Professional Guide of Crash Team Racing

This guide will serve you to learn and understand the driving techniques and estrategies that will lead you to become a better runner that you already are. After finishing this guide you will know how, when and where to apply the techniquies that will make you go faster and let you mantain a high speed during a whole course. This guide is beginners-friendly, but it's advisable for you to already have a basic level of the boosting mechanics.

You might think you're already good enough in this game and that's cool. But have you ever wondered if you're that good compared to the best players of the world? There's a way to discover it. I encourage you to go to CTR4ever and compare your times to other players' times.

First things to know: The focus of this guide is improving our driving skills to run faster, right? Well, there are some things regarding to that matter that first we must know before pressing the accelerator button. These things are:

• Knowing the versions
  
• Knowing the characters
  
• to know what characters to use in each track
  

Let's be quick. There are three versions of the game. NTSC-U, PAL and NTSC-J. These three versions have some important differences that will influence our driving. These differences are:

• Penta Penguin has all his stats maxed up in NTSC-J and PAL
  
• Penta Penguin has the same stats of a Slow character in NTSC-U
  
• In NTSC-U and NTSC-J you can jump a bit higher than in PAL (026 against 023)
  

In this game, the characters are fixed to certain stats values (Speed, Acceleration and Turn) and are grouped in Slow, Medium, Acceleration and Fast categories. Penta Penguin (PAL/NTSC-J) is a unique category in its own. It's important to know this so you can choose correctly what character to use in each track.


Slow characters:
Polar, Pura, Ripper Roo, Penta Penguin (NTSC-U)
Speed: 1/6
Accel: 4.5/6
Turn: 6


Medium characters:
Crash, Cortex, Komodo Joe, Fake Crash
Speed: 2
Accel: 3
Turn: 4.5


Acceleration characters:
Coco, N. Gin, Pinstripe
Speed: 4
Accel: 6
Turn: 3


Fast characters:
Tiny, Dingodile, N. Tropy, Papu Papu
Speed: 6
Accel: 1.5
Turn: 1.5


Penta Penguin (PAL/NTSC-J)
Speed: 6
Accel: 6
Turn: 6

 You can see these stats in better graphics following this link: Characters Stats


Now that we learned about the characters stats it's time to make a good use of that knowledge.
Fast characters are recommended for short tracks that don't have many hard turns, while Penta (PAL/NTSC-J) is better for the long tracks with sharp curves. Of course, if you don't have the PAL or NTSC-J versions, you won't be able to use a maxed up Penta. In this case for NTSC-U you must choose between the Accel and Medium characters. The following table will list which categories are better to use in which track depending on the version played.


Note: The table above focuses more on total Course (3 laps race). For Lap times, it's advisable to use characters with a high Turn stat. So the best option would be Penta in PAL and NTSC-J version while for the NTSC-U version is better to use Slow and Medium characters.

Before learning the techniques there are a couple of things we must know first:

• Powersliding
  
• Turbo Boosting
  
• Gameplay terms
  
• Reserves system
  

Powersliding: This is simple. To powerslide you must jump (L1 or R1) and hold that button while turning (left or right arrow). You can adjust the trajectory of your drift by pressing the up or down arrows while powersliding.


Turbo Boosting: Turbo Boosts are the foundations that will let you perform almost every other advanced technique. To make a Turbo Boost, you must first powerslide. When you are powersliding, at the right bottom corner of the screen (below the speedometer or map) you will see a bar filling up from green to red. When this bar gets to red, press L1 or R1 (whichever button you're not pressing while powersliding) and you will get a Turbo Boost. You can chain three Turbo Boosts and of course adjust your trajectory while doing this.


 Note that if you're powersliding with R1, then you must complete the Turbo Boost with L1 and viceversa.

Protip: Practice your Turbo Boosts so you can fill the bar (Turbometer) completely. The fuller your Turbometer is at the moment of turbo boosting, the longest your turbo will last and your reserves will be better.

Protip 2: Looking at the Turbometer is not the only way to know when to Turbo Boost. You can look at the smoke of the kart exhausts. When it turns black it's ready for you to Turbo Boost. You can also hear the kart engine changes its sound while Powersliding. When the sound changes it's ready for the Turbo Boost.


CTR Gameplay Terms: To better understand this guide, it's good to familiarize with some terms, such as:

Turn: Left or Right arrows while driving
Powersliding: R1+turn or L1+turn
Turbo Boost: R1+turn+L1 or L1+turn+R1
MT: Mini Turbo, a single Turbo Boost
TT: Triple Turbo, a chain of three Turbo Boosts
Turbo Pad: Green and black shiny square that gives you a boost when you drive over it.
Super Turbo Pad (STP): Turbo Pads that give a greater speed if used correctly.
Speedometer: The gauge displayed at the bottom right corner of the screen. It shows the kart speed.
Turbometer: The bar below the Speed-o-meter. It shows when the kart engine is ready to make a Turbo Boost.
Jump-o-meter or Hang-time Turbo Meter: The long bar at the right side of the Speed-o-meter. It shows the time you spend in the air while jumping. The fuller this bar gets, the better will be the Turbo Boost when landing.


Reserves System: Let's put this simple. The reserves system are the turbos you have stored in your kart engine. It's like filling an empty barrel with water. Each Turbo Boost you do is a bucket of water you pour into that barrel. The more Turbo Boosts you do, the more filled up that barrel will get. But there's a little problem. Just like your kart has exhausts where the fires escape boosting you, this barrel also have a little hole where the water escapes, so you better pour full buckets just like you should make full Turbo Boosts.

In short, if you do full Turbo Boosts, you will store more turbo reserves. Turbo Pads also help to fill your reserves. If your Turbo Boosts are far from the full bar, your reserves will be poor and will expire quickly. Your reserves will always be decreasing, but you can keep increasing them doing full Turbo Boosts to fight and win against that decreasing.


Why is the reserves system so important? If you get to store a considerable amount of reserves, your top speed will last longer and you can stop doing Turbo Boosts for some time to focus on improving your trajectory. This is very important for the third laps. You can store your turbos in the first and second lap, then run the third lap with the reserves you have built. Last but not less important, having more reserves will be useful to get a longer USF. This will be explained further.


Hang Time Turbo: You can get a Turbo Boost by jumping off a cliff or ramp. When you jump, you will see your Jump-o-meter bar will raise while you are in the air. You can also see numbers increasing as you are jumping. These numbers indicate how long you've been jumping. When you finally land, if you jumped high enough, you will get a Turbo Boost. Be aware that the Turbo Boosts you get from this way will only last a very short time. To keep the speed you gain, you must quickly do Turbo Boosts.


Mid-Air Turbo: Mid Air is basically jumping while doing a Turbo Boost in the air. To perform this technique you only have to powerslide on the top of a hill or near the top of it and then Turbo Boost while you're still in the air. You can do it on little bumps too. This technique is basic and very easy to do. But it can be combined with other techniques.

There are three basic speed levels achievable in the game, these are known as Green Fire, Yellow Fire and Sacred Fire. The latter is the most important, but let's cover Green and Yellow Fire quickly.

Green Fire: This is the speed you get by doing one or two Turbo Boosts. You also get Green Fire by doing a Hang Time Turbo while your Jump-o-meter raise its numbers between 066 to 099. Consider Green Fire as just a step to get into the next speed level.


Yellow Fire: This speed is achievable by doing full Triple Turbos. You can notice it by looking at your Speedometer. The pointer will get up at the second to last line. Another way of achieving Yellow Fire is by doing a Hang Time Turbo until you Jump-o-meter raise its numbers to 100 – 149. Of course, if you want to keep this speed, do more full Turbo Boosts inmediately.


Sacred Fire (SF): You can achieve Sacred Fire by driving over a Turbo Pad and mantain the Boost it gives you doing full Turbo Boosts. You will notice bigger flames behind your kart. Another way of getting Sacred Fire is by doing a Hang Time Turbo until your Jump-o-meter raise its numbers to 150 or more. As soon as you land keep doing more full Turbo Boosts to mantain this speed. Once you get SF, it is very important to keep it for the rest of the race, so keep doing full Turbo Boosts!



There are three of them, the names are Ultimate Sacred Fire, Saffi Fire and Speed Ghost. All of them are important and very useful. Understanding these techniques might be a bit stressful, but performing them is surely easier.

Ultimate Sacred Fire (USF): This is the top speed you can achieve in the game. To achieve USF, you must drive over a Super Turbo Pad (STP) and let it boost you. You will notice that your speed will get ridicously higher than usual when you get USF. Of course there are some rules you must follow before and after getting USF to achieve this awesome speed and keep it as long as possible.

• Before reaching that STP, you must have been doing full Turbo Boosts so you have built a decent amount of reserves that will be necessary for the USF to last longer.
  
• While driving over that STP, you must stop doing Turbo Boost and most importantly NOT jump. If you jump after a Super Turbo Pad, you won't get USF.
  
• After getting USF, you simply have to guide your kart using the arrows and powersliding to turn some curves. Hoping while turning is also good to cut some curves while on USF.
  
• After getting USF, don't do Turbo Boosts anymore and be sure to avoid Turbo Pads and Hang Time Turbos above the number 066 or else you will lost the USF!
  

Eventually, USF will vanish after a short time, but if you follow the rules above your USF will last longer. The duration depends on the amount of reserves you have built. Remember that USF is a speed leagues beyond Sacred Fire so it is expectable for someone who experiences it for the first time to not know how  to control it and lose it quickly. Learning to drive with USF speed is as important to learn how to make it last longer. Go ahead and practice your USF skills!

Note: USF speed is the same for all characters. Slow characters will go at the same speed on USF as Fast characters, and Accel and Medium characters.

Attention: Given that an STP is necessary to achieve USF, you only can get it in some tracks that have STP's by default. These tracks are: Hot Air Skyway, Cortex Castle, N. Gin Labs, Oxide Station and Turbo Track.



Saffi Fire: To be fair, Saffi it's not actually a speed level, it is more like an anomaly that allows you to go fast infinitely. Let's clear this up. Remember the reserves system? Remember the barrel with water analogy? Now imagine you manage to fill the entire barrel with water. Normally the excess of water would spill out of the borders of the barrel. But with your kart engine that doesn't happen. When you get to full your turbo reserves barrel, it will be magically full for eternity. Not matter how long you drive, you will never run out of reserves again. That barrel of water will be full forever despite the fact it has a hole that spills water out of it. The best part is that you don't have to do Turbo Boosts anymore.

To achieve Saffi Fire you must do full Turbo Bosts for about one minute or one and a half minute. It all depends on how full and constantly you make your MT's and TT's. Finally, when that reserves storage is completely full, you will unlock Saffi Fire.

After doing those full Turbo Boosts for a minute or a little more, the flames behind your kart will disappear and there will be only white smoke coming out of your kart exhauts. That's how Saffi Fire looks.

What does Saffi Fire? It gives you Sacred Fire speed constantly. It never drops as long as you keep driving over normal terrain. Grass, mud, dirt zones will obviously decrease your speed but as soon as you get out of those zones, your SF speed will show again.

Once you achieve Saffi Fire, you don't need to make Turbo Boosts anymore, don't do it. If you Turbo Boost again, you will lose Saffi. If you do Hang Time Turbos, you will lose Saffi. If you drive over Turbo Pads, you will lose Saffi. Everything that gives you Turbo Boosts will contribuite to make you lose Saffi after a while. If you want to keep your Saffi forever avoid those things.

Saffi Fire locks you on Sacred Fire speed, but if you drive over a Super Turbo Pad, you will get USF speed. And yes, due to your Saffi Fire, now your USF will last forever! Of course, be sure to apply the rules for USF to not lose it.

Saffi Fire is a device useful for Lap times. It is not useful most of Course times. Take that in mind.


Speed Ghost (SG): This a speed achievable in most cases by just going down a downhill. Just like in real life, when your kart goes down a downhill notice how your speed increases for a very short time. You can see it in the Speedometer.

These basic SG's by their own are not that impressive due to their short duration, but there are some techniques that will extend their duration for a longer time. For example you can combine Mid Air while going down a downhill to get a greater SG. The duration of these SG's also depends on how large is the downhill. Bigger downhills will give longer SG's. You can also jump into a downhill, so it will be like you've been going downhill for a longer time. That will give you a better SG.

SG's velocity vary, some of them are a bit faster that SF, others give a speed almost comparable to USF. There are other types of SG's that don't follow the rule of going down a downhill. For example Powersliding in Sewer Speedway walls, driving over an edge, or Froggying in an uphil.



Froggy: To do Froggy you must hold one of the jump buttons (L1 or R1) and then quickly tap the other one (R1 or L1). This way you will be hoping constantly. Very easy right? But the secret to master Froggy is not know how to do it, but when to do it.

Froggy is very useful to mantain the speeds for a bit more of time that they normaly last. For example, if you get USF and after some seconds you notice you start losing it, quickly Froggy to keep your USF speed for a bit more of time. The same applies with Speed Ghost and this is what really makes it relevant. Froggying after an SG will mantain that SG speed for a longer time and that's when you will see the difference.


Projectiling: To perform it you just have to Froggy while going up a hill. This is done to mantain the speed you have before the uphill and even go faster than that. Try to do Projectiling in every uphill of the game. Sometimes it can lead to a double jump or an SG.


Cresting: This is done by jumping from an uphill and landing going down the downhill. By doing Cresting, you raise your altitude and the game will think you've been going down that downhill for a longer time. This is what will get you a greater SG than the one you would get by just going downhill without Cresting.


Ultra Turn (U-Turn): This is considered one of the hardest techniques. It requires a lot of practice to master it. To perform U-Turn, you must leave the X button and immediately press the following combination: square+turn+down+Froggy. Just in case you don't remember how to do Froggy, let me be more specific...

To U-Turn, press: square+turn(left or right)+down+(hold)R1+(tap)L1.

Remember that you should've have stopped to press X, that those R1 and L1 are interchangable depending on your comfort and that 'tap' means 'press constantly'

• U-Turn allows you to completely turn 180° without losing all your speed while doing it.
  
• Of course, after the U-turn you will lose the speed you had before, so quickly press X again and start doing Turbo Boosts again!
  
• U-Turn is useful to pass that S shaped turn at Turbo Track and also helps a lot for those shortcuts that require going backwards.
  
• Finally, U-Turn can be also done in the air, for example when going over that famous fence shortcut in Hot Air Skyway.
  

Here is a list of useful shortcuts (SC) to use in Time Trial. These SC's are recommended because they offer the most direct route to the finish line and also they are the ones that cut corners more than others. There are alternative SC's and variants that are not the best option or make you lose even more time. I won't cover those SC's here.

I won't overload you with text in this section, I'll just show you videos of these SC's and offer you some key tips to success them.

Crash Cove: To do this SC, you only have double jump in the little bump at the border of the lagoon.
Video: https://youtu.be/AxM7-QINmtM?t=9 (By zord)

Roo's Tubes: Easiest way to do is just jumping into the mud zone and drive stuck to the wall to cut corner. You can also do Projectiling just before the mud zone or even a Mid-Air, but that one is risky.
Video: https://youtu.be/5sCVogqALiA?t=22 (By zord)

Tiger Temple: Jump into de downhill turning to your left. If you jumped well, you will get SG. Use that speed and start projectiling to cut corner over the grass. Before leaving the grass start Turbo Boosting.
Video: Video: https://youtu.be/sPXVHKdS3X0?t=8 (By NyxX)

Coco Park: Projectiling into the grass corner and finish it with Mid-Air to land gaining SG.
Video: https://youtu.be/1KC4K9xYWSg?t=7 (By zord)

Mystery Caves: Once you're in the SC zone, Froggy all the way. You'll notice there are a couple of bumps that will help you to cover that section quickly.
Video: https://youtu.be/h0SaCEIVEV0?t=4 (By zord)

Blizzard Bluff:

• Mid-Air in the first SC. Video: https://youtu.be/20Dpfvvpguo?t=2 (By zord)
  
• Jump in the second SC. Video: https://youtu.be/20Dpfvvpguo?t=15 (By zord)
  
• Jump or double jump in the third SC. Video: https://youtu.be/20Dpfvvpguo?t=17 (By zord)
  

Sewer Speedway: Be sure to jump while in the air, not before.
Video: https://youtu.be/-V24hrEmf_Q?t=18 (By PoweradeCTR)

Dingo Canyon: Cresting in the first bump of the track to land with a boost that will help you cover the SC zone.
Video: https://youtu.be/1pYXYFW_eY8?t=1 (By zord)

Papu's Pyramid:

• Complete the grass SC Froggying all the way and drive stuck to the edge of it to perform some Projectiling and/or Cresting.
  
• Jump into the platform and fall off it without jumping.
  
• Go to the left zone, Turbo Boost and fall in the first section of the track, jump while in the air into the top of the wall. Drive over it and fall doing a U-Turn in the air to land facing the finish line.
  

Video: https://youtu.be/jud3Rd1lD94?t=16 (By PoweradeCTR)

Dragon Mines:

• Projectiling the bumps before the rails part to gain some speed. Once you enter the rails tunnel, Froggy until you leave the tunnel and jump to the spiral section of the track. Video: https://youtu.be/c4jGhOt4_ic?t=12 (By zord)
  
• Projectiling in the blue zone to cut corner, but don't jump too high before the finish line or it might not count the lap. Video: https://youtu.be/c4jGhOt4_ic?t=22 (By zord)
  

Polar Pass:

• Double jump into the wall, turn in the air and fall into the middle downhill of the road to gain SG. Video: https://youtu.be/IzQIZH7GhjY?t=18 (By zord)
  
• Projectiling in the uphill and go into the crack at the left of the wall infrot of you. Video: https://youtu.be/IzQIZH7GhjY?t=27 (By zord)
  
• Ignore the ramp and go to the left in the snow and jump in the air to cover more distance. Be sure to fall into a downhill to gain SG. Video: https://youtu.be/IzQIZH7GhjY?t=37 (By zord)
  

Cortex Castle: Projectiling and take the left ramp to cut the castle zone. Video: https://youtu.be/8wEADeSKWcs?t=41 (By NyxX)

Tiny Arena:

• U-Turn to go backwars, Projectiling the little bump and drive over the wall. Video: https://youtu.be/3T__-Leq8ts?t=25 (By NyxX)
  
• Drive over the wall and hope to success. Video: https://youtu.be/3T__-Leq8ts?t=44 (By NyxX)
  

Hot Air Skyway: This track is better explained in video than in words.

• Video: https://youtu.be/qQUny7P_bYk?t=13 (By BlowcircuitR)
  
• Video: https://youtu.be/CrIVeIVBl7A?t=5 (By FGTurismo21)
  
• Video: https://youtu.be/KhiEttcnIis?t=4 (By BlitzPhoenix98)
  

N. Gin Labs: This is not technically a SC, but it cuts corner. Instead of taking the last Turbo Pad, go and fall to the right side of the track. You will encounter the third Turbo Pad of the track, which is also a STP, so take it.
Video: https://youtu.be/9NaPRh_x99g?t=36 (By zord)

Oxide Station: This track is a complete mess, you better watch videos instead of trying to decipher texts on how to take the SC's here.

• Video: https://youtu.be/LhIbt1jdTTg?t=8 (By v4eCTR)
  
• Video: https://youtu.be/aoMH3zoZwxU?t=2 (By giro94hc)
  
• Video: https://youtu.be/kmlN1ZHH6PU?t=4 (By FGTurismo21)
  

Slide Coliseum: U-Turn to face backwards, do a little jump before getting into the grass and go through the tyres and the wall.
Video: https://youtu.be/FmzBAbQp1XE?t=11 (By Isak Hermansson)

Protip: There are some shortcuts in Crash Cove and Papu's Pyramid that are top level to achieve. You are welcome to try them. Here are some videos showing them:
Crash Cove: https://youtu.be/Xp-HLfrWgpU?t=22 (By Justin Zimmermann)
Papu's Pyramid: https://youtu.be/MMjQzbiaE7s?t=35 (By Justin Zimmermann)

Different names for the techniques?
As stated here, a Powerslide is just a single drift, a slide (R1+turn) and a Turbo Boost happens when you apply the other jump button to that Powerslide (R1+turn+L1). However, some people use the term Powerslide for Turbo Boost, which is acceptable. In this guide I try using the terms given by the game itself (check Aku Aku tips) but if you encounter these terms in another guides or tutorials, just use the context. After all, it's not that big of a deal with these minor details.

Are there any other names for the techniques described in this guide?
Counting with what is said above, we also have...
Powerslide = Slide = Drift
Turbo Boost = Powerslide = Turbo = MT/Mini Turbo
Mid Air Turbo = Mid Air Powerslide (MAP) = Mid Air

Do I always must finish the 3 Turbo Boosts?
Not necessarily. If you feel that finishing the second or third Turbo Boost may lead you to crash, you simply don't do them. You can finish a Triple Turbo when you have a good position on the track.

How do I know if I have got Saffi Fire or I just crashed?
Easy, check your speedometer, if the mark is on top you have got Saffi. If not, you crashed some wall. Try again.

Why some people go over the grass if that decreases the speed?
To take a better turn/corner, thus grass does not decreases the speed instantly, it takes a few seconds to happen and you should take advantage of that by doing some Turbo Boosts or Froggying your way out the grass.

Which is the best version, PAL, NTSC-U or NTSC-J?
Each version have their things. However, the general agreement is that the NTSC-J version is the best overall.

What is cornering?
Cornering is when you, as the name suggest, cut corners by driving the nearest possible to the side of the track that takes less time to cover.


By logic it is known that "A" will finish the track faster than "B" because "A" drives by side of the track (in this case the left side) that will take him less time to cover, while "B" goes by the opposite side. “A” corners better than “B”

Should I do always corner?
Yes. All the time you can you must corner. Just sometimes you may go a little out but that is only to get a good position or to take the incoming turns better.

How do I know where to corner in each track?
In short tracks is easy to deduce it, generally the shorter side is the left side. But this is not the case in all tracks, you must should apply common sense to know which by side you will go faster. In long tracks the shorter side generally changes constantly from right to left and viceversa. You must be alert and follow your logic.


You see in this example how the shorter side changes? It is like this in most of the tracks.

At Dingo Canyon, when the way is divided wich way do I must take?
Obviously the shortest side, the right way.

At Cortex Castle, when the way is divided wich way do I must take?
You better take the right way

At Sewer Speedway when the way is divided which tunnel do I must take?
The tunnel that leads up where the turbo pad is located.
And after that to which way do I jump?
To the shorter side, the left tunnel.

At Mystery Caves when the way is divided which way do I must take?
Left side.

At Polar Pass when the way is divided adopting an 8 shape which way do I must take?
In the first lap is better to take the left way, then in second and last lap take the right side.

At the first jump of Hot Air Skyway do I must take the shortcut or jump to the left way?
Don't jump that ramp because the Turbo Pad in it is an STP, so store some reserves before and get USF. Use the left way.

At N. Gin Labs, do I must take the two turbos where those barrels falls down?
Not necessary. You may take one of them if you feel you need a bit more of reserves to take the USF later.

What are the “illegal shortcuts”?
There are not “illegal” shortcuts in the CTR community. Just shortcuts. All of them are permitted. Some of them are intended by the developers, some are not. Some of them are very easy to do while other are super glitchy and require extreme skill or luck to be succeeded. Some people might hate some shortcuts, but none of them are illegal.


Now that you know all the foundations its time to practice them a lot and improve your times. Then you can compare again with the top players of the world and see how much you have improved!

Also check these tutorial videos and links to burn that pro CTR knowledge right into your brain:

• CTR Reborn's Driving Guide playlist
  
• AleMastroianni's CTR Tutorials playlist
  
• CTR4ever's How to Drive guide
  
• MISTRRLOVE's guide
  

Special thanks and credits:

-Thomas60 whose guide was the original inspiration for my guide.
-pardiez, SkanDu, Arsène_Lupin, RamsesxD, Ibett0000 and MISTRRLOVE who helped me in one way or another for the guide old version until 2015.
-zord, NyXx, PoweradeCTR, BlowcircuitR, FGTurismo21, BlitzPhoenix98, v4eCTR, giro94hc, Isak Hermansson and Justin Zimmermann for the videos in the Shortcut section.

Do not copy partially or totally this work to use it in another web sites without permission of the author (LinkZer).

© 2006 All rights reserved.