Time Crate

Time Crates, also named Time Boxes,  are yellow crates depicting either a red or an orange 1, 2, or 3 on them. They first appear in Crash Bandicoot: Warped, and have since appeared in most platforming and racing titles of the Crash Bandicoot franchise.

In Crash Bandicoot: Warped and many subsequent platforming titles, Time Crates appear by activating a level's Time Trial mode, which is done by touching a stopwatch at the start after Crash or another character has completed the level. Breaking a Time Crate freezes the incremental timer for one, two, or three seconds, depending on which number is shown. In Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, the remakes for both Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back also include a Time Trial mode with Time Crates.

In Crash Team Racing, Crash Nitro Kart, and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, Time Crates appear in both the Relic Race challenges and Time Trial races. Similar to the platforming titles, a racer can drive into a Time Crate to stop the timer for either one, two, or three seconds, depending on which number is shown on the Time Crate.

In Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage, there is a blue trading card of a Time Crate depicting a number one, and it heavily resembles its sprite in both Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure and Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced. Time Crates are featured in the Crate Smash and Crate Step bonus games, where they have a very similar purpose as in the platforming titles, except they instead freeze a countdown timer for either one, two, or three seconds, depending on the Time Crate. In each of these bonus games, Crash is required to break every Crate, including Time Crates, to win a Clear Gem.