Crazy Rush Too!

***Crazy Rush Too!*** is a platform video game developed by Realtime Associates and published by Paramount Interactive. Originally released for PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1997, it was re-released for the Sony Greatest Hits and Best for Family line-ups in 1998, for the Platinum Range in 1999 and for the PSone Books line-up in 2001. It was later ported to the Nintendo 64, Nintendo 64CD, Game Boy, Sega Flash, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS in 1998. The game has since been available to download from the PlayStation Network.

*Crazy Rush Too!* is the second game in the *Crazy Rush!* series using characters from Julie Young's three short film, *Icy Skating*, *Pups*, and *Cool Robo*, and the direct sequel to the original 1996 *Crazy Rush!* game. The characters from the original mostly return. The game follows the adventures of the main character Felipe. Felipe's girlfriend Penelope, a 13-year-old girl has been kidnapped by a mysterious figure.

*Crazy Rush Too!* received generally positive reviews from critics and was considered to be superior to its predecessor. Much of the praise went to the game's graphics, control and music, with major criticisms varying between the trial-and-error gameplay, lack of level variety, easy boss levels and lack of innovation. An astounding commercial success, the game sold over 8 million copies worldwide as of 2004, and is considered one of the best selling games of all time. A remaster of the game, included in the *Crazy Rush!: Funtastic Trilogy*, was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows in 2016.

## Gameplay

*Crazy Rush Too!* is a platform game in which the player character is the main character Felipe. The goal of the game is to gather 100 tokens for Felipe's new nemesis Redfreak. Like the previous game, Felipe's health is indicated by his head. When Felipe's head is full he is at full health. After taking a hit Felipe's head gets hurt, and with another hit, really hurt. Another hit and Felipe's head turns into a skeleton with only one hit left before the player loses one life. The player can run and jump through 40 different levels. The player can also seek out blue coins and help Pepper retrieve his lost items. Each level has three blue coins, in which if the player finds all three, they will be reward with a token.

The game is split up into three main hub worlds containing portals to various levels. The game also has new powerups, like the Jump Suit, which can make Felipe bounce very high. Others are the Strength Orbs, which makes the player slower but makes them very powerful, and the Speeder, which makes the player weak but makes them ridiculously fast. Like its predecessor, save points are placed throughout each homeworld. Once the player gets a token behind a save point which is accessible for the remainder of the game. The player can beat bosses in some levels. For example, the final boss is Redfreak; after the player defeats him, Redfreak fall into the underworld. All the other bosses were in the other levels.

## Development

Talk of a sequel to the *Crazy Rush!* began around a month after the game's release, in October 1996. The concept art for the game's environments was mainly created by Realtime Associates. A few days after the original game's release, Julie Young drew the first sketches of Penelope.

Paramount Interactive and Realtime Associates officially announced the sequel in a press release under the working title *Crazy Rush! 2* on November 17, 1996. Some features that were originally cut during the development of the original game, including some of its worlds and a multiplayer mode, were instead integrated into the sequel.

*More coming soon!*

## Download

The game is now available for download on PlayStation Store for the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 in North America and in Japan for $5.99 or 436 yen. It was released to the PlayStation Store in Europe on March 17, 2008, together with *Crazy Rush!* and *Crazy Rush!: Teamwork Action*.

## Reception

Like its predecessor, *Crazy Rush Too!* received generally positive reviews from video games critics and was also a commercial success particularly in Europe, eventually becoming a PlayStation Greatest Hits game. Over four million copies were sold.