Hello PlayStation players and CTR racers everywhere! We’re excited to be back with you with another blog post, right in time for our latest Grand Prix* season in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled – the Spyro & Friends Grand Prix! We’re thrilled to be bringing together two icons from the days of PlayStation past . . . gaming legends who have been spinning, jumping, wumping, gliding, and flaming bad guys for over 20 years. Now Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon will get the chance to take each other on . . . and no better place to do that than on the racetrack!
As always, the Grand Prix is available at no additional cost for anyone who’s purchased Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled**, so make sure to jump in starting on August 30, as this Grand Prix season will bring new characters, new karts, and new items into the race, and introduce a whole new track. What makes this season so exciting is the fact that this time it brings together two classic franchises into one and is the perfect way to celebrate both. We at Beenox are huge Spyro fans and have not been able to keep our hands off of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy since its release last year. We are (obviously) also huge Crash fans, so being able to create a world where these two franchises can co-exist in all of their whacky glory has been an incredibly fun undertaking.
This season you’ll see Spyro showing up all over the place in CTR – – in the opening menu screen, in the Grand Prix cinematic, and of course, in the game itself. Spyro, Hunter, and Gnasty Gnorc will be added as unlockable playable characters with all of the personality that you come to expect from them. You’ll also see some amazing new karts such as the Spyromobile and Gnasty Ride which give their namesakes some blistering rides to boast about:
In addition to these, you’ll have the opportunity to unlock amazing new decals, stickers and paintjobs to deck out your karts with, and a ton of awesome new skins for characters new and old, such as the Dark Spyro and Gnome Velo skins you see below:
Yet, our favorite part of this season is the track you’ll be racing on, which as you know by now is something that can be played online and locally from this season onward. We know you’ve been asking for it and we can finally reveal some details behind the creation of our favorite purple dragon’s track: Spyro Circuit. Spyro Circuit is a celebration of all things dragon. The design takes it inspiration from Spyro the Dragon all the way down to the gameplay ingredients themselves. We’re excited to give you the first deep dive, and the insider racing tips, for this scaled up course! With that said, let’s glide in!
WHERE IS MY WUMPA FRUIT?!
You will notice immediately that some items have undergone a drastic cosmetic change in this track, as opposed to the other tracks in the game. Power-up crates have been replaced by chests. Wumpa fruit has been replaced by gems. Even the invincibility masks have been replaced by Sparx! We’ve gone the extra mile to make sure the track feels like it was truly part of Spyro’s world all the way down to the soundtrack itself.
TRAVELING PLACES
Just like Hyper Spaceway, we saw an opportunity to travel to different places using Spyro’s magical portals. We asked ourselves, what if Spyro was racing on a magical campus of some kind? You might notice a few dragon statues placed here and there along the track as a tribute to some of the dragons from the Dragon Realms in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Starting with the first hub in the Artisans Homeworld as a base for the beginning of the track, we opened the doors to its main castle.
ENTERING THE LIBRARY
As soon as you hit the gas, you will be taken inside the main hall inspired by the Dark Hollow level filled with bookshelves and candles. No time to read though! Players can take advantage of the base of the two statues to get a boost jump and smash some of the floating chests above, or go around them to strategically grab a power-up. Some might decide to go straight down the middle, but they must watch out for the fireworks crate that’s been placed there! Good news for those who pass by right after the explosion as it will leave gems scattered around.
Following an S-curve, the library forks into what would look like an 8 shape from above. Players must plan before entering the first portal. Taking the left and right portion of the track will lead them to a boost pad with 2 power-up chests. Players can also go right down the middle to be rewarded with a chest filled with gems (but at the risk of losing their boost if they hit the side walls).
THE FIRST PORTAL
Taking the first portal will warp players into an area inspired by the High Caves level in the Magic Crafters Homeworld. Players must take advantage of the straight line and prepare for two sharps turns leading to the next portal all while avoiding projectiles fired by a duel of wizards. Hit the second turn with enough speed and you should cut the corner shot by jumping over the grassy area.
THE SECOND PORTAL
The second portal takes you inside the castle with architectural elements inspired by High Caves and Wizard Peak. The narrow pathway makes a sharp right turn to take you through a giant room filled with a magical vortex created by a group of wizards. Don’t panic and bounce off the floating platforms held by these crazed magicians!
THE THIRD PORTAL
The third portal leads us back to the Artisans Homeworld, but we’re not at the finish line just yet! The track ends with a loop followed by a jump in the end . . . this is where it can get messy. If you can manage to avoid the explosive crates in the loop, maintain your boost and hit the jump just right, you can maintain that momentum through the finish line. But be careful – – if other players are on your tail with just the right powerup, you could lose your position at the last minute!
We think this track is going to create some intense racing competition with new elements to watch out for (firework bundles), and fewer shortcuts than usual. We wanted Spyro Circuit to be a knock-down-drag-out, Bandicoot v Dragon fight all the way down to the finish line. There are no places to hide on this one so make each boost and power-up count!
SEE YOU IN THE DRAGON REALMS!
So that’s the deep dive of Spyro Circuit, and a quick overview of the new content coming in this exciting Grand Prix season. We’re thrilled to be bringing Spyro into the CTR mix, and can’t wait for players to enjoy these retro gaming icons together on the PS4 for the first time!
The Spyro & Friends Grand Prix starts Friday August 30 at 7:00AM PDT (2PM PDT UTC)*
You can pick up Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled here [link to CTR product page] and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy here [link to the Spyro Reignited Trilogy Product Page]
* Grand Prix content and timing subject to change.
** Internet required for Grand Prix, Wumpa Coins, Nitro Points, online multiplayer (PlayStation® Plus subscription sold separately), access to the Pit Stop and other features.
