Clear Gem

Clear Gems are a gray gem that appear in nearly every main Crash Bandicoot series title, and make their debut in the first Crash Bandicoot. A Clear Gem is usually rewarded at the very end of a level, usually right at the exit portal, if Crash has destroyed every Crate in the level. Some levels have another Clear Gem, which is rewarded for completing a hidden area. Several levels have a hidden pathway with Crates that can only be accessed by collecting a certain Colored Gem in another level. Once a pathway becomes accessible, Crash can also break those Crates, therefore making it possible for the Clear Gem to appear at the end.

Crash Bandicoot
In Crash Bandicoot, Crash must not only break every Crate in a level, but he must also avoid losing a life, otherwise the broken Crates get replaced with new ones. Some regular levels do not have a Clear Gem but rather a Colored Gem; nearly all of them are on Cortex Island except for the Middle Island level, The Lost City. Besides The Lost City, the other levels without a Clear Gem include Generator Room, Toxic Waste, Slippery Climb, Lights Out, and The Lab. In the penultimate level, The Great Hall, every Clear Gem that Crash collected can be used as a platform to progress onward to the final boss level against Dr. Neo Cortex.

In the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy remake, Stormy Ascent does not have a Clear Gem either.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
In Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, unlike the first game, the Crates in a level are not replaced if Crash loses a life. Besides this, Clear Gems essentially have the same role. Once Crash has collected every Clear Gem, Dr. N. Brio uses them to power a machine that fires a laser at the Cortex Vortex.

Crash Bandicoot: Warped
In Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Clear Gems serve a nearly identical purpose as in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. Crash must have collected every Clear Gem before he can engage in the final boss fight against Dr. Cortex and Uka Uka.

Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage
In Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, a Clear Gem is featured as a reward in minigames that have crates. Similar to the main platforming titles, Crash can obtain the Clear Gem of a minigame by breaking every crate.