A long revered game in the kart racing genre, Crash Team Racing’s single-player mode featured plenty of challenges while helping to set the game apart from its contemporaries.
It’s been over 26 years since the initial release of Crash Team Racing for the original PlayStation, a title that both established Crash Bandicoot as the de facto mascot of the console while inserting the franchise into a kart racing genre dominated by Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing.
Perhaps taking a bit of inspiration from the latter, CTR was equally known for its challenging, immersive single-player campaign mode as it was for the fast-paced multiplayer mode that most families and gamers had been familiar with through other titles in the genre.
While the first games I was ever introduced to were all platformers, Crash Team Racing gave me the first change of pace when it came to gaming, which started to open my eyes and mind to the wide range of adventures one could begin with a controller in their hands.
In addition to the many memories I have of my parents playing each other in the Vs. and Battle modes for hours on end, it was also one of the first games I made real progress in a single-player mode by myself in – which was certainly what got me addicted to the game and series as a whole.
The single-player mode is quite simple – players must win a trophy in four different courses by placing first in an 8-contestant race before being confronted with the boss of a given area, of which there are five of.
While the regular races were always straightforward and simply take a little time for players to learn the courses, boss races presented a different element to the challenge – a 1-on-1 duel that includes unlimited quantities of a given item for the player’s opponent.
This unlimited item changes between each boss, with the game’s final boss in Nitros Oxide featuring a variety of items throughout the race.
With this game eternally nostalgic for myself, I thought it would be fun to take a look back on which boss races were the most enjoyable game, looking to take difficulty, the course the race takes place on and the hazards from the opponent all into consideration.
Therefore, I hope this ranking reads as a list that considers difficulty and enjoyability on a relatively even level.
5. Komodo Joe, Dragon Mines
Mostly dragged down to its setting in Dragon Mines, Komodo Joe has long stood out to me as the most forgettable of the boss races in CTR.
Already perhaps the least-interesting course of the four in the Glacier Park hubworld, Komodo Joe himself also doesn’t bring that much of a unique challenge to players, especially considering this is the third of five boss races.
After TNTs were already included as the unlimited item used by Ripper Roo, exploding TNTs are used as Komodo Joe’s weapon of choice – which aren’t played that much differently than what players had to confront on their first boss race.
While the setting of the race of course adds up due to the dragon theming of the track corresponding with Komodo Joe’s character, perhaps a different villain in either Polar Pass or Tiny Arena would have made the end to this hubworld a bit more memorable for players.
4. Ripper Roo, Roo’s Tubes
The first boss of the game following the completion of the four courses in N. Sanity Beach, Ripper Roo serves as an ideal introduction to the more frenetic pace that boss races offer in CTR.
A familiar foe to players, having previously appeared as a boss in both Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Ripper Roo returns with a vengeance, eager to once again show off his affinity for the TNT – which serves as his unlimited item.
While undoubtedly challenging at first for a new player, the relatively hazard-free course of Roo’s Tubes and general ease of avoiding the TNTs offer a shorter learning curve while also forcing players to get creative with how they avoid items and speed up later in the race.
Though not as challenging and fun as some later boss races, Ripper Roo is still a memorable opener to an addicting kart racing journey.
3. Pinstripe, Hot Air Skyway
The last boss of the four main hubworlds, Pinstripe serves as an appropriate scaling-up of difficulty, pitting players on one of the game’s more difficult courses while facing a tough hazard to avoid.
On top of several tight turns that must be maneuvered without the aid of a guard rail, Pinstripe is moving at blistering speeds while dropping rolling bombs behind him – a hazard that feels much less intimidating than it is once the race starts.
The already narrow course gets made thinner while having to avoid Pinstripe’s bombs, with this race requiring all of speed, skill and patience.
Much more memorable than the preceding race with Komodo Joe, the race against Pinstripe feels as significant as it is – a difficult 1-on-1 high in the sky for a chance to move on and face the final boss of the game.
2. Papu Papu, Papu’s Pyramid
While just the trophy race in Papu’s Pyramid was likely a noticeable jump in difficulty from previous courses, players are forced to make their way through it again for the boss race of the game’s second hubworld, The Lost Ruins.
One of the game’s most recognizable tracks, Papu’s Pyramid includes tight turns, deadly hazards and multiple shortcuts, allowing players to exercise a great deal of creativity and skill when playing this course at a high level.
As for the boss himself, Papu Papu attacks the player with a barrage of potions – equally meant to serve as a hazard against the player and as protection from missiles and bombs tossed his way in an effort to get ahead.
Though notably more difficult than the preceding race against Ripper Roo, the sheer variety of options players have in Papu’s Pyramid provide a bit more of a learning curve that’s both addicting and satisfying to make your way through.
1. Nitros Oxide, Oxide Station
The game’s final boss, Nitros Oxide is meant to be an all-encompassing challenge of everything the player has learned in the game thus far. In addition to being set at the lengthy, rather challenging Oxide Station, players must deal with a variety of disadvantages.
These handicaps are laid bare immediately, as Nitros Oxide is allowed a head-start at the beginning of the race while the player must stay behind and wait for three red lights to flash as normal. From there on out, players must deal with a variety of hazards – alternating between exploding potions and exploding TNTs.
While the course is long and daunting while featuring a handful of hazards and places where things could go wrong, the length of Oxide Station also allows for significant comebacks to be made – making this race feel not quite as impossible as it may seem the first time through.
To fully complete the game at a 101% level, players also must defeat Nitros Oxide twice – once after collecting four keys and 16 trophies, and again after collecting everything else in the game, making him a difficult and memorable challenge.
Ultimately, the boss race of Nitros Oxide is a perfect encapsulation of what made CTR so amazing when it came out in 1999. What was known as a genre for multiplayer party nights turned into an immersive single-player journey, completed by a villain who was brand-new to the series while allowing the ability to play as characters previously only known as enemies, such as Cortex, Dingodile, N. Gin and Tiny Tiger.
The Oxide races are a fitting conclusion to an incredible game, solidifying CTR’s status as a kart racing essential.
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