(Qumu Music - Crash Bandicoot - Main Theme [Remix]) Crash Bandicoot is a much-loved character in gaming.
Created by Naughty Dog and debuting on the PlayStation One,
this unofficial mascot is close to the hearts of many gamers.
Hello and welcome to 'The Cut Content Of', a show where we try to find content
that you aren't able to see in some amazing games!
Today we're having a look at the unused and hidden content
in Crash Bandicoot, starting with the first Crash game.
Before we start delving into the retail version of the game,
let's go back to the 8th of March 1996,
six months prior to the game's US release,
when the earliest known build was created.
In this build, there are a lot of things that were changed or cut from the final release.
A few levels exist in this build which were completely cut from the final game.
One level is based inside a cavern.
This level has no way to complete it and most things will kill you,
including the walls, but not including the floor and the acid.
Another level has Crash descend a cliff.
There are loads of glitches in this level,
including being able to walk under and behind the stage
and walk in the air.
The HUD is also broken and you can not finish this level either.
A test level exists which was used by developer and co-founder
of Naughty Dog, Andy Gavin, to test enemies before placing them in an actual level.
He explains: " It was always very useful to have a level that was super small
(hence I could process it in 3 minutes instead of 6 hours)."
(Holder / MLW - Crash Bandicoot Theme Trap Remix) This next cut level is set in a lava cave
was cut because it used up too much memory
and the lava distracted from the orange of Crash.
This level does have some early code and other data attached to it,
which can be modded in to newer levels, including:
7 types of fruit, which are: limes, coconuts, lemons, strawberries, mangoes, pineapples and grapes.
Each are worth this amount of fruit.
Collecting 100 fruit does not give Crash an extra life.
An unused item called the "Yin Yang Yuk", which is similar to the icon of
the same name from Naughty Dog's 'Way of the Warrior'.
In Crash Bandicoot however, this item does absolutely nothing.
The life icon has a different chin and a slightly larger nose.
And an unused chunk of textures exist for the lava cave.
Another unused level exists which, like the lava cave level,
can not be played in this version of the engine. It seems to be a reference
to Donkey Kong on the NES.
This final cut level is a waterfall level similar to the cliff level.
This level was probably going to be the level before the Ripper Roo boss fight
as it is very similar. The level even includes this cut hyena enemy.
Now, here's a song from the Jungle Rollers level, which doesn't play because of a lack of code.
(music)
(music continues) And here's a song from the Test Level, which doesn't play for the same reason.
The instrumentation isn't set so we don't know what it is supposed to actually sound like.
(different music)
Recognise that tune? That's because it is actually just part of Tchaikovsky's 'Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy'.
(Tchaikovsky - Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
(Crash Bandicoot version)
(Holder / MLW - Crash Bandicoot Theme Trap Remix) Now we can go forward in time, but not all the way!
First, we must stop off at the build shown at E3 1996.
Let's start with the first thing you see: the Title Screen!
The title screen in this build has Crash and the logo centred and a blue gradient for the background.
This screen only has a 'PRESS START' option, instead of the menu from the final release.
The level 'Whole Hog' is much harder in this build,
with things from tribesmen emerging from barricades to boomerangs flying around.
The 'N. Sanity Beach' theme has an intro which was cut from the final game,
then leading in to the classic tune that we all remember.
(music)
(Holder / MLW - Crash Bandicoot Theme Trap Remix) After quitting the game to go to the title screen,
the word 'Bandicoot' could be mirrored from right to left.
Whether this is a glitch or an easter egg, I'm not too sure.
Now, we can go forward to the final quarter of 1996,
when the game was released to the public.
There's an unused Guard Dog enemy in the files, known as Dog_C and GD10,
which only has one frame of animation.
Boulder levels were going to have these wooden fences as obstacles, but these obstacles were cut.
The game has four unused sounds, some of which were used but cut off partway through.
(sound effects)
(Crash Bandicoot - Stormy Ascent Theme) A whole level was cut from the game, called 'Stormy Ascent'.
This level is very well known and was even added to the N. Sane Trilogy as free DLC.
It can be accessed in the original game with these GameShark codes.
Andy Gavin has explained: "It was too hard and we didn't have time to make it easier.
I wish we had put it in as some kind of easter egg, as it was an awesome level, one of my favorite in the game."
And finally, this 'Cortex Power' texture is used but has a copy grouped in
with the 'Toxic Waste' files, not used by the 'Cortex Power' level.
(Lucas Fader - Crash Bandicoot Warped - Main Theme (Lucas Fader Remix))
Now, we need to add a bit to our timeline and jump a year forward to
the release of 'Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back'.
Here's some placeholder images for the save icons which are loaded
in until the saving and loading menu is accessed.
These TNT sprites are grouped in with the files for the Ripper Roo battle,
but the ones with seven and eight on them are not used.
There aren't any unused areas but there are some pieces of unused scenery,
from older versions of levels, which are never seen in the game.
The levels are "Turtle Woods", "The Pits", "Crash Crush", "Un-Bearable", "Hangin' Out", "Diggin' It" and "Bee-Having".
In the level "Totally Bear", there's two boxes that can only be seen
in a level editor because they are destroyed in game by mistake.
With a level editor it can be seen that the end of the bonus in "Cold Hard Crash"
was originally going to be connected to the first hole after Crash falls down from the ice-skating part,
so the platform would have gone up to the hole.
This may have been removed due to the player missing a checkpoint and some crates.
In some E3 demo footage, we can see that the "Ruination" level had a signpost made of stone
to show which pathway is easy and which is hard.
The model data and object code still remain in the final version, while not being used.
Next, let's look at the third game in the series, Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
This game had a demo in the game "Spyro the Dragon", which would play
a slideshow with a beta version of the underwater level theme which would always get cut off.
(music)
(Lucas Fader - Crash Bandicoot Warped - Main Theme (Lucas Fader Remix))
Some unused strings of text exist in the final game, saying:
OPEN LEVELS, CLOSE LEVELS, NO CHEATS, GET RELICS and GET ALL.
These were very likely used for debugging purposes.
The title screen was changed almost entirely in Japan,
with Crash dancing in space and a globe instead of a clock.
Also, when booting the Japanese version of the game, holding
Down, Triangle, L1 and R1 at the same time will play a bonus video.
Here's some short clips from it.
(Japanese speaking)
As you can see, it's an educational video about the animals of Australia.
Go and watch it if you can find a copy. (Lucas Fader - Crash Bandicoot Warped - Main Theme (Lucas Fader Remix))
In 1999, Sony released Crash Team Racing which had
a review release with a few slight differences.
The character roster had a few changes including:
A different font, some different icons and a different order.
In the N. Gin Labs track, some tall yellow structures existed,
but are only in the track preview in the final version.
Also, the lap counter had a hyphen instead of a slash in the final game.
In the final game, some cut placeholder sound effects exist for Penta Penguin.
"Penguin Yay 1"
"Penguin Yay 2"
The thing about these is that they weren't cut in the North American release and they actually play.
Here's some other sound effects which were actually cut.
(voices read lines on screen)
Here's a list of other cut hardware-related voice lines.
Here's a clip from the bonus video which can be accessed by pressing
L1, L2, R1 and R2 at the same time when booting up the game.
(fast tempo song with Japanese vocals)
(Lucas Fader - Crash Bandicoot Warped - Main Theme (Lucas Fader Remix))
The main menu was changed in the Japanese release to have Crash sitting in his kart instead of holding a trophy.
Three cut items have icons on the disc,
one being a spring, the second being an old icon for the bubble shield and the third being something else.
These used to do things in earlier versions of the game, but the third one did absolutely nothing.
Finally, let's look at Crash Bash. Released in late 2000 and developed by Eurocom instead of Naughty Dog,
this game is very similar to Mario Party.
This "Press X to select" graphic is loaded into VRAM while the player is in the first warp room but never used.
Using this GameShark code in the European version allows you to enter a test level while in a minigame.
Pressing circle in this level will trigger an explosion animation and
pressing it again while it's still playing will stop it.
(Qumu Music - Crash Bandicoot - Main Theme [Remix]) Thank you for watching this episode of "The Cut Content Of".
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But that's it for this episode. "The Cut Content Of" returns next week, with an episode every week.
(Qumu Music - Crash Bandicoot - Main Theme [Remix])
