HOW THE GLITCH WORKS (also applies to Crash 2): This game has an intended feature where if you bounce on multiple enemies consecutively without touching the ground, you are given a small reward. The 2nd bounce gives a wumpa, the 3rd bounce gives 2 wumpa, the 4th bounce gives 3 wumpa, and the 5th bounce gives an extra life. There is a combination of oversights that turn this feature into a useful speedrunning strat by which we can get 25 crystals very early in the game and thus unlock all of the remaining boss fights without playing most levels.

1. Crystals and other such items are stored in the game's memory in such a way that if you chain over 200 bounces, the game actually gives you these items as the bounce reward. Crystals are awarded by bounces 201-264. (Yes you can get more than 25 crystals)
2. It is possible to prevent the bounce counter from resetting upon touching the ground, by preventing Crash from entering his normal standing/walking animation state. To do this, you must be spinning when you land on the ground, and then immediately either jump or go into a crouch. (Advanced route only):
3. Bouncing on most boxes, including arrow crates, also increases your bounce counter, though it does not actually grant the associated rewards.
4. Exiting a bonus round does not reset your bounce counter as long as you spin when you land on the exit platform, and hold crouch as the platform touches down in the main level.

BEGINNER ROUTE (Tiny) The Tiny boss fight is the only place in this game where an infinite number of enemies will spawn if you just keep waiting. The idea is to bounce on as many lions as you can during each wave, and then spin jump around the arena to avoid Tiny while maintaining your bounce counter. More lions spawn per wave after you've hit Tiny twice. Bounce on 225 or more lions to be safe; even though you only need 20 more crystals by the time you get to Tiny, you may need more than 220 bounces, and I can't be bothered to check what the exact needed number is when this is just the beginner route anyway. Watch Jacques' any% run for a visual example of this Tiny strat.

ADVANCED ROUTE (Bone Yard + Gee Wiz) There are some additional details about the glitch necessary for full optimization of the number of bounces done in this category:

1. Landing on the platform to exit a bonus round (with a spin) actually adds 1 to your bounce counter.
2. Bouncing on a ! crate does not increase the bounce counter. More specifically, the bounce itself adds 1 to the counter, but triggering a ! crate in any way subtracts 1 from the counter.
3. Each crystal in the game is a unique item and cannot be granted twice. If you do 201 bounces in a level to get a crystal, and then 201 bounces in another level, then when you return to the warp room from the second time, you will still only have 1 crystal. In this case Crash will still perform the warp room animation of throwing the crystal into the air, but it will be a duplicate that does not increase your number of crystals; do not be fooled.

The actual route involves two steps. First, perform the item glitch in Bone Yard to get 5 crystals more quickly than playing each of the 5 levels normally, then beat Tiny like normal. Second, perform the item glitch in Gee Wiz to get 20 more crystals. Both cases will make use of the bonus round, so remember to spin upon landing on the bonus exit platform, and to be holding crouch before the exit platform touches down in the main level.

Bone Yard: Once you reach the forward-moving section of the level, take care to avoid killing any of the enemies, and enter the bonus. Do 197 bounces on the arrow crate, bounce on two more boxes on your way to the exit, and then landing on the exit platform brings your bounce counter to a total of 200. Bounce on the 4 enemies in this section of the level, starting with the one in front of the bonus platform and working backwards. Once you've bounced on the 4th, you can drop the bounce counter and perform normal movement to finish the level. Those 4 enemies plus the level's regular crystal give you the 5 you need to unlock Tiny.

Gee Wiz: Avoid killing any enemies starting with the pair of frogs after the first checkpoint, and enter the bonus. Along the way you may also want to break some of the boxes that could become an obstacle during the item glitch backtrack. Make sure to leave at least one box intact from the large stack on the hill just before the bonus round.

Do 202 bounces on the arrow crate, bounce on 1 box in addition to the ! crate (which doesn't count), and land on the exit platform for a total of 204. Then start working your way forward, and backtrack once you've killed the enemy at the end of the level. In order to avoid wasting enemies on duplicate crystals, you need to bounce on a box instead of an enemy for two specific bounces. After 8 enemies, you'll arrive at the above-mentioned stack of boxes at the top of the hill. Bounce on one of these. Then after bouncing on 2 more enemies, bounce on the box on top of a TNT at the bridge. Continue on for 9 more enemies, ending at a pair of frogs. Death abuse to spawn closer to the end of the level, and finish. These 19 enemies plus Gee Wiz's own crystal give you the remaining 20 you need to unlock all bosses.

MORE ADVANCED STRATS FOR IF YOU LIKE THIS CATEGORY TOO MUCH It is precise but doable to chain NSJs while maintaining the bounce counter by spinning and sliding with a certain timing. Proof of concept: