I love this scene right at 15:31 you see how Crash ear's also convey fear along with his eyes dilating to show sadness, then his ears flop down The animation is really good in this game
I thought this was some 1million sub channel, icant believe this has so low views. :D I'm really glad this popped into my recommendations, great analysis!
I don’t know if this is the right way to describe the animation in Crash 4, but I feel that the animations help make the gameplay feel snappy. I can always switch between moves anytime without much delay. You can really fly through the levels with Crash if you can input moves fast enough. Also, Crash’s run animation is so iconic and appealing to me. It’s cool to understand what I love about it. I didn’t realize the facial expression and use of squash and stretch could give a character so much personality in something as mundane as a walk cycle. Great video!
This reminds me a lot of classic Mega Man gameplay, how I can short hop, slide, hop out of a slide, etc flawlessly (normally in Mega Man 3/4, but 6 butchered it.)
*Clearly about model, not animation perspective* Crash 3 from PS1 was just amazing. *The best updated models imo, were the ones used in Tag Team Racing: a perfectly updated in resolution model, but faithfully sticking to the original.* From there on model went downhill (Titans etc) *Spyro* on the other hand, also went downhill, but *Dawn of the Dragon* was prolly the most epic Spyro game ive ever played (the previous two from trilogy were a failure). We had the *ultimate Spyro update: grown up, detailed, cool looking, LOTR vibes, excellent Cynder and maps.* Similar examples exist with *Rayman* and *Sonic* *(first newest models were excellent, then downhill again)*
I had always wanted to play these as a kid my brother had them, my boyfriend recently got me into them at first it was just due to me being a Fan of N.Gin now I love the games as a whole and am just so fascinated seeing how far its come.
I would love to see a model in between the n sane and crash 4 together Since my fav model is the n sane model but i would love to see him expressionful as time crash. As well have have the better features that time crashs have like the better eyebrows and how crash bas propare eyelids then what looks like his model mesh just being moved to look like eyelids. Then also probably giving him bigger cheeks maybe not sticking out as much as times. Atleast thats what i can imagine a mix of the 2 models to look like
Great video, I'll be happy to see another animation analysis when we end up getting a new Mana game following its remake and ports as well. Or anything else you have in mind. I tended to like and play Spyro more back in the day but this has given me a better appreciation for Naughty Dog besides the Jak series. I just wish the response time in the Crash remakes was better (tried it on Crash 1 and it was notably slow) and that they included the original versions with the remakes (or at least sell em on modern hardware).
what an awesome analysis! i was also pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this game. Trying to get into the animation industry is hard, but it's good to know once I get in there's always a chance to improve on even existing IPs. Would love more content like this!
Crashs legs look wrong when hes running and spinning in 4 i think But i love the new spins he has I never get why the bottom crate is smashed when crash uses his legs hands in the spin in n sane
Apparently I haven't been paying attention cause I didn't realise you were an animator. It explains a bit though. Anyway, this is a neat idea and I'd be keen for similar videos.
Honestly, I saw some streams of N. Sane trilogy and was kinda like "Oh yeah, that looks pretty neat." But seeing Crash 4 I'm kinda like "Wow, I forgot how much I used to love these characters...".
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I always feel Crash's walk cycle in N Sane Trilogy and 4 looks stiff and needed polishing a bit nore, not as 'bouncy' and fluent as original 2 and 3 in my opinion.
Really one thing I think Crash 4 completely and utterly MISSES is dynamic personalities, in previous games, all the characters responded differently as the gameplay unfolded which gave them a very unique experience and personality from Crash and often gave them dual layers in their personality. Coco for example was normally more elegant and lucid than Crash, but only when she was WINNING. There was a funny twist in games like N Sane Trilogy where Coco would turn into a total sore loser if the player didn't do well as her, even throwing a bratty tantrum sometimes. This gave her a funny dual layer, that she was more 'level headed' than Crash but also more prideful and childish in a way, she couldn't take the same abuse and humiliation he always does in stride, she was basically the little sibling that always had to feel like the best. Similar deal happened in Twinsanity with Cortex, he's normally theatrical and sadistic when playing as him, but turns into a panicy deflated coward when he's no longer the aggressor (eg. when he runs out of ammo). It works with Cortex's character, he's basically a worn down punching bag who wants to be the big grand bully himself. Even some bosses had this element, see how Tropy, similar to Coco, starts off elegant in Warped, but then throws a snit fit when you start outdoing him. The original version of the game even has him unwittingly swat his clock by mistake, making him even more frustrated. It was funny seeing him devolve the more things didn't go his way, weirdly they don't do this in 4, despite going with the idea of him and female Tropy kinda going down rather quickly when they were outsmarted, that vulnerable dual side is gone. There's also Ripper Roo showing off his more composed 'Dr Roo' personality in 2 only to snap and revert back to his maniacal self when you detonated him. This is arguably the only one referenced in Crash 4, if only lightly due to cameos. We see crazy Ripper in a level and composed 'Dr Roo' in the secret ending. Then we have the CTR podiums which are pretty much there to solely dedicate to this character display, how differently each character reacts to winning or losing. In Crash 4 there's FIVE key characters yet they all feel blander than in previous games, they don't have much variation over Crash besides being more 'serious' than him, while as mentioned that only went SO FAR before, they all had their own quirks and vulnerabilities, just they tried in vain to hide with a 'mask of sanity'. Even when they do slapstick in gameplay there isn't much distinct character to it (Coco being turned into a basketball by the trash bot isn't distinct character compared to say, not getting the coloured gem in 1 and throwing a tantrum at you), it's all just random comic relief. Take the death animations, or those 'Continue' and 'Replay' choices, they're pretty non distinct in actual character reactions most of the time besides Crash. I feel like in previous games Coco and Cortex would have been 100% "FUCK YOU" if you said replay. XD
One thing I'm not gonna do is the time relic challenge, collecting all the boxes is hard enough. Crash 1 sucks a lot and it really makes me appreciate the slide and double jump A LOT. Also in comparison to the original and It's About Time the remake still feels heavier than the others. It feels like Crash has more weight/gravity than the others.
Very interesting and well-done video. However, I feel the need to add a dissenting opinion to the recent praise Crash 4 has been getting lately. I understand your admiration for the design choices and standard of animation for Crash 4, but I have to say that I had the opposite feelings toward it. Crash Bandicoot always seemed to have a style inspired by the Jones era Looney Tunes where there was fluidity in casual/subtle movements while the exaggerated movements tended to be more snappy, weighted, and keyframe-focused. Crash 4 doesn't follow this but instead chooses to go the opposite where every bit of movement in cutscenes is exaggerated and weightless while the casual movement in gameplay is snappy. Crash 4's animation often feels amateurish and overcompensating by having characters move like car lot tube men made out of melting clay. There's a severe lack of discipline and reservation. It reaches to the point where the game's animation becomes the equivalent of dangling keys in front of a baby to get a laugh. This becomes disappointing because this game was marketed to experienced Crash fans who know that this franchise's best humor came from witty dialogue with brevity and situational splapstick gags. The needless design changes don't help either. Cortex's facial features were made thinner and stiffer thus not lending themselves to as much expressiveness during gameplay, Coco's head was made weirdly square and flat to the point where there's noticeably bad mesh overlapping any time she has a non-standard expression, and Crash's ears were made much larger yet still clip into his head and shoulders on a regular basis as if the animators didn't account for the changes they made. I don't hate the style of Crash 4 but the designs and animation needed to be better presided. Nitro Fueled's art direction felt like the appropriate middle ground between N-Sane Trilogy and Crash 4.
Yea ill say nitro fueled had mostly my favourite art direction. I dont mind the cartoony look of 4 though i just dont like how fake and plastic the game looks and i prefare some characters like crash and coco in n sane better and partly n sanes kinda personality a bit. It feels like iat crash just became a super kid cartoon character. But wow i never noticed the clipping errors Ik in nitro fueled in the ending cutscene when crash and coco dance if you freeze it in a few frames you will notice crashs eye sticking through the mesh and having his eyelid go too low where you can see the top of the eye under the eyebrow
This isn't great videogames animation this is great animation in general, I think the only 3D animation I know that had those principles of 2D was Spiderman into the Spider-verse and it wasn't so cartoony as this game, I think it wasn't trying to be but still this animation is expressive
OKAY, WHY. THE. F. Are designers making hundreds of designs for each character during an ongoing franchise like Crash. Can't they choose one single style and stay with it. Also there should just be one design for each type of...well here's what I mean. For example, Crash Bandicoot: One retro; there's that from the 90s One modern; the NST style One 8-bit; from GBA Crash games, done One blackline art And so on and that's it, you know what I mean? You would be making different designs for a character or object etc. when it's before its first ever video game to release.
*_"Can't they choose one single style and stay with it?"_* Because there's nothing that says they can't try different designs and art styles. You treat it like it's an inherently bad thing. News flash: it's not.
Yeah, try telling that to comic book cartoons and comics in general. Or cartoon franchises for that matter, Looney Tunes had various directors with different art styles: Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson. Crash Bandicoot took heavy inspiration from Looney Tunes according to Andy Gavin, did you not pay attention to the beginning of the video? And developers have been following that vision with each generation of Crash. The Naughty Dog, Traveller’s Tales, Vicarious Visions, Radical Entertainment, Toys for Bob, and King games all have different art directions just like Looney Tunes.
The problem is that the cliché is wrong. It needs some depth to it. Crash does a decent job, but really only in the first game. After that, it just becomes propaganda, and no different to all the countless examples of anti-male radicle feminist sexism from The Simpsons to Harley Quinn (some 40 years, in other words). (Not that it's always that, but it typically lacks real depth and a very important three-dimensional quality. And The Simpsons has become much worse over the years, as a famous, old example.) The generally better cliché is the dumb blonde and smart male, but this is rarely felt these days due to radical feminism across entertainment (though it's not always good, either). An extreme example was how Penny went from dumb blonde to super-smart businessman or something in The Big Bang Theory. People cannot change like that. That's not how IQ, interest, or personality works in the real world. The culture and writers and bosses/quotas radically shifted between 2007 and 2017. That's what happened to the show, and many others. Just ten years, but by the time Gen-Z become older and more powerful (circa 2013-2017), things were very corrupted, and almost everything was flipped upside down, even more than had already been the case across Western entertainment since Gen Y. It's easy to see this by just comparing modern cinema with old cinema, and the various clichés, stories, and themes at play. But, honestly, both clichés are less than ideal. Ideally, we should be aiming for archetypes, not clichés. But, if you want cliché, it at least needs to be good and timeless, and in keeping with most fans and their lives (i.e. thematic as to teach them something; otherwise, it's just propaganda and forcing something unhelpful onto the viewer, or else is completely pointless, boring, and ignored). Most of all, it should be in helping them, not insulting them. This is a major issue with things like modern Star Wars, for example. Just compare Lucas and Episode IV with the recent writers and movies. The difference is literally unthinkable. There is a good technical reason that Crash is a little dumb or clueless, though, but it's not because he's male, it's because he's the hero in this setting and game framework. It makes the player feel a bit dumb and scared, which is what the game is going for. The player is inexperienced, so Crash should be, too. This is not the only way to create a game -- and not all games are difficult -- but it's very common and helps sync up player and character/avatar. It's a difficult game and filled with danger for the character and player (in-game), so this is often reflected at both levels and synced up. Of course, you can actually do this without making him useless and contrasting him with a super-smart young female, and I've seen it happen many ways over the years. We must do this very carefully. It's true, however, that in general teenage girls are smarter and more mature than male teenagers, largely due to biology -- and both sexes have a clear understanding of this. This is why it's more common and makes more sense in a teenage setting. But, to simply say 'all males are completely stupid' is itself very untrue and unwise, but is quite a common form of storytelling these days. Ideally, it should be helping the males through it in some way, as opposed to just shaming them, which is the more common route today (since at least the 2000s, more so, the 2010s). At the same time, it can teach the females to actually be good and helpful, not merely cruel and dangerous in relation to the males. Again, Crash 1 does a decent job of this (some clear evidence being that he wins the girl/saves his girlfriend at the end of the game, and flies her home). This vital message and clear understanding of symbolism, storytelling, theme, morality, and sexuality -- and the relationship and two natures of the sexes -- becomes corrupted as the games press on. All of this to say, it's about exactly how you deal with the cliché and if you truly understand it or not. I found the story and characters of Crash 2, 3, and 4 to be much worse than 1. Now, the key to good video game characters are the other elements, not just the cliché nature of them or their stories. Every element matters and must be fully understood. Again, Crash 1 did the best job of this. Naughty Dog understood this so well, in fact, that they refused to use voice actors for Crash 1. I think Crash 4 proved that this was very wise game design, and showed great understanding of storytelling, gameplay, and player interaction from Naughty Dog. Nintendo also understands this, which is why most of their characters are either silent, noise machines, or text-based; they rarely use English (language) voice actors. Adding voice actors are often 'lame, negative, and distract from identification with them'. This from Naughty Dog, and they are 100% right. That's just one element of many, and the profound level of talent, exactness, and clear-thinking required to be a great dev and storyteller.
Seeing Cortex happy makes me happy.
I really like how Crash looks like a nervous, twitchy wreck all the time in Crash 1.
I love this scene right at 15:31 you see how Crash ear's also convey fear along with his eyes dilating to show sadness, then his ears flop down
The animation is really good in this game
I would pay for a classic pufferfish swelled crash plush!
This video was great! Thanks for all the kind words!
Huge animation fan, loved the content.
I thought this was some 1million sub channel, icant believe this has so low views. :D I'm really glad this popped into my recommendations, great analysis!
I don’t know if this is the right way to describe the animation in Crash 4, but I feel that the animations help make the gameplay feel snappy. I can always switch between moves anytime without much delay. You can really fly through the levels with Crash if you can input moves fast enough. Also, Crash’s run animation is so iconic and appealing to me. It’s cool to understand what I love about it. I didn’t realize the facial expression and use of squash and stretch could give a character so much personality in something as mundane as a walk cycle. Great video!
This reminds me a lot of classic Mega Man gameplay, how I can short hop, slide, hop out of a slide, etc flawlessly (normally in Mega Man 3/4, but 6 butchered it.)
*Clearly about model, not animation perspective*
Crash 3 from PS1 was just amazing.
*The best updated models imo, were the ones used in Tag Team Racing: a perfectly updated in resolution model, but faithfully sticking to the original.* From there on model went downhill (Titans etc)
*Spyro* on the other hand, also went downhill, but *Dawn of the Dragon* was prolly the most epic Spyro game ive ever played (the previous two from trilogy were a failure).
We had the *ultimate Spyro update: grown up, detailed, cool looking, LOTR vibes, excellent Cynder and maps.*
Similar examples exist with *Rayman* and *Sonic* *(first newest models were excellent, then downhill again)*
Totally down for this kind of content!!!!
I had always wanted to play these as a kid my brother had them, my boyfriend recently got me into them at first it was just due to me being a Fan of N.Gin now I love the games as a whole and am just so fascinated seeing how far its come.
I would love to see a model in between the n sane and crash 4 together
Since my fav model is the n sane model but i would love to see him expressionful as time crash. As well have have the better features that time crashs have like the better eyebrows and how crash bas propare eyelids then what looks like his model mesh just being moved to look like eyelids. Then also probably giving him bigger cheeks maybe not sticking out as much as times. Atleast thats what i can imagine a mix of the 2 models to look like
15:48 that face
This was a great watch!
Great video, I'll be happy to see another animation analysis when we end up getting a new Mana game following its remake and ports as well.
Or anything else you have in mind. I tended to like and play Spyro more back in the day but this has given me a better appreciation for Naughty Dog besides the Jak series.
I just wish the response time in the Crash remakes was better (tried it on Crash 1 and it was notably slow) and that they included the original versions with the remakes (or at least sell em on modern hardware).
what an awesome analysis! i was also pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this game. Trying to get into the animation industry is hard, but it's good to know once I get in there's always a chance to improve on even existing IPs. Would love more content like this!
Crash of the titans charcter anomation is HEAVILY Underrated
This video makes me want to play these games!
Caddicarus has said that this game is the worst one to 100%. After seeing his video, I won't even try.
Crashs legs look wrong when hes running and spinning in 4 i think
But i love the new spins he has
I never get why the bottom crate is smashed when crash uses his legs hands in the spin in n sane
I like the fur shaders
Apparently I haven't been paying attention cause I didn't realise you were an animator. It explains a bit though. Anyway, this is a neat idea and I'd be keen for similar videos.
14 mins in and it's hard not to be incredibly impressed with the job Toys for Bob did.
Honestly, I saw some streams of N. Sane trilogy and was kinda like "Oh yeah, that looks pretty neat."
But seeing Crash 4 I'm kinda like "Wow, I forgot how much I used to love these characters...".
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I always feel Crash's walk cycle in N Sane Trilogy and 4 looks stiff and needed polishing a bit nore, not as 'bouncy' and fluent as original 2 and 3 in my opinion.
Finally got around go this video. Great work!
Its nice to see some positivity keep this content up!
Really one thing I think Crash 4 completely and utterly MISSES is dynamic personalities, in previous games, all the characters responded differently as the gameplay unfolded which gave them a very unique experience and personality from Crash and often gave them dual layers in their personality. Coco for example was normally more elegant and lucid than Crash, but only when she was WINNING. There was a funny twist in games like N Sane Trilogy where Coco would turn into a total sore loser if the player didn't do well as her, even throwing a bratty tantrum sometimes. This gave her a funny dual layer, that she was more 'level headed' than Crash but also more prideful and childish in a way, she couldn't take the same abuse and humiliation he always does in stride, she was basically the little sibling that always had to feel like the best. Similar deal happened in Twinsanity with Cortex, he's normally theatrical and sadistic when playing as him, but turns into a panicy deflated coward when he's no longer the aggressor (eg. when he runs out of ammo). It works with Cortex's character, he's basically a worn down punching bag who wants to be the big grand bully himself.
Even some bosses had this element, see how Tropy, similar to Coco, starts off elegant in Warped, but then throws a snit fit when you start outdoing him. The original version of the game even has him unwittingly swat his clock by mistake, making him even more frustrated. It was funny seeing him devolve the more things didn't go his way, weirdly they don't do this in 4, despite going with the idea of him and female Tropy kinda going down rather quickly when they were outsmarted, that vulnerable dual side is gone. There's also Ripper Roo showing off his more composed 'Dr Roo' personality in 2 only to snap and revert back to his maniacal self when you detonated him. This is arguably the only one referenced in Crash 4, if only lightly due to cameos. We see crazy Ripper in a level and composed 'Dr Roo' in the secret ending. Then we have the CTR podiums which are pretty much there to solely dedicate to this character display, how differently each character reacts to winning or losing.
In Crash 4 there's FIVE key characters yet they all feel blander than in previous games, they don't have much variation over Crash besides being more 'serious' than him, while as mentioned that only went SO FAR before, they all had their own quirks and vulnerabilities, just they tried in vain to hide with a 'mask of sanity'. Even when they do slapstick in gameplay there isn't much distinct character to it (Coco being turned into a basketball by the trash bot isn't distinct character compared to say, not getting the coloured gem in 1 and throwing a tantrum at you), it's all just random comic relief. Take the death animations, or those 'Continue' and 'Replay' choices, they're pretty non distinct in actual character reactions most of the time besides Crash. I feel like in previous games Coco and Cortex would have been 100% "FUCK YOU" if you said replay. XD
One thing I'm not gonna do is the time relic challenge, collecting all the boxes is hard enough. Crash 1 sucks a lot and it really makes me appreciate the slide and double jump A LOT. Also in comparison to the original and It's About Time the remake still feels heavier than the others. It feels like Crash has more weight/gravity than the others.
Did any one notice that when you jump and do not reach the pther platform. There is a small aniamtion crash is trying to reach for the platform.
I love your voice
The Crash 4 models might be my favorite ones
Unpopular opinion: I prefer the original PS1 graphics.
Very interesting and well-done video. However, I feel the need to add a dissenting opinion to the recent praise Crash 4 has been getting lately. I understand your admiration for the design choices and standard of animation for Crash 4, but I have to say that I had the opposite feelings toward it. Crash Bandicoot always seemed to have a style inspired by the Jones era Looney Tunes where there was fluidity in casual/subtle movements while the exaggerated movements tended to be more snappy, weighted, and keyframe-focused. Crash 4 doesn't follow this but instead chooses to go the opposite where every bit of movement in cutscenes is exaggerated and weightless while the casual movement in gameplay is snappy. Crash 4's animation often feels amateurish and overcompensating by having characters move like car lot tube men made out of melting clay. There's a severe lack of discipline and reservation. It reaches to the point where the game's animation becomes the equivalent of dangling keys in front of a baby to get a laugh. This becomes disappointing because this game was marketed to experienced Crash fans who know that this franchise's best humor came from witty dialogue with brevity and situational splapstick gags. The needless design changes don't help either. Cortex's facial features were made thinner and stiffer thus not lending themselves to as much expressiveness during gameplay, Coco's head was made weirdly square and flat to the point where there's noticeably bad mesh overlapping any time she has a non-standard expression, and Crash's ears were made much larger yet still clip into his head and shoulders on a regular basis as if the animators didn't account for the changes they made. I don't hate the style of Crash 4 but the designs and animation needed to be better presided. Nitro Fueled's art direction felt like the appropriate middle ground between N-Sane Trilogy and Crash 4.
Man, I never met someone with the same opinion and arguments that I have. I love your point of view and the dedication that you put.
bro facts
Yea ill say nitro fueled had mostly my favourite art direction. I dont mind the cartoony look of 4 though i just dont like how fake and plastic the game looks and i prefare some characters like crash and coco in n sane better and partly n sanes kinda personality a bit. It feels like iat crash just became a super kid cartoon character. But wow i never noticed the clipping errors
Ik in nitro fueled in the ending cutscene when crash and coco dance if you freeze it in a few frames you will notice crashs eye sticking through the mesh and having his eyelid go too low where you can see the top of the eye under the eyebrow
Crash ears regularly clipping through his head and shoulders is straight up not true.
I agree 100%
This isn't great videogames animation this is great animation in general, I think the only 3D animation I know that had those principles of 2D was Spiderman into the Spider-verse and it wasn't so cartoony as this game, I think it wasn't trying to be but still this animation is expressive
Toys for Bob did a Phenomenal job remastering and Continuing the Crash Banditcoot series. Can't forget about the Spyro Trilogy remaster.
Crash bandicoot 4's animation is Squash and stretch something that could be animated by Wildbrain studios
30fps nah
OKAY, WHY. THE. F. Are designers making hundreds of designs for each character during an ongoing franchise like Crash. Can't they choose one single style and stay with it. Also there should just be one design for each type of...well here's what I mean. For example, Crash Bandicoot:
One retro; there's that from the 90s
One modern; the NST style
One 8-bit; from GBA Crash games, done
One blackline art
And so on and that's it, you know what I mean? You would be making different designs for a character or object etc. when it's before its first ever video game to release.
*_"Can't they choose one single style and stay with it?"_* Because there's nothing that says they can't try different designs and art styles. You treat it like it's an inherently bad thing. News flash: it's not.
Yeah, try telling that to comic book cartoons and comics in general. Or cartoon franchises for that matter, Looney Tunes had various directors with different art styles: Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson.
Crash Bandicoot took heavy inspiration from Looney Tunes according to Andy Gavin, did you not pay attention to the beginning of the video?
And developers have been following that vision with each generation of Crash. The Naughty Dog, Traveller’s Tales, Vicarious Visions, Radical Entertainment, Toys for Bob, and King games all have different art directions just like Looney Tunes.
The problem is that the cliché is wrong. It needs some depth to it. Crash does a decent job, but really only in the first game. After that, it just becomes propaganda, and no different to all the countless examples of anti-male radicle feminist sexism from The Simpsons to Harley Quinn (some 40 years, in other words). (Not that it's always that, but it typically lacks real depth and a very important three-dimensional quality. And The Simpsons has become much worse over the years, as a famous, old example.)
The generally better cliché is the dumb blonde and smart male, but this is rarely felt these days due to radical feminism across entertainment (though it's not always good, either). An extreme example was how Penny went from dumb blonde to super-smart businessman or something in The Big Bang Theory. People cannot change like that. That's not how IQ, interest, or personality works in the real world. The culture and writers and bosses/quotas radically shifted between 2007 and 2017. That's what happened to the show, and many others. Just ten years, but by the time Gen-Z become older and more powerful (circa 2013-2017), things were very corrupted, and almost everything was flipped upside down, even more than had already been the case across Western entertainment since Gen Y. It's easy to see this by just comparing modern cinema with old cinema, and the various clichés, stories, and themes at play.
But, honestly, both clichés are less than ideal. Ideally, we should be aiming for archetypes, not clichés. But, if you want cliché, it at least needs to be good and timeless, and in keeping with most fans and their lives (i.e. thematic as to teach them something; otherwise, it's just propaganda and forcing something unhelpful onto the viewer, or else is completely pointless, boring, and ignored). Most of all, it should be in helping them, not insulting them. This is a major issue with things like modern Star Wars, for example. Just compare Lucas and Episode IV with the recent writers and movies. The difference is literally unthinkable.
There is a good technical reason that Crash is a little dumb or clueless, though, but it's not because he's male, it's because he's the hero in this setting and game framework. It makes the player feel a bit dumb and scared, which is what the game is going for. The player is inexperienced, so Crash should be, too. This is not the only way to create a game -- and not all games are difficult -- but it's very common and helps sync up player and character/avatar. It's a difficult game and filled with danger for the character and player (in-game), so this is often reflected at both levels and synced up. Of course, you can actually do this without making him useless and contrasting him with a super-smart young female, and I've seen it happen many ways over the years. We must do this very carefully. It's true, however, that in general teenage girls are smarter and more mature than male teenagers, largely due to biology -- and both sexes have a clear understanding of this. This is why it's more common and makes more sense in a teenage setting. But, to simply say 'all males are completely stupid' is itself very untrue and unwise, but is quite a common form of storytelling these days. Ideally, it should be helping the males through it in some way, as opposed to just shaming them, which is the more common route today (since at least the 2000s, more so, the 2010s). At the same time, it can teach the females to actually be good and helpful, not merely cruel and dangerous in relation to the males. Again, Crash 1 does a decent job of this (some clear evidence being that he wins the girl/saves his girlfriend at the end of the game, and flies her home). This vital message and clear understanding of symbolism, storytelling, theme, morality, and sexuality -- and the relationship and two natures of the sexes -- becomes corrupted as the games press on. All of this to say, it's about exactly how you deal with the cliché and if you truly understand it or not. I found the story and characters of Crash 2, 3, and 4 to be much worse than 1.
Now, the key to good video game characters are the other elements, not just the cliché nature of them or their stories. Every element matters and must be fully understood. Again, Crash 1 did the best job of this. Naughty Dog understood this so well, in fact, that they refused to use voice actors for Crash 1. I think Crash 4 proved that this was very wise game design, and showed great understanding of storytelling, gameplay, and player interaction from Naughty Dog. Nintendo also understands this, which is why most of their characters are either silent, noise machines, or text-based; they rarely use English (language) voice actors. Adding voice actors are often 'lame, negative, and distract from identification with them'. This from Naughty Dog, and they are 100% right. That's just one element of many, and the profound level of talent, exactness, and clear-thinking required to be a great dev and storyteller.