The newest commercial for Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time revives the wacky Crash suit ads of the '90s, and with the zany flair of Japanese TV to boot.
The ad opens with a Japanese family eating apples and minding their own business, but a giant lad in an orange fursuit soon crashes the party. The family is understandably surprised, but quickly recognizes this smiley intruder as the one and only Crash Bandicoot – or in katakana, Kurashu Bandikuu, as he was described in an old '90s ad that this new one is quite deliberately referencing.
This ad is a symphony of Japanese TV and Crash-brand weirdness. It's got the same silly dance as the original ads, it uses the same apples-to-wumpas gag, and the father of the Japanese family that winds up tagging along with Crash has those extreme facial expressions down pat. I love that not even he can keep a straight face after some of these reactions, as evidenced by the first batch of outtakes around 1:40. Of course, the new ad looks a whole lot better, which is a pretty perfect parallel for Crash 4 as a whole. Based on what we've seen, it revitalizes the series' old-school platforming with a fresh coat of paint and some modern ideas, which is exciting to see after such a long hiatus on mainline Crash games.
A demo for Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is coming this week.
