Wumpa Islands

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The Wumpa Islands (as named by Crash of the Titans producer Kirsten Forbes)^[1] are a group of fictional islands found in the video game series Crash Bandicoot. The islands are located southeast of Australia, as cited in the Crash Bandicoot manual, and were formally owned by Doctor Neo Cortex, the series antagonist, before his first defeat to the protagonist Crash Bandicoot.^[2] The islands as a whole are named after Wumpa Fruit, a type of fruit commonly grown in the area.

1 Islands
2 Variations
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Islands

[edit] N. Sanity Island

N. Sanity Island is the first and most recurring of the three islands, being the home of Crash Bandicoot and his companions (until Crash of the Titans). Much of the island is occupied by a large mountain located in the center. On the side of the mountain is a skull-shaped opening that expels a waterfall from its mouth. The resulting river passes through N. Sanity Beach, where Crash Bandicoot's adventure began. Before the overthrow of Doctor Neo Cortex, the island was largely inhabited by the native tribesmen (led by Papu Papu), who would capture and/or eat anything that sneaked into their territory. Their village is guarded by a tall wooden wall that completely surrounds the village. Also surrounding the village are numerous monoliths, which the tribesfolk seem to worship.

After Cortex's defeat, the island became the official home of Crash Bandicoot (until Crash of the Titans), who lives in a medium-sized hut alongside Coco, Aku Aku (the protector of the islands), and others. Their hut appears to be located between N. Sanity Beach and the jungle, as shown in Crash Twinsanity.

The name of N. Sanity Island is a pun on the term 'insanity'.

[edit] Wumpa Island

This island is located between N. Sanity Island and Cortex Island, and is the least-occurring island in the series. Not much is known about this island, except that is littered with dated ruins and contains a lava cave below it, where a mine was located in Crash Bandicoot; it is unknown whether this mine still operates today. Also notable is the colossal tree located in the middle, in which Nina Cortex has a small tree-hut, and the tall waterfall that stems from a large tiki head (where Ripper Roo was fought in Crash Bandicoot) at the top of the ruins. It is also where Uka Uka was originally incarcerated many years before, until Doctor Cortex's shattered space station destroyed the prison, letting Uka Uka free.

Wumpa Island was originally to be included in Crash Twinsanity, and would've played two major roles in the game. The first made use of the gigantic tree, where Nina Cortex, Neo Cortex's niece, would use her abilities to swing and climb to the top of the tree (for reasons unknown). The second level would've also involved the ancient temples below, in which the Komodo Brothers built a racetrack, which Crash and Cortex would have to complete in a brakeless vehicle (in a parody of the video game Out Run).^[3]

The climate in Wumpa Island is colder than that of the other two islands. While the other islands would only be partially covered in snow during the winter season, Wumpa Island is completely submerged in white, being the theme of the second Warp Room in Crash Bandicoot 2.^[4]

This island was, for a long time, un-named. Crash of the Titans was the first game to give it a name. It was also revealed that Crash, Coco, Crunch and Aku Aku had moved there since the events of Twinsanity.

[edit] Cortex Island

The third and final island in the Wumpa Islands is also the largest, but is also the least environmentally-healthy, having been overrun with pollution since its takeover by Doctor Neo Cortex (hence its name). Cortex Island was the former home of Doctor Neo Cortex, who resided in a large twisted castle known as Cortex Castle. The island also held a refinery named 'Cortex Power', where many of Cortex's mechanical contraptions were developed. Unfortunately, this very refinery was also the producer of a large amount of toxic waste, which was dumped into the nearby ocean, causing pollution. During its operation, the refinery was owned by Cortex's bodyguard, Pinstripe Potoroo, whom Crash battled as the fourth boss of Crash Bandicoot. When Pinstripe was defeated, he unintentionally shot out the refinery's core, causing Cortex Power to fall into disrepair. After the fall of Cortex, the refinery was later converted to a sewer system, becoming the theme of the third Warp Room of Crash Bandicoot 2.^[4]

[edit] Variations

An evil version of N. Sanity Island appears in Crash Twinsanity, in which Crash, Cortex and Nina travel to a mirror universe known as the Tenth Dimension. The Tenth Dimension version of N. Sanity Island is known as Twinsanity Island, and is the exact opposite of the normally-lively N. Sanity Island; the flora is all dead and a black hole-filled purple sky hangs over the entire island. Also notable is the opening on the side of the mountain: the waterfall now flows from a rock shaped like Victor and Moritz's heads rather than a skull. The island is the former home of Victor and Moritz, who resided in a large stronghold filled with dark, mechanical wonders. Because they were eaten by Evil Crash at the end of Crash Twinsanity, the future of this stronghold is unknown.