Crash Bandicoot has been added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate thanks to a recent fan mod. Third-party characters like Sonic The Hedgehog and Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII have made debuts in Nintendo’s massive mascot crossover fighting game series, and there is no shortage of fans seeking more gaming icons for Smash’s ever-growing roster. Crash Bandicoot is one of the most popular Super Smash Bros. characters, with even the producers of 2020’s Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time admitting that seeing the hilariously insane marsupial face off against Mario and Donkey Kong would be a dream come true.
However, Crash’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. wasn’t to be, at least not in the Nintendo Switch version of the game. Masahiro Sakurai, the developer of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, stated in October that the game’s final DLC guest character would not be Crash, but the equally-requested Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series. Sakurai later announced that he would be taking a sabbatical from Super Smash Bros. for the time being, which means that fans will have to wait a long time for Crash to make an appearance in a new Super Smash Bros. game, at least officially.
According to Dexerto, a modder going by the moniker S77 recently modified a prior Mastaklo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate mod on GameBanana. This mod adds Crash Bandicoot as a playable character, based on Dr Mario’s moveset with a few Crash-inspired tweaks including an Aku-Aku attack and a leap animation based on the Mii Brawler. A custom announcer voice clip for Crash, a new entrance animation in which the friendly Bandicoot arrives through a portal, similar to how he did in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, and even a Crash-themed Kirby form for when the little pink puffball inevitably copies Crash’s powers during a round of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are just a few of the fun additions.
Many fans have pointed out that having Crash Bandicoot as a guest combatant in Super Smash Bros. would be incredibly fitting, given that he was designed to compete with fellow Smash fighters Mario and Sonic in the late 1990s – to the point where the original Crash Bandicoot’s commercials featured the lovable marsupial invading Nintendo’s headquarters to challenge Mario to a fight. With the release of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection and the aforementioned Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Crash has had something of a rebirth in recent years, and Activision’s recent takeover by Microsoft may have opened the door for future Crash Bandicoot titles for Xbox.
Because Microsoft-owned Banjo-Kazooie was portrayed as a guest character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, fans are asking if Crash Bandicoot would appear in a future Super Smash Bros. game. Meanwhile, it appears that modders are more than willing to take up the slack in bringing Crash into the mascot crossover arena, faithfully replicating the famous 90s gaming icon’s moveset and demeanour in order to finally give him that long-awaited match-up versus Mario.