| Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Naughty Dog |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Jason Rubin |
| Producer(s) | Mark Cerny |
| Programmer(s) | Andy Gavin |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Jason Rubin |
| Composer(s) | Josh Mancell |
| Series | Crash Bandicoot |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a 1997 platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is a sequel to Crash Bandicoot (1996), and is part of the Crash Bandicoot series.
Taking place on a fictional group of islands near Australia, Crash Bandicoot 2 follows the adventures of the anthropomorphic bandicoot named Crash. Crash is abducted by series villain Doctor Neo Cortex, who tricks him into thinking he wants to save the world. Crash is thrust into several parts of N. Sanity Island in order to gather crystals that will allow Cortex to contain the power of an upcoming planetary alignment and keep the planet from being destroyed. Crash's sister Coco and Cortex's former assistant Doctor Nitrus Brio try to warn him about Cortex, with the latter urging Crash to gather gems instead of crystals.
Cortex Strikes Back received positive reviews from critics and is widely considered to be superior to its predecessor. Much of the praise went to the game's graphics, controls and music, while criticisms focused on the trial-and-error gameplay, lack of level variety, easy boss levels and lack of innovation as a platform game. The game went on to become one of the best-selling PlayStation video games of all time and replaced its predecessor as the highest-selling Western title in Japan at the time, selling more than 800,000 copies in the country by April 1998. A remastered version was included in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy collection, released on the PlayStation 4 in June 2017, and ported to other platforms in June 2018.