Crash Bandicoot is the marsupial that just won't quit. From his hardware-shifting debut on the PlayStation to his (slightly rockier) tenure in the 2000s and 2010s, and finally to the modern day, where he's been blessed with gorgeous remakes and a proper fourth mainline installment, he and his baggy pants are a staple of platforming culture.

Two key 'faces' - as in, faces are all they are - within the series' lore are the tiki mask Aku Aku and his villainous counterpart Uka Uka. Aku Aku has been an assistive part of almost every major Crash game, while Uka Uka first showed up in Warped and promptly became a recurring force to be reckoned with. Here are some key facts about this baritone-voiced duo that fans should know.

This list features a handful of spoilers for various games in the Crash Bandicoot series. While it isn't necessarily the most plot-driven gaming franchise you could name, if this bothers you, park your Wumpa rump elsewhere!

Updated February 16, 2024 by Bobby Mills: It's been a busy half-decade or so for Crash Bandicoot. Between the N Sane Trilogy remakes, the remaster of Crash Team Racing, an entirely new Crash 4, and the multiplayer Crash Team Rumble, he's been pumping out games with stunning regularity. What better occasion then to renew our list about everyone's favourite dude who goes 'BLOOBEEBLOODAA', Aku Aku?

12 They Aren't The Only Floating Masks

There's A Whole Bunch Of 'Em

Within the Crash universe, floating magical tiki masks are a more common sight than you'd imagine. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex introduced a fresh batch of chatty headgear, the Elementals, voiced by Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown and (for some reason) Biff from Back to the Future.

More significantly, however, are the new masks in Crash 4: It's About Time, which replaces the divisive Wrath of Cortex in canon. There's Lani-Loli, who can phase blocks in and out of reality; Ika-Ika, who can flip gravity; Kapuna-Wa, who slows time; and Akano, who enables a dark spin move. They're mostly an excuse to add mechanics, but they're collectively known as the Quantum Masks.

11 𒊎 They Started Out As Human Brothers

Everyone Needs A Backstory

Long before a mad scien𓂃tist evolved a bandicoot and inadvertently gave birth to his worst nightmare, Aku Aku and Uka Uka existed as human brothers and were part of the same tribe. Ultimately, after t๊heir death they would come back as floating masks, but that was not their default state.

Even back then, Aku Aku and Uka Uka w꧒ere presumed to be polar opposites, and their later interactions suggest there was very little in the way of love lost between the two. Their early concept art, depicted below, offers an idea of what they might have looked like.

10 They Used To Be Witch Doctors 𒊎

Ooh, Eeh, Ooh-Ah-Ah, Ting, Tang, Walla-Walla Bing Bang

While Uka Uka would have to wait a couple of years to make an appearance, Aku Aku debuted in the very first Crash Bandicoot. While Naughty Dog even🐈tually reduced the character to just a mask, Aku Aku was originally designed to be a witch doctor, although this was during a time when Crash was still going by Willy the Wombat. Bit of a species switch-up, there.

The book 'The Crash Bandicoot Files: How Willy the Wombat Sparked Marsupial Mania' contains the first game's original lore bible; Aku Aku's section explains that he was a witch doctor who turned to Willy to try and stop Cortex from polluting the environment.

9 Aku Aku Locked Uka Uka In𝓀 A Templ൲e Prison

And Threw Away The Key, Hands-Free

Crash Bandicoot: Warped revealed that Uka Uka had been pulling Cortex's strings from behind the scenes; however, the voodoo mask was only freed when the doctor's space station crashed into his prison during the beginning of the third game. Unsurprisingly, it was Aku Aku who imprisoned his brother in the temple.

As seen in the games, Uka Uka's goal is to rule the world by collecting powerful artifacts like gems and crystals, which might explain why Aku Aku opted to lock his sibling away; a wise choice.

8 Uka Uka Is Curren𒐪tly Dead 𝕴

Lots Of Rest For The Wicked

Crash 3 wraps up with all our major villains trapped in an alternate plane of reality, and it's there that we find them at the beginning of Crash 4, neatly excising Wrath of Cortex from the timeline in a single narrative stroke. Uka Uka, Cortex, and N. Tropy have been getting cozy, spending (what feels to them like) an eternity in captivity.

That is until one day, when the game's story kicks off with Uka Uka overclocking his temporal powers to allow the others to escape. He's left lifeless on the floor, with a mild look of pity from Dr. Cortex being his only eulogy. Until a potential Crash 5 resurrects him, this might be the last we see of the warmongering mask for a while.

If you're somehow able to complete Crash 4 to 100% - easily one of the toughest challenges in platforming history, and that's no exaggeration - you get a brief bonus scene after the credits. We see Cortex sat alone, back in the other plane of reality, only for the looming shadow and laughter of Uka Uka to bear down on him.

The canonicity/intended narrative weight ꧑ﷺof this scene is up for debate, as only the most hardcore of gamers will ever see it. All the same, it could indicate the villain is due a comeback.

7 ﷺ Aku Aku Owes A Lot To Uka Uka

In A Cosmic Sort Of Way

Within 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Crash Bandicoot's universe, Uka Uka has caused nothing but trouble for Aku Aku; in reality, the latter owes a lot to his malicious sibling. Prior to Uka Uka's debut, Aku Aku had yet to utter a word and showed almost no personality. The mask was little more than a gameplay mechanic, with his most significant non-power-up contributions to the series being the tips he would provide in the Japanese versions of Naughty Dog's first two games.

Uka Uka's arrival, which necessitated a greater focus on narrative to ably sell him as a fleshed-out threat, gave Aku Aku a more prominent role in the story, and he was even blessed with a voice. Nowadays, those dulcet deep tones are instantly recognisable.

6 🔯 The Papu Pa🌞pu Connection

Because There Is One

Papu Papu holds a special place in Crash Bandicoot's legacy. Not only is he the inaugural boss in the series (and therefore a source of irritation for many 90s kids), but he is one of the few antagonists who seems to not be under Cortex's thumb. He is merely annoyed by Crash's presence, as the bandicoot happens to wake him from his nap. The tribesman also appears to have some connection to Uka Uka, and perhaps even Aku Aku.

Crash Bash confirms that Uka Uka and Pap🌳u Papu are quite chummy, while the latter and Aku Aku speaꦡk the same language. They certainly all share the distinguishing trait of double-barrel names.

5 🔯 ♍ Their Mutant Phase

Best Left Forgotten, Really

Oh, dear – it's time to discuss the awkward teen years of the franchise. Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant are, shall we say, among the weirder Crash Bandicoot games. They pushed the franchise into the brawler genre, because that was hot in the late 2000s, and the latter even attempted non-linear level design. They also gave most characters a revolting angular makeover; Uka Uka and Aku Aku have completely different aesthetics, and the two look almost nothing alike in these games.

Aku Aku has𒀰 chunked up c🌄onsiderably, while Uka Uka looks like something off a thrash metal album cover. Now, it should be said that both characters have been known to receive modified designs on occasion, but the Mutant games marked a strange phase in their histories.

4 ꦐ Their Powers 🍎

Don't Underestimate Them

As brothers, Aku💫 Aku and Uka Uka share many of the same powers. Although it would not be fully explored until the Mutant games, the brothers can actively possess people, akin to Cappy in Mario Odyssey. Aku Aku proved as much by allowing Crash to take over the Titans in Crash of the Titans, but Uka Uka has been known to take control of Cortex on occasion, allowing for double the trouble.

In Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Aꦇku Aku and Uka Uka also did their best Dragoಞn Ball impression by engaging in a beam struggle at the climax, almost vapourising Cortex and Crash.

3 Uka 🐎Uka Has W♐on

Well, After A Fashion

As a villain seeking to take over the world in a family video game franchise, Uka Uka's chances of coming out victorious are basically zilch – at least in the main titles. Crash Bash, a party game that allows players to join Aku Aku or Uka Uka's dueling teams, is an exception.

If the campaign is completed as part of Uka Uka's group, the mask ends up taking the crystals' energy for himself, evolving into such a powerful being that Aku Aku has no choice but to admit defeat. Uka Uka has one victory to his name; though given how often he's ridiculed for his failures in assorted other Crash media, we can assume it isn't canon.