The kerchu are a species in Tools of Destruction, mentioned in Quest for Booty, A Crack in Time, and Into the Nexus. They are small, furry, orange creatures native to planet Jasindu in the Praxus Sector of the Polaris Galaxy. The kerchu are known as brilliant architects, but are highly territorial. Their hostility to most, coupled with the fact every being in the known universe is allergic to them, means outsiders avoid them.
Ratchet and Clank first encountered the kerchu in a gelatonium facility at Outpost L51 on Sargasso, before encountering them in Kerchu City on Jasindu to obtain the Dimensionator. The kerchu had a number of foot soldiers defending their territory, and a powerful kerchu mechwrecker guarding the Dimensionator.
History[]
Before Tools of Destruction[]
The kerchu engineered the Helios armor,[1] and the Pyro Blaster.[2] The Helios armor and Pyro Blaster were similar to the armor and weaponry used by the kerchu pyroguards. A gang of irate kerchu caprenters also designed the Buzz Blades.[3]
The space pirates pillaged materials from the kerchu to build the Blackstar Memorial Radio Tower on Ardolis.[4] At one point, after hiding Captain Darkwater's ship, Rusty Pete awoke spooning a kerchu.[5]
Max Apogee left the Dimensionator at Kerchu City[6] and left his ship on auto-pilot, before leaving the dimension alongside Angela Cross.[7] The kerchu guarded it with a kerchu mechwrecker,[8] despite not knowing what it was.[9]
Lord Vorselon was sent to Zordoom Prison for a life sentence after kidnapping the Kerchu Ambassador Boogoh.[10]
Tools of Destruction[]
Migrant kerchu workers were brought in by Emperor Tachyon's Imperial Army to rebuild a tower in Stratus City.[11]
The kerchu in Outpost L51, Sargasso, hired the Smuggler to traffic fossermites to them to scare away the tumfoids.[12] In "Investigate the Kerchu Outpost", Ratchet and Clank encountered these kerchu when looking for the Dimensionator.
Kerchu piloting the mechwrecker.
Ratchet traveled to Jasindu after learning the Dimensionator was located there from the IRIS Supercomputer. The space pirates, seeing Ratchet traveling there, deduced it was the location of the Dimensionator and attacked the planet.[13] In "Fight Your Way into the City", Ratchet, the pirates, and the kerchu fought inside Kerchu City, the pirates directed to tear up the city until they found it and kill any kerchu they saw.[14] Ratchet and Clank then defeated the kerchu guardian defending the Dimensionator and obtained it, only for captain Slag to take it from them.[15]
After Tools of Destruction[]
When authorities found Max Apogee's ship on auto-pilot with Jasindu as its point of origin, kerchu Ambassador Boogoh was unreachable for comment on space radio.[7]
A kerchu prisoner was seen in the Vartax Detention Facility, waiting in line with Ratchet and Clank, during Friends with Benefits.[16]
Rivet's dimension[]
In Rivet's dimension, the kerchu tribe similarly harvested gelatonium on Sargasso, working under Emperor Nefarious for the Nefarious Empire. However, the Emperor wiped them out after they misspelled his name on their tax returns. The morts later came and salvaged their gelatonium factories.[17]
Characteristics[]
Kerchu are bipedal, furry, orange creatures with sharp buck teeth and horns. They are not shown speaking, but are suggested to have the capability, as the Polaris News sought comment from their ambassador. Every known being in the universe is allergic to kerchu.[12][18] Kerchu are known to have a foul stench, likened to "blarg dung".[11]
They are a race of angry little rodent-like creatures fixated on mining ore. Their vehicles doubled as construction equipment as well as unconventional weaponry.[19] They trigger a dreadful allergic reaction to anyone who dares approach them, causing massive fits of sneezing.[20]
Kerchu are fiercely territorial and hostile to outsiders.[21] They are described as the most unpleasant race in the galaxy next to the cragmites, making rare exceptions for outsiders such as the Smuggler who they collaborate with.[12]
Units[]
The kerchu are known for their engineering prowess, as is on display with their soldiers, who attack in mechanized weapons rather than on foot. The kerchu rollers use a metal armor that allows them to roll into a ball covered in blades that shields them and attacks their opponents. The kerchu pyroguards pilot a small vehicle with tractor treads for movement that sprays flamethrowers at enemies. They appear to use the same technology as the Pyro Blaster, a weapon engineered by kerchu[2] and sold by GrummelNet Industries. The larger kerchu mechwrecker is an immense hovering mech suit piloted by a number of kerchu that defended the Dimensionator, equipped with many missiles and wrecking balls for hands.
Behind the scenes[]
The kerchu's name was derived from the sound of sneezing which they elicit from people.[20]
The kerchu faction were originally going to return in A Crack in Time, but were scrapped in early production. Concept art was however created of new vehicles; the kerchu carrier,[22] and a kerchu tractor with a new wrecking ball mode.
The animal the kerchu appear to be based on most is the beaver, considering they are both large rodents with pronounced buck teeth, are well-known for their constant working and building habits, and for being extremely aggressive in defending their territory against perceived encroachment.
During a livestream reveal of the Kerwan multiplayer map for Full Frontal Assault Chad Dezern, the studio director of Insomniac Games, mentioned that the kerchu from the Intergalactic Foot Soldier Pack was blue (multiplayer team color) as it had dyed its fur. He then revealed that for kerchu it was encouraged that they dye their fur to match their team.[23]
Citations[]
- ↑ Tools of Destruction menu § "Helios armor"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tools of Destruction menu § "Pyro Blaster"
- ↑ A Crack in Time menu § "Buzz Blades/(Omega) Doom Blades"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Catch up to Talwyn (gameplay)"
- ↑ Quest for Booty script § "Morrow Caverns"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "A Vision of Talwyn"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Crack in Time script § "Angela Cross"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Defeat the Kerchu Guardian (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction menu § "Survive the Kerchu Onslaught"
- ↑ A Crack in Time script § "Galactic Trivia"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Tools of Destruction script § "Swing through the Docks (gameplay)"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Tools of Destruction script § "Trade Souls for the Decryptor (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Escape from Slag's Clutches (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Survive the Kerchu Onslaught (gameplay)"
- ↑ Tools of Destruction script § "Defeat the Kerchu Guardian (gameplay)"
- ↑ Friends with Benefits, p. 4
- ↑ Rift Apart script § "The resilient history of Sargasso"
- ↑ Into the Nexus script § "Find the Dimensionator (gameplay)"
- ↑ The Art of Ratchet & Clank, p. 150
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 The Art of Ratchet & Clank, p. 151
- ↑ Tools of Destruction menu § "Planet Jasindu"
- ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/creaturebox/art/Kerchu-Carrier-211997354
- ↑ Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault Metropolis Map Reveal
References[]
- Video games
- Insomniac Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2008). Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2013). Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2021). Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 5.
- Bibliography
- Fixman, TJ (2010). Ratchet & Clank (Issue 2: Friends with Benefits) [Book]. Wild Storm.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment (2018). The Art of Ratchet & Clank [Book]. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1506705729.