Ardolis is a planet in Rivet's dimension in Rift Apart. It is an alternate dimension version of Ardolis from Ratchet's dimension. This is the location of the space pirates' home base.
History[]
Rescuing Pierre[]
After learning that Captain Quantum is the last rebel on Emperor Nefarious' hitlist, Ratchet and Clank travel here to rescue him and under instructions from Rivet to find his first mate; Pierre Le Fer, who can help them find the captain before Nefarious can get to him first. Upon arriving however, they discover over the pirate's radio that Ardolis is closed for the day, as Pierre is scheduled to be executed soon for his violation of Article 4 of the Pirate Code, after destroying his own ship on Torren IV earlier in a battle against Rivet. Ratchet and Clank hurry through the pirate's caves and barracks to save Pierre from being fed to a giant kraken the pirates have named Bubbles.
The Pirate Trials[]
After rescuing Pierre, he tells Ratchet and Clank that if they want an audience with Quantum they will need to complete the Pirate Trials located at Skull Mountain, however upon getting there they find the trials are actually a theme park attraction. Nonetheless they partake in the trials, which include a shanty karaoke challenge where Ratchet will become auto equipped with a Combuster which fires blue spark-like projectiles specifically only for hitting the animatronic pirates in the correct order, battling a grunthor named Snoojax (this trial is temporarily out of order as the grunthor's food dispenser was broken and it has long since starved to death) and fighting several waves of pirates, as well as a Marauder named Crabcakes McGee. After they save Pierre from it, Bubbles the kraken began following Ratchet and Clank as they made their way to Captain Quantum and attempted to attack them numerous times.
Saving Quantum[]
After finally meeting Quantum, he reveals to the two that he has the Emperor's Assistant bugged and using the bucket like device on his head, is able to listen in on and know all of Nefarious' plans. Ratchet immediately recognizes that Quantum is not a robot like the other Space Pirates and this annoys him, causing him to lunge at Ratchet and for his bucket disguise to fall off his head. At this moment the other pirates arrive and through a misunderstanding, they believe that Quantum has decapitated their Captain, leading to them to launch a full on assault on the three. Quantum promises Ratchet that if he helps him escape the pirates he will give him the device for spying on Emperor Nefarious. Ratchet then fights off waves of ambush attacks from the pirates and deactivates their plunder beam, leaving them to use their Scuttler cannon, protected by two Marauders named the Tide Twins. With no other options to stop the Scuttler, Ratchet rings the large bell used to attract Bubbles and the kraken pulls the ship under the sea. After finally getting clear of the pirates and having fulfilled their deal, Quantum gives Ratchet and Clank the spybug device, however right at this moment the Emperor emerges from a rift above them and opens a large rift beneath their ship to send them to Zordoom Prison. Quantum, having been inspired to attempt being a hero again after so long, sacrifices himself and allows Ratchet and Clank to both escape with the spy device while he is pulled into the rift.
The Blackstar Landing Booty (Optional)[]
Before going to the Pirate Trials, Pierre says he saw the other pirates take something shiny to the Blackstar Landing, a pub and dance club in the other direction from the Trials. Upon arriving here the pirates will be dancing and will attack when Ratchet gets close enough. After fighting off several waves of pirates attempting to protect their booty, Ratchet finally takes an elevator to the roof and after defeating the final pirate defenders, finds a treasure chest containing a Map-o-Matic that will reveal the locations of all collectibles on the planet's map screen. The pirates revealed whilst fighting Ratchet that they stole the Map-o-matic from their earlier raid on Torren IV.
Geography[]
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The remaining fragment of planet Ardolis.
The geography of the Ardolis in Rivet's dimension is very similar to it's counterpart in Ratchet's, however here most of the planet has been destroyed, likely caused by Emperor Nefarious in his attempts to get rid of the space pirates. The seas are extremely dark and dangerous, being inhabited by sharkigators and giant krakens that will attempt to eat anything that falls in. The planets landmass is very wet and comprised of many craggy, rocky regions with grassy vegetation over much of it. The wooden and metal structures built by the pirates are constructed high above the waters and embedded into the high cliffs. Notable areas in the pirates' base include their Barracks, where much of the crewmates' quarters are located - it lies just beyond the Pirate Caves and is built inside of a mountain. Plunder Marketplace is where pirates go to trade and buy pillaged goods from each other, like booty, weapons, armor, hats etc. The Blackstar Landing is a very active pub and nightclub, and Skull Mountain is the location of the Pirate Trials theme park, which they opened to help bring in more revenue streams for their rather financially consuming lifestyle. Beyond Skull Mountain is the Captain's Port, where the space pirates' mysterious captain resides.
Behind the Scenes[]
The Blackstar Landing also exists on the Ardolis of Ratchet's dimension and in Rivet's it seems to be named after a dimensional counterpart to the robot space pirate Captain Blackstar. On the Ardolis in Ratchet's dimension, there is a radio tower named after Blackstar in his memoriam.
The music playing in the Blackstar Landing is a remix of "What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?", one of the oldest known sea shanties.
Just outside the Pirate's Barracks, inside the jail cells, three space pirates and a robomutt with a large key in it's mouth can be seen reenacting the iconic scene from the Disneyland attraction "Pirates of the Caribbean" and also featured in its movie adaptation. In the scene, the pirates in the jail try to tempt a dog holding the keys to the cell in it's mouth with a bone and attempt to bargain with it so they can escape.
The karaoke shanty in the first Pirate Trial is an alteration of a shanty sung by Captain Slag and Rusty Pete on Ardolis in Tools of Destruction. In Tools of Destruction the shanty is "Me hearties sing shanties of girls in loose panties, who linger by the shore!". In Rift Apart the shanty is "Me hearties sing shanties of girls in respectable positions of power, who linger by the shore!". This humorously shows that the space pirates in Rivet's dimension are much more respectful of females than their counterparts in Ratchet's.
Development art[]
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