Polar is a polar bear cub from the Crash Bandicoot series. Being Crash Bandicoot's pet, he helped Crash get through various dangerous icy passageways. Debuting in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, he has appeared in 3 kart racing titles and has made assorted cameos in other mainstream Crash Bandicoot titles.
History
Naughty Dog Era
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Polar makes his first appearance in the snow-themed warp room. If a player jumps on Polar for the first time since entering the warp room, the player will eventually get an extra 10 lives. Polar also appears as Crash's transportation in the levels Bear It (level 8), Bear Down (level 13), and secret level, Totally Bear (level 26). He also appears in the last quarter of Un-Bearable (level 15), where Crash must ride him to get away from a much bigger polar bear. After the adventure, Crash took Polar in as a pet off-screen.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
Polar in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped.
In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Polar only appears in the opening cut-scene where he gets woken up from sleep hearing Uka Uka's evil laugh. He then appears in the lounge of the Bandicoot House listening to Aku Aku's story about his history with Uka Uka. Polar for some reason is seen running out when Aku Aku, Crash and Coco are heading to the Time Twister, but he gets left behind and he looks slightly frustrated at this. His final appearance is in the full ending where he is seen in the lounge next to Crash again with everyone, including new fellow pets Pura and Baby T.
Crash Team Racing
Polar is a playable character in Crash Team Racing. His home track is Polar Pass. Along with Pura and Ripper Roo, his best stat is handling, and as such, he is classified as a character for beginners. He is one of the eight starter characters, and can be chosen as the player's character in the Adventure mode where Aku Aku is his tutor. In the opening cut-scene he can be seen in his kart, reading a book called "How to Drive" upside down. In the epilogue, it is revealed that he becomes a taste tester for an unnamed leading ice cream company.
Stats:
Speed: 3/7
Acceleration: 4/7
Turning: 7/7
Difficulty: Beginner
Crash Bash
In Crash Bash, polar bears that appear identical to Polar are ridden in the Polar Push mini-games. There are several of these bears, however, it is unconfirmed if any of these bears are actually Polar. It is believed that he is the polar bear that appeared in one of the promotional artworks of Crash Bash where he is being ridden on by Coco.
Traveller's Tales Era
Crash Twinsanity
Polar in Crash Twinsanity.
In Crash Twinsanity, he is seen at Cortex's gathering of villains and holding a baseball bat. Many fans thought this was because of being left behind in Warped or because of being constantly ridden on by Crash in the second game. Even though Polar is seen upset at Crash in this game, the creators revealed that it was just a joke to put in for fun.
Vicarious Visions Era
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, Crash rides Polar in the middle sections of Frostbite Cavern, Snow Crash and Snow Job, while being chased by a yeti.
Crash Nitro Kart
In Crash Nitro Kart, Polar was brainwashed by N. Trance, along with Dingodile and Pura, into racing for Team Trance. These events were never shown in cut-scenes, and are revealed in the Crash Nitro Kart Instruction Booklet and the Official Crash Nitro Kart Website (which is no longer active). However, in the Team Bandicoot ending, he is shown relaxing on the beach with Crash, Coco and Crunch, revealing that he eventually escaped his brainwashing, as he does not have the hat on anymore and looks happy to be with the Bandicoots, and also assuming Pura escaped too, but like Fake Crash and N.Tropy, he does not appear in any cut-scenes. Similar to Crash Team Racing, Polar excels in handling. He can be unlocked by winning the Blue Gem Cup, and has good turning like Coco, N. Gin, Zam and Pura.
In Crash Nitro Kart, Polar is seen showing traits of cowardice. Examples of this are present when he has his head down during a particularly high jump. It is believed that this trait stems from being under the hypnosis of N. Trance, and is not present when he is not under his mind control. Polar appears to be much more insane and psychotic in this game because of the mind control, rather like Dingodile.
Stats:
Speed: 2/7
Acceleration: 4/7
Turning: 6/7
Difficulty: Beginner
Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage
Polar makes a cameo in Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage as a trading card. Crash also rides on him in several of the levels. Polar helps Crash escape from Nina when she starts chasing them. Spyro manages to trap Nina in a cage. And also gives the heroes a chance to save Coco and Professor who had been captured by Nina.
Crash Boom Bang!
In Crash Boom Bang!, Polar makes a cameo as part of the Silhouette Quiz minigame. He is shown as an anthropomorphic and wearing jean shorts, similar to Pura's new look.
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
Polar appears as a playable racer in Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. He drives the Der Pickle kart from Crash Tag Team Racing.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Polar appears in the remastered version of the second game for the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy where he plays the same role as in the original version of the second game.
Appearances
- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
- Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
- Crash Team Racing
- Crash Bash (cameo, presumed)
- Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
- Crash Nitro Kart
- Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage
- Crash Twinsanity (cameo)
- Crash Boom Bang! (cameo)
- Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
- Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Relationships
Crash Bandicoot
Crash initially used Polar as transportation during his second adventure twice. The third time around, Polar willingly helped him escape a larger polar bear and Crash was grateful for it. He then took Polar in as a pet and he's been loyal to his master ever since.
In Crash Nitro Kart, despite being brainwashed into racing for N. Trance, Polar does not show any signs of malice towards any of the Bandicoots, suggesting that he became a neutral character, rather than an evil one for this game.
Even though Polar has not had any proper cut-scenes with any of the other heroes (Aku Aku, Coco, Pura, Crunch and Baby T), it is definite that he has a good relationship with them all.
Gallery
See: Polar/Gallery
Trivia
- Polar barks like a dog, just like Pura meows like a cat (although the latter's sounds are more sensible, as tiger cubs can only meow at their age and polar bears do not actually bark).
- In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, he sits outside a warp portal and isn't shown going in it after Crash, but he still arrives in the level before Crash does.
- In Crash 2, the only way Polar can be harmed is by falling down a pit in Un-Bearable. All other deaths are solely at Crash's expense, with Polar being a bystander.
- Polar was originally going to appear in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, but he was cut for unknown reasons.
- In the beta version of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Polar used to say "nyeh" instead of him barking like a dog. This was most likely a placeholder, as the creators may not have had a voice actor for him yet.
- Polar is one of the two pets under Crash's care: the other being Baby T.
- Polar is one of the four animals used as transport: the others being the Hog, Pura and Baby T.
| Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy | ||
| DLC Content | Crash Bandicoot: Stormy Ascent Crash Bandicoot: Warped: Future Tense | |