Fourth wall

Sometimes a character in the Crash Bandicoot series will do something that acknowledges that they are inside a video game; this can be things such as stating the title of a game, mentioning a game mechanic in a way that makes no sense in-universe, looking right at the camera, or other things that acknowledge our reality. This is called a fourth wall break, and things like this have happened several times in the series.
==Crash Bandicoot==
In the first level, when Crash gets up after washing up on the shore, he grins at the camera and gives a thumbs-up before turning around.
Before Crash hops on a hog in hog riding levels, he turns around, looking at the camera and wiggles his eyebrows.
==Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back==
Crash wiggles his eyebrows and looks behind himself before hopping on Polar.
In the background of Ripper Roo's boss fight, multiple copies of a strategy guide for the first game can be seen.
==Crash Bandicoot: Warped==
When Crash is smacked with a Two-Headed Giant's club in Double Header, Crash will hit the screen and slide down.
== CTR: Crash Team Racing ==
Unlocking or beating N. Tropy's ghosts in Time Trial mode will have him talk directly to the player.
==Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex==
Upon playing two of Wa-Wa's levels, he will tell the player to "Leave my levels alone!"
==Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure==
One of Crash's idle animations features him pulling a Game Boy Advance, the console that the game is on, out of his pocket, looking at the camera for a second, then briefly playing with it before putting it back.
== Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced ==
If the player dies during Fake Crash's boss battle, he'll wave a flag at the camera, similar to Crash's Game Boy Advance idle animation from Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure which is absent in this game.
==Crash Nitro Kart==
If the player sits idle for a while when playing as Cortex, he will look over his shoulder and motion with his hand at the player to get moving.
During gameplay, Coco can sometimes be heard humming the game's theme tune.
== Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage ==
Crash's Game Boy Advance idle animation from Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure returns for when he's in the hub world.
==Crash Twinsanity==
One of Crash's idle animations features him turning to the camera in a fighting stance, throwing a few punches in the player's direction. Some other idles have him peeking over his shoulder at the player when facing away.
The last skunk seen in Jungle Bungle expresses his displeasure at having acted as a common enemy to get stomped on for ten years (despite the first Crash game having been released 8 years before Twinsanity): "Hey, hey, hey! Yeah, you! I've been doing this, for ten stinkin' years! Back and forward... back and forward... AND I'M SICK OF IT! Well I'm not gonna do it no more!"
When Farmer Ernest promises a crystal in return for ridding his orchard of worms, Cortex just shoots him and takes the crystal from him. He then looks at the player and says: "I'm an evil scientist, what did you expect? This isn't a game."
Cortex mentions to the penguins in Ice Climb that the reason he couldn't pay them was because "Wrath of Cortex didn't do as well as we'd hoped."
Just as Cortex, Crash and Nina jump into the 10th Dimension, Cortex references the game's rushed development by saying: "Come now, as we explore a new dimension! ...It should've been two new dimensions but we... ran out of time."
At the beginning of Rock-Slide Rumble, Evil Crash with Nina jumps over a railing as Cortex runs up to it and exclaims "My daughte- errr... niece!" This references confusion developers had over how Nina was related to Cortex.
At the ending of the game, when the Evil Twins are about to be eaten by Evil Crash, Victor turns to Moritz and says: "Well, this is one heck of an ending."
A cut section of a voice line has Cortex instructing Crash to "Hit spin and then circle to throw me over there.". The "spin and then circle" part was removed since it only made sense on the PS2 version, thus removing the fourth wall breach.
==Crash Tag Team Racing==
Von Clutch mentions that he has all of Crash's Games and that they are his favorite video game heroes.
When the yeti eats Crash in the Die-O-Rama Cold Lunch, he looks at the camera and shrugs his shoulders.
Sometimes, Crash waves at the camera and even smiles in some Die-O-Ramas.
Cortex will ask the player if they're trying to make him lose if the car keeps crashing or skidding into walls by saying "Excuse me gamer, are you trying to make me lose?!" Another of Cortex's lines says, "I would have hit him, but this game is rated E." which is ironic since the game's ESRB age rating is E10+.
There are also some fourth-wall-breaking moments with the mission hints that are given if the player talks to a mission character without the required item or with insufficient Wumpa Coins/Power Crystals. For example, talking to someone who needs Crystals four times will prompt the message, "Just play the game, OK? Jeez.", or talking to N. Gin without the Slippers he needs will eventually prompt the messages, "You know what? I'm out." and "Seriously, forget this, I'm going to make accounting software."
==Crash of the Titans==
Cortex mentions that his name is on the stationery, referring to Radical Entertainment, he also pulls out a contract.
Tiny says to Crash "I'm still mad about the last game." referring to Crash Tag Team Racing, in which he did not appear.
Uka Uka prolongs a cutscene so he can enjoy the dramatic background music.
The Voodoo Bunnies are discussing Uka Uka's personality issues, saying that he's feeling self-conscious about not having a body, and mentioning that "He had body briefly in Twinsanity, but that was no fun for nobody," mentioning Uka Uka's boss fight possibly meaning how short it was in said game.
It's possible that Ratnicians broke the fourth wall in mentioning two well known video game characters of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, saying variants of "You'd think he was an Italian plumber / a moving fast hedgehog or something." respectively.
== Crash of the Titans (Nintendo DS) ==
In the game's tutorial, Cortex taunts the player with "Oh brother! Not another tutorial! You'd better pay attention... if you want any chance of defeating me, Dr. Neo Cortex." His tutorial sarcasm ceases at the first hub area.
Similar to Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, Crash has an idle animation where he'll pull out the console the game is on (a white Nintendo DS Lite) and start playing it. Additionally, an FMV animation of this and Nina will precede any of her playable segments of the game.
Tiny says "Cool, maybe I'll get my own series now!" if the player dies during his boss battle.
If the player dies during Cortex's boss battle, he'll say "It took fourteen tries, but I finally beat you Crash!" This is a nod to there being 13 entries in the series prior, though technically Cortex was uninvolved with the events of Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced.
If the player dies during Nina's version of Cortex's boss battle, he will instead say, "I won? Quick, somebody take a screenshot!"
Accessing the secret ending which shows what happens to Nina will display an Evil University "Evil Genius Take home Examination for Nina Cortex" on the touch screen. One question reads "Have your plans destroyed by a tiny twist of fate and a creepily cheerful a) Rabbit b) Rodent c) Marsupial d) Plumber", possibly breaking the fourth wall by referring to other video game protagonists; "rabbit" possibly referring to the Rabbids, "rodent" possibly referring to Sonic the Hedgehog, "marsupial" referring to Crash himself and "plumber" referring to Mario. Another question reads "Escape at the last moment vowing revenge and setting up the sequel".
==Crash: Mind Over Mutant==
N. Brio yells out in a cutscene "I, was in the First GAME!!"
One of the Slap-Es says "Curse you video games!"
Like the prequel, Ratnicians possibly broke the fourth wall in mentioning well known video game character Sonic the Hedgehog in "You'd think he was a moving fast hedgehog or something."
During the final boss fight with Cortex, he can say "It took 15 tries, but I finally beat you Crash!" if Crash dies, much like in the final boss fight of Crash of the Titans (Nintendo DS). This is a nod to Crash: Mind Over Mutant being the 15th entry in the series, despite Cortex not literally being the antagonist in all of those games.
==Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy==
Like in the original game, Crash grins and gives the camera a thumbs up at the beginning of N. Sanity Beach. While playing as Coco, she instead beams and waves at the camera excitedly.
In all three games, before hopping onto an animal, Crash or Coco will look toward the camera, as done in the original counterparts. However while Crash still wiggles his eyebrows, Coco winks at the player.
In several instances, Coco shows irritation at the player, glaring right at the camera. There are multiple ways to trigger this:
*When Coco misses 30 or more boxes in the first game.
*When Coco hits an explosive object on the jet-ski levels.
*As an idle animation on any on-foot platforming level in all three games.
One of Coco's idle animations has her browsing r/CrashBandicoot on her laptop, a real-life fan run Crash Bandicoot community on the website Reddit.
==Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled==
When the player beats all of N. Tropy's ghosts in time trial mode he will talk directly to the player and say that they have earned the right to choose him in the character select screen.
In one of Ripper Roo's idle animations, he will turn his head around to briefly stare at the player before laughing and turning back forward.
Spyro has a similar idle animation where he glances over his shoulder at the camera, mimicking an idle animation from the original trilogy of his native series.
==Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time==
In the beginning cutscene, Cortex tells N. Tropy "Face it, N. Tropy, it's going to fail. Again." while gesturing to a tally of 22 drawn on a rock, a nod towards the 22 years between Crash Bandicoot: Warped and this follow-up. 
Rude Awakening has a TV at the start that can be spun to show the logos for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy versions of Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped and the 4th entry itself. Upon attaining 106% completion, it'll also show a teaser for what would be announced as Crash Team Rumble. 
At the beginning of Snow Way Out, after Crash and Coco tell Lani-Loli that they beat Cortex three times before, he notes "Funny. Seemed like more." This is a nod towards the fact that the game takes place just after Warped, mostly ignoring the other games released in between that come after It's About Time in its chronological timeline.https://youtu.be/FwjW10ADGnE?t=875
One of Cortex's lines during his first boss, 4th Time's a Charm, has him loudly proclaim "Feel the Wrath of Cortex!" At the beginning of said boss, he title drops the name of the game, with the line; "CRASH BANDICOOT. It's about time. This is going to be just like the old days... except this time everything will go according to my plan!".
During A Hole in Space, if the player dies twice after reaching N. Tropy, he will say, "Hmm... Feels like we've done this before."
After following Cortex to 1996 with Coco, Crash sees Cortex's hologram and smiles to the camera. He also does this during the Crash Dance he performs after the Quantum Masks banish Cortex to the end of the universe.
In Flashback Tape The Gauntlet, Cortex possibly breaks the fourth wall by saying "Maybe next time I'll try a hedgehog... or a bobcat... or a gecko." This is in reference to other 90's platformer animal mascots of Sonic the Hedgehog, Bubsy Bobcat and Gex the Gecko respectively. Similarly, in Toxic Tunnels, he bemoans his past self for not going with the wombat instead of a bandicoot, alluding to how Crash was originally going to be called Willy the Wombat.
The game's credits contains a long monologue with the narrator talking directly to the player at times, such as "The events of this game are absolutely 100% canonical, unless you didn't like them, in that case it was all a dream."
At the end of the 100% ending epilogues, Crash can be seen in a voice-over recording booth. He looks directly at the camera as he reveals himself to have been the epilogue's narrator.
== References ==
Category:Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Category:Crash Nitro Kart
Category:Crash Tag Team Racing
Category:Crash of the Titans
Category:Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Category:Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Category:Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time