Do you remember that funny, orange, fox-like thing from your childhood as a video gamer? I sure do. I'd like to talk a little bit about my favorite pixelated Australian marsupial, Crash Bandicoot. His games are loved by many, and the beloved Bandicoot definitely revolutionized both the platforming and 3D genres of video gaming. His goofy demeanor and his adorable nature made countless gamers and children alike fall in love with him, and it would only be fitting that Naughty Dog put small little hints of comedy as well as hidden secrets in his games. Talking about the history of Crash is a blog for another day, but right now I'd like to share my 5 favorite Easter Eggs that can be found in Crash Bandicoot titles.

5. Spyro and Crash

Something that is very common knowledge to most gamers that were around for the time, Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog were two studios that worked very closely to one another in the 1990s. This was very much so exemplified through the two studios' friendly competition with one another (Crash Bandicoot vs Spyro the Dragon, Jak and Daxter vs Ratchet and Clank, etc.). It can also be noted that the developers for both companies went to each other's parties and befriended each other on personal levels, and this can be seen through their games. In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, a demo for the first game in the Spyro the Dragon series can be accessed by inputting a special code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Square. [and the same can be said with a demo for Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped in the first Spyro game by inputting the same code]). The demos in the other's games don't stop there. In Crash Team Racing, a demo for the second game in the Spyro series can be accessed using the same method and in Crash Bash, a demo of Spyro: Year of the Dragon is playable by holding L1 and R1 and pressing Square then Start at the Universal Interactive Studios Screen.

If that isn't enough, Spyro actually makes a canonical appearance in Crash Twinsanity. At the end of the game, when N.Gin, N. Tropy, and Dr. Brio are attempting to steal his treasure, Spyro takes a stand and defends his Gems and even sends a fireblast their way to stake his claim.

Keeping up with the canonical appearances, in 2004 there was a duo of games that were released for the Gameboy Advance called Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy. This duo centered around Crash Bandicoot and Spyro essentially switching villains, in the fact that Crash had to stop Spyro's nemesis, Ripto and Spyro had to stop Crash's nemesis, Dr. Neo Cortex. These games received mixed reviews, however, exemplified that Crash and Spyro were in fact friends in their universe.

4. Fake Crash

In the Crash Bandicoot universe, there is a look-alike to our favorite orange marsupial. His name is Fake Crash, or Trash Bandicoot as some people call him, and he is a character inspired by a cheap Crash Bandicoot toy that was produced in Japan. This toy had huge eyebrows and teeth, and looked very different than his video game counterpart. Fake Crash can be seen in several instances in several of the games;

-In Crash Bandicoot: Warped, he can be found in "Toad Villlage", "Makin' Waves", and "Hog Ride" (excluding the US version).

-In Crash Team Racing he can be unlocked as a playable character by either winning the Purple Gem Cup or putting in a cheat code at the Main Menu (Hold L1+R1 and press Circle, Down, Down, Up, Circle, Circle, Down, Left, Right).

-In Crash Bash he can also be unlocked as a playable character by putting in a cheat code at the character selection screen (L1 and R1 and press left, square, circle, left, triangle, left.) (He appears at the bottom, which still leaves the mystery as to whether or not he is evil.) (Other character appearances in Crash Bash by cheat codes are as follows:

Tawna Bandicoot - at the Select Character screen hold L1 and R1 and press left, right, circle, right, left, circle, square.

Komodo Brothers - At the Character Select screen hold L1 and R1 and press circle, square.

Penta Penguin - At the Character Select screen Hold L1 & R1 and press left, right, circle, square, left.

Dr Nitrous Oxide - At the Character Select screen Hold L1 & R1 and press square.

Papu Papu - At the Character Select screen Hold L1 & R1 and press left, circle, right.

Big Bad Fox - At the Character Select screen hold L1 & R1 and press left square and circle

Bearinator as a playbale character - At the Character Select screen hold L1 & R1 and press left

Ripper Roo - At the Character Select screen hold L1 & R1 and press left

N-Gin - At the Character Select screen hold L1 & R1 and press left.

Polar Bandicoot - At the Character Select screen hold L1 & R1 and press right.

Pura Bandicoot - At the Character Select screen hold L1 and R1 circle)

-In Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, he is actually the third boss after being brainwashed by N. Tropy.

-In Crash Nitro Kart, he can be unlocked as a playable character only in the console version by performing 50 consecutive boosts in Adventure Mode as Team Cortex.

-In Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, he appears in Dragon Castles in the 2nd pit of the 2nd half in chains. When the player tries to talk to him, neither he nor Crash say anything.

-In Crash Boom Bang!, he is a playable character.

3. Level Within A Level

During the level "Road Crash", the player seldom notices the side objects due to the nature of the level. Crash must race on a motorcycle to beat other racers to the Crystal at the finish line. However, there is a billboard on the side of the road that is labeled with the picture of an Alien. If the player 'crashes' into this billboard, they will be automatically transported to a secret level, another racing level featuring Crash's sister, Coco, called "Hot Coco".

Also, during the level "Dino Might", if the player goes into the Gold Gem Path and follows it to the pterodactyls, they would ordinarily find nothing special. However, if the player gets caught by the second pterodactyl, the pterodactyl will transport him to a secret level instead of killing them. In this level, the player will ride the rideable dinosaur from previous levels all the way through until the end.

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2. Crash Plagiarism

Contrary to popular belief, the famous Crash Bandicoot dance that Crash does in most of his games was not something that he brought to life himself. Instead, the dance was featured in another medium first. In a Japanese commercial promoting the game, the actor that was playing Crash Bandicoot invented the dance and performed it. The developers at Naughty Dog liked the dance so much, that they put it in the game, and it won the hearts of so many gamers around the world.

1. Naked Wizard

A popular saying among public speakers is "Imagine your audience in their underwear!" This is a saying that Crash Bandicoot apparently takes to heart in the levels "Gee Wiz" and "Toad Village". In these levels, once the player has acquired the Wumpa Fruit Bazooka, they can walk up to a wizard enemy and blast him with the bazooka. When the player does this, the Wizard's beard flies clean off and his clothes disappear!

The player can also do this to one of the chickens in the level and blow their feathers off, giving a whole new meaning to "Naked Chicken Breast!"

So those were my top 5 favorite Easter Eggs in the Crash Bandicoot franchise. If there are any that I missed or any that you feel aren't really Easter Eggs, let me know. Hope you all enjoyed!