Something else that I just realised, is that the Time Twister from Crash 3 is also built on top of Warp Room 6. In fact, in the newly dumped E3 1998 demo of the game, we can actually see N. Sanity Island and Wumpa Island in the background, just like in Crash 2.

An instance where what is possibly just asset reuse contributes to LORE.

i low how we're all here overthinkingf about a freaking game we played when we were 9 year olds

My interpretation with the bosses is that they were attacking Cortex himself and so he sent Crash to deal with them. This is especially evident with Tiny, because we see him break into Cortex’s space station.

I'm a fan of the idea that Crash is going along with it mainly because he doesn't know whether to trust one evil scientist's word over another's, so he just does both tasks simultaneously. And like you mention, it's not like he has much choice if he wants to get out of the situation. Plus yeah, if Cortex is telling the truth, then Crash would want to help. And if he's lying… I like to think Crash just has straight up full confidence in his ability to whup Cortex's butt like last time! 😂

1:19 "The main point of contention in all of this is Crash's thought process throughout the game."
Me: Crash has thoughts?

Crash 4, it's about time. May shed some light on Crash trusting him.
The flashback tapes and the final world show Cortex being proud of Crash, almost fatherly. When Cortex has reason to side with him, when Dingodile has retired, Crash immediately forgives them. He wants to see the best in others, and doesn't hold grudges.

Crash Bandicoot 2 does have a genius story indeed

Some parts that haven’t been considered:
-Why are four crystals already in Cortex’s space station?
-Why is Tiny Tiger’s boss arena also in the space station?

My personal theory is that Cortex could’ve and tried to get the crystals himself, but it would’ve been too risky with Brio’s army on patrol. When N Gin asks “How do you expect to retrieve them,” what he means is “How do you expect to retrieve them without getting killed?” That’s where Crash comes in.

The other part of my theory: As the game progresses and Crash gets closer to the truth thanks to Coco, Cortex decides that Crash is too risky to keep around, so Cortex starts covertly sending some of his OWN mooks to get rid of Crash. While Ripper Roo and the Komodo Bros were traps sent by Brio, Tiny was working for Cortex the whole time. At this point, Cortex is running on two plans at the same time. Crash getting more crystals makes his job easier, but if Crash just happens to get eliminated in the process, then that’s one less person to stand in Cortex’s way. That’s why N Gin tries to destroy Crash once he’s gathered “enough” crystals. Cortex isn’t even trying to hide his intentions anymore.

The official Crash 2 map shows that the levels of Warp Room 5 all take place inside Cortex's space station.

Night Fight is likely a giant greenhouse or something, which would explain why it's dark as well as the unique flying saucer enemies: artificial lighting.

Didn't Cortex also build his castle on top of ancient ruins in the first game? That might explain the warp rooms becoming more man-made as they go, we already know how he tends to step on the work of others and steal the glory.

Ok I like that you actually provide a valid explanation for why Crash chooses to gather the crystals for Cortex, and doesn't just handwave it by saying "Duh, Crash is supid". In fact I think Crash is more intelligent than he seems, he's intelligent enough to know that Cortex is evil and must be stopped, and let's not forget the fact that Crash knows how to operate multiple vehicle types and even a Jetpack, something that requires both intelligence AND training, and in Crash Bandicoot 4, he knows how to properly use the Quantum Masks' powers, so Crash is way more intelligent than people think

Crash is always jumping for joy any time he teams up with Cortex in later games like Twinsanity and It's About Time. It's never spoken out loud but it looks like he really wants Cortex to be a good guy, and I think those developers took Crash 2 for reference. It's obvious that Crash trusts Coco more since he resists N. Gin and fights Cortex, but still.

Cortex explaining himself sending Crash to the Warp Rooms gives off the same vibe as "An interdimensional tether to pull you back from hell. I didn't think you'd allow their installation voluntarily"

Running off the Brio vs Neo:
It is possible that Ripper and the Bros were on Brio's team meaning to stop Crash assisting Neo. I would say Tiny was on Neo's team given he is in Crash3 as well.

Remember the Crash in the original trilogy is not as stupid as later iterations. Reckless yes, but also a lot of street smarts if you weigh in all his achievements.

The way Crash hugs Cortex in Crash 4 when they become allies? Crash believes the best of others, even Cortex.

I always thought crash was collecting the crystals to try to get to them before cortex not realizing that cortex could just take them from the warp room

Oh yeah I remember now.
I thought Crash was only helping Cortex in the hopes of being released.

1:07 That boss battle always makes me laugh. If you don't do anything, Cortex laughs evilly as he escapes, then Crash says "Woah!" and somehow manages to lose a life without being hit.

"Aww, man, he got away... Woah, my kidneys!" 😂

I think all the mutant bosses were working for Brio. His own monster army deployed in his attempt to stop Crash from collecting the crystals.
It goes from a small fast threat to the last line of offense with Tiny, being dispatched to the Cortex space station to stop Crash at the root of the problem

Tiny only works for Cortex because he’s continuously evil and aggressive with his schemes while Brio would rather take a back seat