Line #97 VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/going_commando_front_cover_us.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:280:[[{{Tagline}} Kickin' @$$, one planet at a time.]]]]
3
4	->'''Fizzwidget:''' Welcome! I'm Abercrombie Fizzwidget, founder of the Megacorp company in the Bogon Galaxy. I'm sorry to incapacitate you, but our entire galaxy is in a very precocious situation! I must humbly request your sustenance, on a mission of dire urgitude! A mission of superfluous peril! A mission of unequizzical imperitude!\
5	'''Clank:''' ...Did that make any sense?\
6	'''Ratchet:''' So, you need me to go on a dangerous mission in another galaxy?\
7	'''Fizzwidget:''' Indubitably!
8
9	The 2nd game in the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series. Also known as ''Ratchet and Clank 2: Locked and Loaded'' [[MarketBasedTitle outside of the United States]].
10
11	The story starts several months after [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 the defeat of Chairman Drek]]-- Ratchet and Clank are now celebrated as heroes across the Solana Galaxy, but the duo's lives have since fallen back into a rather humdrum lifestyle now that things are at peace, with a bored Ratchet bemoaning how no one needs a hero at present. As if by chance, the duo are abruptly summoned by teleportation to the neighboring Bogon Galaxy by one Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the eccentric and bumbling head of the galaxy's Megacorp company, who seeks Ratchet's help in retrieving an experimental "Protopet" from a terrorist. Unfortunately, after they return the critter, the two learn the Protopet is actually a hostile and easily provoked predator, and they must retrieve it again before Mr. Fizzwidget releases it on the market and dooms the galaxy.
12
13	Notable for being the TropeCodifier for many of the series' internal tropes, such as arena battles, crystal-hunting, and [[EvolvingWeapon guns that upgrade with use]], which future games would almost always feature or expand upon.
14
15	Not to be confused with the trope GoingCommando, though the confusion was [[IntentionallyAwkwardTitle likely intentional]].
16	----
17	!!This game provides exemplifications of the following tropulations:
18	* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: The 2,147,483,647 bolt {{Cap}} is likely a result of the console hardware. While the bolt economy is more generous than the first game to compensate for the more pricey weapons, with the first being used to make it easier to restore ammunition with bolts, it still takes a significant amount of effort and time to even get close to holding that many bolts. If you exceed that amount of bolts, it overflows and you go into having negative 2,147,483,648 bolts.
19	* ActionGirl: Angela Cross. Edges toward FauxActionGirl towards the end of the game given that she gets into trouble a few times and Ratchet has to rescue her — one example being where she is captured by the Thugs-4-Less Leader when caught sending a transmission to Ratchet and Clank.
20	* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: While the bolt economy in this game is more generous than in the first game, offers many ways to stack up on bolts via the arenas, spaceship and hoverbike missions and the crystal sidequests, and [[OldSaveBonus throws you a bone with the classic weapons]], there's still some serious cash roadblocks. The weapons and armor quickly escalate in price, with several weapons and the Carbonox armor costing a million or more bolts apiece. Most Mega weapon upgrades, which are all unlocked in [[NewGamePlus Challenge Mode]], cost hundreds of thousands of bolts, and some more than a million. The {{Cash Gate}}s from the first game return with a vengeance as well, with one instance requiring a whopping 40,000 bolts just to make progress. Mitigating this is that, like the first game, the game never actually forces you to buy a weapon, meaning a player can skip one weapon and save up for a preferred one. Challenge Mode also helps mitigate the bolt collecting by adding the Bolt Multiplier, which allows you to rake up huge amounts of cash in a short time if you play carefully.
21	* TheAlcatraz: Ratchet and Clank are imprisoned on Aranos at one point in the game, and have to split up and escape.
22	* AndYourLittleDogToo:
23	** One of the Thug Leader's [[BossBanter in-battle taunts.]]
24	** Though during the fight played as Giant Clank, it's inverted with "and your furry backpack". He also threatens to "take care of your little girlfriend" in the last fight.
25	* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
26	** Ratchet now has the ability to strafe as a default move and can modify certain weapons to lock on to targets, making him much more maneuverable and the combat more streamlined and faster-paced than in the first game.
27	** The Quick Select menu now pauses the game to make things easier on the player, though an option exists to turn it off.
28	** Unlike the first game, when you purchase a weapon now it comes with full ammo.
29	** Two Skill Points require playing through levels under strict conditions — "Old Skool" requires completing the Dobbo Testing Facility while using only weapons from the first game and "Wrench Ninja II" requires completing the trek to the Megacorp Games on Joba using only the wrench. If you complete the levels once and return to them later, the amount of enemies is heavily reduced. In addition, you can also go and get the second wrench upgrade before trying for "Wrench Ninja II".
30	** The Omniwrench gets two mandatory upgrades given to you for free throughout the game to ensure it remains a consistently useful default weapon even by the later levels.
31	** The Box Breaker and Armor Magnetizer items are both meant to ease the task of bolt collecting.
32	** [[NewGamePlus Challenge Mode]] introduces the Bolt Multiplier, which allows skilled players to stack up on lots of cash in a short period of time.
33	* AntiGrinding: When going back to prior planets, the game will suddenly reduce the amount of bolts received after collecting a certain "quota" from the second trip, and then you can only earn next to nothing from the level from then on.
34	* ArmorOfInvincibility: The Carbonox armor boasts a 90% damage reduction rate. Which is just as well, as it costs a million bolts.
35	* TheArtifact: There was supposed to be a gunship boss battle in Grelbin, but it was cut due to memory limitations. The arena still exists near Angela's house and you can even hack one of the robots on the other side of the entrance, but ultimately doing so is pointless as the door cannot be opened neither by Ratchet nor the drones. As such, there is a small group of hackable robots in Grelbin that serve absolutely no purpose in the released product.
36	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Like the first game, real life physics are thrown out the window in the name of humor, fun and coolness.
37	** The [[BabyPlanet small planetoids]] Ratchet and Clank visit throughout the game would be incapable of supporting an atmosphere (or rather, an atmosphere with enough pressure and warmth to support life), much less a gravitational pull, and would probably not even be spherical.
38	** Giant Clank and both of the Thug Leader mechas carry over the SquareCubeLaw issues already present in the first game (the proportions of the robots, with top heavy bodies and smaller, thin legs, would make it impossible for them to even take a step without falling over, for starters), but throw out any pretense of weight that the first game attempted by having them [[ImpossiblyGracefulGiant be far more nimble and maneuverable than something their size has any business moving]], to say nothing of the fact that it would be absolutely impossible for Giant Clank to jump as ludicrously high as he can, much less jump at all. Something of that much mass would weigh several hundred tons, and yet he jumps like gravity is reduced for him. The second Thug Leader mecha is a particularly egregious offender, as it's several stories high and is taller than it is wide and only somewhat proportioned to match, yet it not only stands and walks under its own power, it moves almost as nimbly as the far smaller Giant Clank.
39	** Ratchet walking around the outside of the Aranos Flying Lab. Due to the speed the thing's travelling combined with the very high atmosphere, he would have been blown clean off the thing in real life. The game at least acknowledges the very thin atmosphere of that height during the initial visit, as Ratchet wears an O2 mask whenever he steps outside, only to forgo using it at the end of the first level and on the lab's second visit.
40	* AsideGlance: When failing to catch The Thief on Notak, Clank wonders why he and Ratchet are always a bit late to catch up with the villain. The duo then briefly turn and glare at the camera for a moment before going back to talking with each other.
41	* AttackDrone: There are three versions of this.
42	** The first is the Miniturret Glove, which allows Ratchet to throw orbs that expand into turrets, which fire at enemies within range automatically.
43	** The second is the Synthenoids, which deploys four flanking robots that hover behind Ratchet, shooting lasers (and bombs when upgraded into the Kilinoids) at enemies that get too close.
44	** The final is the Tankbot Glove, an upgrade of the [[ActionBomb Spiderbot Glove]] which allows you to control a SpiderTank with two types of guns.
45	* AwesomeButImpractical: Most of the later weapons fall into this. They deal a respectable level of damage to their targets and come in handy during the toughest levels of the game, but they have a low ammo capacity even when upgraded, and the ammo costs a fair bit of cash.
46	** The Synthenoids and Shield Charger's ammo can't be replenished except at a vendor, making them quite expensive if overused.
47	** The Zodiac. It can [[SmartBomb insta-kill]] virtually anything that isn't a late boss battle, and takes out all enemies onscreen with just one shot. However, not only does it only have four ammo slots, but the price of each shot at a vendor is ''ten thousand'' bolts. It also takes about two whole seconds to shoot, and will fail to fire if Ratchet takes damage before it goes off. The only thing that keeps the Zodiac from being flat-out worthless is that like most weapons, you can get ammo drops for it from crates.
48	** The Hoverbomb Gun [[{{Pun}} hovers]] somewhere between this and DifficultButAwesome. It's obtained late in the game, costs more than the [[GameBreaker Shield Charger or Bouncer]], is slow, has only ten ammo, produces a bomb that can be controlled at distance but keeps Ratchet in place unless you cede control of the bomb, and unlike the [[ArrowCam Visibomb Gun]] you keep normal third-person vision, making DepthDeception an issue. However, it is ''very'' strong and its mines can fly indefinitely, so if you're good at estimating the mine's position, you can destroy enemies with it from a comfortable distance. It then upgrades into the Tetrabomb Gun, which produces ''five'' floating mines with one shot, and with the Mega upgrade, it deals more damage than the [[InfinityPlusOneSword R.Y.N.O. II]] per hit.
49	* BaaBomb: The Sheepinator upgrades into the Black Sheepinator. Now enemies turn into ''exploding'' sheep rather than regular sheep.
50	* BagOfSpilling:
51	** This is partially justified, as Abercrombie Fizzwidget teleported the duo to another galaxy on short notice. However, the Swingshot and Grindboots can be obtained at Clank's apartment, indicating Ratchet brought them along, which raises the question of why he couldn't bring his other weapons too. At least the vendor on Planet Barlow gives him a chance to buy some of the better weapons of the previous title.
52	** Averted with the O2 Mask and backpack upgrades (since they're ''Clank'', after all), which stay with Ratchet not only for this game, but the rest of the series.
53	* TheBattleDidntCount: The Thief gets pulverized by Ratchet on Siberius, but then simply [[VillainExitStageLeft hops onto their hoverboard]] when they're distracted by the experiment.
54	* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: The Y.E.T.I.s, genetically engineered snow beasts created to hunt down and destroy the Arctic Leviathans. They went out of control and now live in the frozen land.
55	* BonusStageCollectibles: On Tabora and Grelbin, the crystals and moonstones, respectively. At first, you have to collect a certain number of them to advance the plot, but after that, any extras you collect and bring to the Mystic will earn you bolts (and skill points for getting every last one).
56	* BoringButPractical:
57	** The Lancer. It's a fairly standard laser pistol, but it gets the job done for the first third of the game. The Gravity Bomb / Mini-Nuke is a similar situation.
58	** The Decoy Glove, returning from the first game, is not quite as useful as before due to its low durability, but unlike the other heavily nerfed returning weapons, it can still prove surprisingly useful in certain situations, most notably the second Swamp Monster fight on Oozla, and the Impossible Challenge on Joba.
59	* BossInMookClothing: The Arctic Leviathans on Grelbin take a [[DamageSpongeBoss huge amount of damage]], [[FlunkyBoss are often surrounded by Y.E.T.I. minions]], and [[ThatOneAttack can wipe out a Tesla Barrier in a single shot]]. You get a moonstone for your troubles, though, and they never respawn after being defeated.
60	* BrainBleach: Clank's response to seeing the Mathematician performing a CheekCopy in "Clank's Day at Insomniac".
61	-->''I need to [[{{Pun}} subtract]] this image from my memory banks.''
62	* BrickJoke:
63	** In an early cutscene the Thug Leader mentions a rendezvous and goes on to offhandedly mention a few other company events, like a picnic. Later on, the Thief calls the Leader to complain about the thugs being lazy, mentioning the picnic as one of the reasons.
64	** On Todano, you can attack some large rockets on display. They're all destroyed except for the last one, which blasts off into the sky. Later on in the level, it'll fly into a tough enemy, destroying it for you.
65	* BubblegloopSwamp: Megacorp Outlet, Planet Oozla. Even the outlet itself is slowly being taken over by the swamp's wildlife, such as the Mutant Swamp Beast, a cross between a giant snail and a four-armed lobster. The waters are deathtraps, and you have only two chances of escape before sinking to your doom. Bizarrely, enemies that jump out of the water can also be killed if knocked back into it.
66	* CardCarryingVillain: The Thugs-4-Less organization, the Bogon Galaxy's equivalent of MurderInc, is a very literal version of this; they are an entire organization of mercenary thugs for hire, and in spite of some virtues such as having company picnics for bonding exercises, they make no pretense about their sleazy profession. And one of their specials is even "Pay for six hits, and the seventh is free!"
67	* CensorBox: Towards the end, Angela lets out one swear... which is censored in gameplay with a black box, as well as in audio:
68	-->''All right... JUST WHAT THE [[SoundEffectBleep honk]] IS GOING ON?!''
69	* ChainLightning:
70	** The Plasma Coil fires an electric shot that will damage not only the enemy it hits, but will hurt enemies around them with electric tendrils that extend from the impact point. Its upgraded form, the Plasma Storm, ditches the need to impact enemies, and instead shoots a fast-moving ball of plasma that will extend tendrils to shock anyone it flies past.
71	** Certain other weapons can be customized with the Shock Mod, which provides minor extra damage in this fashion.
72	* ChargedAttack: The Megarocket Cannon (the upgraded form of the Minirocket Tube), can be charged to fire up to 4 rockets at once.
73	* CheekCopy: One of the pictures from Clank's Day at Insomniac has the Mathematician doing this.
74	* ChekhovsGunman:
75	** The pink robot with a crush on Clank later [[spoiler:breaks open a vent in the Aranos jail cell the duo is trapped in]]. Even later, [[spoiler:at the tail end of the game, she reveals Qwark's scheme to get back in the public's good graces]].
76	** The robotic Abercrombie Fizzwidget who gives guided tours on Todano [[spoiler:reappears on Boldan handing out Protopets, and ends up being used to frame Ratchet "for attempting to bump off Mr. Fizzwidget"]].
77	* CityOfCanals: The aptly named Canal City on Notak. The area's main focus is on an urban environment with rivers in between the buildings.
78	* CoolOldGuy:
79	** Abercrombie Fizzwidget, who acts as Ratchet's commanding officer during the mission and instructs him on where to go.
80	** The New Age Mystic might count as well.
81	* ContainerMaze: The warehouse on Smolg is filled with crates, some of which contain Smolgian Snappers.
82	* ConvectionShmonvection: The Joba arena is surrounded by lava, though the closest this game gets to this trope is Grelbin, where one underground passage leads into a cave and a facility very close to a large pit of lava. There are also the lava pits on Aranos' Flying Lab, some of which Ratchet can fly over.
83	* CouldntFindALighter: One of the pictures from Clank's Day at Insomniac has an MSR II (the flamethrower robot) lighting a cigarette for Dan Johnson.
84	* CounterAttack: Enemies such as the Smolgian Snappers and the Thug Henchmen launch attacks when they get hit.
85	* CrosshairAware: During the harder hoverbike races, crosshairs appear behind Ratchet's vehicle. If he doesn't throw them off, they'll lock on to his vehicle and he'll get blasted.
86	* CuteClumsyGirl: Angela has some aspects of this. [[spoiler:And it's even evident before her reveal.]]
87	* CutsceneIncompetence:
88	** On Boldan, Ratchet mows down countless numbers of heavily armed Thugs-4-Less mooks--and when he's cornered by the Thug Leader and two normal mooks to be falsely arrested for "attempting to bump off Mr. Fizzwidget" [[note]]Nevermind that the Fizzwidget they were about to attack is blatantly a robot, but it's really just a flimsy excuse for the Thugs to get Ratchet out of Megacorp's way[[/note]], they throw in the towel without even putting up a fight.
89	** Happens again [[spoiler:right at the end of the game, when Ratchet, Clank and Angela are held at gunpoint while Captain Qwark explains his comeback plan. The problem is, you're being held up by Megacorp Troopers, and not even the upgraded versions you've been fighting the whole level, the earlier forms from just beyond the game's halfway point. At this point, Ratchet, even on a minimalist playthrough, would probably have more than enough firepower to massacre them several times over.]]
90	* CurseCutShort: The Thug Leader when he's trying to be threatening. He interrupts himself, for some reason being [[CanNotSpitItOut incapable of getting it out there]], and has to settle for a LameComeback.
91	* CuttingTheKnot: Ratchet skips a CircularReasoning puzzle by just using a tool he already has.[[note]]The "puzzle" consists of using a wrench, currently encased in glass, to gain a rock which is also encased in glass, in order to break the glass containing the wrench. Since each requires the other, it's impossible without TakingAThirdOption, which Ratchet does.[[/note]]
92	* DamageSpongeBoss:
93	** The Thug mech boss on Snivelak is not particularly difficult, but the health bar on that thing is huge. Even the [=RYNO II=] takes upwards of 200 shots to take it down.
94	** [[{{Superboss}} Swamp Monster II]]. As the area has absolutely no ammo crates, it's entirely possible to run out of ammo fighting it if you don't have enough weapons.
95	* DebugRoom: The [[DevelopersRoom Insomniac Museum]] [[invoked]] contains two such areas, which were actually made for the [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 first game]] but were put in this area for you to play around with:
96	** One is a giant tower made out of "cube level" textures which was created to test Ratchet's general movement, like jump height and length and what slopes he can walk up.
97	** The other is a tall series of magnetic paths which were made to test the Magneboots in the original game. They work with the Gravity Boots in this game, allowing you to move on it much faster than you would've in the game prior.
98	* DenserAndWackier: The game has a much more comical and less oppressive tone to its story than the original game, and the dark elements are fewer and far in between.
99	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In Challenge Mode, you can buy the Mega forms of your weapons. Some of them already have Mega in the name, resulting in Ratchet owning a Mega Megarocket Cannon and a Mega Megaturret Glove.
100	* DevelopersRoom: The Insomniac Museum makes its debut here. In it, you can find loads of cut content and developmental assets used in the creation of this game and the previous one, as well as bits of commentary from the staff of Insomniac Games.
101	* DevelopersForesight:
102	** Similarly to the previous game, if you load your game on Tabora [[spoiler:after Mr. Fizzwidget "accidentally" destroys your ship but before the Mystic repairs it with [[InsistentTerminology illusions of Desert Crystals]], you get a camera shot of Tabora from space as the loading screen, instead of you flying your ship there.]]
103	** Did you find a way to glitch through the force field on [[spoiler:your second visit to]] Aranos with the intent of skipping the level? Unfortunately, the most you can do is head back to any previous levels you visited on the Star Map, because you still have to complete the objective to advance to the next level.
104	* DidntNeedThoseAnyway: Many enemies will lose armour as they take more damage, but it never affects their fighting abilities. On the other hand, robotic enemies like the Troopers can lose body parts, and this does produce some odd results.
105	* DiscOneFinalBoss: The Thief. Especially conspicuous, as the health and defense stats make this boss one of the easiest in the entire game to beat despite the build-up.
106	* DiscOneFinalDungeon: Planet Siberius, which is where the Thief is cornered and fought.
107	* DiscOneNuke:
108	** Played with in one case. While the [=RYNO II=] can be accessed as early as Barlow, barely a quarter into the game, it costs a million bolts, making it unlikely that the player will be able to afford it until after a huge chunk of the game has been played.
109	** The Blitz Gun, while somewhat pricey to acquire, is a surprisingly overpowered weapon for something that can be acquired as early as the second level, being able to kill most if not all enemies in one shot and only getting stronger once its upgraded to the Blitz Cannon. Best of all, it remains a consistently useful weapon throughout the game, even by the grueling later levels.
110	** [[MacrossMissileMassacre The Bouncer]]. First available on Tabora for a pretty hefty 100,000 bolts (the same as the [[GameBreaker RYNO]] in the first game, funnily enough), it counts as this because if you go out of your way to find all of the crystals on Tabora (and/or have been frugal with your bolts, too), you'll be set for the rest of the game. Basically, take a regular grenade launcher, have its projectile split into multiple bomblets that spread across a wide area, and you get [[InfinityPlusOneSword one of the best weapons in the entire game]].
111	** There's also a more literal example with the Star Explorer's [[SmartBomb Nuke]] upgrade, which can be acquired with a bit of Raritanium grinding in the Feltzin System. Getting it turns every single space mission into a cakewalk and makes it super easy to grind for bolts and Raritanium from then on, since it can kill every enemy except the huge Thug ships with a well placed shot, and do it all at once.
112	* DoubleCaper: At first, Ratchet is hired by Abercrombie Fizzwidget, CEO of Megacorp, to retrieve a mysterious experiment from a more mysterious thief who stole it. After successfully getting it and returning it to Fizzwidget, he starts trying to get rid of the duo. After that, [[WellIntentionedExtremist the thief]] reveals the reason why he [[spoiler:(or rather, ''[[SamusIsAGirl she]]'')]] stole it, and convinces Ratchet and Clank to try and get it back from Fizzwidget before the (very violent) experiment can be put on the market.
113	* DragonAscendant: In the first game, Captain Qwark served as Drek's second in command. In this game, however, [[spoiler:Qwark is the main antagonist]].
114	* DroughtLevelOfDoom: Grelbin's open snowscapes can act as this if you're really unlucky, as the ammo crates are few and far between. Fortunately, it's just part of an optional sidequest, and you can always just Charge Boot back to the start to buy more ammo or kill yourself to spawn there.
115	* DumbMuscle: The Thug Leader, and probably the Thugs in general. In a late-game cutscene, he taunts the heroes about never being able to find him... while standing in front of a computer monitor displaying ''the exact coordinates of his location''. Naturally this was lampshaded.
116	* DynamicDifficulty: Dying repeatedly tends to subtly make the game a bit easier, referred to as "act-tuning" [[https://youtu.be/28bpyrLOAmA?list=PLBE216F8E761D085C&t=705 by Insomniac]]. For normal levels, this usually entails replacing the normal enemy setups with easier ones, and adding more Nanotech crates. For bosses, this includes making them spawn less enemies and take more damage.
117	* EarlyBirdBoss: The B2 Brawler is optional, but fits this to a T if attempted at the earliest possible time.
118	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
119	** While this game does introduce the ability to increase your health, it comes in two forms; you can earn upgrades by defeating enemies, ''and'' you can find pickups that upgrade you by one then and there. The second method only appears in this game.
120	** Absolutely no-one questions the appearance of a second Lombax. From ''Tools of Destruction'' onwards Lombaxes are established to be ''incredibly'' rare, and Ratchet discovering Azimuth in ''A Crack in Time'' is a major plot point. In fact, Angela contradicts the lore so badly she's [[SequelNonEntity gone almost unmentioned since]], and a female Lombax seen in ''Rift Apart'' has a completely different design.
121	* EarnYourFun: [[invoked]][[WordOfGod According to an interview]], the devs left the [[GoodBadBugs First Person Wallclimb bug]] in the game with the intent of it being this, since it requires the permanent first person mode from the Extras menu, and ''that'' requires you to beat the game first.
122	* EnemyCivilWar: The Extermibots and Protopets in Allgon City will fight each other. Justified as much like the Extermibots in the last game, they were sent to defeat the Protopets but are also hostile toward Ratchet. This time it's explained that they can't tell him apart from the Protopets.
123	* EnemyScan: The Lock-On Mod available for certain weapons enables the player to target enemies, with a circular health bar around whoever is targeted.
124	* EternalEngine: The flying lab on Aranos is filled with machinery for no discernible purpose.
125	* EngineeredHeroics: [[spoiler:A key factor of Captain Qwark's plan; disgraced due to his actions in the first game, he puts in motion a plan to provide cute pets to the galaxy that are really vicious monsters, with him saving the day after the pets go on the rampage. It doesn't work out the way he hoped.]]
126	* EquipmentBasedProgression: Later weapons trump early ones on the first playthrough, rendering tools such as the Heavy Lancer and the Blitz Cannon effectively useless by the end of the game. The NewGamePlus levels the playing field with the Mega and Ultra upgrades.
127	* EruditeStoner: The New Age Mystic. He appears in both a desert world and an ice world, and in both cases is a trippy customer. He does have genuine powers, however; he fixes Ratchet's ship with nothing but some valueless crystals and a mystic chant, and easily moves a rock Ratchet couldn't even blast.
128	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Thug Leader is only referred to as that.
129	* EvilLaugh:
130	** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]], when Ratchet and Clank reach the Thugs-4-Less homeworld on Snivelak, and encounter the Thug leader laughing maniacally while standing atop a HumongousMecha:
131	--->'''Ratchet:''' What's so funny?\
132	'''Thug Leader:''' Er... Nothing, I guess.
133	** [[spoiler:Qwark (Fake Fizzwidget) does this before the final battle while boasting how he will attempt to become a genuine superhero after taking over Megacorp and unleashing the Protopet on the galaxy to clear himself of his humiliation in the previous game. Obviously, being the FakeUltimateHero he is, nobody is going to adore a joke of a hero turning villain and believe his ideas of trying to pull a HeelFaceTurn with such a bush-league plan.]]
134	* EvolvingWeapon: Introduced in this game as a two-tier system, in which you start off with a weapon that can absorb "nanomites" or experience points, and it upgrades after absorbing a set amount, repeating the process when the Mega upgrade is bought in the NewGamePlus. All the Megacorp weapons except for the RYNO II and Zodiac have this feature. The Gadgetron weapons don't get this at all, however.
135	* ExactWords: When Challenge Mode says you'll lose your bolt multiplier for taking damage, it really means it. Get eaten by a [[BorderPatrol Pool Shark]]? Fall into a bottomless pit? Sink into goop? Well, those don't deal ''damage'', they just kill you instantly, so you don't lose anything.
136	* ExcusePlot: Subverted. At the beginning of the game, the plot is set up very quickly and seems to just be a typical video game rescue mission, with the Thief's motive for stealing the Experiment and the Experiment's actual purpose not even being explained. It's only after defeating the Thief that the complexity of the situation is revealed.
137	* FailedASpotCheck: The reason the BigBad's plan failed in the end? [[spoiler:Qwark put the battery to the Helix-o-Morph in backwards.]]
138	* FalseFlagOperation: [[spoiler:Captain Qwark's entire scheme hinges on this. Being disgraced in the first game due to aiding Chairman Drek and on the lam due to the fallout of his Personal Hygenator scam, he hatches a surprisingly well thought out and executed plan to make his own comeback; hijack an entire corporation by kidnapping and impersonating its CEO, take Megacorp's unstable Protopet experiment and rush it out for release with full knowledge that its a dangerous and unstable creature, frame Ratchet and Clank for causing the disaster, and then [[EngineeredHeroics end the crisis himself by curing the original Protopet of its vicious nature with Angela's Helix-o-Morph gadget.]] The only reason the plan falls apart is because of a tiny misstep Qwark made--putting the batteries in backwards in the Helix-o-Morph, which turns the Protopet into an even ''more'' vicious creature that eats him alive.]]
139	* {{Fartillery}}: Possibly averted with the Horrible Sulphur Beast, a monster that was mentioned but never appeared in the game. Both the Mutant Muckdweller and Horrible Sulphur Beast expel a poisonous gas as their attack. The former spits it out from its mouth. The latter... Well, judging by the name, the beast probably expels the gas "out the back door"...
140	* FirstTown: Megapolis, Planet Endako.
141	* FloatingPlatforms: Naturally, these appear in levels like Smolg and Endako in various guises. There are variations such as the rotating platforms on Barlow and the vanishing ones on Aranos.
142	* FlunkyBoss: The Arachnoid deploys Nidbots during the cage match, and the FinalBoss summons enemies to attack you.
143	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
144	** As left-field as the big ending twist seems on a first playthrough, there's actually a lot leading up to it if you look back. [[spoiler:[[ShowWithinAShow The Behind the Hero]] segments, for example, which only served to remind the player that Qwark still exists. The fact that Mr. Fizzwidget quite clearly wants to get rid of you right from the start, (evident from as early as the end cutscene of the first level) plus, if you listen closely enough, you can kinda tell that his voice sounds like Qwark's. Admittedly, Jim Ward does do the voice for both of them, and the real Fizzwidget only sounds slightly more serious.]][[note]]The French version spills the beans immediately to anyone who played the first game: [[spoiler:Fake]] Fizzwidget sounds ''exactly'' like [[spoiler:Qwark]].[[/note]] And there's the "password" Mr. Fizzwidget gives for the Disposal Facility: [[spoiler:"Qwarktastic".]]
145	** An interesting example happens in the commercial for the Megacorp Armory for those who pay attention: the Fizzwidget in that commercial doesn't use any of the [[DelusionsOfEloquence made-up fancy-sounding words]] that the Fizzwidget you've spent the entire game with up to that point has. This is the first major hint that [[spoiler:the fancy-talking Fizzwidget is an impostor]].
146	** As the game progresses, we get a few hints that the Experiment #13/Protopet is not as helpless nor friendly as it looks. [[spoiler:Probably because that thing is a vicious killer!]]
147	* GameBreakingBug: Some copies of this game tend to have a black screen after the opening cutscene, and if you somehow get past it, you're then trapped in an loading screen that loops.
148	* GhostShip: The third mission on Planet Gorn has a battle with a destroyed fleet from the first mission. It transitions between transparent and normal, with all attacks passing through it as long as it's see-through.
149	* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The Mothership battle on Damosel's moon. You use Giant Clank to fight in a boss battle with a giant UFO that spawns UFO-headed robots, with no explanation, and it's [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment never mentioned again.]] You do get the Mapper for your trouble, though.
150	* GlobalCurrencyException: Slim Cognito takes two different currencies, neither of which are bolts: Platinum Bolts for weapon mods and Raritanium for starship upgrades.
151	* GravityScrew:
152	** The Jamming Array, the Dobbo moon, and the Damosel moon. Ratchet explores the first one only; Giant Clank is needed to navigate the last two.
153	** Once the Gravity Boots are acquired, this can be pulled in places such as the Joba arena during the cage matches.
154	* GrenadeSpam: Megapede's main attack will keep releasing bouncing and floaty bombs which have a second delay of detonation when they come into contact. Ratchet has to be on the move to avoid being hit.
155	* HadTheSillyThingInReverse: [[spoiler:Why the Helix-o-Morph backfires at first; Qwark had the batteries in backwards.]]
156	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Megacorp Troopers and Extermibots both have their torsos explode after sustaining enough damage. In the case of the latter, it doesn't stop their disembodied legs from trying to kick Ratchet to death.
157	* TheHeavy: [[spoiler:Captain Qwark. The game's entire conflict is directly set into motion by him--even the Protopet crisis was close to being averted by Angela Cross until Qwark intervened to use it as part of his plans. He also drives a lot of the plot directly by [[PlayingBothSides secretly playing everybody, good and bad, to his own advantage]] under the guise of Fizzwidget.]]
158	* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:Captain Qwark is the real villain of the game, and was pretending to be Fizzwidget.]]
159	* HitPoints: Represented by Nanotech once again. This time, you can earn more by grabbing certain pickups and killing enemies, capping out at 80.
160	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Captain Qwark's plan to pacify the Protopet and take credit for "saving" the galaxy from it backfires horribly when using the Helix-o-Morph causes it to become a giant monster and eat him.]]
161	* HomingProjectile: The Minirocket and its upgraded forms can twist around to follow a target if necessary; contrast with the [=RYNO II=], which can only fire in a straight line. The homing ability can be invoked directly with the Hoverbomb Gun and its Tetrabomb Gun upgrade, as the player can remotely control the bombs when fired.
162	* HostileTerraforming: Tabora was changed from a lush jungle planet to a desolate desert world "to better accommodate the local wildlife". The fact that it made navigating the planet's surface with mining equipment far easier [[BlatantLies was completely coincidental]].
163	* HoverTank: They are tough enemies that rapid-fire energy bullets.
164	* HyperspaceArsenal: To be expected. You even get a skill point for obtaining and upgrading all weapons except for the Clank Zapper, which means forking out for the Zodiac and the [=RYNO II=] among the 23 weapons you need to get.
165	* HypnoRay: The Hypnomatic allows Ratchet to control certain robots. It only works on one type, though.
166	* ImprobablePowerDiscrepancy: A furry giant like the Y.E.T.I. can take as much damage as a fully-armoured Robot Guard, and a bite from a Grulch can cause more damage than a plasma cannon shot.
167	* InCaseOfXBreakGlass: On Tabora, the duo finds a new wrench and a rock encased in glass next to each other. The wrench has a label stating "In case of emergency, break glass with wrench"; while the rock's states an complex logic puzzle that Clank is eager to solve before Ratchet breaks the glass and takes the wrench.
168	* InfinityPlusOneSword: Unusually, there are two of these on the first playthrough. On the second, the honour shifts to the Mega Mini-Nuke, an upgrade of the Mini-Nuke that costs as much as the Zodiac (1,500,000 bolts), but which earns its keep pretty quickly.
169	* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: The Qwark action figure comes off as this [[spoiler:if you haven't found the secret area on Todano where the fan boy lives]].
170	* ItemGet: Parodied with the Hypnomatic part on Damosel. Clank briefly imitates [[VideoGame/JakAndDaxter Daxter]] before apologizing to Ratchet.
171	* JokeWeapon:
172	** The Sheepinator. It's not much good for big enemies, at least [[LethalJokeItem until it upgrades to the Black Sheepinator]]...
173	** The Clank Zapper. It costs a million bolts and is the most useless weapon in the entire game. It just gives Clank the ability to lightly zap enemies behind Ratchet with a ''very'' slow firing attack that barely does any damage and takes forever to upgrade.
174	** This also applies to the returning weapons from the original game, the Bomb Glove, Tesla Claw, Walloper, Decoy Glove and Visibomb Gun. While somewhat useful in the early levels, they are outclassed by just about every other weapon in the game, and are practically useless in the later levels--even the once mighty Visibomb, despite its long range capabilities, deals very little damage per shot. The only one of them that remains remotely practical to use throughout the game is the Decoy Glove, but even its benefits are quickly negated by how easy it is for enemies to destroy it. It takes until Challenge Mode for these weapons to get beefed up to a higher standard.
175	* KarmaHoudini:
176	** [[spoiler:Considering Captain Qwark kidnapped and impersonated a corporate CEO and engineered a crisis that endangered the lives of ''billions'', getting a job as a Megacorp test subject afterward (albeit with some [[GroinAttack painful aspects to it]]) is basically a slap on the wrist in the grand scheme of things. Not to mention he still got away with ''six billion bolts'' worth of grand larceny and didn't have to face prison time for it again either.]]
177	** [[spoiler:Angela Cross's actions as the Thief make her this when you realize there was little incentive for her to indirectly murder the Megacorp employees on Oozla other than to [[RevengeByProxy spite her former employers,]] and she is never called out on it later.]]
178	** Megacorp, too. They basically rule the entire Bogon galaxy. Its products tend to malfunction, often explosively. It runs [[BreadAndCircuses gladiator tournaments]] on public television. They've [[HostileTerraforming hostile terraformed]] at least one planet so that it would be easier to mine it using slave labor. Are they the villains? No, they're the ones who ''hired'' Ratchet! Even once the dust settles and all the plot twists have resolved themselves, the company gets off [[KarmaHoudini scot free]] (unless you count all the bolts [[DestructiveSavior Ratchet]] [[RewardingVandalism must have cost them]]).
179	* KickTheDog: At the end of the game, [[spoiler:when Clank's girlfriend tries to reveal to Ratchet and co. that Captain Qwark was behind the entire Protopet fiasco, Qwark (disguised as Mr. Fizzwidget) cruelly and silently guns her down with a Lancer.]]
180	* KillerRabbit: The Gadgetron Hound of Cuddly Death was intended to be a cuddly companion before Gadgetron vanished. [[spoiler:The Protopet is Megacorp's version, looking like puffballs with feet and antennae, but being capable of omnicide]].
181	* LastDitchMove: Thug Henchmen are terrible at this. The instant one gets the death blow, they always fire a last shot before vanishing, and if you're standing too close, it can sometimes land. On the other hand, this can also be invoked to make them deal damage on their own side.
182	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: After helping The Plumber out again, he mentions that he'll see them again [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal next year]].
183	* LethalLavaLand: Planet Snivelak, home of the Thugs, is completely red. Every island is surrounded by a sea of lava, and the giant tower in the city-like fortress even looks vaguely volcano-like. The mech boss is also made of red metal alloy.
184	* LevelsTakeFlight:
185	** The Flying Lab, of Planet Aranos fame, is a giant ship that seems to be traversing the entire planet.
186	** Planet Smolg is a variation, as some of the level isn't actually flying, per se; portions of it are just on ''very'' tall platforms, so tall that falling off is treated like a pit. That said, there are several portions that are flying, and the Levitator, Jump Pads and grind rails are often deployed to get from point to point in the level.
187	* MagikarpPower:
188	** A very odd example, since it doesn't come around until a NewGamePlus. The Gravity Bomb is an okay crowd control weapon early on. Its upgraded form, the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mini-Nuke]] is great, but kinda loses out to other weapons later in the game. Then, in a NewGamePlus, you notice its Mega version costs a whopping 1,500,000 bolts, which is 500,000 more than the game's InfinityPlusOneSword, the RYNO II. There is a good reason for this: let's just say that, once you buy it, the 'mini' in its name deserves to be dropped. It has more than twice as much ammo (20 as opposed to 8) and one shots nearly everything in the game (including [[DemonicSpiders Y.E.T.Is]]). And this is before it upgrades to Ultra.
189	** The Lancer goes through a similar process, becoming increasingly useless as the game progresses, and only really earning its keep in the NewGamePlus when it receives an upgrade. Its final Ultra form finally brings it up to be nearly on par with the Blaster in the first game, which could take down most enemies in a single-digit number of shots, and grants it a generous 500-round ammo pool.
190	** The [[DeflectorShield Shield Charger]] is a traditional example. It is weak as a weapon and a pain to upgrade, as you have to [[ViolationOfCommonSense walk into enemies in order to damage them with it]]. This is not helped by the fact you can't get its ammo from crates. But stick with it, and you'll be treated to the Tesla Barrier, which has a larger ammo capacity, eventually tripling from 5 to 15 in its Ultra form, and will zap any enemies that come close to you with powerful electric arcs, practically rendering you invincible. The Ultra version ''tears through Y.E.T.I.s like butter.''
191	** The [[AttackDrone Synthenoid]] costs 65,000 bolts despite becoming available for purchase on the fairly early Notak, uses four ammo at once while only having only 12 ammo (which doesn't drop from ammo crates) to start with, doesn't last that long and is fairly weak in damage, though not awful overall. The Kilonoid upgrade, however, considerably ramps up its damage, duration, and ammo count.
192	** All of the returning ''Ratchet & Clank'' weapons count, as Challenge Mode introduces their Mega variants. Although still not quite as powerful as before, and unable to be upgraded beyond that, the weapons finally become viable options in combat.
193	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: [[spoiler:What happens if you put the batteries in the Helix-o-Morph backwards.]]
194	* {{Malaproper}}: Mr. Fizzwidget, quite frequently. [[spoiler:Though in a bit of FridgeBrilliance, as he's really Captain Qwark, he obviously [[DelusionsOfEloquence never knew what any of those words meant, he just wanted to sound smart]]. Note that, in what little we see of him, the REAL Fizzwidget never does this.]]
195	* MarathonBoss: The Thug Leader mecha battle on Snivelak is a [[DamageSpongeBoss huge sponge]], and most of your weapons do scratch damage. The turrets around the arena shoot fast, but still only whittle its health down a bit, and you're frequently forced to find other turrets when the mecha comes to break yours.
196	* MegaCorp: The company is the TropeNamer, which has a major competitor in Gadgetron (and another one in [=GrummelNet=]). How positively they're portrayed zigzags as the game progresses.
197	** Fizzwidget seems a decent enough guy at first, and the employees at the Megacorp Outlet largely meet their ends because the Thief's goons deactivated the perimeter defences, not because of the company's neglect. At best, their robots were made with good intentions but poor test control, suggesting incompetence rather than outright malice. And [[spoiler:despite the suspicious behaviour of Fizzwidget, they turn out to be {{Unwitting Pawn}}s to Qwark's insane plan]].
198	** On the other hand, they host at least two BloodSport tournaments, the Tabora video shows a corrupt past, they have no qualms about getting Thugs to terminate a prior contract in order to protect the [=CEO=], they have a [[NoOSHACompliance weapons factory surrounded by fields of tourist-eating mutant test-squirrels]], they made unstoppable snowbeasts that got out of control on Grelbin, and most of the game's enemies consist of vicious Megacorp products that are either outright lethal or malfunctioning in some way, showing them as both incompetent and immoral. Under [[spoiler:Fake Fizzwidget's]] management, [[ApocalypseHow they even bring about a serious disaster across the galaxy, albeit unintentionally]], but it's implied that they deployed the Extermibots to take care of the problem.
199	* MenuTimeLockout: This is the first R&C game to pause the action when using the Quick-Select, though it can be switched off.
200	* MercyMode: If you spend a certain amount of active playing time on a single planet, the amount of bolts you receive will temporarily be increased (called "bolt mining" by Insomniac). If you're stuck on the planet, this can let you buy something that might help get you past where you're at.
201	* MinigameZone: Joba has the second arena of the game, in addition to another set of Hoverbike races on a new track.
202	* MoneyMultiplier: [[NewGamePlus Challenge Mode]] introduces this. You start with no multiplier, but if you can kill enemies without taking damage yourself, you can increase your bolt multiplier from a humble x2 up to a massive x20. And you'll need that money if you plan on buying everything in the game.
203	* MonsterArena: There are two of these, consisting of the Galactic Gladiators and Megacorp Games. The first one is on Maktar Resort, Maktar Nebula; the second is on Planet Joba.
204	* MonsterProtectionRacket: [[spoiler:What Captain Qwark's EvilPlan boils down to combined with a FalseFlagOperation; hijack Megacorp and the Protopet project before its [[KillerRabbit vicious nature]] can be fixed, unleash millions of them on unsuspecting citizens across Bogon, frame Ratchet and Clank for causing the crisis, fix the crisis by using Angela's Helix-o-Morph, and gain instant fame and reward.]]
205	* MurderInc: The Thugs-4-Less organization. They aim to annihilate anyone on their employer's to-kill list.
206	* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: The second arena announcer refers to the titular duo as "Ratchet... and some metal guy." (Winning a battle: "Ratchet and the metal guy win the prize!") It's still a big step up from the first announcer, who always referred to Ratchet as "This... guy." ("This guy's on a rampage!")
207	* NearVillainVictory: [[spoiler:For all of his buffoonery, Captain Qwark's revenge scheme was nothing short of impressive in scope or execution, and he very nearly defeated Ratchet, Clank and Angela. The only reason his scheme fell apart was because he put the batteries in backwards in the Helix-o-Morph, mutating the original Protopet (instead of pacifying it and the rest of the Protopets as planned) and causing it to eat him, buying Angela time to find and free the real Mr. Fizzwidget and thus pull the rug out on his entire sham.]]
208	* {{Nerf}}: Compared to the weapons you have in this game, all of your OldSaveBonus weapons are very weak and cannot be upgraded. Even the Visibomb gun, which could take down any mook in the previous game, pales in comparison to the Megarocket Cannon. They do receive upgrades in the NewGamePlus, at least, which bring them up to speed for a while.
209	* NoAnimalsWereHarmed
210	-->''[[http://youtu.be/M3NNTayrvIs?t=33m50s No sheep were harmed in the making of this game. For the most part. The one that was had it coming.]]''
211	* NoCutsceneInventoryInertia:
212	** Even if you deliberately avoid using the Lancer for the entire game, Ratchet will still be seen using its upgrade, the Heavy Lancer, during certain cutscenes.
213	** Averted with Ratchet's armor and the skin cheats: Ratchet will always be shown with whatever he equipped to wear.
214	* NoOSHACompliance:
215	** There can be no explanation for ''lava'' inside a ''FLYING LABORATORY'' besides RuleOfCool. Also, the first time you visit the lab, there is a walkway that leads right outside the ship that's thousands of miles in the sky, completely exposed to an atmosphere so thin that Ratchet's O2 mask automatically equips on stepping outside, with only foot high excuses for railings.
216	** The Megacorp Weapon facility. Besides the fact that it's a guided tour around a lab that produces military-grade weaponry, there are dozens of mutant squirrels prowling around the public grounds. The introductory cutscene to it even notes how dangerous and stupid it is to let the public enter the labs (a robot guest even blows up from touching the tip of a giant missile and a balloon one of the guests gets [[MadeOfExplodium is inexplicably explosive]]), despite the cheery insistence Mr. Fizzwidget has about it.
217	** Cities like Megapolis on Endako feature walkways suspended over a [[BottomlessPit white void]] without any rails whatsoever. Makes the possible ShoutOut of Megapolis to [[Franchise/StarWars Coruscant]] all the funnier.
218	* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: Notably averted in two cases: the Tabora desert and the Grelbin tundra both have gigantic areas that are open for exploration, with no forced linear paths at all. However, beyond two optional (and notoriously long-winded) sidequests and a ton of enemies to fight, there's not much else to do in them.
219	* NukeEm: Ratchet's [[CoolShip Star Explorer]] can be equipped with a Nuclear Detonation Device for 60 pieces of [[GlobalCurrencyException Raritanium]]. This [[OneHitKO one-hit kills]] [[SmartBomb everyone on the screen]], with the sole exception of the Thugs-4-Less prison ships on Gorn.
220	* OldSaveBonus: All 5 of the weapons in the old Gadgetron shop on Barlow are free if you have a ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002'' save on your memory card.[[note]]It has to be a save where you have the Hologuise on it, which also applies if you replay the game on Challenge Mode.[[/note]]
221	* OneTimeDungeon:
222	** Planet Aranos cannot be revisited until after completing the main objective on Planet Boldan, and in both cases, it contains two areas that cannot be accessed once done.
223	** The Wupash Nebula also becomes untouchable once the main fight is over.
224	** The path on Tabora [[spoiler:where Ratchet and Clank fall after having their ship destroyed by Mr. Fizzwidget]] cannot be accessed later in the game, either.
225	* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Qwark using the Helix-o-Morph on the Protopet causes it to become giant and monstrous, setting the stage for the final boss fight.]]
226	* OptionalBoss:
227	** Chainblade, the B2 Brawler, the Arachnoid, and Megapede are all optional arena battles, the former two at the Maktar Resort arena and the latter two at the Joba arena.
228	** The Swamp Monster II in Oozla can be found by going up a wall near the end of the Megacorp Outlet route with the Gravity Boots, which you can't get until halfway through the game. Killing it gives you the Box Breaker.
229	* PainfullySlowProjectile: Some of the enemy shots are bewilderingly slow; the Thug Henchmen and the Megacorp Troopers are the most obvious examples. This mostly gets dropped later in the game. Unfortunately, this can also apply to your weapons, requiring you to frequently LeadTheTarget and causing problems during the fight against Megapede.
230	* PaperThinDisguise: [[spoiler:After his prison escape, Qwark continued selling Gadgetron products under the alias of "Steve [=McQwark=]". The only difference between him and Captain Qwark is a fake pink mustache.]]
231	* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling:
232	** The arena battles can be ideal places to get experience points in the first runthrough, given the huge hordes of enemies you can slaughter there, but it tapers off in Challenge Mode due to a combination of the enemy experience values still being set to base game numbers, as well as the experience [[AntiGrinding intentionally tapering off to prevent grinding]].
233	** The first time you visit a planet, you get a massive boost to any experience points your weapons gain. This can be abused by starting a new Challenge Mode and farming each location as you come to them, especially on Dobbo which has an oddly low number of continue points, letting you easily reset its enemies.
234	** Planet Grelbin has the Y.E.T.I.s, which frequently spawn in large groups that can be beaten down with your preferred weapons for a good amount of experience.
235	* PlayingBothSides: [[spoiler:Captain Qwark plays ''everybody'' for a sap to his own advantage as part of his grand comeback plan with the Protopet scheme, from all of Megacorp, the Thugs-4-Less organization, and even Ratchet & Clank themselves, under the guise of Mr. Fizzwidget. In the end, he didn't give two craps about who lived or died as long as he got to be the hero again.]]
236	* PlayerGuidedMissile:
237	** The Visibomb Gun returns from the first game, allowing you to shoot and control a missile to attack at range.
238	** The Hoverbomb can be remotely controlled and does devastating damage, but its main drawback is that the bombs aren't the quickest, and Ratchet can't move while controlling them.
239	* PlotIrrelevantVillain: Subverted. [[spoiler:The game makes frequent nods to Captain Qwark, who since the events of the first game has been on the lam after getting arrested for his Personal Hygenator scam and subsequently escaping prison. At first, these just seem like humorous callbacks to the first game, but these actually turn out to be foreshadowing that Captain Qwark is the real villain the whole time.]]
240	* PoliceAreUseless: While the Extermibots are much more powerful than the ones in the first game, they still tend to lose against the Protopets and are hostile toward you. Plus, in areas like the bank, they tend to unintentionally kill civilian robots with their weapons.
241	* PortTown: Canal City, Planet Notak, so named for the canal in the Promenade district. It also has a wharf, though none of the boats shown ever use it.
242	* PowerupLetdown:
243	** The Megarocket Cannon is a downplayed example of this. Both the base weapon and its upgrade are perfectly fine, but the Megarocket Cannon's main upgrade from the Minirocket Tube is the ability to hold down Circle to [[ChargedAttack charge it up]], letting you shoot multiple missiles at once. Considering the Minirocket Tube was already a fully-automatic rocket launcher and its fire rate was only increased upon upgrading, the charge function doesn't serve any real purpose when you can put out damage more efficiently by just firing rockets one-at-a-time.
244	** The Meteor Gun shoots a machine gun-styled volley of hot rocks that does more damage than the Lava Gun it replaces, and when given a [[CameraLockOn Lock-On]] Mod can chew through enemies very quickly. However, it loses the flamethrower-like stream of the Lava Gun, removing a very good situational weapon for quick "get-off-me" crowd control and leaving the player with nothing to cover that particular niche. Complaints about this were so prominent on Insomniac's forums that when the Lava Gun returned in ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal Up Your Arsenal]]'', its V5 upgrade was instead the Liquid Nitrogen Gun, which still has the stream ability, but now freezes enemies too.
245	** The Thug Leader trades in a more dynamic mecha suit in favour of a slower, more cumbersome model which is easier to beat, even when you take into account that Ratchet is on foot during the fight.
246	** The Shock and Acid weapon mods get this in Challenge Mode, as they're not given any damage boosts even if the weapon they're attached to is upgraded to Ultra or Mega level. They consequently deal so little damage that they're effectively irrelevant.
247	* PowerUpMagnet: The Armor Magnetizer lets you grab bolts from farther away.
248	* PoweredArmor: The Carbonox Armor technically qualifies, even tailored to be custom fit for a Lombax. While it doesn't do anything special, it reduces 90% of damage done to Ratchet inflicted by {{Mooks}}. The catch is that it is the most expensive armor in the game, with a price equal to that of the RYNO II. Not only that, but it won't appear until you reach Planet Grelbin. Needless to say, this ''will'' prove to be a lifesaver for Ratchet in the final levels as well as in the NewGamePlus.
249	* PunBasedTitle: On GoingCommando. Thankfully, Ratchet doesn't run around without underwear in this game (as far as we know) -- he actually becomes a commando.
250	* PsychoForHire: The Thug Leader, with an emphasis on the "hire" part, as [[spoiler:the Thugs quickly switch loyalties when offered "a lot of bolts" by Megacorp halfway through the game]]. The Leader doesn't take the business personally until Ratchet keeps thwarting him, and by the time Ratchet is heading for Boldan, he's practically declared it a personal vendetta.
251	* {{Pun}}: Allgon City on the Planet [[DamselInDistress Damosel]].
252	* ARareSentence: Ratchet cracks up when [[spoiler:Captain Qwark claims he's come to shine the "FLASHLIGHT OF JUSTICE" on the Bogon Galaxy]].
253	* RealMenWearPink: A RunningGag with Thugs-4-Less. They are vicious and ridiculously muscle-bound [[PsychoForHire Psychos For Hire]] who run their own [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels criminal biker gang]]. They also hold company picnics, adore fashion and cake, stop to pet kittens, consider feng shui SeriousBusiness and make sure anyone they imprison is provided with a personal fitness trainer and a life coach and gets to eat a species-appropriate diet, even offering vegetarian options for those that need them.
254	* RecurringBoss: The Thug Leader, most conspicuously in the mechs. You fight him at least three times during the game ([[spoiler:the Chopper on Endako, the first Mech fight on Dobbo, and the second Mech fight on Snivelak]]).
255	* RecursiveAmmo: The (Heavy) Bouncer shoots a large bomb that, when it explodes, releases a couple dozen bomblets that bounce around and blow everything up.
256	* RemixedLevel: Planet Aranos appears twice, the first time as the Thief's base, and the second time as the prison of Thugs-4-Less.
257	* RepeatedCueTardyResponse: After the Thief captures Clank and gives Ratchet a message with the robot restrained in the background:
258	-->'''The Thief:''' Return to your own galaxy immediately, or this will happen to you!\
259	''(The Thief pushes the red button. Nothing happens. Clank looks confused.)''\
260	'''The Thief:''' (inspecting the buttons again) ... Or... ''this'' will happen to you.\
261	''(The Thief pushes the green button. Clank is electrocuted)''\
262	'''The Thief:''' ''Farewell''.
263	* RoaringRampageOfRescue: Implied with the Thug fleet battle on planet Gorn.
264	-->'''Ratchet:''' It's payback time.
265	* {{Roboteching}}: The Seeker Gun/[=HK22=] Gun fires small missiles that float forward, then pause and dash towards an enemy once they get close enough.
266	* RockPaperScissors: Some of the Thugs-4-Less henchmen have {{idle animation}}s where they'll play the game with each other.
267	* RunningGag: The title is the first in the series with a double entendre, a streak that is only broken with ''Deadlocked'' and the 2016 remake of the first game.
268	* SamusIsAGirl: [[spoiler:The thief]].
269	* SegmentedSerpent: Megapede will send its segments down to fight you, one-by-one, as it takes more damage. The segments will grow legs and shoot with a mounted machine gun. After Ratchet has successfully depleted Megapede's health, the main body will split into three segments as a last ditch effort. The battle will end once Ratchet finishes off all the segments.
270	* SequenceBreaking:
271	** In general, the wrench wall-jump glitch (which can only be pulled off in the bonus "First Person Shooter" view in Challenge Mode) breaks the game wide open and makes it ridiculously easy to bypass entire chunks of the game.
272	** You can completely bypass the Glider and Hypnomatic parts of Grelbin by exploiting a glitch that briefly gives you a normal grounded state while on a slope, giving you quick access to Angela's home.
273	** By exploiting a clipping glitch, you can easily bypass the entire first half of Yeedil without the Hypnomatic.
274	* ShellBackpack: The Hypnotist encountered on Planet Damosel is a tortoise-like alien not seen elsewhere in the series, and somehow wears a shirt that doesn't cover his shell.
275	* ShiftingSandLand: The Tabora desert is not only themed like this, but contains a huge sprawling area just to hammer home that this is a desert. According to the video for the level, the planet used to be entirely rainforest before Megacorp came along and began mining.
276	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: The Blitz Gun/Cannon shoots in a huge range, deals respectable damage and is available very early in the game, making it a staple of most weapon setups.
277	* ShowWithinAShow: Many of the video screens, which take the place of the Infobots from the first game, show cutscenes that are advertisements for TV shows, such as ''Channel 64 News'' and ''The Galactic Gladiators''. The biggest example, however, is the ''Behind the Hero'' segments, which not only serve as the opening cutscene, but subsequently hosts an entire series on FallenHero Captain Qwark, of which episodes are seen during the game's course.
278	* ShoutOut:
279	** Megapolis is obviously patterned after Coruscant from the ''Star Wars'' prequels.
280	** One of the joke posters included as an extra is a parody of one of the posters for ''Film/ANewHope''.
281	** The map of Tabora is modeled after Music/JimiHendrix's head.
282	* SingingTelegram: Angela sends Ratchet a "Galactic Greeting" that plays cheerful circus-style music and releases helium balloons, in order to give him co-ordinates to her homeworld. At the end of the recorded message, she apologises for the balloon-o-gram, saying it was the only means of communication she could get off the planet.
283	* SingleBiomePlanet: Many of the planets consist of a single environment. There are two ice planets, two desert planets, a swamp planet (which is fittingly named Oozla) and so on.
284	* SlapOnTheWristNuke: The Mini-Nuke is only going to hurt foes or breakable objects.
285	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Two levels fit this theme. Planet Siberius is simply a frozen base, but Planet Grelbin has a much more prominent frozen-wasteland look to it, helped by the gigantic and explorable area near the mining facility. Unusually, there's no slippery ice in any of these levels unless you use the Thermanator in the factory next to Angela's home.
286	* SmartBomb:
287	** The Zodiac vaporizes every enemy onscreen and deals beefy damage to anyone it can't one-shot.
288	** In addition, every time your health increases, you get this effect.
289	** The Nuke you can buy for Ratchet's ship destroys every enemy you can see, with the sole exception of [[DamageSpongeBoss the most resistant enemy in the game]].
290	* SoLastSeason: You can get [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 the Walloper, Bomb Glove, Visibomb Gun, Tesla Claw and Decoy Glove]] from the Gadgetron vendor. They're pretty weak compared to what you get in this game, and need the Mega upgrades in Challenge Mode before they start earning their keep.
291	* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: Certain weapons just won't be useful anymore as you go further into the game. The Lancer will be completely worthless by the endgame, although it gets better if you buy the Mega version in Challenge Mode.
292	* SoWhatDoWeDoNow: The opening has Ratchet and Clank having suffered from this after the events of the first game. While there were plenty of events that the duo attended after Drek's defeat, eventually "things started to slow down a bit" and they mostly just hung around at home. Of course, since this is the opening cutscene to the game, it's not long before Ratchet and Clank are back in action.
293	* SpiderTank: When the Spiderbot Glove upgrades into the Tankbot Glove, the glove sends out a small, four-legged tank that comes equipped with a machine gun and a grenade launcher, as well as the ActionBomb ability of its base form.
294	* SplashDamage: Ratchet has a large amount of explosive weapons that deal damage in large areas, like the Gravity Bomb and Spiderbot Glove.
295	* SpringJump: This is the first game to introduce the triangular jump platforms, triangular green structures that give Ratchet a fixed boost jump in order to reach otherwise-unreachable places. A similar platform appear on the Jamming Array; unlike the others, these are blue, orange and black, and allow Ratchet to move while jumping instead of forcing him onto a path.
296	* SprintShoes: The Charge Boots are introduced in this game, activated by double-tapping the crouch button. When used, Ratchet activates a boost and dashes forward while hovering above the ground; the speed is initially very fast, but tapers off after a moment, making it most effective when used back-to-back. They're exceptionally useful in wide-open levels with safe ground, like Tabora, Todano, Damosel, and Grelbin but it's best to unequip them when surrounded by cliffs in case they accidentally go off.
297	* StationaryBoss: The Swamp Monster I, the first boss battle, sits in the goop on Oozla with just an eye and two tentacles popping out.
298	* SwampsAreEvil: Planet Oozla, which is a pretty grim-looking place for a first level. Megacorp employees get slaughtered by the native wildlife the instant the perimeter defences are down, and the level plays host to at least one tentacled horror.
299	* TakeYourTime: Despite the sense of urgency that occurs throughout the game's story (save the experiment as soon as possible, contact Fizzwidget as soon as possible, [[spoiler:rescue Angela as soon as possible, stop Megacorp as soon as possible]], etc.), you can make a full career out of planet-hopping without it impacting on the story's progression whatsoever.
300	* ThrowDownTheBomblet:
301	** The Bomb Glove, returning from the first game, once again allows you to chuck small bombs. While it's free on Barlow [[OldSaveBonus if you have a save file from that game]], it's rather weak before getting its Mega form.
302	** The Gravity Bomb and its upgrade, the Mini-Nuke, fit the same archetype as the Bomb Glove, being an explosive-launching device that you start with. Unlike the Bomb Glove, this is a more traditional GrenadeLauncher.
303	** The Bouncer is an extreme version of the trope: it launches one huge grenade, which then breaks into a number of smaller grenades, which, as the name indicates, bounce around for a few seconds while homing in on enemies. Comes in real handy when you need to do some crowd-clearing.
304	* TooAwesomeToUse: Synthenoids deal out a respectable amount of damage and become much more helpful when they upgrade to Kilonoids, but they have a low ammo count (12 in the base form, deployed 4 at a time), and its ammo ''has'' to be bought at vendors.
305	* TooDumbToLive: The Thugs-4-Less Leader chews out Ratchet and Clank live from his headquarters ''right in front of a screen detailing his exact location''. Brilliantly lampshaded by an incredulous Clank.
306	* TookALevelInCynic: Clank is far more suspicious and unwilling to help outside forces such as Fizzwidget and Angela, compared to his usual characterisation as TheStraightMan but a more idealistic foil to Ratchet.
307	* TookALevelInKindness: Ratchet is far less of a dick than he was in the first game. Combined with the above dynamic change to Clank, this leads to almost a SwappedRoles plot from the previous game, with Ratchet being the more proactive and trusting heroic sort while Clank is a KnightInSourArmor.
308	* TookAShortcut: The Mystic is found on both Tabora and Grelbin. Fly directly from one to the other, and he's still ahead of you, ready and waiting.
309	* {{Tuckerization}}: Planet Barlow is named after Insomniac employee Tom Barlow, as fellow employee Tony Garcia [[WordOfGod confirmed]] in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPfJx8y0wCg his and Mike Stout's developer commentary]].[[invoked]]
310	* TurnsRed: The B2 Brawler usually alternates between shooting its plasma cannons and using its spinning-leg attack. In the final part of its boss fight, however, it does both at the same time.
311	* UnblockableAttack: The Arctic Leviathans fire a powerful ice breath that destroys a Tesla Barrier with ease.
312	* TheUnfought: The BigBad is the only antagonist who never gets to fight the hero. [[spoiler:Ironically, he's fought in both the previous and the next game]].
313	* UnPaused: The frozen Gadgetron scientist. When broken free from his ice block he's still celebrating the success of his Thermanator (which froze him in the first place).
314	-->"It works! My invention works!"
315	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Planet Yeedil. It's just so dark compared with the other levels that even the entire planet itself is black on the ship's monitor. It also seems to be the biggest planet in the Bogon galaxy, and though no actual fighting occurs, Angela mentions "nasty" orbital defenses. If that wasn't enough, the level is full of troopers who are not only insanely powerful, but just keep coming as soon as their comrades are finished off.
316	* VideoGameFlight:
317	** The Glider, found on Tabora, allows you to glide from specific panels, but your speed sharply decreases the more altitude you have. Go past your maximum height, and you'll stall and spin out, careening towards the ground.
318	** The Levitator, which is bought on Joba, allows you to fly anywhere... but you can only take off from special pads, and your fuel decreases rapidly when you ascend.
319	* WakeUpCallBoss: The B2 Brawler will kick your ass if you don't know how to keep your distance from it and its spinning leg attack. Even though it's optional, most players will try to fight it anyway thanks to the Maktar Resort's advertising video deliberately challenging the player to try their luck against it and Chainblade.
320	* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:The Thief, Angela Cross turns out to be this. She was trying to keep an aggressive and deadly animal off of the market, and had to resort to hiring the Thugs and capturing the Protopet after she was fired.]]
321	* WhipSword: Chainblade, one of the two bosses of the Maktar Resort arena, ''dual-wields'' these. He frequently uses them to poke at your current location from the air.
322	----

Context VideoGame / RatchetAndClankGoingCommando