip yourself up to the ledge in the background. Walk on the pathto find one of the hidden boxes.

Hint 2: As in hint one there are two more "bounce into thebackground" spots. Both are on the same plain as the firstand are accessed by jumping off of a fire ledge.

Hint 3: The majority of hidden boxes on this level are hiddenin the clouds. The Pink Gem (Slippery Climb - Island 3) needsto be accessed in order to find these.

Island 2
Island 2 holds the first key and the first colored Gem. Thestages are tough but not unbeatable.

Island 2 Level 9-- Up the Creek (White Gem)
Access to Bonus World 6

Hint: Once you've located and accessed the Exclamation Box, trekback across the lily pad path to the waterfall. You'll noticethat four lily pads are constructing a path across to the twoboxes sitting on the ledge. You can either walk the lily pathand collect an extra life, or simply jump from the log towardsto the two boxes. Set the timer on the dynamite and use the breakablearrow box to shoot back up to the log. The dynamite will destroythe last boxes for you.

Ripper Roo (Boss)
The objective here is to detonate the TNT boxes when RipperRoo is on a nearby square. Memorize his patterns and time yourjumps. Hit him three times and he's a goner.

Island 2 Level 10-- The Lost City (Green Gem)
Access to Bonus World 7

Access to Boss Bonus World 2

Hint 1: To destroy the first two boxes behind the steel girderat the level entrance you simply must jump from the backgroundledge. Then, to return to the playing field, jump around the girder.

Hint 2: There is an Exclamation box hidden in the fourth cubbyhole on this level. To activate it, simply jump on top of theunmarked crate and hit the jump button for a bigger boost.

Hint 3: As you start to ascend to the top of this level, lookclosely to your left. A second Exclamation box is waiting to beactivated. Once active six boxes will appear at the beginningof the top part of the level.

Island 2 Level 11-- Temple Ruins (White Gem)
Hint 1: When you see a mango dangling off to the left sideof a platform, make a gigantic leap into the empty void. You'llland on invisible boxes that will appear as you step on them.Several boxes are located here.

Hint 2: The rest of the level should be a cake walk. Be sure tocheck behind every pillar.

Island 2 Level 12-- Road to Nowhere (White Gem-- requires RedGem)
Access to Bonus World 8

Hint: At one of the checkpoints you'll notice that a Red Gem isnear. Jump on it and allow it to take you to a hidden area. Thefirst order of business here is to activate the Exclamation boxto the right. Use the box that appears to activate the one tothe left. The last feat is to activate the box in the middle.Jump off the box that appears (from activation #2) and land inthe middle of the floating metal. Four boxes will appear in thebackground. Easy taking!

Island 2 Level 13-- Boulder Dash (Key and White Gem-- requiresRed Gem)
Hint: Find all the boxes to access the Key which will openthe Island 2 Bonus level (Whole Hog). Smash all the boxes on WholeHog to receive the White Gem for Boulder Dash.

Island 2 Level 14-- Sunset Vista (White Gem)
Access to Bonus World 9

Access to Boss Bonus World 3

Access to Super Bonus Icon-- Obtaining this icon is fairly selfexplanatory. Follow the box stairs on the top level and jumponto the moving wall containing the icon.

Hint 1: At the top of the level you'll see an Exclamation boxthat is out of reach. Lure the goon from the right to stand underneaththe box. Jump off its back and propeller yourself into the box.The boxes you are looking for are directly behind you in the background.

Hint 2: Always look in the background on this level. Boxes arehidden all about.

Koala Kong (Boss)
Hint: Dodge the four boulders that Koala Kong throws. Thefourth one will roll in front of you. Use your spin attack tosend it back for a definite hit. Repeat this process four timesto advance to the next stage.

Island 3
All but one of the colored Gems are located on this island.If you want to conquer the game thoroughly, you'll need to findall the boxes on each of these difficult levels.

Island 3 Level 15-- Heavy Machinery (White Gem)
Access to Bonus World 10

Access to Boss Bonus World 4

Hint: To find the first Boss Icon, locate two steam and two icepipes right next to each other. To the right should be a pit withtwo flying spike bots. Drop between them and proceed to the leftto receive your prize. Several boxes are also hidden down here.Beating the level should be a breeze.

Island 3 Level 16-- Cortex Power (White Gem-- requires BlueGem)
Hint: Take the path to the right all the way until it ends(be sure to hit the exclamation box). Now backtrack down the stairsto the second fork in the road on this level. Take the left route(you'll see a Checkpoint box) and go up. Collect all the boxesuntil the next fork in the road (you'll see a breakable arrowbox). Now go back to the right (where you just where) and go tothe first fork in the road on this level. Go left and take theBlue Gem path even further to the left until you reach a breakablearrow box. This is the final run and a tough one at that. Breakall the boxes from here on out and you'll receive your White Gem.

Island 3 Level 17-- Generator Room (Gold Gem)
Access to Bonus World 11

Hint: There's only one troublesome area in the Generator Room.At the beginning of the level you'll run into an area where theExclamation box is needed (you should have already activated it).Time your jumps and make sure you get the boxes on the platformfirst (don't spend too much time here or the platform will fall).Now go back and take out the boxes on the path. The rest of theboxes are easy to get to.

Island 3 Level 18-- Toxic Waste (White Gem)
Access to Bonus World 12

Hint: This level will pull a Bandicoot on you time after time.Basically, all you have to do is run the straight line and hopefor the best. Taking two Aku Aku's with you is a good idea

Pinstripe (Boss)
Beating this guy is fairly easy, you just have to keep youreyes peeled. Hide behind the couch until he jumps off the table.Wait until he stops shooting and spin into him. The only way tododge his shoots is to hide behind the two couches in the foreground.Duck out and spin in is a great strategy for this smelly mouse.

Island 3 Level 19-- The High Road (Blue Gem)
Access to Bonus World 13

Hint: At the beginning of the level, walk back and you will seea floating mango. Jump directly over the mango and two boardswill appear to catch your fall. Continue on taking giant leapstowards the screen. You'll eventually get past the ghost boardsand land on solid land with four hidden boxes at your disposal.

Island 3 Level 20-- Slippery Climb (Red Gem)
Access to Boss Bonus World 5

Hint: Pushing Crash to the limit and making accurate jumps isthe only way to solve this level. Patience is the key.

Island 3 Level 21-- Lights Out (Purple Gem and Key #2 -- requiresYellow Gem)
Hint 1: Once the Yellow Gem is activated (The Lab - Island3) you will find a alternative level end. Using this will giveyou the key to Fumbling in the Dark. Note: The Yellow Gem is placedhalf-way through the level.

Hint 2: Break all the boxes on Fumbling in the Dark and you willreceive the Purple Gem for Lights out.

Island 3 Level 22-- Jaws of Darkness (White Gem-- requiresBlue Gem)
Access to Bonus World Icon 13-- Located in the bottom boxin the pillar at the first Checkpoint.

Hint: The Blue Gem is located right after the Checkpoint. Thisis the longest bonus area in the game and careful jumps are amust.

Island 3 Level 23-- Castel Machinery (White Gem -- Needs GreenGem)
Hint: The Green Gem will only give you access to twenty-fivefree lives. This level can be defeated without any gems. Noneof the boxes are hidden on this level.

Nitrus Brio (Boss)
Hint: Defeating this mad scientist is an easy task. Dodgeall of the red and green beaker bombs. The green ones will turninto moving blobs, jump on their top to send them flying intoNitrus Brio. Once his hit points are down to three, Brio willtransform into a repulsive demon. Jump off the platform and whackhim in the head. Repeat this process until he collapses.

Island 3 Level 24-- The Lab (Yellow Gem)
Hint: All the jumping skills of classic platformers are combinedinto this fairly perplexing level. Time your jumps and don't beafraid to veer off to the side when you're in trouble. Get tothe end of this level without dying and you'll receive the YellowGem.

Island 3 Level 25-- The Great Hall (requires all White Gems)
Hint: Choose your path. Go straight to the deadly Dr. NeoCortex; or if you've collected all the White Gems, go for thesuper bonus! What awaits is a super bonus!

Island 3 Level 26-- Dr. Neo Cortex (Boss)
Hint: It's the last battle! Dodge his red and blue attacksand send the green ones back at him! Enjoy the ending!