History VideoGame / CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime

-->--'''Dr. Neo Cortex'''

* CanonDiscontinuity:
** If calling it ''Crash Bandicoot 4'' isn't enough indication[[note]]''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex Wrath of Cortex]]'' was called ''Crash Bandicoot 4'' in Japan[[/note]], the reveal trailer confirms that ''It's About Time'' takes place directly after ''Warped'' and before any of the post-Naughty Dog games. That's on top of Crash and Coco claiming they only stopped Cortex three times at the end of the trailer. However, [[https://press-start.com.au/features/2020/06/23/crash-4-interview-retro-mode-doctor-neo-cortex-quantum-masks/ the developers have stated in an interview that the post-Naughty Dog games still exist in some form and may have some impact in Crash 4's adventure]].

''Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time'' is a 3D [[PlatformGame platformer]] developed by Toys for Bob and the eighth installment in the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' series[[note]]if you only count home console platformers[[/note]]. It is the series' first original platforming title since 2008's ''VideoGame/CrashMindOverMutant'', and is a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'', using a similar art style to ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' (though with some changes in character design).

* IronicHell: At one point, Cortex gets sick of fighting and losing [[spoiler:to Crash]] all the time. His ultimate fate? [[spoiler:The Quantum Masks [[{{Unishment}} exiling him to the end of the universe]], where Cortex can enjoy peace at last.]]

** A downplayed case, as previous games treated Coco and Tropy as more intelligent and graceful counterparts to Crash and Cortex respectively....[[SoreLoser but only when they weren't losing,]] [[NotSoAboveItAll upon which they behaved even worse.]] Even beyond that, they were rather comedic and error prone in many games (with Coco having a few DamselInDistress moments). The game omits their thin skinned egos (and most instances of them being TheChewToy in the first place for that matter), thus they largely play an AlwaysSomeoneBetter to the main hero and villain for most of the story.

** [[spoiler:The WOAH! meme actually gets used in-game]] at the end of the dream-esque rail sequence taking place before the battle against N. Tropies. The creator of the original [[spoiler:video, [[https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisPatstone Chris Patstone]]]], [[https://twitter.com/ChrisPatstone/status/1312195167965724673 tweeted about the inclusion]] and is also listed under "Special Thanks" during the end credits.

** A cutscene in Snow Way Out jokes about how the game takes place before the many games developed after the [=PlayStation=] trilogy.

* AdaptationalSeriousness: While Crash and Cortex were the key comic characters in previous games, many titles (especially the later ones) made a point that the entire cast was a CloudCuckooLand. By contrast, in addition to the above AdaptationBadass entries, most of the other characters tend to be playing the StraightMan role against the two leads, with very few jokes at their expense (gameplay deaths aside). It is a recurrent plot point that the others on both sides are getting sick of Crash and Cortex bumbling around while they try to handle things more competently, something that was largely HypocriticalHumor originally.

The game was released on October 2, 2020 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne (with cross-gen support for the [[UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS fourth generation Xbox consoles]]). As part of [[MilestoneCelebration the series's 25th anniversary]], the game will see release on other platforms in 2021. Versions for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS (a true native version) and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch released on March 12, 2021. Following that, a PC version released on March 26, 2021 via Blizzard's Battle.net service.

* BigBadWannabe: For a while it looks like Cortex is this, his pitiful worn-down demeanor and petty obsession with getting even with Crash seemingly making him a clean inferior to the more sinister Tropy and ultimately getting him backstabbed by the latter. [[spoiler: As it turns out, Tropy and his alternate end up this instead, going out in a one hit battle due to their arrogance, with Cortex ultimately scheming his way back to the top.]]

* TheFriendNoOneLikes: Downplayed for Crash, he is still friendly with most of the other heroes, but individual chemistries range from barely acknowledging him to only just tolerating him. Coco, Tawna and Aku Aku all care about him but visibly consider him an InsufferableImbecile, and Cortex, [[ArchEnemy as per norm]], hates his guts. His least turbulent relationship is with Dingodile, a former enemy he barely interacts with.

* ComedicUnderwearExposure: For once, Crash isn't the only one to suffer from this; every playable character gets this treatment due to death by electrocution.

* NeverMyFault: Cortex has always been guilty to some degree of playing the victim towards his own hubris, but this entry takes it to [[UpToEleven entirely new heights]]. He seems to genuinely not understand that the only reason he keeps suffering defeats at Crash's hands is because he keeps coming back to cause trouble, up to [[spoiler:behaving as if Crash and Coco are being unreasonable when they chase him back to the past to stop him from undoing Crash's existence]]. He even goes so far as to take ''genuine offense'' at being called the "bad guy".

* NintendoHard: Crash Bandicoot 4 is without a shadow of a doubt the hardest game in the series by a country mile. Levels [[MarathonLevel go on for ages]] with enemies and obstacles everywhere that will make short work of you if you aren’t on point with your timing and reflexes. Aku Aku crates are also much rarer to come by making mistakes far more costly. Reviewers and even seasoned veterans of the series have all made a point of how nightmarishly hard the game can get.
** Taken UpToEleven if you decide to go for [[OneHundredPercentCompletion 106%]]. Not only do you need to complete each level without dying once but you need to break every box, some of which are hidden in downright devious spots. The stages' [[MarathonLevel sheer length]] also make dying far more punishing. And if that wasn’t enough going for the [[BraggingRightsReward Platinum Relics]] is now mandatory for completion.

* BadBoss: Cortex is this to N. Brio, during the Flashback Tapes. At one point, Cortex mentions ''withholding N. Brio's bathroom privileges'', and the latter begs him to relent.

* TotallyRadical: Buying the game digitally gives you "Totally Tubular" skins for Crash and Coco, deliberately throwing back to the 1990s which the game takes place in.

* AbsenteeActor: Despite being a major character in the previous two games and most of the following ones, Tiny is completely absent, with his only nod being [[spoiler:a few paintings in the final level of the game, Cortex Castle]].

* GracefulLandingClumsyLanding: Every rift teleport has Crash pratfalling through while [[AdaptationalBadass Coco]] lands perfectly. In the final one, Crash also lands on his feet at last, though still kills the mood by pulling off a goofy celebration.

In the aftermath of ''Warped'''s events, Dr. Cortex, Uka Uka, and Dr. N. Tropy were left stranded in time and space with no way out... but of course, that didn't stop the villains from trying. After ''decades'' of fruitless attempts, they eventually escape their makeshift prison. But there's even worse news-- namely, the fact that in the process, they ''tore a hole in the space-time continuum'', which not only exposes an entire multiverse, but puts all of it at terrible risk. Crash and Coco Bandicoot catch wind of this disturbance and set out to fix it by traversing the many universes to gather the four Quantum Masks; their powers will not only repair the rift, but aid the two on their journey. All the while, Cortex and his associates endeavor to stop them so that the multiverse can be theirs for the taking. Where will this adventure take them? One thing's for sure: it's gonna get ''weird''.

! Spoilers for ''all'' ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' games preceding this one will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crash4.png]]

* {{Wutai}}: Tranquility Falls, the fourth dimension in the game, is an Eastern Asia-inspired place filled with large lotus flower lakes, yokai spirits, Chinese dragons, pagodas and temples, and N. Brio himself is dressed in an appropriate Japanese outfit.

* {{Retcanon}}: Likely for style and narrative consistency, the Cortex of the past events of ''Crash 1'' has the same design and attire as his present one, and is [[AdaptationalComicRelief just as childish and pitiful]] (if not even ''more so''). It is worth noting however that an in-universe monitor still replays the opening cutscene of ''N Sane Trilogy'' as an EasterEgg.

* Retcanon: Likely for style and narrative consistency, the Cortex of the past events of ''Crash 1'' has the same design and attire as his present one, and is [[AdaptationalComicRelief just as childish and pitiful]] (if not even ''more so''). It is worth noting however that an in-universe monitor replays the opening cutscene of ''N Sane Trilogy'' as an EasterEgg.