Crash Twinsanity
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| Crash Twinsanity | |
|---|---|
 European Xbox version cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Traveller's Tales |
| Publisher(s) | Vivendi Universal Games |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Release date | PlayStation 2 NA September 28, 2004 PAL October 8, 2004 Xbox NA September 28, 2004 PAL October 8, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) CERO: All ages PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G |
| Media | DVD |
| Input methods | Game controller |
Crash Twinsanity is a platform game in the Crash Bandicoot series. It is the eleventh installment, although it's the fifth chronologically. It was developed by Traveller's Tales and its division Traveller's Tales Oxford, and was released on September 28, 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Taking place three years after the events of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Crash Twinsanity follows Crash Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex as they are forced to work together to stop a pair of mutant parrots who have some kind of connection with Doctor Cortex. The game takes place in four major areas, including an evil version of N. Sanity Island, Crash's home.
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[edit] Gameplay
Crash Twinsanity differs greatly in gameplay from its predecessor Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. The game is now played in a free-roaming style rather than the follow-the-path gameplay of the past. His control style is pretty much the same as previous Crash games. Much like the Jak and Daxter series, Crash is accompanied by his nemesis Doctor Neo Cortex.
Crash can use Cortex as a hammer, perform a spin attack while holding on to him, throw him across gaps to activate switches, and can even use him as a snowboard in certain sections of the game known as "Humiliskate". In two places of the game, a path must be cleared for Cortex (to an a cappella rendition of Flight of the Bumblebee) as to avoid getting himself killed while running away from a swarm of bees and Evil Crash, respectively. These sections go by the name of "Doc Amok".
In the earlier levels, Crash and Cortex will fight each other (obscured by a cartoony dust cloud and stars), allowing the player to steer both of them throughout a part of a level in a section known as "Rollerbrawl". If the characters remain stationary for a while, the characters can actually be seen using a number of tortures on each other (including Cortex spanking Crash and Crash banging Cortex against the floor respectively). In some areas, only Cortex will be controlled, armed with a raygun with a limited amount of ammo. If Cortex is without ammo, he will be defenseless and will scream and panic whenever he is moved. In others, Cortex's niece, Nina Cortex, can be controlled, using her mechanical arms to get her through levels.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Story
At the end of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, Doctor Neo Cortex's space station was destroyed once again, leaving him and Uka Uka preserved in ice in the frozen wastes of Antarctica.
[edit] N. Sanity Island
Three years later, all is well in N. Sanity Island, as Coco runs through the front yard of the Bandicoot home chasing a butterfly. But she is suddenly paralyzed by a familiar blaster gun. Over at the beach, Crash Bandicoot is digging up an old shoe, when Cortex, poorly disguised as Coco, calls for him.[1] Fooled by Cortex's poor disguise, Crash follows him. Upon arriving at the bay, Cortex reveals himself, absolutely bitter over being left alone for three years in the frozen Antarctic wastes because of Crash. As a result, he "organized a little gathering, like a birthday party, except, the exact opposite", as he states. The "birthday party" mainly consists of villains Crash has faced over the years.[2] He is also introduced to a 40-foot-tall hydraulically operated, mech-dubbed Mecha-Bandicoot piloted by N. Gin.[3] When Crash defeats the mech with ease, it falls into a cavern, and Cortex loses control of his Cortex Glider, falling into the cavern and taking Crash with him. The guests leave for lunch.
Infuriated over losing to Crash Bandicoot yet again, Cortex loses control of his temper and tackles Crash, which then causes the two bitter rivals to end up in a "roller" fight, which then introduces "Rollerbrawl". Their fight then leads them into an area containing a Power Crystal. When Cortex grabs the Crystal, a mysterious group of androids arrives in a drilling device, taking boxes of Wumpa fruit, and leaving. Upon seeing Cortex's Power Crystal, Crash grabs it, dragging Cortex along with it (this introduces "Crystal Crazy"). After a while, they fight some more, escaping a drilling device in the process. Eventually, the duo makes it out in one piece.
Upon leaving the cavern, the duo is greeted by a pair of odd parrot-like creatures who introduce themselves as the Evil Twins, and claim that they've come to destroy the Wumpa Islands. When Cortex isn't impressed, the Evil Twins demonstrate their power by telepathically pulling Cortex's brain out and throwing it at him. Cortex runs away screaming, holding his brain.[4] Crash finds Cortex near the native village, lamenting his inability to live the simple life of the tribesfolk. As he does this, he is suddenly attacked by a swarm of bumblebees (this introduces the "Doc Amok" levels).[5] Crash ends up having to clear a path for Cortex and keeping him out of danger. At the end of the path, Cortex runs into Papu Papu, who decides to use Cortex as a sacrifice to their totem god. Crash follows the tribesfolk into their village, and finds Cortex tied up to a totem pole, which has the Power Crystal which Cortex obtained on top. When Crash rescues Cortex and grabs the Power Crystal, the totem pole topples over, dumping Cortex into the nearby waterfall, and dumping Crash in front of a group of angry tribesmen. When Crash flees the village, he finds Cortex in a Wumpa orchard owned by Farmer Ernest, who explains that the farmers' market is tomorrow, and his Wumpa trees won't grow because his orchard is riddled with humongous worms, and promises to give Crash a Power Crystal in return for ridding his land of the worms (a possible parody of the often-used mission objective seen in many platformers and adventure games, notably the Spyro the Dragon series) before being blasted by Cortex (who, continuing the possible parody, remarks "This isn't a game!").[6] They clear the orchard and gain access to an area with a totem god named Tikimon, which the Evil Twins bring to life with their psychokinesis, lamenting the fact that in the 10th Dimension they don't have anything near as nice as the totem gods.[7] Luckily, Crash is able to defeat Tikimon by thowing Cortex into his throat, causing him to become inanimate once more. Upon his defeat, the Evil Twins claim that their "Vice-Versa Reverser Device" is in operation, sucking all the goodness out of this dimension and leaving behind the worst possible world. And with that, they leave.[8] All of a sudden, Cortex comes up with a plan concerning the aforementioned 10th Dimension, and decides that they shall head to Cortex's Iceberg Lair.[9] Using a tribesman's boat, they reach the Iceberg Lair.
[edit] The Iceberg Lab
Upon arriving, Cortex introduces the Iceberg Lab, stating that in the wrong hands the Iceberg Lair could actually do the world some good. When Cortex tries to open the front door, he finds that the button used to open it is frozen. With no other option, they're forced to take another path.[10] Along the way, Cortex meets up with a group of penguins who happen to own a Power Crystal. The penguins are apparently angry over their check being bounced, which Cortex blames on the poor sales of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex.[11] When fish fails to please the penguins, Cortex has no choice but to shoot them and take the Crystal. The penguins fly off, leaving the duo to adventure together. When Crash and Cortex journey further, Crash frees Uka Uka by throwing Cortex into the sheet of ice he was frozen in. When he sees that Crash and Cortex have released him, he becomes angry, and forms a body of ice to try to kill them.[12] When this fails, Uka Uka prepares to flee when Aku Aku stops him, informing him of the great evil that threatens to destroy the Earth. With this, he recruits Uka Uka, who wants to destroy the Evil Twins so that he can destroy the Earth himself.[13] When Crash and Cortex finally reach the lab, the Evil Twins arrive, using Aku Aku and Uka Uka as Halloween masks. As they brag about how they have the power over reality itself, they inadvertently reveal that they're also wealthy. Claiming that Cortex ruined their lives, they unleash a large group of ants, which the duo dispose of.[14] The Evil Twins flee. The Aku-Uka Brothers start considering handing Cortex over to the Evil Twins, with the probability of them sparing Earth. Faced with this, Cortex decides to call a truce with Crash, and they officially join forces.[15] Cortex then introduces Crash to the Psychetron, which will allow them to travel to the 10th Dimension and defeat the Evil Twins. Unfortunately, the Psychetron requires six Crystals in order to make the leap. They only have four, which is obviously not enough. All seems to be lost, but suddenly, Cortex has an idea.[16]
Crash finds Cortex at the Iceberg Lab's balcony. He points to the sea, saying that Doctor N. Gin's battleship contains the Crystals they need. But the ship is about to set sail.[17] As Cortex ponders how to get there, Crash begins to brainstorm while staring at Cortex's behind. He decides to kick it, causing Cortex to fall over (this introduces the "Humiliskate" level). At this point, Crash is able to use Cortex as a sled and make it to N. Gin's battleship in time, sledding through both Cortex's prized chicken coop and Cortex's prized adult club in the process, grabbing a Power Crystal along the way, and rolling up into a snowball (rollerbrawl).
The giant snowball Crash and Cortex create lands on Dingodile's house. Cortex is plastered into the snow, and he laments how no amount of treasure could ever compensate for the humiliation he went through. Dingodile overhears this, and assumes that the duo is going after treasure.[18] Crash decides to venture into N. Gin's battleship alone, dodging numerous missiles, grabbing a Power Crystal, and sending N. Gin's crows nest plummeting towards the battleship's deck. Crash lands in a long hallway, and is almost immediately greeted by Rusty Walrus, who wants to cook Crash as food.[19] Luckily, Crash is able to outrun the walrus and escape the battleship, only to wind up in an area filled with TNT Crates. N. Gin lands on one of them, causing them all to explode, resulting in the battleship apparently sinking and sending Crash flying. He lands on an ice platform, where he meets up with Doctor Nefarious Tropy and Doctor Nitrus Brio, who seem to know of the treasure Crash and Cortex are seeking. After Crash doesn't tell them where the treasure is, N. Tropy and N. Brio decide to "wring it out of him" [20], and N. Brio, with the aid of a potion, transforms into a large frog-like monster. After Crash defeats N. Tropy, N. Brio bodyslams the edge of the platform, catapulting Crash back to the Iceberg Lair. Upon returning to the lab, Crash finds Cortex confronted by Coco, who believes that Cortex kidnapped Crash. When she kicks him, the two Crystals they gathered fly into the Psychetron, causing a chain reaction that paralyzes Coco and damages the machine. Cortex states that only one person can fix the Psychetron: his niece Nina Cortex, whom Cortex gave cybernetic arms. She currently resides at Madame Amberly's Academy of Evil, so Crash and Cortex head to Cortex's private airship to travel there.
[edit] Madame Amberly's Academy of Evil
While in the airship, Crash and Cortex encounter the Evil Twins, who order the Ants to attack them once again, even fast-forwarding Cortex's rants to get to that stage[21]. Cortex defeats the Ants, but now the Evil Twins know where they're going. As a former student in the academy, Cortex knows a secret way to Nina's bedroom through the boiler room. On their way through the boiler room they encounter Dingodile, who now knows about the treasure. Due to Dingodile's heavy Australian accent, Cortex is unable to understand him when he asks where the treasure is, making Dingodile very angry. He blows Cortex away with his flamethrower and attacks Crash. Crash defeats Dingodile and is ejected out of the boiler room.
Crash makes his way alone through some of the classrooms until Cortex appears and tells Crash to get back to the airship and tie it to something secure. Cortex then carries on alone to Nina's bedroom, proud to see how much Nina's grown. Cortex decides to test Nina's skills, so he sends her to explore the rooftops (which are crawling with Ants). They eventually learn that Crash tied the airship to the school bus, and it is flying away with it. Nina gets the airship back but she and Cortex are attacked by Ants and flee. While Cortex runs away from them, he meets the headmistress, Madame Amberly. Cortex was never any favorite of Amberly, and when Cortex whines about being an evil scientist (not a barber as she mistakes him for)[22], she attacks him. Cortex destroys the wires holding her up, sending her plummeting to her demise. He, Crash, and Nina go back to Iceberg Lab.
In the airship Cortex suddenly recalls his past. When he was a child in the Academy of Evil, he was developing the Evolvo-Ray, phase one in his dream to create an army of superanimals. His test subjects were his two pet parrots Victor and Moritz, the only two creatures he didn't loathe or eat. When Cortex activated the Evolvo-Ray, it ended up sending them to the 10th Dimension. He had wondered where they were sent to ever since. But as Cortex puts it, "Be careful what you wish for, young man." Then young cortex says in the dream "back off grandpa" then cortex coninues "Or your wish will come true..."
[edit] Twinsanity Island
As soon as Crash, Nina and Cortex arrive at Twinsanity Island (the 10th Dimensional version of N. Sanity Island), Nina is kidnapped by Crash's 10th Dimension counterpart, Evil Crash. Crash and Cortex chase Evil Crash (in a Humiliskate chase) all the way to his hut. There, Cortex offers Evil Crash to take him instead of Nina. Evil Crash chases Cortex (in another Doc Amok), who manages to escape Evil Crash's clutches with the help of the real Crash.
When Crash, Cortex and Nina get to Victor and Moritz's stronghold, they finally find the treasure, but N. Tropy, Brio and N. Gin seem to have somehow beaten them to it and want the treasure for themselves. Cortex tries to point out that the treasure is stolen property. They won't listen to him until Cortex points out that "he" might want his gems back. It turns out that "he" is none other than Spyro the Dragon, who makes short work of the trio. [23]
Crash, Cortex and Nina finally encounter the Twins and fight them and their huge mech. Eventually, Crash is then able to defeat the Twins using the Mecha-Bandicoot, and the Twins flee... only to be eaten by Evil Crash upon arriving at his hut. Back at the Iceberg Lab, Cortex tells Crash that during their journey he's learned that "you can't run away from your mistakes". Cortex then tries to bury his mistake by using the Psychetron to finish Crash. However, one of the Psychetron's power generators bursts open and, to Coco and Nina's surprise, sends Cortex inside Crash's mind, which is full of miniature Crash clones doing the Crash Dance. Cortex reacts with a scream of terror, and Crash ends the game with a smirk (while wiping earwax on his fur).
[edit] Characters
Out of all the Crash games thus far, Twinsanity has the largest cast of characters, with a significant number of past characters reappearing during Crash's "birthday party".
| Character | English voice actor |
|---|---|
| Crash Bandicoot | N/A |
| Doctor Neo Cortex | Lex Lang |
| Nina Cortex, Madame Amberly | Susan Silo |
| Coco Bandicoot, Doctor Neo Cortex (as child) | Debi Derryberry |
| Aku Aku | Mel Winkler |
| The Evil Twins, Doctor N. Gin | Quinton Flynn |
| Papu Papu, Dingodile, Rusty Walrus | Dwight Schultz |
| Uka Uka, Farmer Ernest | Alex Fernandez |
| Doctor Nefarious Tropy | Michael Ensign |
[edit] Development
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Crash Twinsanity had a large amount of content cut out or changed (more then most games in the series) due to time constraints and multiple changes in the direction of the game. Some of this content is viewable in the Extras section, which is unlocked by collecting gems in the game. A number of levels reached a fairly advanced state of completion, before being dropped for various reasons. These included a Doc Amok level set on the sea-bed of a dried up ocean, a cyberspace level reminiscent of The Matrix and Tron in which Coco Bandicoot is controlled, and a level set inside Coco's mind (named "Gone a Bit Coco"), where Doctor Cortex fights against cute animals. There were also a large number of other ideas for levels which never got beyond the concept stage. A much longer storyboard was originally drawn up, which included a great number of extra cutscenes. A lot of these were trimmed out early on to save time in development. Crash Twinsanity went through a number of working titles before release. These included Crash Evolution, Crash Bandicoot: Fully Fluxed, Crash Bandicoot: A Whole New Dimension, and Crash Unlimited. This last name even made it onto a PAL demo of the game, OPS2M Demo 50.
The soundtrack of Crash Twinsanity, known by many players for its unusual sound and rhythm, was performed by Spiralmouth, an American contemporary a cappella band. The entire soundtrack has little or no dependence on musical instruments, most of it being done by the group's vocal talents. Spiralmouth reprised their role in the next Crash game, Crash Tag Team Racing. Interestingly, some tracks in the game are a cappella recreations of classical music, including Flight of the Bumblebee (Doc Amok levels), The Blue Danube (Totem Hokum) and Hebrides Overture (Rusty Walrus chase section of High-Seas Hijinks).
[edit] Reception
Crash Twinsanity reviewed slightly worse than The Wrath of Cortex according to average review scores taken from Metacritic and GameRankings. On PS2, Twinsanity received an aggregate score of 64% on Metacritic[24] and 67% on GameRankings[25]. The game was later released as a Greatest Hits title for the PS2 and Platinum Hits title for the Xbox.
[edit] References
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: Crash? Oh, Crash? Where are you, big brother? There's something weird going on at the bay. Come see!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: Surprised to see me, Crash? Like the fleas in your fur, I keep coming back! Three years I've spent alone in the frozen Antarctic wastes, and I missed you! And so I've organized a little gathering, like a birthday party, except... the exact opposite! And look! All of your friends are here! You're so very popular. Let's start handing out the presents.
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: Meet your brand-new, hydraulically operated twin brother... Mecha-Bandicoot! So, how was I? / Doctor N. Gin: Doctor Cortex, you were magnificent! / Doctor Neo Cortex: Of course I was, you fool! Initiate missile attack!
- ^ Victor: Cower, you fools! Before the awesome might of... the Evil Twins! / Doctor Neo Cortex: Awww, aren't you two adorable? Let me see... I might have some choccy treats here for you! / Moritz: Choccy treats?! Ooh! Ooh! (Moritz advances to Cortex but Victor stops him with his arm.) / Victor: We got some good news, and some bad. / Moritz: The bad news... we're gonna destroy your precious islands. / Victor: The good: you won't be around to see it. / Doctor Neo Cortex: How tiresome! / Victor: Oh! You wanna play mind games?! Okay, tough guy! (Cortex twitches a bit before his brain is pulled out of his head through his ear, and is pulled towards Victor. Cortex screams.) Let's play mind games! (Victor throws Cortex's brain at him.) This is the part where you run away screaming. (Cortex stands brain-dead for a moment before he finally gets the idea. He runs away screaming.) Go on! Run! / Moritz: Catch you later, brainiac!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: You... have to help me, Crash. You heard them! They want to destroy our island home, humiliate and enslave you, and steal my brain! How I envy the simple life of the tribesfolk. Living in harmony with Mother Nature, the noble boar, the humble bumblebee... (Cortex is swarmed by bumblebees. He runs away screaming.)
- ^ Farmer Ernest: Oh, Crash! The farmers' market is tomorrow, and my Wumpa trees won't grow, for my orchard is riddled with greedy worms. If you rid my land of these pests, I'll give you this Power Crystal. (Cortex shoots down Ernest and takes the Crystal.) / Doctor Neo Cortex: I'm an evil scientist. What do you expect? This isn't a game!
- ^ Victor: Anyhow, we've been taking in the sights of N. Sanity Island here. Nice digs. So much to see! So much to destroy! You've got the native village, the lava caves, the totem gods... / Moritz: Yeah! Back in the 10th Dimension, we don't have anything near as nice as the totem gods! The vivid colors, the intricate carving. Y'know, it's almost as if they're alive! / Victor: Almost... exactly as if they were alive!
- ^ Victor: Well, you gave it your best shot. But even now, our Vice-Versa Reverser Device is in operation, sucking the goodness out of this dimension, and leaving behind the worst of all possible worlds! We just like making a mess. / Moritz: See ya around, losers! Say, is it lunchtime yet?
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: 10th Dimension... Yes. Yes! In the dark ocean of my intellect swims a magnificent whale of a plan! To the laboratory! We're not beaten yet! The game is on!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: Before you rises a cathedral of diabolical genius! Scary, but in the wrong hands, this iceberg lair could do much... goodness in the world. Of course only I have the key. Observe. (Cortex tries to press a button but it is frozen. He yells out in frustration.) Follow me! I know... another way.
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: The cheque bounced? Are you sure? Well, these past few years have been kinda slow. The Wrath of Cortex didn't do as well as we've hoped, and... (The penguin squawks.) Fish? (Cortex holds a fish in front of the penguin.)
- ^ Uka Uka: My, my... Can it be? Crash and Cortex? I don't know whether to kiss you... or kill you!
- ^ Aku Aku: An evil greater than even yours threatens to destroy this world. / Uka Uka: NOOOOOO!! That's my job! / Aku Aku: Divided, we are but two magical masks. Join me, and together we will defeat this evil infestation. / Uka Uka: I like a challenge. I accept! This should be fun!
- ^ Victor: Fools! You thought these two party toys could defeat us? We are masters of the infinite dimensions! The power over reality itself! / Moritz: And riches beyond imagination! / Doctor Neo Cortex: Riches? / Victor: Riches?! What's wrong with you?! Always bringing up the riches! You don't remember us. Do you, Doctor? / Doctor Neo Cortex: Should I? / Victor: You ruined our lives! Allow us... to return the favor.
- ^ Aku Aku: If we hand him over to the Evil Twins, perhaps they will spare us. / Doctor Neo Cortex: But they'll kill me! / Uka Uka: That's a risk I'm willing to take! / Doctor Neo Cortex: Crash, I've been like a father to you. I created you, nursed you... Tried to destroy you. Truce. With my mighty intellect and your vacuous stupidity, we'll be unbeatable!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: This is the Psychetron! The gateway to the infinite dimensions! Beyond our universe, somewhere between the 9th and 11th Dimension lies the mysterious 10th Dimension, and there we must go in order to confront the Evil Twins, steal the riches, and restore the natural order of things! With me on top. We require six Power Crystals in order to make the leap, and we only have... four. So let's see... That isn't enough! All is lost! Unless...
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: There! To the sea, I tell you! Our salvation floats upon the briny blue! We must reach N. Gin's battleship, and quickly before it sets sail! But how? Think, Cortex! Think!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: I've never been so humiliated! No amount of treasure could ever be able to compensate. / Dingodile: Treasure, eh? Bonzai!
- ^ Rusty Walrus: Ah, yummy! Fresh meat for my pot!
- ^ Doctor N. Tropy: The rats are leaving the sinking ship... Tell us where the treasure is, and we'll... let you go. Silence?! Looks like we'll have to wring it out of him. Brio, get changed!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: I will... / Moritz: Bor-ring! / Doctor Neo Cortex: (extremely quickly) I will crush you like the puny bugs you are! You are nothing to me for I am the great and all powerful Neo Cortex! You infantile vermin! How dare you both manhandle and manipulate me? Rest assured, I shall wreak my terrible vengeance upon... (Cortex stops to catch his breath.) / Victor: Yeah, yeah, whatever. Skip to the good bit.
- ^ Madame Amberly: Zo, cry-baby Cortex is all grown up. I see you have found employment as a barber. / Doctor Neo Cortex: (whining) I'm an evil scientist!!
- ^ Doctor Neo Cortex: Oh my, I almost forgot! The treasure! / Doctor N. Tropy: Our treasure. / Doctor N. Gin: Yes! We are rich! / Doctor Neo Cortex: That treasure is stolen property. / Doctor N. Tropy: It's a little late to develop a conscience, doctor. / Doctor Neo Cortex: Personally, I don't care. But I think he (gestures to Spyro) might want his gems back... / (N. Tropy, N. Brio and N. Gin hesitate, before being attacked by Spyro's fire breath.)
- ^ Metacritic rating
- ^ GameRankings rating
[edit] External links
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