Cancelled Crash Bandicoot 5 Plans Revealed, Would Have Featured Spyro the Dragon

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As a gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I can’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia and disappointment upon learning about the scrapped Crash Bandicoot 5 x Spyro the Dragon collaboration. The prospect of these two iconic characters joining forces in a fully-fledged 3D platformer was truly tantalizing, and I’m left wondering what could have been.

Not so long ago, the Crash Bandicoot series was on an upward trajectory. The initial trilogy received a remastered version across multiple platforms, and Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time brought the series back with a bang. There were even indications of a potential fifth game in the pipeline, but those plans appeared to be shelved when the developer, Toys for Bob, switched roles to support the Call of Duty franchise instead. Fans have been left in a state of bewilderment, but thanks to Liam Robertson’s latest video from DidYouKnowGaming, we now know more about the project and how it unraveled.

It seems that Crash Bandicoot 5 was intended to bring Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon together in one game, marking their first appearance in a main series 3D platformer. These two characters from Activision have collaborated before, as far back as 2004, often in games for Game Boy Advance or spin-offs like Skylanders. A crossover game like this would have offered something unique, leveraging the strengths of both franchises.

In the proposed fifth installment of Crash, Uka Uka was intended to be the primary antagonist, gaining control over a portal spanning multiple dimensions that transported him into Spyro’s world. Once he manipulated the Dragon Elders in this universe, both Crash and Spyto joined forces to put an end to his reign. During the preliminary stages of game development, lasting approximately three to four months, designers at Toys for Bob explored the possibility of making both characters playable, with the idea that Spyro might even carry Crash occasionally. Numerous sketches depicting their joint endeavors were produced during this time.

According to Robertson, the project was eventually abandoned because Activision wasn’t satisfied with the sales figures of Crash Bandicoot 4. Despite receiving positive reviews, Crash Bandicoot 4 was launched in fall 2020, a time when it was overshadowed by several other games and the launches of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Additionally, Toys for Bob believes that some of the game’s poor performance can be attributed to its initial absence on the Nintendo Switch, as it wasn’t released until five months after versions for the PS4 and Xbox One were made available.

Previously in June, artist Nicholas Kole expressed on Twitter that “someday people will learn about the unmade Crash 5 and it’ll shatter hearts.” With Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard, Toys for Bob is now an independent studio, and while their upcoming project’s details are yet to be disclosed, it will supposedly be published by Xbox. It’s unfortunate that some potential projects like Crash 5 won’t come to fruition, but hopefully the next venture from Toys for Bob will continue to delight fans of Crash and Spyro.

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2024-08-25 18:39