Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage Review

With the release of Crash Purple, VU Games was evidently hoping that you would forget about the past franchise titles, because very little resemblance to them is present in this title. Whether that’s good or not is for you to decide, but the game that I played was more of a mini-game collection, VU Games style, than anything else.

In Crash Purple, Crash is on Spyro’s turf. This time he’ll be battling Ripto’s minions, which have been genetically enhanced by Cortex. Both Cortex and Ripto try to rid the world of VU Games’ two heroes. They nearly succeeded after the first level of play, when our two comrades’ faced each other in a battle. It is your goal, with the help of Aku Aku and Spyro, to defeat the plan being waged by the nemeses.

Crash Purple is launching simultaneously with Spyro Orange, due to the level of combined paths that are featured in the games. Instead of featuring both on one game, which might not have been accomplishable, they separated two adventures into two games, which have many plot intersections. It’s like a handheld version of Sonic Adventure, in the way that the stories are woven together after playing each game.

The game features, from my count, four worlds, with a final boss fight, which must be unlocked by collecting all of the white gems. You continue on your path from one world to the next by collecting five purple crystals in each world. The five purple crystals are found in each world’s five mini-games. White gems, on the other hand, are found in both mini-games and bonus games, such as crate destruction levels.

The warp gates, which lead to the mini-games, which earn you your purple crystals, can be opened with the bountifully placed Wumpa fruit. Wumpa fruit can also purchase trading cards; with the use of a second Game Boy Advance, you can trade cards with friends.

Though Wrath of Cortex was anything but a complicated game, Purple is even less. The controls are run down as follows: A is used to jump, B to spin, and the A button twice is used to double jump.

Mini-games have a Wario Ware feel to them. I didn’t count, but I’m guessing that there are well over 20 mini-games available to choose from. We have a sheep exterminator game, where you annihilate a sheep stampede, a tank-driving level, and a Breakout-like level, where you hit enemies that move in Space Invader style. It wouldn’t hurt mentioning that when looking for the portals, Aku Aku will direct where they are located, once near them.

Had VU scrapped the platforming elements, they could have focused more time on the multi-player games. Since I was not provided with two game units (and didn’t find out until just now that I could have used my copy of Spyro Orange), I can not discuss the bridge fight multi-player game. The other multi-player modes include a hovership mode, where you deflect balls away from your screen. In the other, you ram into opponents’ ships, including a ‘hot potato’ variation.

The strength in Crash Purple lies within the mini and multi-player games. The ramming multi-player levels are kind of lame, but the variable game modes in the deflect-a-ball category are a pretty good time investment. Had there been more focus on platforming, a slightly stronger multi-player, and at least a couple more moves, this would have been a must-buy. As is, I can only suggest to wait for a price drop, or, if you are fan of mini-games, pick it up now.