Time anomaly

A time anomaly on Quantos.

Time anomalies are a force of corrupted time in A Crack in Time. A result of damage to the Great Clock, time anomalies occur when a planet lacks temporal normality. They can lead to various effects, including freezing time or reversing time in an afflicted area.

Time anomalies exist by default on several planets in A Crack in Time. Some, such as those on Quantos, form natural parts of platforming through worlds as buildings are destroyed and then repaired. Others must be cleared by Clank in the Great Clock's time fixing mini-games to allow Ratchet to obtain collectibles.

History

A rip in the spacetime continuum.

Dr. Nefarious' unleashing the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler caused damage to the Great Clock due to its susceptibility to sonic weaponry. This immediately led to time anomalies appearing across the universe.

Quantos was notably affected by time anomalies. This caused the return of zyphoids to the planet, which had not been seen in years, but also caused some of the ancient temples to be destroyed and repaired on a loop, as well as time to freeze in a few areas. This actually helped Ratchet and Captain Qwark, as Aphelion was suspended mid-air by a time anomaly before crashing.

Other time anomalies caused around the galaxy were reported on by space radio. Polaris Defense Force military installations were frozen in temporal rifts, leading to violent outbursts on Igliak, Sargasso, and Cobalia. On the lava planet of Rykan V, a new ice age was caused by time anomalies.

After Dr. Nefarious was defeated and the Zoni returned to the Great Clock, the time phenomena that had been reported throughout the universe disappeared, with experts unaware that the Great Clock was responsible.

Gameplay

Quantos is most notably affected by time anomalies throughout, but anomalies also affect planets throughout the game. For instance, on Torren IV and Terachnos, time anomalies prevent Ratchet from accessing gold bolts there until Clank restores temporal normality to them in their planet rooms in the Great Clock.

Though planet rooms in the Great Clock also exist for Fastoon, Jasindu, and the Kreeli Comet, they are not visited in A Crack in Time, meaning repairing anomalies will provide gold bolts for completion but not help Ratchet progress.