E3 2016: Crash Bandicoot Is in Skylanders Imaginators!
Activision Publishing officially confirmed some chatter and rumors that had started circulating online that will be music to the ears for a lot of fans. Crash Bandicoot is returning as a playable video game character, and he will be a guest star for the next Skylanders game in Skylanders Imaginatiors. Crash Bandicoot recently made a return with an amazing cameo and Easter egg moment in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Activision made the announcement during Monday’s Sony Interactive Entertainment Press Conference.
Crash will appear in Skylanders Imaginators as a fully playable Skylander Sensei character, and he will get his own Skylanders Imaginators toy for the game as well. This glorious return for the longtime PlayStation mascot character celebrates his 20th anniversary. Jess Harnell will reprise his role as Crash for the game.
However, that was only one of the big Crash Bandicoot pieces of news that got announced this week at E3. The other big news is that Activision is going to release fully remastered versions of the first three Crash Bandicoot games, including Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. All three remastered games will be released for the PlayStation 4 later next year.
Speaking on the announcement, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg stated: “For years, we’ve been asked when is Crash returning, and today that question has been answered. Activision is proud to celebrate the iconic character’s 20-year anniversary by bringing him back in ways that will appeal to hardcore fans as well as introduce him to a new generation of gamers. We can’t wait for gamers to see Crash bring his unique style and quirky personality to the epic battle against Kaos in Skylanders Imaginators. And next year, we’ll expand on the Crash experience for players with remastered versions of three classic games.”
Imaginators will also pay homage to the Crash Bandicoot series with the ability to jump on TNT crates to blow them up or collect the Bazooka Crate to get a rocket launcher. Crash will have a full move set int he game, which can be upgraded path based around his signature spin attack, along with moves that feature exploding crates with 3-2-1 countdowns, wumpa fruit, jetpack attack from high in the air and more. In Skylanders Imaginators, there will be a new character class with the Senseis. Every Sensei character will have a devastating Sky-Chi attack. Crash’s Sky-Chi attack is the ability to use a yo-yo to yank his enemies into a spin attack.
For the story of the game, Kaos is out to take over the Skylands using an army of Doomlanders. The Portal Masters now have to use the power of imagination to create their own Skylanders – known as Imaginators – in order to defeat Kaos. Fighting with the Imaginators are the Senseis, powerful mystic warriors who are masters of ancient battle techniques. In addition, a wormhole has opened in Skylands and the great Aku Aku appears. He announces the once in two decades Synchronization Celebration. It is the time when all of the worlds align perfectly. They are having a huge celebration event in the Wumpa Islands and want to invite the Skylanders. But with Kaos out to take over Skylands using his army of Doomlanders, the Skylanders must focus on stopping his evil plans. As a result, Crash goes through the wormhole to join the fight against Kaos.
The Skylanders Imaginators Starter Pack will feature Crash Bandicoot exclusively for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 at launch. The crash toy will be playable across all platforms as well though. The game is set to launch on October 16 in North America. It will support all 300+ Skylanders from the previous games.
While this isn’t the new Crash Bandicoot game everyone wanted, this is better than nothing. Getting all the classic Crash games remastered is great news for fans of the franchise. Hopefully, if the remastered versions do well, along with the Skylanders version, that could possibly fast-track a new Crash game.
You can check out some screenshots of Crash int he game, along with a look at the new Crash toy in the gallery below. You can also check out the reveal trailer featuring footage of Crash in the game.