Proto:Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

This page details one or more prototype versions of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

To do: Lot more stuff. Language change is partly implemented, it's that just the text is in English, voices are not it seems

In 2013, a beta version of Crash Bandicoot 2 started circulating. It's only available for the PAL region and is actually a nearly-complete review copy. Obviously it has some differences compared to the final version.

Pause Menu

The textures in the pause menu are the same as in the NTSC-J version, there is no calibration and screen centering options and music volume is defaulted to 74% as opposed to 100% in the final version.

Gems and Crystals

To do: Not all of them lose their shape, can't remember which ones didn't, except that the green one didn't.

When Crash collects a colored gem, it loses its shape while in the HUD.

Additionally, the pause menu automatically increases crystal and gem count when the gem or crystal is collected, but returns to normal if one leaves the level prematurely or through a secret warp.

Different Music

To do: Upload clear versions.

One of the biggest differences is the music. Almost all levels have slightly different music tracks:

• Hard path jungle music has slightly different instruments, and volume is different.
• The warp room theme has missing instruments.
• The title theme is slightly different.
• The snow level themes have some different instruments, volume and tracks. The death route themes are glitchy and cut off one of the instruments due to too many instruments being played at once.
• The bonus river theme lacks one instrument, and the death route theme has a higher-pitched instrument.
• The normal boulder theme is slightly different, its death route counterpart is slightly different too.
• The normal sewer is slightly different, and more similar to Josh Mancell's pre-console mix at the end. The bonus theme uses a wrong instrument, which makes it hard to hear without getting an earbleed.
• The Komodo Bros. theme is slightly different.
• The alpine levels have one extra clean guitar instrument not present in the final version, and all of its themes are slightly different. Most notably the death route.
• The N. Gin theme differs slightly.
• The dynamo levels have high release applied to some of their instruments.
• The space levels are glitchy and have cut-off notes.

Different level layout

Unlike the earlier versions of the previous game, level order is the same, and only minor changes are present:

• The Eel Deal has an extra box hidden in the bonus, over the pile of iron boxes.
• Un-Bearable looks slightly different. Texturing in several areas appears to be incomplete.
• The area right after the bonus in Diggin' It lacks the holes.
• The diggable soil in alpine levels is grey instead of magenta. This matches the appearance seen in the load/save icons in the final version. The player can also move while digging in and jumping out of it, helped even further by the fact that these two animations are longer.
• Bee-Having uses real Nitros that Crash can stand on and that don't bounce. They were changed to being part of the scenery as they could still be blown up with attacks.
• Due to an excess of polygons, Piston it Away crashes in the area with the gem. Areas around the gem are also prone to crash. This can be fixed with a cheat code.

Other stuff

• You need to hold L2 instead of Triangle to go back to a boss battle.
• If you hold R2 you can skip the boss battle when going to the next warp room.
• Music volume 0% acts like it would be 100%.
• Languages choices in the main menu are in different order.