Crash Bandicoot: Warped

Crash Bandicoot: Warped Theme Crash Bandicoot: Warped is a platform game created and developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation. It was also released for download on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3, and can be played on PlayStation Vita via Remote Play. It was well-received publicly and critically, selling 7.13 million copies worldwide and scoring an average of 91% in Metacritic's aggregate. The game serves as a direct sequel to Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. It was the last platformer in the series developed by Naughty Dog, who then developed Crash Team Racing.

In the game's story, an ancient evil entity known as the Great Uka Uka is broken free from a temple prison by a falling section of the Cortex Vortex space station. Hearing booming laughter throughout the land, the good hearted mask Aku Aku knew exactly who it was.

It is discovered that Uka Uka has been in cahoots with Doctor Neo Cortex in his previous plans and is fuming with the doctor for losing the gems and crystals. Noting that there is no other power source left on Earth, Uka Uka and Cortex decide to search for the crystals in their original time and place through the use of the Time Twister - A time machine built by master of warp technology Doctor Nefarious Tropy.

Aku Aku, determined to stop his evil twin Uka Uka, takes Crash and Coco Bandicoot to the Time Twister so they can recover the crystals before Cortex's henchmen get their clutches on them.

A remake of Warped, along with Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back was released as part of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.

Although Warped was followed by several games in the Crash series over the proceeding two decades, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, which released on October 2, 2020, serves as a direct sequel.

Gameplay
Crash Bandicoot: Warped is a platform game in which the player takes control of Crash and Coco Bandicoot, who must travel back and forward in time and gather 25 crystals before Uka Uka and Doctor Neo Cortex can do so. Much of the game takes place in the Time Twister which acts as the hub area of the game. The Time-Twister is split up into five chambers; only the first chamber is initially available. Each chamber has five buttons that open portals to different levels. The goal in each level is to find and obtain the crystal hidden in the level. In some levels, the crystal is located inside the level. In other levels, the crystal is earned by completing a specific challenge. After completing all five levels in a chamber, a sixth button that opens a portal to a boss level will appear. By defeating the boss, the next chamber will become available for play. When all 25 Crystals are found and all five boss characters are defeated, the player has reached the first ending.

Crash and Coco start the game with 4 lives. They lose a life when they are struck by an enemy attack or suffer any other type of damage. If they are able to obtain Aku Aku masks, they can take more damage and if they collect 3 without taking damage they become invincible for a short time. More lives can be earned by collecting 100 wumpa fruit or breaking open crates which can sometimes contain an extra life. If Crash or Coco run out of lives the game is over, but can be continued after the game over screen.

Each level (with the exception of vehicle levels) contains a bonus platform that leads to a special bonus area, where the player can navigate through a side scrolling puzzle and collect futher crates, wumpa fruit and lives. No lives are lost while in the bonus stage, leaving Crash to attempt to collect everything as many times as he likes. Once the bonus level has been completed, it is then locked for the rest of the level. Bonus levels can be accessed again if the player returns to the level later in the game.

In addition to crystals, gems are another collectable in Warped. Crash is awarded gems if all of the crates in a level are broken open, or for completing a secret area usually accessable by a platform or an alternative entrance to the level. There is a total of 45 gems in this game, which includes five colored gems which are found in particularly tricky hidden sections inside certain levels. Ther five colored gems are blue, green, purple, yellow, and red.

Relics can be won by re-entering a level where the crystal has already been retrieved and initiating time trial mode and race through a level as quickly as possible. Time trials can be activated by collecting a floating clock, usually located near the start of the level. The player must then race through the level as quickly as possible in order to try and beat a set time. Certain crates throughout the level will be changed to yellow crates with the numbers 1, 2 or 3 on them, these crates can freeze the clock for the number of seconds displayed on the crate. While in time trial mode, no lives are lost, no wumpa fruit is available and there are no checkpoints available. If you succeed in beating the level in under a certain time, you can be awarded a sapphire, gold or platinum relic. The first five relics the player receives unlocks a hidden, lower level in the Time Twister along with a hidden level. Every 5 relics opens up another level in the lower level of the Time Twister, be it an all new level or an alternative entrance into another level. There are a total of 30 relics for Crash and Coco to collect across the entire game.

Story
Much of the game takes place in Nefarious Tropy's Time Twister Machine, where Crash and Coco travel through numerous periods of time. The Time Twister consists of a main level, and a hidden underground level. The main level consists of five chambers each containing six portals. Five leading to levels and a sixth one leading to the boss for that chamber.

The game takes place immediately after Cortex Strikes Back, where Dr. N. Brio used the 42 gems Crash had collected to power his giant laser to destroy Dr. N. Cortex's Cortex Vortex in revenge for Dr. Cortex betraying him. As a result of this, large chunks of debris from the Cortex Vortex plummet down to Earth and crash into an ancient monument. When the smoke clears, an evil entity flies off into the sky.

Back on N. Sanity Island, Crash, Coco, Polar and Aku Aku are relaxing after defeating Cortex's plans when an evil laughter suddenly rings through the air. Aku Aku appears shaken and urges everyone to retreat inside. He reveals that his brother, the evil Uka Uka has been freed from his prison and that "great evil has come".

Dr. Cortex, having survived the events of the previous game is then seen kneeling and cowering before Uka Uka, who is berating him for his past failures. Cortex pleads his case, blaming Crash for all his failures but Uka Uka is now out of patience. There is no other power source on the planet as the crystals and gems have been used by Crash, Coco and N.Brio to destroy the Cortex Vortex. However, as Cortex's failure had inadvertently set him free he decides to give him one final chance to prove himself.

Uka Uka then introduces Doctor Nefarious Tropy, who is the self-proclaimed master of time and the creator of the Time Twister that the trio are currently standing in who will be working with Cortex to ensure he gets it right this time. They hatch a plan to go back to collect the crystals from their original points in time.

Inside the Bandicoot House, Aku Aku tells the story of how many eons ago he managed to lock Uka Uka in an underground prison which he sealed with magic. Now he is free he must be stopped at all costs. Crash, Coco and Aku Aku then travel to the Time Twister, where their adventure begins.

After Crash and Coco have defeated everyone in their way and collected all of the crystals and gems, Crash and Aku Aku battle Cortex and Uka Uka in the core of the Time Twister. When Cortex and Uka Uka are defeated, the time twister starts to implode and opens up a massive warp portal which takes Cortex, Trophy and Uka Uka to the prehistoric past, turning the former two into babies who fight over Uka Uka. Meanwhile Crash and the others escape just in time, and go back to the Bandicoot House to enjoy the snow that has fallen while they were at the time twister.

If Crash attains 104% completion then visits Coco in the time twister she will award him with a final gem, taking the final percentage up to 105% and treating the two to a fireworks show.

Playable

 * Crash Bandicoot
 * Coco Bandicoot

Bosses

 * Tiny Tiger
 * Dingodile
 * Doctor Nefarious Tropy
 * Doctor N. Gin
 * Doctor Neo Cortex

Supporting

 * Aku Aku
 * Uka Uka
 * Pura
 * Baby T
 * Fake Crash

Cameos

 * Polar
 * Tawna

Levels
Boss fights are in bold.

Reception
Crash Bandicoot: Warped was universally acclaimed by critics, who noted a high quality in many areas, including gameplay, graphics and audio. The game went on to sell 5.7 million units as of 2002, making it the tenth best-selling PlayStation video game of all time. In Japan, the game surpassed the sales of its two predecessors and became the first non-Japanese title to sell over one million units in the country.

Johnny Ballgame of Gamepro concluded that the game was "a very strong contender for PlayStation game of the year" and that the "rowdy rowdy" gameplay will "keep your head spinning for days." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine considered the game to be "the best 2.5D platformer ever released." Ryan MacDonald of Gamespot said that Crash Bandicoot: Warped is "easily the best Crash yet," describing how all of its aspects were superior to previous installments in the series, and concluded that the game was "the most fun I've had with a 3D platform game in a long, long time." Mark Cooke of Game Revolution called the game "a barrage of good things" and said that the game's elements "all come together perfectly." Scott Alan Marriott of Allgame ("All Game Guide" at the time) considered the game to be "so impressive to watch that you'll have to keep one hand firmly below your chin to keep it from falling to the floor."

The game's graphics were lauded by critics. Johnny Ballgame praised the game's graphics as "incredibly clean" and "detailed", citing the water in the jet ski levels as "the most realistic-looking waves of any PlayStation game we've seen so far". Randy Nelson called the game "drop-dead gorgeous", detailing that "the textures are impeccable, the animation's top-notch, and the special effects kick some serious booty." Ryan MacDonald called the game "one of the most beautiful PlayStation games ever", citing the game's "smooth" character animations, "bright" and "colorful" landscapes, "gorgeous" lighting effects and a "refreshingly fast and steady" frame rate. Mark Cooke praised the game's "smooth" and "cartoonish" animation as "top of the line, bested by no other game" and its "limitless" rendering distance and "beautiful" 3D models as "the pinnacle of PlayStation rendering". However, he criticized the absence of death animations for the enemy characters. Scott Alan Marriott described the graphics as "unbelievable" and said that "everything is crystal clear, colorful, smoothly animated and extremely detailed."

The game's audio was also critically praised. Johnny Ballgame said that the sound "gets you pumped to play, especially the wicked drum beats that blare when you're charging through a level with the invincibility mask." He also commented positively on the other audio effects, such as "the boiling lava", "the raging pterodactyls" and the "zany movie voice-overs". Randy Nelson was thankful for the game's increased musical diversity in comparison to Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. Ryan MacDonald praised the music, sound effects and character voice-overs as "outstanding" and "extremely well done" and noted that the onscreen lip-synching is "almost perfectly matched to the voice." Mark Cooke said that the game's "over-exaggerated" voice-acting is "like those in good cartoons, and sometimes even better", and cited an "equally cartoonish" aspect in the music. Scott Alan Marriott described the voice-acting as "five-star quality all the way" and noted that the music "captures the level setting(s) perfectly."

As of 2002, Crash Bandicoot: Warped has sold over 5.7 million units worldwide. The game's success resulted in its re-release for the Sony Greatest Hits line-up on August 23, 1999 and for the Platinum Range in 2000.Crash Bandicoot: Warped was a bestseller in Japan, and was the first non-Japanese title to receive a "Platinum Prize" in Japan for selling over 1,000,000 units. GameInformer have placed it as their 109th best game of all time.

Gallery
See: Crash Bandicoot: Warped/Gallery

Names in other languages
While the logo and official title of the game remains unchanged in Europe, translated names can be heard on the title screen of the PAL version if the respective language is selected.

Trivia

 * Fake Crash can be seen dancing in various levels once the player achieves 100%. these levels are Toad Village, Makin' Waves, and, exclusive to the PAL version of the game, Hog Ride.
 * One of the promotional artwork of the game is based on the cover of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Moreover, Warp Orbs are based off of the spheres used by the Terminator to travel through time in the movies.
 * The title menu is completely different in the Japanese release. Crash pops up and dances, and his dance includes new moves not present in his dances in other versions.
 * The font used in the warp area for the level numbers (Lithos) was, at the time, Naughty Dog's placeholder font of choice.
 * The Japanese version has FMV extras in the game.
 * In the beginning intro, you can see Crash's old, slightly bigger surfboard hanging on the wall from Cortex Strikes Back. There are also photos of both Crash and Tawna on the mantelpiece.
 * The Arabian themed levels are based on Agrabah from Disney's Aladdin. The enemies are in red and black robes, similar to Jafar. The monkeys wear purple clothes like Abu. And there are genies on magic carpets wearing white puffy robes like Aladdin when he's transformed into Prince Ali.
 * A demo version of Spyro the Dragon can be unlocked. At the title screen, press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right and square. A new option will appear on the menu which will allow you to play the demo.
 * This game has the most levels out of any Crash Bandicoot game, along with Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex with 30 levels, excluding boss fights.
 * A special limited edition of Warped was released, containing the game, a t-shirt and a few other extras, all inside a steel box.
 * This game is Aku Aku's debut in a non-Japanese speaking role.
 * Coco has no speaking role in this game, in contrast to the previous game.
 * Crash was advertised as having about 30,000 frames of animation in the game, which Naughty Dog claimed was more than any other video game character at the time.
 * This was one of the few games to have PocketStation compatibility in Japan.
 * The Egyptian themed levels have hieroglyphs which depict Morgan T. Dog, Naughty Dog's pet mascot at the time.
 * The shape of the relics is inspired by the Egyptian hieroglyphic for "ankh", a symbol of time and eternity.
 * Cortex uses three different models over the course of the game, which results in his hair reguarly changing colour. During Tiny's boss battle his hair is purple, during talking cutscenes between levels it appears to be blue, and during his boss battle it's black.
 * There are 1,961 boxes in the game.
 * If the player takes longer than 10 minutes in time trial mode, the mode will end the the level will revert to normal. However in the PAL version, the timer freezes at 9:59:96.
 * Chase levels no longer remove Aku Aku when the level starts. However, Crash can still be killed by the chasing object (the triceratops) when protected.
 * Bonus round music borrows from the main theme. Death routes, secret entrances and gem paths all share a leitmotif.
 * Music was composed for baron, highroad and ocean levels which didn't make it to the game. The highroad version of the death route can be heard on Josh Mancell's official SoundCloud page.

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