Controller Stuff in Crash3 (PS1/PS2)

We just discovered that the controllers connected to the system affect certain timers in the game. This effect happens on PS2, duckstation, and presumably PS1 as well (though ps2 is used for RTAs so that'll be the focus of this doc, sorry IL gamers)

The first variable is what type of controller you have, analog or digital (basically does it have thumbsticks). The timer runs slower with an analog controller connected than with a digital controller connected. The second variable is how many controllers you have connected. The timer runs slower with 2 controllers connected than 1. Multitap is not supported in this game so the effect stops at 2 controllers. This means that the least ideal scenario is 1 digital controller connected, and the most ideal scenario is 2 analog controllers connected. Additionally, a memory card in slot 1 is likely to slow down the timer as well, if only by a very small amount.

The timers known to be affected are the Time Trial timer and triple mask/invincibility timer.
Let's assume 1 digital controller has the timer at 100% speed:
1 analog controller is ~99.1% speed
2 analog controllers is ~97% speed

The difference between digital and analog on its own is pretty small, but adding a 2nd analog controller to the mix really makes a difference, we're at a point where every minute passed by on the TT timer is over a second "saved" by using 2 analog controllers. This makes time trials faster of course, and thus hard relics like Tomb Time and Bug Lite are somewhat easier. Depending on your controllers, the difference can range from 1 second difference to nearly 2 seconds difference in Tomb Time, and from 1.5 seconds difference to nearly 2.5 seconds difference in Bug Lite.

As for triple masks/invincibility, this adds up pretty fast. Seeing as a triple mask is supposed to last ~20 seconds, and there are 16 triples in 105% that you make full use of, this is 320 seconds of invincibility (dang thats more than i thought). So if we go off of the speeds above, and that you're getting ~3% more time of invincibility best case scenario vs worse, you are getting an entire 9 extra seconds of invincibility. It's too hard to tell how useful said extra invincibility could be, the factors are too difficult to really consider, but I'm sure it's a pretty big deal at high level.

This is just what's known so far, but here's what we know is NOT affected by this controller stuff in any way:
Crash's movement speed
Bike speed and 3,2,1 timer in Hog Ride/Road Crash/Orange Asphalt/Area 51
Enemy movement speed/cycles
Door open & close cycles
The water in Tomb Wader
The water in the jetski levels
Tiny Tiger
Dingodile
N. Tropy

This doc will be updated if anything new is discovered.