Gaming Target - Game Boy: Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced

Written by Matt Swider on March 06, 2003

Review: Avoids the Crash and Burn syndrome of its current console counterpart!

Apparently, platform enthusiasts didn't get enough of Crash Bandicoot on the Game Boy Advance last year despite the fact that his first handheld game was titled The Huge Adventure. While this marsupial mascot may be experiencing an innovative stalemate on the current line of consoles, it was only a matter of months before the Bandicoot was back on the Game Boy Advance. Both Universal Interactive and Vicarious Visions returned to create Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, so the game should be a familiar run for players of their previous Crash adventure. However, just because N-Tranced takes place where The Huge Adventure left off, it doesn't mean the second installment contains mere leftovers. In fact, this game features Crash in a fresh platform predicament that boasts more energy and excitement than his initial handheld escapade.

Since Dr. Cortex failed to dominate Earth by shrinking its size in The Huge Adventure, two more malicious masterminds try their luck at controlling the planet. Uka Uka, the evil mask and twin brother of Aku Aku, and his partner Dr. Nafarious Tropy, the Crash nemesis known for his powers of space and time, devise a scheme to brainwash the Bandicoot bunch into working on their side. This is where they introduce N. Trance, a new recruit who possesses the hypnotic powers to get the job done. He manages to brainwash and bag both Coco and Crunch, but Crash is spared in the process of being abducted. N. Trance is left with a fake version of Crash as well as Coco and Crunch, which are all used against you throughout the game. Crash, along with his mask friend Aku Aku, end up being trapped inside a dimensional bubble.

The boiled down objective of Crash Bandicoot 2 entails collecting crystals to escape the bubble world and fighting your mind-warped buddies to return them to their normal condition. If most of the details surrounding the plot seem long and pointless, that's because most of them are. But then again, the storyline has never made this marsupial special. The real charm of Crash Bandicoot games has always centered on his running, jumping, and variety of ways to destroy crates in a linear fashion, all of which is reflects Sonic or even Mario classics.

Most of Crash Bandicoot 2 takes the form of a 2D side-scrolling game. However, its visual appeal is sweeter than the wumpa fruits you collect. The animated characters and scrolling backdrops paint a variety of colorful environments within this bubble world, which is less linear than the first game. In fact, broadness of this game doesn't stop with branching pathways. Those familiar chase sequences return, only Crash is now on a wakeboard and is always dodging a Jaws-sized shark. Coco also gets a moment in the sun, or near the sun, when she suits up for some less than impressive space stages. N-Tranced premieres a couple of УAtlas SphereФ levels in which players roll through the given course in a fashion that resembles Marble Madness. Judging from the efforts put forth, it seems as if Vicarious Visions used its half-pipe experience from the Tony Hawk series rather well.

Crash has tight controls and many Bandicoot abilities fit for the star of a platform game. After advancing through the levels and defeating the boss of each area, Crash will learn a new move to help in his efforts. This is especially useful towards the end of the game when challenges become rather frustrating or when attempting to master the time trial test of each stage you've beaten thus far. Either way, Crash carries some stiff controls, but a wide variety of moves to overcome any competition. Things loosen up when listening to the game's lively music. Though the songs and sound effects become a tad tiresome at points, all of the audio elements maintain Crash's trademark mind-set.

N-Tranced extends its lifespan with a handful of extras via a link cable, additional Game Boy Advance, and another Crash cartridge. This means that you and a friend can take part in either a race for the fastest time or battle it out in a number of Atlas Sphere challenges. You could say, that both are more fun than a barrel full of bandicoots. Besides the pair of the two-player match-ups, N-Tranced possesses backwards-compatibility with The Huge Adventure. Though it merely unlocks playable characters within N-Tranced, the option provides one last hurrah for owners of the original.