Crash Bandicoot: Ranking Every N. Sane Trilogy Boss Battle

Most of what was said about Koala Kong could easily be applied to Papu Papu too. Crash has never been heavy on narrative but in the first game it's absent almost entirely. It can be pieced together, and the basic story of going through the island to rescue Crash's girlfriend is easy enough to understand, but still. Papu Papu feels hugely out of place.

Cortex, Brio and Gin are all human, but the mad scientist vibe works with the core themes of genetic experiments on animal life. A fat tribal chief just straight up doesn't. Were it not for the nostalgia factor, Papu Papu might have come in dead last. But although as a character he's rather forgettable, as a boss battle he's not. Papu was the first boss battle in the first Crash game ever, and therefore has a huge nostalgia factor in its favour.

It was a decent introduction to how the battles work too, with attacks you had to dodge but without much challenge. That got you into the habit of waiting for the time to strike, rather than just constantly spinning to get his health bar down.