Crash Bandicoot - Nth Chance

I am not entirely sure how this suddenly came about, but here we go.

The story starts with Crash Bandicoot and Aku Aku in suspended animation in a laboratory aboard an enormous space station. Walking into the room is a hooded character, followed by a junior technician and the two begin working, performing unknown experiments on their test subjects. Their experiments cause two glass vessels to fill with energy, one full of purple vapour, the other with a black, tar-like substance. Proud over what the scientist has devised, he ignores a small meteor that passes through a blip in the defensive grid. The meteor knocks out the power for a short while, allowing Aku Aku and Crash to reanimate.

When the two flee the scientist and his apprentice, they escape as far as they can, until they reach a dead end. The scientist materialises before them, keeping his hood up so that we cannot see his face.

"So, you thought you could pull a fast one on me then? I wouldn't expect an answer from you though, never have I known you to speak. I could install a vocal processor, but then it might ruin the fun,"

"This is my space station, grafted around my life's work, the N Chancer! A powerful device, but completely invisible thanks to our defensive grid; which my trainee technician needs to fine tune a little bit better,"

Hoping now to escape, Aku Aku tries talking to the scientist to allow them to leave, at which the scientist states this.

"I could tell you all my plans, but they would do you no favours, so I simply dispatch you this, a name you'll remember for quite some time. I am Dr. Neuroses Deavour!"

Shortly after, the doctor immobilises the two of them, wiping their memory of the space station and dropping them off where he found them. And so, another adventure begins.

~

Dr. N. Deavour has created a very interesting device called the "Nth Chancer" (which ties in with the title). The machine in question can target pivotal moments in history where two forces have collided and can isolate the force that failed and give it a do-over, allowing it to retry its work (it was originally called the Second Chancer, but some forces have failed so many times that using the algebraic figure of "n" seemed more appropriate.).

The substance N. Deavour acquired from Crash and Aku Aku are remnants of who he wished to bring back. One containing remnants of the "Cortex Vortex" to bring back Dr. Neo Cortex, the other a genetic extract to bring back Uka Uka, Aku Aku's twin brother. Though his plan is simply to bring back the Doctor and the evil spirit, it's far more complex than that, as I will go onto explain later.

Dr. N Deavour is the pivotal villain in this story with very sinister plots.

After acquiring the remnants, he uses them to isolate and retrieve Cortex and Uka Uka and reveals who he really is. He identifies himself as Cortex's mentor from the academy of evil that Cortex went to as a child. Cortex was N. Deavour's prize pupil, earning strings of high grades whilst at school. When Cortex went into the real world of villainy, he failed nearly every time.

N. Deavour finds it burdensome for his prize pupil to keep failing over and over again, so decides to bring him back one last time, so that he can instruct him on what to do, but it's a whole lot different than that.

After Cortex graduated from the school, the only pupils being submitted were complete failures who simply ended up at the wrong place because they dropped out elsewhere. Annoyed by this, N. Deavour retired from teaching, but couldn't find it in himself to quit being a super villain. However, the doctor found himself in a relationship and that was just enough to take his mind off of being a supervillain. Years passed and Dr. N. Deavour became a father and eventually a grand father, his family all taking on professions in his vast scientific industry. His favourite family member was his youngest grand daughter, Sarah Bellum, who wanted to become a scientist like her grand father and he sought to teach her everything he knew.

Unfortunately, the world was not ready for some of his scientific breakthroughs and some scientists became bitter rivals to his work. Eventually, his home and his estate was attacked by a vast armada, his family was killed, save for him as he escaped at the last moment. After the events of that day, he then realised that if the world was going to make him a villain out of jealousy and fear, then he might as well be a villain, and began working on rebuilding his empire. This was 20 years before the events of the game.

Later in the game, Crash discovers, with the help of a time rift on N. Deavour's estate, that the commander aboard the flagship of the armada was none other than Dr. Cortex, who sought to annihalate his mentor to acquire the blue prints to all his work. Since his family put up a fight, they were caught in the destruction. It appears at first that N. Deavour is completely oblivious to this fact.

When Crash and his friends come to face Dr. Cortex and N. Deavour, they inform him that Cortex destroyed his estate and stole his research, but N. Deavour was always aware of this, and his real plan was not to bring back Cortex to help him, but to exact his revenge on him. When Cortex came to the academy, he was an orphan, but after graduating, Cortex designed himself a family, with his creations and his fellow evil scientists.

So N. Deavour wished to bring back all of Cortex's minions and superiors so that he could destroy each and every one of them to a point where they couldn't be recovered. After Cortex is defeated, N. Deavour proceeds to destroy Uka Uka, by electrocuting him until his weak spot is exposed, and N. Deavour then drains out all of the mojo out of him, reducing Uka Uka to nothing more than a tribal mask, which the Doctor smashes apart.

N. Deavour then tries to turn on Crash, explaining why he brought him here. Cortex created Crash many years ago, but during the creation process, infused Crash with some of Cortex's DNA, to make him as cunning as his creator. Because the process back fired, Crash and Cortex became complete polar opposites and their rivalry has taken place ever since. However, N. Deavour reveals that he saw into Cortex' heart and saw what was really there. He saw that Cortex, despite trying numerous attempts to destroy Crash, admired Crash for his cunning, bravery and ambition that mirrored his, and had feeling for him, seeing him as effectively his own family.

As N. Deavour tries to destroy Crash, Cortex stands in the way, insisting that a worthy opponent deserves to live (for a little longer anyway), and Cortex is thrown into the heart of the space station, where he was unlikely to survive. And the final battle ensues, with N. Deavour powered by Uka Uka's bad mojo.

Dr. N. Deavour's apprentice and favourite creation is Sprocket, a prototype creation from the Evolvo-ray that was blue printed originally by N. Brio. After the doctor lost his family, he created Sprocket to be his assistant and later caretaker of the Space Station.

Sprocket was raised from N. Deavour's granddaughter Sarah's best animal friend, a fennec found on the estate. After a little tweaking, N. Deavour was able to heal Sprocket after it sustained horrific wounds from the explosive charges that scattered across the estate, and chose to keep him as a reminder of his grand daughter. Sprocket is fitting with a robotic left arm, and the rest of his body is armoured to protect the injured flesh.

Sprocket takes his role as Dr. N. Deavour's apprentice very seriously, and sees to protecting the space station above all else, almost being the equivalent of N. Gin to Cortex.

When Dr. N. Deavour begins to become enraged and the space station starts to lose integrity as a result of the doctor's actions, Sprocket tries to reason with the Doctor, only to end up being mortally wounded by the fierce doctor. Still determined to remain with the doctor and keep his position as a caretaker, he stays behind as the station begins to collapse (though an alternate ending shows him escaping after the station has disintergrated with the doctor's body in an escape pod to properly deal with him).

Very good! It's a good plot, but I lack backsight for the series.

I never played Crash Bandicoot on a lore-level, I don't think I was old enough when I played it. So I'll just have to take your word for things you say. I just remember the ooga booga and tribal music.

A little recording found amongst the Space Station's archives, lost long ago when work on it began. Recorded by Sprocket, the Caretaker, it is played on the escape pod when the cast leave the station.

"This is the Space Station Endeavour, built in memorial of someone very special to me and the doctor. The late Sarah Bellum worked hard with Dr. Deavour to create scientific breakthroughs that would benefit humanity, her imagination combined with his logic made an impressive scientific development that simple theory couldn't explain, but a lot of us think that their special bond was what made it possible.

Humanity was not quite ready for the best of our inventions, and so Sarah decided it was best to set our sights for the stars, so that humanity could come and welcome our discoveries when it was ready. It's a belief she held dear, and as caretaker, I do as well. This station was built for her, and she was the first life form to step aboard and marvel at the care that went into it.

Hopefully, its purpose shall shine through when the human race is ready to come aboard and see our work for itself, and see the potentials that are brought with it."

I don't quite know what this would imply, but it might add to the story somewhat.

Naturally, it wouldn't be a Crash game without facing hordes of enemies affiliated with Cortex (and in this case Deavour). With the "Nth Chancer", Cortex has brought back his past associates, whilst N. Deavour brings forward his selection of fine villains and henchmen. Here is a list of the bosses faced this time round.

Tiny Tiger - Cortex's earliest creation, Tiny is renowned for strength and his impatience. His willing to get a job done makes him one formidable foe.

Lord Frostbite - A beast animated by bad mojo, reanimated by the power of the Nth Chancer, as one of N. Deavour's demonstrations. In its original campaign, Lord Frostbite was created to conquer vast kingdoms, but failed when trying to claim the deserts of Africa and was condemned to the Antarctic for a cold fate.

N. Brio - Another one of Cortex's former associates, but handpicked again by N. Deavour, because the situation demanded someone more stable than N. Gin as the next opponent for Crash. His chemicals pack a punch, and after practising some bar work inbetween working with other scientists that specialised in villainous schemes, has developed some nastier cocktails to add to the chemical charts.

Nina Cortex - Called out from the academy of evil thanks to pulling a few strings from her uncle, she is sent to deal with Crash before he begins to cause further trouble. N. Deavour is disapproving; she has education to deal with, she has to finish her homework first!

Sprocket - Sprocket is more dedicated to the wellbeing and protection of the space station than the pursuit of evil. When it is under threat, he steps in to help protect it. Naturally, he respects Dr. N. Deavour more than Cortex's ilk, and holds them to low esteem, but has found his former friend to have become very cold and aloof fairly recently, fretting over his mental health. He is called in when N. Deavour begins to find Cortex's efforts to be utterly pathetic and low brow.

Dingodile - A violent and aggressive hybrid of two outback beasties, and a fiery passion (quite literally!). Dingodile is chosen for another mission, but because of rising fuel prices, advised to hold back on it, save it for torching Crash in the final hurdles.

The Furies - Dissatisfied with Cortex's further inability to suceed, N. Deavour calls in "specialists", a triad of monsters from ancient times that dwelled on the frustration of their target. These three temptresses have proven their worth in the past, but an unfortunate bout with the Titans caused them to be nullified. Since such threats to them now no longer exist, bringing them back onto the field seems a safe bet.

N. Gin - Itching to get back into working his machines, N. Deavour allows Cortex to play this trump card, but only if he uses an ancient war machine as his choice of mechanics. Rock solid, powerful and ill-tempered, the war machine fits its explosive new pilot.

N. Cortex - Now it is time for the games to step up a notch. N. Deavour, now confident that perhaps a revision on his tutoring might actually secure a higher chance of a victory, Cortex is thrown onto the field, armed with some more interesting artillery, courtesy of N. Deavour.

N. Deavour - Now, without mercy at what is destroyed as he tries to exact his vengeance, N. Deavour is not the kind of elderly scientist you should underestimate, his agility is blinding, his power is demonic and his cruelty without limitation. With a mind as brilliant as his, a failsafe has been prepared for each and every minion that tries to stop him.

Throughout this adventure, strange cracks are visible in the fabric of reality. These are the result of the Nth Chancer machine's operation, particularly when used to bring back villains from long ago.

The Nth Chancer is fairly crude in its design, it simply plucks the object destined to fail or be destroyed from time on the brink of being destroyed, and brings it to another corresponding point in time. The process punches an enormous hole in the fabric of reality, but the safety protocols can successfully stabilise it, leaving a scar in time.

The scar appears to be a temporal anomaly, time in the immediate area can be distorted without the proper care. Some objects appear completely unaffected by the time distortion, whereas some can counteract it and properly mend time, but leave the scar behind. Though the scars were never always there, people around the affected area are in the belief that they've always been.

The scar can only be fully closed if whatever was removed was returned. However, the Nth Chancer is highly paradoxical; it's function is to remove something that failed and restore it to have another chance; but by removing it from time, you cause it to fail and returning it restored prevents it from failing and therefore there was no possible reason for it to be removed to restored from failure (the repurcusions on time can be quite devastating). It's a difficult procedure and it has taken a long time to understand and attempt to fix.

Dr. N. Tropy, recruited aboard the space station's team for his contribution of the Time Twister device, has discovered that the Time Twister machine can use the cracks to create fully accessable portals to beings that carry a special kind of device or means of passage, but work still continues to make this process much safer.

After defeating Sprocket as a boss, Sprocket can become fully playable. He allies with the Bandicoots, because he can see quite clearly that don't nearly pose as much danger to the space station as Cortex makes out, only to Cortex and his minions. Sprocket would be happy to see the last of them and offers his assistance.

Because Sprocket is a caretaker, and defender of the space station he has a very good mechanical knowledge and can work out some of the trickier puzzles and is very strong, but his speciality isn't just limited to these two areas. Because of his duties working on a space station, he and N. Deavour designed EXOS; EXternal Operations Support, the ultimate kit for a caretaker.

EXOS is designed to protect the user in harsh conditions, such as underwater, in a toxic enviroment, vacuum and in higher temperatures and radiation. It can keep the flesh regenerating and replenish oxygen under these conditions, but not indefinitely. The device needs recharging and cleaning for constant use, and so needs to be returned to standard conditions for it to do so. If it fails, not even Aku Aku or Uka Uka can protect you.

The EXOS is only biologically set to Sprocket and Dr. N. Deavour, so Crash cannot use it to explore dangerous conditions.

After Sprocket is defeated, he admits that he took the liberty of installing a quantum synch drive (a small device that renders them immune to changes in the time line, therefore allowing them to see the scars and know they weren't always there) on Crash and Aku Aku when they were being examined by N. Deavour. During a coffee break, he went into the lab and installed the synch drives somewhere so that they couldn't be found or removed deliberately or unintentionally. For Aku Aku, Sprocket installed in a small notch in the wood, but for Crash, it needed to be better hidden.
Sprocket tells him that in order to avoid it being easily found or being accidentally removed by one of Crash's impolite mannerisms, he had to install the chip in Crash's abdomen. To put it more bluntly, he installed it inside his backside, believing no one would go looking there.

Since N. Gin was restored with the use of the Nth Chancer, the remote device inside the missile embedded into his head has been restored too. However, the transmitter device is the wrong kind, so picks up television signals rather than command signals. Therefore the device suddently starts playing reruns of old television shows at the most innappropriate time, but is easily adjusted with a gentle knock.

Nearly everytime Dr. N. Deavour or Sprocket speak to Crash, they always offer him a "vocal processor", in reference to the Bandicoot's lack of diction.

N. Deavour has calculated a grand plan, for which all of Cortex's associates have a part to play in properly conquering the world, each plan designed notoriously to succeed; this time executed before going after Crash.

Tiny Tiger - Simple, recruit new minions and deal with Crash quickly. All that has to be done is for Tiny to train up the latest line of minions until they rival his impressive strength and to test the machines built by N. Gin.

N Brio - N. Brio has developed some more interesting chemicals, some that could benefit all of mankind medically and strategically, and has been implored by N. Deavour to take it to the next level; mass production. With the chemical industry under his control, the entire United States are at his mercy.

Nina Cortex - The fashion conscious niece of Dr. Cortex had a plan to take over Japan's fashion industry; which would her equivalent of taking over the world. But some of the jewellery released contains receivers, awaiting orders from one particular scientist. It's only going to be so long before its distributed worldwide.

Sprocket - Dr. N. Deavour's loyal assistant and caretaker to the space station is ordered to step in and deal with Crash when the Bandicoot begins causing trouble down on Earth. Sprocket, whilst refusing to be in compliance with Dr. Cortex's ilk, chooses to obey Dr. Deavour and proceeds to trick Crash to find the "N. Lightenment Observatory" that orbits over deserts of Africa. However, Sprocket frets over the security and integrity of the Nth Chancer, the space station built around it and the damage and abuse it receives from Dr. Cortex. He mistakes Crash to be a threat to it and goes into combat against him. When he can clearly see that Crash has no intentions of harming the facility, he chooses to assist him, but only in the defeat of Cortex's minions.

Dingodile - Dr. Neo Cortex has tracked down one of the rarest beasts in the world; a leviathan. Eons ago, the leviathans used to level cities with storms that followed their pods in the oceans. This one is probably one of the last, and has been captured by Dingodile for one important resource, it's blood. Leviathan blood is the most effective fuel available; one drop could power the Australian power grid for several days if refined properly, so imagine how much power you would gain from several hundred gallons. However, the process of containing a leviathan is highly damaging to the local reef and so something must be done to release the leviathan, before its blood hits the market.

N. Gin - With a few strings pulled, N. Gin has become the CEO of a company set up in Eastern Europe and Russia that manufactures advanced robotic components. Under N. Gin, the factory is building very powerful machine for its CEO, ready to seize the world by force, once the quota is met.

N. Cortex - Everything has been played according to plan, his minions working on their individual projects to aid his world domination, leaving Cortex with only one small task; destroy Crash Bandicoot as he sees fit.

N. Tropy - Dr. N. Tropy's prized project, the Time Twister, is a particular asset that N. Deavour sees as very useful, as its use alongside the Nth Chancer would improve the performance and the safety of the machine. During its installation N. Tropy looks forward through time to see a very disturbing future, the real truth behind N. Deavour's plan. Realizing this he begins using the Time Twister, in secret, to try and guide Crash to this revelation also, by opening one of the scars in time on N. Deavour's old estate. After doing so, a shadow walks into N. Tropy's work and sees to eliminating the scientist.

N. Deavour - Unbeknownst to anyone, N. Deavour's real isn't a philanthropic gesture to help Cortex up his game, but to exact his revenge on. Having lost his family to Dr. Cortex so many years ago when they tried to protect their home and N. Deavour's inventions, N. Deavour wishes to gather all of Cortex's "family" of scientists and mutants and have them killed off one by one in front of him, before finally eliminating the doctor in cold blood.

Is anyone actually reading this?

Me.

Me.

But I didn't really feel qualified to comment, since I haven't played Crash since ... (Doesn't know the name of the game).

Upon closer investigation, the game I was referring to in my previous post appears to be Crash bandicoot 3: Warped. Calculate what age I would've been when I played that game, and guess how much I remember and/or understood.

I've read up to a post or two after my own on the last page. I'm not up to date.

However, referring to the timestamps it would appear your query was made be after no-one replied to your last update. I'd like to point out I don't think I was on at all that day when you both posted and complained no-one had read it.

In N. Deavour's grand plan, the scientists of Cortex are instructed to seize the world's greatest industries by force, with some very powerful and ancient means available to them.

N. Brio takes control of the world's chemical refineries, centralised in the United States, using a molecule that is identified only as "cyanose". The cyanose appears completely harmless and is mistaken fairly easily for a synthetic polymer capable of becoming almost anything; organic or synthetic, and the world demands it. The cyanose is really in fact a living chemical, all samples of a greater monster that tried to pollute the world centuries ago when the Elementals were still free.

The cyanose, when controlled directly from the laboratories, can take on the form of almost anything, from the finest cosmetics to the most powerful medicines. But when gathered in bulk and subjected to the right kind of treatment, it comes alive and becomes dangerous. With produce of cyanose being in such high demand, it's only so long before N. Brio's customers can be used as an army.

When Crash attempts to storm the corporation, N. Brio leads him into a trap and tries to isolate Crash's abundance of cyanose, only to realise that Crash has never used any of his products, nor any kind of cosmetics and N. Brio simply calls him a dirty rodent and should have realised from simply Crash's BO (Crash simply responds by sniffing his armpit and looking confused when he can't smell anything). Instead, N. Brio ingests a large sample of pure cyanose and causes the disease spreading creature to manifest and attack Crash.

~

N. Gin has been working very hard on mass producing an enormous robotic armada for Cortex, after being appointed as CEO of one of the largest machine manufacturers in Eastern Europe and Russia. Before taking control of the machine market, he was commissioned to explore the wastelands of Siberia, Mongolia and Eastern Russia to look for something under N. Deavour's instructions. He declares that he plans to use a giant war machine to conquer the world and eliminate Crash and his friends.

The local workers of Eastern Europe simply state that his factory just "came out of nowhere", but because of the competitive wage packages he was offering for workers, they simply accepted that it would have been nothing short of a miracle. The origin of the factory, pretty much was that.

When Crash begins to investigate the factories to find a way of reaching Cortex, investigators are continuously running through schematics of the factory that should have been done when it first was built. They find no construction date, no openings and none of the plans have been signed by a real architect; by rights, the building shouldn't exist. What's more, surveyors who've been there found vast networks of tunnels and machinery where the plans say there aren't, and only one surveyor out of the many sent returned to the planning offices.

Then it finally makes sense. N. Gin's factories aren't building a giant war machine, they ARE the giant war machine. When N. Gin gives the activation order, the entire factory complex releases itself from the ground and begins it's route of destruction. The machine is based on an ancient design known as the Gigas Machine; a giant robot powered by ancient machinery and generators, constructed from metal, stone and ice that was initially built eons ago, but was destroyed and its parts scattered across Asia.

With some help from Sprocket and the Phoenix, the Gigas Machine that shadows even the tallets buildings has its head destroyed and its central control exposed. The only way to shut it down, is to order it to do so, but N. Gin has taken control of the Gigas Brain, an enormous golem that controls the entire system and will not stop while under the control of the mad man.

Centuries ago, a mighty bird once soared across the skies, its fiery wings lighting the skies across the Australian outback. When the earlier travellers and indigenous folk ever became lost, its trail would always lead them to safety and was named the Tasmanian Phoenix (Phoenix Harrisii) after the land where it regenerated after its long lives.

Recently, rumours of the Phoenix being seen once more have begun to circulate the islands where Crash and the Bandicoots live. Since such a rare phenomenon hasn't been seen and cannot be imitated so easily, they have to be true. After trying to find the phoenix, they find out the truth.

A Tasmanian phoenix, the only one alive, was brought back to life by the Nth Chancer in the vain hopes that Dr. Cortex could tame the bird and use it to aid his cause. But when Tiny tries to capture it, it puts up an intense fight; refusing entirely to aid the cause of evil. After Tiny and his forces are defeated by Crash and Coco, Aku Aku befriends the Phoenix and the Phoenix chooses to offer her assistance in trying to stop Dr. Cortex's plans.

Throughout the game, the Phoenix is used as a means of transporting our protagonists from place to place. Sometimes, some levels or stages are played as the Phoenix, in which she is controlled to escape Cortex's forces or to clear a pathway of them. She chooses to stay with Crash and Aku Aku, until towards the final battle with Cortex aboard the space station, because her flames cannot burn in outer space.

After a little thought, I believed it might be necessary to cast a few of the characters with different voice actors, and give some of the newer ones appropriate actors. Here is my opinion;

Aku Aku - recast by Michael Dorn (better known for Commander Worf)
Uka Uka - recast by Sean Schemmel (voiced Black Doom in Shadow the Hedgehog)
N. Gin - recast by Armin Shimmerman (LAAAAAWRENCE!!!)
Sprocket - cast by Billy West
N. Deavour - cast by Timothy Dalton
Nina Cortex - recast by Hayden Panettiere

After defeating Cortex, Crash and Aku Aku can return to the N. Lightenment Observatory to find a scar in time. With the correct number of gems, the scar becomes a portal, leading to Dr. N. Tropy's time ship.

After being discovered conspiring against Dr. N. Deavour, N. Tropy was neutralised and thrown into a time portal that was resealed as a scar. Now, N. Tropy is pretty annoyed with the fact that no one seems to have payed attention to his SOS calls and declares that he's going to use the Time Twister to substitute Crash and the Bandicoots in his place on a ship that is due to fall into a black hole if he isn't allowed to escape.

By entering the time portal, Crash and Sprocket can solve a series of puzzles to reach N. Tropy to challenge him to combat. If they suceed and defeat him, the quantum synch drive becomes upgraded. The normal quantum synch drive keeps and individual to the true time line, allowing them to notice changes in the time line while others cannot; the upgraded synch drive can allow the indiviudal to put themselves out of synch with real time, and move around in decelerated time.

In decelerated time, the whole universe moves very slowly for a short while (walking around distorted time can be damaging for prolonged times, but doesn't pose much harm if done for a short while). In some cases, slowed time may be essential to use in order to solve certain puzzles or even defeat some enemies.

Gathering gems throughout the game will allow the player to unlock multiplayer co-op modes. In multiplayer co-op, gamers can play as a variety of playable characters (depending on what levels they have completed or what achievements they have) either online or with a friend.

There are five different modes of play;

Team mission - work with another player to reach the crystal or defeat a boss in the arena.
Battle mission - beat the other player to the crystal or challenge eachother in an arena.
Survival route - The last player standing is the winner on an unending death route.
Time mission - Reach the goal within the time limit.
Race mission - Using a variety of machines or vehicles, the players must win a race.

As the player overcomes certain enemies or completes certain tasks, more characters within the multiplayer co-op can be unlocked.

Crash - available from the start.
Coco - available from the start.
Crunch - available from the start.
Sprocket - defeat Sprocket in game.
Tiny Tiger - collect all items in the first stage.
Ripper Roo - collect all items in the second stage.
N. Brio - collect all items in the third stage.
Nina Cortex - collect all items in the fourth stage.
N. Tropy - collect all of the relics.
Dingodile - collect all items in the sixth stage.
Penta Penguin - collect all items in the seventh stage.
N. Gin - collect all items in the eight stage.
Dr. Cortex - collect all items in the ninth stage.
Sarah Bellum - defeat N. Deavour.
Spyro the Dragon*- collect all gems.

As well as completing the task, the player can also find items along the route that will help them complete their task. They are as follows.

Fruit - collecting fruit will build up a player's hitpoints. When they take damage in the multiplayer mode, they will not use life bars, only lose a handful of fruit according to what they take damage to. 10 is the highest a player can carry at one time allowing them to be able to resist certain amounts of damage, but if a player is hit whilst carrying none, they will restart from the previous checkpoint (or the beginning of them level if the checkpoint hasn't been reached).

Mojo - collecting mojo, depending on its colour, will give the player special power. Light mojo will allow the player to increase their defence, whilst dark mojo will allow them to increase their damage. When the player has collected enough, they can use it for a variety of purposes, such as impressive combo attacks, shielding or operating machines.

Aku Aku or Uka Uka - when the player collects a mask, they can wear it to make them completely invulnerable to all attack, for as long as the meter is full. The mojo each mask gives off can also be used depending on which mask is worn. If a player wears Aku Aku, they can use it to teleport across vast distances and move very quickly, whilst wearing Uka Uka will allow the player to obliterate anything in their path at will and even throw other players out of their way.

*Spyro the Dragon is now owned by Sierra, who also own Crash Bandicoot, so it can be pulled off.

In order to stop Dr. Cortex, Crash needs to travel to several places to find answers as to what it is Dr. Cortex is up to.

Wumpa Island - Off Shore From Tasmania - Crash's home island. Sparcely populated by a few natives and by some strange animals. Tiny has been sent here to recruit some of these monsters into the ranks of Cortex's legions, some of which haven't been seen in years and presumed extinct.

Davis Strait - Arctic Circle - The information the temple gives leads to this frozen wasteland. In the ice and the darkness, Lord Frostbite prepares to rebuild his grisly army to finally realise his ambition as to expand the glaciers of the north all the way to the equator.

Salt Lake City - Utah - North America - Dr. N. Brio has founded a chemical supergiant with its largest plants and refineries in Salt Lake City. Deposits of a strange and wondrous chemical called Cyanose have been found all over the west coast of North America, where it was once said that a mighty pestilence once hit centuries back. With the refineries working at maximum capacity and vast deposits across the entire west coast that are seemingly inexhaustable, a monster awaits underground.

Tokyo - Japan - Within the bustling city of Tokyo, the Black Fox fashion line has become one of the biggest brand labels in such a short time. It is rare to find a business woman with such an impressive track record as Nina Cortex tells the press, but something about the models seems slightly unnerving; people just fall for them completely. Something very wily is at work.

Enlightenment Gardens - Earth Orbit above Mauritania, Africa - After the Black Fox company goes under when the leading staff seemingly vanish, a communique is relayed from the Enlightenment Gardens from Dr. Cortex. This vast garden was designed as part of a project to make deserts bloom, by developing special plants that could survive pretty much anything. Word of warning though, the plants have minds of their own and some have taken a fancy for small, mindless marsupials who may wonder too close to smell their flowers.

Leviathan's Lair - South Pacific Ocean - When it comes to oil, this latest product on the market known as the Blood of the Storm is the finest that money can buy. One drop can do several thousand times better than traditional fuels, but where it comes from is a different story. Whilst environmental agencies try to press charges over the rig being built very close to a reef, little are they aware of the real source of this precious oil, as the last of the Leviathan's is slowly bled dry.

Ninos Anafi - Mediterranean Sea - Europe - For many years, creatures known as the Furies used to torment people to the point of madness, until they were slain by a mighty hero. When Crash proves to be a nuisance, the Furies invite him to their island so they can see this hero for themselves, in exchange for ownership of their lost lands to be returned.

Moskva - Russia - The modern market is demanding robotics, so the "N. Gineers" of Russia is where to get them. From automobiles, to weaponry; from domestic appliances to mighty battle droids, the "N. Gineers" build it all, bringing money and employment to a hard area of the world, but their philanthropic CEO is hardly available to talk. With recent trips to the less habitable areas of Russia and the neighbouring countries, the scientist N. Gin is rarely able to hold a conversation as he searches lost plains for something. Whatever it is, it must be big.

N. Deavour's Estate - Coat's Island, Nunavut - Canada - Up until twenty years ago, this estate was the home to the famous Dr. N. Deavour. No one quite truly knows what happened to it or if any of the family remain, nor do they really care. All that exists from that day were pictures of airships approaching the island and then leaving a few days later.

Cortex City - The N. Deavour Space Station - Earth Orbit - With the latest addition to the Space Station now finished, Dr. Cortex prepares to use it to hold the world at ransom. The Nth Chancer combined with the Time Twister allows the building of the most devastating doomsday weapon of its kind, one that is able to bend the fabric of reality to wreak upon the greatest disasters that have happened or ever will happen upon the world. In order to disable the weapon, each of the terminals need to be shut down.

The Core - The N. Deavour Space Station - Earth Orbit - Where this adventure begins is also where it ends. You've fought the scientist and won, you've seen the founder of the scientist's academy and now prepare to battle the finest teacher the scientist ever had, for the fate of this world.

Dr. N. Tropy's Time Ship - Lost in Time - When Dr. N. Tropy was found tinkering with something he shouldn't, he was knocked out cold and his shuttle sent hurtling through time until someone can shut down the controls.

An image of Sprocket is now available.

http://morbiusmonster.deviantart.com/art/Random-Doodle-Sprocket-199583619

In addition to the existing chromatic gems, some new gems have appeared as a result of the use of the Nth Chancer. One such gem is the Amber gem that was found within the cyanose mines during some initial excavation.

Since it was recovered, closer inspection indicated that it was one of the gems that was originally used to seal away some of the monster brought forth by the Nth chancer. Consequently, in real time, these gems were destroyed after their use; but because the Nth Chancer causes the failure of the villains by pulling them out of time, the gems were never used and therefore never destroyed.

Once the amber gem was procured safely, N. Brio had it taken away and sealed within the laboratories. He then transformed it into digital matter and stored it within the computer system. In order to acquire it, Coco needs to hack the mainframe in order to give Crash access to the partition it is sealed in within the Digital Mainframe.

The server it was placed in was also used as the intranetic chat room (the blog space for the workers of the factory). The chatroom is fitted with virus eliminators that detonate when nodes are tripped by a virus (shaped coincidentally like NITRO crates). In order to disable the system, Crash would need to enter the lightspeed circuit and trip the nodes into detonating without the threat to clear his path. Once all the nodes are tripped, the entire circuit shuts down and forced exit from the system. The path to the orange gem is then exposed, allowing it to be taken.

When it comes to saving the world, Crash has had some experience already. But this time, he may need a little more than his bare knuckles to send evil packing. Luckily, Aku Aku's powers enable him to become a perfect arsenal in the battle against Cortex. His abilities include the following;

• Sharpened Wumpa leaves - These leaves can inflict very simple damage, and can be launched from long distance. Over time, more can be fired in one go.
  
• Phoenix claws - Another effective melee weapon. These fiery claws increase in strength the more chain hits you acquire.
  
• Sword of Cyanose - A little souvenier from N. Brio's office at his HQ in New York. The sword of Cyanose is a swift and effective weapon, its natural sting quite effective on a variety of foes.
  
• Rebounding Wumpa leaves - These leaves are very useful. When thrown, their natural elasticity causes them to rebound off of surfaces until they pierce a target.
  
• Fruitzooka - An old favourite, this fires overripe Wumpa fruit and packs one heck of a punch in doing so.
  
• Uka's Incenerator - Harness the power of bad mojo with this powerful beam of destructive energy. Anything caught between the source of this laser beam and the end of the blast takes one heck of a nasty blow.
  

All these weapons are earned after defeating certain bosses, and with practise, Crash can get the most out of them. With some mojo, each can have a little extra nurturing to become very strong.