Tiny Tiger
| Tiny Tiger | |
|---|---|
| 'Crash Bandicoot' character | |
| File:"Tiny Tiger" Production Painting (Crash Bandicoot 2- Cortex Strikes Back).jpg "Tiny Tiger" Production Painting | |
| First game | Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back |
| Created by | Naughty Dog |
.jpg){kind=link}
Tiny Tiger (タイニー タイガー, Tainī Taigā) is a character from the Crash Bandicoot universe.
Overview
Tiny was a Thylacine that was subjected to the Evolvo-Ray. Tiny is quite a misnomer for Tiny, because he is quite large in reality. The name Tiny the Tiger is of course an obvious spoof of Tony the Tiger, the mascot from the Kelloggs brand Frosted Flakes sugar cereal. Tiny has sharp teeth, pointed claws, and is muscle-bound. His arms are likely his most powerful weapon. Despite all this, his legs are short and skinny (ironically, he has terrific jumping prowess, as seen in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped.)
The manual for Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex refers to Tiny being one of Doctor Neo Cortex's first mutated animal minions, although Naughty Dog says Ripper Roo is the first one. It is also possible that he was created by Doctor Nitrus Brio. He first appeared in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back where he fought Crash in a small space station (as the third boss of the game) under Brio's orders.
Tiny is extremely strong, but his strength is largely outweighed by his lack of intelligence. As a result, he often fails to defeat Crash. Tiny has trouble understanding what is going on. Still, he is capable of speech, unlike Crash. In Crash Bash, he is often thrown off of the Polar Push levels due to his sheer momentum and lack of control. Tiny proves to have "some" intelligence in Crash Nitro Kart after becoming the ruler of Terra, although Cortex still brands him a buffoon. He speaks in short sentences and normally addresses himself in third person, like "Tiny crush puny bandicoot". Hobbies of his are lifting weights and smashing things. He occasionally plays checkers with himself. Tiny is shown as being fiercely loyal to Cortex, rushing to his aid at the slighest hint of trouble for his master.
Appearances
Tiny made his debut in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back as the third boss of the game, apparently fought in a part of the space station. As the enemies in the game are led by Doctor Nitrus Brio, it is possible that he was created by him.
In Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Tiny Tiger adopted a new gladiator getup, and was sent by Uka Uka and Cortex to get the Crystals and bring them to the Coliseum in ancient Rome. He is once again defeated by Crash.
In Crash Bash, Tiny is chosen by Aku Aku to play on the side of good in the contest between good and evil.
In Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure, Tiny appears as a boss, and is briefly merged with Cortex and his minions at the end of the game.
Tiny makes a minor appearances in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, appearing as an attendee at Uka Uka's 'bad guy convention', and as an obstacle in certain levels.
In Crash Twinsanity, he appears as one of the attendees of Crash's 'birthday party'.
In both Crash Team Racing and Crash Nitro Kart, Tiny appears as a playable character, becoming the ruler of Terra in Nitro Kart, though this is not mentioned in his next appearance
Voice actors
- Tiny was voiced by Brendan O'Brien in the first games, and by John DiMaggio in Crash Nitro Kart.
- He is voiced by veteran seiyū Fumihiko Tachiki in the Japanese dubs of the games.
Mysteries
Tiny seems to be the last of the Tasmanian Tigers, though that was never explained.
Tiny was clearly working for Doctor Nitrus Brio in his first appearance, but has since been working for Cortex and no one knows why.
Although not exactly a mystery, it is still unclear why Tiny seems to have been discontinued in the video game series when he was one of the most popular characters.
In the American release of "Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back", when fighting him, if you pause the game, it will say his name is "Taz Tiger".
External links
