Penta Penguin

Профиль

• Species: Penguin (order of Sphenisciformes)
• Gender: Male
• Alignment: Evil

Описание

Penta is a penguin with a chestnut-shaped head who wears a purple scarf around his neck. His innocent appearance hides a sinister demeanor, and he's quick to drop the act when people aren't looking.

— Thanks to Lolwutburger for the picture.

Origin and Appearances

The little penguin is the only character in a Crash Bandicoot game to originate in derived media, as he first appeared in the Dansu! De Jump! Na Daibouken manga. In the manga, Penta is a short-tempered (but good-natured) penguin who tries to charge money for just about everything. He lives in the North Pole and has a girlfriend named Gurin.

Most people know him as the only secret character in Crash Team Racing that must be unlocked with a cheat code. He's unfinished in the NTSC-U version of the game, with one of his lines being a placeholder ("penguin yay 1") and him being protected by Uka Uka, despite his icon showing Aku Aku. The remaining lines were recorded in time for the PAL version's release, and he is instead protected by Aku Aku as intended. In the PAL version, he is also the best racer in the playable cast, having fully maxed-out stats. Since Penta lacks a 3D model in the winner's circle, the game just uses a generic penguin enemy from Crash 2.

In Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, Penta and Polar know each other. He is still the only character unlocked via cheat code, and there are several nods to his original, unfinished appearance — he says the placeholder line in his own voice, and he's protected and instructed by Aku Aku or Uka Uka at random. This makes his alignment more ambiguous, especially with his animations often displaying an obviously dark side.

Интересные факты

• Penta's name is most likely a tribute to the homonymous penguin from Artic Adventure, a 1983 video-game for the MSX.
• There is a trophy/achievement in the N. Sane Trilogy called "Penta's Revenge", referring to the penguin in the Dingodile boss fight. This was likely the result of the common misconception that this was originally meant to be Penta. If it's intended to be a retcon, it's worth noting that the penguin in this version does not have Penta's trademark scarf.