Nitro Crate

This article is about the explosive Crate that debuts in Crash 2. For other uses of the word Nitro, go here.

A Nitro Crate from Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex.

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Nitro Crates are powerful, explosive crates, filled with nitroglycerin, seen in the Crash Bandicoot series.

These explosive crates are extremely sensitive and should not be touched under most conditions (even while in the ground) unless supplied with invincibility. These are the most dangerous Crates on the Crash series. In Crash of the Titans for the DS, they appear with only an "N" on them. In the GBA version of Crash of the Titans, they have a yellow explosion. To destroy them at the end of a level, Crash must press the Nitro Switch Crate, which instantly blows up all Nitros in the level—however, anything near them would not explode while unseen until The Wrath of Cortex.

In Cortex Strikes Back, Warped, The Wrath of Cortex, and Twinsanity, Nitro Crates occasionally hop up in the air making passing them more difficult. There is also a staircase of tougher Nitro Crates in Bee-Having that the player can touch without being harmed, which leads to a secret stage, containing the Purple Gem. Unlike normal Nitro Crates, these never explode as it would be impossible to enter the route without them. In the Crash 2 prototype, however, they will explode if the player body slams them, which will make it impossible to obtain the purple gem without restarting the level or killing themselves after they exploded.

If Crash touches them, they will explode and he will lose one of his masks or lose a life if he has none. If Crash does lose a life in this fashion in Cortex Strikes Back or Warped, he will be shown as an angel, except he will also be playing the didgeridoo. However, while underground, a grave will pop up.

In Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart, they are one of the weapons available, as an upgraded TNT Crate for racers with a maximum of ten Wumpa Fruit. As usual, if it is hit, it explodes. The player loses three Wumpa Fruits as well. Any racer can get them at any time. Komodo Joe and Nitros Oxide also use them in boss challenges.

In Crash Bash, they appear in Crate Crush levels except Drain Bash and also appear in Oxide Ride as an obstacle.

In Crash Twinsanity, players will still be blown up if Crash touches them, even if he has an Aku Aku mask. Nitro Crates will destroy enemies also if they're knocked them into them or if they run into them. The Nitro Crates in this game appear very different to the versions in the previous games.

The only ways to touch a Nitro Crates and not be blown up are by using the Sneak Shoes power up in The Wrath of Cortex, or having an Aku Aku mask.

Levels

Since their debut in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Nitro Crates have been in nearly every level of the platforming games.

In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, they appeared in every level except for The Pits, Totally Bear, and the Intro. However, in Turtle Woods, Hang Eight, and Road to Ruin, they didn't appear anywhere on the main path on the level, and are only found in secret areas of those levels.
In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, they appeared in exactly half of the levels. The levels that contain Nitro Crates are Bone Yard, Gee Wiz, Hang'em High, Dino Might!, Deep Trouble, Double Header, Sphynxinator, Future Frenzy, Tomb Wader, Gone Tomorrow, Flaming Passion, Bug Lite, Ski Crazed, Rings of Power, and Hot Coco. In Gone Tomorrow and Flaming Passion, the Nitro Crates only appear in the respective Bonus Rounds of those levels, where they must be shot with the Fruit Bazooka since there is no Nitro Switch Crate.
In Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, they appeared in every level with the exception of Tornado Alley, That Sinking Feeling, Smokey and the Bandicoot, and Crashteroids.
In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, they appeared in every level except for Jungle Jam, Shipwrecked, Temple of Boom, and Sunken City. Three of the four levels without nitro crates are the first three levels of the game.
In Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, they appeared in every level with the exception of Prints of Persia, Run from the Sun, and Water Logged. However, in Pharaoh's Funhouse, they did not appear on the main path on the level, and are only found in the gem shard path. Additionally, they appeared in the Evil Crunch boss fight.
In Crash of the Titans for the GBA, they appear in almost every level.