Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back/Secrets

Extra lives from the bear
In the second Warp Room, jumping on the little white bear next to the entrance of the level Bear It, you have a chance to get an extra life, up to a maximum of 10.

Fighting bosses again
You can re-fight bosses you've already defeated by pressing psx: R1+psx: R2+psx: L1+psx: L2+psx: T before ascending to the Warp Room above. You will thus again face the boss who was between the two Warp Rooms.

The secret Warp Room
In addition to the five normal Warp Rooms, there is a sixth secret Warp Room in the game, accessible from five hidden portals within the levels. Each of these portals will unlock a new entrance to the secret Warp Room once reached. Below is where these portals are located and what access they unlock.

Air Crash – Snow Go
In the level Air Crash, just after the first C box, instead of getting on the jet ski, use the floating boxes on the right to reach a platform that is otherwise inaccessible. You will be teleported to the secret Warp Room, where you will find an alternate access to the level Snow Go. By accessing the level from here, you will have to overcome a rather difficult area, at the end of which you will find the red gem.

Bear Down – Air Crash
At the end of the level Bear Down, the bear will throw you in the air and you will land across a lake, in front of the entrance to the final room, but instead of entering it, jump on the iceberg in the lake. Be careful, because since you have to move towards the screen, it’s easy to fall into the water. Look carefully at the lake below as you fly through the air and memorize the position of the icebergs. You will come to an islet and will be teleported to the secret Warp Room. Here you'll find a portal that takes you to the Air Crash level, but in a different location than the conventional start. This path is rather difficult, but only by accessing the level from here, you can break all the boxes. At the bottom you will find the detonator to blow up the nitro boxes and a square platform. By stepping onto this platform you will be teleported directly to the conventional start of the level. Reach then the end of the level by breaking all the boxes to get the gem.

Diggin' It – Road to Ruin
Shortly before the end of the level Diggin’ It there is a carnivorous plant on a round platform in the middle of a chasm. If you kill the plant with a belly slam you will be teleported to the secret Warp Room. Here you can access the level Road to Ruin from a secret position. This path is short and soon rejoins the normal one, immediately after the beginning of the level. However, only by accessing this level from here is it possible to break all the boxes and therefore find the gem in the exit room.

Un-Bearable – Totally Bear
At the end of the level Un-Bearable, after being thrown by the little bear, instead of going into the exit room, go back over the precipice with the slide + jump combination and reach the little bear. You will be teleported to the secret Warp Room and here you will find the access to the secret level Totally Bear. The only aim in this level is to pass it by breaking all the boxes, in order to get a gem. The level is similar to the ones where you ride the little polar bear that you have already faced, but with a much higher level of difficulty. In fact, here the track is dark and you will only see the gaps and obstacles at the last moment. In some points you also have to accelerate the little bear to perform long jumps, in order to overcome the longest gaps and reach all the boxes. As in all similar levels, here you can't go back, so if you miss a box, you are forced to sacrifice a life to restart the level from the last checkpoint and try again. If you manage to break all the boxes, you will find a gem in the final room. Of course, it also counts on the total, so you also need to get the gems from the secret levels to complete the game 100%.

Hangin' Out – Totally Fly
In the level Hangin’ Out, after taking the crystal, instead of proceeding, walk towards the screen. You will find a hole in the floor that leads to a secret area. You have to overcome a treacherous path, avoiding robots that move very quickly, using also Crash's ability to pull himself up and grab the bars even with his legs. At the bottom you will come to a seemingly dead-end room. Follow the line of wumpa fruit to be teleported to the secret Waro Room. Here you will be able to access the secret level Totally Fly. Also in this case, the only purpose is to break all the boxes in order to get a gem. This level is basically a harder version of ../Night Fight/. You will meet the same elements. There is only one really hard point in this level, to break all the boxes. About three-quarters of the way along the path you will find reinforced boxes, which you can only destroy with a belly flop. This obviously wastes your precious time and you cannot afford to do it while you have a firefly with you or it will leave too soon and you will be left in the dark, making it practically impossible to proceed. You must therefore avoid taking the firefly before these reinforced boxes and proceed by groping. Fortunately there are no gaps here. Use your spin repeatedly, trying to spot these boxes. If you hit them, you will hear a noise. Jump on them and smash them with belly blasts. After breaking them all, go back, get the firefly and continue with the level.

There is also a bonus area in this level, which follows the same logic. You have to overcome it quickly, breaking all the boxes, before the fireflies go away, leaving you in the dark. Luckily, it's nothing too difficult. If you break all the boxes in the level and in the bonus area, you will get a gem at the end.