Crash Bash

Crash Bash
Also known as: Crash Bandicoot Carnival (JP) Developer: Eurocom Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: December 14, 2000 Released in US: November 6, 2000 Released in EU: December 1, 2000 This game has unused areas. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has anti-piracy features. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

To do: Cheat Menu leftovers. Finish adding unused graphics. Unused Keg Kaboom's crystal challenge arena.

Crash Bash was Sony's answer to Mario Party, and the results were... quite lukewarm to say the least.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Cheat Menu

There are leftovers of debugging functionality related to the Cheat Menu, a menu option that was accessible in pre-release builds via a button combination, before being dummied out in the final game.

Leftovers include a selectable option in the pause screen.

Unused Graphics

Level Select Text

A prompt graphic that's loaded in the VRAM whenever the player is in the first warp room. Possibly used as a placeholder when a player approached a minigame in Adventure Mode.

Early Opening Credits

There are a few unused startup splash screens, which are leftovers from demos and earlier builds.

Crate

This image of a crate is loaded in a LOT of places for the game, but it's never used. Crates in the game don't even look like the one pictured here!

Possible Placeholder Bearminator Icon

Placeholder	Final

A crude drawing of a smiling yellow face wearing sunglasses is found in very close proximity to Bearminator's icon in the files for the game, so it can be inferred that this image was a placeholder for Bearminator's icon that was used when the level was still in development.

Early Fonts

Variation 1

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Letter 'Z'

At one point, 'Z's would come out of the penguin in Snow Bash while it was sleeping.

El Pogo Loco Tiles

Three unused tiles exist in El Pogo Loco: one is a slightly zoomed out tile with an X written over it, one is a smaller-than-normal green paint blot tile, and one is a yellow paint blot tile that looks the exact same as the used version.

Pogo-a-Gogo Tiles

Pogo-a-Gogo has a cracked tile texture with an unknown purpose. Logically, it would make the player unable to color the tile.

Pogo Padlock Tiles

Pogo Padlock has 2 duplicates of the locked red tile in both the trophy challenge and the crystal challenge. The red tile duplicates use the crystal challenge textures and the trophy challenge textures from their respective challenge texture sheets.

Pogo Painter Tiles

These colored tiles are loaded in Pogo Painter... and Mallet Mash for some reason.

"Diner" Text

This text is actually used in Pogo Padlock's crystal challenge, but it is also present in the regular version of Pogo Padlock's textures... and Mallet Mash for some reason, again.

Helicopter

A colourful helicopter with a derpy face that was probably used as a placeholder for the supply plane in Tank Wars levels.

Grey Face

A grey character's surprised face that doesn't match up with any of the characters used ingame. This image is found among some assets for Tank Wars levels.

Unused Music

A short looping track with a similar composition to the infamous "Loading" theme.

Test Level

Using GameShark code 8009CBFC 002C in the European version allows you to access a test level once you've entered a minigame.

Pressing Circle plays an animation of an explosion, and pressing it again while the animation is still playing, will stop it until it is pressed one more time.

Unused Items

Dash Levels

It seems a TNT crate and a walking egg were originally planned to be used in the dash levels. The visual effect of the egg varies depending on the level. These can be seen in the video here.
These can be activated by changing the current weapon value in memory (4 bytes):

0 = No weapon
1 = Missile
2 = TNT
4 = Egg

Regional Differences

As expected, there are numerous differences in the Japanese version besides the language change.

To do: Get a screenshot of the Japanese title screen for comparison.

European

• You are redirected to a language selection menu after the title screen. Languages available are English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. The characters are fully dubbed, but the level names stay the same.
• The memory card save icon is static.

Japanese

• The legal notice on the Universal Interactive logo screen differs in the Japanese version; it uses the Japanese version's name (expectedly), replaces all "TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT" with their respective symbols, and adds a line crediting Eurocom ("DEVELOPED BY EUROCOM ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE").
• The title screen is different.
• The main theme is changed to a song called "Crash Banjy-Kyusuu ~Carnival 2000 Mix~", a remix of the theme song featured in other Japanese Crash Bandicoot releases.
• Both the background and "LOADING" text on the loading screens move at a slower speed.

	Icons
International
Japanese

• All the characters and bosses have different icons to appeal more to Japanese audiences.
• All of the voices except for Koala Kong's were redone by the Japanese actors from previous games.
• The "TNT" label on TNT boxes has been replaced with an image of a bomb, and the "Nitro" label is written in Katakana.
• Tiny Tiger, Koala Kong, and Rilla Roo now have a taunt animation in Polar Push levels.
• The music for Dot Dash, Splash Dash and Oxide Ride, which was a remix of Dingodile's theme from Crash Bandicoot: Warped, is replaced with a modified version of the famous Can Can music.
• Finishing Adventure mode shows an epilogue message for your character and an accompanying picture.

Fake Crash

Fake Crash is added as a secret character exclusive to this version of the game. He is a neutral character and is only available in the Battle and Tournament modes by holding down R1 + R2 + Down + Left on the character select screen. He plays and moves just like Crash, but has his own separate voice samples.

Bonus Videos

Previous Crash Bandicoot games released in Japan have hidden bonus videos accessible at startup, and this game has two of them. To access them, press and hold the following button combinations at the PlayStation logo during startup:

• Hold Up + Triangle + L2 + R2 or use GameShark code D0010404 0003 + 80010406 1043 to play the first video.
• Hold Down + X + L2 + R1 or use GameShark code D0010420 0004 + 80010422 1043 to play the second video.

Like before, you must reset your console after each video has finished playing.

(Source: Hacc)

Anti-Piracy

Some PlayStation games released after 1998 (especially in Europe, Oceania and South Africa) contain the LibCrypt protection system developed by Sony, in order to curb modchips and illegal copies on the system.

The LibCrypt functions on the software level in two ways: by detecting a modchip upon bootup of the game and by detecting an illegal copy through a 16-bit key located in the subchannel data of the disc. The first check is to see whether or not a modchip is installed on the system. As earlier modchips are active by default, all that is necessary to detect one is for the program to return data from a modchip. If it detects it, the game crashes immediately. This was mitigated by pirates with so-called "stealth" modchips, which turn off immediately when loading disc region data during boot-up. However, the second check now comes into play. The second part functions as a part of the game. It decrypts the 16-bit LibCrypt data key stored in the subchannel of the disc and stores it in the coprocessor of the system. If the data is incorrect, the game implements its anti-piracy measures. As most CD burners cannot properly replicate subchannel data on the disc, a pirated copy, whether burned directly to another disc or as a disc image, trips the anti-piracy measure by default.

A modded system allows for a backup, a pirated copy, or a legitimate copy of the game from a region different than the console, to start normally. However, with LibCrypt, the game can crash, freeze or perform tricks to prevent pirates, depending on the title.

In this game's case, the player is locked in a semi-playable state. The player can play through available Battle Mode levels. However, the game will crash at the loading screen shortly after the first Adventure Mode cinematic. Additionally, the game will hang on a black screen if the player selects any of the tournaments other than the first one, Crate Crush, or if the player lets the game go into attract mode in main menu by not selecting any of the options. Note that this copy protection is not present in the North American and Japanese versions of the game; they use anti-modchip protection instead. Unfortunately, LibCrypt prevents the European version from being played on a PlayStation 3 due to the software emulation setting off this measure.

(Source: Copy Protected PlayStation games list, MVG's video about copy protection schemes on PS, tested through Mednafen emulator)