Mr. Zurkon is a recurring weapon in the Ratchet & Clank series. First featured as one of the devices in Tools of Destruction, it then appears fully as a weapon in A Crack in Time, All 4 One, Full Frontal Assault, Into the Nexus, and Ratchet & Clank (2016 game). Mr. Zurkon is a type of Synthenoid manufactured by GrummelNet Industries which, when deployed, will hover around Ratchet and fire his laser at nearby enemies, while cracking one-liners and sadistic jokes at their expense.
As a device in Tools of Destruction, Mr. Zurkon cannot be upgraded. In A Crack in Time as a weapon, Mr. Zurkon can be upgraded to the more powerful Zurkon the Destroyer with use, and later to the more powerful Omega Zurkon the Destroyer in challenge mode. In Into the Nexus, he can be upgraded to Zurkon Jr. and then Zurkon Family, which causes him to be deployed alongside Zurkon Jr. and then both his son and Mrs. Zurkon, who contribute their own firepower. In Ratchet & Clank (2016 game), Mr. Zurkon is upgraded to Zurkon Jr., causing him to be deployed alongside Zurkon Jr., and upgraded to Omega Zurkon Jr. in challenge mode once the complete Mr. Zurkon holocard set is obtained.
Mr. Zurkon is voiced by Marc Graue in the games.
Characteristics[]
Mr. Zurkon is a small, dark grey and green synthenoid. He has a humanoid shape with thrusters in place of legs, a laser for his right hand, and a large, menacing skull face. He had a great hatred or general contempt for almost everyone and everything he encountered, even those he is programmed to loyaly protect, often insulting or expressing a desire to kill them. During battle is when he is at his most euphoric, often cracking sadistic jokes whilst dispatching his enemies. GrummelNet have continually added new enhancements to Mr. Zurkon's personality modulator, with upgrades to his trash talk feature.[1]
As Zurkon the Destroyer, Mr. Zurkon was instead blue and light grey, and would occasionally fire a bolt of explosive plasma at enemies. His dialogue and behavior was unchanged.
The members of the Zurkon family share a resemblance with him and a great love for eachother. Zurkon Jr. is a smaller synthenoid with only a single eye and a blaster on his right arm, while Mrs. Zurkon is much larger, with pearls around her neck and three lasers on her left arm. They generally share Mr. Zurkon's personality and joy of destroying, as well as his habit of speaking in the third person.
Gameplay[]
Overview[]
Mr. Zurkon, once deployed, will hover around Ratchet, and fire at enemies until he runs out of ammo, at which point he will self-destruct. His blasts have a moderate rate of fire and do decent damage to enemies over his lifespan, making him a very versatile weapon useful against most types of enemies. Mr. Zurkon's firepower is provided as a very useful supplement to Ratchet's, allowing him to serve both a defensive and an offensive purpose.
Mr. Zurkon's upgrades vary throughout releases. In A Crack in Time, upgrading Mr. Zurkon to Zurkon the Destroyer does not fundamentally change the weapon, while in Into the Nexus and Ratchet & Clank, it adds his family members to be deployed alongside him.
Tools of Destruction[]
Mr. Zurkon is available as a combat device upon reaching Rykan V, and could be purchased from a device vendor. The Smuggler on Rykan V also offers a free Mr. Zurkon after being talked to.
Ratchet can hold up to four Mr. Zurkons, which cost 5,000 bolts each. As a device, Mr. Zurkon could not be upgraded with raritanium or with use, but his damage is scaled to 33% of Ratchet's current maximum nanotech level. He also has a maximum of 24 shots, at three shots per second. Alongside the Nano-Swarmers, he is one of the best ways to supplement Ratchet's existing damage. However, being a device means extra Mr. Zurkons can only be found in raritanium chests and not in ammo crates, making using him an expensive endeavor at 5,000 bolts each.
A Crack in Time[]
Mr. Zurkon can be purchased from a GrummelNet weapons vendor for 6,000 bolts upon reaching Vorselon's warship for the first time (or 3,000 bolts if the player owned a Tools of Destruction save file). Being a regular weapon means he can be found in ammo crates and upgraded, making him less restrictive than in Tools of Destruction. He serves a similar role in providing supplemental fire to Ratchet, but starts out very weak although with a high rate of fire, making him best against swarms of weaker enemies early on.
With use, Mr. Zurkon can be upgraded to the blue Zurkon the Destroyer. This allows Mr. Zurkon to fire an explosive blast of plasma occasionally at enemies. In challenge mode, the Omega Zurkon the Destroyer upgrade could be purchased for 196,000 bolts (or 147,000 bolts if the player owned a Tools of Destruction save file).
All 4 One[]
Mr. Zurkon is available upon reaching the Elerox Pass segment of N.E.S.T. for 10,000 bolts, (or earlier if the player pre-ordered All 4 One from GameStop), and becomes available to upgrade with additional bolts upon reaching the N.E.S.T. Entrance.
Each Zurkon is able to fire 30 shots per deployment, upon which they will despawn. Deploying multiple Mr. Zurkons will inspire teamwork amongst the synthenoids, allowing them to periodically charge and fire explosive shots together at enemies.[2] Mr. Zurkon can be given an ammo upgrade for 5,000 bolts, allowing one extra Zurkon to be carried, and a power upgrade for 10,000 bolts, increasing his damage output. After purchasing the ammo and power upgrades, the elite upgrade becomes available for 30,000 bolts. Upon being upgraded to the Elite Mr. Zurkon, each Zurkon created a massive explosion upon despawning, capable of taking out multiple enemies at once.
Full Frontal Assault[]
Mr. Zurkon reappeared as a weapon in the game. He could be upgraded to Alpha Zurkon at level 3 with use.
Mr. Zurkon is particularly useful at shooting down missiles fired from the Missile Minion.
Into the Nexus[]
Mr. Zurkon is available upon reaching Silox for 20,000 bolts. He serves a similar role as in A Crack in Time.
Into the Nexus introduces the Zurkon family through upgrades. When upgraded once, Mr. Zurkon takes his son, Zurkon Jr., with him to fight. When upgraded to level 3, Mr. Zurkon became Zurkon Family, and also takes his wife Mrs. Zurkon with him as well. These are flat upgrades to the weapon's base damage as they provide additional firepower, and can attack more targets at once.
In Into the Nexus, raritanium upgrades also become available for Mr. Zurkon. These upgrades provide improvements to the Zurkon's damage and duration, while the Proton Blast special upgrade allows the three family members to fire a large blast at once enemy in addition to their lasers.
Ratchet & Clank (2016 game)[]
Mr. Zurkon is available for purchase on Kerwan for 8,000 bolts. The weapon can be upgraded with use to Zurkon Jr., allowing Ratchet to deploy Zurkon Jr. alongside Mr. Zurkon.
As in Into the Nexus, raritanium upgrades are available for Mr. Zurkon in Ratchet & Clank. Twenty rate of fire upgrades improved Zurkon's rate of fire by +10% each upgrade, nine bonus bolts upgrades increased the bolts dropped by enemies killed by Mr. Zurkon by +5% per upgrade, and twenty shot count upgrades increased the amount Ratchet's Zurkons could fire by +5% each upgrade. Two mystery upgrades were available: the Dormancy Protocol upgrade unlocked by purchasing surrounding upgrades on the left greatly increased the amount of shots Ratchet's Zurkons could fire before disappearing, and the Hyperbolic Optics increased the range Ratchet's Zurkons could target enemies.
Zurkon Jr. may upgrade to Omega Zurkon Jr. in challenge mode once the full Mr. Zurkon holocard set is obtained.
Because evil Zurkons are fought in Skorg City, Quartu during "Investigate the factory", it is possible for the player's own Mr. Zurkon to battle enemy Zurkons.
Behind the scenes[]
Mr. Zurkon was built based on consumer bots seen as civilians throughout levels. He was then given a mouth and personality to push the comedy factor, based on the idea that he would talk in the third person. After recording his lines and testing it in game, the team realized that the idea would work, and Mr. Zurkon then became an iconic weapon thereafter.[3]
Mr. Zurkon appears in 8-bit Mini Mayhem.
In Tools of Destruction, there is a cheat which was unlocked with 400 skill points that turned Mr. Zurkon into a child in a flying saucer. Insomniac Games developed the cheat for James Westbrook, a child with a love of video games whose family was on an episode of the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and who was paralyzed in a car accident. Insomniac concepted, modeled, rigged, animated, and programmed Captain James, the Mr. Zurkon replacement, within a week.[4]
In a video for A Crack in Time around the time of the My Blaster Runs Hot weapon contest, Brian Allgeier listed Mr. Zurkon as his fifth favorite weapon of the series.[5]
Those who had pre-ordered All 4 One through GameStop received an early unlock for Mr. Zurkon.
Citations[]
References[]
- Video games
- Insomniac Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2011). Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2012). Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2013). Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2016). Ratchet & Clank [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.
- Videos
- Allgeier, Brian [Games @Insomniac Games] (2011, April 27). Allgeier's Top 10 Ratchet Weapons - Behind the Scenes - RCF: ACIT [Video]. YouTube.
- Allgeier, Brian; Fixman, TJ [@GDC] (2018, June 26). 15 Years of Ratchet & Clank: A Lombax Story [Video]. YouTube.