One of the most popular platformers of the late 1990’s, Crash Bandicoot: Warped continued the series’ tradition of unique boss battles while introducing new villains.
It’s been nearly 27 years since the initial release of Crash Bandicoot: Warped for the PlayStation, a game that solidified Crash Bandicoot’s status as an icon for the console while advancing the platformer genre another step forward.
Already lauded for its immersive, thematic level design and difficulty, Warped was in many ways a culmination of the ideas expressed in the series’ first two games in its best possible execution yet.
The game itself follows the formula set by its predecessor, Crash Bandicoot: Cortex Strikes Back, which was released in 1997. The game uses “warp rooms” to act as homeworlds – a circular area surrounded by five portals that take Crash to different levels.
Matching its predecessor, Warped has five main warp rooms with five levels inside each room – although a sixth warp room with additional levels can be accessed by obtaining relics in multiple levels.
After Crash collects the crystals in all five levels of a homeworld, he’s pitted against a boss that must be defeated before moving on to the next area.
Just like in the series’ first two entries, boss battles show off perhaps the greatest amount of creativity the series has to offer – though not all are created equal. Departing from the formulaic boss battles seen in Super Mario titles at the time, Crash Bandicoot games force the player to figure out and execute a different method of defeating a boss for each encounter.
The same applies in Warped, where a player will need to show they’re adept at several different aspects of the game to make their way through the bosses.
In this list, I’ll be ranking the five bosses in Warped based on both how creative and innovative I found the boss battle to be, along with my personal enjoyment of the level whenever I replay the game myself.
5. Tiny Tiger (World 1)
The opening boss of Warped, the battle marks Crash’s second encounter with Tiny, who also served as the third boss in Cortex Strikes Back.
Similar to the battle in the predecessor, it likely won’t be Tiny himself that hurts you if you’re struggling with this battle. After jumping around a raucous Colosseum-style arena a few times, Crash has the opportunity to damage Tiny with a spin before he must dodge a pack of hungry Lions that run across the ground of the stadium.
It’s a simple battle that is easy to figure out, as the first boss battle of a game should be, but there doesn’t really seem to be too much that stands out in this battle – striking Tiny and dodging the Lions feel like two completely disconnected objectives that could be components in a boss battle of their own.
With that said, the battle presents a nice challenge for a new player with some classic trial-and-error while further entrenching Tiny as a key character and villain in the Crash Bandicoot series.
4. Dr. Neo Cortex and Uka Uka (World 5)
The final boss battle in the game, it serves as an underwhelming conclusion to an incredible platforming adventure through 25 levels.
In a fitting and well-executed characteristic, the fight pits Crash and Aku Aku against Cortex and Uka Uka, as the two masks square off with each other in a small laboratory-like room while Crash dodges both their battle and bombs being thrown by Cortex.
After Cortex’s invincibility shield drops, Crash must strike Cortex and spin him into a hole in the center of the room, having to repeat the process three times.
Outside of featuring Aku Aku and Uka Uka, the battle doesn’t quite live up to the expectations set by the preceding three boss battles, which all noticeably grew in difficulty and intensity. While there’s plenty of trial-and-error to get past with this fight, it’s likely easier to many players, myself included, than the preceding boss battle in World 4.
The battle could have better executed the 2-on-2 concept if Crash and Aku Aku were directly teamed up in the fight, as opposed to focused on their separate battles in a crowded space.
3. Dr. N. Tropy (World 3)
Marking the introduction of Dr. N. Tropy to the series, Crash’s World 3 boss battle serves as a great platforming test against a villain who embodies the time travelling theme of the game.
Though a rather formulaic battle, Crash must maneuver differing platforming patterns before moving across a stage to strike N. Tropy, which must occur three times.
After dodging a few projectiles each time, Crash crosses over a progressively hard sequence to get to N. Tropy, with the final hit requiring precise, long jumps done quickly in order to complete the battle.
The fight stands out as a fun one for me decades later due to its faithfulness to what makes Crash Bandicoot so fun to begin with – its platforming. Crash’s size and physics make it particularly satisfying once you’re finally able to complete a tough area, and this boss battle exemplifies that to the fullest.
2. Dingodile (World 2)
Acting as the introduction to the series for Dingodile, the boss battle both develops his character in an instant while providing an advanced challenge for players following the Tiny Tiger battle in the previous world.
While players might be confused by the dingo-crocodile hybrid with an Australian accent, but they won’t have much time to ponder – players must run around a circle of crystals that has Dingodile in the middle, firing off his flamethrower towards Crash.
After this, Crash must allow Dingodile to break through the crystals with his flamethrower, creating an opening for Crash to move into the circle and strike Dingodile, which must happen three times.
This battle shows off the series’ signature creativity, introducing a new character that would go on to play an integral role in future games in an incredibly unique boss fight that prioritizes accurate timing on top of the usual trial-and-error.
This is especially apparent on the final hit of the battle, where Dingodile shoots two fireballs at once towards Crash, requiring an immediate adjustment for the player to stay ahead of the ammunition.
1. N. Gin (World 4)
Though it felt unnecessarily long and brutal as a kid, the N. Gin boss battle still stands out nearly 30 years later as one of the crown jewels of the widely celebrated game.
Reprising his role from the predecessor as the World 4 boss, N. Gin once again appears in a large armored vehicle with multiple types of ammunition to fire off. Yet instead of it being Crash throwing Wumpa fruit towards N. Gin, it’s Coco Bandicoot – in a spaceship.
With Warped introducing Coco as a playable character for the first time in the series, it was excellent to see the inclusion go a step further with Coco controlling a boss fight – fittingly coming in a world where Coco also controls two of the five levels.
After Coco is able to knock out N. Gin’s first vehicle, one may think the battle is over – until N. Gin returns in a vehicle even more heavily-armored, while Coco’s vehicle also transforms and adds the assist of Pura, who was also introduced to the series in Warped as Coco’s sidekick.
The second wind of the boss fight offers a frustrating surprise for first-time players, but also an exciting expansion of what one is used to in the series, particularly within boss fights.
The grand nature of the N. Gin battle, notably its inclusion of two distinct phases, certainly contributes to my feeling that the final battle against Cortex is underwhelming in many regards. Though that may be the case, I still don’t feel as if it detracts from the game’s experience, with N. Gin’s battle and the elements it introduces being a prime reason why.
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