There have been quite a few kart racing games since the late 1980s. First, there was Power Drift. Then there is possibly the most well-known: Mario Kart. Yet, for those who were young children in the early noughties, Crash Nitro Kart is perhaps the most iconic of them all. There was nothing better to play when you had a group of friends around. Crash was already a household name, but this may be my favourite game with the bandicoot we all love. So, what made Crash Nitro Kart so iconic? And how does it compare to other kart racing games?
Crash Nitro Kart is Full of Surprises
The year is 2004. You’re seven years old, and you’ve just enjoyed your birthday party at Kid’s World with your four best friends. It’s the end of the day, and the Happy Meal you’ve just eaten from McDonald’s is happily digesting as you and your friends decide what game to play to start the sleepover. There is only one option. Crash Nitro Kart.
You load up the game and spend the next few hours having competitions to determine who is the best racer. The snacks are finished, and everyone is snoring away, with one person sleeping better than the rest as the ultimate Crash Nitro Kart Champion.
Fast forward to today, and I didn’t know what to expect when I decided to review a game I have such fond memories of. I braced myself for the intro and found that I had goosebumps when the music started. I planned to record a couple of races in the Cup Tournament mode because that was the mode I always played as a kid. So, you can imagine my surprise when I noticed that the game has an Adventure story.
If you didn’t want to play the Adventure story, then there are many other options. You can race in tournaments in single player or create a custom tournament if there is a group with you. I had a decision to make about what area of the game I wanted to cover for my review.
A Whole New World
Excitedly, I clicked on the Adventure option and chose my team: Team Bandicoot. A hologram of the face of Emperor Velo XXVII then explained that I needed to collect a key from each world to win the tournament. As keys were earned by winning every race on each world, I drove through the first portal and found myself back on Earth.
While waiting for the race to start, I was instantly amused by the crazy loading screen. The first race is around Inferno Island. As soon as I saw the beach and the wonky boat, all my memories came rushing back to me. Racing games joined the 21st century when the accelerator button became R2. Unfortunately, Crash Nitro Kart requires you to press X to move forward, which is both awkward and confusing. I won the first race easily, although I did get smashed by a rocket and thrown into the sea at one point.
Get Out of My Way!
If you hit the boxes, you’re given an item to aid you in your pursuit of victory. Unfortunately, the other racers were intent on beating me to them, and they always seemed to know which box I was targeting. I immediately noticed that if you press R1 when going over a jump, you get a small speed boost once you land.
After the race, Crash was celebrating on the podium, and it looked like he’d taken some hardcore drugs.
The next race was through the jungle, and it was an instant throwback. You can power slide by pressing R1, but that doesn’t help you if there are some really tight bends to navigate. When I was younger, I had no idea what the fruit was for. Now that I have more of an understanding of the world… and Google, I worked out that the fruit powers up your weapons and boosts your kart’s speed. So, I always tried to make sure I had the maximum amount possible.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of things, I started fighting with my own team. Coco Bandicoot kept racing ahead of me, but when I tried to fire a rocket at her, I was told off for attacking my teammate. Then I managed to place a TNT box on her head, but she raced alongside me and blew me up with it. At this point, I started to wonder if I’d picked the right team or whether I’m just not a team player.
I’m the Big Boss in Crash Nitro Kart
Emperor Velo then entrusted the alien Kunk to beat me, but I made light work of him. I hit him with my missile and overtook him to win the race. Many characters do speak in Crash Nitro Kart, but Crash isn’t one of them. He just smiles and nods. After the ceremony, the first world was completed, and I had gained a single fan in the process.
The icy tracks of Barin awaited me as I drove through the portal. At the start of races, if you press the accelerator at the right moment, you get a speed boost off the line. It took me a while to perfect it, but once I started making better starts, there really wasn’t much competition for me. Races were won in style, and Emperor Velo was forced to find another boss to race me.
He picked Nash, and I couldn’t wait to beat him. That guy had way too much energy. Thankfully, the race with Nash was probably the easiest of my entire playthrough. My team were very happy for me.
Aku Aku advised me to pick the best character for the track, but I decided to commit to playing as Crash for the full game. This may have been because I didn’t understand the differences between the tracks, but I’ll disguise that by blaming it on nostalgia.
I Had to Lean Forward in My Chair
After moving on to the third world: Fenomena, I felt like the game was getting a little too easy. Then the difficulty drastically increased. Turning tight corners was still a real struggle, so I decided to slow down to complete them. Then I got eaten by a giant worm. Even with all these challenges, I still won. Yet, I knew that more difficult races were to come. That was if I could find the races! I got lost in the menu for about ten minutes before eventually finding my way. I wish I hadn’t.
Most of the racetracks are delightful, but Clockwork Wumpa was easily my most difficult race. Coco was giving me more problems than ever, as she kept driving in my way and stealing my fruit and boxes. Then I accidentally opened a trap door before pitifully falling in it myself.
This was the first race I didn’t win, and I was starting to sweat. I managed to finish in first place eventually, but my mind and body were exhausted from the concentration levels required to win.
It was time to face another boss. My team didn’t take Norm seriously, but I thought he’d be a problem when he morphed into two people. He was terrifying! It turns out I didn’t need to worry at all. I hit him with an accurately placed bomb and decided that the boss races are so easy because there aren’t a multitude of other racers like Coco in my way. I even felt sorry for Norm when he got zapped after I’d beaten him, but I was already in the new world of Teknee to care too deeply.
Bandicoot Against Machine
I felt like Baby Driver because I couldn’t stop singing the soundtrack in my head while I was racing. Some obstacles, like the train, are difficult to avoid, but the game is very forgiving. I can’t always see where I’m going, and there are some interesting traps to avoid. Thankfully, even though I was now deep in the game, I finally found out that it’s Square to break around corners. With this newfound knowledge, I won race after race until Emperor Velo decided that the only way to beat me was with a robot called Geary.
Geary claimed that he was perfect because he’s a machine, so I was determined to prove him wrong.
I repeatedly smacked him with my rockets, which was joyful, and another boss was easily beaten. Geary even brushed Crash’s fur after his loss. A welcome symbol that machines should always be at the command of life, and not the other way around.
I’m the Only Emperor Around Here
Emperor Velo had seen enough and finally approached us in the flesh. He said he’s the greatest racer in the galaxy… We’ll see about that. He said that he underestimated me, but it seems that I may have underestimated him. It felt impossible to beat him. I even struggled to keep up with his minions. He was nowhere in sight, and I was forced to try the race again.
It was going to take the perfect run to beat him, and that’s exactly what I did. He was slightly ahead of me on the last corner, but I picked up three rockets and blasted him off the racetrack. I drove over the finish line and took my place as the greatest racer in the universe.
Seeing the swathes of fans in the arena cheer me was the icing on the cake, and the game was completed.
What Made Crash Nitro Kart So Iconic?
As a kid, I didn’t even know there was an adventure mode, but boy, am I glad I found it. Overtaking other racers feels amazing, while being struck by missiles and hurricanes is rage-inducing. You go through a wide array of emotions playing this game, but none are better than beating your friends in a custom tournament. This isn’t a school sports day. Yes, competing is fine, but winning is the most important thing.
There are plenty of games with a similar format to Crash Nitro Kart. Mario Kart has been a staple of Nintendo for decades, while other games like Sackboy, Sonic and even Disney have tried their own iterations of the same idea.
Yet, what makes this game so special is that it was released in the golden era of the greatest console ever made: the PlayStation 2. Everybody played as Crash, Coco and the rest of the characters because they’d grown up playing the Crash Bandicoot games.
Yes, Mario Kart World on the new Nintendo Switch 2 is a better game than Crash Nitro Kart, but that’s missing the point. It’s not the quality of the game that makes it so iconic. It’s the era it was released in. Back when gaming meant more to us than it does now. And the fun/quality dynamic was just right.
Verdict
My overall rating of Crash Nitro Kart is 7.5/10.
My Crash Nitro Kart video will be uploaded to YouTube on 21st August at 6 pm BST. Link: https://youtu.be/R8_BRv2qllg
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