Crash Bash

Crash Bash Theme Crash Bash (Crash Bandicoot Carnival in Japan) is a game released for the PlayStation in November 2000, primarily intended as a multiplayer game, although it is also compatible with single player. It was the first game in the Crash Bandicoot series not to be produced by Naughty Dog; instead, it was created and developed by Eurocom. It was the second game in the Crash series to be capable of using a multitap, following Crash Team Racing which was released in September 1999.

Story
In a temple somewhere in Hyperspace, Aku Aku and Uka Uka are arguing over who is truly stronger. The two come to an agreement that they need to settle the argument. Uka Uka proposes a fight, but Aku Aku declines, stating that no malice can come between them. Uka Uka then proposes a contest between their friends and his minions instead, which Aku Aku agrees to.

A few moments later, Crash Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex are summoned to the temple. Uka Uka explains the rules whilst summoning more characters - Coco Bandicoot for Aku Aku's team, and Tiny Tiger, Doctor Nitrus Brio, Rilla Roo, Dingodile and Koala Kong for his team. Aku Aku immediately protests, challenging Uka Uka's confidence by insisting he must make the teams fair. Uka Uka allows Aku Aku to choose two of his team, Tiny and Dingodile being the ones chosen. The contest begins.

The player goes through the minigames winning Trophies and eventually earning Gems and Crystals, which Uka Uka finds incredibly useful. Aku Aku later finds out that his brother intends to steal the crystals and harness their power.

There are three possible ways the ending can go.

After the final boss, Nitros Oxide is defeated, the ending plays, with the outcome being whatever side the player's character is playing for, good (Aku Aku) or evil (Uka Uka). Both of the endings take place in the hyperspace temple.

If the player is good, the ending starts with Uka Uka screaming at how he has lost. Aku Aku reveals that he knew that his evil brother had a plan to steal the crystals. He also always predicted that good would always triumph over evil. Uka Uka loses his temper and attacks Cortex and Brio for failing him. Aku Aku meanwhile, stashes the crystals in a secret compartment, stating that their far too powerful to leave lying around. Uka Uka launches into an angry meltdown. Suddenly, a hole on the floor of the temple opens up and a swirling vortex sucks Uka Uka out, with Aku Aku stating it as the penalty for disturbing the crystals. The final shot is of Uka Uka screaming as he gets banished to deep space.

If the player is evil however, the ending shows a sinister looking storm passing through the galaxy, announcing that Uka Uka has won. Oddly in this ending, Aku Aku has no idea of Uka Uka's plan to steal the crystals, which he only finds out after his brother actually reveals it to him. Aku Aku is stumped at how naive he has been in thinking that good can truly be more powerful than evil. While Uka Uka is harnessing the crystals energy, Aku Aku laments that now that Uka Uka has the crystals, the Earth is surely doomed. He pleads to Crash and Coco to run and save themselves. The final scene see's the victories Uka Uka booming that there is nowhere to hide from his wrath.

After Oxide's defeat in CO-OP adventure, if one player is good and the other is evil, Aku Aku and Uka Uka will set a secret Crate Crush match and the team will have to face each other and win three times for the ending.

Good Side (Aku Aku's Side)

 * Crash Bandicoot
 * Coco Bandicoot
 * Tiny Tiger
 * Dingodile

Evil Side (Uka Uka's Side)

 * Doctor Neo Cortex
 * Doctor Nitrus Brio
 * Koala Kong
 * Rilla Roo

Neutral Side

 * Fake Crash (Only in Japanese version)

Bosses
The bosses are variants of other Mini Games.
 * Boss 1 Papu Papu (in the style of Crate Crush)
 * Boss 2 Bearminator (in the style of Polar Push)
 * Boss 3 Komodo Brothers (in the style of Tank Wars)
 * Boss 4 Nitros Oxide (in the style of Crash Dash / Ballistix)

Cameos

 * Ripper Roo (In the El Pogo Loco Mini Game)
 * Doctor N. Gin (In the N. Ballism Mini Game)
 * Penta Penguin (In the Snow Bash Mini Game)

Ballistix
Taking place in a square shaped arena, the player must use their hover ship to block and deflect steel balls into the opponents' goals. The balls are released into the arena and gain speed as the level progresses.


 * Crashball
 * Beach Ball
 * N. Ballism
 * Sky Balls

Polar Push
The player rides a polar bear cub and tries to knock their opponents off the icy platform they are standing on. The polar bears have a stamina meter which quickly increases. Charging at another player takes half of it away. There is also a floating device that gives out power ups such as lightning or making a character huge, but can give negative effects such as an anvil or shrink a player. In Melt Panic, however, the beam is controlled by Uka Uka, and always produces negative effects.


 * Polar Panic
 * Tilt Panic
 * Melt Panic
 * Manic Panic

Pogo Pandemonium
The objective of the game is to use jumping sticks (for example Crash and Coco use pogo sticks while Tiny and Koala use bouncy springs) to jump on squares and cover them with the character's assigned color and then turn the squares into points by breaking purple ! crates. There are speedy boots to help go faster and missiles to stun an opponent. The player can also take control of an opponent's route and keep jumping around until the time runs out. In Pogo-a-Gogo, the way to gain points is different, as the player is required to encircle areas of their own section of the arena.


 * Pogo Painter
 * Pogo-a-Gogo
 * El Pogo Loco
 * Pogo Padlock

Crate Crush
This style of minigame is an all out war with the players throwing crates at each other, dealing great amounts of damage. There are also TNTs and nitro crates to watch out for. Obviously even touching a nitro is deadly. The player can also hurt others by kicking. (ie; spinning with Crash or Brio blasting his ray gun.)


 * Jungle Bash
 * Space Bash
 * Snow Bash
 * Drain Bash

Tank Wars
The player takes control of a tank and can fire their turret at opponents. Depending what character it is, the weaponry is different. (Like Koala and Tiny fire spiked canon balls while Cortex and Brio shoot plasma.)


 * Desert Fox
 * Metal Fox
 * Jungle Fox
 * Swamp Fox

Crash Dash
In this minigame style, the players take control of a hovercraft similar to Oxide's one (Although in Splash Dash they ride various sea creatures) and race around a circular arena ten times. Crash Dash is often considered one of the hardest minigame genres as many players have difficulty with it.


 * Dot Dash
 * Toxic Dash
 * Dante's Dash
 * Splash Dash

Medieval Mayhem
Unlike all the other minigame genres, the minigames here are all very different and the only things they have in common is that they have a medieval setting and they are all point-based. The last three only appear on the fifth Warp Room.


 * Ring Ding
 * Dragon Drop
 * Mallet Mash
 * Keg Kaboom

Additions
Radically different from the previous games in the series, this game is often compared to the Mario Party series for the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii. Every level is a minigame with various tasks which need to be completed in order to obtain prizes. The ending differs depending on what side (good or evil) you decide to enter story mode with.

Naming of Minigames
In this game, a minigame's type (excluding boss fights) can be determined from the name of the minigame.
 * Levels with "ball" in their names are Ballistix minigames.
 * Levels with "panic" in their names are Polar Push minigames.
 * Levels with "pogo" in their names are Pogo Pandemonium minigames.
 * Levels with "bash" in their names are Crate Crush minigames.
 * Levels with "fox" in their names are Tank Wars minigames.  This additionally applies to the boss fight Big Bad Fox.
 * Levels with "dash" in their names are Crash Dash minigames.
 * The Medieval Mayhem minigames are the only type without any common word in their names.  These minigames are Ring Ding, Dragon Drop, Mallet Mash, and Keg Kaboom.  However, the names of these levels still show that they are Medieval Mayhem minigames, since these are the only minigames without any of the words "ball", "panic", "pogo", "bash", "fox", or "dash" in their names.

Reception
Upon its release, the game has recieved fairly positive reviews from critics and sold well. However, critical reception from most fans have been mixed-to-positive, due to Naughty Dog dropping off from the series, who would later move on to developing the Jak & Daxter series. GamesRadar described the game as "more four-player fun than even Ron Jeremy could offer. GamesPro noted that the collection of minigames were "tailor made for up to four player competition" and went on to say that it is "not to say that Crash Bash can't be played alone, but when there's a room full of people, Crash Bash suddenly becomes ten times more fun." Games Revolution praised the "solid" graphics, amount of minigames and "great" multiplayer, and said that "the sheer variety of games will entertain most any party for hours on end (or at least until the beer runs out.) IGN concluded that "it's not original and it's not deep, but it's packed with tons of silly games and it's a social magnet amongst the geek elite. GameSpot   described Crash Bash as "utterly run of the mill, completely middle of the road. Its flaws may not be glaring, but there isn't a single aspect of the game that truly shines through." Despite having a mixed critical reaction from most fans, the game was very popular.

Quotes
Crash Coco Bandicoot Doctor Neo Cortex Doctor Nitrus Brio Koala Kong Rilla Roo Dingodile Tiny Tiger
 * Whoa
 * He He Ha Ha
 * Ow-Uh
 * (clucks like a chicken)
 * Ha Ha Ha Ha
 * UMMPPPHHH
 * (whistles)
 * Muahahahahahaha
 * UUUGGHH
 * Whoooaa
 * Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
 * Wahahaha!
 * Oof!
 * Roar ha ha ha ha
 * (Roars threatingly)
 * Growl
 * OOOOHHHHHH!!!!
 * Oh oh Oh Oh
 * Ooh!
 * Ooh ooh ooh!
 * 'Roar!
 * Grunt!
 * (laughs)
 * ROARAHAHA!
 * YOWW!!
 * (growls)

Trivia

 * There are many maps throughout the game which are references to Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, such as Space Bash (a reference to the future levels) and Keg Kaboom (a reference to the Medieval levels). Some of the music is also remixed from Crash Bandicoot: Warped.
 * This game was the Komodo Brothers's last non-cameo appearance in a Crash game.
 * This is the first Crash game that was not made by Naughty Dog.
 * Other than the PAL cover of Crash Bandicoot: Warped and the N-Gage version cover of Crash Nitro Kart, this is the only game in the series to have Tiny Tiger on the box art.
 * This is the first Crash Bandicoot party game.