Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
Encyclopedia
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, released in Japan as is a platform game
published by Universal Interactive Studios
(Konami
for Japan) and developed by Vicarious Visions
for the Game Boy Advance
. It was released in North America
on January 7, 2003 and in the PAL region
on March 14, 2003.
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is the eighth installment in the Crash Bandicoot video game series and the second Crash Bandicoot game to be released on a handheld console. The game's story centers on the exploits of the main character, Crash Bandicoot
, as he rescues his friends from the hypnosis of the main antagonist Doctor Nefarious Tropy and his ally N. Trance.
in which the player controls Crash Bandicoot
, who must free his friends from the hypnosis of the main antagonists of the story. Much of the game takes place in a dimensional bubble that Crash and his mentor Aku Aku are trapped in. The inside of the bubble is displayed as a map littered with portals to different levels. Connecting the portals are dotted lines which Crash can use to travel between portals; initially, only a few dotted lines are visible. The goal of each level is to find and obtain any Crystals and Gems hidden in the area. As more Crystals are retrieved from the levels, more dotted lines will become visible on the map, allowing for further exploration. Gems allow access to special levels necessary for full completion of the game. When the antagonists of the game have been defeated and enough Crystals have been gathered to return to Earth, the game is won.
"Relics" can be won by re-entering a level where the Crystal has already been retrieved. To obtain a Relic, the player must initiate the "Time Trial" mode and race through a level in the pre-designated time displayed before entering a level. To begin a Time Trial run, the player must enter a level and activate the floating stopwatch near the beginning of the level to activate the timer; if the stopwatch is not touched, the level can be played regularly. The player must then race through the level as quickly as possible. Scattered throughout the level are yellow crates with the numbers 1, 2 or 3 on them. When these crates are broken, the timer is frozen for the number of seconds designated by the box. Sapphire, Gold and Platinum Relics can be won depending on how low the player's final time is.
At the beginning of the game, Crash has the ability to jump to navigate ledges, spin in a tornado-like fashion to break open crates and defeat enemies, deliver a body slam to break open tough objects and can either slide across the ground or crouch and crawl to get past low areas. Crash can expand on these abilities by defeating boss characters, often resulting in more powerful attacks or increased jumping and running prowess. Crash starts the game with five lives. Crash loses a life when he is struck by an enemy attack or suffers any other type of damage. More lives can be earned by instructing Crash to collect 100 "Wumpa Fruits" or break open a special crate to collect a life. Crash can be shielded from enemy attack by collecting an Aku Aku mask. Collecting three of these masks allows temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers.
who must rescue his friends from the hypnosis of the main antagonist Doctor Nefarious Tropy and his ally N. Trance. Aiding Crash is Aku Aku, an ancient wooden mask who can temporarily protect Crash from harm. Crash's friends, who have been captured and hypnotized by the main antagonists, consist of Coco Bandicoot, Crash's spirited genius sister and Crunch Bandicoot, a "super-bandicoot" who joined Crash's family after the events of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
. The main antagonist of the story, Doctor Nefarious Tropy, is the self-proclaimed master of time who teams up with Aku Aku's evil twin brother Uka Uka. A new character in the series is N. Trance, an egg-like being from the Fifth Dimension who uses his mastery of hypnotism to command Crash's friends. Also aiding the villains is Fake Crash, an imperfect and morally ambiguous duplicate of Crash.
's previous scheme to shrink the Earth
, Uka Uka entrusts Doctor Nefarious Tropy with the task of aiding him in universal domination. Tropy peers into the future and sees himself standing amongst the Bandicoots and concludes that since the Bandicoots keep thwarting them, their only solution is to bring them to their side. With this, he recruits N. Trance, master of hypnotism. Meanwhile, back on N. Sanity Island, Crash Bandicoot sleeps away while his friends, Crunch and Coco, are abducted by a strange vortex. Aku Aku alerts Crash of the situation and tells him to bring him a Power Crystal so that he can see into what's going on. But when he does, Crash begins to be sucked in by the vortex. While Aku Aku tries to rescue Crash, he uses the Power Crystal's power to discover that N. Tropy is behind this. With the last of his power, he rescues Crash. N. Tropy ends up abducting a strange character named Fake Crash, but he doesn't seem to notice and has N. Trance successfully hypnotise the Bandicoots into doing his every whim.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in hyperspace, Crash and Aku Aku plan to collect more Power Crystals so that Aku Aku can open more areas of hyperspace, free Coco and Crunch, and foil N. Tropy's plan. Crash frees Crunch after a battle in the skies of Saudi Arabia
and Coco is freed after a battle inside a volcano
. After Crash defeats Fake Crash inside an Egyptian tomb, N. Tropy and N. Trance realize that they've captured the wrong Crash, but assure themselves that the Bandicoots will never find their hideout. However, with a few more Power Crystals, Crash and Aku Aku enter the hideout. When Crash and Fake Crash defeat N. Trance, N. Tropy flees into one last vortex. Crash defeats N. Tropy after a long and tough battle. With N. Tropy's defeat and capture, Aku Aku decides they should take a picture to celebrate. The Bandicoots group around N. Tropy as Fake Crash takes a picture. This turns out to be the future N. Tropy saw. Meanwhile, Uka Uka, upset over N. Tropy's defeat, promises a real adversary in the future.
said that "the sequel's biggest unique element is its pretty darn fun Atlasphere challenges, inspired by the PS2
/GameCube
/Xbox
"Wrath of Cortex
" levels and powered by Vicarious Visions' "Tony Hawk" GBA engine." Eduardo Zacarias of GameZone
criticized the low difficulty of the game, while Fennec Fox of GamePro
concluded that "the mini-game stages can be disappointing (the hamster ball
sections have completely unrealistic physics), but overall Crash is not a bad little platformer at all. Unoriginal but not bad." Play Magazine
remarked that "this Bandicoot's got plenty of gas left in his belly. Sometimes it smells, other times, it's fresh as a daisy," while Nintendo Power
noted that "the single-player game covers more than 30 levels with new nonlinear level progression." Avi Fryman of GameSpy
called the game "an amusing romp through the bizarre Crash Bandicoot universe. It's not the best game of its kind, but it's certainly worth a visit," while Game Informer
decided that "Crash's latest romp is fun, but does not reinvent the wheel." Frank Provo of GameSpot
called the game "a solid effort all around," while Scott Alan Marriott of Allgame
("All Game Guide" at the time) concluded that "N-Tranced will not hypnotize players with its ambitious design or extensive new features, but the quality of presentation and fast-paced arcade-style action make it easy to recommend." Mark MacDonald of Electronic Gaming Monthly
, commending the game for being faithful to the Crash formula and criticizing the 3D stages featuring Coco flying through space as "sloppy" and "annoying", promised that "younger gamers won't be disappointed." Kristan Reed of EuroGamer
deduced that "given its high price tag and scant innovation Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is unlikely to win over any new converts by playing it so safe and so young."
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
published by Universal Interactive Studios
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...
(Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
for Japan) and developed by Vicarious Visions
Vicarious Visions
Vicarious Visions is an American video game developer founded by the high school brothers Karthik and Guha Bala in 1990, which developed some PC and Game Boy Color games in late 90's and 2000. They later developed Terminus, which won two Independent Games Festival Awards in 1999...
for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. It was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on January 7, 2003 and in the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
on March 14, 2003.
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is the eighth installment in the Crash Bandicoot video game series and the second Crash Bandicoot game to be released on a handheld console. The game's story centers on the exploits of the main character, Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot (character)
Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a video game character and the primary protagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and...
, as he rescues his friends from the hypnosis of the main antagonist Doctor Nefarious Tropy and his ally N. Trance.
Gameplay
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is a platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
in which the player controls Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot (character)
Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a video game character and the primary protagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and...
, who must free his friends from the hypnosis of the main antagonists of the story. Much of the game takes place in a dimensional bubble that Crash and his mentor Aku Aku are trapped in. The inside of the bubble is displayed as a map littered with portals to different levels. Connecting the portals are dotted lines which Crash can use to travel between portals; initially, only a few dotted lines are visible. The goal of each level is to find and obtain any Crystals and Gems hidden in the area. As more Crystals are retrieved from the levels, more dotted lines will become visible on the map, allowing for further exploration. Gems allow access to special levels necessary for full completion of the game. When the antagonists of the game have been defeated and enough Crystals have been gathered to return to Earth, the game is won.
"Relics" can be won by re-entering a level where the Crystal has already been retrieved. To obtain a Relic, the player must initiate the "Time Trial" mode and race through a level in the pre-designated time displayed before entering a level. To begin a Time Trial run, the player must enter a level and activate the floating stopwatch near the beginning of the level to activate the timer; if the stopwatch is not touched, the level can be played regularly. The player must then race through the level as quickly as possible. Scattered throughout the level are yellow crates with the numbers 1, 2 or 3 on them. When these crates are broken, the timer is frozen for the number of seconds designated by the box. Sapphire, Gold and Platinum Relics can be won depending on how low the player's final time is.
At the beginning of the game, Crash has the ability to jump to navigate ledges, spin in a tornado-like fashion to break open crates and defeat enemies, deliver a body slam to break open tough objects and can either slide across the ground or crouch and crawl to get past low areas. Crash can expand on these abilities by defeating boss characters, often resulting in more powerful attacks or increased jumping and running prowess. Crash starts the game with five lives. Crash loses a life when he is struck by an enemy attack or suffers any other type of damage. More lives can be earned by instructing Crash to collect 100 "Wumpa Fruits" or break open a special crate to collect a life. Crash can be shielded from enemy attack by collecting an Aku Aku mask. Collecting three of these masks allows temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers.
Characters
Seven returning characters from previous Crash titles star in Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced. The protagonist of the game, Crash Bandicoot, is a bandicootBandicoot
Bandicoots are a group of about 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia.- Etymology :...
who must rescue his friends from the hypnosis of the main antagonist Doctor Nefarious Tropy and his ally N. Trance. Aiding Crash is Aku Aku, an ancient wooden mask who can temporarily protect Crash from harm. Crash's friends, who have been captured and hypnotized by the main antagonists, consist of Coco Bandicoot, Crash's spirited genius sister and Crunch Bandicoot, a "super-bandicoot" who joined Crash's family after the events of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game video game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube video game consoles. The PlayStation 2 version was released in North America on October 29, 2001, in...
. The main antagonist of the story, Doctor Nefarious Tropy, is the self-proclaimed master of time who teams up with Aku Aku's evil twin brother Uka Uka. A new character in the series is N. Trance, an egg-like being from the Fifth Dimension who uses his mastery of hypnotism to command Crash's friends. Also aiding the villains is Fake Crash, an imperfect and morally ambiguous duplicate of Crash.
Story
After the failure of Doctor Neo CortexDoctor Neo Cortex
Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex, often referred to as "Doctor Cortex" or simply "Cortex", is a video game character and the main antagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. His name is a play on the term neocortex, an area of the brain...
's previous scheme to shrink the Earth
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, released in the PAL region as Crash Bandicoot XS and in Japan as Crash Bandicoot Advance, is a platform game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Vicarious Visions for the Game Boy Advance...
, Uka Uka entrusts Doctor Nefarious Tropy with the task of aiding him in universal domination. Tropy peers into the future and sees himself standing amongst the Bandicoots and concludes that since the Bandicoots keep thwarting them, their only solution is to bring them to their side. With this, he recruits N. Trance, master of hypnotism. Meanwhile, back on N. Sanity Island, Crash Bandicoot sleeps away while his friends, Crunch and Coco, are abducted by a strange vortex. Aku Aku alerts Crash of the situation and tells him to bring him a Power Crystal so that he can see into what's going on. But when he does, Crash begins to be sucked in by the vortex. While Aku Aku tries to rescue Crash, he uses the Power Crystal's power to discover that N. Tropy is behind this. With the last of his power, he rescues Crash. N. Tropy ends up abducting a strange character named Fake Crash, but he doesn't seem to notice and has N. Trance successfully hypnotise the Bandicoots into doing his every whim.
Meanwhile, somewhere else in hyperspace, Crash and Aku Aku plan to collect more Power Crystals so that Aku Aku can open more areas of hyperspace, free Coco and Crunch, and foil N. Tropy's plan. Crash frees Crunch after a battle in the skies of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and Coco is freed after a battle inside a volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
. After Crash defeats Fake Crash inside an Egyptian tomb, N. Tropy and N. Trance realize that they've captured the wrong Crash, but assure themselves that the Bandicoots will never find their hideout. However, with a few more Power Crystals, Crash and Aku Aku enter the hideout. When Crash and Fake Crash defeat N. Trance, N. Tropy flees into one last vortex. Crash defeats N. Tropy after a long and tough battle. With N. Tropy's defeat and capture, Aku Aku decides they should take a picture to celebrate. The Bandicoots group around N. Tropy as Fake Crash takes a picture. This turns out to be the future N. Tropy saw. Meanwhile, Uka Uka, upset over N. Tropy's defeat, promises a real adversary in the future.
Development
The audio for Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced was composed by Shin'en Multimedia.Reception
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced received generally positive reviews from critics. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said that "the sequel's biggest unique element is its pretty darn fun Atlasphere challenges, inspired by the PS2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
/GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
/Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
"Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is a platform game video game published by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Traveller's Tales for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube video game consoles. The PlayStation 2 version was released in North America on October 29, 2001, in...
" levels and powered by Vicarious Visions' "Tony Hawk" GBA engine." Eduardo Zacarias of GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
criticized the low difficulty of the game, while Fennec Fox of GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
concluded that "the mini-game stages can be disappointing (the hamster ball
Hamster ball
Hamster balls are hollow spheres made of clear plastic into which hamsters, gerbils, degus and other small rodent pets are placed, allowing them to run around outside their cages without the risk of running away, getting lost under furniture or in walls...
sections have completely unrealistic physics), but overall Crash is not a bad little platformer at all. Unoriginal but not bad." Play Magazine
Play (US magazine)
Play was a U.S.-based magazine focused on video games, anime, manga, film, DVD, television, comics, music and media. Published by Fusion Publishing, Inc. since 2001, Play magazine also had a separate Internet presence on its website, Play Online...
remarked that "this Bandicoot's got plenty of gas left in his belly. Sometimes it smells, other times, it's fresh as a daisy," while Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
noted that "the single-player game covers more than 30 levels with new nonlinear level progression." Avi Fryman of GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
called the game "an amusing romp through the bizarre Crash Bandicoot universe. It's not the best game of its kind, but it's certainly worth a visit," while Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
decided that "Crash's latest romp is fun, but does not reinvent the wheel." Frank Provo of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called the game "a solid effort all around," while Scott Alan Marriott of Allgame
Allgame
Allgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
("All Game Guide" at the time) concluded that "N-Tranced will not hypnotize players with its ambitious design or extensive new features, but the quality of presentation and fast-paced arcade-style action make it easy to recommend." Mark MacDonald of Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
, commending the game for being faithful to the Crash formula and criticizing the 3D stages featuring Coco flying through space as "sloppy" and "annoying", promised that "younger gamers won't be disappointed." Kristan Reed of EuroGamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
deduced that "given its high price tag and scant innovation Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is unlikely to win over any new converts by playing it so safe and so young."
External links
- Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
- Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (GBA) | Box art at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...