Valkyrie

General information
Species	Robot
Members	Carina Cassiopeia Helga von Streissenburgen Libra Snookiebear83
Location	Valkyrie Citadel, Vapedia

Valkyries are a race in the Ratchet & Clank series, which play a major role in A Crack in Time. They are a type of humanoid robot, generally seen as female due to the banishment of their males. Valkyries are militant and fierce with large builds.

Helga von Streissenburgen, the fitness trainer of Captain Qwark, was the first valkyrie encountered by Ratchet and Clank. Later, Dr. Nefarious aligned with valkyries in the Polaris Galaxy based on Vapedia, led by Cassiopeia, as he promised to restore their original colony.

History

The valkyries once had a Valkyrie Empire. Decades prior to the events of A Crack in Time, the valkyrie colony was destroyed by the Erebus supernova, an event notorious as a time-space catastrophe. This led the survivors to begin a three-decade pilgrimage to Vapedia. After arriving there, all male valkyries were banished for failing to ask for directions.

In the year prior to A Crack in Time, the valkyries were responsible for more than double the amount of transport hijackings as the space pirates.

During the events of A Crack in Time, Dr. Nefarious allied with the valkyries, led by Cassiopeia, Carina, and Libra, after Lord Vorselon and his own forces proved insufficient in defeating Ratchet and Alister Azimuth. Nefarious promised them use of the Great Clock to restore the valkyrie colony and empire in exchange for their services, though he had plans to double-cross them. Each of the three valkyrie leaders were ultimately destroyed by Ratchet.

Characteristics

Though male valkyries are known to have existed, their appearance is unknown. Valkyries seem to look down on men, banishing them, and stating that no men had ever survived their death courses.

Valkyries are skilled pilots. Due to claiming more than double the ship hijackings as space pirates in one year, they were said to be one of the most dangerous threats to inexperienced pilots.

Valkyries in battle on land are seen wielding giant hammers (with jet engines at the end of the hammer to slam down stronger) and javelins with explosive rockets capable of being thrown at great distances. Some valkyries also fly using wing-jetpacks.

Gameplay

Two types of valkyries are fought as regular enemies in A Crack in Time. One wields giant hammers and fights entirely on land, while the other uses a javelin and a jetpack.

The hammer-wielding valkyries are entirely melee enemies, but are durable and can overwhelm Ratchet with numbers. Their attacks include slamming their hammers forward and a spin attack where they spin toward Ratchet. Strafing and dodge jumping can avoid both attacks, though valkyries will stop briefly after a spin attack. They are best fought by keeping a distance or using crowd control weapons to slow them down so they do not overwhelm Ratchet.

Javelin-wielding valkyries are flying enemies that throw their javelins to deal damage. These will try to maintain a distance from Ratchet but will also jab Ratchet with them if too close. Dealing enough damage will cause them to drop their wings and attack on land. Most ranged weapons are effective at taking them out from a distance.

Behind the scenes

Concept art.

The valkyries were introduced to explore Helga von Streissenburgen's race and organization. However, despite their visual similarities to Helga, they were not confirmed as Helga's race until an Insomniac Live show provided confirmation, shortly before the release of The Art of Ratchet & Clank which reiterated this.

References

• Insomniac Games (2009). Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time [Game]. Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation 3.
• Stevenson, James; Price, Ted [Games @Insomniac Games] (2017, November 7). Insomniac Live - Ratchet & Clank [Video]. YouTube.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment (2018). The Art of Ratchet & Clank [Book]. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1506705729.