Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex (May 15, 2001 prototype)

A prototype of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex for the PlayStation 2.
==Notes==
* An E3 demo built over 4 months before the final game.
* The title screen and loading screens differ quite a bit from the final.
* As a demo build, much of the game is not present. There's a demo timer which kicks the player back to the title screen if it's idle for too long, and the only five playable levels are the following:
** 1 - Crash and Burn
** 2 - Tornado Alley
** 3 - Enter the Dragon (an earlier name for "Wizards and Lizards")
** 4 - Banzai Bonsai
** 5 - Eskimo Roll
* The central hub of the demo - which is also where the game starts - is a variant of Coco's VR Hub System, but without any of the chambers seen in the final game.
* There are no visual displays of how many gems, crystals or relics have been collected in each of the levels in the hub world, nor are the collected items shown to the player when they leave a level.
* Finishing a level takes you straight back to central area of the hub, rather than spawning you just outside the entrance to the level you were just in.
* There are some unfinished particle effects and missing animations here and there - for example, some enemies will immediately vanish when they're defeated.
* A number of textures have been changed throughout.
* The HUD text is universally orange rather than being a range of colours - for example, the "BONUS" text is orange instead of green. The 3D HUD lettering also has less depth to it.
* The pause menu is particularly basic and primitive looking, and only offers the ability to continue, restart the time trial, restart the level or return to the hub.
* The visuals on the game over screen are slightly more basic.
* When you respawn after a game over, you reappear with zero lives.
* Entering levels involves physically jumping into the holes and through the floor, rather than standing on each of the numbers and being zapped by a teleporter.
* There is a portal in the floor at the end of each level instead of a teleporter. When exiting a level, the character's animation freezes in place or gets stuck in a loop before the screen fades out.
* Crate placement is different in a number of places.
* Crystals have a darker, more transparent appearance.
* Crash and Burn's secret area and second exit is not present, or at least cannot be reached. It contains a total of 114 crates, rather than the final's 138.
* Wizards and Lizards contains no bonus stages nor the secret exit (or, at least, they are not accessible) and there are a total of 70 crates rather than the final's 129.
* Banzai Bonsai contains 113 crates instead of 154. The bonus stage contains 28 of those crates, rather than 32 of them.
* The cranes in Banzai Bonsai are, instead, flamingos.
* Eskimo Roll contains 86 crates rather than the 82 of the final.
* Tiny is not present in Eskimo Roll.
* Miscellaneous Notes:
** Game is emulatable (in PCSX2): Yes (as of March 17, 2021).
** Game contains dongle protection: No.
==Screenshots==
Crash4-May15-Title.png|Title screen
Crash4-May15-Loading.png|Loading screen
Crash4-May15-Hub-1.png|Hub
Crash4-May15-Hub-2.png|Hub
Crash4-May15-Hub-3.png|Hub
Crash4-May15-Pause-1.png|Pause menu
Crash4-May15-Pause-2.png|Pause menu
Crash4-May15-GameOver.png|Game over
Crash4-May15-1.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-2.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-3.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-4.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-5.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-6.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-7.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-8.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-9.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-10.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-11.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-12.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-13.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-14.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-15.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-16.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-17.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-18.png|Gameplay
Crash4-May15-19.png|Gameplay
==Origin==
PS2 - Crash Bandicoot The Wrath of Cortex E3 Demo 5-15-01 build COPY 2.jpeg|Disc front.
PS2 - Crash Bandicoot The Wrath of Cortex E3 Demo 5-15-01 build.jpeg|Disc font (copy).
==Files==
==Acknowledgments==
A huge thanks to Hwd45 for doing the initial research on this prototype! And a huge thanks to the anonymous donor that allowed for this release to happen!
==See also==
* Project Deluge: PlayStation 2 (Initial Announcement Article) (March 20, 2021)
* Cutting Room Floor (TCRF)
* Internet Archive (IA)