this time
no one will catch me
Tawna Bandicoot
With Isabella, Ami, Liz, and Mayumi
Tawna never left that much of an impression on me. She was only in the original Crash Bandicoot, which I hardly played because the controls were rather clunky, saving wasn't that existent and it's notoriously hard (my decision to get the platinum for the N. Sane Trilogy is haunted by hours of The High Road and the hundreds of precision jumps you have to make). But when I came back round to it again in the N. Sane Trilogy, she was the one I really wanted to see shine. She's shown to fight off the lab assistants and is no longer a passive love interest... but there really wasn't that much more to it.
Until Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled. The original CTR was one of my favourite childhood games. I was so excited by Nitro Fuel; I got so adept at it that the Oxide time trials I couldn't previously beat were a breeze to me and I successfully cleared the new tier they introduced. They added a lot of additional characters from the Crash universe to the roster seasonally, and the first set they chose were Tawna and the Trophy Girls, as the Nitro Squad.
Like, I am still overwhelmed looking at them in their racing gear. All of them got to do more and were given speaking roles and defined personalities. No longer were they seen once then never again - they were heroes! I love when women gain their agency. Tawna is still romantic and flirtatious, but she's driven (pun unintended). I specifically played through the main campaign with Tawa in her racing skin and it was so delightful to have her save the world. I enjoy the Alternative Tawna from Crash 4 too (she's beautiful) but the original Tawna, man. I am to this day so sad that the new CTR didn't last a year of updates before the team was reassigned to Crash 4, but I cherish all those hours I spent racing with Tawna. [Tawna / Crash Bandicoot]
i really wanted
that trophy...