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Crash 4 Hidden Gems Location Guide: Where To Find Every Hidden, N.Verted, And Colored Gem

Find those diamonds in the rough.

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Collectibles have been a key part of the Crash Bandicoot series since day one, and Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time continues the trend with a variety of Flashback Tapes, character skins, and Hidden Gems to collect. Getting all the tapes and skins is pretty straightforward, but collecting every gem takes some doing.

There are three types of Hidden Gems in Crash 4: standard, N. Verted, and colored. We'll help you find them all with this guide detailing each one we've found, but check back frequently as we update it with even more! Otherwise, be sure to read our Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time review.

Table of Contents [show]

Hidden Gems

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Every level in Crash 4 has its own Hidden Gem, so there are a lot to collect. Some are pretty easy to spot, while others are quite difficult to obtain. Here are all the standard gems you can collect in the game.

Rude Awakening

Shortly after grinding on the vine, you'll have to crawl under a tent. Instead of crawling the whole way, stop under the tent and jump up to collect the Hidden Gem inside.

N. Sanity Peak

This one's easy to spot--it's found when you start running from the giant monster. When the chase starts, stick to the left side of the screen to grab it.

A Real Grind

This Hidden Gem is found at the end of the level. Proceed until you have to phase up a series of vertical platforms. There's a ledge to the top left that's hard to spot, but you can reach it with a sliding high jump from the highest phase platform. Jump up there, then bounce off the boxes to reach the gem on the ledge above.

Crash Compactor

This one's tricky. At the end of the grind rail, you'll see a metal crate with an exclamation point in a little alcove under the checkpoint. Carefully drop down and spin into it, then double jump back up onto the ledge. Continue around the next corner to see the Hidden Gem in a small compartment in the wall--this was previously covered by a door that retracted after you hit the metal crate.

Hit The Road

This one is tricky. It's found right after you acquire the Phase Mask and ride the lift. At the top, there's a small alcove you can jump to with a well-timed sliding double jump. Then, you need to slide through the small opening, just past the nitro crate, and double jump again to bounce off the arrow box above. This will bounce you up to the ledge where the gem is found.

Truck Stopped

Stop when you reach the giant claw holding a car, moving back and forth in front of you. Instead of grappling over the gap, look to the right for a platform you can jump to. Do so, then jump up to a narrow yellow platform to find the Hidden Gem.

Booty Calls

Proceed through the level until you enter a large cave with a pirate ship sticking out of the right side of the cave wall--you'll know you're in the right place when you see a giant golden door in the back of the cave. Drop down the series of platforms, make a right, and jump onto the moving platform in the water. Ride it back to another platform, hop off, and spin to open the treasure chest and get the gem inside.

Thar He Blows!

After clearing the platform covered in nitro crates, you'll have down to a corner-shaped dock. Jump to the little mast sticking out of the water to the south to grab the gem in its crow's nest. Nice and easy.

Hook, Line, And Sinker

You can't miss this one! After you do your first wall jump, jump up to the next ledge up to grab the (not so) Hidden Gem.

Jetboard Jetty

You'll find this gem just before the second jetboard ride when you're using the moving planks to cross the water. At the last jump, you'll see a group of six metal crates. Leap on top of these to find the gem.

Give It A Spin

Just after the first checkpoint, you'll have to use the Dark Matter Spin to jump up a waterfall. Instead, jump to the right to find a big stack of crates. Take care not to destroy them all--you'll need to break just enough to create a path to the Hidden Gem on top of the stack.

Potion Commotion

This one's easy: right after your first wall jump, drop off the ledge to the wooden platform. Hop the gap and round the corner to find the gem.

Draggin' On

Immediately past the bonus area platform, you'll don the Dark Matter mask and use its special spin to cross a large gap. You'll land on a little alcove where one of those green-faced lion-dogs is hanging out. Step into its little window and head left, behind the wall. Use the Dark Matter Spin, and you'll bust through some crates you can't actually see to collect this Hidden Gem.

Off-Balance

This one takes some doing, but you can find it while wearing the Dark Matter Mask the first time. After moving through a temple and jumping across three crumbling pillars, you'll hit a checkpoint just before a big jump over a bunch of nitro crates. The next jump you'll make is toward a fan, but look just past it to see a trail of wumpa fruit in the lower right. Drop down on the other side of the fan and follow the extended obstacle course to find the gem.

Off Beat

Proceed through the level until you get the Phase Mask. As you cross the rooftops, you'll see the Hidden Gem off to the left. Time your phases to avoid (or defeat) the two enemies on unicycles, then jump over and grab that gem.

Home Cookin'

When you enter Dingodile's burning diner, make a U-turn around the counter to find yourself back outside. Follow this pier to the end, then take a long hover jump to the right to reach another platform where the gem awaits.

Run It Bayou

This one is really tough to spot. Proceed through the level until you're just about to board the second jetboard. Instead of doing that, check behind the barrel to the right of the checkpoint. It's hard to see even if you know it's there, but there's a metal crate with an exclamation point tucked behind here. Spin into it, then backtrack a few steps to where the two flaming crates were sitting on the dock. Once again, it's hard to see even when you know it's there, but that crate actually spawned three more metal crates above the swamp just off-camera to the right from the edge of the dock. Take a leap of faith to reach them, and you'll find the Hidden Gem floating there too.

No Dillo Dallying

Considering this level runs parallel to Run It Bayou, it makes sense that this Hidden Gem is hard to spot. After the second boat ride, hit the checkpoint and look to the left. There's a group of metal bounce crates floating above the water. Hover jump to them and bounce up to grab the gem.

Snow Way Out

Proceed through the level until just past when the ship blows up and you have to cross a waterfall using the Time Mask. After the following checkpoint, you'll need to leap across some ice blocks flowing downstream. Cross the river and jump to the stationary ice block, then jump to the little pier to the right. Bounce up the stack of boxes here to grab the Hidden Gem above.

Ship Happens

You'll find this just past the checkpoint. Start scaling the platforms until you reach the metal crate with an exclamation point. Shoot it, then head left to the highest platform. From here, you can air dash further left to some metal crates you just activated. Dash across them and bounce off the stack of floating crates to grab the gem.

Stay Frosty

You can spot this on a ledge above the bonus stage platform. To reach it, use the Time Mask to cross the first river. On the other side, use a sliding double jump off the highest step to reach the ledge to the left. Then make another sliding double jump to the left, to the crate that was floating high above the checkpoint. Bounce off the crate to finally reach the ledge where the gem awaits.

Bears Repeating

This one's easy to grab if you know where to look. Proceed through the level until you reach two pairs of rotating ski lifts with two electrified flying robots moving between them. Before you jump onto the first lift, look just past the edge of the platform to spot another ledge just below. Drop down to collect the gem.

Building Bridges

This Hidden Gem is easy to get, too. After wall jumping up the first pair of electrified walls, move toward the camera while on the top platform. You'll see the gem on a lower ledge.

Blast To The Past

The Hidden Gem in this level isn't hard to find, but it is hard to grab because of some tricky timing. When you reach the second grinding vine, you'll jump over a series of three rocks just before the path becomes two parallel vines. Jump left, then immediately jump back to the right after you break the box--that's your cue. The gem is behind the rock blocking the vine on the right, so you have to snap back quickly to nab it.

Fossil Fueled

This one's pretty clever. Near the start of the level, you'll come across the first gap that requires an air dash to cross--you'll know it by the tree stump. But guess what? That's not a bottomless pit, despite the fog. Jump in and follow the wumpa fruit trail to find the gem under the stump.

Dino Dash

This gem is found right after the second dinosaur chase. Immediately after the checkpoints and mask crates, you'll need to cross a river of lava. Don't do that yet. Instead, walk behind the rock with the burning tree to find this Hidden Gem.

Rock Blocked

You'll find this after you cross the first pair of sinking tree stumps. Get the three TNT crates on the purple platform out of your way, then hover jump toward the camera to land on another stump. One more leap in the same direction will get you to the platform where the gem awaits.

Out For Launch

This gem's super easy. When you take the first elevator, step around the pipe on the left side of the landing to grab it.

Shipping Error

You'll find this gem at the beginning of the level. After the large drop along the trail of wumpa fruit, walk toward the back of the screen to step off onto a slightly lower ledge. You'll collect the gem when you do.

Stowing Away

We don't blame you for using a guide for this one. Proceed through the level until you get the Gravity Mask and use it to "fall up" a long vertical air duct. When you reach the top, don't move too far to the right--the mask will get taken from you if you crawl under the laser. Instead, reverse the gravity again just right of the vertical passage to ascend through another opening you can't see. When you reach the top, move right until you can't move any further. Go ahead and spin to hit an activation crate that you, once again, cannot see. Now move all the way to the left to grab a Hidden Gem that's now reachable. And no, you can't see it behind the wall either. This one is weird.

Crash Landed

This gem is easy to miss. When you collect the Gravity Mask inside of a cave, backtrack a few steps to where the alien eel sticks out of the wall. Reverse gravity here, and you'll rise to an upper alcove where the gem is hiding.

Food Run

This Hidden Gem is found when crossing your first set of flying cars--you can see it floating on the left side of the area as you approach. It's tricky to grab, though, mostly because any car you jump on will fall after a moment (way to be considerate of others, Crash). You'll have to jump back and forth from a few different cars to grab the gem safely.

Rush Hour

At the climax of Dingodile's section, you'll be chased by a group of drones carrying nitro crates. Before taking the elevator out of there, keep jumping across the flying cars to the right. You'll reach a little back alley section where the Hidden Gem is found.

The Crate Escape

Proceed through the level until you reach the hotel--it's the section where you have to hop between platforms as luggage carts go by. Note the hollow crate a few platforms out. Move past it till you reach the metal crate with the arrow, use it to bounce high, and fire a laser back toward the screen to hit an activation crate. Now carefully backtrack to the hollow crate, which has now been turned into a bounce crate. Use it to launch high and grab the floating gem.

Nitro Processing

During your time with the Gravity Mask, you'll have to swap gravity to ride between two large cogwheels. Instead of jumping off the second, ride it around a full 360 degrees to pass by the gem.

Toxic Tunnels

Be warned: this is the hardest Hidden Gem in the game to get. First, you'll need to collect all four Color Gems: Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. As you proceed through Toxic Tunnels, you'll see a large vault door with the corresponding colors: this is the Color Gem gauntlet, and if you have all four, it'll open for you. You'll then have to make it through five different sections (one for each Color Gem plus the first chamber) to reach the Hidden Gem at the end. There are no checkpoints. Good luck.

Cortex Castle

This Hidden Gem is found during the section where you rotate through all four mask powers. Just before the second checkpoint in this section, you'll have to outrun a vertical laser. But here's the thing: you can land on the little metal rod on top of that laser. Do so, then make a high squatting jump off of it to a series of crates. Bounce off them to keep ascending and reach this tricky gem.

Seeing Double

Proceed through the level until you start using the activation crates to move metal platforms to block lasers. Notice how the very first platform you move is in front of an unbarred window? Use the next pair of crates to bounce up, double back, and air dash to that platform and climb through. Follow the hallway to find the final regular Hidden Gem.

N. Verted Hidden Gems

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Every level in Crash 4 also has a mirrored, or N. Verted, form. You'll unlock this option after defeating N. Brio. While the levels themselves are mirrored, the Hidden Gem locations are actually totally different. Here's how to get them all!

Rude Awakening

This gem is right at the beginning of the level. Look to the right side of the screen to spot it behind the couch and chair. Easy!

N. Sanity Peak

Like the standard level, this gem is found during the chase, but it's in a different spot this time. Jump onto the swinging vine, but climb up to the top to grab it before you jump off.

A Real Grind

Proceed through the level until you reach the first oil barrel that you can phase. You need to do a big jump off the top of this, phase the box above you into existence, and bounce up from that box to grab the off-screen gem.

Crash Compactor

This gem is right at the end of the level after you've gotten the Phase Mask. When you arrive, stop at the point where you reach the bouncing enemy inside the spike ball. From here, you need to backtrack up and to the right: your goal is to get on top of the high wall you dropped under a moment ago. It takes a few tricky jumps, but you'll earn another Hidden Gem when you pull it off.

Hit The Road

Immediately after the bonus platform, you'll hop up on a grate. On the other side of the grate, you can slide back underneath it to grab the gem.

Truck Stopped

Just after the first checkpoint, you'll jump across a pair of oil drums. Stop on the next platform and note the stack of crates to the left. Carefully double jump from the ledge on the right to bounce off the TNT crate, while avoiding the nitro crate to land on the higher platform. Move away from the camera to drop off to a slightly lower ledge where the gem is floating.

Booty Calls

Proceed through the level until after the grind rail. Move forward through the passage and take a right at the fork. From the moving platform in the water, you want to jump to the platform with the two large (non-breakable) crates that you pass by. The Hidden Gem is tucked behind them. You can reach it by leaping from the moving platform or taking a jump toward the camera from the next pier.

Thar He Blows!

This one's super easy to grab and very easy to miss. Right after Dingodile's section, step through the newly opened gate. The gem is hidden behind the left-hand column.

Hook, Line, And Sinker

After you swing across your first rope, stop at the next checkpoint. The gem is floating high above the cannons here. To reach it, jump backward off the next swinging rope.

Jetboard Jetty

Another easy one. Just before boarding the third jetboard, make a U-turn and check the back left corner of the pier with the checkpoint to find this gem.

Give It A Spin

Immediately after the large door is opened by a potion being thrown against it, you'll don the Dark Matter Mask. Step back through the doorway and use a nice big spinning double jump to grab the Hidden Gem floating up and to the right.

Potion Commotion

When you take control of Crash, walk right off the right side of the balcony you start on to drop to a lower platform. There you'll see the Hidden Gem, which you can reach with a squatting double jump.

Draggin' On

Proceed until you pass under an arch with three TNT crates. You'll then have to use the Dark Matter Suit to ascend a high wall. Avoid the dragon and reach the top, then turn back. Make a Dark Matter double jump to the right to grab the Hidden Gem out of the air.

Off-Balance

This one's tricky: it's found when crossing the collapsing bridge with the two circling dragons. It's actually under the third plank from the end, so to get it safely, you have to fall through, nab the gem, then jump back to a plank that hasn't dropped yet. Luckily, it does still count if you grab the gem then immediately fall to your death.

Off Beat

Next to the second checkpoint is a dumpster. Check behind it to find this gem.

Home Cookin'

After you destroy the first mixing bowl, proceed just a bit further to the next conveyor belt. Jump to the wooden walkway in the background and walk to the left to find the gem.

Run It Bayou

This Hidden Gem is found right at the start of the level. Instead of boarding the jetboard, make a sliding long jump to the stoop in the water to the left. Jump up on the awning, then jump onto the balcony along the wall. The Hidden Gem is up here.

No Dillo Dallying

This is found immediately after the Dingodile section. Take a sliding long jump toward the camera from the back of the pier where you start. You'll probably miss the landing the first time, but you'll see the platform you need to reach the grab the gem.

Snow Way Out

Proceed through the level until you start crossing a river with ice sheets floating downstream. To the right of the next checkpoint is a waterfall you can jump through, and the Hidden Gem is just inside the grotto.

Ship Happens

You'll actually find this Hidden Gem during the same river section of the level. As you jump upstream, note the tall tower of crates on the platform to the right. Use one of the crates on the ground to bounce to the top of the stack, then use the bouncy crate on top a few times to break through some boxes in the air and claim the gem.

Stay Frosty

This one's really easy to miss--it's along the grind rail. As soon as you jump through the ring with the spikes, drop under the rail to grab the gem before you slide too far past it.

Bears Repeating

Proceed through the level until you use a metal spring crate to reach a pair of ski lifts. The Hidden Gem is in the top left corner here, so you need to stand on the right-hand lift to lower it and raise the other. From there, do a squatting high jump to reach the higher lift, then take another big jump off of it to grab the gem.

Building Bridges

This Hidden Gem is easy to miss, but you'll find it while chasing Cortex on the bear. After the first cave where he starts dropping icicles, keep an eye on the left side of the trail. When the first tree falls, the gem will be by its base. Bank left to grab it--you might not even see it spawn by the time you've picked it up.

Blast To The Past

Just after you ditch the Time Mask, you'll jump across a series of flower petals with spiky vines sweeping across them. Stop at the stack of crates with the bouncy one. The Hidden Gem is above the metal crate floating in the air, but getting it involves a frankly very annoying jump. You need to hit the spring crate, snap away from the metal one to keep rising, then move back over to grab the gem above--and you can't actually see it once you rise past the top of the screen.

Fossil Fueling

You can get this after crossing the lava by turning the trio of bugs into platforms--you'll know you're in the right place when Cortex starts talking to himself about a "volcano lair." On the other side of the lava is one of those acid-spitting plants near a TNT crate. Use your blaster to turn the plant into a bouncy platform, dash toward the camera, and bounce up off the TNT crate to grab the high-flying gem.

Dino Dash

This one is very easy to miss, but it comes right after the first grind rail where you zip past the dinosaur. Hit the checkpoint, jump over the mushrooms and the pit, but stop before busting through the dinosaur bones, because the dinosaur chase starts just a few steps beyond them. Instead, jump into the upper left part of the hollowed-out log you're standing in to grab the gem.

Rock Blocked

This Hidden Gem is found during the sidescrolling section when Dingodile scales the massive rock wall. After using the TNT barrel to clear the way, bounce up the metal spring crates to the upper right platform. Use a bouncing jetpack jump off the stack of crates here to grab the Hidden Gem hiding under the giant plant's leaf.

Out For Lunch

This Hidden Gem is right at the start of the level. Hop up the stairs, then make a big jump straight up into the air--the gem is right behind the border at the top of the door.

Shipping Error

This gem doesn't show up until the end of the level, just before you ride down the elevator. Before you take it, make a high jump by the doorway--like the previous gem, this one is also behind the door's top border.

Stowing Away

This one's easy. When you take the elevator down from the cockpit, turn around. Tah-dah.

Crash Landed

Outside of the Color Gem gauntlet, this is the only Hidden Gem in the game that requires a Color Gem. Once you've collected the Blue Gem, head to his level and be sure to hop on the gem platform to go to the optional area. Once you've arrived, slide down the first series of slippery slopes until you reach solid ground. Then jump toward the camera to land on a small platform--be sure to quickly jump to a second platform, since the first one has one of those starfish aliens on it. Bounce of the stack of crates on the second platform to grab the Hidden Gem.

Food Run

This gem comes near the end of the level when you use the Phase Mask during the sidescrolling section. The last platform contains the gem--you can see it when the platform is phased away. To get it, you need to drop, touch the gem, then use your second jump to get more height and phase the platform back for a safe landing. Fortunately, it still counts if you grab the gem but fall to your death.

Rush Hour

Found during the Dingodile section. Right at the beginning of the level, you have to cross a series of flying platforms. The gem is under the last one, so you'll have to let it drop for a moment, collect the gem, then hover jump to safety. But, just like the previous Hidden Gem, you can totally ruin the recovery jump and still keep the gem.

The Crate Escape

This Hidden Gem is hiding at the beginning of the level. When you see the first hovering trashcan enemy, use your ray gun to turn it into a bouncy platform. Air dash to it, spring up high, then air dash to the floating crate along the air duct. Bounce off this crate, snap left, and use another air dash to reach another pair of floating crates. Bounce across these, then use one more air dash to slip into the small alcove created by the wraparound air duct that holds the gem.

Nitro Processing

Proceed through the level until you jump past three TNT crates onto one of the big spinning cogwheels--it's the first one you have to ride without the Gravity Mask. From the following checkpoint, jump up to the top platform where the nitro slime enemies are rolling from. From there, leap back toward the pipe along the left wall--that's where the gem is hiding.

Toxic Tunnels

Thankfully, you do not have to complete the Color Gem gauntlet again in the N. Verted version of this level. Proceed until you cross the series of platforms attached to cogwheels hanging above a minecart track. Stop at the next checkpoint--the Hidden Gem is floating high above this point. To reach it, make your way up the next series of cogwheel platforms then double back to the right. You'll be able to reach the high-altitude gem with a strong jump.

Cortex Castle

Pause for a moment when you first grab the Dark Matter Mask--the Hidden Gem is directly above you, off-camera. To get it, you need to use a Dark Matter spin to reach the floating group TNT crates to the left, swap back to normal to land safely on them, making a sliding double jump back to the right, switch back to the Dark Matter mask, and use its special spinning jump to get high enough to reach the gem. This might take a couple of tries.

Seeing Double

The game's final N. Verted gem is found right after you stop playing as Cortex when you start the final challenge with all the masks. When you first grab the Time Mask, use it to slow down the buzzsaws. Use those to reach the question mark crate, then launch straight up from it into a double jump to grab the gem.

Color Gems

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Unlike the other gems in Crash 4, there are only four Color Gems in the whole game. Finding the red, green, blue, and yellow gems can be one of the trickiest tasks, but we're here to help! Here's how to find all four.

Red Gem

You'll find the Red Gem early in the game: it's in the second level, N. Sanity Peak. Proceed until you reach a series of nine platforms in a grid, phasing in and out of existence. Before entering this chamber, you might have spotted a drawing by the vault door: this drawing tells you what order you need to jump on the platforms. Start with the bottom left, work your way around counterclockwise, then jump from the center-left platform to the middle. This will make the Red Gem appear.

Green Gem

You can find this during either Hit the Road or Truck Stopped. After the first leg of the chase, you'll hop out of the ball by a checkpoint. Don't proceed just yet; spin into the trashcan nearby to release an RC car and a controller. Spin into the controller a few times to drive the cart into the nearby nitro crate (get it?), which will explode, revealing the Green Gem.

Blue Gem

This difficult Color Gem is found in Draggin' On. If you've already finished the level, you might recall seeing a certain column right at the end--a column with a drawing of a gem and a crossed-out crate. That's right; you need to get through this entire level without breaking a single crate. That means no checkpoints, no Aku Aku protecting you from damage, and no accidentally spinning into crates with the Dark Matter Mask. We're not gonna sugarcoat it: this is very, very hard to do, but it can be done. The Blue Gem will be waiting at the end of the level once you manage to pull it off.

Yellow Gem

The last Color Gem is found right at the start of Run It Bayou. Instead of getting on the jetboard, take a long jump to the platform to the northeast. From there, jump across the boxes to the next platform--be sure not to break them all, as you'll need to use them to get back to safety after collecting the gem. Then take another long jump to the moving platform, from which you can reach the next platform with a stack of boxes. Bounce off of them to grab the Yellow Gem.

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