Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back/YMMV


 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Ripper Roo, the Komodo Brothers, Tiny Tiger, and especially Dr. N. Gin.
 * Even Better Sequel: Pretty much everyone agrees that Crash Bandicoot 2 Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped are much better designed and more enjoyable games than the original game.
 * Gameplay Derailment: Trying to grind some more lives on Turtle Woods? You think the moment when you fall into pit with cyberrats is annoying? Well, there is a legit way which, if doesn't work at first, is possible to pull off with some skill: just jump above the pit through the faux-walls. In fact, this trick was one of the many objects of this game's tool-assisted speedrun, kindly demonstrated here.
 * Same moment in  is also avoidable, but this time, with a simple slide jump.
 * Growing the Beard: This game is seen by many as this for the series.
 * Guide Dang It: The secret areas in this game are this moreso than any other game in the series, often requiring extreme acrobatic feats and/or Violation of Common Sense to reach. One requires you to Another has you  Yet a third has you   With bizarre requirements like these, it's no wonder future secret areas were basically relegated to Gem and Skull Routes.
 * You're going to swear even more after you run into Camera Screw-based traps. For instance, ever was wondering where you got those two boxes in Un-Bearable lost even despite you obviously got through  as well? They both were off-screen all that time! In the same area, actually. Surprise!
 * Hell Is That Noise: The bees in Diggin' It and Bee-Havin' make a distinctive buzzing which, if you're coming from the opposite direction, should make you scrabble for the nearest cover.
 * That One Level: "Cold Hard Crash", a nightmare if you're trying to get the "destroy all crates" gem. You have to play through the first half of the level without dying to reach the Death Course, a difficult, checkpoint-free path covered in crusher traps and nitro mines, almost entirely on slippery ice. When you reach the end of the death course, you need to activate a switch and do the course BACKWARDS to get the new crate the switch spawns at the beginning of the level, at which point you take the platform back to the main level and complete it. Oh, and there's a single, hard-to-find crate hidden just offscreen. Missed it? DO THE WHOLE THING OVER AGAIN.