First on the list we’ve got Coco Park, which at first glance may seem like a generic or boring track from any old racing game - but Coco Park to me has the same appeal as Baby Park from Mario Kart. As it’s simplistic with large turns and wide roads, you’re welcome to experiment with lots of slides and turbos in order to build up maximum speed. It’s also a perfect track for practicing your aim with projectile weapons. Sometimes there’s nothing inherently bad about simplicity - and over complicating a track is worse, in my opinion. The music is also oddly addicting - very poppy and bouncy sounding and it suits Coco Bandicoot perfectly.
Next we have Sewer Speedway - a track that is clearly inspired by my favourite type of levels from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, the sewer levels! With alternate routes, secret passages, crazy jumps and endless opportunity for sneaky overtaking or the downright evil yet hilarious tactic of placing explosives on track racers can’t avoid - Sewer Speedway is an awesome track to play with friends and CPUs alike. Also, managing to pull off a platinum relic using advanced driver Tiny Tiger is one of my prouder achievements in gaming - managing that near impossible slide, turbo, jump combo to reach the secret passageway that runs across the top of the level - amazing.
At number 3 we’ve got N. Gin Labs - one of the harder tracks in the game but also one of the more unique and frankly crazy. Let’s see - we’ve got turbo pads, huge ramp jumps, gigantic toxic waste barrels, 90 degree sharp turns and the amazing turbo tunnel that allows you to reach your maximum speed instantly as you race down it. A mix of careful navigating and reckless abandon to take risks is required if you ever hope to beat the platinum time trials on this track, or beat the hard CPU racers in arcade mode. Not only is the track fun to play against friends or CPU racers, it just fits N. Gin’s personality so well - with elements of science, industry and insanity. After Tiny Tiger, N. Gin is my favourite Crash Bandicoot villain - I’m a big fan of mad scientist types.
Our runner up on this list goes to Tiger Temple - a track belonging to Pura the tiger and also bearing an uncanny resemblance to original Crash Bandicoot levels like Temple Ruins and Sunset Vista. The track is a mix of extra wide paths that allow for lots of jump boosts, sliding and launching from ramps and super narrow passageways that are full of fire-breathing gargoyles. However, the best thing about this track is the not-so-secret passageway. While not a secret to long time veterans, anybody new to the game wouldn’t spot it straightaway. To access this shortcut you must shoot this carving in the teeth with a projectile weapon like a bowling bomb or a potion thrown forward. He’ll part his teeth and you can squeak though, shaving off valuable seconds and crashing down on top of the clueless racers taking the long way round.
And my number 1, my personal favourite track in Crash Team Racing is Oxide Station. Though presented as one of the harder tracks in the game and the stage for the final race against Oxide himself, this track manages to balance complexity and hilarity with its frankly ridiculous amount of turbo pads, huge jumps and scrambled up box placements, often mixing fruit crates and item crates in together in one area. What’s not to like about a track where you’re hitting your top speed limit for half of the course and literally holding onto your car for dear life as you hurtle through literal space for the other half? Of course, the boss race against Oxide himself may sully your opinion on this track as he’s a cheating arsehole who begins the race before the flag is waved and hurls a near infinite amount of crap at you, beating his slimy alien arse and sending him packing is so damn satisfying.
