Play Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Online

Summary

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back expands the original’s runway‑style platforming with a handful of fresh tricks—sliding for a higher jump, a spin attack to smash boxes, and even a jetpack level that flips the pacing on its head. Levels are gathered in "Warp Rooms" that let you cherry‑pick which of the 25 crystal stages to tackle, and each room offers extra checkpoints, masks, and secret bonus paths that reward reckless exploration with extra lives.

Critics hailed the sequel as a visual and audio leap, noting the cartoon‑sharp textures, fluid animations, and Josh Mancell’s memorable soundtrack. The game shipped over 4 million copies worldwide by early ’99, cracking the top‑ten best‑selling list in the U.S. and becoming the top‑selling Western title in Japan at the time. Nominated for Console Game of the Year at the first Interactive Achievement Awards, it earned a spot in Sony’s Greatest Hits line‑up and helped cement the Crash brand as a PlayStation staple.

Storyline

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back picks up after Crash’s first showdown with Dr. Neo Cortex. Cortex tumbles into a crystal‑filled cavern, seizes one glowing stone and returns to his lab, where a year later he and Dr. N. Gin construct an upgraded, crystal‑powered Cortex Vortex in orbit, needing 25 more crystals to reach full capacity. To obtain them, Cortex tricks Crash—posing as a savior of the planet during an impending planetary alignment—by teleporting him to N. Sanity Island via a Warp Room.

On the island Crash battles the demented Ripper Roo, the scimitar‑wielding Komodo Brothers, and the ravenous Tiny Tiger while his sister Coco and former assistant Dr. Nitrus Brio warn him not to trust Cortex and advise gathering gems instead of crystals. Despite the warnings, Crash collects all 25 crystals, confronts Cortex on his space station and defeats him, stopping the Vortex from powering up.

Finally, using the 42 gems supplied by Brio, Crash channels the planetary energy into a laser that shatters the Cortex Vortex, ending the villain’s mind‑control scheme.