Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced

Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is the second game to feature Crash Bandicoot on the Game Boy Advance.

Storyline
Uka Uka calls upon the assistance of Dr. N. Tropy to defeat the Bandicoots. NTropy looks into the future and sees himself along with the Bandicoots and concludes that the only way to defeat them is to make them join their side. He in turn recommends the services of N. Trance in order to hypnotize them into joining their side. Using a teleporter, he attempts to transport Crash, Crunch, and Coco to a star base somewhere in space. However, Aku Aku prevents the teleportation from completing, and Crash is saved, while the other two are taken. However, for unknown reasons N. Tropy, N. Trance and Uka Uka end up with Fake Crash. Coco and Crunch are hypnotized and turned against Crash. Crash now has to save his friends and defeat N. Trance and N. Tropy.

Over the course of the game the Crunch and Coco are saved and become playable characters in certain levels. Fake Crash also is defeated though it is unclear whether he joins their side or not, since in the boss fight against N. Trance, while he can be used to hurt N. Trance, through the same means he can hurt Crash.

N. Tropy is then fought after the player has gathered all of the colored gems and completed the color gem levels. After he is defeated, in the ending, the Bandicoots force him to take a picture with him, revealing this to be the image N. Tropy saw as the future, and misinterpreted as the Bandicoots joining his side.

Additions

 * Similar to Crash's jetboard in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and to Coco's jetski in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Crash rides on wakeboards (revealed in Lagoony Tunes when Aku Aku talks).
 * Instead of the usual warp room level selection, this game includes a map of various platforms in space. On the platforms are buttons which act as gateways to various levels.
 * Coco flies in space while avoiding a falling fireball. A meter is shown to show how close the fireball is. There is also a health meter to show Coco's remaining health percentage.
 * Crash rides on a magic carpet in all Arabian levels except Prints of Persia and 101 Arabian Kites.
 * Crunch is now playable in two levels: Barrel Roll and Rocks Can Roll.
 * There are new types of crates, the magic carpet crate, the freeze crate, and the copter crate.
 * There are two new super powers, the super slide and the rocket jump.

Link Game
For the first time in a Crash platformer, N-Tranced also features multiplayer competitive game play. In order to play, both players require a cartridge of the game.

Atlasphere
Two players battle in the game's altasphere mode. Players can choose between the battle modes Domination, Bumpers, or King of the Hill on a variation of maps. Depending on the players' progress in one player mode, Crash, Crunch, Coco, Fake Crash, N. Trance and N. Tropy are all playable characters.

Level Race
Two players can choose to race in any of the on-foot levels unlocked in the one player story. Both players play as Crash and the level data for both players is separate (a necessity for both to progress through certain gimmicks such as the vehicle crates).

Huge Adventure/XS Link
In addition, the game can be linked to Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure via GBA link cable to unlock extra content. Through this option, Dingodile, N. Gin, Tiny, Dr. Cortex, and Mega-Mix can be unlocked as extra playable characters in atlasphere mode.

Previous Game References
As seen in the previous game, this entry in the series goes on giving the GBA most of the features and environments seen in the Naughty Dog trilogy. First, instead of using a Warp Room, "N-Tranced" makes use of a "Warp Zone" structured like a map, in which every single portal is entered using the same animation seen in Crash 3 - except the lack of any sight of the level outside it. Then, the only element hailing from Crash 2 is the usage of the jungle levels' background music in the atlasphere stages as well as in the very first stage, Island Intro, which the concept was already seen in Crash 2 - though it was called just "Intro" and, instead of its heir, wasn't replayable. Also unlike the "Intro" of Crash 2, the Island Intro level is required, and contains a crystal, gem, and relic, whereas Crash 2's level could be exited from through the pause screen and skipped.

Also, the Egyptian tomb (like Tomb Time) and Arabia stages (like Hang'em High) are based off levels from Warped, as well as their own background music, while the volcano island ambiance hails from a non-ND game (despite its music being remixed from the prehistoric levels in Warped). The water levels offer the same tropical sea setting seen in Warped levels such as Makin' Waves, but here Crash does some water-skiing while being tied to an off-screen motorboat and chased by a shark; therefore, these stages act as the "escape" ones. The flying levels of the prequel, mixing the jetpack itself with fights against blimps, are now substituted by another kind of escape, in which Coco, wearing an astronaut suit and tied up to a hovering "space life belt" of sorts, has to manage to escape a giant - and unseen since being off-screen too - fireball (despite the first stage in this series being called "Run from the Sun") while fighting between meteorites as well as Lab Assistants. The "atlasphere" concept, instead, hails from the same non-ND game.

The pause menu reprises the one from the prequel in terms of structure, but is totally different in terms of appearance. The "C" symbol now features Coco's face in order to match the one seen in Warped, as well as Crunch's face. Now Crash's face is on the bottom of the emblem while Coco's stands on its top. The pause menu is now almost completely golden. The pause menu is also the only place in the game to view a level's number, as this is no longer shown in the warp zone, like it was in previous games.

The bonus platforms now lead Crash to the bonus round by floating instead of just teleporting him there.

Another correction is made whenever Crash dies by falling into a chasm: in the prequel he would just become an angel/ghost, while now (reflecting the second and third games in the series) he throws up his shoes.

Colored gems are still featured, but in an entirely different way. In each Egyptian level a red "gem shard" (1/4 of a colored gem) is hidden; likewise, the volcano stages hide blue gem shards and green gem shards are hidden within Arabian levels. When N. Trance is defeated, the last section of the map (a wooden bridge set in outer space) is accessible. This portion acts as N. Tropy's hideout, and instead of the portals, the last three levels are accessed through the now recreated gems. Getting all four gem shards of any color unlocks one of these levels. Each of these levels has the relative colored gem to be found, as well as the normal gem and the relic. After each colored gem is aquired, the portal to N. Tropy, disguised as a gear, is accessible. In these levels, the colored gems act similar to how crystals act in most levels. In order to access time trial mode, Crash must get the colored gem from the level first, and all three colored gems will unlock the boss for that area.

The fight against N. Tropy is a mostly faithful recreation of the battle fought in Warped. N. Tropy fights Crash in an arena structured just like its Warped counterpart, only set in Arabia. N. Tropy has a total of three hit points, but once defeated, he recovers and causes the battle to start over in an Egyptian tomb arena with smaller platforms, now attacking at a faster rate. As soon as he loses all of his health again, he restarts the battle one last time by setting it in the volcano environment. This time the player can defeat him once for all, but if they die, the battle has to restart from the beginning.

Music
As it was in the case of the game's predecessor, this game's soundtrack references most of Naughty Dog's work on the series. First, "Island Intro" as well as the atlasphere stages use the background music of the jungle levels seen in Crash 2 as their own, only re-arranged in a way that is even different than the one heard in The Huge Adventure. The Arabian stages and Egyptian tomb stages, being taken from Warped, have also music similar to their original counterparts but adapted to the GBA and therefore have been shortened and are in MIDI format.

The volcano environment hails from Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, but the volcano levels (except for Island Intro) make use of the background music of Warped's prehistoric levels, while the water levels use a background music somewhat similar to the one heard in Warped's sea stages such as Makin' Waves.

Fake Crash's boss fight uses a rearrangement of the background music of Warped's Rings of Power.

N. Tropy uses a rearrangement of his own background music instead.

All stages retain their one player music themes in multiplayer, though the atlasphere multiplayer mode lacks background music.

Soundtrack disc
Certain releases of the game also included a soundtrack CD featuring slightly enhanced arrangements of most of the game's music:


 * Track 1: Main Theme
 * Track 2: Warp Room
 * Track 3: Volcano
 * Track 4: Arabia
 * Track 5: Motorcycle
 * Track 6: Space Station
 * Track 7: Atlasphere
 * Track 8: Egypt

Track 5 (a rearrangement of the racing levels' theme in Warped) is not featured in the actual game, suggesting it belongs to an unused area or sequence. Track 7 is also not used in N-Tranced, instead a rearrangement of the background theme for the futuristic levels in The Huge Adventure.

Evil Crunch
Shoot at Crunch while avoiding nitro crates. Crunch has a shield that he'll use until he suddenly hits a nitro, causing him to lower it for a minute. This gives Crash a chance to do damage to him. This level is on a carpet. He has a total of three life points.

Evil Coco
(Listed as "Evil Coco" but not to be confused with the real Evil Coco, an unused character from Crash Twinsanity) Avoid Coco's attacks and lava while Crash fights in a volcanic area. This level is on the copter. She has a total of three life points.

Fake Crash
This boss battle may be considerably short (lasting only 11 seconds at the very least), depending on the player's skills. In the Egyptian tomb, Crash faces his goofy doppelganger as anyone would imagine the fight: Fake Crash mirrors every single move made by Crash. Spinning doesn't damage Fake Crash (but Crash himself), but serves as the only way to switch the sides. There are the spear traps typical of this environment, set in a mirrored way but not working as such. Keeping these facts in mind is key for any player aiming to defeat Fake Crash. He has a total of four life points.

N. Trance
This fight has two rounds.


 * First round - Avoid N.Trance as he leaps to one end of the screen, then avoid his claw as he shoots it at the place you're standing. Jump over the claw and either spin or land on his head to make N.Trance bring the claw back to him. Do this four times to get to the second round. This is in an Egyptian styled level.

He has a total of 9 life points.
 * Second round - N. Trance's head turns into a rocket and he floats around the screen. Crash needs to spin him to keep him from attacking. Fake Crash pours lava on N. Trance once he gets under a cliff, causing him damage (it causes Crash damage if the player flies under the cliff). N .Trance attacks with one out of four types of beams when he's left alone for a while. The glow around him depends on the type he'll use. This part is a copter level. This is a volcanic island themed level.

N. Tropy
First, get all blue, green, and red gem shards, beat all the extra levels, and then Crash can face N. Tropy. This fight has three rounds.


 * First round - He'll attack down then up twice. Then after he moves to the other platform, a few gems will appear. Jump on them to the platform N. Tropy is on, then spin or jump on him. Repeat this two more times. Once he is defeated the first time. he'll add two more of his usual attacks. This is an Arabic styled level.


 * Second round - Exactly the same as the first round, but he'll attack down, up twice, then down again. Hit him, he'll then attack down, up twice, down twice, up twice again, and down. Hit him once more, he'll then attack: down, up twice, down twice, up twice, down twice, up twice, and then down once more. Hit him, then Crash will fade to the next round. Crash must avoid every attack. This is a Egyptian styled level.

He has a total of 9 life points.
 * Third round - He'll attack down, up twice, then down. Jump over the gems and then attack him. He'll attack down, up, down twice, up, down twice again, then up. Once hit, he'll then attack in this order: down twice, up twice, down, up, down twice, up, down, up, down. Crash must avoid every attack. This is a volcanic island themed level.

Power-ups and related glitches
Despite that there are five bosses instead of the prequel's four, there are still only four power-ups and the Fruit Bazooka from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped is still absent.

However, the Super Charged Body Slam, as well as Double Jump, are available from the very beginning of the game; the first two power-ups, gained by defeating the first two bosses (being the brainwashed Crunch and Coco respectively), are the Super Slide (a faster and more powerful slide, executed by pressing R while holding L and while standing still) as well as the Rocket Jump (maybe referencing the "Moon Jump" seen in most platform games through cheat devices - this one being an extra-high-but-not-long jump executed by jumping while standing still and holding L). By defeating N. Tropy the player isn't awarded any power-up at all.

The "power-up ? panels" appear in both "Island Intro" and "Globe Trottin'", as in-game tutorials while outside of the time trial mode.

Trivia

 * Save for the game's multiplayer mode and for a line of Uka Uka's, this is the very first game in the series to not have Cortex as one of the villains. Despite this, he does appear at the game over screen if the player chooses no.
 * N. Tropy's hit points are nine altogether, therefore he shares second place with N. Trance, in this game, and N. Brio in Crash Bandicoot as the one with most of them. Despite this, N. Brio is still the one with most hit points shown on screen at once.
 * Crunch says, after being defeated and returned to normal, he was "brainwashed again": an allusion on how he was originally on the evil side during the events of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex.
 * During the game's ending, Uka Uka stares from cold space and swears that he will not rely on underlings next time, implying that he'll work alone in the next game. However, as N-Tranced had no sequel, this is long forgotten.
 * Despite being an established character, Fake Crash is given a new origin story and is treated like a brand new character.
 * This is the last game to have Coco in her overalls.
 * This is the first game where Crash fights Coco.
 * This is the first game where Crunch assists the bandicoots. It is also the first game where he is playable in some form, and the only case of being so in a platformer title.
 * This is also the first platformer in the series to utilise multiplayer options.
 * The Vicarious Visions logo can be seen on the walls in the Egyptian levels.
 * Despite having more levels than in Huge Adventure, N-Tranced only contains 1,791 crates.
 * The game's manual claims the game's link ability with The Huge Adventure also unlocks new levels though this was not made available in the final game.
 * Crunch and Coco use their "evil" headshot icons in the Atlasphere menu, though their game models and map icons use their normal forms.
 * This is the first Crash Bandicoot game where the relics are not needed to unlock the alternate ending.