Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Developer(s)	Vicarious Visions
Publisher	Universal Interactive Konami (Japan)
Release date(s)	February 25, 2002 March 15, 2002 July 18, 2002
Genre(s)	Platformer
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone
Console(s)	Game Boy Advance
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Cartridge

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, also known as Crash Bandicoot XS (a shortening of "extra small") in Europe, is a platform game released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. It was developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive in North America, Europe, and Australia and Konami in Japan. It is the first Crash Bandicoot game that was released for a handheld, excluding Tiger Electronics' 99x Games from the 1990s. Since its release, Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure has been included on some Crash Superpack carts. In 2003, the game received a direct sequel, Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced.

Plot

Cortex holding Earth after he shrunk it with the Planetary Minimizer

In a Space Station orbiting Earth, Uka Uka is mad at Dr. Neo Cortex for constantly failing at his evil plans. Cortex begs for mercy and explains that he wasted years of trying to get rid of Crash Bandicoot. Cortex dismisses Crash as unimportant and chooses to pursue a new and different goal—conquering Earth. Cortex tells Uka Uka that his plan is to shrink the entire planet.

Once Cortex completes the Planetary Minimizer, he uses it to shrink Earth to the size of a grapefruit. Dr. Cortex televises himself, taunting the entire planet and proclaiming himself as their new ruler. Aku informs Crash and Coco about the event and tells them that the planet needs their help. Coco figures out that Cortex is using crystals as the power source for the Planet Minimizer. Coco tells Crash to find the crystals so that she can try and make a device that returns Earth to its original size. Aku wishes luck to Crash as he begins his adventure.

Crash accesses the levels from the Warp Room using portals. He encounters three of Cortex's henchmen along the way, Dingodile, N. Gin, and Tiny Tiger. Crash eventually reaches the Space Station, where he encounters Cortex. He tries to shrink Crash with the Planetary Minimizer, but Crash tricks Cortex into firing the colored gems that stabilize the machine. This causes the Planetary Minimizer to malfunction.

There are two endings for game. If Crash has not collected every gem and relic, the Planetary Minimizer breaks down but is not entirely destroyed. Coco uses all 20 crystals to power her machine, and meanwhile, as Earth returns to its original size, Crash rides a motorcycle-like vehicle in space and re-enters Earth. Back at home, Aku warns Crash that Cortex is still an active threat because the machine is not completely destroyed. In the 100% ending, the Planetary Minimizer is destroyed entirely, and its unrestrained effects fuse Cortex and the previous bosses into a single monster named Mega-Mix. Crash runs down the space station's hallway while being chased by Mega-Mix. Like the unfinished ending, Crash escapes from the Space Station on a motorcycle-like vehicle and returns to Earth on time, when Coco uses her machine to reverse its effects. The Space Station explodes, but Cortex and the other bosses escape in an escape pod as the text "The End?!" is shown on-screen.

Chronology placement

Since the game has extreme similarities with the earlier games from Naughty Dog, in gameplay and story aspect, The Huge Adventure seemingly takes place after the events of Warped. However, its sequel N-Tranced has a character named Crunch Bandicoot, who appeared earlier in The Wrath of Cortex. N-Tranced iteration is presumably the same one from the former game. Due to possible plot changes and circumstances, The Huge Adventure and N-Tranced do not precede other mainline games like Twinsanity (despite featuring Crunch's cameo in the game), thus creating an alternative narrative to the first four games from the main series.

Gameplay

Crash selecting a level in the Warp Room

Gameplay screenshot of Crash and Aku Aku in the first level, Jungle Jam.

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure plays like a traditional 2D platformer, although the sky levels and chase areas within ice caverns are 2.5D environments. The game plays similarly to the first three Crash Bandicoot games for the PlayStation.

The levels are accessed from the Warp Room, which consists of four hubs. Each hub has five levels, which can be completed in any order. The levels are accessed from individual portals, each numbered 1-5, from left to right. After completing a level, Crash unlocks a Time Trial mode for that level. The boss portal is unlocked when all five levels of the hub is completed. Instead of a number, boss portals depict an icon of the boss fought. When Crash defeats a boss for the first time, he unlocks the next hub. In the Warp Room, Crash is always standing on a circular stone platform, which moves him between the level portals. The stone platform can also move Crash up to the next hub or back down to the previous one.

From the start, Crash can perform six basic moves, including Jump, Spin Attack, Slide, High Jump, Body Slam, and Crouch. After defeating a boss, Crash unlocks a Special Move, most of which are an enhancement over a basic move. Crash starts his adventure with five lives. He can earn another life by collecting 100 Wumpa Fruits or breaking open a Crash Crate and collecting the Crash head. If Crash breaks open an Aku Aku Crate, the Aku Aku is freed, and it follows alongside Crash. It gives Crash an extra hit point. If Crash breaks three Aku Aku Crates without losing Aku Aku, he is granted temporary invincibility.

The main collectible item are Crystals, and there are a total of 20, one for each level. Other collectible items are Clear Gems, Colored Gems, and Relics. A Clear Gem is awarded to Crash if he breaks every crate in a level or completes a secret area. A Colored Gem is hidden within certain level, usually in a hard-to-reach location. Crash is awarded a Relic if he completes a level in Time Trial mode. While Crash is standing on a level portal, an icon of him and the world boss are displayed at the top-left corner. The crystal, gem and relic icons to the right of the boss icon indicates that Crash has not yet obtained those items. Items to the right of Crash's icon are those that he already obtained.

There is no multiplayer mode for the game, although the "Load Link Game" option allows two players to use the GBA Game Link Cable to transfer their save files to the other system. The transferred save can then be loaded and saved to one of the four in-game save slots.

In "Time Trial" mode, Crash's objective is to race within the pre-designated time shown before he enters a level (the time beneath it is the player's best time). The Time Trial mode does not immediately start when Crash enters a level, and can be activated if Crash jumps at a golden stopwatch at the start of the level. This causes a timer to appear on the bottom-right corner of the screen. If Crash does not touch the stopwatch, he goes through the level as normal. In the mode, several Time Boxes are scattered throughout the level. They stop the timer for either 1–3 seconds, based on which number appears on the Time Box. If Crash completes a level quickly enough, he earns a colored relic—from longest to shortest time: Sapphire, Gold or Platinum.

Listings

Characters

Name	Description
Crash Bandicoot	The main and titular protagonist, Crash Bandicoot goes on an adventure to return Earth to its original size.
Aku Aku	A witch doctor mask that allows Crash to withstand a few more hits.
Coco Bandicoot	She is the intelligent younger sister of Crash. Coco designs a machine to reverse the Planetary Minimizer's effects.
Polar	Crash rides Polar in some ice cavern levels, in parts where they must escape from a Yeti.

Bosses

Name	Description
Dr. Neo Cortex	Neo Cortex is the main villain and final boss. He uses his Planetary Minimizer to shrink Earth so that he can conquer it.
Dingodile	A flamethrower-wielding dingo-crocodile hybrid who is the first boss.
Dr. N. Gin	The cyborg assistant Cortex and the second boss. During the boss fight, Doctor N. Gin is not directly fought but his airship is.
Tiny Tiger	A large, muscular tiger and the third boss. He carries around a spear with him.
Mega-Mix	Mega-Mix is a fusion of Cortex and the other bosses. It is an extra boss fought after the Cortex if Crash obtained all collectibles.
Uka Uka	The evil twin brother of Aku Aku and overseer of Cortex's world domination plan. Uka Uka is the only main villain who is not fought as a boss.

Enemies

• Electric Eel
• Frog
• Gecko
• Jellyfish
• Lab Assistant
• Moray Eel
• Penguin
• Polar Bear
• Pufferfish
• Rat
• Scrubber
• Seal
• Shark
• Sparky Tentaclebot Unit
• Spike Lizard
• Squid
• Sewer Mech
• Venus Fly Trap
• Yeti

Items

Sprite	Name	Description
	Clear Gem	Rewarded for breaking all crates in either a level or a bonus room.
	Colored Gem	A set of four gems that are each hidden in a different level.
	Crystal	It is the power source for Cortex's Planetary Minimizer. There are 20 in total, and Crash must collect them for Coco to create a device that reverses the effects.
	Relic	Rewarded for completing a level's Time Trial faster than the default time. There are three types that can be rewarded, from longest to shortest completion time: Sapphire, Gold, or Platinum.
	Super Move	A Super Move is an new move that Crash acquires after defeating a boss. Most of them are an upgrade to a basic move. There are four Super Moves, acquired in order of: Super Body Slam, Double Jump, Tornado Spin, and Turbo Run.
	Wumpa Fruit	Collecting 100 of these grants an extra life to Crash.

Objects

Sprite	Name	Description
	Crate	Basic crates that contain Wumpa Fruit.
	Aku Aku Crate	The crate releases an Aku Aku when broken.
	Bouncy Box	These act like Spring Boxes but cannot be destroyed.
	Bouncy Crate	Wooden crates that bounce Crash into the air and give him an extra boost in height.
	Checkpoint Crate	If Crash breaks one of these and loses a life some time after, he will restart at the Checkpoint Crate's location.
	Crash Crate	Contains a Crash head, which grants an extra life to Crash.
	Mystery Crate	It either contains an extra life or some Wumpa Fruit. In bonus rooms, it might contain an Aku Aku.
	Nitro Crate	Dangerous boxes that instantly destroy Crash if he touches them, even if he is with Aku Aku.
	Nitro Switch Box	Touching one causes every Nitro Crate in the level to detonate. A Nitro Switch Box is usually in a level with Nitro Crates.
	Outline Box	These are outlines of a box. Crash can jump on a Switch Box to reveal their contents.
	Slot Box	A box that quickly switches between pictures, usually a 1-up, a blank, and a question mark. The result depends on the image shown when Crash breaks the Slot Box. These boxes slowly move faster before turning into a Steel Crate.
	Spring Box	They act like the Bouncy Crate, except Crash can obtain Wumpa Fruit while jumping on one until it breaks.
	Steel Crate	Strong crates that Crash can only destroy by performing a Body Slam on them.
	Switch Box	They replace each Outline Box with a crate.
	Time Box	Found only in Time Trial mode, these boxes stop the timer for 1–3 seconds, depending on which number is on the box.
	TNT Crate	When Crash jumps on a TNT Crate, it triggers a 3-second countdown, after which the crate explodes. If Crash is caught within a TNT Crate explosion or spins into one, he loses a life.

Levels

Every level and boss level has a theme. There are six different themes: jungle, underwater, ice cavern, sewers, sky, and outer space.

Warp Area 1
No.	Level	Collectibles	Crates	Relic times	Theme
1	Jungle Jam		42	Sapphire: 0:35.50 Gold: 0:27.50 Platinum: 0:23.30	Jungle
2	Shipwrecked		63	Sapphire: 1:17:70 Gold: 1:07:70 Platinum: 00:54:40	Underwater
3	Temple of Boom		74	Sapphire: 1:02:70 Gold: 00:55:70 Platinum: 00:49:00	Jungle
4	Frostbite Cavern		114	Sapphire: 1:31:70 Gold: 1:17:10 Platinum: 1:06:00	Ice cavern
5	Just in Slime		134	Sapphire: 1:39:40 Gold: 1:15:60 Platinum: 1:06:50	Sewers
Boss fight: Dingodile					Underwater
Warp Area 2
6	Snow Crash		92	Sapphire: 1:43.00 Gold: 1:36.70 Platinum: 1:28.00	Ice cavern
7	Rocket Racket		37	Sapphire: 2:30.20 Gold: 2:17.50 Platinum: 2:05.00	Sky
8	Just Hangin'		154	Sapphire: 1:49.40 Gold: 1:43.00 Platinum: 1:27.00	Sewer
9	Shark Attack		26	Sapphire: 1:31.60 Gold: 1:17.00 Platinum: 1:09.40	Underwater
10	Ruined		89	Sapphire: 2:41.80 Gold: 2:38.80 Platinum: 2:00.00	Jungle
Boss fight: N. Gin					Sky
Warp Area 3
11	Snow Job		96	Sapphire: 2:12.10 Gold: 2:08.00 Platinum: 2:04.40	Ice cavern
12	Ace of Space		194	Sapphire: 1:58.40 Gold: 1:55.80 Platinum: 1:39.50	Space
13	Sunken City		54	Sapphire: 1:39.60 Gold: 1:21.70 Platinum: 1:14.20	Underwater
14	Down the Hole		97	Sapphire: 1:32.40 Gold: 1:23.40 Platinum: 1:07.40	Jungle
15	Blimp Bonanza		41	Sapphire: 2:58.20 Gold: 2:44.90 Platinum: 2:36.30	Sky
Boss fight: Tiny Tiger					Jungle
Warp Area 4
16	Star to Finish		113	Sapphire: 2:07.60 Gold: 1:59.50 Platinum: 1:44.10	Space
17	Air Supply		49	Sapphire: 2:09.30 Gold: 1:50.40 Platinum: 1:41.70	Underwater
18	No-Fly Zone		56	Sapphire: 3:26.30 Gold: 3:17.10 Platinum: 3:09.60	Sky
19	Drip, Drip, Drip		125	Sapphire: 2:28.40 Gold: 1:37.00 Platinum: 1:29.60	Sewer
20	Final Countdown		119	Sapphire: 2:30.40 Gold: 2:13.80 Platinum: 1:58.20	Space
Boss fight: Neo Cortex					Space
Boss fight: Mega-Mix					Space

Development

This section uses content from Wikipedia (view authors), and falls under the compatible Creative Commons license.

The game stemmed from an agreement between Universal Interactive Studios and Konami in September 2000. This allowed them to respectively develop and publish a Crash Bandicoot game for next-generation consoles, including the Game Boy Advance, and ended the Crash Bandicoot franchise's exclusivity to Sony consoles.

In December 2000, Vicarious Visions approached Universal and demonstrated some of their technology for the Game Boy Advance. Universal was impressed and commissioned a prototype, which resembled a handheld version of the first three Crash Bandicoot games. Vicarious Visions was then assigned to develop a Crash Bandicoot game for the Game Boy Advance.

The game was tentatively titled Crash Bandicoot Advance and went through the titles Crash Bandicoot X/S and then Crash Bandicoot: The Big Adventure before arriving at its final name, although Crash Bandicoot XS would become the name in PAL territories. The game was developed over the course of nine months from conception to completion. The team working on the game expanded to as much as seven programmers at the height of the game's development. The graphics and animation for the game were created in Maya.

Some of the original animation and textures from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped were repurposed and used as a basis for the Game Boy Advance game. The audio for the game was supplied by Shin'en Multimedia, with assistance from Universal Sound Studios. Manfred Linzner created the sound effects and Todd Masten composed the music. According to the developers, they have the battery save feature since the start, as a password system would make it very cumbersome to keep track of all the data.

Reception

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure received generally favorable reviews from critics. The game was praised for its graphics and overall design, but critics also noted that the game had a lack of innovation.

Reviews
Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Craig Harris, IGN	9/10	"There's no doubt that Universal Interactive gave Vicarious Visions a lengthy development cycle for Crash Bandicoot's first outing beyond a Sony game system -- the design on the Game Boy Advance is amazingly tight with solid controls and level design. And because the game offers different styles of gameplay throughout the adventure, The Big Adventure is a GBA game that doesn't get old quickly...and the inclusion of the Time Trial challenges and hidden gems makes the game even more challenging for players who are up to it. Crash Bandicoot's handheld debut is much recommended, and I can't wait to see what's next for this marsupial in future GBA installments...there's a lot more for this fuzzball to do on the portable."
Giancarlo Varanini, GameSpot	7.4/10	"Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure is a worthy addition to the series. For the most part, the controls are solid, and the graphics--while lacking a little variety--are done very well on the Game Boy Advance hardware. But ultimately, The Huge Adventure is a fairly basic platformer that doesn't really have some of the innovation of other Game Boy Advance platformers. Still, if you're willing to give Crash a try, its 20 levels as well as its time attack and gem-collecting modes should give you a solid gaming experience."
Scott Osborne, GameSpy	86/100	"Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure won't wow you with anything really new, but if you want a traditional platformer done right, this is definitely one to play."
Aggregators
Compiler	Platform / Score
Metacritic	78

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure.

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