Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan is a platform video game developed by Krome Studios and published by Activision for Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. This is the only Ty The Tasmanian Tiger game to be rated E10+ by the ESRB.

Gameplay
The overall gameplay remains similar to the game's predecessors, with the game's introduction of Bunyip Stones being a new addition to the series. These stones can be equipped to various boomerang chassis to change their functionality or elemental properties. The stones can be mixed and matched to make unique boomerang combinations, (such as explosive Lasorangs or Multirangs that track enemies). At first, Ty has only one boomerang chassis, and no Bunyip Stones whatsoever. However, new boomerangs and Bunyip Stones can be purchased using Opals, the game's currency, from various stores spread across Southern Rivers. Bunyip Stones can also be given as rewards for completing the game's various side-quests. With each boomerang chassis having a limited number of Bunyip Stone slots, the player is forced to strategize which stones he or she should make use of and which boomerang chassis to equip them to. Certain Bunyip Stones also cancel each other out (mostly the elemental stones [i.e: Fire and Ice elemental stones can't be used together], and warp stones, which are incompatible with most other stones). Incompatible stones will glow red when equipped to a chassis, and will cancel each other out unless one or the other is removed. Each stone's effect can also be stacked upon itself to increase its effectiveness (two fire Bunyip Stones equipped to the same chassis have a greater effect than a single one does, for example).

Another major addition was that of a melee combat system. Unlike in previous games, many enemies are immune to damage from thrown boomerangs. Therefore, unless the player has a sufficiently powerful boomerang or a Bunyip Mech, the enemies can only be defeated by melee combat. Incorporating elements from beat 'em up-style games, melee combat consists of a standard 4-hit combo, a move that throws enemies up into the air, an arial juggle combo and the bite move from previous games. Most enemies also possess a health bar that decreases as they take damage, with most taking multiple hits to defeat.

The Fourbie jeep used in the previous game for exploration of the overworld is absent, instead being replaced by a new vehicle, the "Crabmersible". The Crabmersible serves the same purpose as the Fourbie, albeit with included weapons and defences for battling enemies in the overworld, as well as being able to submerge underwater. The Chopper, Go-Cart and Shadow Bunyip from the previous game return, but all the auxiliary Bunyips, including the Battle Bunyip, were removed from the game. Instead, they are replaced by the "Extreme Bunyip" which adopts the weapons and functionally from each of them. A new vehicle, in the form of a fighter plane known as the "Gunyip", is also introduced and used in certain missions.

Multiplayer is present and consists of Cart Racing (similar to Mario Kart) and Gunyip Dogfighting (similar to Star Fox 64, although more restrictive). Both of which are playable with up to 4 players.

A version of the game was also released for the Game Boy Advance. Like it's GBA predecessor, it plays as a 2-D platformer as opposed to a 3-D platformer. When using the Gunyip, the game switches to a scrolling shooter (similar to Gradius), and when using the Chopper, the game becomes a top-down action game (similar mechanically to Solar Jetman). Unlike the console versions, the Go-Cart and related side-quests and characters are absent, and there are no multiplayer modes available.

Plot
Following Boss Cass' defeat at the hands of Bush Rescue, the Bunyip Elder summons Ty and his girlfriend Shazza for a small meeting. After teleporting them into the Dreaming, the Bunyip Elder tells them that an evil force known as the "Quinkan" invaded and began taking over the Dreaming while Ty and the others were dealing with Boss Cass. Ty and Shazza agree to help drive the Quinkan out of the Dreaming but are initially unable to fight them, as the Quinkan repel damage from Ty's boomerangs. As they make their way further into the Dreaming, they learn of the "Quinkan Gauntlets", an artifact that grants the user the ability to fight the Quinkan. Ty manages to acquire the Gauntlets, and with them he successfully defeats the Quinkan, driving them out of the Dreaming. Following their victory, the Bunyip Elder appears and offers to teach Ty how to use the Gauntlets properly, which Ty agrees to. After a training session with the Bunyips, The Bunyip Elder warps Ty and Shazza back to the real world. However, while in warp transit, a Quinkan appears and knocks Shazza out of Ty's reach and the two are separated, with Shazza arriving back in the real world six months before Ty does.

When Ty returns to Southern Rivers, he arrives in a place infested with Quinkan and Boss Cass' zombified frill lizard henchmen. He is subsequently ambushed when he is rescued by Ridge, a Tazmanian Tiger mercenary. Together the two manage to fight off the Quinkan from the area. Ty asks Ridge what happened to the town of Buramudgee, to which Ridge explains that they are in what is left of Buramudgee, and that most of the town was destroyed by the Quinkan six months ago. Ty is reunited with his friend Dennis, an Australian Green Tree Frog, who had taken charge of the war effort in Southern Rivers after Bush Rescue disbanded. After a brief reunion with his parents, his brother Sly, and Shazza, Dennis reinstates Bush Rescue, and assigns Ty the task of finding and bringing back the other members of the team. Along the way, Ty meets several characters new to Southern Rivers, He comes across a trio of intimidating but dimwited dinosaurs known as the Redback Gang, who cause mischief and frequently challenge Ty to Go-Cart races.Ty and Shazza manage to explore an sizable area of Southern Rivers, locating Maury the Cockatoo and Ranger Ken the Tasmanian Devil, but they learn that a large Quinkan known as the "Hexaquin" guards the gateway to the other parts of Southern Rivers, limiting what they can access. Ty and Shazza defeat the Hexaquin, allowing Bush Rescue to continue.

After rescuing Duke the Kiwi, whose helicopter was shot down by the Quinkan, as well as Julius the Koala from his maniacal brother Karlos, Shazza is kidnapped by the Quinkan in Dead Dingo Marsh. Ty runs after the Quinkan but a mysterious Bunyip shows up and stops Ty for a fight. After Ty defeats the mech, the pilot reveals herself to be Fluffy, Boss Cass' lead retainer and nemesis of Ty. As the two are about to continue their fight, Sly jumps in and tells Ty and Fluffy that they have to work together to find Shazza. Fluffy informs Ty that Boss Cass might have information on where Shazza is, and invites Ty to a meeting with Cass. When Ty makes it to Cassopolis, Boss Cass says he's been talking with the Quinkan and might be able to figure out where Shazza is. In return, Boss Cass has Ty and the other Bush Rescue members complete various tasks for him, such as collecting data. Once complete, Cass comes good on his word and reveals that Shazza is being held hostage by a powerful Quinkan known as the "Dragonquin". Using the Gunyip fighter plane, Ty manages to defeat the Dragonquin and rescues Shazza.

Later on, Shazza informs Ty and Bush Rescue that the Quinkan are preparing for their leader, the "Quinking", to arrive in their world. She also explains that the only weapon capable of defeating him is hidden somewhere in Southern Rivers. The topic of a "Quinkan Expert", who knows the location of this weapon, is also brought up during the conversation. Ty, Shazza and Fluffy go to find this expert, who turns out to be the wandering traveler Gooboo Steve. He tells them that he hid the legendary weapon, the "Shadowrang" and the Shadow Stones needed to power it, across the Outback. Ty explores Mt. Boom to find the missing Shadowrang pieces and Shadow Stones, but when he does the stones fall into Mt. Boom's volcano as it erupts, scattering them across Southern Rivers. Ty and the Bush Rescue members find the Shadowrang parts, and begin their search for the Shadow Stones. They manage to acquire most of the stones when Jack, the leader of the Redback Gang, reveals that he is in possession of the last Shadow Stone, and will only give it to Ty if he can beat him in one final Go-Cart race, which Ty wins. After the race, Ty learns that the Trio are only toddlers, who cause mischief because it's their idea of "having fun". Impressed by Ty's Go-Kart skills, the Redback Gang promote Ty to leader of the gang (much to Jack's chagrin) and hand over the last Shadow Stone. With the Shadowrang ready, Ty, Sly, Shazza and Fluffy all board a plane to head to the Quinkan lair. As they are taking off, they are ambushed by the Quinkan. The Redback Gang then show up on their Go-Karts, and manage to distract the Quinkan long enough for Ty and the others to escape.

After making his way through the Quinkan lair, Ty confronts the Quinking, who reveals that the Quinkan were summoned to Southern Rivers by Boss Cass, who foolishly believed that he could control them. Ty then duels the Quinking with the newly constructed Shadowrang, managing to significantly weaken him. The Quinking then transforms into a larger, more powerful dragon-like form in hopes of gaining the upper hand. The two fight to a stalemate, and by the end of the duel, neither can muster enough energy to finish off the other. Boss Cass then appears, having captured Shazza, Sly and Fluffy during the battle. Cass, still wanting to rule Southern Rivers, equips himself with a large laser gun (a rocket launcher in the GBA version) with the goal of taking out both Ty and the Quinking in one blow, leaving him to rule Southern Rivers unapposed. Just before Cass fires his gun, Fluffy breaks free from her confinement and pushes Ty away, blowing him a kiss goodbye. The laser blast hits and kills both her and the Quinking, leaving only a massive crater and a severed piece of Fluffy's tail remaining. Cass, shocked and dispondent over Fluffy's death, is escorted away by Sly, while Ty and Shazza mourn over the loss of their friend. With Cass defeated and the Quinking vanquished, Southern Rivers returns to a state of peace, New Buramudgee is rebuilt and a statue of Fluffy is erected in honor of her heroism and sacrifice. It the player achieves 100% completion, a post-credits scene plays where Julius' brother Karlos reveals that Fluffy may be able to be revived and/or cloned from the piece of her severed tail.

The story of the Game Boy Advance game remains mostly the same, although with a few differences. In the beginning, Shazza remains with the Bunyip Elder as Ty is sent alone to the Dreaming. Once there, he is given a bomb developed by Julius as a means to eradicate the Qunkin from the realm, and is warped back to Southern Rivers to escape the bomb's blast. Unlike in the console version, Ridge does not make an appearance. Narratively, most of the story missions take place in the same way, as well as the boss fights. A new boss, in the form of a giant Quinkan known as the "Spiderquin", is also added, which replaces what was originally a minor enemy during the Gunyip missions in console game. Also in this version, Boss Cass appears and betrays Ty before his fight with the Quinking instead of afterwards. He uses a rocket launcher instead of a laser gun, and only Fluffy is killed by Cass. The Quinking is later killed by Ty during their battle. Like Armstrong in the previous GBA game, the Quinking's second form is also significantly larger in scale than he appeared in the console version. The ending remains the same in both versions, with the GBA version adding a final shot showing Fluffy's severed tail laying in the battlefield.

If the player achieves 100% completion in the GBA version, Gooboo Steve appears, and shows the player three pieces of concept art. "Ty 1977" shows an image of how a Ty game would look on an Atari 2600, "Ty 1981" depicts how the game would look on an Arcade cabinet (similar to Star Wars), and "Ty 1985" depicts a Ty game running on the Nintendo Entertainment System, closely resembling Super Mario Bros.

Reception
The game received mixed to average reviews with a 68 metascore on Metacritic. The game was criticized for feeling too similar to previous games in a series that was already feeling to similar to other, more popular games. Matt Casamassina of IGN wrote, "Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3: Night of the Quinkan is a predictable sequel to the first two iterations of the franchise. That doesn't make it bad. In fact, it's still enjoyable, especially as straightforward platformer for kids. But the Ty series has never been original and this latest version feels like a copy of a copy. Gamers who played and didn't like the other two versions will find nothing new here and Ty fans may find themselves wondering why very little has changed."