(PS1) Crash Team Racing review

The PS1 mascot gets his own kart racer, which is every bit as good as the competition and manages to be one of the console’s most memorable titles.

Developer	Naughty Dog
Publisher	Sony Computer Entertainment
Franchise	Crash Bandicoot
Genre	Racing
PSTV	Yes
PSN	EU (Incompatible in US)

 

World-building & Story

Taking place (presumably) after the events of Warped, Crash Team Racing sees the inhabitants of Earth challenged to a race by the alien Nitros Oxide – if they win he’ll leave, if not he’ll turn the planet into a giant concrete parking lot. From there, various characters from past Crash Bandicoot games compete with each other to discover who is fast enough to take him on and ultimately save the planet.

It’s the kind of silly plot that spin-offs are known for and doesn’t really do anything to add to Crash’s world, but it’s harmless and a bit of fun. Most interesting is that Naughty Dog dug up long-forgotten characters for the boss battles – Komodo Joe and Pinstripe Potoroo show up from the first game, alongside my personal favourite, the unhinged Ripper Roo who continues to cackle nonsensically at every opportunity.

The playable cast is decent too – all the recognisable faces like Coco and Tiny are here alongside side-characters like Polar from Cortex Strikes Back and Pura from Warped. You will be treated to little snippets of conversations as you make your way through the adventure mode , but generally there’s no substantial story here – cementing this as a fanservice through and through.

There’s a brilliant representation of the Crash universe here though, with tracks lifted from locations in the previous games yet smartly changed to fit the new racing theme. You can expect plenty of familiar outback settings, but nearly all of the environments are represented here from Papu’s pyramid to the snowy polar pass, which evokes a nice nostalgia if you’re a fan.

 

Presentation & Sound

By now masters of the PS1 hardware and cute platformer mascots in general, Crash Team Racing culminates these skills in a genre shift that looks and plays brilliantly – holding up particularly well to this day.

As usual character modelling is brilliant (for the time) – things like the podium girls who celebrate your win have big cartoon eyes and smooth animations, while the racers themselves are the stand-out element. The way Pura sits upright in his kart and leans sideways when taking corners is adorable, quite the opposite of Papu Papu who is jammed in his vehicle and looks unsightly and ugly.

The tracks are equally thoughtful – as previously mentioned there’s a wide variety here from sunny beaches to underground mines and they’re all bursting with personality. You can expect to see all the staples of the Crash Bandicoot franchise – wumpa fruit crates and man-eating plants are here, but little touches like portraits scattered around each character’s level (including a stained glass window in Cortex Castle) make these believable, fun places and even though you’ll be flying through. The detail is certainly there if you ever get chance to stop and admire it.

Just a quick mention to something I’ve brought up in other reviews before (particularly the Spyro games) – Crash Team Racing has the famous PS1 skyboxes that mix pastel shades of blue and purple in with the skyline to create a gorgeous effect. They’re just as impressive to look at here as in any other game, meaning racing through all these fantasy worlds will be just that little bit better thanks to the gorgeous colour palette used.

There is a real sense of speed as you blast around the tracks too – thanks to a drifting-and-boosting mechanic you’ll constantly be doing something which works well to make it feel like you’re moving quickly. Despite all the action happening on screen (there can be a lot of explosions and effects flying around, some of which are gorgeous like the first-place-targeting electric orb) the framerate holds steady too, which is essential for a fast-paced racer like this; plus the draw distance is fantastic meaning you’ll often see each level sprawling out far into the distance.

In terms of sound, you can expect a similar set of instruments creating the soundtrack as previous Crash games, which works just as well with the atmosphere here as it ever has. There’s some minor voice acting in cutscenes are during races and you can expect the cheers and yelps of your competitors throughout – it’s certainly a lively game, which I personally really love.

Soundtrack highlight – Crash Cove

 

Gameplay & Content

Taking more than just a few cues from Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing manages to craft its own identity creating one of the best kart racers ever. There’s something inherently satisfying about the mechanics here that make it a joy to play and there’s plenty of content to sink your teeth into as well.

Getting the basics of driving down is easy – you accelerate with x and brake with square, having to regulate your speed to get through the winding tracks. Right off the bat there is another mechanic you’ll need to get to grips with though – drifting, which is needed to take corners at speed to ensure you don’t lose ground against the enemy AI who can be quite speedy at times.

Drifting is activated by hopping (shoulder button) while turning which is simple to pull off, but an effective way of turning. While you’re drifting a meter on the bottom of your screen will slowly fill which you can press the other shoulder button to trigger w(hen it turns red) – doing this 3 times will grant a small speed boost which quickly becomes essential in keeping up on some of the trickier tracks. It gives Crash Team Racing‘s mechanics a fun amount of depth and you’ll soon get into the rhythm of driving which feels like a dream compared to other kart racers (even to this day).

Of course, in-keeping with the genre there are a number of weapons you’ll have access to which are gained by hitting crates during races – you can also power these up by collecting different crates which award you wumpa fruit, creating some interesting scenarios where you need to choose between the two. The arsenal you’re given here is fairly standard – missiles and TNT crates, although there are a few unique ideas like a stopwatch which slows all your competitors or an Aku Aku mask which will protect you for a short period (sadly the dreaded first-place-targeting blue shell aka electric orb is here, but it doesn’t feel quite as unfair as in Mario Kart).

Combined with the hectic nature of the driving which combines drifting, jumping, dodging obstacles, hitting speed boost pads and bashing between other competitors, the weapons create the feeling of manic races where loads is happening at any one time – it can be a little difficult to keep up with but it’s hugely satisfying to watch and even more fun to take part in and is just one of the many things that Crash Team Racing gets so right.

The main way to test your skills is the adventure mode which is shockingly fun and well designed. You’ll be plonked in a surprisingly large open world that you can drift around (new areas are opened with keys and you’ll drift right through these to get to the next with no loading screens) and despite a copious amount of tutorials at the beginning, it feels free and liberating to drive around and enter portals to race and progress to the next area, as if you’re really in the game world itself.

You’ll be given a number of objectives in each of the tracks which unlock sequentially. At first you simply need to win a race which is a no-holds-barred driving and weapons tournament, but you can return to them later to unlock new goals. CTR Challenges for example task you with gathering the letters C, T and R which are hidden in obscure places while still winning outright, while Relic Races are time trials where you can break crates to freeze time for a brief period.

It adds a lot of variety to the game – although you’re always racing, you’re doing enough different stuff to ensure it always feels fun and unique. After a certain point you can unlock cups which are series of races with a points system based on finishing position – these are particularly enjoyable as you fight for a place on the podium and these, alongside time trials and single races can all be played outside the campaign making the title easy to dip in and out of.

A racing game is only as good as its tracks and thankfully those included in Crash Team Racing are universally fantastic. They start out easy – Coco Park and Crash Cove feature lots of straights and very little cornering, but later ones like Papu’s Pyramid and Sewer Speedway are sometimes winding labyrinths that offer a nice chance to hone your skills. There’s plenty of obstacles included too, from man-eating plants to rolling barrels, meaning you constantly have to be on your toes.

They culminate in some of the most memorable tracks ever – Hot Air Speedway is punishing with its lack of barriers while N-Gin Labs is a combination of everything previously seen from speed pads to sharp corners to stage hazards in one brilliant package. It makes the adventure mode’s content )which has you revisiting tracks multiple times) that little bit more tolerable as you’ll want to be returning and practising in these enjoyable arenas.

There are multiplayer modes included here such as ‘battle’ that are ripped pretty much straight out of Mario Kart – playing on Vita isn’t possible as they don’t support ad-hoc (due to the game being an emulated PS1 title) but if you’re playing on a PSTV they can be a fun distraction with friends, even if they are slightly uninspired.

Still, the game doesn’t need multiplayer modes to extend its life – there’s more than enough here to make it a worthwhile package. The core gameplay is so tight and enjoyable in a way that few kart racers match that you’ll want to see everything it has to offer, whether you’re a fan of Crash or not.

 

Conclusion

Successfully transporting the loveable characters of the Crash Bandicoot franchise to another genre, in the process Naughty Dog managed to craft some of the most enjoyable kart racing mechanics in existence with Crash Team Racing. Its open adventure mode is a joy to explore; its weapons are fun and unique and all the tracks included are brilliant – making it the stand-out representation of the genre on Vita.

9.5/10