Head to the fairgrounds is the first mission in the re-imagined Ratchet & Clank, taking place in the Kyzil Plateau on planet Veldin. Ratchet, living in Grimroth Razz' garage, heard that the Galactic Rangers were hosting tryouts at their fairgrounds, and attempted to sneak out of the garage. However, Grim caught him and demanded that he fix Mr. Micron's ship first. After Ratchet did so, Grim reluctantly allowed him to leave and participate in the tryouts.
Completing this mission will unlock the bronze trophy Basically Training.
Walkthrough[]
The basics[]
Once you have control of Ratchet, approach the bolt crank as directed and activate it to lower Mr. Micron's ship for repairs. Press 
to attach Ratchet's OmniWrench to the crank, and rotate 
to turn it. Once the ship has been lowered, you will be prompted to look up by holding 
stick upwards, then look down by moving the stick downwards, and finally look right by moving it to the right. At that point, you are allowed to leave the garage. This is when you can become familiar with Ratchet's basic movesets. The garage contains several crates, which you can break to collect bolts; simply press to swing Ratchet's wrench. Swinging it three times in succession leads to the multi-strike, a three-hit combo with maneuverability if the is used. To do a comet-strike, hold 
to aim, followed by ; this will allow you to throw the wrench forwards, and it will automatically return to Ratchet. Finally, jumping with 
and hitting in mid-air allows Ratchet to slam the wrench downwards in a powerful move known as the hyper-strike.
With the garage door open, you can freely explore the Kyzil Plateau to travel to the Ranger tryouts. Through the desert, follow the path in the sand leading right and forwards towards a bridge, dispatching the horny toads along the way using the wrench. On the bridge, you will find a crate that contains nanotech, used to restore your health if needed. Besides crates, there are other breakables you can destroy for some extra bolts, such as toolboxes found along the ground, and the barriers on the sides of bridges. Cross the bridge here and double jump (using twice) to climb the platforms, then jump across to the cliff and travel along a linear path to reach the fairgrounds. Here, you will be greeted by a Qwark bot, and you can then enter to participate in the Ranger tryouts.
The Ranger tryouts[]
When entering, you will be contacted via a communicator by Cora Veralux. Follow the path inside, jump over the obstacles, and jump on the ladder on the wall to climb it, then stand on the green button that appears next. This will spawn two platforms that will float in mid-air, with the first moving left, and the second moving right. Jump on the first platform, and then when it aligns with the second, jump to it, then jump across. Jump down to the next area, activate the button, and destroy the crates that appear, as instructed by Brax Lectrus. This will reveal a Gadgetron vendor after the orange shield disappears. Press 
to interact with it and purchase the Fusion Grenade for 500 bolts. This is a weapon that throws grenades in medium range in front of you. It has a moderate area of effect, and can kill most enemies at this point in the game, but it also has low ammo, holding only a maximum of eight grenades.
Weapons are fired using 
, while holding the button before firing allows you to aim them. Throw the Fusion Grenade to destroy the barrier and proceed forward. Destroying the green ammo crate will restore one Fusion Grenade ammo and restore it to full. Kill the horny toads using the Fusion Grenade or the OmniWrench, and proceed forward, destroying the barrier above. Replenish ammo by breaking the ammo crates, then jump above. Leap across the lava and destroy the barrier with the Fusion Grenade, then proceed forward.
Though no icon appears on the barrier to the left, it can be destroyed with the Fusion Grenade. Destroy it to reveal stacks of crates and also a set of three holocards. These are useful collectibles that provide small bonuses when sets are complete. If you pick up at least five duplicate cards, these five duplicates can be traded for any holocard of a reveal set of your choice. Return and you will see a new enemy on a floating platform — the test dummy, which fires a flamethrower at short range, or whacks Ratchet when in melee range. It does not pose a threat, as neither its flamethrower nor melee attack can reach Ratchet from the platform. Destroy it with the Fusion Grenade, then jump on the platform and let it lead you to a small arena for the final challenge.
Here, you will face off against a series of test dummy enemies. These enemies are now able to get in range to hit Ratchet, and they are accompanied by horny toads. Both enemy types attack each other and Ratchet. Keep a distance from the enemies, and use the Fusion Grenade as defense, making sure to restock on ammo and nanotech from the crates. During the fight, you will likely upgrade your max nanotech from 10 to 20. Defeating enough enemies earns EXP, which increases Ratchet's max nanotech, making him more durable. Once all enemies are destroyed, the forcefield blocking the exit will deactivate. Cross the bridge to the end to complete the mission.