PixlBit

So Crash was at the height of his popularity and Naughty Dog did the only logical thing: Stick him in a cart racer. And boy did they succeed on this one. CTR kicks every Mario Kart game's butt, with the possible exception of Double Dash (mainly because that one was so different that you could easily prefer what it did over what standard cart racers do). Why it kicks so much 

Why is CTR better though? Well, it's simple: it keeps the best parts of Mario Kart without the bad parts. The tracks are full of hidden paths and all kinds of twists and obstacles to get in your way. The racing mechanics feel tight with solid controls, along with power ups and characters

Then there's the adventure mode. I loved this, it wasn't just about racing and beating your opponent, there were time trials and levels about collecting enough crystals in the time limit, which had rewards such as new characters and levels to unlock. And it was kind of cool to have a goal to work towards other than beating the level, you were driving around a hub until you could face the boss.

But the bosses in hindsight weren't that good of an addition. I loved that they went back to the rejects of 1 and 2, I really loved Ripper Roo and Papu Papu's returns especially. But having a guy who is faster than you and has an unlimited amount of X power up was a really annoying mechanic. The final boss was even worse since he took a head start and was a bad character to begin with.

But the power ups were so much better than Mario Kart for two reasons. First is that there was nothing stupid or overpowered like the infamous blue shell. Everything was balanced well, making the game feel much more fair than Mario Kart. Second is that the power ups weren't awarded in MK's rubber band method. The stronger power ups were actually given based on your Wumpa fruit and if you didn't have max fruit, you'd get a weaker version of the power up. This was nice as it actually rewarded you for racing well unlike Mario Kart.

Really the only thing I think CTR didn't beat MK at was the lineup. I love the Crash characters, but even when I was a kid I thought giving the polar bear and tiger you ride on carts was kind of lame. Where's Brio? He clearly changed sides after 1, why not include him in the hero roster? What about Tanya? Rescuing her was the whole effing point of the first game. At least the initial villain roster was good, they kept my favorites (ie the ones from Warped).

When I call Crash 2 and Warped better than Mario 64, I usually am alone in that idea. I tell people to replay 64 so they can see how poorly it aged, but no one listens. I was wowed by that game too and still like it overall, but it's not as timeless as 3, World or Crash 2 and Warped. But when I say CTR is better than Mario Kart, I usually get a lot more agreement. And with good reason, because it's just a great game. 

I was stoked for Crash's next game after this, for his glorious return to platforming. And....well you'll see.