Emperor Velo XXVII

"I am Emperor Velo XXVII, ruler of this galaxy! My subjects hunger for entertainment, and word of your racing prowess has reached my glorious empire. And I hope you put on a good show, especially since winning the circuit will win your freedom. And if, for some reason, you refuse to race, your Earth will be... destroyed. But... I don't think it will come to that. Do you accept my challenge?"

- Emperor Velo XXVII

Emperor Velo XXVII (the 27th), usually referred to as just Velo, is the extraterrestrial emperor of an unnamed empire and a fanatic racer and egotist combined who serves as the main antagonist of Crash Nitro Kart. He speaks about himself as "the most accomplished racer in the entire galaxy." However, this is deflected through his defeat against Crash Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex, whom he kidnapped in order to prove his strength and provide entertainment.

Crash Nitro Kart
Velo is an apparently powerful emperor, with thousands of subjects (all of them resembling small goblins) at his beck and call, and a Coliseum at the top of his planet (which resembles his head, reflecting his large ego). His subjects are in constant need of entertainment, and when legends of the driving skills of Crash and his friends reach his ears, he immediately abducts Crash and the others and forces them to race in his Galaxy Circuit, with the threat of the destruction of Earth if they do not race. When Velo's subjects are defeated one by one, Velo reveals himself to be the Galactic Champion and races the Terrestrials personally.

If the player has not acquired the time relics to each of the courses, upon his defeat, Velo starts to get enraged but then collects himself to admit his defeat, and, true to his word, allow the racers to go free. But, also true to his word, he declares the Earth to be planned for destruction since they refuse to race anymore. Then he allows them a rematch, but only if the player gets all the time relics. If the player has acquired the time relics, Velo throws a fit, then he suddenly explodes literally. The Velo the Terrestrials raced was just a robotic suit, much to the shock of Velo's subjects. The real Velo, as it turns out, is actually a small goblin, much like his subjects. The rest depends on the team the player chose.

In Crash's ending, Velo holds up his scepter in triumph in an attempt to win over his subjects, but they are too shocked and let down to say anything. Powerless, Velo relinquishes his empire and whatever influence he had on his subjects. Crash seriously considers this (even thinking about having the planet reshaped into his head), but he decides to reject the idea and gives the scepter back to Velo in exchange for being sent home. In Cortex's ending, Velo isn't so willing to give up his power. When he sees Cortex with his scepter, he tackles him in an attempt to get it back but is easily stopped by Tiny, forcing Velo to give them the scepter.

Stats (Console)
Speed: 7/7

Acceleration: 7/7

Turning: 4/7

Difficulty: Advanced

Stats (GBA)
Speed: 10/10

Acceleration: 10/10

Turning: 10/10

Difficulty: Intermediate

Personality
Emperor Velo is confident and dominating to the point of being a jerk and showing contempt for his lessors. However, he seems to be able to control his temper. When the real Velo is revealed, he is shown to be pouty, impetuous, and childish with a healthy temper, much like Neo Cortex.

Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled shows more of his personality. He is shown to be provocative, haughty, and cherishes the audience booing at him, akin to a heel in a competition.

Outward appearance
Velo is a very tall and obese character (though his full body isn't seen until after Geary's defeat). He is a vibrantly-colored individual, with green skin, blue lips, gold eyes, long pointy ears with darker green insides, pointy, yellowed claws and a purple V-shaped goatee. (Oddly, his hair is shown to be red instead in CNK's pre-rendered cutscenes.) He wears a long purple robe with red trim and ornate cuffs, seemingly featuring golden shapes sewn into them, as well as an equally ornate belt. He wears a large gold medal around his neck, inscribed with a large V. He has jewelled rings on his fingers, golden earrings, and a golden helm with a tuft of purple hair visible through the top. He also wears reddish brown open-toed sandals, revealing paw-like feet.

However, that form is merely a robot disguise. Velo's true form's appearance is very different. Real Velo resembles his goblin-like subjects seen spectating the competition, only being even smaller. He lacks his helm in this form and is also bald, but he now has pointy growths on top of his head, resembling a crown. He retains a smaller, simpler version of his disguise's robe, but he still wears his medal, earrings and rings on his fingers.

In Nitro-Fueled, Real Velo's design has a few small differences. The design of his robe has changed a bit, and he now wears gold bracelets around his wrists. His belt no longer has golden details on it, with only one golden buckle off to the side remaining.

Portrayals
Both of Velo's forms are voiced by Steven Blum (who also voiced Crash in the same game) in the English version of Crash Nitro Kart, while Andre Sogliuzzo voices his real form in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled. In the Japanese version of the game, Emperor Velo is voiced by Haruo Satō, while the real Velo is voiced by Kōki Miyata.

Appearances

 * Crash Nitro Kart
 * Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (true form available at launch, robotic form added in grand prix)

Gallery
See: Emperor Velo XXVII/Gallery

Trivia

 * Velo is actually French word for "bike", however, his name is likely a pun on the word "Velocity". Moreover, his name is pronounced "Veelo" in contrast to the correct sound "Velo" in French.
 * Velo is also a Latin verb meaning to cover or wrap, but used figuratively it can mean to conceal.
 * In the console version of the game, Real Velo is playable whereas his robotic form is playable in the Game Boy Advance version of the game.
 * When the player races Velo's ghosts they will be ghosts of his true form.
 * When the player is racing as Team Trance (Pura, Polar, Dingodile and N. Trance) or Team Oxide (Zam, Zem, N. Oxide and "Real Velo"), a Velo Mask will be the accompanying mask for power-ups and re-adjusting the player into the track.
 * His eyebrows, hair and beard are orange in the FMVs, but are purple in-game.
 * The moon of Terra, as well as the base of the coliseum, bears Velo's face.
 * In Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, his true form has the same stats as Pura and Polar.

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