Is this skip as easy as it looks? What are the steps to replicate this trick? There Isn't a guide up so any tips or references e.g video walkthrough in a run already, would be nice.

Thanks

There is some guides on this, i chose to link you my own as several people has learned the trick from this. so here you go, my channel also has the warp 2 (dingodile area) gateclip

There's two methods to doing the skip if you're on PC: blind and not blind. When learning, just go for not blind for warp 5, even though it's slower. Blind method for warp 2 is so much easier that I actually recommend doing that one that way. Here are the steps:

1. Make sure you have Coco with you. If loading from a save file, go talk to the computer once in order to dismiss the "You can swap between characters!" dialog box.
2. As Coco, walk up to the computer and slide away from it while activating it by pressing R1 and a direction on the same frame. If you performed this step correctly, you should slide away from the computer, still get the menu, and the camera should seem a little off.
3. Dismiss the dialog box by pressing "No" to keep Coco with you. You now have a hidden menu stored. You should be able to hear it activating if you press X. This menu will store Coco back at the computer if you select "Yes" on it by hitting up and then X. Selecting "No" by pressing down + X will put Coco back in your party. You can always tell what state you're in by looking in the bottom right corner.
4. Walk towards the center of the room (and then away) or swap characters to fix the camera. Make sure you are Coco before the next step.
5. You want to jump on the Future Tense elevator next, but if you hold forward and jump onto it, you'll select "Yes" on the hidden menu and get rid of Coco. To avoid this, jump down and turn around in mid-air to land on the elevator. You can practice this a bit right next to the elevator to make sure you've got it down.

The next steps change for blind vs. not blind, so I'll split them up. The main trick here is that you're putting Coco in a glitched state in which she can pass through (some) invisible walls, but can't jump (because the game thinks she's on the elevator).

AT ANY POINT if you fall off the stage or fuck something up, quickly load a save file to start over (you can do this even if the screen is black).

Warp 2 (blind): 6. Once you land on the elevator, as soon as it starts moving, press Up+X to force Coco to swap to Crash. Immediately open the save menu (L2). Press Down+X while in the save menu in order to select "No" on the hidden menu and return Coco to your party. Press O enough times to back out of the save menu. As soon as the save menu closes, swap back to Coco (R2). Coco is now in the glitched state and can pass through invisible walls but can't jump. 7. Slide off the elevator towards Warp 2 and hurry to a level before the screen fades black (after that you'll still be able to move but won't be able to see where you're going).

Warp 5 (not blind): 6. Ride the elevator all the way up to the Future Tense room. Jump back on the elevator (still as Coco) when you get there. 7. As soon as the elevator starts moving, press Up+X to force Coco to swap to Crash. Continue riding the elevator out of the Future Tense room. 8. As soon as you're back in the warp room, open the save menu (L2), press Down+X, then press O enough times to back out of the save menu. Swap back to Coco and slide off the elevator. Coco should now be in the glitched state. 9. Walk over to the weird meter to the left of the computer. Inch your way forward until you're just inside it (you only have to barely be inside it). If you walk too far, you'll fall through the floor, so be careful. 10. Swap back to Crash and slide jump over the gap to pass by the warp 5 gate. You should land on the outside of the bridge, blocked by an invisible wall. 11. Press Down+X to bring Coco back, but be careful because this will cause you to jump. You can head over to a platform in warp 5 if you want to do this more safely, but it's faster to do it on the bridge. 12. Swap to Coco and walk through the invisible wall. You can now enter any level in warp 5.

That should be everything. I'd recommend pulling up a video while looking at these steps in order to put a picture to the words. Sorry I can't record something right now, but I'm working on a full Crash 3 tutorial that'll eventually include it.

Is this trick allowed when doing an any% run?

Yes.

Has anyone done it? Wouldn't it save a lot of time at the start of a run?

It is used to skip Tiny and N. Gin. It doesn’t let you skip to the end of the game because the game unlocks bosses based on the number of Crystals you have, not which specific levels you’ve beaten. So you still need all 25 to beat Cortex.

Dame, Thanks for helping me out any way. I appreciate it.

*Dam