Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure brought the classic platforming journey of the beloved bandicoot to the Game Boy Advance, this time in a story where Doctor Neo Cortex once again tries to take over the world using a new weapon, and Crash, together with his sister Coco and friends, stands in his way across a set of colorful island and jungle locations. The game was created by Vicarious Visions, a studio that at the time specialized in quality handheld adaptations of major console franchises.

The gameplay remains faithful to the series - the player moves through linear levels full of bonus crates, enemies, and pitfalls, combining running, jumping, spinning, and sliding to collect as many crystals and wumpa fruits as possible, needed both for progress and for unlocking bonus levels. Besides classic 2D and pseudo-3D sections, where Crash runs into the depth of the screen away from the camera, the game also offers rides on various vehicles and animal allies, bringing much-needed variety to an otherwise straightforward concept and breaking up the monotony of pure jumping. It also includes a system for rating each level based on speed and the number of collected items, motivating repeated playthroughs and attempts at mastering each map perfectly. The graphics, on the GBA's limited hardware, surprisingly well imitate the colorful, cartoonish style of the original console entries, and the music complements the lighthearted, cartoonish atmosphere of the whole series.

Critics and players alike praised how Vicarious Visions managed to bring the fun of the famous PlayStation entries into a pocket format without major compromises in pacing or in the feel of the controls. Today the game is regarded as one of the best platformers on the GBA overall, and a pleasant reminder of a time when Crash Bandicoot was among the most popular gaming mascots and his handheld outings were a natural part of every generation of consoles and accompanying portable devices.

Why play: For fans of the nineties mascot, it's one of the best platformers on the GBA overall, bringing the pace and feel of the famous PlayStation entries into a pocket format without major compromises.