Joba

Template:Appearances

Location information
Type	Planet
Galaxy	Bogon
Background information
Affiliation	Megacorp, indigenous tribe
People	Shady Salesman Biker Two
Going Commando
Nanotech boosts	1 (locations)

Joba is a planet in the Bogon Galaxy featured in Going Commando. It is a forest planet with a harsh climate on which the Megacorp Games event, a large arena event, and the Megacorp Hoverbike Race, are hosted. The world is also home to native tribesmen.

Ratchet and Clank visited the Megacorp Games after earning entry from the Mathematician when they defeated the Thug Leader in the Lunar City in Dobbo's orbiting moon. From the games, they obtained the Infiltrator, the Gravity Boots, and the Charge Boots.

History

The native Joba tribesmen were distant cousins of the Vukovar tribesmen from Barlow. A batch of Barlowian saur-beasts were sent to the Joba to be trained, and due to the harsh climate, evolved a tougher shell allowing them to withstand more damage.

Megacorp at some point began to host the Megacorp Games on the planet, a gladiatorial combat event, and the Megacorp Hoverbike Race. The Desert Riders participated in the hoverbike races, and having one of their biker helmets allowed racers to enter.

Ratchet and Clank visited after receiving an invite from the Mathematician, which they earned when they defeated the Thug Leader in Lunar City, Dobbo orbit. In "Enter the Megacorp Games", the two fought through waves of Joba tribesmen, but were unable to enter the arena. The Shady Salesman, who they had previously met on Rilgar and purchased the R.Y.N.O., sold them another blargian device, the Levitator, allowing them to enter as participants.

When they entered the arena, the announcer recognized Ratchet, as he had participated in the Galactic Gladiators in the Maktar Resort, but referred to Clank as merely "some metal guy". The two won the Infiltrator from an ordinary match, and the Gravity Boots from a subsequent cage match. They later competed in more challenges, earning bolts.

File:Biker Two with Ratchet and Clank.png

The duo meet Biker Two

The duo also entered the hoverbike races, where Biker Two welcomed them as they owned the helmet. After winning the Charge Boots from the first race, the next race included bolt cash prizes.

Geography

Map layout of the Megacorp games area

Overview

Joba has very tall cliffs with forest on top. Though it has a large amount of ocean seen from space, the area that Ratchet and Clank visit for the Megacorp Games is almost entirely tall cliffs with pine forests on top and an empty vast abyss below, suggesting its cliffs extend up several thousand feet. The planet has a very harsh climate, causing the saur-beasts to evolve to adapt. It is home to hostile native tribesmen, with several Megacorp buildings likely used for the Megacorp Games. The forests on top of the cliffs are home to trees with very thick trunks, and large mushrooms on top of some of the leaves, and grass below them. They are also home to harmless birds that rest on rails and the ground, as well as fireflies that gather by lamps.

The Megacorp Games area

The Megacorp Games area is built on top of very tall cliffs and within the forests. Though the area is mostly built up, as lamps illuminate the paths and several buildings are built along the way, though they are occupied by the indigenous tribesmen. A few large pipes are also built into the rocks and trees, connected to the buildings that are often built into them. In the distance, several tall cliffs can be seen, with small towers built into them. The largest building in the area is the Megacorp Games arena, which is an extremely tall stadium emitting light from inside. The Megacorp Games is a popular event to visit live, as tickets to the arena were sold out when Ratchet and Clank arrived.

From where the Star Explorer lands, a natural bridge extends down to a lower cliff with a Megacorp vendor. Another natural bridge extends up here to a slightly wider cliff, with another natural bridge up to the right to a larger cliff with a building on the left entered through a large tunnel-like gate, an entrance to a building beginning the path to the arena, and a path just off to the right leading to the race course. Adjacent to the building's entrance is a power box with a Dynamo activator that opens a door in the building to the left.

Path to the hoverbike race course

File:Swingshot gameplay from GC.png

Ratchet traversing the path to the hoverbike course

This is found in a path to the right, and begins with two versa-targets located just behind the building on the left found from where the Megacorp vendor is, which can be crossed with the Swingshot to a small cliff with a large tower structure. To the right of this cliff is another small cliff with a tower structure, which can be reached with a bridge (initially drawn when Ratchet arrivals, until the Swingshot pulls it down). After crossing this bridge, another bridge to the right (initially drawn until pulled down with the Swingshot) leads to a room inside a tower built on the side of a larger cliff, connected to the same cliff on which the ship landed. The room leads to a building inside the cliff, where the hoverbike race course starts. Biker Two is also stationed here, along with his hoverbike.

Path to the arena

The path to the arena begins inside a building on the left. The building's first room is a dark blue, empty room with an abyss below and a glass door blocking the way to the second room. A Dynamo activator on the left activates the room's floor, several moving pillar obstacles on either side of the room, and also opens the door to the second room at the end. The second room is a light, yellow room, with a glass door on the right (opened with the Dynamo above the power box outside) to a small area containing a nanotech boost, and to the left is a ladder up to an exit.

The path to the arena

The exit leads out to a small open path on a cliff, with a turret in the middle and a door on the opposite side, opened by standing on a switch in front of it, leading into another building. This next building has one a small room, with pumps in the back, and a ladder on the left leading out to another exit outside. This leads to a narrow path along the right side of a wall to the left. A versa-target on the right of this path allows one to take the Swingshot across to another area on the side of a cliff, at the end of which is a small tubular building with a platinum bolt inside. At the end of the path is an area with a turret in the middle and two doors activated with a switch; the left door leads to a small building which is a dead-end, while the right door leads to a small area with a Dynamo activator on the side of a large wall covered with machinery. The Dynamo creates a floating platform that zigzags along the path past several obstacles to a small balcony on the side of a building, with an entrance inside.

This next building is larger, with two doors leading to small rooms on either side, and a ledge at the end with two turrets on top, and a door outside at the end. The door leads to a balcony with a zip wire on the right that leads down to a platform, where the Shady Salesman sold Ratchet and Clank the Levitator. This platform has a taxi that returns to the ship, and a Levitator pad directly in front of the arena. Taking the Levitator up past trees and two towers (the left tower has a platinum bolt on top) leads to a balcony on the side of the Megacorp Games arena, with an entrance to the arena and a taxi that returns to the ship.

Arena

The exterior of the arena

The interior

The Megacorp Games arena is considerably larger than the Galactic Gladiators arena in the Maktar Resort. The arena has a long, oval shape, and is surrounded by lava, with several audience podiums dotted around the outside. Many hazards, in the form of spinning blades and flamethrowers, are built into the ground, and activate on some challenges. In some challenges, the circular block in the center of the arena will rise and transform into a jump pad up to the round, glass cage at the top of the arena, where cage matches take place. Eight bullpens, four on either end of the arena, are used to transport challengers in. One large screen is located on the end of the arena, from which a challenge is selected.

Hoverbike race course

The hoverbike race course

The race course goes through several paths around one of Joba's forest cliffs. It begins with an orange room filled with hazardous blue pillars, at the end of which are two tunnels either side; a metal gate will move between them, meaning only one tunnel is open either side. Both of the blue tunnels lead out to a swamp filled with mud, with rocks that have trees on them spread throughout the mud and presenting a hazard for the racers. On the right of the swamp is an opening to a forest path, blocked for most challenges. At the end of the swamp is a tunnel in cave, with a long gap outwards with two caves: one higher up that can only be reached by a boosting hoverbike, and one lower down. Both of these caves are filled with tree roots either side, and end up at the same green forest path through a forest, though the higher-up cave reaches the end of this path sooner.

At the end of the path is a ledge that drops down onto a wider, grass path with a fence on the left blocking the way to a large river. Flying turrets over the track drop three mines presenting hazards to the racers (only one turret appears in the first challenge, and three appear in later challenges), and the path ends in a fork. The fork to the left is a long path through a cavern lit up by blue lights along the track on the right, with slopes periodically on either side containing power-ups. The fork to the right (blocked by trees in some races) is a gap out to another cliff with forest on, which can be more reliably reached by a boosting hoverbike, and has one more gap at the end. Both paths lead out to an artificial tunnel back to the starting line in the first room.

Behind the scenes

The section during "Enter the Megacorp Games" in which the Dynamo created a floating platform used to traverse along the wall was also designed by Mike Stout (and programmed by junior programmer Tony Garcia). This section was internally unpopular at Insomniac due to being a 2D design, the objects pushing Ratchet off a cliff, and the distance between objects not reaching the minimum jump requirement. Tony reflected that the trial and error nature of the challenge was an old school mentality.

Joba is seen in a trailer for Size Matters.

Gallery

The cage match area of the Megacorp Games arena