Re:Play #10: Crash Team Racing, the “Mario Kart of the PlayStation” ?

© Presse-citron

Christmas 1999. PlayStation gamers had a year that was exceptional to say the least, with the launch (in Europe) of Metal Gear Solid at the beginning of the year, Final Fantasy VIII, the first Silent Hill, Tony Hawk Skateboarding, Medal of Honor, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Dino Crisis, not to mention Driver and its cursed parking lot. A crazy year, marked in November by the highly anticipated launch of a Mario Kart 64 clone, but in a PlayStation version: Crash Team Racing.

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In the small world of video games, the years go by… but passion and memories remain! Re:Play revisits the great classics of video game history. A little trip back to the future past, in search of your child or adolescent soul, the very one that has probably already made you (or will make you) pronounce the magic phrase “it was better before”. And if it were true…? So let’s blow into the cartridge, here we go for Re:Play!

Crash Bandicoot… but Super Mario Kart style

In the 1990s, many genres attracted the favor of gamers. We obviously benefited from countless platform games (Rayman, Super Mario, Sonic…), but also from very arcade sports adaptations (hello NBA JAM), without forgetting the essential fighting games (Street Fighter 2…), the beat'em all (Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Final Fight…), but also karting games. In 1992, a certain Super Mario Kart was launched on Super Nintendo, and which would give birth to a whole new trend.

© Stéphane Ficca/Lemon Squeezer

Indeed, many publishers quickly worked on their own version of Mario Kart. At Ubisoft, for example, they launched a certain Street Racer in 1994, which would have its small success. In 1996, it was Sunsoft who proposed Ayrton Senna Kart Duel, without forgetting Rock’n Roll Racing then the unforgettable Mario Kart 64, which would bring in its aspiration Diddy Kong Racing, Chocobo Racing, Megaman Battle and Chase or even Bomberman Fantasy Race… At the time, everyone (or almost) wanted their karting game.

© PlayStation

And while a certain Sony PlayStation is already installed in many homes , Naughty Dog, at the origin of Crash Bandicoot, decides to develop a karting game in turn. Its name: Crash Team Racing. A game that features many characters from the original trilogy, which then experiences a real cardboard on PlayStation.

A launch at the dawn of the year 2000

It was between September and November 1999 that Crash Team Racing (or CTR) was launched worldwide. The game allowed no fewer than 15 characters from the famous franchise to be found for wild races. As in Mario Kart, objects, the main game mechanic, sometimes helped the player and sometimes destabilized the opponents. No coins here (as in Super Mario Kart), but Wumpas, fruits that increased the maximum speed and the effect of certain objects. No invincibility star, but an Aku Aku mask, which provided temporary protection.

© PlayStation

In short, it's the same, but This is not the same, and for many gamers, Crash Team Racing immediately stands out as “the Mario Kart of the PlayStation“. Like the Nintendo game, drifts are an integral part of the gameplay, and are performed via the L and R buttons on the PlayStation controller… like you-know-who. The system is however richer than that of the red-capped competitor, with the possibility of chaining three turbos during a drift, a mechanic that comes directly from the Nintendo 64 episode of Mario Kart.

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To stand out from the Nintendo game, Crash Team Racing offers an Adventure mode, playable only solo. The latter requires participating in various races and other arenas, with many objects to glean (including three CTR letters hidden in each level). The levels (and characters) gradually open up as the player progresses, and the whole thing includes “boss fights“, a bit like a classic platform game, but remodeled with a karting twist.

© PlayStation

Of course, there is also an Arcade mode, to configure the race of your choice, with the possibility here to evolve with a companion, via the two-player mode. No online mode obviously (we are in 1999), we benefit here from a two-player mode locally, on the same sofa or the same carpet, each race including 6 opponents managed by the AI. Finally, CTR also includes a Time Trial mode and a Battle mode, allowing up to four players to play (via a Multitap), within dedicated arenas (like in you-know-who).

At the time, the game's producers considered that the game engine of this Crash Team Racing was “the most powerful ever developed on PlayStation“. And it must be said that the game, developed in a little less than a year by about twenty people, is impressive. Visually of course, but also by its handling, very dynamic, with a very pronounced “drift” side, essential to the gameplay (like in a good old Ridge Racer).

A title all about sliding and an AI… who cheats ?

Despite its racing orientation, the game does not deny its platform game origins, and each route is riddled with shortcuts and other passages to uncover, often at the whim of a jump or a controlled slide.

It should be noted that the title also relies on an AI that “cheats” depending on the situation. So, if he is in the lead, the game will encourage opponents to target the player in order to slow down as much as possible a Max Verstappen-style breakaway at Interlagos in 2024. Conversely, if he is lagging behind, the competitors managed by the AI ​​will do everything to “wait” the player, and allow him to move up in the rankings.

© PlayStation

Upon its release, in addition to a major promotional campaign, already started a few months earlier in the magazines of the time, Crash Team Racing will also benefit from the benefits of 8230; of a playable demo (from January 2000 via the official magazine). Thus, like a Syphon Filter (to cite another PlayStation game), CTR will be tested by millions of players, through a short demo that will trigger a purchase from many of them.

Also, in the United States, Crash Team Racing will occupy the third place of the best-selling games at the end of 1999, behind Resident Evil 3 and Knockout Kings 2000. In total, the game will sell nearly 2 million copies in the United States and 300,000 copies in Japan, for a total of 5 million sales worldwide.

Crash Team Racing back in stores since 2019

And for the record, this same Crash Team Racing was relaunched in 2019 on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, in the form of a… remake. Indeed, after the Crash Bandicoot N’Sane Trilogy compilation, bringing together the remakes of the first three games, Activision offered a modern reissue of this much-loved racing game.

© Activision

Obviously, modernity requires, in addition to modern graphics, this Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled also offered an online game as well as various customization possibilities.

It should be noted that another karting game featuring Crash Bandicoot and his gang (Crash Nitro Kart) was launched in 2003 on various platforms, which again filled a gap in Mario-Kart Like on many platforms, facing a Nintendo GameCube which had a certain Mario Kart Double Dash. Worse (or better ?) still, the game published by Universal Interactive was launched the same month as the Nintendo game…

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