Crash: Mind over Mutant (Nintendo DS video game)

Crash: Mind over Mutant is a 2008 video game developed by Tose and published by Activision for the Nintendo DS. It is an installment in the Crash Bandicoot series and an alternate version of the console-based title of the same name developed by Radical Entertainment.

Like the console version, the game centers on the titular character

The game was received unfavorably for its level design, audio and presentation, with mixed responses going to the graphics.

The Nintendo DS version of Crash: Mind over Mutant is a

Crash will occasionally encounter a larger and stronger enemy known as a Mutant, which he can attack until the Mutant is stunned. At this point, Crash can mount (or "jack") the Mutant and control it to use its abilities.[3]^[4] Each Mutant is capable of four special attacks, the controls for which can be displayed by pressing the paw print on the bottom screen. The pocket icon on the touch screen can be used to store a Mutant for later use.^[3]

Crash's health can be maintained by collecting Wumpa Fruit, which can also restore the health of jacked Mutants. In addition to health, jacked Mutants also have a special attack gauge that slowly regenerates over time and is depleted whenever a Mutant uses its special attacks.^[5] Collecting Mojo fills Crash's Mojo Gauge, which when filled can grant Crash a temporary Super Strength state that endows him with faster movement and stronger attacks, and lasts until the Mojo Gauge is depleted. Super Strength is activated by touching the Crash icon on the bottom screen. When Crash has jacked a Mutant, filled Mojo Gauges can upgrade the Mutant's abilities, though the final upgrade requires a gem that is obtained by defeating a world's boss.^[5][4]

The game's levels are accessed from a map screen and divided by a series of worlds, each culminating in a boss encounter.^[5][6] Levels that have not been completed are marked with an N, while completed levels are marked by a paw print. The halfway point of a level is signified by a checkpoint represented by a crate with a check mark. Each level includes a bonus platform that transports Crash to a course in which he must reach the end within the time limit to receive a skin.^[1][5] Stages marked by an orange star are bonus stages that grant easy access to a world's Mutant and a significant amount of Mojo.^[5]

Three minigames are available to play from the main menu, all of which use the touch screen and can be played by up to four human players via local wireless. In "Rolling for Wumpa", players collect Wumpa Fruit by shaking trees and pounding the ground; in "Give Them the Boot", players score points by kicking objects into Cortex's ship; and in "Crash Kaboom", players score points by throwing bombs at enemies on the other side of the playing field.^[7] The "Mutant Fight" mode involves two players connected via local wireless, who must each select a Mutant and engage in combat based on one of three rule sets; players must either bring their opponent's gem count to zero, be the first to reach a specific amount of gems collected, or have the most gems within the time limit.^[8]

Crash: Mind over Mutant was developed by an uncredited Tose,^[9][10] with Radical Entertainment's Glenn Dphrepaulezz serving as producer.^[11] For the Nintendo DS version, Radical chose to stray from the console version's gameplay style in favor of creating a 2D platformer that played to the DS's strengths; this direction was influenced by Tose's extensive experience developing for the platform.^[12] The game was designed by Yousuke Tomikawa, Takayuki Ikeda, and Kouji Omoto. The programming team consisted of Kenta Egami, Naotaka Noda, Sigemitsu Miura, Daiki Okada, and Jun Touma. The graphics were designed by Daisuke Nomura, Hirohumi Iwasaki, Tetsuya Sakomoto, Yutaka Fukuzato, Rie Ikemura, Hiroshi Fujimoto, Akemi Nishida, and Kazuhiro Okino. The music was composed by Morihiro Iwamoto.^[11] Sierra Entertainment announced Crash: Mind over Mutant on April 28, 2008,^[13] and the game was released in North America on October 7,^[14] in Australia on October 30,^[15] and in Europe on October 31.^[16]

Reviews for Crash: Mind over Mutant were "generally unfavorable" according to

Le Hyaric regarded the game as a failed attempt to return to the roots of its genre's golden age that only succeeded in extracting its clichés, namely its "repetitive action, disastrous level design, and anarchic difficulty". He additionally dismissed the minigames and multiplayer mode as trivial.[10] Mike Cook of Pocket Gamer appreciated the game's sense of "good, clean fun" and replayability granted by its optional collectibles, minigames and unlockable content, but felt that the power of the Mutants made the gameplay "strangely effortless" and led to a disappointing campaign length.^[4] Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report deemed the game to be a competent and enjoyable platformer in short bursts, but disliked the emphasis on piloting Mutants as it diverted focus from the game's titular character.^[6]

While David found the character models to be clean and polished, he noted that the frame rate suffered from stuttering and slowdown.^[1] Cook described the graphics as "splotchy" and considered them outdated and simplistic compared to the Final Fantasy IV remake.^[4] Harris still kindly regarded Crash's redesign, but deemed the 3D engine a regression from the previous year's installment.^[9] Le Hyaric called the graphics the game's sole positive point, saying that the 2D environments were pleasant and the scrolling was fluid, but that the Mutant animation "isn't up to scratch".^[10]

David was dismayed by the lack of fun music, sound effects and "verbal attitude", saying that it betrayed what he perceived to be Crash's status as "the jester of the formerly powerful gaming mascots".^[1] Harris derided the character vocalizations as " annoying, random character garble" and the score as "really awful renditions of what the music composer thought would fit a Crash game".^[9] Le Hyaric declared the soundtrack to be one of the worst on the DS, describing the music as uninspired and repetitive and the sound effects as inappropriate and "sometimes downright bizarre".^[10]

David regarded the storyline as non-existent, and the sentiment was shared by Le Hyaric, who said that the narrative suggested by the opening cutscene was "completely left behind, as is the humor that usually characterizes it".

• Crash: Mind over Mutant (Nintendo DS) instruction booklet. Activision. 2008.