Proto:Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back/September 13th, 1997 build

This is a sub-page of Proto:Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.

  This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

The September 13th, 1997 prototype of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a review version of the game dated a few weeks before the final NTSC-U release version. It was released on April 17th, 2021.

Cheat Features

Warp Room Codes

In the warp room, three button combinations can be inputted:

• Press Right, Down, Down, Left, Down, Circle, Square, Triangle = Give all colored gems, unlock the elevator, and open all secret entrances. Boss fights will also become inaccessible, even after retrieving the crystals or by holding down the replay button.
• Press Right, Down, Down, Left, X, Circle, Circle = Trigger the hologram cutscenes by pressing R2. They will play in chronological order of appearance (except for the annoyed Cortex easter egg scenes and the two Brio scenes, which are the last ones).
• Press Right, Down, Down, Left, Down, Circle, Triangle, Circle = Turn off active cheats.

A life sound effect will play upon entry.

General Differences

Startup

Sep 13	Final

• The sound that plays in the Naughty Dog screen is different.
  • Skipping the Universal logo screen will not play the sound effect in the Naughty Dog screen.
• Skipping the logo's animation will cause the audio to continue playing afterwards.
• There are no idle attract demos.

Gameplay

• There are no sounds from any menu screens when navigating or confirming an option.
• Music volume is defaulted to 74% as opposed to 100%.
• The bonus round music tracks don't loop properly and they just start over.
• When Crash takes damage, his invincibility frame shares the same flashing visual effect as Aku Aku invincibility state, rather than becoming invisible.
  • Like in Crash Bandicoot, Aku Aku flashes when Crash takes damage as well.
• Crash will dance even if his only spoil was the crystal.
  • The dance cannot be skipped at all.
• There are no sound effects for warp room actions, such as when Crash dances, rolls out, or takes items out of his pocket.
• Crash will leap out triumphantly of the portal even if he has earned nothing. In fact, pretty much the only way to get the roll animation is to exit a level prematurely.
• If you have any crystals or gems, and use a secret exit, you lose them and will have to collect them again.
• The gem of secret levels will be invisible when Crash takes it out of his pocket in the warp room.

Sep 13	Final

• Polar makes a very different sound.
• The body slam move cannot break crates above Crash.
• Locked crates always provide a single Wumpa fruit which is also picked up instantly, rather than dropping the pickup out of the box.
  • They are immediately counted when the crate is broken, rather than moving to the HUD.
• Locked crates cannot be instantly destroyed with Aku Aku invincibility.
• When loading a boss level or a secret area, the game freezes the screen rather than turning it white.
• After a boss is defeated, Crash does not leap up in joy - rather, he just immediately dances with no sound effects.
• You need to hold L2 instead of Triangle to replay a boss fight.
• Holding down R2 allows you to skip boss fights when going to the next warp room. Attempting to skip the final battle will softlock the game, though.
• If Crash is awarded an Aku Aku mask upon entering a level while also carrying two masks, he will be able to start the level with invincibility.
  • The game will crash when attempting to load Jet Pack levels due to the missing invincibility form code, as you normally can't become invincible in these levels.
• Nitros do not instantly hit the player when affected by certain actions, meaning it's possible to jump on one and carefully jump away from its explosion radius unharmed.
• Ice surfaces have different physics when colliding with walls; when you hit one, all momentum is lost and Crash resets to being still. In the final game, Crash keeps his speed even when pressed against a wall.
• The death route platform moves very quickly.
• Boost pads only trigger if you run or stand on them - spins and slides make them useless.
  • Running on them during the invincibility frames state does not trigger either.
• Regular electric fences don't emit the buzz sound effect.
• Performing a slide spin when passing through electric fences won't harm Crash.
• When losing a mask after being electrocuted, Crash won't act as if he had been hurt by jumping up in pain shouting "ouch".
• Crash can still be electrocuted by electric fences while invincible.
  • If the invincibility ends while he still in the electrocution state, he won't lose the mask.
• When Crash collects a blue or yellow gem, it loses its shape while in the HUD.
• The pause menu automatically increases crystal and gem count when collected, but returns to normal if one leaves the level prematurely or through a secret warp.
  • The gem stats area has a lighter background.
  • Setting the music volume to 0% acts like it would be 100%.
  • The analog calibration option is called "Analog Pad" instead of "Calibrate".
  • There is no screen centering option.
• When loading a save file or after a game over, Crash displays the warping animation instead of rolling out of the last level's portal the player was in.
• Leaving a boss level prematurely or loading a save file right after having defeated them will make Crash spawn in the current warp room of the boss, rather than the first level of the next one.
• You can also quit the game by pressing Select on the pause menu.
• Quitting the game will return to the startup intros instead of the title screen.
• Overwriting an existing save file does not replace the previous profile name with the current one. That also means there is no way to create a file keeping the default "Crash B." profile name.

Levels

Jungle Levels

• Butterflies throughout the levels were rearranged.

Snow Levels

Sep 13	Final

• Falling planks and platforms re-use the sound of the falling planks from the Bridge levels of the first game. The final game uses the same sound as when the boulder starts rolling in the first game.

River Levels

• The ? indicator on the bonus platforms is sideways. The same applies to the exits.
  • There is also no collision applied to the entrance platforms, thus allowing the player to walk through the object.
• The timer continues even if you are inside the bonus.

Chase Levels

• Tree trunks placed on the right side of the scenery features a different root flare.

Polar Levels

• The sound effect for landing out of a jump is different.
• You don't twirl on a checkpoint after respawn.
• The angel death animation plays when hitting the iron crates of the parka lab assistants.
  • Oddly, the "Whoa!" sound effect will play twice and Crash's model will flash.

Sewer Levels

• Spinning on a welder lab assistant will make the same sound effect of the spinnable wooden platforms from the native levels of Crash Bandicoot.
• Jumping over or body-slamming the rolling barrels won't hurt the player.
• Bobbing sewer mechs are always facing a fixed spot, rather than pointing themselves towards the player.
• The pair of rats encircling gem or bonus entrances will immediatelly despawn from the screen when the player goes slightly forward.
  • Defeating just one of them and then going back will respawn it.
• The top wall texture of the tunnels in the hanging mesh sections is different.
• Grating floors inside hot tunnel segments feature a different pattern.

Ruins Levels

• The logs thrown by gorillas lack a sound effect.
• The falling square platforms from bridges lack sound effects.

Alpine Levels

• Spitter plants can be defeated when touching them during the invincibility frames.
• Some decorations in the scenery have a lighter shading, such as totems and rock formations.
  • Tree trunks placed on the right side of the scenery also feature a different root flare.
• The texture mapping of the snow patches on the floor is mostly unfinished.

Sep 13	Final

• The diggable soil is grey instead of magenta and lacks the snow patches in the edges. This matches the appearance seen in the save file icons in the final game.
• The player can move while jumping underground and jumping out of it, helped even further by the fact that these two animations play more slowly.
  • That results in a glitch where Crash can also dig into the regular areas if you move while still performing the animation.
• Crates do not automatically break when Crash approaches them from below while navigating under the soil.
• The textures of the scenery get slightly shifted when Crash digs into the soil.
• The border of the bonus entrance frame is surrounded by a snow patch.
• If Crash gets stung by bees while landing on a boost pad, his death will not be overriden.
• Stone electric fences share the same wiring textures on the floor as the timed variants.
  • The poles and ground textures around the fences do not feature a cyan shading either.

Dynamo Levels

• Most evidenced in bonus rounds, going under the pistons while they are retracted up will make Crash teleport above them.
• Overall, the scenery lacks some polishing.
• There are no blue pipes and pillars that are generally placed under or above the scenery.
• Textures of the long walls that require the player to crawl underneath are less detailed.
• Due to the rough collision, you can usually walk through hot pipes and without taking damage.

Sep 13	Final

• The bonus round platform has a simpler texture.
• There is no collision applied to the bonus exit platforms.
• Pusher lab assistants retaliate more quickly after you hit them.
• Wumpa fruits placed behind the walls between the glass tube sections cannot be picked up.

Jet Pack Levels

Sep 13	Final

• The door sound effect is different.

Night Jungle Levels

• Rats don't emit particles when defeated.
• The text that reads "CHECK POINT" when opening checkpoint crates is black.
• The warping particles are invisible.

Cutscene Differences

Opening

• It's totally impossible to skip the opening cutscene. However, you can pull up the HUD if you want.
• The rock textures on the surface and edges surrounding the two mushrooms next to Cortex in the cave scene are simpler.
  • The larger mushroom is more detailed.
• The reflection of Cortex's arms is present on the cave floor.
• The scenery has flickering issues in the Cortex Vortex in space scene.
• The lab assistant texture in the N. Gin's scene is darker.

Normal Ending

• There is no crab on the beach.

True Ending

• The machine sound effect is missing.
• Cortex doesn't laugh at the end of the credits.
• The credits send you back to the warp room, rather than to the startup screens.

Warp Room

Sep 13	Final

• The warp sound effect is different.
• On the load/save screen, Crash doesn't animate at all, except for blinking.
  • The current game progress isn't displayed in the memory card screen.
  • When entering the game via the "Load Game" option, the memory card screen does not default to the slot select sub-menu.
  • The default save file icon when starting a new game re-uses the Crash sighing image used in the empty slots.
    • Exiting a level through a secret warp will also display the empty slot icon, rather than the last level you were.
  • Even when saving to your own save file, you get the "Overwrite?" prompt.
• The elevator has a larger detection area.
• Coco's hologram doesn't appear in her first cutscene, after defeating Ripper Roo.
• Jumping on Polar repeatedly won't give 10 extra lives.
• In the fourth warp room, there are no water droplets in the pipes and stalactites of the Hangin' Out and Diggin' It portals.
• Despite unlocking the regular secret entrances, Crash spawns in front of a different level entrance instead of the unlocked one for the majority of the exits, which is possibly a leftover of an earlier warp link.
  • Air Crash spawns at Totally Bear.
  • Bear Down spawns at Snow Go.
  • Un-Bearable spawns at Air Crash.
  • Diggin' It spawns at Road to Ruin.
• The clear gems for Totally Bear and Totally Fly are misplaced behind the portal frames.
• You cannot carry any Aku Aku mask you collected throughout a level when taking the secret exit and accessing the secret warp room.
• Dying in the secret warp room may freeze the game.

Level Differences

Intro

• There are no dropping tree leaves in the scenery.
• The two swallows inside the exit portal are missing.

Turtle Woods

• The sky has a orange tone as opposed to blue in the final game.
• Crash doesn't spawn in the center of the landing pad.
• The two swallows next to the exit passage are missing at the end of the level.
• The ground before the exit passage door has a low relief.
• If you get the box gem before the blue one, the box counter won't re-appear saying that zero boxes have to be broken, as a hint.

Sep 13	Final

• The platform that carries you out of the secret area has a different textures on the underside.

Snow Go

Bonus Round

• There is a blue crystal cluster next to the three suspended crates that was removed in the final game.

Secret Path

• There is no wall in the background reflected by the first ice mirror.
• There are some unfinished models along the walls, in the fall part to the red gem.

Hang Eight

• Draw distance is not set up very well, causing several black polygons to appear during the blue gem transitions.

Gem Path

• There is no collision applied to the gem exit platform.

The Pits

• The sky has a blue tone as opposed to orange in the final game.
• There are no swallows or dropping tree leaves in the scenery throughout the level.
• Crash doesn't spawn in the center of the landing pad.

Main Level

• Crash will not display his warping animation when respawning in the checkpoint on the right path.

Ripper Roo

• Ripper Roo doesn't flash white when stunned.
• The grunt when Ripper Roo notices Crash or takes a hit is absent.
• No sound effect plays when Ripper Roo falls face down on the ground after being knocked out.

Snow Biz

• The red gem platform is a little far to the right.
• There is some ice crystals embedded in a wall on the left side of the gem rise.
• There are two blue crystal clusters before the second checkpoint that were removed in the final game.

Air Crash

• There is no ice-skating sound effect when sliding through the frozen surface in the warp passages.

Secret Path

• The jet board can embed itself partially into the wooden fences on the left side.

Crash Crush

• There is no ice-skating sound effect when sliding through the frozen surface in the warp passages.
• Crash will not display his warping animation when respawning from the bonus.
• The rolling animation at the exit passage causes Crash to slide throughout the gem.

Bonus Round

• The bonus uses the default wall background texture instead of a unique blue color.

The Eel Deal

• There is no ice-skating sound effect when sliding through the frozen surface in the warp passages.

Main Level

• The top right textures in the hot sewer tunnel wall have a greyish tone.
• The exit passage is from the first warp room's levels.

Bonus Round

• There is an extra crate hidden over the pile of iron crates, bringing the total number of crates to 80 instead of 79.
• The bottom part of the scenery has flickering issues.
• The exit platform doesn't have holdsters and lacks collision.

Komodo Bros.

• There is no pre-fight cutscene.
• If you enter the fight with two masks, you'll get temporary invincibility.
• Instead of dodging Komodo Joe's spin attack, the player can also spin or slide on him while spinning in order to push him away.
  • This mechanic seems to be the main feature, as he not only spins much faster and longer but also tends to chase you, making it extremely hard to dodge him.
• Komodo Moe already starts throwing swords in the second phase.
• Komodo Joe doesn't flash white when stunned.
• Some sound effects are missing.
  • There is no sound effect when Komodo Joe is spinning.
  • No sound plays when Komodo Joe gets dizzy.
  • Komodo Moe doesn't make a grunt when Komodo Joe crashes into him.
• Komodo Moe will keep throwing swords even after the battle is over.
• You can keep any Aku Aku mask you had after the battle.

Plant Food

• Crash doesn't spawn in the center of the landing pad.
• If you make it to the end with both all crates and still within the time, you only get the yellow gem. You must kill yourself to get both gems.

Sewer or Later

Main Level

• The rat in the first tunnel was removed in the final game.
• There is an extra TNT crate along with the Nitro just afterwards.
• The first Aku Aku crate over the first checkpoint is missing.
• Crash will not display his warping animation when respawning in the first checkpoint.
• The third Aku Aku crate is missing, bringing the total number of crates to 56 instead of 57.
• There is an extra collision step on the gem pad, forcing the player to jump in order to collect it.

Gem Path

• The music doesn't change in the yellow gem path.
• There is no collision applied to the exit platform.

Bear Down

Main Level

• The bottom half of the skybox is missing, which can be seen at the beginning of the level.
• There are black textures in the edge of the snow stairs.

Sep 13	Final

• There is an extra Orca pond before the first checkpoint.

Sep 13	Final

• There is a row of five Nitros in front of the first fallen totem pole.
• There is an extra TNT crate after the second parka lab assistants.
• Afterwards, another extra TNT crate is placed before the second checkpoint.

Sep 13	Final

• There are extra totem poles on the left before the crystal, which were removed, but the water pit on the right was extended.
• Two more extra TNTs are placed after the frozen surface segment. One before the Orca pond, and the other after it, bringing the total number of crates to 51 instead of 42.
• Crash makes Polar's footprints at the end of the level.
• There is an extra collision step on the gem pad, forcing the player to jump in order to collect it.

Road to Ruin

Main Level

• There is an extra Nitro behind the first stack of crates.
• The bonus platform is located on the right side of the level.
• Both bonus platforms don't have holdsters and lack collision.
• Crash will not display his warping animation when respawning in the second checkpoint.
• The ! switch activates Nitros instead.
• There is an extra collision step on the gem pad, forcing the player to jump in order to collect it.
• Both death route platforms are misplaced and clip through the level's geometry. That makes the player accidentally trigger the platform when walking close to it.

Un-Bearable

• Due to a glitch, you can instantly kill the giant bear by quickly going backwards as soon as the bear starts chasing you.
• The snow footsteps sound effect is used.
• Pine trees around the scenery before each chase section have an incorrect shading tone applied.
• The sky background is completely dark, as opposed to grey.
• The texture mapping of the snow patches on the ground are incomplete in several areas.
• Boost pads lack the square-shaped texture around them.
• Stone electric fences share the same wiring textures on the floor as the regular variants.
  • The poles do not feature a cyan shading representing the beam reflection.

Main Level

• The third pit of the first chase is bigger and longer and the Nitro crates afterwards are placed further to the left.
• An ancient ruin decoration is missing at the top in the first chase section, which can be seen in the distance after the electric fence, in the steep downhill.
• A rock formation is missing at the top in the second chase section, at the beginning of the thin path.
  • The scenery around was completely re-worked to accommodate the decoration, causing the shape of the pit to be changed as well.
• There are two extra lizards present in the second chase section.
• You must wait for the giant bear to break the planks to open the checkpoint, otherwise the secret area will be sealed off when you respawn outside of it.
• There is another extra lizard in the third chase section.
• There are TNT crates in the third chase section that were replaced with regular crates in the final game.

Sep 13	Final

• The scenery around the end of the level was completely re-done - the hill is not as steep and a giant rock formation was added in the ceiling to cover the scenery behind and hide the draw distance.
• The exit passage has untextured bits around the door frame in the first section, and ceiling in the second section.
  • The floor around the gem pad and exit portal is beige instead of green.
  • The pipes lack the water droplets in the exit portal area.

Bonus Round

• The bonus uses the default wall background texture instead of a unique green tone.

Secret Area

• It uses the default wall background texture instead of a unique dark green tone.
• The lowest iron crate near the second Aku Aku crate is missing.
• You won't lose your invincibility when you exit the area.

Tiny Tiger

• Tiny's health bar doesn't have his name on it.
• Crash takes a while to start celebrating after Tiny is defeated.

Hangin' Out

Main Level

• There are more hot pipes in the right side of the scenery before the first hanging mesh, causing them to clip through the grating floor.
• The top right textures at the beginning of the first hot sewer tunnel wall have a greyish tone.
• The top textures of the second hot sewer tunnel walls have a greyish tone.
• The camera angle in hot sewer tunnels is placed further upwards.
• Invisible barriers are missing around the scenery in the crystal area to prevent the player from getting stuck.

Bonus Round

• The camera is more zoomed in.
• The pipes in the scenery don't have leaking water droplets.

Diggin' It

• The sky coloration is the same as Bee-Having.

Main Level

Sep 13	Final

• The area right after the bonus lacks the pits. The final game had several pits on both sides of the path, and there was only one boost pad.
• There are three boost pads afterwards leading to the right path.
• Crash will not display his warping animation when respawning in the checkpoint on the right path.
• The final boost pad at the end of the right split-path is misplaced and lacks the square shaped texture around it.
• The scenery has missing chunks at the end of the right path.
• The totem statue and the fallen stone structure separating the end of both split-paths have a sunset shading.

Bonus Round

• The bonus uses the default wall background texture instead of a dark green tone.

Death Route

• The death route platform has corrupted textures.
• You can access the death route without needing the platforms by walking on the scenery at the split-path transitions.
• The scenery on the left is unfinished after the second spitter plant.

Cold Hard Crash

• Falling icicles do not trigger TNT crates.

Death Route

• There is no Aku Aku mask in the topmost ? crate of the death route.

Ruination

Main Level

• The single crate behind the first stack of crates and all activatable ones are Nitros in the final game, the exact opposite as in Road to Ruin.
• The ! switch activates regular crates containing a single fruit.
• The green gem is living its own life as it's initially located on the right side of the level, but floats to the correct position when you get closer to it and returns to the right side when you are further away.
• Both bonus platforms don't have holdsters.
  • The iron crates holding the exit platform are also missing.
• The final green platform spawns in the regular level, allowing you to access the route backwards and collect the clear gem easily.
• The colors some times got messed up on the last three moving pillars.
• The music doesn't change in the green gem path.

Bee-Having

• It's called "Bee Haven" in the pause menu.
• The level 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, bringing the total number of crates to 100 crates instead of 92.

Main Level

• There are Wumpa fruits above the Nitro stairs as a hint.

Bonus Round

• The bonus uses a green wall background texture instead of an acqua green tone.
• The exit platform is misplaced.

Secret Area

• It uses a green background texture instead of a unique blue color.
• There is an extra armored armadillo after the purple gem.

N. Gin

• N. Gin's voice acting is missing.
• All sound effects are missing.
• He is only got four health points, so the final phase where he shoots a green laser blast out of the front is missing.
• Wumpa particles are colored pink instead of purple.
• Missile wings are colored black and lack the fire trail effect.
• Mech parts don't electrify to indicate malfunction before self-destroying.
• Destroying both mech's parts at the same time will cause the mech to lose them separately, rather than both exploding simultaneously.
  • The second hand to be destroyed will open and close twice after the first one is gone before actually exploding.
• The burning death animation only plays half of the animation before instantly resetting the level.
• When the battle starts, N. Gin just pops out instantly instead of slowly flying down.
• During the first missile phase, the mech shoots one extra missile that explodes in mid-air above Crash.
  • The explosion particles cannot harm Crash.
  • Missiles lack a proper shadow.
• During the second missile phase, the mech shoots two extra missiles that fly above Crash.
• Once defeated, the mech will just slowly fall apart instead of blowing up and the battle will instantly end. Crash just disappears without dancing and the screen fades out.
• There is no death barrier in the bottomless pit, allowing Crash to walk out of bounds if jumping off the platform.

Piston It Away

• The camera zooms out inside the warp passage when Crash is looking at the camera.
• Some visual changes were made to the level:
  • The background has drawing issues at some parts and during transitions.
  • Certain dynamos throughout the level use the regular texture without the "N" emblem.
• There is no collision applied to the death route platform.
• Part of the floor on the right side of the scenery before the exit passage is missing.

Death Route

• The camera is more zoomed out at the entrance.
• There is no dynamo on the left corner of the scenery at the beginning.

Night Fight

• Crash will not display his warping animation when respawning from the bonus.

Spaced Out

• Some visual changes were made to the level:
  • Certain dynamos throughout the level use the regular texture without the "N" emblem.
  • In the bonus round, there is a wall missing between the two dynamos behind the first stack of crates.
  • Another wall between two dynamos is missing after the bonus entrance.
• There is no collision applied to the blue gem platform.

Gem Path

• Several details and decorations are missing in the gem transitions, causing some serious drawing issues in the background.
  • The background has drawing issues in the blue gem path.
  • A few cylinders on the left corner of the scenery at the beginning of the green gem path are missing.
    • There is no pit between the first two shrinkrays, and an extra life is also present.
    • A few cylinders on the right corner of the scenery at the end of the path are missing.
  • A giant round structure on the left corner of the scenery at the beginning of the red gem path is missing.
    • There is no dynamo in the scenery behind the last pusher lab assistant.
  • A blue dynamo is missing on the right side of the chasm leading to the exit passage.

Totally Bear

• The snow has a greenish color.
• The field of view is smaller.
• Crash doesn't spawn in the center of the landing pad.
• The passage door is missing.
• The floor next to the totem pole has a graphical issue before the TNTs section.
• Crash makes Polar's footprints at the end of the level.

Totally Fly

• Crash doesn't spawn in the center of the landing pad.
• The passage door is missing.

Dr. Neo Cortex

• The box tally can display a weird negative number of seven digits covering the life counter.

Credits

The credit list is mostly complete, although it contains some roles and names that are either missing, or entirely removed.

Sep 13	Final
CRASH BANDICOOT...	CRASH BANDICOOT 2 CORTEX STRIKES BACK
CREATED AND DEVELOPED BY NAUGHTY DOG	CREATED AND DEVELOPED BY NAUGHTY DOG
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: ALLAN BECKER SENIOR PRODUCER: CONNIE BOOTH	EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: CONNIE BOOTH
PRODUCT MANAGER: AMI BLAIRE	SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER: AMI MATSUMURA-BLAIRE
TESTERS: CHRIS JOHNSON MARCUS MONTGOMERY PETER MAYBERRY VICTOR QUIMSON STEVE DREO TOMASI AKIMETA CHARLES DELAY LEIGHTON CHIN JO ARAGONES BRETT MULBERG BRUCE COCHRANE	N/A
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.	SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: MASAHITO SHIMIZU QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER: AKIRA KOIKE KAZUNARI MIKAWA	N/A
LEAD ANALYST: YUICHI IMAI	LEAD ANALYST: MASAYUKI MIZUNO
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: JAMES DILLON	ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: DAVID BOWRY
QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER: TONY BOURNE LEAD ANALYSTS: JOHN CORCORAN ANDY ROBERTS	N/A
TESTERS: SCEE QA, LIVERPOOL.	TESTERS: PHIL GREEN CRAIG DUDDLE KEV MASON NEIL JAMES PAUL JONES JOHN CASSIDY
CHARACTER DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION: CHARLES ZEMBILLAS JOE PEARSON PRODUCTION DESIGN: AMERICAN EXITUS, INC.	CHARACTER DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION BY AMERICAN EXITUS: CHARLES ZEMBILLAS
SOUNDTRACK: MUTATO MUZIKA MARK MOTHERSBAUGH JOSH MANCELL	SOUNDTRACK BY MUTATO MUZIKA: MARK MOTHERSBAUGH JOSH MANCELL
SOUND DESIGN: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SOUND FACILITIES MICHAEL GOLLOM RON HORWITZ KEVIN SPEARS	SOUND DESIGN BY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SOUND FACILITIES: MICHAEL GOLLOM RON HORWITZ KEVIN SPEARS
VOICE CHARACTERIZATION: BRENDAN OBRIEN	VOICE OF DR. NEO CORTEX: CLANCY BROWN DR. N. BRIO, N. GIN: BRENDAN OBRIEN COCO BANDICOOT: VICKI WINTERS
THANKS: SKIP PAUL ALIAS/WAVEFRONT SILICON GRAPHICS ANGUS GUSCHWAN TOM BOYD DAN BURNASH KOJIRO UMEMURA	SPECIAL THANKS: SKIP PAUL ALIAS/WAVEFRONT SILICON GRAPHICS ANGUS GUSCHWAN

• The credits start with Crash Bandicoot..., while in the final game it was changed to Crash Bandicoot 2 Cortex Strikes Back.
• Missing the first Special Thanks list.
• In the Universal Interactive Studios listing:
  • Executive Producer was renamed to Producer.
  • No Special Thanks list.
• In the Sony Computer Entertainment America row:
  • Allan Becker is the Executive Producer, while Connie Booth is the Senior Producer. In the final game, there is no Senior Producer role, and Connie Booth is the Executive Producer.
  • Product Manager was renamed to Senior Product Manager.
  • Ami Blaire was renamed to Ami Matsumura-Blaire.
  • Missing Senior Communications Manager and Marketing Specialist, Assistant Lead Analysts and Analysts roles.
  • Missing Special Thanks list.
  • Removed Testers list in the final game.
• In the Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. row:
  • Missing Tsurumi-0600 in Producers role.
  • Removed Assistant Producer role.
  • Removed Quality Assurance Manager.
  • Yuichi Imai is the Lead Analyst instead of Masayuki Mizuno.
  • Missing Special Thanks list.
• In the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe row:
  • The Assistant Producer role was replaced with Associate Producer.
  • Missing Kenny Mathers from the Product Managers role.
  • Removed Quality Assurance Manager and Lead Analysts roles.
  • Missing PR Manager, Special Thanks, Head of Internal Testing, and Lead Tester roles.
  • The Testers list is credited as SCEE QA, Liverpool.
• American Exitus is credited in an unique list called Production Design. In the final game, it was moved to the Character Design and Art Direction.
  • Removed Joe Pearson from Character Design and Art Direction role.
• The voice cast list is called Voice Characterization and credits only Brendan O'Brien instead of having single lists for each character.
• Missing Animation Reference role.
• The last Special Thanks list is called Thanks only.
  • Removed Tom Boyd, Dan Burnash, and Kojiro Umemura.

Soundtrack Differences

To do: Finish uploading all the tracks.

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

Level	Sep 13	Final	Notes
Title Screen		File:Crash2 TitleScreenTheme.ogg	The sound effect is in a lower octave and samples are in different quality.
Warp Room		File:Crash2 WarpRoomTheme.ogg	Some instruments are missing.
Jungle			Some instruments are missing.
Jungle (Bonus)		File:Crash2 JungleBonusTheme.ogg
Jungle (Hard)			Slightly different instruments, and volume is different.
Snow			Some different instruments, volume and tracks.
Snow (Bonus)		File:Crash2 SnowBonusTheme.ogg
Snow (Hard)			The theme is glitchy and cut off one of the instruments due to too many instruments being played at once.
River
River (Bonus)		File:Crash2 RiverBonusTheme.ogg	The theme lacks one instrument.
River (Hard)			The theme has a higher-pitched instrument.
Chase
Chase (Bonus)		File:Crash2 ChaseBonusTheme.ogg
Chase (Hard)
Polar		File:Crash2 PolarTheme.ogg
Sewer			The lack of instruments and the different lead at the end of the score. It sounds very similar when comparing the "pre-console" version.
Sewer (Bonus)		File:Crash2 SewerBonusTheme.ogg	A wrong instrument is used, which makes it hard to hear without getting an earbleed.
Sewer (Hard)
Ruins
Ruins (Bonus)		File:Crash2 RuinsBonusTheme.ogg
Ruins (Hard)
Alpine			The theme has one extra clean guitar instrument not present in the final game.
Alpine (Bonus)		File:Crash2 AlpineBonusTheme.ogg
Alpine (Hard)
Dynamo			The theme has high release applied to some of its instruments.
Dynamo (Bonus)		File:Crash2 SpaceBonusTheme.ogg
Dynamo (Hard)
Jet Pack		File:Crash2 JetPackTheme.ogg	The theme is glitchy and has cut-off notes.
Ripper Roo
Komodo Bros.
Tiny Tiger
N. Gin
Dr. Neo Cortex

Unused Content

Unused Animations

Crash

In the Alpine levels, there is an unused animation (CdInV) where Crash puts his hand on his chest and immediately recomposes himself, rather than falling down. It was likely intended to play when Crash was hit by an explosive seed while having an Aku Aku mask, similar to when Crash gets electrocuted and the mask is lost.

N. Gin

Even though the third phase is not present in the boss fight, mech animations for this phase already exist in the level data.

Unused Models

In the files for the true ending of the game, there is a model of Aku Aku that has no textures. His nose and goatee are brown instead of being red and green respectively.

Save Information

The information stored on a memory card when saving the game differs in this version compared to the final NTSC-U release.

Info	Sep 13	Final
Product Code	ASH2-94900	SCUS-94154
Identifier	00418432	00992731
Region	0x5243	America