10 Iconic Video Game Character Debuts

The debut of Crash Bandicoot in his 1996 game of the same title was nothing short of historical for PlayStation. This was a time when console mascots were at the height of their popularity. Nintendo had Mario, Sega had Sonic, and now Sony had Crash.

The result of a mutation experiment by the evil Neo Cortex gone wrong, Crash is a powerful bandicoot who finds himself up against an army of mutated animals after escaping from Cortex’s castle. Cortex decides to turn his attention to another imprisoned bandicoot, Tawna, who Crash had grown fond of during his time as a captive. As such, the story sees Crash set out to rescue Tawna from the castle.

Crash’s debut in this 3D platformer lit the spark that ignited the plethora of outstanding PlayStation exclusive releases that we’ve enjoyed right up to present day. Armed with his new powers, a series of Aku Aku masks and all of the attitude the 90s had to offer, Crash Bandicoot put developer Naughty Dog on the map.

You can thank this cheeky red devil for Jak and Daxter, the Uncharted series and even The Last of Us. All of these games would have sprung from the success Crash Bandicoot had in its prime.

Thank you as well, Doctor Neo Cortex.