The story begins with a N. Sane evil scientist named Dr. Neo Cortex, who, with the help of his assistant Dr. Nitrus Brio, experiments on animals to assemble a massive army tasked with collecting as many gems and crystals charged with enough energy to power the immense and devastating mecha robot built by his co-assistant Dr. N. Gin, and thus finally complete his plan for world domination. However, something goes wrong with his latest experiment, Crash, which causes him to end up far from the villain's lair and on to Wumpa Island, where he meets Aku Aku, an ancient spirit of the island reincarnated in a mystical Tiki mask who acts as a protective guide to those around him. Along the way, they meet Coco, a sweet teenager who is actually Crash's younger sister by blood. She needs their help to save her friends: Tawna, Isabella, Liz, Megumi and Ami, who are still held captive by Cortex. Thus, our marsupial heroes join together in this adventure, despite their protective mask being the main target of the mutant army led by the mobster Pinstripe Potoroo, which Cortex needs to complete his aforementioned weapon, so they must be prepared for any obstacle, such as Pinstripe's loyal henchmen: Koala Kong and the Komodo Bros., and a trio of not-so-loyal bounty hunters formed by Tiny Tiger, Dingodile, and Ripper Roo.
