Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced

Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced is a platform game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Universal Interactive and Vivendi Universal Games for the Game Boy Advance. The game is the sequel to Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The game features a new villain: the (literally) hypnotic N. Trance.
 * 2) Coco and Crunch Bandicoot are now playable and have their own stages with their own abilities and gameplay styles.
 * 3) Levels are longer and a little more difficult than The Huge Adventure.
 * 4) While some level themes are reused from the PlayStation Crash games again, there are more original level themes.
 * 5) The game has many different gameplay styles, similar to Crash Bandicoot: Warped. It also brings some mechanics from mh:crappygames:Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, like the atlasphere.
 * 6) A new collectible, Gem Shards, is introduced. Most levels have one of these hidden, if you collect all the Gem Shards of a specific color, you unlock a secret level where you can find the respective Color Gem.
 * 7) Just like its predecessors, every level includes a Time Trial to obtain a Relic as a reward.
 * 8) Some of the powerups Crash obtains after defeating a boss are completely new.
 * 9) Awesome soundtrack, some of them are improved versions of its predecessor. There is also a CD which has the soundtrack of the game extended and in higher quality.
 * 10) Much more detailed graphics than its predecessor.
 * 11) For the first time in the series, you don't have to get all collectibles to unlock the secret ending, Gem Shards are enough.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While it does have more levels than XS/The Huge Adventure, the platforming levels have less variety as they'll mainly be set in either Ancient Egypt, Arabia or Volcano levels.
 * 2) The Rocket Jump powerup is not very useful and tends to accidentally activate during Time Trials.
 * 3) There were two unused themes in the game, such an improved version of the Future levels from The Huge Adventure and a new theme based in the Motorcycle levels from Crash Bandicoot: Warped. These can be listened through the CD of the soundtrack.
 * 4) The atlasphere levels feel like a downgrade in comparison to the ones from The Wrath of Cortex due to awkward controls.
 * 5) The bosses are easy to defeat overall.

Reception
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced received generally positive reviews from critics.

Trivia

 * From the 0:26 to the 0:32 mark, the volcano song sounds exactly like Sonic 1's Marble Zone.