N. Brio's Beaker

N. Brio's Beaker is a recurring item in the Crash Bandicoot series. It is a glass beaker containing a potion which can be green, red or purple.

History

N. Brio's beakers first appear in Crash Bandicoot. They are used by N. Brio in his boss fight. When he throws the green ones, they turn into mysterious living beings known as Blobs. Jumping on these will defeat them and also remove a portion of Brio's health. He also throws red potions which explode (in the N. Sane Trilogy, the red potions have been changed to purple). Later in the fight, he drinks his own potion which turns him into a monstrous version of himself. Purple potions also act as the main weapon of the Lab Assistants in the levels Slippery Climb and Stormy Ascent. Additionally, the Blobs N. Brio creates with the green potion re-appear as enemies in The Lab.

N. Brio's Beaker appears as a usable weapon in Crash Team Racing. Papu Papu and Nitros Oxide use both kinds of beakers in boss battles. When it is not juiced up, it appears green. When an unsuspecting driver hits it, it makes them briefly spin out of control. When juiced up though, it appears red and apart from causing the victim to spin out of control, it also randomizes their held item and a dark rain cloud spawns to rain on the victim for a short while, causing them to slow down. Other nearby explosions, such as TNT or nitro explosions set it off too. The player normally drops the beaker behind them, but can also launch N. Brio's beakers forwards by holding and pressing .

In Crash Nitro Kart these beakers were replaced with Static Orbs and Ice Mines which serve as similar weapons.

In Crash Twinsanity. After being blown off N. Gin's ship, the player enters a boss fight against N. Tropy and N. Brio on a small iceberg. N. Tropy tells N. Brio to "get changed" and he drinks a potion. Then he does a back-flip into the water. N. Tropy disappears and then N. Brio appears as a monster. This monster appears to be much more frog-like than the monster he transformed into in Crash Bandicoot. It is possible that this is either a different variant of the potion or that it doesn't always have the same effect.

In Crash: Mind Over Mutant where Doctor Neo Cortex also uses the potion to transform himself into a monstrous version of himself. Cortex describes the potion as a "mutation formula".

Abilities

The potions inside the beakers can explode and cause damage to others. When a stronger version of this potion is used, the explosion can also cause the victim to be temporarily followed by a dark and stormy cloud which will rain on them and slow them down.

The potion itself can turn into a blob monster

In Crash Bandicoot, a specific mixture of the potions was able to turn N. Brio into a more monstrous version of himself. In Crash: Mind Over Mutant, Cortex uses one of N. Brio's potions for the same effect.