Ripper Roo

"You are crazier then me, bahahahaha! Best get head-checked if you think you can beat Oxide, hahahaha! Have a key. Yahahahaha! Good luck, you'll need it!"

-Ripper Roo, Crash Team Racing



Ripper Roo (also known as Doctor Roo) is an insane mad scientist kangaroo whose creation is often remarked as Dr. Cortex's first and failed experiment with the Evolvo Ray. He occasionally dons formal garb including a top hat, a bow tie, glasses, a mustache and a cane in an attempt to hide his crazy personality, but this costume change does not affect his determination to defeat Crash. He frequently uses explosive crates when battling Crash.

Crash 1
In the original Crash Bandicoot, Ripper Roo was one of the many animal test subjects of Dr. Neo Cortex. After being captured, he was zapped at least twice by Cortex's Evolvo-Ray, which caused him to go insane. He was sent out to destroy Crash, but unfortunately for him, he was blown up by his own TNTS turning him red.

In the alternate ending to the original game, it's revealed that after Cortex disappears, Ripper Roo undergoes intense therapy and eight years of higher education, after which he writes a well-received book: Through the Eyes of the Vortex: A Study of Rapid Evolution and Its Consequences. This is probably the reason for "Doctor" Roo's change in character between the first and second game.

Crash Bandicoot 2
Ripper Roo reappeared in Cortex Strikes Back. This time he works for N Brio, and is known as "Doctor Roo". He apparently went to college to become a psychologist he also turned his home into a library. However, it's revealed that one explosion is enough to return him to his former, dangerous self, but once again he fails to stop Crash. Right before the battle starts, when he is seen reading books, the top book on the stack has the word "Crash" on the spine. When battling him, he hops around on his cane, turning regular squares into TNT squares. When the first square explodes, the rest lead straight to Ripper Roo, turning him insane again and revealing a blond wig. This time he creates Nitro squares. For some reason, when he's done he hops on top of the last Nitro square, detonating the entire field and leaving himself stunned and vulnerable (And turning him into "Doctor Roo" once more, and the whole method goes over again until he's defeated). Under his top hat is shown hair the same color of his mustache if you look on the platform you are battling on.

Crash Team Racing
Ripper Roo made another appearance in CTR as a race boss and an unlockable character. His home track is Roo's Tubes. When racing him, he is constantly dropping TNTs onto the track. After defeating him, he gives you the first of four keys needed to race Oxide.

Ripper Roo's kart in the game was enabled to handle tight corners with slightly lower speed than average karts, much like Polar and Pura. He can be unlocked by completing the Red Gem Cup in adventure mode or Holding the L1 + R1 buttons and pressing Right, Circle, Circle, Down, Up, Down and Right on the main menu.

In the CTR epilogue, he has been elected State Governor (much to everyone's surprise) with the slogan "Crazy is as Crazy does!" Rumor has it he's also running for President. He does not hop like in the other games.

Crash Bash
In this game, he made a cameo appearance the third Pogo Pandemonium stage in Crash Bash as his Doctor Roo look (But his regular, insane self), where he creates TNT/Nitro tiles by hopping around on his cane.

Crash Twinsanity
Ripper Roo didn't return until Crash Twinsanity, where he made a brief cameo at Crash's "Birthday Party". After Cortex and the Mecha Bandicoot are defeated, he nods in agreement with Dingodile's suggestion to go out for lunch.

As with most other characters, Ripper Roo's appearance drastically changes in Twinsanity. His fur becomes slightly darker, and his eyes have lost the swirly effect in favor of red circles which constantly move to the center. His eyebrows are spiky and he lacks any teeth, as well as a different nose and a shorter tongue.

Misc.
Ripper Roo's most recent appearance is as one of the 8 playable characters in Crash Nitro Kart for the iPhone. He is on Team Oxide.

Personality
Ripper Roo is famous for his insane, and somewhat dangerous, behavior. It's not suffice to say, however, that he'll always be this way. In fact, In Cortex Strikes Back, he spent a year to become a Psychologist, proof that he was still civilized in some way, but an explosion is enough to return him as his usual self. Another hint of his sane characteristic is that he wrote books, such as "Through the Eyes of the Vortex" which was well received.

Trivia

 * Although Ripper Roo's 2D/3D artwork from Crash 1 depicted him as having his eyes colored Yellow with Red Spirals, in the Crash 1 and 2 games he had normal eyes instead of the former even when insane. The same was true for his Hit Point pictures. This was corrected in CTR.


 * In CTR, Ripper Roo was still in his straitjacket, so he couldn't drive with his hands. Instead, his left foot was used to steer the wheel, while his right foot worked the gas pedal.


 * Ripper Roo was originally going to speak normal English like most of the characters in CTR, but this was later dropped and he still used his insane laughter but with subtitles. Youtube has a video of what Ripper Roo would say in CTR, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi2X6HH3Lb8


 * In CTR, Ripper Roo is the only race boss that does not brag or warn about Oxide before and after his defeat, respectively, except in his normal english.


 * In CNK3D for iPhone, Roo's design was given a massive overhaul. He looks like a normal kangaroo, but blue, long ears, and tiny, yellow eyes without spirals. For some reason, his character icon is a shot of his original artwork, despite not looking at all like the new model. This is also the first time he is seen without his strait jacket, and drives with his free arms rather than his legs.


 * His voice is an archive recording of Dallas McKennon doing the laughter of the hyena from Lady and the Tramp.


 * He is the only character in the series to have worn glasses (Although Crash himself worn sunglasses in Crash 3).
 * Ripper Roo is one of five racers NOT to reappear as racers in Crash Nitro Kart, the other four being Komodo Joe, Papu Papu, Penta Penguin, and Pinstripe. However, Roo does appear in the iPhone version of CNK.
 * Ripper Roo's boss battle was one of the Crash 2 bosses refrence in the Oblongs episode "Father of The Bribe", The Animal Control Guy drops some shaved cats is a bit similar to how Roo's Pogo Cane makes TNT Crates.