 = Crash Boom Bang ! = 
 
 For the Roxette album with a similar name , see Crash ! Boom ! Bang ! 
 Crash Boom Bang ! ( known in Japan as Crash Bandicoot Festival ) ( クラッシュ ・ バンディクー フェスティバル , Kurasshu Bandikū Fesutibaru ) is a party game developed by Dimps and published by Vivendi Universal Games in Japan and by Sierra Entertainment internationally for the Nintendo DS . It was released in Japan on July 20 , 2006 , in North America on October 10 , 2006 , in Europe on October 27 , 2006 , and in Australia on November 2 , 2006 . It is the only game in the Crash Bandicoot series to be developed by a Japanese company and the first to be released in Japan before North America . It was also the final game in the series to be released in Japan . 
 Crash Boom Bang ! is the first game to be released exclusively for the Nintendo DS , and the second party game of the series , after Crash Bash . The game 's story centers on a multi @-@ millionaire who uses the characters of the series to unearth a powerful object dubbed the " Super Big Power Crystal " . The game has received largely negative reception from reviewers , who criticized it for having unoriginal , dull gameplay and poor controls . 
 
 = = Gameplay = = 
 
 Crash Boom Bang ! ' s stages resemble board games , as each play area is split into a number of squares . The game takes place among four players , with the computer assigned to spare players . All players simultaneously roll dice . The number each player rolls is the amount of squares they move forward . Depending on the type of square that the player lands on , Wumpa Fruit ( which is used as points during the race ) can be won or lost , an item can be obtained , a special event might be triggered , or a mini @-@ game might commence . If a player lands on a fork in the road , the player will have to select the desired direction with either the stylus or the control pad . 
 In the Adventure Mode , the characters compete in a race for the Super Big Power Crystal . This race is made up of six stages , each containing smaller sub @-@ maps . The host of the race , the Viscount , sets a task for each stage . This task must be completed before the player can continue to another map . The player with the most points is the winner of the stage . The overall winner of all the stages is the winner of the Viscount 's race . In the Festival Mode , the gameplay is fundamentally the same as in the Adventure Mode , with the exception of the ability to select stages to play freely . In the My Room mode , the player 's character has his or her own private room in which he or she can either play minigames that have been collected in Adventure Mode , view a collection of items obtained in Adventure Mode , or create a Motion Panel , a unique in @-@ game communication tool can allow customized messages to be sent mid @-@ game to help friends or distract other players ' gameplay . The decorations in My Room is different for each character . 
 Crash Boom Bang ! features forty mini @-@ games that can be played alone or remotely against friends . Balance , timing , and intelligence are required to win these mini @-@ games . When a player is not taking part in a mini @-@ game , he or she can bet Wumpa Fruit on the winner . The player can help players that have been bet on or obstruct players that have not been bet on by using the Motion Panel . If the player has a special item , the player can access the Shop screen from the Bet screen and buy or sell items . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 
 = = = Characters = = = 
 
 A number of characters from past Crash Bandicoot games return in Crash Boom Bang ! , though only eight are playable . The playable characters include Crash Bandicoot , Coco Bandicoot , Crunch Bandicoot , Pura , Doctor Neo Cortex , Tawna , Pinstripe Potoroo , and Fake Crash . All of the characters physically appear as they do in official Japanese Crash Bandicoot artwork and promotions ( which was the only Sierra Entertainment video game to be introduced the official Japanese Crash Bandicoot artwork and promotions ) , though Crash 's model was altered for the non @-@ Japanese releases to closer resemble his Crash Twinsanity model . The host of the party , the Viscount , is an original character designed specifically for the game . His name in the original Japanese version is " Viscount Devil " , a reference to the Tasmanian devil native to Australia . Other past characters make cameos in the game at one point or another , such as the Lab Assistants , Doctor N. Gin , Tiny Tiger , Doctor Nefarious Tropy and Polar . Aku Aku serves as the player 's tutor , while Uka Uka makes a cameo appearance as a purchaseable item in the shop . 
 
 = = = Story = = = 
 
 While developing a resort in Tasmania , the Viscount finds a map of an ancient city containing the fabled Super Big Power Crystal . He attempts to find it himself , but due to the large amount of puzzles , he fails miserably . In the resort , the Viscount decides to gather up the world 's cleverest and strongest bunch of characters and con them into finding the Crystal for him . He sends an invitation to Coco Bandicoot , inviting her and Crash to the World Cannonball Race , where the winner earns $ 100 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 . 
 The race starts in Port Town , with the winners traveling in a boat to a large desert . Legend has it that four stone tablets are buried somewhere in the desert , and the contestants are sent out to dig for them and bring them to the Viscount . According to the stone tablets , the actual location of the Crystal is hidden somewhere on the ancient map . Before he can investigate the matter further , Doctor Neo Cortex swoops in and snatches the map . As the two struggle for the map , the map is torn to shreds . 
 Cortex sends his loyal Lab Assistants to find the pieces of the map scattered throughout the big City and bring them to him . Now that the contestants know about the map , the Viscount decides to reveal his true intentions : the Super Big Power Crystal can grant a single wish who whoever obtains it , and the Viscount is willing to give a large sum of money to those who help him find it . Finding the Power Crystal is impossible without the Final Key , so the Viscount boards his plane to travel to the North Atlantic Ocean in search for the Final Key . But the plane is full , and only a select number of the contestants are able to board . Propelled to the skies by an explosive volcano , the contestants are able to board the Viscount 's plane . 
 On the Viscount 's ship , the Viscount tells the group the story of an explorer who found the Final Key , but was unable to find the Power Crystal . That explorer was the Viscount 's grandfather . As the explorer sailed back to his homeland to recollect his thoughts , his ship crashed into an iceberg and sank , taking the Viscount 's grandfather to a watery grave . " Sounds like a movie " , remarks one of the attendees . The Viscount tells them to dive to the sunken ship and retrieve the Final Key , much to their shock , considering the near @-@ freezing temperatures . Despite this , the group is able to find the Final Key before freezing to death . With all the pieces of the puzzle at hand , the Viscount victoriously enters the Tower , where the Super Big Power Crystal awaits its owner . Just as the Viscount is about to make his wish , Crash steps forward and makes his wish of a large pile of Wumpa Fruit , much to the Viscount 's grief . " May peace prevail on Earth " , says Coco . 
 
 = = Development = = 
 
 On developing the mobile phone version of Crash Boom Bang ! , producer Elodie Larre described adapting a party game for the mobile phone as a " big challenge " . Not wanting to make " another multiplayer game where the players just pass the phone to each other " and hoping to attract both old and new fans of the series , the development team decided to integrate the mobile phone itself into the minigames , creating such minigame gimmicks as playing with one hand behind the back , with one eye closed , playing with the chin , etc . The biggest challenge for the team was keeping the minigames inside the phone 's memory , which was cited as slightly inferior to the first PlayStation console . The WarioWare series was described as an influence in making the game . 
 Crash Boom Bang ! is the first game in the series to exclusively feature the Japanese voice cast in all regional versions of the game . The voice cast includes Makoto Ishii in the dual role of Crash and Fake Crash , Risa Tsubaki as Coco , Yōsuke Akimoto as Doctor Cortex , Shinya Fukumatsu as Crunch , Akiko Toda as Tawna , Asuka Tanii as Pura , and Takahiro Yoshino as Pinstripe . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 Crash Boom Bang ! received mostly negative reviews , with the game receiving an average ranking of 42 @.@ 45 % at Game Rankings , and a score of 37 out of 100 based on fourteen reviews at Metacritic . Frank Provo of GameSpot criticized the game for its dull minigames and purely cosmetic Crash license , citing that " apart from the way the characters look and the way the Nitro boxes explode , [ ... ] there isn 't a whole lot that 's Crash @-@ like about Crash Boom Bang ! " . Nintendo Power recommended the game only to die @-@ hard Crash fans and advised others to wait for Crash 's next outing . Lesley Smith of Eurogamer criticized the game for a number or reasons , including bad stylus recognition , boring gameplay , terrible graphics and rigged , repetitive mini @-@ games . IGN 's review was one of the most scathing , dubbing Crash Boom Bang ! " a terrible , terrible game with poor organization " and " easily one of the worst games on the system " . More middling reviews have come in from Official Nintendo Magazine , who felt the game was hampered by dodgy controls and a testing user interface , and Pocket Gamer 's Jon Jordan , who dismissed the game 's collection of minigames as " distinctly average and oddly passionless " . Despite the negative reception , Crash Boom Bang ! was the seventh best @-@ selling game in Australia on the week of June 4 to June 10 , 2007 . 
 
 