Somehow I got through a week without a direct video game meme. Sure, A Minecraft Movie is based on a video game, but it is still a movie itself. No, I want something just for us gamers.
Crash Bandicoot jumped on to the scene as Sony's answer to Mario or Sonic. He was cool and funny and just what they needed to get kids on their side when the first PlayStation came out. His first game went a long way towards the early success of the console and might just be a major reason why the PlayStation brand got as major as it has. It was also the first big hit by the developer "Naughty-Dog" which has made the Uncharted and Last of Us games.
I have maybe played about 30 minutes total of Crash Bandicoot. I grew up with Nintendo, so I was never really exposed to him or any of his games. And when I eventually did play it, I immediately could tell it's just not for me. This game is bullshit! It is perfectly designed to make you as angry as possible. I'll take baby-easy Kirby games any day of the week. But still it makes sense why he got so popular. He looks like the kind of 90s cartoon character that would make all the 12 year-old boys say "Radical!".
Despite it not being the game for me, I can't deny the charm Crash Bandicoot the character has; he's a funny looking guy. And that's probably why I like the "Woah" meme so much.
Original “Woah” video with 3-D model that spread around the internet
So I dove through a rabbit hole trying to figure out where the meme originated. I might be partially wrong here, but this is what I was able to find:
In the second Crash Bandicoot game, there is a frequent sound effect used of the character saying "Woah!". This led to the YouTuber OneyPlays making similar sounds throughout his "Let's Play' of the game. Not relevant, but one of the creators of Smiling Friends gained initial notoriety from appearing on YouTube channel. Anyway, this became a running joke which eventually led to someone making an 8-second video of Oney saying Woah with a 3-D model of Crash Bandicoot. This is why memes are so hard to explain!
The short video went viral and memes were being made all over the place for a couple weeks. Most were using the sound effect to dub over famous meme songs. The meme got big enough that it was reference in a Crash Bandicoot game as an easter egg a few years later.
Some of these really tickle that itch for me. The sound effect is so wacky and perfect for this kind of meme. So many other memes use a similar format to these "Woah" memes, but these just do it for me so much more than any others, partly because they aren't as harsh on the ears and partly because they don't really get old.
Sometimes for a meme, it's not much more complex then that. All you need is a goofy little guy with a goofy little sound effect to the tune of a goofy little song.
