After almost a full decade without a fresh new games, October sees the release ofCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, a direct sequel to 1998’sCrash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Acting as a follow-up to 2017’sCrash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, the game will instead be developed by Toys For Bob, the studio behind theSpyro Reignited Trilogy, over Vicarious Visions, which recently releasedTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2. To celebrate the return of the beloved video game icon, Activision has heavily dipped into fans' nostalgia for marketing the new game, including referencing the bizarre marketing campaign for the original PlayStation games with its newest Japanese commercial.
The originalCrash Bandicootreleased in Japan shortly after its North American release in December 1996, however, Crash himself featured a noticeably different design. This is because the game’s producers at Sony were worried that the character’s more cartoonish design would not appeal to Japanese audiences. This prompted Naughty Dog’s rendering artist to redesign the character during a fifteen minute break at a meeting with Sony, resulting in the designs found on the Japanese box art for each title.
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Accompanying Crash when the game launched in Japan wasa bizarre series of Japanese commercialsfeaturing what would become Crash’s iconic dance animation fromCrash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Backonward and a rather obnoxious theme song. Now Activision has brought this theme song back in the newest Japanese commercial forCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, which features Crash breaking into an apple-eating Japanese family’s house and dancing in multiple locations with them including a city street and forest.
The trailer is hilarious if only because of how strange the whole thing is. EvenCrash Bandicootfans who didn’t grow up in Japan are likely to get an overwhelming sense of nostalgia from it as it harkens back to a simpler time in video game marketing, heavily contrasting withSony’s newest PlayStation 5 commercial. The commercial also shows Activision’s dedication to bringing back olderCrash Bandicootfans by referencing rather niche media such as the Japanese marketing campaign.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Timeis launching in a few weeks, however Activision has also announced that pre-order holders will be able toaccess a demo for the game later this weekwith levels featuring Crash and Dr. Neo Cortex available. Joining them in the full game will be Crash’s sister, Coco Bandicoot,Crash Bandicoot 3: Warpedenemy Dingodile, andan alternate universe take on Crash’s girlfriendfromCrash Bandicoot 1, Tawna Bandicoot.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Timewill release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 2nd 2020.
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