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The Hidden Palace is a community dedicated to the preservation of video game development media (such as prototypes, hardware, source code, artwork, and more). This website can be utilized as a catalog for the items that we and others are able to collect and share.

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Crash Bandicoot: Warped (Jul 17, 1998 prototype)
Crash Bandicoot: Warped (Press CD)
Discuss this release on our Discord server!

Woah! It's Christmas!

It's been a while since we've last showcased a Crash Bandicoot release, and now, thanks to the efforts of Darkaiser, we have yet another Crash Bandicoot: Warped prototype to share with you!


Crash Bandicoot: Warped started development in January 1998 and its developer, Naughty Dog, was given less than a year to complete the game. Despite this, they were able to greatly expand on the gameplay formula they had initially found success with in the first two Crash Bandicoot games. Warped contains, in addition to the 3D platforming levels Crash games are known for, levels where you control a motorcycle, plane, and jetski, the later two provide a much wider range of movement that Crash levels have traditionally seen.



During its development, preview builds of the game were sent off to the different regional arms of Sony Computer Entertainment to provide to magazines for preview purposes. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) distributed the majority of preview builds, but in Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) only received four builds: News Version, Preview Version 1, Preview Version 2, and Review Version. Prior to today, only Preview Version 2 and Review Version have been made public. Today's release closes the gap with Preview Version 1, which is, to date, the earliest build of Crash 3 ever released!



Dated July 17, this build is dated about a month before the Alpha NTSC-U build from August, and over a week before the (very limited) first public demo of the build. This build would be seen in various magazine publications and trailers across the US and Europe, showcasing it's various differences such as an early level names, layouts and implementation of the time trial system.

The release of this build could not be possible without the incredible fundraising effort by Darkaiser, who was able to raise enough money to allow the game to be released publicly. Darkaiser has previously been a part of our Crash Landing 2019 release, and this build puts us one step closer to getting the full picture of the rapid 10 month development cycle Crash 3 took. Just this release alone would be enough to satisfy even the most diehard fan…


...but that's not all!



In addition to the Preview Build, Darkaiser has also secured an asset disc for Crash 3. These discs were sent to magazine publishers to add high-resolution art to their preview pages, and are rarely seen in their original, high-resolution quality. This release will be added to our growing catalog of asset press discs. We hope to have much more to share on this exciting endeavor in the near future, so stay tuned!

Once again, we'd like to thank Darkaiser and everyone who donated to allow this release to happen.

Merry Christmas and until next time!


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