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shinragod β Crash Bandicoot 1 Tribute
#crashbandicoot #crashbandicootfanart #drneocortex #fortress #neocortex #papupapu #playstation #ripperroo #tawna #warthog #waterfall #akuaku #drcortex #pinstripepotoroo #playstation1 #tawnabandicoot #cortexcastle #koalakong #crash_bandicoot #nitrusbrio #nbriocrash #drnbrio #akuakumask #nativeforest #akuakucrashbandicoot #tawnaandcrash
Published: 2014-11-16 19:16:12 +0000 UTC; Views: 33280; Favourites: 491; Downloads: 79
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For the PSX 1 Tribute Project by one of my all time favorite groups here:Their official site is right her: www.game-art-hq.com/
I got lucky enough to draw a tribute piece to the very first Crash Bandicoot game. You may have not know how much of a Crash fan I was back in the day. 1996 was his debut. Wow...eighteen years ago the marsupial that provided me with hours of fun on the original PlayStation meant something. Crash was fairly relevant before the millennium hit as I enjoyed Crash 1, Crash 2, Crash 3 and CTR A LOT!
This pic is a tribute to the first Crash Bandicoot game. So let's make it perfectly clear that it is a tribute to Crash Bandicoot 1 and 1 ONLY!! So characters introduced in later Crash sequels (like Coco, Tiny, N. Gin, Dingodile, N. Tropy, etc. etc....) are NOT in this pic for that very particular reason.
The following characters appeared in the first Crash Bandicoot game and are thus in this pic:
- Crash Bandicoot himself
- Tawna
- Aku Aku
- Dr. Neo Cortex
- Dr. N. Brio
- Papu Papu
- Ripper Roo
- Koala Kong
- Pinstripe Potoroo
- The Warthog
Yes; I threw in the warthog as the animal Crash rode in the first game. Had I made a Crash 2 tribute (which I MAY do sometime) then the Polar Bear would be in it too.
This tribute piece basically embraces Crash's trek through the first game involving three islands. From left to right; this picture loosely follows his progress. Like how the very far left has the jungles and the native fortress; the middle section has the waterfall and a few of the temples scattered around, and the far right has both Cortex Castle and the cortex Power station.
Some of the obstacles can be seen too; like the boulder that tried to squash Crash can be seen hidden amongst the trees if you look hard enough.
There is technically a fourth section; the middle where Crash and Tawna are standing. This is Cortex's airship.
Each section also has the bosses Crash faced.
In the far left on top of the native fortress is the obese Native chief Papu Pau; who looks irate as hell for having been woken up. (How exactly did he get up there anyway? XD)
Near the fortress is the giant waterfall with the temple mouth. Out of it hops the psychotic, yet brilliant Ripper Roo.
Below the waterfall and near the rocks with crystals, as well as railroad tracks is the gigantic Koala Kong. He looks ready to heave a boulder at the Airship to try and knock Crash and Tawna off of it. Duck n' cover bandicoots!! O.o
Following to the right we see one of my favorite of Cortex's minions; Pinstripe Potoroo. Standing over his industrial waste, tommy gun in hand with that absolutely shit eating grin. His cheesy Brooklyn accent and gangster mentality is why he's one of my favorites; such a stereotype. XD But he is an enjoyable one; and to many Crash Bandicoot fan girls...a sexy one apparently. XD
N Brio can be seen standing near the temple ruins a loft one of the rocks with crystals sticking out of it. I know you fight him inside Cortex Castle, but we can only see Cortex Castle from the outside. So I decided to include the scenario where you collect three N. Brio tokens and it transports you to that Bonus stage.....which was one of the ways to save your game back then. I dunno; the first Crash game had a pretty jacked saving system. They fortunately improved it greatly by Crash 2.
And finally hovering above is the nefarious Dr. Neo Cortex. Being a typical mad scientist; he shakes his fist at Crash while holding his zapper aloft as he glides nearby on his hoverboard.
Let's talk about Crash and Tawna here for a minute. The two seem to have been reunited; or perhaps this could actually be the beginning of the game. XD Looks like they don't wanna be taken in by the "good" Doctor....so they stick close.
Crash looks pretty peeved. Almost like he's looking at Dr. Cortex saying: "Look! I beat the game! I just wanna go home and spend some time with my girl. Leave me alone. >:I"
Aku Aku hovers over Crash looking equally peeved at Cortex too.
Tawna looks a bit concerned, but not in a "Frightened" sort of way. Guess with Crash nearby she feels more secure.
Then...why after all that trouble did you leave him you slut!!? XD
I can imagine a later scenario where Tawna returns;Β Crash's sis Coco chews her out and really gives her the business for leaving him. (Especially with Pinstripe. XD) Tawna tries to explain that it wasn't personal; it was all just "Politics." (And in her defense...it was.) Also, she breaks the fourth wall by telling Coco if she hadn't left; Coco wouldn't be in the games. (Later Crash games did these in-jokes a lot. Many of them didn't work; but I do admit there were SOME genuinely humorous situations even in the lamest of ways.)
This pic took forever to make. It took me the entire week to plan out, sketch, render and adjust.
This is another one of those scenarios where I made the background first and added the characters last. I spaced them out through various layering techniques. Some appear tinier than others while some really stick out.
The whole background was supposed to have a sunset feel; and while the left side appears peaceful and serene; the right gets more darker as we visit the Cortex Power factory sending pollution into the sky. (And in the water too thanks to the green toxic waste and the toxic waste barrels.)
I listened to A LOT of Crash Bandicoot music while doing this. It helped get an overall feel for it.
So this is one of my biggest projects I worked on to date. And since it dealt with Crash Bandicoot from the original PSX1 trilogy; I took careful steps to make sure it came out looking good. After all, this is back when Crash was developed by Naughty Dog; before they would come out with the critically acclaimed Uncharted and The Last of Us games. Yes before dealing with dangerous treasure hunts and post-apocalyptic survival; Naughty Dog gave us the original Crash Bandicoot. And frankly; the original Crash trilogy along with Crash Team Racing are STILL the best in the series.
Hope this little tribute reaches out to all the original Crash lovers in us. It's what I was going for.
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Comments: 104
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Awesome. Crash will protect Tanwa from Cortex.
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Cool work!Β Ya know I think it was Crash's INSANITY personality that drove Tawna awayΒ perhaps if he had been MORE like how he was in SKYLANDERSΒ then maybe she wouldn't have left him for Pinstripe! Β Β Β Β
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Very very cool!! I remember the characters when I played it in PS2 "Crash of the titans"Β
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Aw man, I still get a good kick out the first Crash Bandicoot game, even when it comes to beating the game 100% despite the game's difficulty spikes. lol I guess it's all from basic experience after all the times I've played this game when I first obtained a PS1 for my 8th birthday at the time heheh.
And this is a really nice and thoughtful image that you put so much work on, especially how all the characters appear in your influential art style, I always admired the game's dark and atmospheric settings too haha!
Wonderful work with the image, Shinra!
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Already have. ;D
shinragod.deviantart.com/journβ¦
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What about Tawna Bandicoot tap dancing, synchronized swimming, doing gymnastics, doing circus acts, doing vaudeville acts, and doing burlesque acts? You up for that?
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Truly an amazing start to an amazing PS1 game series. ^^
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You said it brother.
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This is seriously one of the best art pieces I've seen in a long time, that being said by a Crash fan now for 18 years, you've mastered a lot of wonderful detail into this piece and I love how it looks like Β concept art almost for a game.Β
Great work man
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Well thank you very much. 
It's odd how long its been for Crash to be out; and the 90's truly was his decade.
You have some nice cosplay Crash pics too. ^^
Thanks so much. ^^
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no problemo and aaaww thank you 
BTW can you spread the word about this? : www.behindthevoiceactors.com/m⦠It's a fan made project my friend is working on. He's lacking animators, so if you can spread the word, it might be picked up more. Thanks
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Even though I remember this game being out when I was a kid, I have never actually been able to play it, even though I have played some of the sequels that have come out including "Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back" (which happens to be one of the very first games on the PlayStation I've ever played, and this picture you've done celebrating the 20th Anniversary of this game looks very nice and cool for sure.
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He's totally lost it now. XD
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Confession time: I've never played ANY Crash games, and have at times even confused him for Banjo Bear. The games look fun... unless you're aiming for the Gems. Glad they fixed that in the sequel I'm told.
And to be frank, I don't think I "get" Tawna's appeal beyond basically being a fur-covered Pamela Anderson.
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Yes; getting the gems in the first game was frustration. Frustrating in that you not only had to break all the boxes; you had to do it without losing a life. And it seems pointless in hindsight since the game rewards you with so many lives.
So it's like every time you die trying to get it; you need to re-enter the level by going back to the map screen. At least they didn't make you finish the level and you could leave it anytime you wanted to try again.
Well to us Tawna was just that 'sexy anthro.' I'm not sure how you feel on any of those; cause we get the same feelings with Coco too.
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That last bit I could have gone without knowing.
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So...you don't like anthros then.
Well then that explains everything.
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No, just not sexifying underage ones.
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Well let's just say she's done some growing over the years.
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All Crash Bandicoot game in one big picture,every island and every boss,many places from many levels,Aku-Aku,and the HOG!!!Β
A perfect tribute to the first game!! Again you surprise me,seriously,is awesome!! No matter where I see,it makes me remember those wonderful moments,also makes me want to play it!!
Crash looks more rude,Tawna too,Cortex more wicked,and the other bosses are great! Love every detail that you've made.
Is the best Crash tribute I'd seen,I salute you!!Β Β Β Β Β Β
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The hog was a last minute addition; but I figured "Gotta include the rides too!!" And if KI do future Crash tributes; then I gotta include others like the polar bear, the tiger and the Rex.
I relived Crash Bandicoot again recently to get the feel of the drawing for this. And it was during the gameplay I decided to try and meld as much of the game as possible into it.
Thanks so much pal. ^^ Yeah I wanted Cras hand Tawna to look more bolder and assertive here. Sure Tawna's still got her arms on Crash; but she doesn't seemed scared so much as "Get out of here..." type of annoyed. Same with Crash too. He wants some time with his girl. Buzz off, Cortex. XD
Aww thanks. ^^ I've seen a lot of really good ones; so I'm glad this at least is one of them.
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You're very welcome partner!!Β
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Wow this is a really fantastic piece! I can see you put a ton of effort into it! 
I still love the original ND Crash games, as well as Traveller Tale's games. So yeah, this is an excellent tribute! Great job with everything!
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Tons of effort is right. And currently it's one of my more popular Tumblr pieces. (I still don't know what the big deal of people posting on Tumblr is; but apparently it does work out for some. XD)
I played all the way through Crash 1 as well on an original PSX1. So many memories of both loving and hating this game at the same time. Some of the gems were murder to collect. ;__;
Pinstripe's I'm glad came out funny; because he's one of my favorite characters. Glad he sticks out amongst the rest.
And I'm pretty keen on how people liked my rendition of Tawna; sexy but not overly sexualized. Kinda making her seem a bit more assertive looking in her expression too which is what I was going for.
The ND Crash games still rank as the top ones to me. The trilogy and CTR are among my most beloved PSX1 titles and I still play them when called for.
Thanks so much for the awesome comment. ^^ I might do the other two PLUS CTR sometime.
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Heh you're welcome! I really wanted to comment before I go and do anything else. It had been a few days since I came on here 
But yeah, it's great! 
Sigh, I sure miss the good ol' 90's too... there isn't enough platformers around anymore, and it's really sad :C
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Well I appreciate that. :3
Yes; how many years indeed. XD I remember it being my first fandom where I made fan characters a plenty...who have since been replaced by others. God I'm so evil. XD
Although; I still had Shen Lo Ken's origins story in mind; before he came to Wumpa Island and taught Coco karate. XD
I actually managed to get 100%. And it truly can be a test of patience and sanity. Those crate bridges and cheap falls really can trip you up. ;__;
Actually I imagine by cheats you meant passwords. I never EVER used a password system for this game despite it's screwy save system. Crash 2 TOTALLY improved it.
i'm currently playing Crash 2. Man was that one a breeze compared to the first; but still fairly challenging. ;D
And you're right; there isn't. ;__; And by that I mean platformers that aren't by Nintendo. All we seem to have is Rayman and Sly Cooper...and even Sly seems to be facing extinction. Noooo..I wanna at least see the outcome of the ending of Sly 4. ;__;
I wish people would embrace colorful platformers with colorful characters again.
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You still have Shen Lo Ken, right? Or has he been 'changed' XD? I remember him well! Heh, I still remember all the old stuff from 2003! Man, it was a while back now. I was a newbie online at the time, so I had come across your earlier 2001 stuff at the time too
I think you mean N.Sanity island too, Wumpa island was some new name that Radical gave to their version in the later games 
I'll try and work to get 100% in the meantime, the controls feel so odd to me XD but I have sorta gotten used to it. But yeah, crate bridges.... and hard jumps, such a pain! 8O
Yeah I mean the passwords, I did use them when I was young so I can see all the stuff, but that's it. Since I was never able to beat the game as a kid XD
I wanted to play from the first game anyways, so I can get used to the controls before I move onto the much improved CB2 and onwards xD and to refresh my memory of the lore.
I'm glad we had Sly, and a smaller Ratchet game & Rayman but besides them, there is nothing else unless you have Nintendo consoles D: Sly might not even get another game, no thanks to the very low sales >.< even R&C Nexus sold more than Sly 4 apparently, which is shocking. I dont think I can believe it, actually.
Although there is a new Ratchet coming for PS4, but if that ends up being a half-assed effort then I guess Ratchet is facing the same fate as Sly... although they are both lucky to be getting movie treatment. Which I do hope will go well for the both of them. At least Rayman is doing well... my cousins love Rayman Legends I bought a few months ago. But I really crave for more 3D platforming action.
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Oh yeah; ol' Shen Lo Ken is still with me. He's just been shelved for now; along with a formerly well known creation of mine: sin the Lombax. One day I'll reintroduce these guys. XD
Man!! It was SUCH a long tiem ago when you and I first came onto this site. And now look at us; being as active here and continuously improving; for the sake of improving. ^^
And yes; I think I meant N. Sanity Island also. XD I wasn't sure what to call it since it's been so long. XD
It took some getting used to; but somehow it all started to come back to me the more and more I replayed a level to get that blasted gem. Ergh...'Road to Nowhere' and 'Sunset Vista'; you were among the biggest pains In the rear. -__-
Well I may or may not have used the passwords; I don't remember. XD But I do remember legitimately beating the game. Had to swallow my frustration and get lucky enough not to miss a jump.
It may seem odd to some to play the games chronologically; but since all three games have continuity it does make sense. It's like if I wanna replay the Sly Cooper series I'd go from 1-4.
It's sad isn't it? Both Microsoft and Sony seem to care more about their adult fanbase to generate revenue for them. Nintendo's been out for years and managed to survive thanks to mascots like Mario and Pikachu.
It appears Sly has been kicked to the curb. ;__; Even for twenty dollars no one is picking up Thieves in Time. That truly makes me sad. And I'm even more saddened to find out how many Sly "fans" denounce Sanzaru for their efforts. Hmph...I LIKED sly 4. Not just cause I'm a Sly fan but because I loved the character interactions and the style. It really was beautifully done.
I do hope Ratchet's efforts on PS4 aren't half-assed. I would hate to see another loveable mascot fall victim like Sly AND Crash have. Crash's games were ultimately cancelled and the poor guy's glory days are over. Poor sly might be joining him in mascot rehab. ;__;
I DO hope the Sly and Ratchet movies do well. It might generate some interest for...at the very least...ONE more Sly game. To give us closure and a solid conclusion.
I AM glad though that the newer Rayman games are doing well. They're solid platforming titles with an awesome and influential art style. Rayman is one of the few older mascots whose resurgence was actually an improvement from his older titles.
But yes; more 3D platformers. How many different ways are they just gonna make me shoot things? -__-
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Ah so they're still alive, that's good to know!
I know, it just pisses me off seeing all this attention for those shooting and GTA type games, and nothing at all for the 'cartoony' games. Platformers and the like are so under-advertised that so many gamers barely even take notice of them. Some people here didn't even know a Sly 4 or R&C Nexus existed, I had to introduce them to the games! Nintendo is a lot better with handling their beloved characters.... those fans are so lucky.
I actually liked Sly 4 too! Sure it wasn't perfect and 'almighty' like the older Sly games that some fans worship - and refuse to me open minded. Just like how some Naughtydog fanboys worship the old Crash games and disregard all the ones by other developers.
That kind of mindset bothers me a lot as well. I can see that Sanzaru really cared and had respect for the Sly series, but wanted to have their own take on it at the same time. Sigh, some fans are just too close-minded. It's such a shame to see the game fall so flat, it's definitely a decent game 
So yeah, we can only hope that both movies will do well. I'll support the R&C movie all the way, and if the PS4 game looks promising, I will likely get a PS4 too (not just for that game, there's some other games I'd like for it too). But Raymen, yes, he's doing well! Legends is definitely an awesome fun game, especially with 4 players.
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Yeah. They're just on hiatus due to me getting sidetracked often. And yes; he had a wife named Marlene and they in turn had a daughter named Sharon. Now Sharon I HAVE Changed up; she's no longer Shen's daughter. (I think she ends up being a future generation of Ken.)
Well I know and Oc of mine from the Crash days who IS officially dead. He was my first OC ever; an anthro cobra named...Cobraz. XD I wrote a story where he faced his father and he had Crash and the gang escape while he stayed behind. He never made it out; Cobraz is dead.
Well not just GTA; but Call of Duty and a bunch of zombie shooters. Gee whiz people; don't you ever get tired of those and try and find some inspiration and light hearted fun in platforming bliss like traditional Crash games? Or the new Sly games and Rayman games?
Nintendo fans have been around a long time. For Mario and Link helping bring gaming back into the world; they are indeed worthy of their status as legends. Of course PokΓ©mon also came along and gave us more huggable mascots to enjoy. So yeah; Nintendo can be full of whismy and cartoonish fun all they want and still sell games. Microsoft and Sony just seem content appealing to their adult fan base to generate revenue.
Sly 4 actually is my second favorite Sly game in the franchise. My number one favorite being Sly 2; because of its story, character development and Neyla. I'm quite a fan of Neyla really. Sure she's bad; but I liked making an alternate for her on why she was bad to begin with. I know it's beyond unlikely she'll ever return (no point really) but that's my own fan take on her for returning. Just something fun I'd like to do.
Well I'm not a big fan of the later non Naughty Dog Crash games personally; but I don't think they're that horrible. I do kinda like some of their sense of humor. Although I noticed how VERY similar Mind over Mutant and Crash of the Titans was to Ratchet and Clank. I'm sure that's what they were going for.
See what happens when a company who loves a series that ISN'T SuckerPunch tries to do their own take? Fans pounce on them like rabid dogs. (BAD dogs!!) I thought they didΒ a great job personally. And I have no complaints with the art style either. I thought it was a really good art style personally.
I will most likely get a PS4 later also. For the newer Ratchet and Clank game and if possible....where the final Sly game COULD be made if ever a future possibility arises.
Rayman himself does give me some hope. Suppose someone took an old mascot like Crash and revived him the way they did with Rayman? It's possible and that's why I am a huge fan of the newer Rayman series than the older one. And you're right; it's fun too. ^^
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Oh yes I remember Sharon quite well too, because I drew her in one of our old Art Trades
Good to hear she's still around in your mind then! Heh speaking of old Crash OC's, I actually let one of my friends 'have' my old character Kris roo. He was my first CB fancharacter
Yeah Call of Duty is something nearly everyone plays and a lot of those types of players think anything like Crash, Ratchet, etc is too 'kiddy'. Such a shame some people dont bother with platformers, all because of that fact :-/
While people are allowed to like whatever games they like, I just don't find those types of games interesting at all. Dull colours, little to no humour and mostly violence. It's just so, boring and unimaginative to me. Perhaps some people would think I'm childish for liking platformers and such more than those gritty realistic games, but yeah, whatever
Things would be so much better if it were more balanced again - a good mix of both toony and realistic games! But for Sony/Microsoft gamers, there's like 9/10 realistic and 1/10 'toony/stylized' games available.
I only started to really dislike the later Crash games since Crash Tag Team Racing, Titans and Mutants (2005-2008). First, it was because they 'changed' my favourite character into a parody, but then I noticed more of the characters being changed drastically and Crunch (my fav) was completely revamped 3 times!!! Why?! 
I can't judge the gameplay though, since I never bought the games or played them. I just sat back and watched.
I used to have a hate for Radical because of those games, but I don't hate them anymore. It's pretty silly to do so now, and they were going to have another go at 'fixing' the franchise with 'Crash Landed' but Activision spoiled that chance. So yeah, I'm just a 'bit' anti-Activision now instead XD
Well I guess we might be lucky to get another Sly Cooper game if his movie gets a lot of attention - but this might only happen at all if the Ratchet movie does well too. Because if the Ratchet movie fails, then I think they might can the Sly one
Speaking of Sly, are you going to pre-order that Sly Cooper statue from GamingHeads?
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I miss him too...the original one that is.
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Oh nostalgia.
Cool picture and the background is amazing!Β
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Indeed. Nostalgia is bot ha blessing and a curse. XD
Thanks so much. ^^ I painted the background first before adding the characters. I think that helped.
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Never had the chance to play it, but it sure seems funny.
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It's not really fun so much as its colorful and simple platforming fun.
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