Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy
Encyclopedia
Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy are two platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...

s published by Vivendi Universal Games
Vivendi Games
Vivendi Games, formerly known as Vivendi Universal Games, was the holdings company for Sierra Entertainment and Blizzard Entertainment. Vivendi Games was founded as Vivendi Universal Games after Vivendi bought Universal Studios in the early 2000s...

  and developed by Vicarious Visions
Vicarious Visions
Vicarious Visions is an American video game developer founded by the high school brothers Karthik and Guha Bala in 1990, which developed some PC and Game Boy Color games in late 90's and 2000. They later developed Terminus, which won two Independent Games Festival Awards in 1999...

 for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...

. They were released in North America on June 3, 2004, In the PAL regions (Europe and Australia) on June 25, 2004 (under the names Crash Fusion and Spyro Fusion) and in Japan on December 9, 2004 (under the names: Crash Bandicoot Advance Wakuwaku Tomodachi Daisakusen! and Spyro Advance Wakuwaku Tomodachi Daisakusen!). This was the final (or the so far most recent) Spyro game to be released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage is the tenth installment in the Crash Bandicoot series of video games, while Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy is the eighth installment in the Spyro series of video games (and the first Spyro title to be developed by Vicarious Visions). For both series, the games are the fourth installments made for the Game Boy Advance. The story of the games center on a plot to wreak havoc on the universe by the main antagonists Doctor Neo Cortex
Doctor Neo Cortex
Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex, often referred to as "Doctor Cortex" or simply "Cortex", is a video game character and the main antagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. His name is a play on the term neocortex, an area of the brain...

 and Ripto, who have recently joined forces. The protagonists of the story, Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot (character)
Crash Bandicoot, or simply Crash, is a video game character and the primary protagonist of the Crash Bandicoot series of video games. Introduced in the 1996 video game Crash Bandicoot, Crash is an Eastern Barred Bandicoot that was genetically enhanced by the series antagonist Doctor Neo Cortex and...

 and Spyro the Dragon, must team up and defeat Doctor Cortex and Ripto along with their genetically modified minions.

Gameplay

Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage and Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy are single-player side-scrolling adventure games in which the player controls Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon in the respective games. While the games feature platforming elements that allow Crash and Spyro to navigate different areas, the main focus is on a series of minigames that make up the core of the gameplay. The minigames involve distinctively different gameplay elements, such as destroying enemies in a Breakout-inspired challenge or racing through an area with a jet pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....

, tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

 or inner tube
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

. The games make use of the Game Link Cable, allowing players to compete in multiplayer versions of several of the minigames found in the games. Much of these minigames only require one copy of either of the games for as many as four players in the network. Players can earn trading card
Trading card
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...

s by performing specific tasks; these cards can be traded between Game Boy Advance systems to players who do not physically own a copy of the games. Additional content can be accessed if the two games are linked to each other.

Characters

The main protagonists and player characters of the games are Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon, who must team up and save their worlds from an evil plot by their nemeses. The main antagonists of the games, Doctor Neo Cortex and Ripto, are the arch-enemies of Crash and Spyro respectively, and have teamed up in a bid to control their combined universes.

Story

The story begins with Doctor Neo Cortex and Ripto joining forces to rid themselves of their respective nemeses Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon by genetically modifying Ripto's "Riptoc" minions and disguising them as Crash and Spyro, leading the two protagonists to believe they are against each other. Crash and Spyro are alerted of their respective worlds' predicament and are sent to get rid of the disguised Riptocs. Crash and Spyro eventually encounter each other at Dragon Castles, believing each other to be a disguised Riptoc. However, they soon discover that they have been tricked into fighting each other by Cortex and Ripto and decide to team up against them.

Not even Tiny Tiger, Crush or Gulp can stop them, but Cortex uses his niece, Nina Cortex, to kidnap Coco and the Professor. Blink the Mole informs Crash and Spyro what happened to Coco and the Professor. Spyro rescues Coco and the Professor while Crash distracts Nina. Finally, Crash and Spyro defeat Nina at her own game. Coco has an idea: If they put a tracer on Cortex and Ripto, they would track them to their headquarters. Crash defeats Ripto, but he forgot to insert the tracer. Spyro defeats Cortex and he puts the tracer on him. Crash and Spyro reach their headquarters in outer space. As a team, Crash and Spyro defeat Cortex and Ripto. They thank each other as the games ends with a photo of Crash having Spyro in a friendly headlock, and the credits roll.

Development

As production finished on Crash Nitro Kart, Vicarious Visions and Vivendi Universal Games contemplated the next handheld game in the Crash Bandicoot series. Hoping to do something different from what has been done before, Vivendi Universal Games approached Vicarious Visions with the concept of bringing Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon together for the first time. Liking the idea, Vicarious Visions collaborated with Vivendi Universal Games in filling out the concept to what would become the two games.

Reception

Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage received mixed reviews from critics upon its release. Frank Provo of GameSpot credited the game as "a good, solid choice for fans of the genre," citing its strong minigames and well-made platforming mechanics. Craig Harris of IGN found that the game "offers a lot of challenge and variety with a ton of single and multiplayer mini-games," but described the overall design of the game as "loosely constructed with a comparatively wimpy, underdeveloped overworld design." Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer criticized the minigames and warned experienced gamers that the collection would "quickly become far too familiar and untaxing to warrant extended interest." Nintendo Power said that the game "presents a steady stream of minigames with tons of variety." Play Magazine considered the game superior to its "crossover cousin" Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy, but decided that the game "still feels cheap". David Chapman of GameSpy praised the library of minigames and the extras unlocked when the game is linked with a copy of Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy, while Lisa Mason of Game Informer criticized the platforming levels as "derivative and uninspired" and the minigames as "frustrating and not very much fun at all." Louis Bedigian of GameZone noted the plentiful minigames, but found the game to be lacking in adventuring, platforming or excitement.

Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy was generally rated lower than Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage by critics. David Chapman of GameSpy said that the game "has plenty to keep most gamers entertained for hours", and noted that the connectivity options with Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage resulted in a "surefire formula for success". Nintendo Power concluded that the graphics and gameplay were "a step up from those of Spyro's isometric-view adventures." Anise Hollingshead of GameZone concluded that Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy is "an average game that will give a decent amount of gameplay value, but just doesn't offer much in the way of excitement or thinking", and went on to say that "having lots of mini-games is a good idea, but the games themselves needed to be more varied and not just be various versions of racing games and breakout clones." Frank Provo of GameSpot decided that "on its own, there really isn't enough to Spyro Orange to keep players interested for very long." Lisa Mason of Game Informer dismissed the game as "just a mishmash of concepts that never really gel into anything great." Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer criticized the minigames and warned experienced gamers that the collection would "quickly become far too familiar and untaxing to warrant extended interest."
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