4-S: Clash of the Brandicoot
| 4-S: CLASH OF THE BRANDICOOT | |||
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| General | |||
| Layer & Part | GREED /// SECRET | ||
| Music | The song that plays in the level colloquially known as 4-S | ||
| Collectables | |||
 Clash Mode Cheat
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| Enemies | |||
 14 Filth 4 Strays 3 Schisms 4 Soldiers 2 Streetcleaners 2 Virtues
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| Levels | |||
| Previous | Next | ||
| 4-2 | 4-3 | ||
4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4![link=[[[4-S]]](/wiki/File:Secret_Level.webp){kind=small} 4-S
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4-S: CLASH OF THE BRANDICOOT is the Greed layer's secret level, accessed through a secret exit in 4-2: GOD DAMN THE SUN. 4-S is a direct homage to the Crash Bandicoot games, swapping the fast agile shooter gameplay of the regular levels for a tight platforming move-set, all while breaking crates and collecting coins throughout the level. 4-S also has the special Clash Mode Cheat, an unlockable cheat that allows the player to use the special platformer controls outside of 4-S, which is only unlocked by breaking all 78 crates scattered throughout the level.
The music used in this level is The song that plays in the level colloquially known as 4-S.
Mechanics
Upon walking out of the entrance gate, the player will be suddenly sent into a fixed, third-person perspective, with V1 situated in the center of the camera. The player has no weapons to attack with. Instead, it is replaced with a spin attack performed by pressing the melee key or primary fire. Additionally, the player can perform a ground slam with the appropriate key, causing V1 to briefly stop in midair before falling with a body slam.
If the spin attack or body slam connects with an enemy, or if the player jumps on top of an enemy, it will be instantly killed, no matter how much health it has. Particularly, the spin attack launches enemies away from the player in a horizontal line, killing other enemies it makes contact with, and also has a slight effect on the player's movement when not stationary. When walking, sliding, or dashing, the spin attack will shortly boost their momentum forward, and if the player is in the air, their velocity will speed up.
Health is also different when in this mode, as any point of damage will immediately kill the player, however, this can be increased by collecting a Skull power-up from a crate, which gives the player one extra hit before they are killed.
Collectables
Scattered throughout the level are various crates for the player to find and collect, with 78 crates in total throughout the level. Most crates give coins for the player to collect upon breaking, converting into 100 points per coin after the player finishes the level:
Normal Crates give one coin before breaking.
"?" Crates give five coins upon breaking.
Bounce Crates bounce the player into the air upon landing on top of them for a total of five times before breaking, giving one coin per hit.
Checkpoint Crates act as standard checkpoints, returning the player to that point after they are killed.
Protector Crates act as increases to the amount of times the player can be hit before dying, being able to stack it up to three times if the player avoids getting hit.
- One Protector crate will give the player one extra hit of damage, shown as a Blue Skull circling around the player. Collecting a second protector crate will show as a Red Skull, which will give a total of two more hits of damage. Collecting a third protector crate will show as a special Purple Skull on V1's head, which also grants invulnerability and causes enemies to die upon contact, lasting for 20 seconds until it wears off back to a Red Skull.
Level
Start
The start of 4-S is a set of platforms and bridges along the dunes of Greed's desert, with stone structures and pyramids in the distance. However, unlike Greed's other levels taking place with a haze of yellow, the sky within 4-S is bright blue and sunny. Moving forward will eventually cause two Filth to spawn on the platform ahead of the player: prompting to showcase the spin attack's unique properties.
Nearby a pillar of crates a tutorial prompt is shown down below on jump height:
The player can then jump onto the crate, then bounce into the crates above to break them, teaching the player about their ability to change the height of their bounce.
Following a small drop is a small broken walkway, where a Stray will spawn at the far end. While usually insignificant in regular gameplay, due to the player being one hit away from death, the Stray turns into a challenging obstacle with its fast projectile, requiring the player to time a dash or slide to avoid getting hit.
The next platform afterwards holds a special Protector Crate, which upon breaking will grant a one-time protection from any source of damage. Walking forward will then summon a Virtue at a platform far away from the player, requiring the player to rush towards it while jumping across a series of small platforms, with four Filth and a Stray spawning to get in the way of the player.
Tower Climb
The next part of the level is a tall winding tower, with the player needing to climb up the face of the wall to reach the top. The first section of it starts off with a bounce pad that sends to a small step, along with a set of 3 crates in the middle. If the player breaks any of the crates, a Stray will spawn onto the platform. After a small rest stop with a checkpoint and a skull crate, the player reaches a walkway with another bounce pad, which walking towards will spawn two Soldiers in front of it.
Bouncing off of the bounce pad leads to the top of the tower, where two Streetcleaners and two Schisms will spawn beside the player. After all the enemies are cleared, the player can then descend through a staircase inside.
Interior Course
After the corridor from outside, the player enters a massive pitch-black chasm situated by various moving and stationary pillars, with a checkpoint in front after entering. The next obstacle following that is a set of three small moving platforms, connecting to another set of moving platforms with a Stray on the other side. The path then turns to the right, where two moving platforms connect across a large pit with a set of crates blocking the path. Then afterward, the path leads to a raised platform connected by shifting steps, with a checkpoint once the player makes it over.
After the checkpoint, the player then needs to head to the left across a set of 4 rising platforms, with one of them holding a Protector Crate on top. As the player ventures across, a single Virtue will spawn on a platform the player cannot reach yet, forcing them to tread across while constantly dodging its beam of light. After the rising platforms, the path connects by two sets of rotating fast-moving platforms, until the player is able to get to the Virtue and kill it, before proceeding down a small set of platforms before the next checkpoint.
Sidescroller
The player will then enter a hallway with a checkpoint, along with a ramp and a secondary set of crates beside it. Jumping onto any of the crates will cause two Soldiers to spawn in, with one on the top and bottom floor. After the small encounter, the player comes across a gap in the walkway with a triangular formation of crates in the middle, and after choosing to break or skip them, the path will turn down to the bottom to a set of platforms, where four Filth and a Schism spawn to stop the player from making it to the next checkpoint.
Boulder Chase
The final segment of 4-S consists of a long stretch of hallways, dotted with crates, small platforms, and tight movement obstacles. Above the starting checkpoint is a gargantuan 
Malicious Face, which begins to roll across the hallways to chase the player once they cross in front of it, as is tradition of Crash Bandicoot levels to have a boulder chase segment as the final part of the level.
The first obstacle consists of various gaps within the floor for the player to sidestep across and jump over, leading to a chasm with three small platforms each with a crate on top. Making it past will then summon four Filth in front of the player before a long pit of small moving platforms stands in front. Once the player has made it across; a final stretch of crates awaits for the player to break them before the end of the course, where the Malicious Face will stop at the entrance and block the player from returning to the level.
End
Within the small room lies a glowing blue platform, with the number of crates the player has broken shown on a hologram. If the player had managed to break all the crates within the level, the hologram will be replaced with the Clash Mode Cheat icon.
Upon coming into contact with the icon, the player will see V1 on the pedestal performing a small celebratory dance, ending with a message prompt below:
The player can now have free access to the platforming controls whenever they have Cheats enabled or within the Sandbox.
Once the player walks towards the exit gate to the back of the room, they will be returned to the regular control scheme and first-person view. It is important that the player not activate the exit gate if they have not picked up the Clash Mode cheat, as returning to first-person view will prevent the player from interacting with it.
Awaiting in the elevator lies a Testament Terminal standing before the pit. Completing the level will send the player to the next level, 4-3: A SHOT IN THE DARK.
Testament Log
UNCOUNTABLE CYCLES OF CREATION WASTED
UNCOUNTABLE FORMULAS FOR A MIND WITHOUT
FREE WILL WASTED
DAMNED IS MAN FOR FAILING TO FOLLOW MY
RULE, MY WORD, MY LAW
DAMNED TO AN ETERNITY OF TORTURE AND
SUFFERING,
THE WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH
I HAVE CREATED HELL...
