N. Brio

Doctor Nitrus Brio (also known as N. Brio, or simply Brio) is a scientist who formely 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, with Doctor Nefarious Tropy in Crash Twinsanity and even returning to Cortex's side in Crash Bash and Crash: Mind over Mutant. His name is a play on the word "embryo" (a fact that he himself alludes to in Crash: Mind over Mutant).

Pre-series history
Like most of the characters in the series, Brio's age is uncertain, though a piece of Crash Twinsanity concept art suggests that Brio is the same age as Cortex and N. Gin. As a child, Nitrus Brio was a classmate of Neo Cortex and N. Gin in Madame Amberly's Academy of Evil. Brio is responsible for taking Neo's original faulty Evolvo-Ray and refining it into a fully functional weapon. However, his lack of self-esteem allowed Doctor Cortex to take full credit for the creation.

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. Brio acts as the penultimate boss of the first game, drinking a potion and transforming himself into a hulking monstrosity to combat Crash. The game's epilogue states that Brio rediscovered his true passion for bartending following the events of the game.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Nitrus Brio reappeared in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, 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. 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.

Crash Twinsanity
In Crash Twinsanity, Brio teams up with Doctor Nefarious Tropy to defeat Cortex and gain the Evil Twins' Treasure. He appears alongside Tropy in a boss fight, immediately following Crash's escape from N. Gin's battleship, in which Brio (after being instructed by N. Tropy to "get changed") drinks a potion to transform himself into a large, green frog-like monster. He then appears (in his human form) alongside N. Tropy and N. Gin again in the Evil Twins' fortress, claiming the Twins' treasure for themselves. However, they are thwarted by Spyro the Dragon, who had been trapped in the Twins' vault.

Crash: Mind over Mutant
Brio reunites with Neo Cortex once more in Crash: Mind over Mutant, in which he aids in the development of the NV, a personal digital assistant that can control both mutants and bandicoots. He uses recycled parts from the Sludge Junkyard to mass-produce NVs and create a new space station for Doctor Cortex. Throughout the game, he claims to be the inventor of numerous things, including recycling, Slinkies, and endings. He is found in the Junkyard with a brainwashed Crunch Bandicoot by Crash and Aku Aku, who are then attacked by Crunch under Brio's orders. When Crunch is broken free from the NV's control, Brio is forced to reveal the whereabouts of Uka Uka, who is acting as the source of the negative Mojo needed to control those wearing NVs. He is then told to leave the island, but promises that it is not the end.

Crash Team Racing
While Brio does not appear in Crash Team Racing, a brand of beakers used as weapons during the races feature his name.

Crash Bash
Brio reunites with Cortex as a playable character in Crash Bash, summoned to play on Uka Uka's side against Aku Aku's team.

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 (a fact he laments in Crash: Mind over Mutant), 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. Most notably was the first functional Evolvo-Ray, which Brio did not actually create, but perfected it's 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) and also credits himself with several other things that he couldnt possibly have created, like the Bible. In the earlier games he stuttered peculiarly whenever he spoke.

Outward appearance
Brio appears as a taller figure than Doctor Cortex, with an equally tall head, which has twin electrode-like bolts attached to the sides ala Frankenstein's Monster. While Cortex and N. Gin wear white lab coats, Brio wears a green one in most of his appearances, but wears a lab coat similar to that of Doctor Cortex in Crash Twinsanity. In some instances his labcoats do not feature sleeves. Unlike Cortex, who has black hair, Brio has almost no hair to speak of, with his eyebrows being the only pieces of visible hair on his body, though a piece of concept art for Crash Twinsanity suggests that Brio had a strand of blonde hair on his head during his childhood. In Crash Twinsanity, Brio's skin has become more wrinkled, and has noticeably darkened, taking on an almost grayish hue. Possibly due to the not insubstantial amount of mutagenic chemicals he's been known to ingest over the years. According to Cortex the mutagen tastes like "peppermint bath, [with] a hint of..."

Portrayals
Brio was originally voiced by Brendan O'Brien in the English versions of Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bash. He is voiced by Michel Mella and Sergio Tedesco in the French and Italian versions of Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bash. He is voiced by Maurice LaMarche as of Crash: Mind over Mutant. He is voiced by Vincent Violette and Angelo Nicotra in the French and Italian versions of Crash: Mind over Mutant respectively. In the Japanese version of the series, he is voiced by Mitsuru Ogata in the games up to Crash Bash.