In 2003, GameBoy Advance visited a game called Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced. It's worth noting that the second one was only in the portable series - in chronological order it was the eighth in a row. Vicarious Visions stood at the helm, already noted Crash Nitro Kart. The game was a platformer with a side view and was more like an adaptation of the classic Naughty Dog than an independent project. Too faithful following the canon played a cruel joke with the project, but, nevertheless, many critics liked the release. There was good graphics and general dynamics of the gameplay process. But the rest of the elements were not taken so unambiguously. The biggest complaints were about the minigames, which were called "disappointing" because of the strange physics, as well as the low level of difficulty that couldn't make any challenge. How well-deserved were these reviews? Let's get to the bottom of this.
Plot
The introductory video shows us the space hall from Crash Bash, where the dialogue between Uka-Uka and Nefarius Tropy takes place. The evil mask says that he is tired of Dr. Neo Cortex's constant defeats and begins to think that he has gotten involved with this loser in vain. He says he now wants to give up the reins of Tropy's rule, believing that he will prove himself to be a much better man. Tropy, in turn, uses his time and looks to the future. There he finds out that they may still need Kresh's family, so don't kill them. Together with his new recruit named N. Trans, the villain kidnaps the bandits and teleports them to his base. N. Trans uses his ability of hypnosis to set the heroes against Kresh, who managed to escape safely. By mistake, instead of Kresh, the villains catch Fake Kresh. Now our incomparable gangster and his faithful companion Aku-Aku have to go on a dangerous adventure to save their friends and restore balance in the world.
Here is such a strange, crumpled plot. Nevertheless, the scenario offers us very interesting situations - Kresh will have to fight with his own friends who are against him. And this is almost the only game where there is no main antagonist of the whole series - Dr. Neo Cortex. And, it seems, this is the first game where Fake Cresh is given more or less important role. If he used to be some kind of joke, here we see how he gradually grows into his own personality and becomes a full-fledged character.
Sadly, the story is presented not through full-fledged clips, but through partially animated slides with the text of the dialogues. It ruins the whole dynamic. But it is possible to understand it - most likely, the given step is caused by technical restrictions of the console.
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced introduces us to a new villain named N. Trans. This is a pink, egg-like creature that has hypnotic powers. He has a claw in which the clock is built in - a symbol that obviously shows his affinity with N. Tropy. Personally, I thought the character design was too simple and charismatic. Well, he also had one eye that was three times as big as the other. To emphasize his insanity? Or just for the sake of laughter? A riddle.
Gameplay
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is a two-dimensional side-scrolling platformer. Since, from the very first part, Kreisch was conceived as a character designed to unleash the full potential of 3D, placing him in a flat environment looks kind of crazy. But given the potential of GameBoy Advance, you can't count on anything else. As you go through it, you might justly feel like you're playing a portable version of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped for the poor - with the third part, there's plenty of levels to match, and the special tricks come from there don't seem to change at all! But it's all in order.
The basic principles remain the same. The crush has to collect the crystal at each level to go to the next one. His life is very fragile - every unsuccessful collision with the enemy almost always means the imminent death of the marsupial. To save you from the unfortunate fate you can only have a mask, which can be purchased by breaking the appropriate box. If you collect the mask twice, it will change its color, reporting that it has become stronger (like Sparks in Spyro the Dragon). Well, if you have collected three masks, Kresh will put Aku-Aku on his face and become temporarily invulnerable. The hunger of the bandit is still quenched by the same vampire fruits, chaotically scattered around the perimeter of the level in the manner of gold rings from the Sonic the hedgehog series. Collect a hundred of these and get an extra life.
Boxes play an important role. There are almost a dozen of them and each of them requires its own approach. Normal crates have one fruit in them. Tougher crates can contain ten fruits, but they can only be obtained by jumping on the crate. The box will act like a spring. If you destroy it with a whirlwind movement, your hero will not get any fruit. There are boxes with the letter "C" - these are control points that are activated by rotation. However, on the way Kresh can meet and such boxes, which are better to bypass the side. The first type is the red box with the explosive substance, which is activated instantly in case of whirlwind movement and gradually if you jumped on it. And the second type is the so-called Nitro, which carries the intestines on the asphalt at any touch.
The crush can attack the enemy either by jumping from above or by whirling. It's worth noting that each level has its own type of enemies, and each one needs to be supported by a specific tactic. For example, one enemy can be well protected from above, but is completely harmless when hit from the front, and vice versa, another bastard can be equipped with side armor, but is completely helpless when hit from above.
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