Easter Eggs You Missed In Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
With the release of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, the Crash Bandicoot main series finally received another installment for the first time since 2008. The long-running franchise has 22 games in total, including racing, party, and mobile titles. The beloved platformer series, now spearheaded by developer Toys for Bob, dates all the way back to 1996 and follows a genetically-enhanced bandicoot named Crash across the fictitious Wumpa Islands. With the help of a few friends, Crash often must foil his evil creator Doctor Neo Cortex's plans for world domination.
Crash Bandicoot's rich history has been filled with meme-worthy moments and memorable one-liners. Toys for Bob honored the franchise, which was first developed by Naughty Dog as a Sony PlayStation exclusive, by throwing a ton of hidden Easter eggs and references to past Crash games into It's About Time. While some Easter eggs were on the more obvious side, others could only be noticed by hardcore Crash fans, like the ones below.
Crunch Bandicoot's name in fridge magnets
Crunch Bandicoot began as one of Dr. Cortex's minions and the main antagonist in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, but he had a change of heart after Crash defeated him and he was freed from Dr. Cortex's control. From there, the muscular Cyborg bandicoot helped Crash on his missions, starring in several of the series' other games. Crunch also joined the Bandicoot family as Crash's older sibling.
Not even minutes into It's About Time, Toys for Bob shared the very first Easter egg. In the mission "Rude Awakening," Crash walked past a bright orange refrigerator covered in magnets and pieces of paper. The magnets were considerably spaced out, so it was a bit less obvious at first glance to see that the colorful decorations actually spelled out "CRUNCH," and a child-like crayon drawing in the center seemed to depict the character. Crunch did not appear as a playable character in It's About Time, but he was still in the hearts of his fans.
Tiny Tiger's portrait in Cortex Castle
Tiny Tiger was a mutant tiger, and he's anything but tiny. He was another one of Dr. Cortex's creations, as well as his strongest and most loyal minion, but not the smartest. Tiny Tiger appeared as the third boss in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, where players battled him in a room filled with nine platforms and a long fall below. Tiny Tiger went on to make appearances in 10 other games, continuing his loyalty to Dr. Cortex.
Tiny Tiger did not return in It's About Time as a character, but he did make a small cameo in Cortex's Castle. A large portrait of the villain in his gladiator attire from Warped could be seen hanging on the wall. Considering that the Tasmanian Tiger was said to have one of the best boss battles in the series, it's no surprise that Dr. Cortex would frame his photo.
Spyro the Dragon and Fake Crash balloons
Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot have always seemed to go hand-in-hand. Both series began as PlayStation exclusives and saw some overlap in developers, including Toys for Bob. The two titular characters have made small cameos in each other's games over the years and even starred in crossovers, including Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy.
The cameos continued with It's About Time, as Spyro could be seen floating through the air in balloon form during the parade. On top of that, players might have missed a balloon for another character of Crash's past: Fake Crash, or Trash Bandicoot, Crash's arguably uglier doppelgänger who remained a mostly neutral character in several past games. He appeared in a few other places in It's About Time, though this cameo was the least eye-catching at first glance.
Toys for Bob may not have been able to bring back every single Crash Bandicoot character in their full forms to It's About Time, but it was certainly a nice treat for hardcore fans to see the developer paying homage to as many as possible, no matter how small the cameo.