Tabora

"When we first arrived, we found a planet completely overuned by rainforests. To better accommodate the local wildlife, we transformed this impassible jungle into a easily navigable desert."

- MegaCorp discussing Tabora.

Tabora was a dry desert planet, rich with valuable sources such as raritanium, and the less valuable Desert Crystals, which were only valuable to the few people who had the ability to utilize their cosmic energy. Traveling in the large wastelands of Tabora was not recommended, as it was inhabited by dangerous creatures such as Desert Dune Monsters, the spitting Dune Crawlers and Mutant Sandflies, and the harsh sun was very hot in daytime.

Tabora had not always been the wasteland it was today. Before the planet was discovered by MegaCorp, it was completely overrun with lush rainforests. However, when MegaCorp got there, their activities on the planet quickly transformed Tabora from an "impassable jungle" into an "easily navigable desert." MegaCorp opened mining facilities on Tabora, run by what MegaCorp liked to call an "automated management team" However, the facility was soon shut down for unknown reasons.

Much later, Qwark, posing as Abercrombie Fizzwidget used Tabora as a rendezvous point to meet up with Ratchet and Clank, who had retrieved the stolen MegaCorp Experiment no. 13. However, he intentionally landed on and crushed their ship and shot them out of his own, planning to abandon them in the desert. However, they were able to escape with the help of a strange mystic, who repaired their ship with the power of the crystals.



History
Tabora was an originally a lush planet filled with vast tropical rain forests that covered the entire planets surface. Under the massive undergrowth, numerous species thrived in undergrowth below. The planet was eventually discovered by MegaCorp during a period of time in which MegaCorp was leading the Bogon Galaxy's in its March of Progress. Managed by a division of MegaCorp, known as MegaCorp Manufacturing and Mining, the explorers for the company soon discovered a world covered in rain forests. To better "accommodate" the local wildlife, MegaCorp "transformed this impassible jungle into an easily navigable desert." The conversion of Tabora from a lush rain forested world into a desert resulted in the extinction of all but the hardiest of lifeforms.

With the jungles cut down, MegaCorp began to extensily mine the planet for Raritanium and Desert Crystals. They set up the Mining Area and a small Town, and they began to drill into mountain networks near the Tabora Desert. Using cost saving methods, MegaCorp used an Automated Management Team (consisting of massive robots armed with huge guns) to force workers to mine for resources for little pay, thereby "eliminating costly upward mobility."

Eventually mining operations ceased in part because Desert Cystals proved to be generally worthless in value; however, MegaCorp began to offer tours of old mining facility and some came Tabora to search for Desert Crystals because of their mystical nature.

Underground Mines
Ratchet and Clank were stranded in a deep underground cave system after being ejected from Abercrombie Fizzwidget's ship. The caves were located directly under a small mountain region. The cave used to be mined for Raritanium by MegaCorp, but they had been deserted for some time when Ratchet and Clank traversed them. Most of the caves had lava flows inside them. These caves were home to orange flytrap-like creatures, as well as Mutant Sandflys and Spitting Dune Crawlers.

Desert Dunes
The majority of the planet was covered by vast deserts. These dunes used to be rainforests until MegaCorp logged every tree and destroyed the entire ecosystem. The desert was home to Mutant Sandflies, Spitting Dune Crawlers and Desert Dune Monsters, as well as valuble items such as Desert Crystals.

Native Wildlife
Tabora was once a Tropical Rainforest world; however, after MegaCorp cleared "innavigatable forest into a easily navigatable desert" most of Taboras native creatures were wiped out. A few; however, did adapt to the harsh desert dunes. From the Info Guide of Tabora, it was suggested that Tabora's original lifeforms were more friendly than the desert dwellers.
 * Mutant Sandfly
 * Mutant Sandfly Spawner
 * Spitting Dune Crawler
 * Desert Dune Monster
 * Taboran Desert Dweller
 * Taboran Rabbit

Enemies

 * Mutant Sandfly
 * Mutant Sandfly Spawner
 * Spitting Dune Crawler
 * Desert Dune Monster

Behind the scenes
The shape of the map of Tabora was inspired by Jimi Hendrix's head.

Etymology
Mount Tambora is a real life volcano from which the name of the planet most likely derives from.

Trivia

 * In the whole Tabora desert, there were 100 crystals to find.
 * When examined closely, Tabora's landscapes were very much alike Aridia's in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (note the middle light-brown continent in both planets). The reason for this could be explained when pointing out that both were desert planets with arid climate - thus could form similar landscapes from the same natural background.
 * The Desert Dune Monster hid itself under dead tree trunks, probably the vestiges of the ancient Taborian jungle.
 * When the cave level was completed it was then removed from the current save file. As a result, even if the player tried to glitch to go to the level, they were unable to find it, as all elements were removed. A proof was that when going to a spot where a vendor was located with the swimming in air glitch, and swimming directly down, only the Mecacorp hologram logo existed.
 * The level had the same background as Siberius.
 * The music that played in the cave played again in the desert area if the player reloaded the game or left and returned again.
 * The same music was also featured on the Insomniac Museum.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

Notes and references
Tabora