Skrunch is a support character in Up Your Arsenal and Size Matters, mentioned in other games. He is a cyclophic monkey from planet Florana who is a close friend of Captain Qwark, and often assists him, Ratchet, and Clank. Skrunch was also a close ally of Clank, assisting him many times with Clank as the Banana Guided Autonomous Monkey Device, or BGAMD, for short. When Qwark became the galactic president of the Polaris Galaxy, Skrunch was made the vice president.
History[]
Before Up Your Arsenal[]
When Qwark landed on Florana in the jungle, he lived among the native monkeys, and befriended Skrunch. At one point, during mating season, he became close with Skrunch's sister.[1]
Up Your Arsenal[]
Skrunch with Qwark on Florana.
Ratchet and Clank met Skrunch along with Qwark during "Find the Mysterious Man". After defeating Qwark, Skrunch went with him, Ratchet, and Clank to the Starship Phoenix, and stayed in the same living quarters that Sasha Phyronix had been prepared for Qwark.[2]
Skrunch with Qwark as he regains his memory.
Qwark later regained his memory and founded the Q-Force, of which Skrunch was made a member. Qwark drew up a plan in which Skrunch would assist Clank in infiltrating the ventilation shift to find Dr. Nefarious' office on Aquatos, with Clank directing him using the Banana Guided Autonomous Monkey Device, or BGAMD.[3] In "Find Nefarious' Office", Clank then found Skrunch in a briefcase along with the BGAMD, and with the help of Skrunch and the gadgebots, reached the office. Skrunch was then included in the next Q-Force mission "Destroy the plasma cannon turrets" on Tyhrranosis. Skrunch controlled the gun turret on the back of the turboslider which Ratchet drove, while Ratchet destroyed the plasma cannon turrets.
In "Film a Secret Agent Clank Episode" on Holostar Studios, Skrunch was cast in Secret Agent Clank, replacing Ratchet's role as Jeeves in assisting Clank after the director fired Ratchet. In the plot of the episode, "Maxmillian Strikes Back", Skrunch and Clank had to put aside their differences and work together to progress.[4]
Skrunch and Qwark arguing at Zeldrin Starport.
During "Rendezvous with Qwark", Qwark and Skrunch waited at the Zeldrin Starport for Ratchet, and went with them to the Leviathan. When Dr. Nefarious self-destructed the Leviathan, Skrunch survived, as he remained in the shuttle after Klunk ejected it. Skrunch then attended Qwark's funeral after his death.
Skrunch confronting Qwark.
Skrunch nonetheless helped Ratchet and Clank solve the mystery of Qwark's disappearance. During "Explore the Crash Site", Skrunch went with them to the crash site on Zeldrin where the three discovered that Qwark had survived and used an escape pod. Later, after Ratchet played the Qwark vid-comic, The Shaming of the Q, and learned Qwark was still alive in his hideout on the Thran Asteroid Belt, Skrunch asked to come with them.[5] Skrunch joined Clank during "Unlock the Forcefield", helping him find the switch deactivating the forcefield to Qwark's hideout. He then joined Ratchet and Clank in confronting Qwark in his hideout, and berated him for his cowardice.[6]
Skrunch appeared in the Secret Agent Clank movie that premiered following the defeat of Dr. Nefarious. In it, Clank fired a banana at Maxmillian, and Skrunch leaped at his Attack-Copter, causing him to lose control and fall to his death.
Deadlocked[]
Size Matters[]
Skrunch after arriving on Metalis.
At some point, while Clank was stranded on Metalis, Skrunch was able to find footage of Ratchet undergoing surgery on Medical Outpost Omega, and flew in his ship to give it to Clank. Meanwhile, in Ratchet's Dreamtime sequence while he was being operated on, Skrunch appeared as a nurse for a bloodthirsty doctor Qwark.
When Ratchet and Clank defeated Otto Destruct, Skrunch arrived with a newspaper to reveal that Qwark's parents had been killed by defective technomite technology. Qwark attempted revenge on Otto Destruct for deceiving him, though Skrunch interrupted him, eventually causing Skrunch's intelligence to be switched with Otto Destruct's, thus neutralizing him as a threat.
After Size Matters[]
Skrunch's portrait on Qwark's desk (right)
It was revealed during Tools of Destruction that Skrunch had attended the Kerwan school of quantum mechanics in Metropolis.
In All 4 One, a picture of Skrunch was on Qwark's desk, and he was mentioned to be the vice president of the Polaris Galaxy. It is presumed he left office at the same time as Qwark.
Characteristics[]
Skrunch operating the Turboslider's turret.
Skrunch is a short, cyclophic monkey with large ears and a brown eye. When clothed, he normally wears the green Q-Force uniform as a top with a Qwark logo. Skrunch is an enthusiastic monkey who is helpful to Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark. He can also operate the Turboslider's turret. He craves bananas, chasing them even before checking if it would throw him in harm's way.
Clank using the Banana Guided Autonomous Monkey Device.
Skrunch also serves as the Banana Guided Autonomous Monkey Device, which is essentially him stuffed into a small suitcase along with a pistol that shoots bananas. Skrunch can be lured by Clank to chase bananas into areas that Clank himself cannot reach. For example, Skrunch is be able to climb pipes and activate buttons that Clank normally cannot, or to simply draw fire from sentinel bots and distract them, taking no damage, while Clank passes. If not chased by a sentinel bot, or if not fired by Clank to an area out of reach, Skrunch eventually swallows available bananas whole.
Skrunch has a good friendship with both Qwark and Clank. Clank was also able to communicate with him, speaking his language a little.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
The BGAMD pistol.
Insomniac Games had always struggled when designing Clank's gameplay segments, as they had found them difficult to keep them interesting. When Mike Stout designed the Clank gameplay in Up Your Arsenal, one of his mandates was that his gameplay would have Secret Agent Clank elements, and that it would be more interactive than previous games. The solution was to involve Skrunch with the banana gun.[7] Additionally, a goal was that the player would be able to bully Skrunch for enjoyment, resulting in Skrunch often throwing himself in harm's way.[8]
Citations[]
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Rendezvous with Qwark (gameplay)"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Take Qwark to His Cage (gameplay)"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Mission Idiotic"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Film a Secret Agent Clank Episode (gameplay)"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Up Your Arsenal script § "Who's Butt is This?"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Find Captain Qwark (gameplay)"
- ↑ Stout, Garcia, Yu May 2012 0:57
- ↑ Stout, Garcia, Yu May 2012 6:43
References[]
- Video games
- Insomniac Games (2004). Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal [Game]. PlayStation 2.
- Insomniac Games (2005). Ratchet: Deadlocked [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 2.
- High Impact Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Portable.
- Insomniac Games (2007). Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Insomniac Games (2011). Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
- Videos
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, May 6). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 9 - Aquatos Finale [Video]. Anthony Yu. YouTube.