Tawna Bandicoot is making a triumphant return in Crash Bandicoot 4.
Josh Nadelberg, art director at Toys for Bob, talked about the return of Tawna Bandicoot. She was introduced as Crash’s girlfriend in the first Crash Bandicoot, fulfilling the damsel in distress archetype. Nadleberg says, "Early on in Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Crash and Coco cross paths with a Tawna from what we at Toys For Bob have been calling the “Tawnaverse,” an alternate dimension where she is the hero in her own story. This gave us the opportunity to rethink Tawna and establish a clear new voice for her in Crash 4.”
The development team wants to flesh out throw-away characters from past games. They focus on Tawna’s development by attempting to explain how the “Tawnaverse” affected her. Nadelberg says, “We had to answer some core questions about her: How is this Tawna different from the one we already know? What happened to her that made her this way? What are her key personality traits? What does she sound like? If Tawna is the hero of her universe, how would she respond to different situations?” The team believes the answers to these questions will build Tawna into an interesting character.
The most noticeable change with Tawna is her design. She goes from looking like a Barbie Bandicoot to a heroic adventurer. Nadelberg describes Tawna by saying, “The quirky mix of her spiked leather jacket, punky half-shaved, blue-dyed hairstyle. and bright pink leg warmers shows a woman who walks to the beat of her own drum.” Her 80’s punk look stands out amongst the rest of the cast and adds more color to an already colorful game.
The change in design also comes with new gameplay additions, specifically a hook-shot. The ability allows her to “quickly traverse levels and attack enemies and break crates from afar." She also has a ground-pound, spin kicks, and the ability to wall-jump. She seems to play completely different from Crash and Coco. Hopefully, the team designs levels that allow players to take full advantage of her abilities.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time releases on October 2.
Sources: PlayStation