Doctor Nitrus Brio

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 **Portrayed by** | Brendan O'Brien (English, 1996-1997)Michel Mella (French, 1996-1997)Sergio Tedesco (Italian, 1996-1997)Mitsuru Ogata (Japanese, 1996-1997)

*“So, you're helping Cortex to gather crystals. Yet you've acquired a gem. Interesting! Well Crash, know this, as long as you are allied with Cortex, you are my sworn enemy and I will do everything in my power... to stop you! If the fate of the world is truly your concern, you must gather the gems, not the cr-crystals.”*

—**N. Brio telling Crash to collect the gems, and not the crystals for Cortex.**, *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back*

**Doctor Nitrus Brio** (also known as N. Brio, or simply Brio) is a scientist who formerly worked under Doctor Neo Cortex. Brio's loyalty has fluctuated throughout the series, working on his own accord in *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back*.

## History

### Naughty Dog era

#### Crash Bandicoot

At the start of the series, Brio acts as an assistant to Cortex. While he is somewhat loyal, he has his doubts over whether Cortex's plans can actually work. He stutters when speaking, Brio acts as the penultimate boss of the first game, drinking a potion and transforming himself into a hulking monstrosity to combat Crash. When defeated, he accidently sets the castle on fire. When he wakes up, he decides to go up against Cortex who didn't give any credit to Brio all these years. In the non-canon ending, it was revealed he worked as a bartender prior to this game.

#### Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Nitrus Brio reappeared one year later in the form of a hologram when Crash got his first gem, attempting to convince Crash Bandicoot to save the world by gathering the Gems he needs to destroy Cortex's space station instead of the Crystals that Cortex needs to control the Earth, threatening to destroy Crash if he keeps gathering the crystals. When Crash continues to gather Crystals, Brio recruits Ripper Roo and creates the Komodo Brothers and Tiny Tiger to assassinate Crash and keep him from gathering the Crystals for Cortex. Brio finally manages to convince Crash to gather the 42 Gems needed for the laser to be operational, and gives him the honor of activating the weapon, destroying Cortex's space station. He appears to have doubted that Crash would find all the gems, as in the 100% ending, he says, "You have acquired all of the Gems. Incredible! Crystals are not the only means of harnessing planetary energy. Right! The Gems have that ability as well. And with them, I can destroy the Cortex Vortex... forever!"

The spoilers end here. Whatever you do, don't scroll up—unless you want to!

## Appearances

* *Crash Bandicoot*
* *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back*

## Characteristics

### Personality

Brio is a shy and meek man, which serves as a contrast to Doctor Cortex's megalomania. He has never had people respect him or take him seriously, resulting in a low self-esteem. It is this weakness that originally caused him to join Doctor Cortex in his plot for world domination. However, it is also this weakness that allowed Cortex take the full credit for an invention that Brio was more responsible for attaining any sort of effectiveness, resulting in the development of intense inner-contempt and jealousy of Cortex on Brio's behalf. The most notable examples of Cortex stealing from Brio was the first functional Evolvo-Ray, which Brio did not actually create, but perfected its original faulty design into a more effective weapon. This betrayal on Cortex's part is a continuing source of disdain for
Brio and is the prime motive for his abandonment of Cortex following the events of *Crash Bandicoot*.

As a way of making up for his mistake of allowing Cortex to take credit for his inventions in the past, Brio has developed a notable level of self delusion, as he cites himself as being the actual inventor of the Evolvo-Ray (Even though he only perfected it). This worsens even further where he constantly, almost impulsively reminds anyone in his presence of his inventions, even crediting himself with several other things that he couldn't possibly have created, like recycling, slinkies as well as claiming to have written a bible.

In the earlier games, he stuttered and occasionally laughed like a madman whenever he spoke. This could be a result of the bolts in his head, or too many failed potions.

## Portrayals

Brio was originally voiced by Brendan O'Brien in the English versions of *Crash Bandicoot* and *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back*. He is voiced by Michel Mella and Sergio Tedesco in the French and Italian versions of *Crash Bandicoot* and *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back*.

## Quotes

*“But Doctor Cortex, we haven't determined the cause of past failures (insane giggling)”*

—**Nitrus Brio**, *Crash Bandicoot*

*“But Doctor Cortex, the Vortex is not ready. We have no idea what it could do!”*

—**Nitrus Brio**, *Crash Bandicoot*

## Trivia

* In the intro of Crash Bandicoot when Crash is being put into the Cortex Vortex, Brio is speaking but his mouth isn't moving. This was an error in the game.
* If the player approaches Brio in his boss fight in *Crash Bandicoot* he will attack by striking his beakers together causing a small explosion that injures Crash.
* Brio's theme in Crash 2 is somewhat hard to hear because Brio is talking over it. How it was supposed to sound remained a mystery for 15 years until Josh Mancell shared the song.
* His name is a pun on the word "embryo." Ironically, his head is shaped much like that of a theropod dinosaur egg.
* N. Brio's first name is factional pun on the word "Nitrous" which is commonly known as laughing gas. This is easily defined while the character always laughs during his dialogue.
* He has the most health in a single phase boss fight, with 9 Hit Points.
	+ However, he is defeated in a single hit at the end of Crunch's boss fight in Crash: Mind Over Mutant.
* He bears a resemblance to the Old Man in the Shortz film, *The Tell Tale Heart*, just as Dr. Cortex resembles the Narrator/main character.
* Doctor Nitrus Brio is one of 2 characters to feature in *Crash Bandicoot* and *Cortex Strikes Back* and not to feature in *Warped*; the other is Ripper Roo.
* The monster he turns into in *Crash Bandicoot* bears a slight resemblance to *The Hulk*.
* The bolts lodged into his head are based on *Frankenstein,* as the character similarly has bolts in his neck.
* If looked in a certain perspective, N. Brio's head is shaped much like a lava lamp.
* N. Brio is the first scientist to have brought back an extinct animal (e.g. Tiny Tiger) the second being Dr. Cortex (though generally all of them are genetically spliced into modern day animals).
* The spanish pronunciation sounds similar to the word "Embrión".

 Enemies