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The Ratchet and Clank seriesis one of the most enduring IPs under the PlayStation banner. For over two decades, the trigger-happy Lombax and his eloquent robotic chum have been blasting Blargs, soaring among the stars, and moving more Sony hardware than a Gadgetron vendor. So popular is this iconic duo that they’ve even made the leap to the silver screen, as 2016 saw the release of a cinematic Hollywood adaptation.
However, with the PS5’s Rift Apart marking the eleventh mainline entry and the franchise’s storyline still ongoing, it’s understandable that some folks may be a bit lost. What started as a basic buddy comedy has morphed into a complex, intergalactic soap opera – so here’s the full Ratchet timeline, recapped!
To clarify, this breakdownwill not include Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters (PSP/PS2), Secret Agent Clank (PSP), or Ratchet and Clank (PS4).This is because the first two are considered non-canon spinoffs, being developed by a different studio entirely, and the latter title is a re-imagining of the original game to tie in with the film.
None of them have any meaningful bearing on the central timeline, andInsomniac Games generally elect to ignore them– so we’ll follow suit!
The Original Saga
How Do Ratchet And Clank Meet?
We open in the Solana Galaxy, a cynical place driven by consumerism, and where you’re more likely to run across gaseous wastelands or marauding bands of space pirates than you are a civilized society. On one such hellscape of a planet, the desert world of Veldin, we meet Ratchet. The world-wearyLombax (a kind of feline, long-tailed alien)makes a living as a mechanic. He’s a tinkerer in his spare time and has been assembling a ship with which he hopes to leave.
He never knew his parents, his real name (‘Ratchet’ was a nickname he gained due to his love of machinery), or much of anything about the wider world, really– so this ship could be his ticket to a better life. Unfortunately, he’s missing a crucial component: an ignition system. This is, as you’d perhaps imagine, quite fundamental. So poor Ratchet’s out of luck for the time being.
Meanwhile, on the distant planet of Quartu, the nefariousBlarg Chairman Drek is amassing a robotic army. His motives aren’t exactly clear yet, but it’s evident from the dingy lighting and maniacal laughter that it can’t be anything good. Suddenly,a wayward bolt of lightning strikes the factory, causing the machine to spit out a defective model.This diminutive fellowinstantly gains sentience, a conscience, and the gumption to swipe evidence of Drek’s plot.He escapes in a nearby pod but is shot down and crashes on - where else? - Veldin.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank (2002)?
It’s here that the first title in the series picks up. Ratchet rescues the robot but finds it difficult to remember his serial number, B5429671.Hence, he settles on a nickname: Clank, after the noise the bot makes when he walks about.It’s a nice touch that neither of our protagonists go by their true names nor know a great deal about their origins. It lays the groundwork for a strong relationship.
Clank offers toact as a robotic ignition system for Ratchet’s shipif he helps him get the evidence to oneCaptain Qwark, self-proclaimed hero and television personality of Solana,whom Ratchet has posters of plastered all over his garage. The Lombax agrees, and the pair are off on their first of many adventures. A veritable conga line of wacky NPCs are met, includingAl the repairman, The Plumber the, er, plumber, and Helga the fitness instructor,on their travels.
How Does The First Game End?
Drek’s plot is soon revealed in its complete, staggering awfulness. After polluting the Blarg’s home planet with his factories,he intends to use a machine known as the Deplanetizer to steal chunks of other worlds, assembling a new home for his people – after which he’ll pollutethatnew planet and continue the cycle, getting rich in the process.Naturally, Ratchet and Clank can’t abide that; so after a brief period of bickering and taking revenge on Qwark, the duo return to Veldin and face off against Drek. The corrupt chairman ultimatelyperishes at the hands (claws?) of his own Deplanetizer.
Clank makes to leave, assuming their business together is finished… but Ratchet calls him back, eager to spend more time with the loquacious automaton.It’s a tremendously sweet moment and a clear sign that these two are now firm friends.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: Going Commando?
As all the best sequels do, Going Commandopicks up mere months after the original game. The hero business has been a tad slow for Ratchet and Clank, and they’ve been reduced to spokesmen for skeevy products like Groovy Lube (and the wiener roast at Al’s). So they’re nothing but eager when the syntactically-challengedCEO of Megacorp, Abercrombie Fizzwidget, phones them up with a job from the neighboring Bogon Galaxy.
It seems that a thief has engaged in a bit of industrial espionage andmade off with Fizzwidget’s latest product, an adorable, fluffy ‘Protopet.‘While Clank lives it up in the city on Megacorp’s dime, Ratchet tracks down the thief, only to discovershe’s a fellow Lombax named Angela Cross. Considering Ratchet figured he was the sole surviving Lombax, this is something of a surprise and the first hint that he might not be all that alone.
It transpires that Angela is a freedom fighter looking to blow the lid off the Fizzwidget conspiracy. She’s found that the Protopetactually becomes a killing machine under certain circumstances (think a more spherical Mogwai).With Megacorp set to release thousands on an unsuspecting market, things aren’t looking good. The plot thickens when Fizzwidget isunmasked as a surviving Captain Qwark, who’s scheming to curry favor with the populace by selling the Protopet,unaware of its true nature.
Ratchet and Clankstop the galaxy-wide shipment of Protopets before it can depart. Qwark is sentenced to do menial labor for the real Mr. Fizzwidget - who he’d stuffed in a cupboard - whileAngela leaves for new horizonsand our heroes celebrate another mission accomplished.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: Up Your Arsenal?
It’s threequel time andthe debut of the series’ most legendary foe, Dr. Nefarious. This cyborg conqueror has a history with Captain Qwark -as the former recipient of bullying from the oafish beefcake in school- and after becoming accidentally roboticised,he’s sworn to vanquish all ‘squishies.‘That’s organic life if you aren’t down with robo-slang.
Ratchet and Clank are summoned back to Veldin, which is under siege by Nefarious’ forces. There, they team up withthe Solana Galactic Rangers, a woefully inept armada in need of a sergeant.Before long, the pair are drawn into the most ludicrous series of vignettes the series has yet seen. To summarise them all would take eons, but here’s a selection:
Somehow, it all coalesces into a very entertaining whole. The climax takes place back on Veldin, where Nefariousmakes his last attempt at deploying the Biobliterator, a Death Star-esque contraption that will convert everyone in the galaxy into robots.He’s no match for the arsenal of Ratchet and Clank, and soon, he and Lawrence areset adrift on a meteorite into the depths of space.
What Happens In Ratchet: Deadlocked?
The final entry in the PS2 era, Deadlockedtakes a decidedly darker approach to the until-now lighthearted saga. At the end of Up Your Arsenal, all seemed rosy: Nefarious was defeated, Qwark had been redeemed, and both Ratchet and Clank hadmade friends, and a home, among the Galactic Rangers. The tranquility, alas, doesn’t last long.
In DreadZone, it’s kill or be killed, so that’s exactly what Ratchet and the gang must do as theyclaw their way up the ranks, ultimately toppling the current reigning champion, the egocentric Ace Hardlight. Vox tries to entice Ratchet into a lifetime of soulless commercialism, with promises of endless residuals and media appearances, but he doesn’t bite.
In retaliation,Vox rigs the entire DreadZone studio to explode, complete with its (literally) captive audience. This gambit, appropriately enough, blows up in his face – Ratchet liberates the spectators and, with his friends in tow, escapes home to Sasha and the crew. Even Qwark is happy to see them!
The Future Saga
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: Tools Of Destruction?
We’ve nowentered the HD era with the PS3 and all its bells and whistles. Insomniac Games felt this would be the appropriate time to more aggressively expand the lore of the Ratchetverse; so in Tools of Destruction, the plot is at the absolute forefront.It’s the beginning of the ‘Future Saga,’ which would last for six years.
Things kick off with explosions and gratuitous 1080p particle effects. Ratchet and Clank haveretired from the Galactic Rangers, and a few years have passed, but that doesn’t mean trouble will stop looking for them.A vicious alien fleet invades Solana, led by the teensy Emperor Tachyon, who’s basically a walking Napoleon complex. He announces his desire to wipe out the last of the Lombaxes, as apparently he has beef with their entire race.
Before he can elaborate, though, Ratchet and Clank have nicked his ship, andthe autopilot speeds them into a new galaxy, Polaris.There, they come across the homeworld of the Lombaxes, Fastoon, which is derelict and abandoned.Thankfully, one Lombax ship there, complete with an inbuilt spunky AI named Aphelion, still runs. The pair explore Polaris with Aphelion,narrowly avoiding run-ins with local robot pirate Captain Slag and his crew.
While in Polaris, Clank repeatedlyexperiences visions of mysterious, time-bending creatures calling themselves the Zoni,who claim to know more about Clank’s destiny. Ratchet, meanwhile, thinks his friend is going bananas.
Who Is Talwyn Apogee?
On their quest to evade Tachyon, Ratchet and Clankcome across Markazian warrior Talwyn Apogee and her aging warbot companions Cronk and Zephyr.Their entire schtick is that… well, they’re old and grumpy. Meanwhile, Talwyn islooking for her missing father, Max Apogee, who apparently was privy to the secret of what happened to the Lombaxes.Talwyn, incidentally, goes on to become Ratchet’s long-term squeeze from this point forward.
The team finds some Lombax ruins that Max had previously attempted to decipher and learns the truth about the Lombaxes.Tachyon belonged to a race known as Cragmites, who, in the distant past, waged war with Ratchet’s ancestral tribe.To seal away their foes,Lombax scientists invented a ‘Dimensionator,’ which could punch holes in the fabric of reality.They used this to trap the Cragmite army in an alternate dimension,but a lone Cragmite egg survived the cull,which they took in and raised as their own, hoping to turn the spawn off such warmongering ideals.
They clearly failed because that spawn was Tachyon. Once he learned what his adoptive parents had done to his biological ones, heembarked on his murderous tirade against the Lombaxes, who fled into a different reality.A single Lombax named Kaden stayed behind to defend Fastoon and had his infant son sent far away for protection. As you may have surmised,that baby was Ratchet.
How Is Tachyon Defeated?
Heads now brimming with familial revelations, Ratchet, Clank, and Talwyn confront Tachyon back on Fastoon. He’stracked down the Dimensionator and intends to bring back the Cragmites to resume the war anew.Before he can do so, Ratchet knocks him into a rip in reality, and the final showdown ensues. Clank is able to grab the Dimensionator and instructs it to finish the job;it obliges, sucking Tachyon into the Cragmite reality.
Once again, everything seems bright. Talwyn offers to take Ratchet and Clank into her home, but as they’re about to accept,the Zoni materializes (physically this time) and spirits Clank away to ‘The Great Clock.‘They say it’s time for him to learn his destiny. Ratchet can only look on, powerless, as his friend is teleported to destinations unknown.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: Quest For Booty?
The provocatively-titled Quest For Booty wasa small, downloadable adventure intended to bridge the narrative gap between Tools of Destruction and the full-scale epic A Crack In Time.It only runs about 3 hours in length, but has a couple of important developments all the same.
The game deals with Ratchet’s search for Clank, which brings him and Talwynto the planet of Merdegraw and into conflict with Captain Slag once more.The bulk of its runtime is spent in damp caverns and on pirate galleons, with a climactic showdown against Angstrom Darkwater, the ghostly spirit sealed inside Captain Slag’s sword.Ultimately, Ratchet obtains the Obsidian Eye, a crystal that’ll allow him to see whatever he fancies – so he asks to see where his buddy is.
The final cutscene is Quest For Booty’s strongest point. We see Clank strapped to a table in a mysterious workshop;Zoni zoom around the room and prepare to welcome ‘the fixer,‘who supposedly will sort Clank’s memory out. And then, who should walk in, cackling maliciously,but Dr. Nefarious?This was an awesome twist back in the day, as Nefarious’ usage had yet to hit saturation point, and it stirred up full-throttle anticipation for A Crack In Time.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: A Crack In Time?
A Crack In Time isfrequently described as the pinnacle of the Ratchet and Clank franchise, both in terms of gameplay and its narrative. Emotionally resonant, thematically rich, and expertly paced, it’s easily the best story the series has to offer.We pick back up in Polaris, with Ratchet (and Qwark, for some reason, filling in for Talwyn, who’s stuck as mission control in this game) on Clank’s trail.
Clank, meanwhile, has awoken to find himself inThe Great Clock, a Zoni space station keeping time at the center of the universe. It’s watched over by Orvus, the most intelligent of the Zoni, and its neurotic janitor, Sigmund.Dr. Nefarious is in the process of taking over the Clock to turn back time and undo his previous defeats, passing himself off as an innocuous mechanic. Clank doesn’t swallow it for a moment, sohe breaks free, repels Nefarious, and meets with Orvus.
Or, more specifically,a memory of Orvus. See, Orvus left for a fateful business trip some months ago (implied to have been arranged by Nefarious) but never returned. He’s left a fragment of his consciousness to guide Clank, though, which proceeds to drop a bombshell:Clank is Orvus’ son! The lightning bolt that caused Clank’s creation was Orvus’ doing, meaning that Clank is actually a Zoni soul in a robot body.So Clank, real name XJ-0461,is the heir apparent to The Great Clockand must undergo rigorous training to inherit the place from his pops.
Who Is Alister Azimuth?
While that’s going on, Ratchetmeets General Alister Azimuth, yet another surviving Lombax.Azimuth was a friend of Ratchet’s father, Kaden, and blames himself for the Lombax catastrophe, having been the one to suggest that the Lombaxes attemptedto redeem Tachyon.He perks up once Ratchet tells him Clank’s stuck in The Great Clock, though, because he sees it as a way to erase his mistakes. Ratchet istempted by the prospect of meeting his parents, but it would, of course, mean he and Clank never meet.
Azimuth’s ambitions place himsquarely in the crosshairs of Clank’s newfound responsibility as caretaker of the Clock.Orvus’ rules were explicit:it is not to be used as a time machine, only to keep time itself moving.After dispatching Nefarious and reaching the Clock’s control room, Ratchet is faced with a decision. Sagely,he sides with Clank, but Azimuth is none too happy.
Then, the most shocking moment in the series ensues:Azimuth murders Ratchet to get at the controls.As in, dead. Cold. In the earth. Bereft of life. Clank flies the last stage solo, in a series first, and is able to interface with the Clock’s mechanisms toturn back time by 6 minutes (the maximum Orvus said would be acceptable).That’s just enough to save Ratchet from Azimuth’s killing blow, and a brutal showdown begins. In the end,Azimuth’s aging body gives out, he realizes his folly, and he chooses to sacrifice himself to prevent a cataclysmic paradox.
How Does The Future Saga End?
With the flow of time stabilized andAzimuth having died a hero’s death, there’s only one matter left:whether Clank wishes to stay and look after the Clock. It’s a tough choice, but at the last possible moment before Ratchet jets off,Clank opts to join his buddy.He leaves the Clockin the care of Sigmund, and the spirit of Orvus closes us out with an inspirational monologue:
“The Clock, much like time itself, is a gift, and not to be tampered with. But like any father, my only wish is that my son does that which makes him feel whole. You are an intelligent and logical being, Clank, but intelligence and logic would have been wasted gifts without honor and loyalty. I am proud to see you came into those on your own.
So, should The Clock be too small for your plans, I pray the cosmos light the way towards a future you yourself design. And remember, the universe has a wonderful sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke.”
The Dimensionator Saga
What Happens Between The Future Saga And The Dimensionator Saga?
With all the grandiose finality of A Crack In Time,it seemed that the series had come to a bit of a narrative standstill.Hence, the franchise spent the five-year period between that game and the next mainline entry, Into the Nexus, engaging in a bit of idle wheel-spinning.Loosely canon comic books and multiplayer titlestumbled off the conveyor belt with alarming regularity, but none of these require more than a passing mention.
The brief DC Comics run deals with the fallout of A Crack In Time.Troubled by Azimuth’s death, Ratchet retires home to Veldin – only to be pulled back into the fray whencorrupt politician Artemis Zogg begins hoovering up entire planets to populate a new sector he’s creating. Zogg wasspurned in favor of Qwark in the galactic presidential election, so he’s a tad peeved. It’s entertaining enough but mostly fluff, though we do learn two interesting new nuggets:
All 4 One, the first multiplayer title, is very light on narrative. You and a band of up to three other chums must help Ratchet, Clank, now-President Qwark, and Dr. Nefarious thwart the plans ofNevo Binkelmeyer, former lab partner of scientist Dr. Frumpus Croid. It turns out Nevo’s cuddly sidekick, Mr. Dinkles,is the true mastermind behind the plot and is actually the leader of an exiled race known as the Loki.
Full Frontal Assault, the second mini-adventure from this era, is somehoweven lighter. It sees the return ofStuart Zurgo, a one-off, one-note secondary NPC from Going Commando, who pretty much nobody was clamoring to meet again. Zurgo is a former Qwark fanboy turned bitter villain,bent on proving his superiority by plunging Polaris into an eternal winter.It’s all an excuse for the wafer-thin tower defense gameplay. You’ll be done in two hours.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: Into The Nexus?
2013 finally saw the release of a title thatdeigned to move the central storyline forward again. Into the Nexus acts asan epilogue for the Future Saga and kicks off the Dimensionator Saga, which looks at what diabolical things assorted fiends might do now that the technology to hop between realities has been rediscovered.
The game begins with Ratchet and Clank beingassigned by Talwyn to transport vicious criminal Vendra Prog to her prison. En route, Vendra’s brother Neftin launches an assault on the carrier ship, and in the chaos,Vendra escapes, and Talwyn’s companions Cronk and Zephyr are axed. Not in a comedic fashion, either – they’re straight-up dead.
The majority of the adventure, then, is spenttrying to find a way to get the Progs back behind bars and avenge the two warbots’ deaths. Ratchet and Clank do a bit of digging at the orphanage where the Progs grew up and unveil a tragic past wherein Vendra repeatedly encountered Mr. Eye, a malevolent entity hailing from the ‘Netherverse,‘during her childhood.This demonic beingexploits her insecurity and lonelinessand now aims to unleash chaos in Ratchet’s dimension. Through emotional manipulation, he convinces Vendra that she owes a debt to her childhood ‘companion,‘compelling her to assist in the sinister plan.
The Progsswipe the Dimensionator from its case in the Polaris Museum and unleash the Nethers upon the galaxy.After a grueling multi-dimensional battle, Ratchet and Clank are able to convince Vendra of Mr. Eye’s evil, and she reseals his armybefore turning herself and her brother in.In a heartwarming post-credit scene, Ratchetdeclares he no longer cares about finding the Lombax dimension, as he has all he needs in this reality: Clank, Talwyn, and many other friends besides.
All the same, Ratchetleaves the now-broken Dimensionator in Clank’s care, who seems to be intent on fixing it.This left the door open for yet another sequel, which we would eventually receive in 2021’s Rift Apart.
What Happens In Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart?
Thesecond adventure in the Dimensionator Sagaboasts all the graphical fidelity that its home console, the PS5, can muster. Solana throws a parade in honor of Ratchet and Clank’s adventures, with the finale beinga presentation of a gift from Clank to Ratchet: the Dimensionator, now fixed and improved, so Ratchet may find his people. Before Ratchet can decline the offer, though, Dr. Nefarious descends on the parade with a fresh army and steals the Dimensionator.
It isn’t long before Nefarious’careless firing of the Dimensionator tears all manner of rifts in the space-time continuum, and Ratchet and Clank are sent hurtling across realities. They finally are deposited ina terrifying, post-apocalyptic version of Solana in which a far more competent version of Nefarious, Emperor Nefarious, has assumed control and suppressed the populace.
What Are The Most Recent Events In The Ratchet And Clank Timeline?
Separated in this dour new world, Ratchet and Clankmeet each other’s dimensional counterparts.Rivet, a female Lombax, is this universe’s Ratchet, while the shy robot Kit is Clank.Rivet and Kit have a history; Kit used to be a member of Emperor Nefarious’ army and even severed Rivet’s arm in battle before developing a conscience. With our heroes’ help, the twomend their broken bridges and form a formidable team.
The now four-strong gang, with the help ofCaptain Quantum (alternate-dimension Qwark) and this universe’s version of Captain Slag’s crew,take on Emperor Nefarious, who has designs on conquering Ratchet’s world. Obviously, the heroes emerge victorious – andsoundly defeat the OG Nefarious, to boot. Before Rivet and Kit go home, though, Ratchetsuggests they make “one stop” with the Dimensionator. He’s likely referring to the Lombax dimension, which hegained a newfound respect for during the game after finding audio logs left by his father, Kaden.
In a mid-credits scene, we seeTalwyn and Ratchet looking over a star map of a different reality. It seems they’re looking forthe dimension into which her father, Max, escaped with Angela– so it’s possible that now the Dimensionator is fixed, Max and Talwyn could reunite.
