October 15, 2020

Crash Bandicoot 4: All Crates & Hidden Gem Locations | 9-3: The Crate Escape 100% Guide

Kevin Thielenhaus / Features / Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Guides, PC, PS4, Xbox One /

We’re back to playing as Cortex in this relatively easy level — especially compared to the last one. There’s just one big problem waiting for you at the end. When you swap back to Crash Bandicoot, you’ll have to leap through a long series of falling luggage with entirely new mechanics.

The luggage sequence is, again, one of the trickiest parts of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. The difficulty falls somewhere around that first bear-riding sequence, and one more part that’s just a little further in the game. Either way, I’ll break down where to find all the crates and the Hidden Gem.

More Crash Bandicoot 4 guides:

9-3: The Crate Escape | All Crates & Hidden Gems

To earn 100% on a level, you need to find 80% of all Wumpa Fruit, die no more than 3 times, find the Hidden Gem, and find all crates. These challenges can be completed in any order. If you die more than 3 times while finding all the crates, you can return and earn the last gem later. All gems you’ve unlocked in a level stay unlocked in future replays.

21/122: Destroy all the crates on the starting path, ending with the checkpoint. The only 2 tricky crates are during the side-scroller sequence. Transform the enemy into a bounce platform to reach them.

34/122: Clear the crates on the floating platform sequence ahead. The stationary platforms will fall, but the moving platforms won’t. I also destroyed all the Nitro crates here with Cortex’s laser — ending on the checkpoint.

44/122: Continue up to the hotel lobby. Smash all the crates on this short side-scroller sequence.

Hidden Gem: In the Hotel hallway, dodge the hover luggage carriers and reach the metal bounce crate. Bounce up and shoot the “!” crate, then backtrack to find an earlier metal bounce crate that will let you reach the hidden gem.

56/122: Destroy all the crates in the hotel hallway, including the high floating crates. Make sure you don’t accidentally shoot the TNT crates or you won’t be able to reach the crates above them. Don’t miss the floating crate above the metal bounce crate. This count ends on the checkpoint.

72/122: Continue up the side-scroller sequence. Destroy the 2 fruit crates near the start, and the TNT drone. Later, set off the TNT crate to destroy the Nitro. Up above, there are 2 crates on a platform and 1 floating crate. Continue until you reach the checkpoint.

104/122: Blast the few crates and the many Nitro crates on the final platforming section with Cortex.

122/122: The last crates are all found in the final sequence with Crash Bandicoot. This is one of the most challenging parts of the game — you’ll just have to keep trying to get them all.

Hold forward to “speed up” the movement of the falling cargo. Release the movement for neutral speed, and hold back to slow the cargo down.
If you’re still missing a few crates, hit the Nitro detonator at the end.