Crash Nitro Kart (handheld)

Crash Nitro Kart
Developer(s)	Vicarious Visions
Publisher(s)	Universal Interactive Vivendi Universal Games Konami (Japan)
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance N-Gage
Release date(s)	Game Boy Advance NA: November 11, 2003 EU: November 28, 2003 JP: August 26, 2004 N-Gage EU: July 23, 2004 NA: July 28, 2004
Genre	Racing
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+ CERO: A OFLC: General (G)
Mode(s)	Single Player Multiplayer (2-4 players)

Crash Nitro Kart, commonly abbreviated to CNK, is a video game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive in regions outside of Japan, where it was published by Konami. It is the handheld version of its home console counterpart, being released on the Game Boy Advance in 2003 as well as an upgraded port being released on the N-Gage in 2004.

While it largely follows the same storyline and set dressing of its console counterpart, CNK's handheld version features several content and gameplay differences, including different playable characters, an entirely original soundtrack, as well as altered track designs and altered game mechanics to fit the GBA's hardware.

Content from this game was remade and included in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. While the CNK content featured is primarily based on the console version, Nitro-Fueled includes CNK's bosses and Spyro the Dragon as playable characters, a feature that originated in the handheld version.

Gameplay

The handheld version of Crash Nitro Kart is a simplified version of its console counterpart, being a kart racing game in which the player takes control of one of the playable characters from the Crash Bandicoot series on varied racetracks. Much like in most kart racers, the player can accelerate, brake, steer, and use items obtained from Power-up Crates in order to finish first out of the eight racers found in the game's racing modes. The player can collect Wumpa Fruit to increase their speed. Wumpa Fruit can be found by breaking Wumpa Crates or hitting other drivers with items, from which Wumpa Fruit will drop on the ground. If ten Wumpa Fruit are collected, the player's items will be Juiced Up, making them more powerful.

As in Crash Team Racing, the game is unique for featuring techniques that allow players to retain continuous speed boosts for an indefinite amount of time in the form of the Power Slide technique, in which players can fill up a bar while steering that will give them up to three speed boosts, which can be chained with other forms of speed boosts in the game, such as boost pads and hang-time boosts.

While the Game Boy Advance version features entirely flat track designs due to console limitations, the N-Gage version features upgraded, 3D versions of these tracks with added set dressing and differences in elevation.

The game's mechanics overall are somewhat stripped back compared to the console version, lacking the anti-gravity track designs, the Team Frenzy mechanic, the Activation Crates to change obstacles on the track, or the Multiplier Crates.

Boosts

During gameplay, players can obtain temporary speed boosts for their vehicles which can be extended indefinitely by performing certain techniques or driving on certain parts of a track. Boosts can be obtained by driving on Boost Pads, which are flashy green arrow pads laid on racetracks, obtaining certain items, or performing certain driving mechanics and techniques.

Power Sliding allows players to perform tight turns and obtain up to three turbos in a row, referred to by the game as Slide Boosts. Power Sliding is performed by hopping and holding the drift button, after which the player will start to slide and a meter will appear on the left side of the player's character, referred to as the Slide Gauge, which will start to go up. Once the Slide Gauge reaches the top and the gauge will be colored red; tapping the accelerate button once this occurs will give the player a Slide Boost, from which they can keep sliding and waiting for the gauge to obtain up to two more additional boosts.

Hitting a wall or falling off the track will stop a Power Slide. Allowing the Slide Gauge to reach the top will cause the Power Slide to "fail", preventing the player from obtaining any Slide Boosts during the Power Slide, from which the player will have to release the trigger buttons and begin another Power Slide. Tapping the accelerate button while the gauge is not yet at the top and colored red will also cause the Power Slide to "fail". Continuing a "failed" Power Slide will eventually cause the player to spin out and lose speed.

Exclusively in the N-Gage version, players can also obtain boosts by jumping from high points on a track, referred to as Hang Time Boosts. The longer a player remains in the air, the faster the boost will be. This is impossible in the GBA version due to the flat level designs.

Controls

Game Boy Advance

• Directional Pad (Left and Right) - Steer
• Directional Pad (Down) - Reverse
• A - Accelerate
• B - Brake
• R - Hop/Drift
• L - Use item
• Start - Pause
• Select - Toggle between map and speedometer

N-Gage

• Controller Key - Steer
• Controller Key (when idle) - Reverse
• 5 key - Accelerate
• 6 key - Brake
• 2 key - Hop/Drift
• 4 key - Use item
• Left or Right Selection Key - Pause

Story

The game's story is largely the same as the console version, featuring truncated versions of the console versions' cutscenes in slideshow form.

On Earth, at the Bandicoot House, Crash Bandicoot is fast asleep while Crunch and Aku Aku discuss diet fads. Suddenly a strange bright light shines through the window, blinding the house's inhabitants. The light turns out to belong to a tractor beam which sucks the entire house out of the ground and into the sky. Meanwhile, at Cortex Castle, Neo Cortex is working on his next scheme to get rid of the bandicoots and conquer the world. A similar light appears here too and rips the top tower of the castle clean off, abducting that too. Crash, Coco, Crunch, Cortex, Tiny and N. Gin suddenly find themselves in a giant arena in the middle of space, confronted by a holographic head who introduces himself as Emperor Velo XXVII. Velo states that he took them here to race in his Galactic Circus and entertain his subjects, and that if they refuse to race he will destroy the Earth. With no other choice, both trios accept Velo's challenge.

Earth's champions complete race after race, eventually being allowed to face down Velo's champions one by one. First they face Krunk, who insists that Earth is inferior to his home planet, Terra. Next they face Nash, a hyperactive cybernetic shark who is obsessed with going fast and never sleeps. Next is Norm, an elf-like alien who can split himself in half, becoming two separate people. Finally is Geary, the "pinnacle of robotics" who insists robots are superior to organic beings.

After all of Velo's champions are defeated, Velo reveals himself to be the final opponent of the Circus and challenges Earth's champions to one final race. Upon defeat Velo cedes control of his empire to Earth's champions - the specifics of what happens next depends on which team you chose.

Team Bandicoot

If Team Bandicoot wins, Crash is given Velo's scepter and sits on his throne, only to be booed by Velo's subjects. Crash quickly becomes bored of this and Crunch asks Crash to send them home, to which he obliges. Crash, Coco and Crunch, along with Polar, are finally able to relax on the beach at home.

Team Evil

If Team Evil wins the race, Cortex gloats over his victory and attempts to use Velo's scepter to transport Team Evil back to Earth. This fails, however, and the trio end up on Terra instead, surrounded by Krunk's people.

Adventure

The Adventure mode is a single-player game in which the player must race through all of the tracks and arenas in the game, collecting Trophies, Relics, Boss Keys, CNK Tokens and Gems to progress. The main objective of the Adventure mode is to win all the races in the five different worlds and win the freedom of the playable characters from the tyrannical Emperor Velo XXVII. The hub world of the game is Velo's Coliseum, otherwise known as Velo's Citadel, from which the player can access any of the five other worlds through special gates. Most of these gates are initially locked; the player must complete the races of one world to gain access to the next world. When inside a world, the player may access a race by driving the selected character onto a "Warp Pad". By winning a race, the player will receive a Trophy. When the player receives all three Trophies in a world, the player will be able to race against that world's champion, who acts as a boss character. If the player manages to defeat the world's champion, the champion will relinquish a World Key, which allows the player to engage in the special challenges of that world and enables access to the next world. The player will receive tips on playing the game from Aku Aku or Uka Uka, depending on the team they chose, as they progress through the Adventure mode. The player can check their progress and review their hints through the pause menu.

New to Crash Nitro Kart's Adventure mode is a more character-focused story incorporating the game's team-based racing mechanics: unlike in Crash Team Racing, where the player could choose one out of eight characters to play as, the player is limited to selecting one of two teams, each with three characters that the player can swap between at any time; selecting a team will affect the cutscenes that play throughout the mode, and feature a different ending once the mode is completed.

When the player collects all the Trophies and World Keys, the player will be able to race against Emperor Velo on his personal racing track. If the player manages to defeat Velo in this race, the game is won. If the player collects all of the Relics, CNK Tokens, and Gems, the player will be able to race Velo once more, the game being completed 100% upon winning a second time.

Special modes

The special modes consist of the Relic Race, the CNK Challenge, the Crystal Arena and the Gem Cups, all of which return from Crash Team Racing's Adventure mode. These allow the player to collect Relics, CNK Tokens, and Gems, which are used to unlock content in the Adventure mode as well as in other modes outside of it.

Relic Race

Relic Races are a variant of the game's Race Time Trial mode, where the player attempts to complete three laps on a track in the fastest time possible, with the inclusion of Time Crates spread throughout each track. When the player drives the character through a Time Crate, the clock will be frozen for the number of seconds indicated on the Crate. If all of the Time Crates on a track are destroyed, the player's final time will be reduced by ten seconds. The player wins a Relic by beating the time indicated on the screen.

CNK Challenge

CNK Challenges are played like normal races, except that the player must also collect the letters C, N and K scattered throughout the track. If the player manages to collect all three letters and come in first place, a CNK Token is awarded. These tokens come in four different colors. If the player collects four tokens of the same color, the player will be able to access the Gem Cup of the corresponding color.

Crystal Arena

Crystal Arena challenges require the player to collect all the crystals scattered throughout a battle arena under a time limit, and award the player a CNK Token. TNT Crates will be spread throughout the arenas in this mode, which the player can destroy using weapons from Power-up Crates. All CNK Tokens awarded this way are the same color, meaning that the player can ignore these until they have completed the Gem Cups of the other colors before attempting any of these.

Gem Cups

Gem Cups function identically to Cup Tournaments, in that they are racing tournaments held against computer-controlled opponents through three consecutive tracks in a set order. The Gem Cups are located in Velo's Citadel. If one of these cups is won, a Gem is awarded. Gems are also used as unlocking criteria for certain content outside of the Adventure mode.

Events

Hub area	Course	Requirements
Terra	Inferno Island	Default
	Jungle Boogie
	Tiny's Temple	2 trophies
	Temple Turmoil (Crystal Arena)	1 key
	Krunk's Challenge	3 trophies
Barin	Meteor Gorge	3 trophies and a key
	Barin Ruins
	Deep Sea Driving	5 trophies
	Frozen Frenzy (Crystal Arena)	2 keys required
	Nash's Challenge	6 trophies
Fenomena	Out of Time	6 trophies and 2 keys
	Clockwork Wumpa	7 trophies
	Thunder Struck	8 trophies
	Desert Storm (Crystal Arena)	3 keys required
	Norm's Challenge	9 trophies
Teknee	Assembly Lane	9 trophies and 3 keys
	Android Alley	10 trophies
	Electron Avenue	11 trophies
	Magnetic Mayhem (Crystal Arena)	All 4 keys
	Geary's Challenge	A dozen trophies
Velo's Citadel	Velo's Challenge	All 4 keys
	Red Gem Cup	All red tokens
	Purple Gem Cup	All purple tokens
	Green Gem Cup	All green tokens
	Blue Gem Cup	All blue tokens

Arcade

Outside of the Adventure mode, Crash Nitro Kart features several arcade racing modes.

Single Race

Single Race, as the name suggests, is a single race on one track. The player may select their opponents' difficulty, the character they will play as and the track they will race on along with the number of laps, ranging from 1 to 3.

Cup Race

In Cup Race, racers compete through tournaments of three consecutive tracks in a set order. After finishing a race, the top four racers receive points based on their ranking: first place earns the racer nine points, second earns six, third earns three, and fourth earns one, while fifth and below get zero points. The racer with the most points wins the cup. Players can select the difficulty of the computer racers.

Wumpa Cup	Nitro Cup	Crash Cup	Crystal Cup
Inferno Island	Meteor Gorge	Tiny's Temple	Jungle Boogie
Barin Ruins	Clockwork Wumpa	Out of Time	Deep Sea Driving
Thunder Struck	Electron Avenue	Android Alley	Assembly Lane

Quick Race

In Quick Race, the player competes in a single race on a random track as a random character.

Time Trial

In Time Trial, the player attempts to complete three laps in the fastest time possible on any of the tracks in the game. In this mode, opposing drivers and Power-up Crates won't appear. After finishing a track, the player's best times will be saved on a leaderboard, and a "web code" will be provided. This code could be used on the now defunct online leaderboards on the Vicarious Visions website to compete for the best time against other players across the world.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer mode, also called Link Play in the Game Boy Advance version, allows multiple players to either race against eachother in arcade mode or participate in the exclusive battle modes.

Arcade

Arcade mode allows to players to race against eachother in a single race or a cup race. Usual rules for single and cup races apply as in the singleplayer arcade mode.

VS

VS mode is largely the same as Arcade mode, however it removes CPU racers, leaving only the player characters to race eachother. You can select a single race, a cup race or a wumpa race, in which players compete to collect the most Wumpa Fruit.

Battle

In battle mode, instead of racing on tracks, players speed around battle arenas collecting weapons and attacking opponents. There are two rule sets; Points, where the objective is to reach the set amount of kills before your opponent, and Time, where you compete to get the most kills before time runs out.

Courses

Crash Nitro Kart features a total of 13 racetracks and 8 battle arenas. All are unlocked by default except for Velo's Challenge, which must be unlocked by beating Velo in Adventure Mode.

Terra	Barin	Fenomena	Teknee
Inferno Island	Meteor Gorge	Out of Time	Assembly Lane
Jungle Boogie	Barin Ruins	Clockwork Wumpa	Android Alley
Tiny's Temple	Deep Sea Driving	Thunder Struck	Electron Avenue
Velo's Challenge

Battle Arenas

While the game's Adventure Mode features the original 4 battle arenas present in the console version of the game, the multiplayer-exclusive Battle Mode features 4 additional arenas exclusive to that mode. These Battle Mode only arenas do not have proper names and are merely numbered - these numbers are also assigned to Adventure Mode arenas when selecting them in Battle Mode. All arenas are unlocked by default in Battle Mode.

Arena	Theme	Mode
Battle 1 Temple Turmoil	Terra	Adventure Mode & Battle Mode
Battle 2 Frozen Frenzy	Barin
Battle 3 Desert Storm	Fenomena
Battle 4 Magnetic Mayhem	Teknee
Battle 5	Terra	Battle Mode only
Battle 6	Barin
Battle 7	Fenomena
Battle 8	Teknee

Course times

Listed below are the times needed to obtain each Sapphire, Gold, or Platinum Relic.

Game Boy Advance

Track	Sapphire	Gold	Platinum
Inferno Island	2:00:00	1:50:00	1:40:00
Jungle Boogie	2:00:00	1:45:00	1:40:00
Tiny's Temple	1:40:00	1:25:00	1:20:00
Meteor Gorge	2:40:00	2:35:00	2:30:00
Barin Ruins	1:50:00	1:40:00	1:30:00
Deep Sea Driving	2:25:00	2:20:00	2:15:00
Out of Time	3:00:00	2:50:00	2:40:00
Clockwork Wumpa	3:00:00	2:50:00	2:30:00
Thunder Struck	2:15:00	2:10:00	2:05:00
Assembly Lane	2:40:00	2:35:00	2:30:00
Android Alley	2:00:00	1:55:00	1:50:00
Electron Avenue	2:10:00	2:05:00	2:00:00

N-Gage

To be added

Characters

Crash Nitro Kart features 19 playable characters. 9 are available by default and 10 more can be unlocked through the game's various modes. The characters are split into distinct teams, shown by the character's kart: Team Bandicoot, headed by the titular protagonist Crash Bandicoot, Team Evil, headed by the evil scientist Dr. Neo Cortex, Team Oxide, headed by the villain of Crash Team Racing, N. Oxide, and Team Trance, headed by master of hypnotism N. Trance who has hypnotised a variety of other characters to race for him.

The Adventure mode also features boss characters in the form of Velo and his champions. These characters have maxed out stats and can be unlocked by completing milestones throughout adventure mode.

Character	Stats	Unlock Condition	Team	Mask
Crash	Speed: 5/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 8/10	Unlocked by default	Bandicoot	Aku Aku
Coco	Speed: 8/10 Accel: 5/10 Turn: 10/10
Crunch	Speed: 10/10 Accel: 8/10 Turn: 5/10
Neo Cortex	Speed: 5/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 8/10		Evil	Uka Uka
N. Gin	Speed: 8/10 Accel: 5/10 Turn: 10/10
Tiny	Speed: 10/10 Accel: 8/10 Turn: 5/10
Dingodile	Speed: 10/10 Accel: 8/10 Turn: 5/10		Trance
Polar	Speed: 5/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 8/10
N. Trance	Speed: 8/10 Accel: 5/10 Turn: 10/10
N. Oxide	Speed: 5/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 8/10	Get at least gold relics in all Time Trials in Adventure Mode	Oxide
N. Tropy	Speed: 8/10 Accel: 5/10 Turn: 10/10	Beat the game as Team Evil	Evil
Krunk	Speed: 10/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 10/10	Beat the boss races in Adventure Mode	Velo's Champions
Nash
Norm
Big Norm
Geary
Velo			Oxide
Fake Crash	Speed: 10/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 8/10	Find Fake Crash out of bounds in Out of Time	Bandicoot	Aku Aku
Spyro	Speed: 10/10 Accel: 10/10 Turn: 8/10	Beat the game as Team Bandicoot	Trance	Uka Uka

Weapons

Like in Crash Team Racing, players can receive Weapons by driving through a Power-up Crate, which can be Juiced Up by collecting ten Wumpa Fruit.

Weapon	Description
Turbo Boost	Gives the player a quick speed boost to zip past or squash opponents. Gives an even bigger and longer speed boost when Juiced Up.
Bowling Bomb	Thrown in a straight line either in front of or behind the user, and detonates either when it hits something, or when the player presses the "Fire" button again. Anyone caught in the blast radius will tumble and crash. The bomb moves faster and the blast radius is bigger when Juiced Up.
Homing Missile	Targets the nearest opponent in front of the racer that used the item, knocking them over if it hits. If a racer is targeted, a crosshair appears on their kart. Faster and more accurate when Juiced Up.
TNT Crate	Dropped onto the track behind the user. When someone hits it, it lands on their head and starts counting down. The victim can try to shake it off by jumping repeatedly, but if they fail to do so before the end of the countdown, it will explode, knocking over anyone in the blast radius. When Juiced Up, it becomes a Nitro Crate, which explodes immediately upon contact.
Invincibility Mask	Provides temporary invulnerability and increased speed. Anyone the driver touches will be knocked over. Lasts longer when Juiced Up.
Power Shield	A green, temporary shield that prevents damage from a single weapon or obstacle (other than N. Tropy Clocks). Drivers under the shield can also touch another driver to knock them over, or press the "fire" button again to launch it forwards as a projectile. It will fade away after a while if not used. Becomes blue when juiced up. The blue version has no time limit.
Freezing Mine	A blue mine that can be dropped onto the track. It will freeze anyone upon impact, causing the victim to spin out. When Juiced Up, anyone hit by the Freezing Mine will take much longer to thaw out.
N. Tropy Clock	Makes every kart except the user spin out and be slowed down for a few seconds, during which time they cannot collect or use weapons. Will also affect those who are using a Power Shield or Invincibility Mask. Lasts longer when Juiced Up. Exclusive to races.
Tornado Top	Much like the Warp Orb in Crash Team Racing, it chases down the driver in first place, making them, along with anyone else who gets in its way, tumble and crash. When Juiced Up, it will target every driver ahead of the user one by one. Exclusive to races.
Invisibility	Makes the user invisible to both their opponents' eyes and their Homing Missiles. Lasts longer when Juiced Up. Exclusive to battles.
Super Engine	Temporarily provides a constant turbo boost for as long as the driver is accelerating. Faster and longer-lasting when Juiced Up. Exclusive to battles.

Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance cross-connectivity

The Nintendo GameCube version of Crash Nitro Kart allows owners of the Game Boy Advance version of the game to use the Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable in order to unlock content for both versions of the game. Players can do this through the GBA Link option in the Extras menu.

Connecting to the Game Boy Advance version will unlock N. Tropy, N. Oxide, Spyro and all four cheats for the Game Boy Advance version with no prior game requirements needed in either version.

Cheats and Secrets

Crash Party USA

Crash Party USA is a simple rhythm game that can be accessed by holding down L and R while starting up the game. Successfully completing all 10 rounds of Crash Party USA will automatically give the player 3 Homing Missiles at the beginning of the race when challenging Velo in Adventure Mode.

Cheats

Cheats, which can be turned on and off in the options menu, cause unique effects to occur during gameplay.

• Artillery - Unlocked by completing the Blue Gem cup in Adventure Mode. When the Artillery cheat is active, the player can press the L button at any time to be instantly given 3 Homing Missiles or Bowling Bombs.
• Turbo - Unlocked by completing the Red Gem cup in Adventure Mode. When active, the Turbo cheat causes the player's kart to move much faster than usual.
• R/C Kart - Unlocked by completing the Green Gem cup in Adventure Mode. When active, the R/C cheat causes all racers to become tiny. Items that attach to karts such as Power Shields and TNT Crates do not scale with this.
• Lunar - Unlocked by completing the Purple Gem cup in Adventure Mode. When the Lunar cheat is active, the player's kart is flung high into the air when hopping.

Version differences

Regional differences

• In the Japanese version, the title screen displays the Japanese logo and plays the Japan-exclusive Kurakura Baban CNK theme song instead of the usual title theme.
• In the Japanese version, extended versions of the tracks' themes are played during races compared to the shorter loops present in other versions.
• In the Japanese version, most characters' voice clips are changed. All spoken lines are replaced with wordless grunts and cheers from the English voice cast, except for N. Trance, who is given a Japanese voice.
• The TNT and Nitro Crates in the Japanese versions are replaced with their usual localized redesigns.

Differences between GBA and N-Gage

• The tracks were redesigned in 3D. Their map and general layout are based on the GBA version, with cues taken from the console version for visual set dressing.
• Due to the differing course designs, the relic times are also different between the GBA and N-Gage versions.
• The N-Gage version plays the extended course themes present in the Japanese release of the GBA version.
• A unique loading screen is present in the N-Gage version featuring an animation of Crash dancing, taken from Crash Party USA. The GBA version loads instantly and thus has no loading screen.
• The hang-time boost mechanic where the player is granted a boost upon hitting the ground after a long drop from the console version is present in the N-Gage version. This mechanic does not exist in the GBA version due to the flat track design.
• The N-Gage version was never released in Japanese or Dutch, unlike the GBA version.

Differences from console version

• The soundtrack is almost completely different. The title theme is very similar, but the cutscene theme, hub world themes and course themes are entirely unique.
• All tracks are drastically redesigned to work within the GBA's technical limitations. They share the same names and general theming as the console version, but their layout is completely different.
• Hyper Spaceway is replaced with Velo's Challenge.
• Terra Drome is no longer present. A separate Terra-themed battle arena simply called Battle 5 is present, but it does not resemble Terra Drome at all.
• Game mechanics introduced in the console version of CNK, such as anti-gravity driving, Team Frenzy, Multiplier Crates and Activation Crates are entirely absent from the handheld versions.
• The bosses' unique weapons from the console version do not exist, with the bosses instead using standard weapons.
• Adventure mode features shortened versions of the console versions' cutscenes, presented as slideshows of screenshots with subtitles for dialogue. There are a few notable differences throughout these cutscenes.
  • Most visual gags are entirely skipped over, likely due to being difficult to convey in a slideshow format.
  • Some dialogue originating from the console version is rephrased or otherwise changed around. A narrator is added which is not present in the console version.
  • Velo consistently refers to his racing tournament as "the Galactic Circus" instead of "the Galactic Circuit".
  • Cutscenes from Norm's introduction onward feature screenshots of visibly unfinished versions of the console version's cutscenes, having no lighting, missing visual effects and even production text visible in some shots.
  • Norm's trait of enjoying reading is entirely skipped over, with no shots of him with his books present and all lines mentioning it removed.
  • Geary's character trait of being obsessed with cleaning is also entirely glossed over, with all of his dialogue mentioning cleaning being removed. The only remnant of this is a single shot of him using his vacuum, which only appears on the Team Bandicoot route.
  • The final twist of the game, Real Velo, is entirely absent. When the player defeats Velo in adventure mode, instead of getting angry and exploding, he calmly hands his empire over without putting up a fight, remaining in his Emperor form. This cutscene plays when defeating Velo for the first time regardless of completion percentage, with no separate cutscenes for defeating Velo before and after reaching 100% completion.
• Velo's Advisors are removed entirely, not being present during Velo's boss race or in any cutscenes.
• Similarly, Geary's Cleaning Bots are also removed.
• Velo's Vault does not exist, with all Gem Cup races being moved to Velo's Citadel.
• Pura, Zem and Zam are entirely absent. Real Velo is also no longer playable due to not existing in this version of the game.
• Spyro the Dragon appears as a playable character. In addition, the boss characters are now all playable, including Velo's Emperor form.
• N. Tropy appears as a regular opponent during races instead of being an exclusive unlockable character.
• Breaking tradition, N. Tropy is not unlocked by completing Time Trials; rather, he is unlocked by completing Adventure Mode as Team Evil. There are no rewards at all for completing Time Trials, with the N. Tropy and Velo record times being missing entirely.

Script

See: Crash Nitro Kart (handheld) script

Gallery

See: Crash Nitro Kart (handheld)/Gallery

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	クラッシュ・バンディクー 爆走! ニトロカート Kurasshu Bandikū Bakusō! Nitoro Kāto

The game was developed in English and was officially localized into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.

The N-Gage version did not receive Dutch or Japanese localizations.

Voice cast

The game features compressed voice clips during gameplay that were copied over from the home console versions.

Oddly, Crash's voice clips are lower pitched compared to the console version; this is unique to Crash and does not occur with any other character.

Language	Voice actor	Character
English	Steve Blum	Crash Bandicoot Emperor Velo XXVII
	Debi Derryberry	Coco Bandicoot Polar
	Kevin Michael Richardson	Crunch Bandicoot
	Clancy Brown	Neo Cortex Uka Uka
	Quinton Flynn	N. Gin Nitros Oxide
	John DiMaggio	Tiny Tiger
	Dwight Schultz	Dingodile Fake Crash
	Tom Bourdon	N. Trance
	Michael Ensign	N. Tropy
	Marshall Teague	Krunk
	Billy West	Nash
	André Sogliuzzo	Norm
	Paul Greenberg	Geary
	Andrew Dawson	Aku Aku

Trivia

• Despite wearing red gloves during gameplay, Cortex is depicted wearing his traditional yellow gloves on the cover of the North American and European versions. This contradiction is not present in the Japanese version of the game.
• Similarly, the European box art depicts Crash's kart with a red 1 emblem on the bonnet, which does not exist in the game itself. The "Nitro Kart" text on the European logo is also blue instead of red like the North American version. The box art for the N-Gage version also depicts Coco driving a pink kart, which is blue like the rest of Team Bandicoot in-game.