Aku Aku

Aku Aku (Japanese: アクアク) is an ancient spirit that lives within a mask and guides Crash and his friends as they defeat forces of evil. He has appeared in every Crash Bandicoot game, and is one of the most famous characters of the series. He acts as Crash's sidekick.

History
Hundreds of years before the mutation of Crash Bandicoot, Aku Aku was a powerful witch doctor that lived in the Wumpa Islands. When he died, his spirit remained in the islands possessing a totem mask. Aku Aku acts through the mask and can rebuild it in case of a rupture. Aku Aku has an evil brother, named Uka Uka, who also turned his spirit into a mask. When Uka Uka planted the Uka Tree, Aku Aku defeated him, and then locked him up in the Mojo Temple, from where he never escaped, until the events of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, when the last few pieces of the Cortex Vortex freed him.

Crash Bandicoot 1
After Crash is discarded by Cortex and washes up on N. Sanity Beach, he is introduced to Aku Aku, who provides his magical services throughout the game by scattering Aku Aku crates all across the three islands. Aku Aku does not have a speaking role in this game, aside from the chant heard whenever a mask is collected.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Once again, Aku Aku aids Crash in his adventure by providing protection. He is still capable of little speech.

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
For the first time in the series, Aku Aku has the ability to talk in full sentences. After a piece of shrapnel from the Cortex Vortex plummets to Earth and demolishes Uka Uka's underground prison, Aku Aku hears his evil laughter in the distance and tells Crash and Coco of how he sealed him there eons before to protect the world from his malice. He brings them to the Time Twister machine and instructs them to collect the crystals scattered across time before Cortex and Uka Uka do so. Later, he appears in the final battle against Cortex, locked in a fierce battle with Uka Uka; the two of them soon become an obstacle in themselves which Crash must avoid along with Cortex's attacks. Crash defeats Cortex, but the Time Twister malfunctions and self destructs, sending Cortex and Uka Uka into a time portal. Having just escaped, Crash, Coco and Aku Aku are seen in their home. Aku Aku tells them that the Time Twister could not hold itself together, and that Cortex and his baddies will probably not be seen for a long time; meanwhile, Cortex and N. Tropy fight over Uka Uka as infants.

Crash Team Racing
Aku Aku gives helpful tips to Crash, Coco, Pura and Polar in their quest to save the world from Nitros Oxide. He also appears as an item for the good characters, giving them temporary invincibility from incoming weapons.

Crash Bash
Aku Aku and Uka Uka meet inside a temple in hyperspace and attempt to end their conflict by holding a contest. Uka Uka submits Cortex, N. Brio, Dingodile, Rilla Roo, Tiny and Koala Kong as his players, leaving Aku Aku with a mere Crash and Coco, but Aku Aku evens the odds by switching Tiny and Dingodile to the good side. Aku Aku then leads his team through various minigames in order to defeat Uka Uka's side.

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
After spotting an assortment of unusual weather occurrences, Aku Aku comes to the conclusion that Uka Uka has released the Elementals. He appears inside a temple in hyperspace, where Uka Uka denies any mischief; however, the Elementals themselves soon show up and attack Aku Aku, who barely escapes. After appearing back home, he reveals to Crash and Coco what has happened and that they must collect the crystals to stop Cortex and Uka Uka. Delighted at Coco's new VR HUB device, he allows them to use the machine to begin their adventure.

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
Later appeared in Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure helping Crash defeat Dr. Neo Cortex. Aku Aku is the one who told Crash he must collect all the crystals to power the machine capable of stopping Cortex's Planetary Minimizer.

Crash Bandicoot: N.Tranced
Then in Crash Bandicoot: N.Tranced he helped Crash find a way to get to N.Tropy's base and ruin N.Trance's and N.Tropy's plan. When N.Tropy attempted to abduct him and hypnotize him Aku Aku was able to free him.

Crash Nitro Kart
Aku Aku has a similar role to Crash Team Racing. In the beginning of the game, he is seen discussing weight loss with Crunch before their home is abducted and sent to Velo's Citadel.

Crash Bandicoot Rampage
Aku Aku reappeared in the third handheld title, Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage when he and Coco noticed strange beasts walking around they called Crash. So Aku Aku and Crash set out when they met Spyro and teamed up to stop Cortex and Ripto.

Crash Bandicoot Twinsanity
After delivering an unnecessary introduction, Aku Aku maintains his usual role of giving Crash extra hit points upon collecting masks hidden inside crates. Later, after Uka Uka is defeated, he teams up with his evil brother to defeat the Evil Twins, but they are unsuccessful, as shown when the Evil Twins appear to return the lifeless masks to Crash and Cortex. Victor said to Crash & Cortex: Fools! Did you really think that these party toys could defeat us!

Crash Bandicoot: Crash of the Titans
Aku Aku drops his role of supplying mask crates for extra hit points in favor of staying with Crash at all times, allowing Crash to use him for various tools, including giving him the ability to jack titans. In the beginning of the game, Cortex attempts to kidnap Coco and Aku Aku, but only succeeds in taking Coco; Crash manages to rescue Aku Aku and retrieve him before long.

Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant
He still helps to jack Titans but he is not visible on the Titan's face. He is also able to shrink the titans so it fits inside Crash's pocket.

Physical Description
Aku Aku usually appears as a rectangular plank of wood with a face and four feathers lined up on the top. In the first two games, he is more or less an item for Crash to collect, but he was given a much more prominent role in Warped, and with it came a more lively and expressive face. From Warped onwards, Aku Aku's appearance remains mostly the same, other than when summoning him a second time he doesn't change colour, until Crash of the Titans, which gives him a complete redesign. Aku Aku's face is more monkey-like, and he has an oval shape rather than a rectangle. His goatee is replaced with a beard, and he sports a much broader nose and mouth area. Minor changes to Aku Aku's design can be spotter throughout the series, however. In Wrath of Cortex, he has seven feathers instead of four, and his Crash Boom Bang model has an angry expression with pupils in his eyes.

Powers and Abilities

 * He has the ability to grant players one extra hit point if they break an Aku Aku Crate and two extra hit points if the Player breaks two.
 * He has the power to grant temporary invincibility and break all the crates and enemies the player touches when 3 Aku Aku Crates are broken.
 * He can materialize in places when he has a large amount of energy.
 * He can also use his energy to form beams or explosions.
 * Aku Aku can also shapeshift to jack a titan.

Personality
Aku Aku is a happy, good hearted, and peaceful being but at the same time he knows when to take important matters (like saving the world) seriously. He is kind and has helped Crash, Coco, and Crunch throughout many of the games. He is also obedient to the rules of his superiors "The Ancients" who strangely have never been seen.

Appearances

 * Crash Bandicoot 
 * Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back 
 * Crash Bandicoot: Warped 
 * Crash Team Racing 
 * Crash Bash 
 * Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex 
 * Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
 * Crash Bandicoot: N.Tranced
 * Crash Nitro Kart
 * Crash Bandicoot: Purple
 * Crash Twinsanity
 * Crash Tag Team Racing (cameo)
 * Crash Boom Bang!
 * Crash of the Titans
 * Crash: Mind over Mutant