Lab Assistant

From Bandipedia, the Crash Bandicoot wiki

Lab Assistants were common enemies between Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage. The Lab Assistants work for Dr. Neo Cortex and had many jobs preventing Crash from getting pass. In Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped under the Time Twister its revealed that they are androids.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Crash Bandicoot 1.2 Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back 1.3 Post-Naughty Dog era 2 Trivia

[edit] History

[edit] Crash Bandicoot

The Lab Assistants were first seen in the introduction of Crash Bandicoot holding Tawna captive. They don't appear until Cortex's Island where two Lab Assistants were seen in the level Slippery Climb throwing potions at Crash. They're later seen in the last level The Lab where a new kind of them were seen sparkiling electricity suspecting that they're not human but robotic.

[edit] Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

These guys returned in the sequel, this time covering a way wider range of jobs, such as working in the sewer stages, handling bars made of steel crates or even using annoying (and deadly) shields against the hero while in Cortex's space station. But Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped was the game showing the highest number of jobs for the Assistants, depending on the time they are located in. How they just all look the same is then explained as soon as the sixth world is unlocked and entered, as said above: the Warp Room in fact contains a real factory in which they, as the robots they actually are, are first built and then sent into a stage just in order to (at least) try to stop Crash once again.

[edit] Post-Naughty Dog era

After Naughty Dog, the robots seemed to have more and more appearances, such as various ones seen in The Wrath Of Cortex (with the "Afro Assistant" even being shown in the game's credits), as well as many ones appearing in the first two Vicarious Visions GBA titles.

[edit] Trivia

• The fact that there are so many variants of Lab Assistants makes them similar to Nintendo's Shy Guys, which also have the most variants of Nintendo enemies.

• There was supposed to be a "Prehistoric" Lab Assistant riding the Triceratops in Warped, but it was later scrapped.
• In the animated series Super Duper Sumos, The character of Billy Swift resembles a dark verson of the Assistants.
• Although they were revealed to be androids in Warped, a hint was given out in the two levels of Crash Bandicoot 2, Rock It and Pack Attack, as there was a bit of the assistant's face replaced with metal.

Crash Bandicoot Protagonists Crash Bandicoot | Aku Aku | Tawna Levels First Island (N. Sanity Beach • Jungle Rollers • The Great Gate • Boulders • Upstream • Rolling Stones • Hog Wild • Native Fortress) | Second Island (Up the Creek • The Lost City • Temple Ruins • Road to Nowhere • Boulder Dash • Whole Hog • Sunset Vista) | Third Island (Heavy Machinery • Cortex Power • Generator Room • Toxic Waste • The High Road • Slippery Climb • Lights Out • Fumbling in the Dark • Jaws of Darkness • Castle Machinery • The Lab • The Great Hall) Items Crates (Basic Crate • Aku Aku Crate • Bounce Crate • Arrow Crate • ? Crate • ! Crate • TNT Crate • Crash Crate • Checkpoint Crate • Bonus Crate) | Wumpa Fruit | Gem | Key Enemies Crab | Turtle | Skunk | Venus Fly Trap | Monkey | Tribesman | Flying Fish | Bat | Lizard | Snake | Spider | Hog | Holo-Projector | Robot | Machine Gunner | Barrel Thrower | Bird | Evil Hand | Lab Assistant | Rat | Blob Bosses Papu Papu | Ripper Roo | Koala Kong | Pinstripe Potoroo | Doctor Nitrus Brio | Doctor Neo Cortex

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Protagonists	Crash Bandicoot • Aku Aku • Coco Bandicoot • Doctor Nitrus Brio • Polar
Bosses	Ripper Roo • Komodo Brothers • Tiny Tiger • Doctor N. Gin • Doctor Neo Cortex
Items	Crates (Basic Crate, ? Crate, Bounce Crate, Aku Aku Crate, Checkpoint Crate, Crash Crate, Arrow Crate, Locked Crate, TNT Crate, Nitro Crate, Nitro Switch Crate, ! Crate, Iron Crate, Iron Arrow Crate) • Wumpa Fruit • Crystal • Gem
Levels	First Warp Room (Turtle Woods, Snow Go, Hang Eight, The Pits, Crash Dash) • Second Warp Room (Snow Biz, Air Crash, Bear It, Crash Crush, The Eel Deal) • Third Warp Room (Plant Food, Sewer or Later, Bear Down, Road to Ruin, Unbearable) • Fourth Warp Room (Hangin' Out, Diggin' It, Cold Hard Crash, Ruination, Bee-Having) • Fifth Warp Room (Piston It Away, Rock It, Night Fight, Pack Attack, Spaced Out) • Sixth Warp Room (Totally Bear, Totally Fly)
Enemies	Bird • Gorilla • Lab Assistant • Monkey • Penguin • Piranha • Turtle • Venus Fly Trap