Video Game / Ratchet & Clank (2016)

The game, based on the movie, based on the game.

"Save the galaxy for the first time, again!"

Ratchet & Clank is the eleventh Insomniac-made Ratchet & Clank game (and the fifteenth counting all the others), and it's a reimagining of the first game in the series set within the story and world of the 2016 movie. The levels explored are mostly the same as in the original game (though with some additional content and missions), but the plot is based on the film and it features weapons from later games. To put it simply, it remakes the original game when it isn't adapting the movie.

Because the story is based on and expands that of the movie, they share many of the same tropes.

Its initial release was for the PlayStation 4, where it launched on April 12, 2016, a few weeks before the release of the accompanying feature film on the 29th. The game later became playable on the PlayStation 5 via the console's backwards-compatibility function; while it initially ran at 30 frames-per-second on the console, an April 2021 update bumped it up to 60 FPS.

It should be noted that this game is not a Continuity Reboot of the franchise, as confirmed by Insomniac here and here. After this title, the Ratchet & Clank franchise would return to the original continuity with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, a 2021 PS5 release chronologically set after the events of Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus.

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You've got a thing for tropes, don't ya?

• 10-Minute Retirement: Ratchet returns to his garage job on Veldin after seeing Novalis get blown up by the Deplanetizer and that Qwark started working for Drek. Clank gets him back in very short order, though. The in-universe holo-film however claimed that Ratchet came back to the rescue after escaping from the ship he is trapped in, MacGyver-style.
• Achievement Mockery: The trophy "Pool Sharks Are The Worst" requires you to be eaten by the titular Border Patrolling fish on Pokitaru.
• Achievement System: Trophies serve as rewards in this game, with the original Skill Point system being removed.
• Adaptation Distillation: The basic Narrative Beats are still intact, but there are a lot of changes made to the overall progression. This occurs on two levels:
  • The original video game, due to the plot being an adaptation of the movie's:
    • Some plot points are removed or simplified; for example, Ratchet and Clank find Qwark early on instead of spending a big chunk of the game searching for him. Significant portions of the second and third acts have been removed as well, excising fondly-remembered levels like Gemlik Base and Oltanis.
    • The characters' personalities and chemistry are also revised to more closely resemble later series entries. For instance, Ratchet doesn't have the nasty falling out with Clank like in the original, due to the event that caused it (Qwark backstabbing Ratchet and revealing he sided with Drek) happening much later. Ratchet is shaken by his failure to stop the Deplanetizer from destroying Novalis instead of getting obsessed with revenge, along with the fact that several planets from the original game were removed, including ones that contained major plot points in the original game. As well, Ratchet is no longer in it just to have a good time, but now aspires to be a hero, just like in the PS3 games.
  • The movie:
    • Many scenes and important moments from the film are cut that remove a lot of character development, such as Nefarious' prior history with the Galactic Rangers. Some are done for continuity reasons, such as Ratchet's lack of experience using weapons (this is explained away as Qwark telling his own take of the adventure).
• Adaptation Expansion: Once again on two levels:
  • The original game:
    • While the returning levels remain similar to the original game, new elements have been added, such as the more streamlined combat and upgrading system of the sequels, and a flight mission in Metropolis. Some of the weapons from the original game return, along with some new ones, including from the sequels. In addition there are new Clank gameplay segments, and some planets have been completely overhauled in design and length, such as Gaspar having a brand new mining sandbox with a jetpack.
  • The film:
    • The game greatly expands upon each act of the movie, which is where all of the returning levels from the first game that weren't in the movie make their appearance. Ratchet's journey to Aleero City now has him visit Novalis, Aridia and Rilgar, Ratchet's initial time with the Rangers has him visit Gaspar, Batalia and Pokitaru, and Ratchet and Clank visit Kalebo III to help prepare for the final assault on the Deplanetizer. Lastly, the opening of the game is expanded as well, detailing Clank's escape from Quartu and Ratchet participating in a training course to prove he's eligible for the Galactic Rangers (which now means Ratchet is rejected by Qwark even though he technically qualified, adding new context to the film events).
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Ratchet amasses a much more powerful lineup of weaponry in this game than in the original, and much more compared to his depiction in the film. In particular, Ratchet from the game shows some combat experience, while the film version showed great difficulty wielding weapons before joining the Rangers. Not only has he encountered more battles, he is also able to stand toe to toe against the former veteran ranger Captain Qwark and win. He is also more agile than the PS2 game counterpart, and can easily evade enemy shots by strafing.
  • In the original game, Victor Von Ion (the robot lieutenant on Eudora) was an unnamed and unimposing coward who hightailed it at the first sign of Ratchet. Here, he is given a very intimidating redesign and some impressive weaponry. It helps that he's voiced by Sylvester Stallone in the movie.
  • Captain Qwark is less of a coward this time around, even willing to fight Ratchet personally on foot.
  • The Deplanetizer is upgraded from a bare-bones super laser weapon into a downright massive space station.
  • Some enemies have become more accurate and tougher than previous games, due to Ratchet having much more nimble gameplay with strafing.
  • The bomber bots on Novalis now accurately fire bombs toward their targets, unlike in the first game they will idiotically keep shooting at the same spot they first saw Ratchet.
  • ExtermiBots and Extermitanks in the original game spray gas that requires them to be close to their targets in order to deal damage, and can be no selled by the O2 Mask. In this game, they all fire balls of toxic goo that gives them better range and move much faster.
  • Amoeboids can take more damage than previous games before splitting up.
  • The Constructobots on Aridia have a projectile attack similar to the Blarg flame troopers, compared to the original game where their flamethrowers were only close range.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • The Galactic Rangers show up as an elite task force assigned to protect the galaxy. The Rangers themselves do not appear in the original until their debut in Up Your Arsenal.
  • Many, many assets in this game come from the PlayStation 3 games.^note This is for two reasons. First, much of the lore that was introduced in those titles is now recursively applied to this game. Second, the PS3 assets were the only ones used for insertion into the film as they were easier to upgrade to modern graphical standards.
    • This game includes a lot of the weapons that were introduced in PS3 games, including the Combuster, Mr. Zurkon, Groovitron (Tools of Destruction), the Plasma Striker (A Crack in Time), and the Warmonger (All 4 One). It also features the Bouncer from the PS2 Going Commando as a pre-order bonus.
    • Dr. Nefarious also appears, albeit in his organic form (and notably does not seem to be the arch-nemesis of Captain Qwark that he is in the original games) and Dallas and Juanita from Deadlocked. President Phyronix, Neftin Prog, Stuart Zurgo, and Megacorp's Protopet are mentioned as well, while Fongoids and Tharpods are present as background characters on multiple planets. Slim Cognito returns also, though only via his name being given to the Shady Salesman in Blackwater City from the original game who offers Ratchet the RYNO.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Ratchet is presented as a nice guy from the beginning whose ambition is to join the Galactic Rangers, rather than being a hotheaded jerk that was just out for adventure at first before gradually getting his priorities straight. Ratchet's heroism here brings him somewhat closer to his later appearances, though still noticeably more upbeat and less snarky than Ratchet has ever acted in any previous incarnation.
  • While Qwark is still working with Drek as in the original, he's openly horrified once he sees the scope of Drek's plan, is upset that Drek goes back on his word by trying to kill the other Galactic Rangers, and quickly comes to regret his actions. He eventually makes a Heel–Face Turn and tries to atone for his crimes.
• Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the original game, Qwark's villainy is revealed much earlier, and it shapes Ratchet's character arc for the rest of the game. In this version, Qwark being revealed to be a villain and not just useless very late in the game, so Ratchet spends most of the game admiring the person he originally spent his debut game on a revenge binge against.
• Adaptational Villainy: The Quartu level features Mr. Zurkon units as enemies as well as a giant Mrs. Zurkon as a boss. Justified as Zurkons will always protect the one who summoned them.
• Adaptational Wimp: Chairman Drek is changed from a cunning and ruthless businessman into a goofy bumbler who just happens to be a threat. And while he's still evil, his father is responsible for his home world getting over-polluted instead of himself, with his motive being to create New Quartu to make up for this, rather than creating a new planet as part of a galaxy-scale real estate scam. Near the end, Dr. Nefarious puts him on a spaceship and takes over as the main villain.
• Adapted Out: The game was given such a short development cycle (10 months, not counting pre-production work, so that it could coincide with the release of the 2016 movie) that a lot of content from the original game wasn't adapted out of pragmaticsm.
  • Only four weapons from the original game return (the Omniwrench, the Pyrocitor, the Glove of Doom and the R.Y.N.O., which is an In Name Only version of the original). The Bomb Glove is replaced by the identical Fusion Grenade and the Morph-o-ray is replaced by the Sheepinator. The rest of the weapons are scrapped altogether in favor of weapons from the sequels.
  • Most of the gadgets from the original game return, with the exception of the Sonic Summoner (the Sandmouse it summons is rendered redundant since Mr. Zurkon serves a similar purpose to it), the Pilot's Helmet (redundant due to the fact that you can fly a ship off the bat), the Metal Detector and Bolt Grabber (the Box Breaker from the sequels replaces both), and the Gadgetron PDA.
  • Several planets are removed from the reimagining, including Eudora, Orxon (which is replaced by Quartu as the Blarg homeworld; its enemies are transplanted into Gaspar and Pokitaru), Hoven (Batalia takes its Slippy-Slidey Ice World environment in place of the original's Jungle Japes, but retains its layout), Gemlik Base (the fight with Qwark's ship is moved to the first Deplanetizer visit and is now manned by Victor Von Ion) and Oltanis. Drek's Fleet and the revisit to Veldin are replaced with the Deplanetizer level. Umbris is technically still in the game, but it serves a different purpose to the plot and you don't get to visit it, and its boss fight with the Blargian Snagglebeast has been moved to the Blarg Tactical Research Station in place of the Alien Queen.
  • Skill Points are completely replaced by Trophies.
  • Helga the fitness robot's appearance is removed, since the plot was changed so that Ratchet and Clank were no longer unsuccessfully trying to find Captain Qwark at that point. Her model does make a minor appearance in the Insomniac Museum, however.
  • Bob (the guy who gives Clank the Thruster-Pack upgrade) is removed and replaced with Al, who was hanging out on Pokitaru. Edwina is cut entirely, since Clank starts the game with the Hydro-Pack.
  • The Ultra-Mech Unlimited mechas and Clank's mom make no appearance on Quartu. Clank's ability to transform into a Humongous Mecha is removed. As such, so is the scientist who made the giant robots.
  • The Helpdesk Girl only makes a cameo in the Insomniac Museum.
  • Fred (who sold you the Grind Boots and the Persuader) is cut, likely because most equipment is found rather than bought.
  • Qwark's bouncer on Rilgar is absent since Qwark himself isn't there. However, the trailer is still in the same spot, and the RYNO salesman lives there instead of being found on the city streets.
  • The Commando and the soldier who went AWOL on Batalia make no appearance. Cora is your escort, rather than the Commando, and the deserter soldier is replaced with an Infobot that was hanging out where he used to be. The Plumber doesn't make his second appearance operating the defense cannon, but he still appears on Novalis.
• Adaptation Name Change: Metropolis is renamed Aleero City.
• Affably Evil: Despite being a criminal, Shiv Helix is a fan of both Qwark and Ratchet and shows a lot of respect towards them while Qwark is telling the story. Not that this stops him from stealing Ratchet's ship the moment he gets the chance.
• Age Lift: The CEO of Gadgetron was an old man in the original version, but here, he's middle-aged.
• All There in the Manual: A great many details about the plot of this game are fully explained in the movie, such as why Nefarious defected from the Galactic Rangers, the ultimate fate of Drek, and the battle outside the Galactic Ranger HQ when they're being attacked by the Warbots. This is because Insomniac were only allowed to use a certain amount of minutes of movie footage.
  • By the same merit, the game fulfills this purpose for the movie in one regard: a scene that was cut from the movie appears in the game, explaining that it was Drek's father who polluted Quartu and why exactly Drek built the Warbots.
• And the Adventure Continues: The game ends with Ratchet, Clank and Qwark deciding to go after Shiv, the criminal that Qwark was narrating the story to, after he steals Ratchet's ship.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • Puzzles with the Trespasser can be bypassed at will, though doing so forfeits the bolts that would have been rewarded and prevents you from gaining any Trespasser-related Trophies on that playthrough.
  • The Map-o-matic returns and again reveals all hidden important items on the level map: Raritanium deposits, Holocards, Gold Bolts, and any other hidden collectibles.
  • If you run out of fuel while using the Jetpack, standing on the ground for a few seconds refills the fuel gauge up to 25% to prevent you from getting stuck.
  • Once you've killed every enemy in a combat setpiece, somebody (usually Ratchet) will let you know that the coast is clear. Ratchet or Clank will also make a declaration on when enemies start attacking or if a new wave of them arrives on the scene.
  • You no longer have to pay bolts to progress the story, letting you save up for some sweet new weapons and preventing the need for Money Grinding so long as you're diligent in collecting bolts in the levels.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
  • The description for the OmniWrench 8000:
    This trusty tool can be used in a variety of ways such as liberating bolts from crates, walloping nearby enemies, and taking brownies out of the oven.
  • In Captain Qwark's narration after Ratchet and Clank meet up:
    Narrator Captain Qwark: A million thoughts raced through Ratchet's head. Could he repair this diminutive warbot? Would it the key to the adventure he craved? Did he leave the proto-engine on in the garage? The answer to all these questions... was "yes".
• Art Evolution:
  • The art style abandons most of the industrial-yet-cartoony aesthetic of the first game to look more in line with the hyper-futuristic look of the Future series, although many of the character designs are identical to the original game.
  • The Galactic Ranger robots (which now serve as backup to the main Rangers) were PS2-only assets from Up Your Arsenal, so they are now adapted from Cronk from the Future games, and thus are unrecognizable.
• Ascended Extra: Victor Von Ion, who is based on Drek's unnamed robot Lieutenant from the first game (who was intended to be a boss fight on Eudora, but was cut for time constraints), plays a much bigger role here.
• Ascended Fanboy: Ratchet eventually joins the Galactic Rangers after idolizing them for a long time.
• Badass Family: The Zurkons return, but this time only Zurkon Jr. appears alongside his father as an ally while Mrs. Zurkon is a boss.
• Beehive Barrier: The giant Mrs. Zurkon has one of these, which is powered by a bunch of Mr. Zurkons. A possible Pun as she had a Beehive Hairdo.
• Big Bad: Chairman Drek, leader of the Blarg, who is eventually supplanted by Dr. Nefarious, The Man Behind the Man.
• Big Good: Captain Qwark and the Galactic Rangers.
• Border Patrol: The Pool Sharks swimming in the open ocean of Pokitaru will attack if you go out too far.
• Boring, but Practical:
  • The Groovitron. A disco ball that later can explode isn't the flashiest of tools but it's extremely useful to keep the heat off of you and completely stop Mrs. Zurkon's shield, which is supported by her Evil Zurkons! It's so useful that the penultimate boss uses it against Ratchet.
  • The Proton Drum is a beach ball sized metallic orb that sends out pulses of subatomic energy and shoots lightning. It's extremely useful to pop weak groups and add an extra punch against flying foes.
• Bowdlerise: Ratchet's "plumber's crack" joke is toned down from the original game.
• Brick Joke:
  • In the beginning, Shiv mentions that no prison has managed to contain him from escaping. He's definitely not lying when he escapes the prison Qwark is in.
  • The Brain Scientist on Gaspar wants revenge on one of his co-workers for stealing his tuna sandwiches from the break room fridge. When exploring Kalebo III an announcement is made about the disapproval of someone stealing a coworker's tuna sandwich from their own break room fridge.
• Broken Pedestal: Like in the original game, Captain Qwark turns out to have aligned himself with Drek. His motives are more shaded here, however; whereas Qwark remorselessly sided with Drek to fund his comeback in the original game, here he sides with Drek out of petty jealousy due to Ratchet usurping his reputation as a hero. Qwark also made sure to specify that Drek cannot harm the Galactic Rangers as part of the deal, and chews him out when he goes back on his word. He is also openly horrified when he firsthand sees the scope of Drek's plans, and tries to turn a new leaf by the game's end.
• Call-Back: Attacking the animatronic Qwarks in the obstacle course sometimes makes them ask you if you're looking to get extra points for your violence. In the original game, destroying the animatronic did earn you a Skill Point, and in Up Your Arsenal they were enemies that rewarded you with bolts.
• Call-Forward: Of a different sort: all of these are references or inclusions of things that appear in the sequels, but since the PS4 game and the movie aren't in continuity with them, these hew closer to being Mythology Gags.
  • The Combuster, Warmonger, Plasma Striker, Predator Launcher, Fusion Bomb, Groovitron, Buzz Blades and Mr. Zurkon weapons from the PS3 Ratchet and Clank games are added to your arsenal in this game.
  • Pre-ordering the game gets you the Bouncer weapon from Going Commando, and the Sheepinator from Going Commando replaces the Morph-o-ray in this game. The Trespasser gadget is also redesigned in appearance to resemble the Infiltrator gadget from Going Commando, although in gameplay it still functions like it did in the first game. MegaCorp and GrummelNet ads pop up throughout the game thanks to the recursive lore.
  • Dr. Nefarious appears in his organic form as one of the major villains, which was previously only a cameo design in Up Your Arsenal. His body is fried by the core of his space station in the end, foreshadowing his return as a robot.
  • During the hoverboard race, one of the announcements mentions MegaCorp as a sponsor, who has a highly-anticipated Protopet product coming soon, who cause serious trouble in the second game.
  • A level late in the game takes place aboard the Starship Phoenix. If you analyze the ship, you may notice that the layout is exactly same as the Starship Phoenix II from Full Frontal Assault, and the exterior design is a larger, multi-floor version of the same craft.
  • When you're outside Big Al's Roboshack, he's wondering what's going on, but doesn't want to come out because he's playing "Unicop 2: Return of Unicop". The original "Unicop" film was mentioned in A Crack in Time.
  • Chairman Drek's secretary at one point wonders how Clank is so smart, considering he's supposed to be a Warbot defect. The reason for this was revealed in A Crack in Time.
• Canon Foreigner: All of the major characters and many minor characters from the original game made a return, but some new faces pop up along the way, such as Ratchet's mentor Grim, who Ratchet works for at a garage, and Cora, Elaris and Brax, members of the Galactic Rangers, and Shiv and Solitary Bill. This is zig-zagged however as most of the original characters originate from the movie this game is based on.
• Coincidental Broadcast: Ratchet calls the first assault on the Deplanetizer an utter disaster, and Clank says that it wasn't that bad. Not a second later, a news reporter is heard saying that it was a complete and utter disaster.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: When you use the Groovitron, it causes a flashy display of red, orange, yellow, and white lights, emitted from the ball onto the floor. When Captain Qwark uses the same weapon against you, it instead emits green and yellow lights, letting you know which one to destroy.
• Composite Character: Newscasters Dallas and Juanita return from Deadlocked, but Juanita is instead named Darla Gratch by her holocard and some dialogue, while Dallas himself occupies the expository role Darla had in the original game.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: The Mr. Zurkon Ratchet has is much more powerful than the multiple Zurkons the enemy has.
• Continue Your Mission, Dammit!: If someone's with you, they'll usually remind you to complete whatever the next task is every so often until you do. Additionally, other Rangers tend to chime in if you do a planet's side paths before the main one, such as the grind rails on Batalia and Kalebo III.
• Continuity Cavalcade:
  • The Holocards cover characters and weapons from numerous previous games, most of which aren't even in the continuity of the game or movie.
  • Unlike the previous Insomniac Museums, which usually contained things that were Dummied Out of the game, this game's installment hosts all sorts of items either from or related to the previous games (even Size Matters!). The items inside include, but aren't limited to, models of characters, enemies, and weapons from the first game, the Japanese artworks for several games, various props from throughout the series, artwork from Tools of Destruction, Slorgs from All 4 One, the home base from Full Frontal Assault, and the orphanage robots from Into the Nexus.
• Crapsack World: Quartu, now the Blarg's homeworld in the reimagining. Forget the rather plain-looking planet with a jaunty tune from the original game—this Quartu is a dark, dreary looking world full of factories, obviously suffering from the very heavy pollution that Drek's father inflicted on it. It's like if the Blarg took the factory on Yeedil from Going Commando and hired Dr. Nefarious as their interior decorator.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Novalis is destroyed by the Deplanetizer in the reimagining (although its destruction was heavily implied in the original game).
  • Victor Von Ion, who merely vanished after his brief role in the original game, is rusted and killed off by Clank. Unlike the movie, where Clank directly defeats him by using the Thundersmack to rust him, he merely lets the Phoenix sprinkler system do the job for him.
• Developer's Foresight:
  • Even if you get on top of the roofs of buildings you're normally not supposed to be on via glitches, collision detection is still implemented in those areas.
  • If you try to go out of bounds on Pokitaru by abusing the pool shark's AI to avoid it indefinitely, a second one will simply spawn off camera and kill you.
  • If you take the RYNO into Challenge Mode, the cutscene with the Shady Salesman will change to him taking a picture with you for owning a RYNO.
• Developer's Room: The Insomniac Museum returns, accessible from the garage in Veldin in Challenge Mode, however this time it serves as a more literal museum, being six hangars filled with props and objects from the PS2 and PS3 games alongside this one. It doubles as a theater where you can watch some of the cutscenes, as well as three special cutscenes (the game's animation test and two Japanese commercials for Going Commando).
• Disney School of Acting and Mime: Downplayed. The cinematic cutscenes use this to some degree, but it's nowhere as broad as the acting and gestures in the original game. The more automated shot-reverse-shot cutscenes completely avoid it.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The Blarg scientist who pays Ratchet to collect brains for him wants to use said brains to create an army to go after the co-worker who keeps eating his sandwiches.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Unbeknownst to Chairman Drek, Dr. Nefarious has no intention of working with him — he's only using Drek as a means to get revenge on the Galactic Rangers. Once he's finished using Drek, Nefarious transforms him into a sheep and takes over as the true Big Bad.
• Driven by Envy: Captain Qwark fights Ratchet on the Deplanetizer and sided with Drek out of envy because the galaxy sees Ratchet as a hero instead of him. His Boss Banter backs this up.
• Dull Surprise: Many of the in-game cutscenes leave... something to be desired, especially compared to previous games^note This is because these cutscenes are almost entirely automated, a technique used in the series since Tools of Destruction. It gets a little uncanny when the voice acting sounds excited and full of energy while the characters are animated with expressing-but-unmoving faces and stilted body language. Averted with the rare fully-animated cutscenes such as Ratchet and Clank escaping their ship being bombed in Aleero City.
• Earth-Shattering Kaboom: The Deplanetizer is designed for this very purpose, albeit in a way that leaves massive chunks to be recovered afterwards. Novalis falls victim to it, along with five/six other planets before the story begins.
• Easily Forgiven: Somewhat downplayed, but while Qwark ends up in prison for his actions in the story the ending shows that he and Ratchet are on fairly good terms all things considered. When Shiv steals Ratchet's ship, he even invites Qwark to come along with him, disregarding the fact that he's still supposed to be serving his sentence.
• 11th-Hour Superpower:
  • The first 26 Gold Bolts can be found all throughout the game, and the last two are hidden in the last level. If you've collected the first 26, then upon finding the 27th, you can gain access to Bottomless Magazines, and upon finding the 28th, you can unlock Nigh-Invulnerability.
  • In addition, the last RYNO card can be found just a short walk away from the final boss. If you've found the rest, now you can go and claim your Infinity +1 Sword.
• Elite Mooks: While the toads, sandsharks and dog-robots can be taken down in one hit, most other enemies can take a beating and still keep attacking. It can be quite frustrating to see simple Blarg soldiers take multiple grenades to the face, only to get up and continue the fight.
  • Exaggerated with the Blarg dropships, which combine this with Beam Spam and Airborne Mook.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • While Qwark is still a self-obsessed blowhard, the Earth-Shattering Kaboom caused by the Deplanetizer has him realize what a huge mistake he made.
  • During the Framing Device, when they get to Qwark being complicit in Drek's plans, Shiv himself states that Qwark's actions are pretty cold even by his own standards.
• Evil Overlooker: The box art has Drek and Von Ion's floating heads staring towards the heroes in the foreground.
• Face–Heel Turn: Nefarious used to be a Galactic Ranger, but was supposedly kicked out of the squad for his misdeeds.
• Fallen Hero:
  • Dr. Nefarious was a former Galactic Ranger until he was booted out and went down a path of villainy.
  • Captain Qwark becomes one after he makes a deal with Drek, however he instantly regrets it once the plan itself is carried out and Novalis is destroyed. Ratchet himself was heading in this direction once he witnesses the same event.
• Forced Transformation: Drek gets transformed into a sheep by Dr. Nefarious using a Sheepinator on him.
• Foreshadowing: There's a reason that Novalis has no Gold Bolts or RYNO Cards to collect.
• Framing Device: The story of the game is actually the plot of the movie being told/narrated and expanded on by Captain Qwark while he's in jail. This was intentionally done so that Insomniac could cover the story of the movie and still retain some creative freedom with the continuity and avoid Plot Holes, thanks to Captain Qwark being a historic Unreliable Narrator. Everything seen outside the time period of the movie happens to work all but perfectly with the film.
• Game-Breaking Bug:
  • Rilgar has a 100% consistent method of crashing the game, though it's highly unlikely to occur by accident. If you go on the left path, equip the Hologuise and get on the elevator, you'll be able to walk underwater on the elevator and the first platform. If you attempt to use the Hydrodisplacer while underwater, the game will boot you out with a CE-34878-0 (general crash) error code as soon as Ratchet connects it to the slot, presumably because the game wasn't coded to have a response to attempting to drain the sewers after flooding them.
  • In earlier versions of the game, if you entered Challenge Mode while in a Clank section, Ratchet would begin the next playthrough having lost all of his guns. While it wasn't impossible to buy them back, it was definitely a lot more effort than just keeping your upgraded old ones.
• Gonk: Drek and the rest of the Blarg weren't a pretty sight to look at in the first place, and the heavily beefed up graphics of the reimagining succeed in making them look even uglier than they were in the original game.
• Gotta Catch Them All:
  • Holocards are a new item that are randomly dropped by enemies, and can found in non-random locations on various planets. Each one unlocks information about a planet, character, or weapon from the franchise, and getting sets of three of a type grants a small bonus to something like how many bolts you earn, or unlock a specific weapon's Omega form for purchase in Challenge Mode. There are also the RYNO holocards, which are found hidden on different planets and, unsurprisingly, are needed to unlock the RYNO.
  • Gold Bolts return. This time, they unlock appearance customization options, artwork, and even unlimited ammunition and invulnerability.
• Green-Eyed Monster: In this game, Qwark is rather spitefully jealous of Ratchet. It's what leads him to working with Chairman Drek. Though, once Qwark sees just how bad Drek really is, Qwark immediately regrets it.
• Hand Wave:
  • The use of Captain Qwark as an Unreliable Narrator of the events of the movie is Insomniac covering their butts of any continuity issues. Said issues range from exactly how many Warbots Ratchet flings at the Warbot warship to destroy it to a completely different final battle with Nefarious.
  • In the original game's Blackwater City, the local pest control killing the Amoeboids attack Ratchet for seemingly no reason. In this game, they now have snippets of in-game dialogue that makes it clear they're attacking Ratchet along with the Amoeboids because they misidentify him as vermin.
• Happy Ending Override: Just because EVERYONE manages to escape a huge-scale destruction doesn't mean that they are happy afterward. Ratchet points out that even though everyone who lived on Novalis escaped, they lost their homes and presumably everything they had back on the planet.
• #HashtagForLaughs: A minor one. Wendell Lumos, CEO of Gadgetron, tells Ratchet to post about his experience with the Hologuise to "the social medias" (since the kids love their social medias), ending the conversation with a spoken "Hashtag Gadgetron!"
• Heel Realization: Captain Qwark has one after Dr. Nefarious gives him a "Not So Different" Remark.
• Heroic BSoD: Ratchet gets a bad one after planet Novalis is destroyed by Chairman Drek. While the planet was evacuated in time, billions still lost their homes.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: After the Deplanetizer destroys Novalis, news outlets blame Ratchet for letting it get destroyed. Granted, it was Chairman Drek's fault, but Ratchet is a convenient scapegoat.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Nefarious takes over as Big Bad from Drek.
• Homeworld Evacuation: Clank and several others mention that everyone on Novalis was able to flee the planet before it blew up.
• Humongous Mecha:
  • You fight a giant version of Mrs. Zurkon as a boss on Quartu.
  • Dr. Nefarious fights Ratchet in a mech suit similar to that of Drek's from the original game. Unlike that one though, Giant Clank is completely absent, so the bulk of the fight is on foot, and then in mid-air due to Nefarious destroying the platforms surrounding the dwarf star.
• In Medias Res: The story begins not at the start of the movie, but with Qwark in prison months after its conclusion. Thus the game's story is Qwark telling the adventure of the movie to Shiv (as best he can), allowing the player to discover how he got there. This also allows the game to give Qwark his full redemption after the events of the movie, something not shown in the film.
• Infinity +1 Sword: The RYNO, as usual; it can only be obtained near the end of the game, and is relatively short on ammo without upgrading it (Or using the infinite ammo cheat), but damn does it pack a mighty punch, and it carries over to Challenge Mode.
• Insistent Terminology: It's not a remake, it's not a reboot, it's a re-imagining, and Insomniac would really prefer if you got it right. Not that this stops the Plumber from calling it a reboot. Somewhat justified as the game blurs the line between a remake/reboot and a movie adaptation, Insomniac coined the term before they decided on the game being an adaptation of the movie, and because games media have taken to using the world themselves on other games (although almost always as another word for remake/reboot).
• Interface Spoiler:
  • Subverted with Qwark's Holocard, which makes it perfectly clear that he's only a hero for the fame and glory and tells you of his eventual fall... but this is made perfectly clear by the opening cutscene in prison.
  • Played straight with the loading screen hints, which sometimes discuss weapons that have yet to be obtained.
• Ironic Echo Cut: Taken from a scene directly from the movie, at the end of Qwark's recruitment speech for the Galactic Rangers on Veldin:
  Qwark: If you have heart, then you have what it takes.
  [Cut to next scene]
  Qwark: You don't have what it takes.
  Ratchet: But I have heart.
• It's All My Fault: Ratchet blames himself for failing to stop Novalis being blown up by the Deplanetizer. As Clank puts it, "blaming yourself and accepting responsibility are two different things."
• I've Come Too Far: Some Boss Banter with Captain Qwark has him say that killing Ratchet is the only way to regain his status as a hero. Ratchet finally knocks some sense into him, though.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While having it come off right after giving a speech about heart being all that is really needed to be a Galaxy Ranger is rather harsh, Qwark actually has perfectly valid reasons for rejecting Ratchet - failing to meet physical fitness requirements and/or a criminal record are grounds for disqualification for military service IRL.
• Jumped Off The Slippery Slope: Even after Qwark realizes the scope of Drek's plan, he tells Ratchet that he's in too deep to rejoin him as is. He tries to rationalize it by claiming he'll find new homes for the inhabitants of the worlds the Deplanetizer blew up, but Ratchet calls him an idiot for thinking that would make up for what he does. After the battle, he comes to his senses and apologizes for his actions.
• Karmic Death: After destroying six planets with the Deplanetizer, Drek gets turned into a sheep and sent on a crash landing course into his new planet by Dr. Nefarious.
• King Mook: You fight a giant Mrs. Zurkon as a boss on Quartu, alongside a horde of evil Zurkons.
• Laughably Evil: Chairman Drek leans more into this kind of characterization than in the original game.
• Lame Pun Reaction: When the duo encounters a bunch of sheep on Kalebo III, Ratchet quips that it should be easy to "bleat" them. Clank's response is an exhausted "Oh, Ratchet...".
• Last-Second Word Swap: Courtesy of Qwark after Ratchet defeats the Snagglebeast.
  Ratchet: Captain, we just defeated the Snagglebeast and found out what Drek's up to.
  Qwark: You did?! But that's im...pressive.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: Some of the character holocards give away important plot details for other Ratchet & Clank games, especially the cards for the Future games.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
  • The opening features Qwark learning there's not just a holofilm based on their story coming out, which he's rather dismissive of ("it's okay, if you like all CG"), but a game adaptation of said holofilm as well. Hardened criminal Shiv Helix even mentions pre-ordering it from prison. This caused confusion among fans that the real-life movie was actually the holo-film Shiv talks about.^note It isn't, as Shiv later describes a scene in the holo-film where Ratchet escapes Novalis' destruction using a completely different method than in the real-life movie.
  • The Plumber is perfectly aware he's in a reboot.
• Lemony Narrator: Qwark's narration often comments on things happening within the game, such as introducing mechanics/equipment, situations Ratchet is encountering as well as Ratchet's in-game status. In addition, if you don't do something whenever he says "Ratchet did X" or something similar, he will repeat it in an agitated manner.
  Captain Qwark, Narrating: Fortunately for our Furry Hero, a conveniently-placed crate provided Ratchet with a Combuster... I SAID, provides Ratchet with a COMBUSTER!... Oh, c'mon. Grab the Combuster. It's right - HERE.
• Lighter and Softer: The vulgar humor and snarky tone of the original game is heavily watered down to a more straight adventure story. Even gags like the "Plumber's Crack" joke on Novalis are presented very gently, since Ratchet's humor isn't as biting and sarcastic. Drek is also less evil and imposing than he is in the original game.
  • Not just Drek. Instead of a conflicted Ratchet and an evil Qwark, this game has a good Ratchet and a conflicted Qwark.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Enemies killed by the Pixelizer can be shattered into voxels if attacked, or will shatter on their own if left alone.
• Literal Metaphor: When Qwark makes his big entrance on Veldin, Brax says Qwark's on fire. It turns out that he's literally on fire after walking through a wall of flames, so Cora shoots him with an Omegatech Frost Cannon to put him out.
• Luxury Prison Suite: Qwark's cell, he's got shelves of memorabilia, holoscreens of a vacation planet, and cucumber facials on demand. Made all the funnier by Shiv Helix acting tough in front of the guards before the cell doors opened.
• MacGyvering: According to the film version of the story Qwark is telling, Ratchet managed to repair a broken spaceship with a ham radio and a banana. Qwark flat out states that that whole scene never happened.
• The Man Behind the Man: Drek had no idea about Nefarious' true plan.
• Mighty Glacier: Victor Von Ion is no pushover and looks very intimidating, but he moves as slow as molasses—when Clank is escaping Quartu, Victor can't even keep up with the pint-sized machine.
• Mirror Boss: While he uses them slightly differently, Captain Qwark uses weapons that Ratchet can use, such as the Warmonger, Glove of Doom, and even the Groovitron.
• Missing Secret: After obtaining every weapon plus the Hologuise, there's still one weapon slot left. It's for the Pre-Order Bonus-exclusive Bouncer (of which there is no way of getting without pre-ordering).
• Model Museum: The Insomniac Museum unlocked after beating the game for the first time; a warehouse full of models and artwork from previous games. You can examine things more closely with your Plasma Striker, which is modified to remove most of its interface elements.
• Mundane Utility: The description for the OmniWrench 8000 suggests using it to take brownies out of the oven.
• Musical Nod: Deliberately avoided. Insomniac Games has made it clear that none of the music from the original will return, simply because they felt it didn't match the new tone of the game.
  Vitti: I love the nostalgia here, but I guess I need to be clearer. There will NOT be any music from the original game in R&C (PS4). Not as an unlock. Not as a remix.
  • In the case of Aleero City, unintentionally averted. The composer Michael Bross wanted the level's main theme to be this game's theme played like the Metropolis track from the original game, but his assistant got the one from Tools of Destruction instead, explaining why they're so similar.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The late Insomniac games employee Dan Johnson pops up for cameos yet again as a tribute to him:
    • He's available as a mask Ratchet can wear.
    • There's a Dan Johnson snowman which can be found on planet Batalia on a small island just east of the anti-air gun turret. Unlike previous Dan Johnson snowmen, this one can't be destroyed.
    • In the final hangar of the Insomniac Museum, atop the crates in the middle is an open crate full of Dan Johnson action figures.
  • From the movie, in Elaris' first appearance she's playing a beta of Up Your Arsenal's multiplayer. She can be seen using the Shock Cannon on some Tyhrannoids near some Gadgetron ammo crates in the small snippet of gameplay shown, and her right-hand monitor has weapons from across the entire history of the franchise.
  • Nefarious makes a reference to his classic catchphrase of "ANNIHILATE THEM!" during his boss fight.
    Nefarious: Now, where were we? Ah yes. ANNIHILATING YOU!!!
  • One of Starlene's lines during the Hoverboard race is telling a spectator who got onto the track to get off and put his shirt back on. In the original game, in which Ratchet didn't wear a shirt, glitching onto the Hoverboard track to get infinite bolts was one of the most well-known bugs.
  • When Ratchet arrives at Al's, he points out posters for Fongoid with a Stick, Speero the Space Moose and Intransigence: Fall of Blarg.
  • In the Skidd McMarx Sports Shack, the left path leading to the Hydrodisplacer has a fenced-off elevator in the second pit. In the original game, after obtaining the Trespasser at the end of this path, the Door to Before has Ratchet enter an elevator in a tower that drops him off in the same spot. In this game, the path afterwards instead leads to an elevator that connects to the first room of the Sports Shack. (Indeed, a tower spire is at the top of the fenced-off elevator and it contains otherwise-inaccessible crates, suggesting that originally this game would have Ratchet exit from the left route in the same place as the original game.)
• Named by the Adaptation: A handful of characters, actually.
  • Chairman Drek now has a first name: Alonzo.
  • The mayor of Novalis is named Agnogg Buckwash now.
  • The unnamed Robot Lieutenant who appeared on Eudora in the original is now Victor Von Ion.
  • Skidd's Agent now has the name of Don Wonderstar.
  • The girl you talk to to enter the hoverboard race on Rilgar now has the name Starlene.
  • The guy you escort on Pokitaru became Felton Razz. According to his trading card, he is the same character as the guy from the original game (his first appearance is listed as the original game), even if he is an entirely different species.
  • The CEO of Gadgetron is now known as Wendell Lumos.
• New Game Plus: Challenge Mode ups the difficulty a bit, but lets you keep your stuff (weapons, Gold Bolts, Holocards, experience and money), allows you to buy Omega weapons provided you unlocked them through Holocards, and grants you access to the Insomniac Museum.
• No Endor Holocaust: During the revisit to Veldin, Clank makes sure to mention that the entire population of Novalis was able to evacuate before the planet's destruction.
• No Fair Cheating: You can use the infinite ammo and invincibility cheats if you don't mind your weapons and Ratchet not gaining any experience, respectively. However, if your weapons are maximum level and Ratchet has hit the health cap (200 total), there's no penalties for using either cheat.
• No Waterproofing in the Future: While chasing Clank in the Quartu robot factory, Victor Von Ion accidentally slashes open nearby pipes, which risk shorting him out and halting his progress. This is because years of battle damage have left holes in Victor's shell that expose his electronics to the water. Clank later kills him this way.
• Non-Indicative Name: Two of the RYNO Holo-cards don't have a weapon from the titular weapon line on them. One of them has the Zodiac and another one has the Harbinger.
• Noodle Implements: A Blargian Scientist on Gaspar wants Telepathopus brains to get back at a co-worker for eating his tuna sandwich.
• Noodle Incident:
  • During Qwark's big speech on Veldin, he lists off some of his previous accomplishments, like preventing Dr. Nefarious from atomizing Aleero City and stopping Neftin Prog from rendering the population of Aridia colorblind. Twice.
  • Ratchet has a long line of citations which includes willful disruption of the space-time continuum.
• Nostalgia Level: If you still remember the layout of the original game's levels, then you probably won't be too impressed with the design of most of this game's levels. There are only a few large divergences from the original game; for example, Veldin now has a training course, the training course on Kerwan was moved to a different location and mirrored, and Quartu is completely different.
• One-Hit Kill: Some things that were damaging but survivable in the original game such as being rammed by the traffic vehicles on Kalebo III or the alarm button being pressed by enemies now instantly kills Ratchet. The latter is justified In-Universe since it triggers a cleansing system that kills any intruders.
• Organ Drops: You hunt down telepathopuses for their brains to trade for a jetpack, infobot and bolts from a Blargian scientist in planet Gaspar.
• Palette Swap:
  • The redesigned Sheepinator looks like a red version of All 4 One's Critterstrike.
  • The redesigned Grind Boots and Magneboots respectively look like red and blue versions of the altered Hoverboots from Full Frontal Assault.
• Permanently Missable Content:
  • There's a secret area on Veldin in the Galactic Ranger course that has a card pack. Once you complete the course, the route is closed off and you can't get the pack on that playthrough. Luckily, the pack isn't essential to 100% Completion.
  • If you don't pick up the hidden card packs or Raritanium on Novalis before you complete the Deplanetizer, you won't get another chance until the next playthrough.
  • A trophy for using the Groovitron on every enemy in the game is only possible on a single playthrough, so forgetting to use it on a boss means you can't earn the trophy until the next playthrough.
• Planetary Core Manipulation: Dr. Nefarious plans to use the Deplanetizer to blow up the Tetragen core of the Planet Umbris, which will create an explosion that will destroy all of the planets in its solar system.
• The Power of the Sun: The Deplanetizer is powered by a dwarf star at its core. When the initial plan to destroy Umbris with the Deplanetizer laser is sabotaged, Nefarious triggers a backup plan by turning the star into a supernova, which would destroy the station, the planet and everything else in the galaxy with it.
• Production Throwback: The Proton Drum weapon functions identically to the Pulse Mine from Insomniac's previous game Sunset Overdrive, being mine launchers with projectiles that emit small shockwaves for a short period of time. With the short production cycle of the remimagining and because Sunset Overdrive had gameplay very similar to Ratchet & Clank, it's very likely that the weapon was adapted over to help streamline development.
• Random Drop: Enemies may drop holocards or Raritanium after you kill them. Certain set bonuses and weapon upgrades will allow you to increase the odds of this happening.
• Recursive Ammo:
  • The Bouncer starts out this way, firing a large bomb that releases smaller bombs when it explodes. The Bouncer becomes even more recursive at level five, as its small bombs now release even smaller bombs.
  • Upon reaching level five, the Warmonger, Fusion Grenade, and Buzz Blades also become recursive, with the former two launching smaller rockets and bombs, respectively while the latter splits in two after the first time it hits.
• Related in the Adaptation: Two formerly completely unrelated characters have had this happen to them: Skidd McMarxx is the nephew of Agnogg Buckwash (aka the guy you rescue from the ship on Novalis).
• Replay Mode: The second room of the Insomniac Museum contains monitors where you can rewatch all the cutscenes that use the movie's footage with Qwark's narration.
• Retraux: The Pixelizer turns enemies into awesome 8-bit graphics.
• Rubber-Band A.I.: The hoverboard races to an absurd degree. You could be avoiding every obstacle, boosting as much as you can, and taking every shortcut, and you opponents can still fly past you with no effort. It's to the point that you may as well not even try to take first until you're close to the finish. This makes getting the trophies for winning in a certain time limit an exercise of self-control.
• Scenery Porn: Utilizes the power of the PlayStation 4 and Insomniac's latest engine for some gorgeous characters and environments.
• Sequel Hook:
  • Not even half an hour into the game. After The Plumber fixes Ratchet's ship on Novalis, he says that he'll "See you in the next reboot."
  • Dr. Nefarious is revealed to have survived the final battle and has been rebuilt into his robot form.
• Series Continuity Error: Some of the holo-cards are wrong or have incorrect information on them. For example, Juanita is referred to as Darla Gratch, the news reporter from the original game and Up Your Arsenal, and Angela Cross's home planet is said to be Grelbin, even though that was just where Megacorp's "generous bonus package" housing was.
• Set Bonus: Collecting all 3 of the holocards in a set will give you a bonus, like a higher chance of earning cards from enemies or a higher value for bolts. Collecting all 9 of the RYNO cards will allow you to trade them to the Shady Salesman for... the RYNO!
• Shaking the Rump: Big Al will dance like this when under the influence of the Groovitron.
• Show Within a Show: In-universe, there's a holo-game based on the holo-film about Ratchet and Clank's adventure.
• Silliness Switch: Some of the extras you can unlock do things like change the appearance of the bolts, change Ratchet's head, or add a visual filter.
• Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Batalia becomes one in lieu of Hoven, although thankfully the only ice elements are slides which carry you to lower areas.
• The Starscream: Dr. Nefarious ends up backstabbing Chairman Drek.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: When Ratchet saves Metropolis from the invasion of the Blarg, Qwark shows up just in time and in front of Ratchet's ship to assess whats going on. Qwark quickly recognizes Ratchet (who he had spurned on Veldin as not having what it took to be a Ranger) but when the crowd asks if Ratchet is one of the Galactic Rangers, Qwark reluctantly rolls with it ("Well, I don't... see why not!") just to make himself look good.
• Take Your Time: Gets lampshaded by Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark whenever you return to a planet where you've already completed all primary objectives:
  Ratchet: I do need to save the galaxy, but there's time for a hoverboard race first, right?
• Two Girls to a Team: The Canon Immigrants Cora and Elaris round out the Galactic Rangers with a 1:1 gender ratio at the start of the story; 1:2 when you add Ratchet and Clank to the team. They are, of course, a Tomboy and Girly Girl pair.
• The Unfought:
  • Chairman Drek is transformed into a sheep, put into a spaceship, and shot off of the Deplanetizer by Dr. Nefarious. The final boss fight is against Nefarious instead.
  • Like in the original game, Victor von Ion isn't fought by Ratchet. Subverted though, as he is instead Clank's only real boss battle (if you can call it that) in the entire game.
• Unperson: The massive question mark over in Aleero Train Station makes a whole lot more sense when you realize that it used to be where Nefarious' statue used to be (it's also because they're looking for a sixth Ranger, who turns out to be Ratchet).
• Unreliable Narrator: Using Qwark as one of these is how Insomniac Games resolved the irreconcilable differencess between the group of this game's story and the film that this game is based on, and the actual Ratchet & Clank canon. This allows Insomniac to wave away the contradictions between the group of this game and the film that this game is based on, and the actual canon as Blatant Lies from Qwark, a known Bad Liar.
• Video Game Flamethrowers Suck: Subverted. Whereas the Pyrocitor was a rather average crowd control weapon in the original game, its presented as a much more powerful weapon here, and both the length and width of its flames can be upgraded substantially.
• Video Game Remake: Very much zig-zagged: it's a remake of the first game in the series, but also an adaptation of the movie. Many of the original levels return, but the gameplay, weapons and story are heavily overhauled thanks to 20+ years of gameplay refinement. The levels in fact were built on top of the original level geometry extracted from the first game, hence why they're so authentic.
• Viewers Are Morons: The game constantly tells you your objectives over and over again, and will remind you every single time you are underwater that Ratchet cannot breathe underwater.
• Villainous Breakdown: After Ratchet sabotages the Deplanetizer, Dr. Nefarious loses his mind and initiates a backup plan—detonate a dwarf star that powered the weapon, which would destroy the planet Umbris and everything else around it, including the station itself and the rest of the galaxy.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Victor can't last long after being exposed to water as it causes him to short out very quickly. It's how Clank escaped from the warbot at the beginning of the game and also how Clank and Elaris kill him using the Phoenix's fire suppressant system. Justified, as his outer shell is heavily damaged exposing live electrical equipment underneath unlike every other robot in the game.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Drek is still evil and his actions with planet looting and the Deplanetizer land him firmly into villain territory, but unlike the original game, he isn't doing it as part of an elaborate real estate scam—he really is trying to make a new world for the Blarg, since his father is responsible for over-polluting it in this timeline. On top of that, he's unaware that Dr. Nefarious is playing him for a sap until it's too late.
• Wham Line: If you don't provoke enemies, particularly Blarg, they give some very interesting information, especially this line from the BTS about Dr. Nefarious.
  Blarg: The chairman, taking orders from a former Galactic Ranger.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Chairman Drek is Sheepinated and launched off the Deplanetizer, but we never figure out what actually happened to him after that. The film, however, shows what happened: Drek crash-landed on New Quartu and reverted to his Blarg form, and the Deplanetizer shot that missed Umbris ended up hitting New Quartu shortly afterward, mirroring his death in the original game.
• When the Planets Align: The second target of the Deplanetizer is a world made of unstable material, and is targeted during a planetary alignment where an Earth-Shattering Kaboom could cause collateral damage to every other planet in the system.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Nefarious transforms Drek into a sheep after he's finished being The Man Behind the Man.
• Zerg Rush: Time and time again, you'll encounter massive groups of enemies all attacking you at once. This wouldn't be so bad if 75% of them weren't Elite Mooks that can both dish out a beating and take one in turn.

---

"Wow! That was a heck of a story, Captain! I even rooted for the heroes! Normally, I hope they, uh, you know. Die." "Well. That's...touching."