Cortex Castle



Cortex Castle is Dr. Cortex's first base in the [Crash Bandicoot series|Crash Bandicoot series]. Even though it was set on fire at the end of the first game, it did survive and can still be seen in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back in the level Road to Ruin. A track based on it appeared in Crash Team Racing, as well as the Citadel City section of the same game, as you can clearly see many aspects of the castle within this area. As a race track it features in the Nitro Cup and the Green Gem Cup (joining Roo's Tubes, Coco Park and Polar Pass). Also, he used it as his base in Crash Nitro Kart.

Overview
The castle is located on Cortex Island, and debuted in the original Crash Bandicoot as the residence and base of operations of the game's main antagonist, Dr. Neo Cortex. According to the game, the castle was powered by the Cortex Power factory, a factory powered by a gargantuan nuclear chamber and owned by Cortex's minion, Pinstripe Potoroo. Crash's main goal in the game is to make his way to the castle and rescue his girlfriend, Tawna, from Cortex, who plans to use her for genetic experimenting in his Cortex Commando army. Inside the castle, the player battles Cortex's assistant, Dr. Nitrus Brio, as well as Cortex himself. After defeating Brio, some of the chemicals he was using to combat Crash set the castle alight, leaving Crash to flee through Cortex's lab and onto his airship where the final battle takes place.

In the alternate ending epilogue for the original Crash Bandicoot, it is stated that Papu Papu sold the ruins of the castle to a resort developer and used his newfound wealth to create a souvenir shop on the island, implying the fire destroyed the castle. However, the ending is most likely non-canon, as the castle is shown to be intact in the sequel, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back. The instruction manual implies that Cortex examined his discovered crystal in his laboratory, implying he resided in the castle for a short period before leaving to create the Cortex Vortex. In addition, the castle also appears to contain the secret warp room housing levels 26 and 27. During the end of the game, the castle is also shown to contain N. Brio's base of operations where he destroys Cortex's space station with his laser beam. It is possible that Cortex regained his castle from the resort developers and rebuilt certain parts of the castle before leaving. This is supported by the fact that certain parts of the secret warp room appear to be destroyed, indicating that N. Brio secretly used the castle as his base of operations after Cortex left.

Cortex Castle (Track) However, the castle also appears in the beginning of Crash Nitro Kart and as a track in Crash Team Racing, indicating Cortex rebuilt it. It has not been seen since.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
During the events of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, the castle isn't used, only as a secret warp room. During the 100% ending, Brio is shown to be firing a laser off of a tower of the Cortex Castle, implying that, even after the castle was burned in the original Crash Bandicoot game, Brio still resides in it, which would explain how is able to create Tiny the Tiger and the Komodo Brothers, using the apparently still intact Cortex Vortex and Evolvo-Ray.

Inhabitants

 * Doctor Neo Cortex (semi-formerly)
 * Doctor N. Gin (semi-formerly)
 * Tiny Tiger (semi-formerly)
 * Dingodile (semi-formerly)
 * Lab Assistants
 * Doctor Nitrus Brio (formerly)
 * Koala Kong (formerly)
 * Ripper Roo (formerly)

Levels
Crash Bandicoot
 * Dr. Nitrus Brio(boss)
 * Dr. Neo Cortex (boss) (background)
 * Lights Out
 * Fumbling in the Dark (secret level)
 * Slippery Climb(exterior)
 * Stormy Ascent(cancelled level)
 * The Lab