What if... Crash was in Super Smash Bros?

Crash Bandicoot in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. That would be a dream come true.

Many Crash fans, and even non-Crash fans, are calling out to have the orange-furred marsupial crash into Super Smash Bros. After all, after the initial roster was revealed with plenty of third-party characters, the downloadable content roster was revealed and, hoo boy, anything became possible. Starting with Joker from the Sony-exclusive Persona 5, followed by Hero from the Dragon Quest series and Banjo & Kazooie from the Microsoft Banjo-Kazooie series (amongst others), it just felt like nothing was out-of-bounds. With Crash's established rivalry with Mario in the late 90's, and with Mario's former rival, Sonic also in the game, attention has turned to whether or not Crash will be in the game... and if so, what would his move-set be?

So here I am, ready to talk about what kind of move-set he would have!

Taunts

Crash is a sort of walking, whacky 3D cartoon. By that, I mean his body is incredibly expressive and his limbs do sometimes stretch in their animations. As such, I would imagine Crash would be incredible expressive in a Super Smash Bros. game in all the actions he has. That includes his taunts.

Up Taunt - Aku Aku Volleyball Fruit

I think some of his idle animations would come into play for Crash's taunts. One that would make me glee is the idle animation where Aku Aku plays volleyball with Crash using a wumpa fruit. This was actually a winner from an idle animation competition for the N.Sane Trilogy, but I think it's such a winner that it should be used in Smash, too. It's a fun, expressive taunt that gets Aku Aku involved, too. It also ends with Crash being splattered with purple wumpa juice, which brings a smile to my face.

Down Taunt - Breakdance Spin

Now, I can see Crash doing that breakdance spin he uses in not just Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant, but also in Crash Bandicoot: WARPED and Skylanders: Imaginators' opening sequence for Thumpin' Wumpa Islands. There's something quite iconic about that and I wouldn't put it past Crash to taunt his opponents in a cool, yet goofy manner.

Side Taunt - Yo-Yo

Crash would perform a trick on his yo-yo, much like in Crash Bandicoot: WARPED. This is an iconic idle animation and I think Crash would do something like this mid-fight just to show off his skills in a taunting way. He could probably do the 'around the world' trick before pocketing the yo-yo. Heck, you could even have a variety of tricks depending, if you wanted to get imaginative with it.

I also considered Crash clucking like a chicken at the opposition, very much like his taunt in Crash Bash, but I felt the others just worked better for his personality and overal iconic-ness.

It makes absolute sense that Crash's victory animation would be the Crash dance, used when he acquires a gem or better trinket in Crash Bandicoot 2 and WARPED, or wins a race in CTR. He even does it when he beats a boss in some games. 'Nuff said.

Standard Attacks

Attack/Combo - One-Two-Norris Roundhouse

His standard attacks would be, I imagine, lifted from Crash of the Titans. In that game, as well as its sequel Mind Over Mutant, Crash throws punches and kicks around in his moveset. In doing so, he sort of throws his body into the attacks too. That is precisely what the ol' fuzzy lugs would do and I can see those punches and animations being utilised well in Super Smash Bros. Spefically, I can imagine he'd have the one-two punch then Noris Roundhouse kick as a standard combo, much like he has in both Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant.

Side Tilt Attack - Double Dragon

That double-punch from Crash of the Titans feels appropriate as a side-tilt attack. A couple of standard punches. Noice.

Up Tilt Attack - Chin Tickler

Another one from Crash of the Titans. It's basically a solid uppercut move!

Down Tilt Attack - Board Slam

Crash slams Aku Aku down on the opponent, again from Crash of the Titans.

Dash Attack - Slide

At first, I thought his slide would make a could tilt special, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to be Crash's dash attack. After all, in the games, Crash can only slide when pressing circle or R1 (on the PlayStation) when moving, which is exactly what the dash attack is in Super Smash Bros. It would also make for a nice unpredictable dash attack that can end in a high-jump if pressing jump during the dash.

Air Attacks

Neutral Air Attack - Hammer

I think Crash would just thwack both his fist down on the opponent like a hammer, truth be told.

Side Air Attack - Block Breaker

I feel the first charge from the Double-Whammy, aka the Block Breaker (not officially named) would work well in the air. This one is, suprise, suprise, also from Crash of the Titans.

Down Air Attack - Bellyflop

To me, it makes absolute sends to have Crash use his bellyflop as an air attack. It will not only propel him downward (watch out when above a pit), but will smack anyone below him.

Back Tilt Air Attack - Backwards Flip

In Crash of the Titans, if you press backwards and make Crash jump he does a particularly high-reaching backwards flip. If Crash did this and used the flip to kick his opponents, that would be a pretty neat air move, don't you think?

Smash Attacks

Hold A and power-up these attacks which have the power to launch opponents off-screen.

Side Smash - Double Whammy

Honestly, that double block-breaker charge attack from Crash of the Titans makes for the perfect side-smash attack. Charge the attack and launch opponents off-screen.

Up Smash - Free Kick

I thought long and hard about this one. Many of the others feel obvious to me, but this one not so much. I thought about having Crash's spin attack here, but it didn't feel right. Then it hit me - one of the Ratnicians from Crash of the Titans, having been kicked afar from Crash. Crash of the Titans features a powerful kick move where Crash literally punts enemies into the distance. It's a power-up normally, but is unlocked as a special upgrade later in the game. So I thought this would make a good up smash. Crash, with his glowing foot, kicks opponents into the stratosphere. Dang, son.

Down Smash - Gyro Jackhammer

Another move from Crash of the Titans, the Gyro Jackhammer was a very strong breakdance-kick-style move. I think, given its powerful nature, it would make for a good down smash attack.

Grapples

Crash would likely just grab the opponents' shirts like cartoon characters tend to. But then, to release them, these all lead to throws...

Side Throw - Twin Throw

How can it not be anything other than the Twin Throw from Twinsanity? Crash would grab Cortex and spin-fling him across gaps.

Up Throw - Twin Toss

This is a variant on the Twin Throw and also appears in Twinsanity. Crash would throw his opponent away in an upwards arc, rather than horizontally.

Down Throw - Twin Slam

Another from Twinsanity! Crash would slam Cortex against the floor as if he were using him like a hammer. That is exactly what Crash will do to his opponent, here.

Special (B) Attacks

Neutral Special

There is no way this could ever be anything but the spin attack. Crash's signature spin move damages enemies and can even deflect projectiles, much like it can in Crash of the Titans, Mind Over Mutant and, in the case of some energy attacks, Crash Twinsanity.

This move could be versatile in another way, though. The Death Tornado Spin. I can imagine that be pressing this a few times, Crash can extend his spin move to up to three times longer and slow his descent in the air, much like in WARPED, The Wrath of Cortex and his GameBoy outings.

Tilt Special - Crate Throw

In the past, I've thought about using Polar, Pura or the hog from the original Crash Bandicoot as Crash's tilt special, but these days I think it makes much more sense to utilise his crates. Wooden crates are iconic in the Crash series. I thought about using the arrow crate as Crash's up special, but that didn't feel justified or that interesting on its own. Instead, I think having Crash throw a different assortment of crates like he can in Crash Bash would be perfect.

Not only would Crash be able to throw crates at his opponents for damage, smashing them on impact, but if they miss, they can then lay scattering the level. This is an interesting mechanic, to me, as the crates could then be broken by opponents or used as environmental hazards. Better still, if the crates cycled between different types of crate before throwing, such as a ? crate, TNT crate or arrow crate, then you could lay TNT traps to damage opponents, or ? crates which could conceal an item (these crates could just be standard crates in options that dismiss item usage). Arrow crates could be used for opponents of Crash to jump up somewhere once, smashing upon initial contact.

I think it's a versatile special that has a lot of potential.

Up Special - Jet Pack

Out of all the possibilites, this one felt the most fun and useful to me. Crash dons his jet pack, much like in Crash 2, and shoots upwards. Any opponents in the way receive some jet pack fire damage. Simple, but effective.

Down Special - Fruit Bazooka

For me, I can only imagine the Fruit Bazooka as Crash's down special. In WARPED and The Wrath of Cortex, Crash can pull out a bazooka and shoot wumpa fruit with it. He can aim it at enemies from afar and pound them with wumpa. It's a strong ability and one I can imagine would be useful for long-distance assaults in Super Smash Bros, but dangerous if used up-close as it puts Crash at risk. For, you see, the way I see it working is that you would be able to aim the crosshair of the bazooka for a certain distance, but it would leave Crash immobile for as long as he's using it. That would be a good risk-and-reward style of attack.

Final Smash

When you gain a Smash Ball, it can only mean one thing - Final Smash time!

The obvious one would be Crash utilising Aku Aku for invincibility. However, Super Smash Bros Ultimate has sort of... done away with moveable Final Smash moves. In fact, they're now more cutscene based and immediate. For that reason, I think Crash with Aku Aku would be a bit underwhelming, especially when I think that the super star from the Mario games is an item, after all, and not Mario's Final Smash.

So I thought of three fun alternatives.

Final Smash 1: Mecha Bandicoot

In Twinsanity, Crash hijacks N.Gin's mech, Mecha Bandicoot, for the final boss fight. Mecha Bandicoot comes complete with missile launchers, a charged proton ball sneeze attack and a chainsaw arm. Honestly, the thought of Crash jumping back into this giant mech version of himself and launching missiles everywhere is bliss.

Final Smash 2: Crash Team Racing

A kart comes out of nowhere and hits in front of Crash to activate the Final Smash, much like how Fox McCloud's works or Captain Falcon. Then, the opponent gets up only to find themselves on a CTR track and a swarm of karts coming towards them. I like to think of this like Captain Falcon's but instead of just being run over, the opponent gets a few CTR weapons in their face by various cameo Crash characters.

Final Smash 3: Hijack Cortex

In Mind Over Mutant, Cortex drinks some of N.Brio's mutagen potions, transforming him into a hulking Cortex. Crash can then hijack him using Aku Aku. The idea of having this in Super Smash Bros really works for me - you not only get to control Crash on a powerhouse Cortex, but you get a Cortex cameo out of it, too. You will then be able to launch a giant spin attack much like Cortex does in Mind Over Mutant, ending in a super belly flop.

Costumes

Crash has plenty of strange outfits to pick from in his history. Let's go over just some potential choices...

Biker Crash

Crash sporting his cool motorcycle jacket from WARPED. A classic.

Fake Crash

Crash Bandicoot with big buck teeth and fuzzy eyebrows. Fake Crash started as an in-joke between Naughty Dog staff that was then modelled as an Easter Egg in WARPED. He was then fully playable in CTR and has made multiple appearances over the years, including N-Tranced, Nitro Kart and Skylanders: Imaginators.

Evil Crash

Evil Crash is Crash's 10th dimension evil alternate self from Twinsanity. He sports dark fur and glisteningly sharp teeth. He also has long arms ready to scratch up evil scientists where necessary.

Carbon Crash

When it comes to colour swaps, Carbon Crash is the first that springs to mind. Available in Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant, Carbon Crash is a milky-furred version of Crash. A second player could play as him in the PlayStation 2 version of the game.

Green Trousers/Pants Crash

It wasn't uncommon to see Fake Crash with green trousers in the Vicarious Visions era of between 2001-2004. However, Crash could also snag some green trousters in Crash: FUSION/Purple, with the help of special crates. I think this would work well as a green coloured alternative Crash.

Blue Hyena Crash

Well, somehow blue Crash has been a big thing over the years online. So many fans have sported blue Crash display pictures and names, that it honestly didn't surprise me when CTR: Nitro-Fueled also had a blue skin for Crash. I've actually really grown to like this look and think it would make for a nice blue alternative to the bandicoot.

Echo Fighter

Coco Bandicoot

With Coco having become fully playable in the N.Sane Trilogy and proving to be popular, it makes sense that she's an Echo Fighter to Crash. With a couple of tweaks to her moveset (such as the butt stomp and spinning kick, or taking pictures on her phone as a taunt), much like in the N.Sane Trilogy, she would be a viable alternative and another female representative.

Arena

N.Sanity Beach

I think there's no location more iconic than outside Crash's house in the small jungle section leading to N.Sanity Beach. You could have one of those arenas that changes location every few seconds to other Crash areas, but I honestly think this would work better. One set location with a bit of beach and a bit of jungle, Crash's house to one side... yes.

Aaaaaand that's all I have! Well, outside of a Crash cap for Kirby or something. I think Crash would make for a great addition in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, but who knows if he ever will be or not? Time will tell!