The Artisan World needs help. During an interview with the dragon race, after some snide comments are made towards Gnorc—an odd gnome and orc being—the dragons find their comments angered the odd being. Sending out an army of soldiers, Gnorc attacks the Artisan World and encases all the dragons in stone with his magical powers. One of the smaller dragons named Spyro luckily is able to avoid this fate and is tasked with finding a means of helping them. Spyro won’t be alone as a dragonfly named Sparx aims to help the little dragon accomplish this huge task.

Let’s begin our list of games like Crash Bandicoot with one of our favorite platformers—aside from Crash obviously—is Spyro the Dragon. Players took control of the small purple dragon as they ran around smashing into enemies and burning them to a crisp equally. Like Crash Bandicoot,, players could explore vast worlds looking for treasures and collectibles while having to also fight various bosses. Spyro the Dragon has been semi re-released as Skylanders but to us, the original series of games were the most like Crash Bandicoot. Hopefully the rumors of HD releases of Spyro the Dragon are true, but for now all we can do is hope.

In the world known as the Glade of Dreams a battle for survival is taking place. The evil Robo-Pirates, beings known for taking over planets and enslaving the residents have set their eyes on the Glade of Dreams. Luckily, the Glade of Dreams has a few defenders such as Rayman and Globox who are able to fight back against the robo army. However, when a special planet core called the Primordial Core ends up damaged, Rayman loses his powers and is captured alongside his friends. Now with his powers basically gone, Rayman will have to find some way to escape and get his powers back to destroy the Robo-Pirates once and for all.

Rayman 1 released on the PS1 back in 1995 and people absolutely loved it. Obviously thanks to the high praise and sales, UbiSoft knew they had to make a sequel and thus Rayman 2 released 4 years later. Instead of the 2D format the first game had, players now could enjoy the world of Rayman in 3D with strong gameplay and updated visuals. Like Crash Bandicoot, Rayman 2 required players to mix attacking and platforming, though with a stronger freedom of exploration than the Crash Bandicoot series. Released to several consoles, Rayman 2 was honestly one of the best games to play growing up and still continues today with newer titles and spin-offs.

On a planet named Quartu, there lies a factory building an army of evil robots. One of the robots ends up being labeled as defective and escapes the facility. The little robot ends up escaping to a mechanic named Ratchet and reveals that his name is Clank and he’s actually on a mission to stop an evil and corrupt business man named Drek. Deciding to team up with Clank, the duo decide to head off Ratchet’s home planet in search of clues to discover what Drek is after. However, Drek has eyes everywhere and with the duo’s interference becoming an issue, Drek issues a bounty be place on their heads. Can Ratchet and Clank survive the approaching threat and somehow be able to take down this strong force?

We have to admit, while we here at Honey’s Anime love Crash Bandicoot games, at times we want something more in a platformer. That’s why when developer Insomniac Games released Ratchet & Clank, we knew they had a solid franchise in bound. We loved that we could gather new weapons and gadgets to take down baddies and also explore richly detailed environments. All one has to do is look at how the series played out after the first titled released in 2002. Not only has the Ratchet & Clank series spawned several sequels and a spin off title but in 2016 there was even a movie released in an attempt to reboot the series. Folks whether you play the first one or the reboot series—however we personally have a lot of love for the original—we know you’ll be in love and reminded how excellent games like Crash Bandicoot can take it up several notches.

Curious Jak and Daxter have decided to venture towards Misty Island despite warnings from their Elder Chief Samos. When they arrive they see Lurkers—beings from their world—gathering next to a pool of Dark Eco. As the pair decide to run they are spotted and while Jak is able to kill the Lurker, Daxter falls into the Dark Eco pool. When he swims back to the surface Daxter finds his body has become an ottsel. Rushing back home in hopes of finding a cure for Daxter, Samos explains that Jak and Daxter must find the Dark Sage as he may be the only one capable of curing Jak’s friend. Though little does Jax and Daxter realize that their adventure will be much harder than they could imagine.

Obviously we here at Honey’s Anime would be out of our minds if we didn’t include Jak and Daxter on our list of 6 Games Like Crash Bandicoot. Crafted by developer Naughty Dog—the same team responsible for a majority of the Crash Bandicoot titles—Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was ironically the precursor to one of the cooler platforming franchises ever released. In the first game, players controlled Jak—who was originally mute—as they spun around and defeated enemies all while pulling off tons of platforming feats. The latter titles would change Jak quite a bit and give him an attitude and weapons thus why we consider the first entry in the Jak & Daxter series as the one that echoes the Crash Bandicoot series the most. If you’re thinking about picking up Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy we recommend waiting for the PS4 release—which will be as a PS2 classic title—or picking up the HD collection.

The Cooper family has been known for being some of the best thieves ever around. Their skill have been meticulously written down with in the family’s Thievius Raccoonus to allow their skills to be handed down among the family. However, one day when a young Sly Cooper was to gain the knowledge of the Thievius Raccoonus the book is torn apart by an evil group and his parents are murdered while Sly hides in fear. Now an adult, Sly has teamed up with his trusty partners Bentley and Murray to continue the legacy of the cooper family and go about finding the lost pages of the Thievius Raccoonus as well as stop those who killed his family.

For a platformer to be considered great like Crash Bandicoot, it needs to be fun. Simple as that. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus fits that bill perfectly. The whole idea of being a raccoon that steals things was unique and with some amazing art and seriously unique gameplay—the whole thief related moves was awesome—Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was easily one of the best games released on the PS2. Recently, the whole original trilogy of games was remastered in one collection and we fully recommend picking that up if you’re aiming to try out the Sly Cooper series. If you loved the Crash Bandicoot games, then we fully recommend picking up Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.

The Chaos Emeralds are known to contain amazing powers making them a target for the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik. With a plan in mind, Robotnik goes to South Island and traps the various animals in large metal capsules. Sonic—a fast running hedgehog—aims to free his friends from the clutches of Dr. Robotnik. Sonic will use his speed and can do attitude to take down Robotnik and save his friends. Welcome to the wonderful world of Sonic the Hedgehog.

We conclude our list with possibly the most iconic mascot ever Sonic the Hedgehog. While Crash Bandicoot was Sony’s Mascot, Sonic was the mascot for the Sega Corporation. Player would get to run on a 2D plane at speeds not seen in games prior and would enjoy platforming in its finest measure. Say what you will about the newer Sonic titles, the series still continues to release thanks to the love from the fans of the franchise as a whole. We here at Honey’s Anime know if you’ve never played Sonic the Hedgehog you’re missing out on a game that rivals the epic nature of Crash Bandicoot.