Ratchet and Clank (characters)

His first appearance was on Planet Veldin, but it is later revealed in the series that Ratchet was originally born on the Lombax home-world of Planet Fastoon in the Polaris Galaxy and later sent to Planet Veldin in the Solana Galaxy by his father Kaden to protect him from Emperor Tachyon. Growing up on Veldin, Ratchet longed to travel to new worlds and even built his own ship.

Shortly after completing his ship, Ratchet met a diminutive robot fugitive whom he dubbed Clank, who helped him to leave Veldin and fulfill his dream of traveling. From this point on, Ratchet and Clank traveled extensively through the Solana, Bogon and Polaris Galaxies, saving them on several occasions.

After meeting up with Ratchet, they travel to various planets trying to stop the goals of Chairmen Drek, and looking for Captain Qwark to help them. Along the way, Ratchet keeps drifting from the goals that Clank wants to accomplish, causing him to get upset with Ratchet's selfishness. With Clank being the only way Ratchet can pilot his ship, he makes up with him, and gets back on track. In Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, they are living the lives of heroes and get a call from the CEO of Megacorp, wanting them to help retrieve a dangerous prototype which was stolen. In Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet and Clank help Captain Qwark defeat his past nemesis, Dr. Nefarious. Meanwhile, Clank is shown to be a movie star, acting as Secret Agent Clank (a PlayStation Portable game was released under the same name, and focuses on the adventures of Clank under this role). A great deal of new information regarding Clank's real origins is shown in the Future trilogy. During the events of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Clank is often visited by mysterious beings known as the Zoni and is warned that he faces some difficult decisions regarding his adventures with Ratchet. Clank is eventually taken away by the Zoni at the end of the game. In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Clank is transported to the Great Clock where he learns that his creator is, in fact, a powerful Zoni named Orvus (his alternate name is also quoted as XJ-0461) and fulfils his intended purpose as Senior Caretaker of the Clock. After the final battle, Clank is left with a hard decision on whether to continue partnering Ratchet or leave him and stay at the Clock, but he ultimately decides to leave the Clock and stay with Ratchet.

Ratchet also appears as a playable character in Hot Shots Golf Fore!, Jak X: Combat Racing, PlayStation Move Heroes, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Mediatonic's Fall Guys and the PlayStation 4 version of Super Bomberman R, and in cameo appearances in Jak II and Astro's Playroom.[1]

Clank is one of the six playable characters in PlayStation Move Heroes, and creates a rivalry with Sly Cooper character Bentley due to both of them having high intelligence. Both Ratchet and Clank also appear as one playable character in the crossover fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Clank appears as a playable character with Ratchet in Mediatonic's Fall Guys. Clank also appears as a non-playable character in Hot Shots Golf Fore! and the PlayStation 4 version of Super Bomberman R. Clank makes a cameo appearance in Astro's Playroom.[1]

Ratchet was originally envisioned by Insomniac Games Vice President of Programming Brian Hastings as a space-traveling reptile alien who would collect various weapons as he progressed through the game;[2][3] Ratchet's final form was decided upon after Insomniac looked at various terrestrial creatures, such as dogs, rats, and feline features stood out to them because of the sense of agility associated with it.[4] In response to the negative critical reception of Ratchet's design and personality in Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet's personality was altered in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando to be "less cocky, ...much more friendly to Clank, and... able to handle himself better in stressful situations without being impetuous".[5]

Ratchet tends to be headstrong and is usually not afraid to voice his opinion. During the first game he had a short temper, which he eventually learned to control in later titles. Yet at the same time, Ratchet can be self-conscious and often appears concerned with how people view him as a person. He is also deeply attached to his friends, although at times this relationship can be strained. Following the second game in the series, Ratchet becomes a well-trained commando, with great knowledge of weapons, close-quarters-combat and athletic ability.

XJ-0461, originally designated Defect B5429671 (a sentry-bot in the original game, or a warbot in the re-imagined continuity), nicknamed Clank, is an escaped robot from Chairman Drek's robot plant on planet Quartu. After a high-speed chase, he crashes near a plateau on planet Veldin and catalyzes Ratchet's adventure. Clank is charming in nature and has many attachments including a helipack, thrusterpack, and hydropack. Under certain circumstances, he can grow into a giant form to fight much larger enemies. He is mostly used as a character for tight spaces or areas in outer space, since he does not require oxygen.

Clank spawned from an early idea involving a number of small robots attached to Ratchet, which would perform different functions. However, Insomniac realized that having the three robots was both complicated and created confusion about Ratchet's appearance, leading them to have only one robot, Clank. However, in later games the smaller robots appeared in sections where the player could control Clank, and they had various functions such as attacking and activating doors.[6]

In the English versions of the games, Ratchet is voiced by Mikey Kelley in the first Ratchet & Clank and by James Arnold Taylor since the second game.[7][8][9]

Ratchet's in-game model in Ratchet & Clank, particularly his facial animations and fur, was praised by Louis Bedigian of GameZone.[13] Johnny Liu of GameRevolution noted that Ratchet "starts out with a blue-collar attitude, but he's mostly there for deft observations and cutting remarks" and appreciated Ratchet not being "pigeonholed as a typical goody-goody", but concluded that he wasn't very fleshed out.[14]

Critics took note of Ratchet's improved character in subsequent games. Perry commented that Ratchet "is no longer an angry, selfish teenage furry creature from outer space. He's a commando, a little wiser, a little more forgiving and a lot more palatable. Though still furry..."[15] Carlos McElfish of GameZone, describing Ratchet's in the previous game as a "laughably confident, smart-alecky hot-shot", commented that Ratchet's new voice forces a psychological reset in the minds of players.[16] Jeremy Dunham of IGN noted that Ratchet's "Why me?" delivery is "spot on".[17] Ratchet was voted as the sixteenth top character of the 2000s decade by Game Informer's readers.[18]

In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Ratchet as the 15th-top video game character of all time.[19]

Benjamin Turner of GameSpy, Johnny Liu of GameRevolution compared Clank to GIR of Invader Zim and C-3PO of the Star Wars franchise, and analyzed him as "the straight man to Ratchet's jokes, offering clueless intellectualism to contrast Ratchet's acid-tongue humor."[20] Clank's "awkward robot laugh" was described by McElfish as "impossibly cute".[21] Dunham said that Clank's "dry sidekick humor is in great contrast to Jak's own sidekick Daxter".[22]

GamesRadar listed Clank on their list of "The 25 best new characters of the decade", describing him as a "quiet, collected and effortlessly charming robot with cool powers and cooler personality".[23] Clank was named the 5th "Best Sidekick" by IGN, calling him "a true pal, and an obviously cool sidekick.".[24] UGO listed Clank on their list of "The Cutest Video Game Characters" stating "Everyone wants a tiny robot to follow them around and do stuff for them".[25] They also listed him as one of their favourite video game robots.[26] Game Informer called him the 3rd greatest wingman of the past decade, saying he "is often a more interesting character" and that "Clank's unique personality shines through it all, giving as much of a reason for players to come back as Ratchet's explosive gunplay."[27]