Get away from my Planetary Defense Center, you Grungarian scum!
Ex-Galactic President and superhero Captain Copernicus Leslie Qwark fighting off Grungarian forces near a Planetary Defense Center at the Korgon Refinery on Markazia, FFA
Grungarians were a race in Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault.[1] A nomadic species of marauders, the Grungarians were notorious for pillaging and looting entire worlds.
Overview
Description and biology
Grungarians were by far one of the most bizarre species in the Polaris Galaxy, and were highly diversified in their own species, even more so than the Solana Galaxy's Tyhrranoids.
The Grungoid.
The smallest member of the Grungarians was the Grungoid, a six-legged critter with a large jaw and a single red eye covering much of their face. A grungoid's mouth was lined with massive sharp teeth, and during combat they wielded a spiked club which was mechanically attached to their back. They were typically blue in color, but they were also, more rarely, seen to be purple, pink or a bluish green. They normally served as cannon fodder for the Grungarian Marauders, as well as sometimes operating turrets. The turrets would wait underground with the grungoid's single eye watching until an opponent arrived, which prompted the machine to burst out from underground and shower the victim in gunfire.
The Grungarian Brawler.
The next largest was the brawler subtype, a purple bipedal creature with five to seven yellow eyes, a beak mouth, and two squid-like arms with retractable spikes to smash foes with. They appeared to be of a higher rank than Grungoids, but of a lower rank then the other Grungarian types. Brawlers were generally presented as dumb brutes, always either in combat with an opponent or with each other, and when alone they would be found training for combat by doing push-ups and patrolling the area they inhabited.
The Grungarian Soldier.
Next up there was the soldier subtype, slightly resembling the demolitionist subtype, but with brownish orange skin and a sabertooth mouth; they typically served as soldiers, as their name suggested, as well as engineers. The soldiers seemed to be smarter than other types of grungarians, and wielded a rapid fire machine gun. Though smarter than other subtypes, they were also weaker, and were unable to survive without their helmets. Unlike other types, soldiers would suffocate without their helmets on.
The Grungarian Demolitionist.
Finally were the demolitionist subtype, which had the brutish jaw of a large predator, lined with teeth. These creatures appeared to be the leaders of the Grungarians and possibly the smartest, since they operated a lot of high-tech equipment. As their names suggested, they wielded heavy demolitions weapons including rocket launchers which they often fired from a distance or height away from their opponents.
Another type notably resembling the demolitionists were Grungarian drivers and pilots, who commanded vehicles used by the grungarians including tanks and bombers. Tanks were used mainly for invasions, and were tougher than other Grungarian soldiers and vehicles. While travelling to bases that the grungarians were attacking, the tanks resembled normal ground vehicles, but when they reached their opponents they transformed into giant mechs and became virtually unstoppable. Bombers, on the other hand, were gunships used both to guard Grungarian-controlled outposts and attack enemy bases.
Grungarians had also acquired Missile Minions in their ranks. Missile Minions were once used by the Creature Collector, Ephemeris, as part of their army of Minions, and were likely found and restored by the Grungarians following Ephemeris' defeat. It's unknown why the Grungarians only took Missile Minions and none of the other forces used by the collecter.
All of the Grungarian subtypes, besides the Grungoid subtype, appeared not to be completely adjusted to breathing in oxygen, as they were protective glass domes over their heads at all time, although they apparently are capable of breathing oxygen nevertheless when their glass helmets were compromised save for the soldiers. All of the Grungarian subtypes seem to share traits with aquatic lifeforms, suggesting the Grungarian homeworld was oceanic.
It is unknown why they had such a diverse biology; it may have been some sort of biological caste system or possibly different forms that a Grungarian might change into, like a caterpillar to a butterfly. Another scenario, however, may be that all the various Grungarian subtypes are actually separate sentient species from the same home planet, but are simply referred to as Grungarians as a whole.
Culture
Famed Lombax hero Ratchet fighting off Grungoids and a Grungarian Brawler.
Grungarians were a war-like race of marauders, reviled as scum by many.
The Grungarians, mainly the brawler subtype, were known for boxing one another to pass the time, which also served to ready them for close-quarters combat. The Grungarians were also keen on keeping themselves fit for combat, particularly the brawler subtype, who would do push ups on and on when not pressed into combat.
Armor and weapons
Whilst serving under superhero fanatic turned supervillain Stuart Zurgo, the Grungarians notably wore grey and brown armor. Demolitionists bore the strongest armor, whilst soldiers and brawlers had weaker versions of the same suits. Grungoids bore no armor, but did have weapons built into their bodies such as clubs or turrets.
Whilst aiding Zurgo on the planet Proteus VII, Grungarians all bore updated armor. Though not any stronger nor weaker than their usual gear, the suits had a different colouring than normal, being yellow rather than brown. It is possible that these suits were built especially to withstand the harsh conditions of the lava planet. Grungoids and their turrets also gained yellow visors.
During Zurgo'a last stand during a snowstorm on planet Ebaro, Grungarian marauders had elite armor. Instead of brown or yellow, the newer suits had a more purple and blue pallet, and were tougher than past variants, likely built to withstand the storm. The suits were worn by the most elite and well-trained Grungarians, stronger versions of the brawler, soldier and demolitionist subtypes. In the Ebaro snowstorm, the armor of the elite Grungarians had become covered in ice and rust. They were able to survive ice twisters.
While Grungarian brawlers had spikes growing from their tentacle arms, elite brawlers had armor covering their arms which was riddled with metal spikes. Elite soldiers all appeared to have one bionic eye, and were able to survive without their helmets, likely because of this, unlike normal soldiers. Elite demolitionists were not very different from their standard counterparts, only stronger.
A Grungarian Bomber.
Grungarians used many vehicles and ships such as tanks and bombers. Tanks were used mainly for invasions, and were tougher than other Grungarian soldiers and vehicles. While travelling to bases that the grungarians were attacking, the tanks resembled normal ground vehicles, but when they reached their opponents they transformed into giant mechs and became virtually unstoppable. Bombers, on the other hand, were gunships used both to guard Grungarian-controlled outposts and attack enemy bases.
A Missile Minion in action.
Grungarians had also acquired Missile Minions in their ranks. Missile Minions were once used by the Creature Collector, Ephemeris, as part of their army of Minions, and were likely found and restored by the Grungarians following Ephemeris' defeat. It's unknown why the Grungarians only took Missile Minions and none of the other forces used by the collecter.
Grungarians also used red generators to power forcefields in their bases. They additionally utilised electro-mines as weapons during the Ebaro snowstorm.
Elite models of bombers and tanks were also used during the snowstorm on Ebaro, and were simply more powerful versions of their normal counterparts. Bombers had a different appearance as well, with the pilots of the elite version protected by a window rather than being left open to attack like the normal variant. Missile Minions had no elite versions, being abandoned following Zurgo's first attack on Ebaro and replaced by bombers, which may have been modelled after them.
Elite versions of grungoids also existed. They had yellow visors rather than being unprotected, and had stronger hammers. Elite Grungoid turrets had three guns instead of one, and also bore yellow visors.
Another robot built by Grungarians and used exclusively for invasions was the wrecking drone, a suicidal robot that would sprint to enemy bases then blow itself up, taking down an enemy asset or an opponent in the process. These were only used on Proteus VII, though an elite version was used as a guard on Ebaro in Zurgo's lair.
The Q-Force also used Grungarian squads following Zurgo's defeat, utilising them on planets Markazia, Ebaro, Proteus VII, Torren IV and Kerwan. They used versions of grungoids, brawlers, demolitionists, tanks, elite grungoids, wrecking drones, elite demolitionists and elite tanks. Depending on who was using them, these squads would either have blue armor and skin or red armor over blue skin. Green versions of Grungoid turrets, Grungarian brawlers, soldiers, demolitionists and Missile Minions were used to guard nodes, and turned either blue or red when a node was liberated by a team during a match. A grey version of the Grungarian bomber was also used to guard crates.
History
The Grungarian Marauders appeared to be restricted to the edges of the Polaris Galaxy, since most planetary defense systems seemed to keep them at bay. However, an angry former Qwark fanboy named Zurgo made a deal with the Grungarians and shut down the planetary defense networks on three worlds: Markazia, Ebaro and Proteus VII. With these worlds rendered defenseless, the Grungarian Marauders invaded these worlds.Ratchet, Clank and Qwark had to defeat them by themselves, or Zurgo would shut down even more planetary defense networks, opening up new worlds for the Grungarian Marauders to raid. The trio managed to defeat the Grungarian horde on all three worlds, but Zurgo used a weather-altering device inside the planetary defense network on Ebaro (which Qwark installed when he was president to make the weather nice when he visited a world) and turned the lush tropical jungle into a freezing jungle of terror. The trio managed to shut down the planetary defense center, but they realized that Zurgo might do this to other worlds besides Ebaro. And thus the trio discovered Zurgo's lair on Ebaro, and battled his Grungarian allies. After the trio confronted and defeated Zurgo, the Grungarian Marauders appeared to retreat back to the edges of the Polaris Galaxy, no longer posing a major threat to the rest of the galaxy.
Behind the scenes
Grungarians were originally known as Minions according to CreatureBox concept art.
Trivia
- Several other subtypes of Grungarians were set to appear in the game, but never got beyond the drawing board. Two types that were cut from the game resembled large crocodiles; one pink with spikes on it, another green with fins on its head.
- The Grungarians have somehow managed to obtain Missile Minions to serve their ranks, quite odd considering these machines were originally built to serve the Creature Collecter.