Formerly developed by Naughty Dog from 1996 to 1999, by Traveller's Tales, Eurocom and Vicarious Visions from 2000 to 2004, and by Radical Entertainment from 2005 to 2008, the series is currently published by Activision.
The series features a large cast of distinctive characters designed by numerous different artists, which include Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson.
While Crash has a number of offensive maneuvers at his disposal, his most distinctive technique is one in which he spins like a tornado at high speeds and knocks away almost anything that he strikes.
[12] She is frequently equipped with a laptop or tablet computer, which is filled with schematics, works in progress, and personal notes.
In the Wii and Xbox 360 versions of Crash: Mind over Mutant, Coco becomes a playable character in the two-player mode after being freed from the influence of the NV device.
She is a selectable player character for the entirety of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, and is the subject of a number of unlockable "Flashback Tape" levels, which take place during the course of the first game.
[16] During her training, Coco displayed a fascination with technology (as well as a video game addiction), which Doctor N. Gin took as an opportunity to mentor her in mechanics and computing.
After being freed from Nina Cortex's capture, the pair are able to trace the villains to their hideout with Crash's and Spyro's assistance.
[23] Coco's inclusion as a playable character in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was met with a generally lukewarm response among critics.
"[24] Mike Sabine at GameSpy was more indifferent to her inclusion in Wrath of Cortex, deeming it "mostly unnecessary," but also stated that it offered "a good chance of pace.
"[25] On the other hand, Coco's inclusion as a playable character in the N. Sane Trilogy and Crash 4 was met with positive reception.
Patrick Arellano at Comic Book Resources included her in a list of "5 Game Remakes That Added A New Character For The Better.
"[27] Reviewing the N. Sane Trilogy, Aiman Maulana from New Straits Times observed that she has the same moveset as Crash, to which he stated "What's the purpose of this?
"[28] At PlayStation Universe, Kevin R. considered the ability to play as Coco a "neat extra touch," but wished to see her with her own moveset.
[30] Stacey Henley from The Guardian declared that Coco "adds a fresh dimension to the game," along with Cortex, Tawna and Dingodile in Crash 4.
[35] During production of Crash Bandicoot, Tawna was originally named Karmen,[36] and was based on actress Pamela Anderson, but her design was scaled back to be less provocative.
Cortex is a mad scientist who seeks to achieve world domination as an act of vengeance for the ridicule he has suffered in the past.
[40] Dingodile was conceptualized by Naughty Dog employee Joe Labbe, who requested a character that was a cross between a dingo and a crocodile.
[44] Naughty Dog initially wanted Dingodile to be a fire-breathing character before Zembillas suggested giving him a flamethrower to make him "much more interesting".
[45] Doctor Nefarious Tropy is a pompous scientist who specializes in time travel and fights using a giant tuning fork.
[42] Charles Zembillas drew the first sketches of Tropy (and the doodle he created as Naughty Dog was describing the character to him) on January 22, 1998.
[48] At one point in its aesthetic development, Tropy's time machine was covered in clock gears and mechanisms, including a cuckoo clock on the machine's lower-right area;[49] Zembillas assumed that the details could be created as a texture in Adobe Photoshop and placed over the modeled character's polygon structure.
[5] Nina Cortex was originally created and designed by Duke Mighten for Traveller's Tales as a playable character in Crash Nitro Kart before development duties of the game were transferred to Vicarious Visions.
He is an extraterrestrial from the planet Gasmoxia who claims to be the fastest driver in the galaxy, and challenges Crash and his friends to race him under the threat of the Earth being turned into a concrete parking lot and its inhabitants enslaved.
[58] Pura is a South China tiger cub that Coco uses as a mount in the China-themed levels of Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
Akano is a stoic and terse mask who can grant Crash and Coco a powerful "Dark Matter Spin" that allows them to glide.
[62] Tiny Tiger is a hulking and brutish thylacine subordinate of Doctor Neo Cortex who often appears as a boss in the mainline games and as a playable character in spin-offs.
[68] Ripper Roo's laughter in the original PlayStation titles is a sample of a hyena (voiced by Dallas McKennon) from the 1955 film Lady and the Tramp.
Although formerly a great warrior, he has become lazy and content to let Cortex's activities go unnoticed by his tribe, attributing the increasing pollution and shortage of fish to divine retribution.
Rok-Ko, Wa-Wa, Py-Ro and Lo-Lo are respectively voiced by Thomas F. Wilson, R. Lee Ermey, Mark Hamill and Jess Harnell.