Crash is returning Nathan Drake’s shout-out
The Crash Bandicoot series is synonymous the PlayStation’s early days. Anyone who grew up with the classic grey machine will have instant nostalgia pangs when they see Crash running into the screen, collecting wumpa fruits and trying to get away from a giant polar bear.
And for another generation of PlayStation gamers, the Uncharted games hold a similar position in relation to the PS3 and PS4, with Nathan Drake being one of the most recognisable figures in modern games.
The first three Crash Bandicoot games were developed by Naughty Dog, who went on to make the Uncharted series. And in a new video promoting the recent Crash Bandicoot 4, Crash and his sister Coco are seen playing Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
Great to see friends helping friends this Holiday Season! 😉 @Naughty_Dog @PlayStation pic.twitter.com/seihSOEEZR
— Crash Bandicoot (@CrashBandicoot) November 30, 2020
To many, this might just seem like a cute crossover. But it actually has deeper significance.
In Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, there’s a scene where Nathan Drake pulls out Elena’s original PlayStation 1, and boots up the first Crash Bandicoot game. The player then gets to play through a short level of the game, as Drake.
When Uncharted 4 was released in 2016, there had not been a Crash game released on a console since 2008’s Nitro Kart on PS2 and Xbox 360 – so this was a big deal, and fans went crazy for it.
The next year we would get the release of the N. Sane Trilogy, a remaster of the first three games. That was a massive hit, and was followed by a remaster of Crash Team Racing and then Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time earlier this year.
The new video, shared on the official Crash Bandicoot Twitter account, sees Crash and Coco sitting on a couch playing Uncharted 4, returning the favour from the previous shout-out.
In October we finally got to see the first photos from the long-awaited Uncharted movie. Tom Holland is playing a young Nathan Drake, with Mark Wahlberg as his mentor Sully.
