Clank (Ratchet & Clank)

Clank
Series	Ratchet & Clank
First game	Ratchet & Clank (2002)
Voiced by (English)	David Kaye
Voiced by (Japanese)	Tōru Ōkawa

Clank is one of the titular protagonist game characters in the Ratchet & Clank video game series by Insomniac Games.

Character design

Co-protagonist of the series, Clank escaped from Chairman Drek's robot plant on planet Quartu—and subsequent arrival on planet Veldin—catalyzes Ratchet's adventure. Clank also has many attachments including a helipack, thrusterpack, and hydropack. He also can turn into a giant form to fight much larger enemies. He was mostly used as a character for tight spaces or areas in outer space. Throughout the series he seems to have kept a trademark laugh, which is shared by his "father", Orvus.

Clank spawned from an early idea involving a number of small robots attached to Ratchet, which would perform different functions.^[1] However, Insomniac realized that having the three robots was both complicated and created confusion about Ratchet's appearance, leading them to have only one robot, Clank. However in later games the smaller robots appeared in sections you could control Clank and they had various functions such as attacking and activating doors.^[1] It has also been shown on PlayStation Move Heroes that he has a slight rivalry with Bentley due to them having almost equal intelligence.

In video games

Reception

Douglass C. Perry of IGN described David Kaye's vocal performance as Clank in the original game as "quite engaging, and in some cases, charming, especially when he finishes a level or gains a weapon."^[2] Gavin Frankle of Allgame found it hard to form an emotional bond with Ratchet or Clank, saying that Clank is "the stereotypical intellectual; stuffy and almost prudish to a fault".^[3] Benjamin Turner of GameSpy, after criticizing Ratchet, cited that Clank was "the complete opposite" of Ratchet and wished that the game was named after him instead of Ratchet.^[4] Johnny Liu of Game Revolution compared Clank to GIR of Invader Zim and C-3PO of the Star Wars franchise, and analyzed him as "the straight man to Ratchet's jokes, offering clueless intellectualism to contrast Ratchet's acid-tongue humor."^[5] Clank's "awkward robot laugh" was described by Carlos McElfish of GameZone as "impossibly cute".^[6] Jeremy Dunham of IGN said that Clank's "dry sidekick humor is in great contrast to Jak's own sidekick Daxter".^[7]

GamesRadar listed Clank on their list of "The 25 best new characters of the decade", describing him as a "quiet, collected and effortlessly charming robot with cool powers and cooler personality".^[8] Clank was named the 5th "Best Sidekick" by IGN, calling him "a true pal, and an obviously cool sidekick.".^[9] UGO.com listed Clank on their list of "The Cutest Video Game Characters" stating "Everyone wants a tiny robot to follow them around and do stuff for them".^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Talon, Durwin S. (2004). "David Guertin on Comics & Video Games". Comics Above Ground: How Sequential Art Affects Mainstream Media. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 80–82. ISBN 1-893905-31-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=WHtNyhQ1-WAC&printsec=frontcover. Retrieved July 21, 2009. 
2. ^ Douglass C. Perry (2002-11-04). "IGN: Ratchet & Clank Review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/376/376261p4.html. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "The voice acting is solid, if not familiar, too. While Ratchet strives for that perfect dude-like teenager vibe, the voice actor generally hits the mark. Clank is also quite engaging, and in some cases, charming, especially when he finishes a level or gains a weapon. Many of the supporting characters offer the same kind of commercial quality voices found in Jak and Daxter, and some of the times they're quite funny. Other times they just sound commercial. The quirkier ones are best (such as the weird athletic woman at the end of the stunt course), but few stand above the standard and obvious stereotypes." 
3. ^ Frankle, Gavin. "Ratchet & Clank". Allgame. Macrovision Corporation. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=38850&tab=review. Retrieved June 25, 2009. 
4. ^ Benjamin Turner (2002-11-13). "GameSpy.com - Review". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/november02/ratchetandclankps2/index2.shtml. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "First, Ratchet sucks. Based on design alone, Ratchet is not a very interesting lead character. However, he's even worse when you start to see his personality come out in the cut-scenes. He's rude, immature, and has a decided lack of the moral fiber needed to be a hero. Clank is the complete opposite, and after a bit I began wishing the game was called Clank & Ratchet. Or Clank & Some Other Character Altogether (Who's Also Not Blinx)." 
5. ^ Johnny Liu (2002-11-01). "Ratchet & Clank review for the PS2". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/ps2/ratchet-amp-clank. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "Ratchet starts out with a blue-collar attitude, but he's mostly there for deft observations and cutting remarks. I appreciate how he hasn't been pigeonholed as the typical goody-goody, but he's not very fleshed out. Clank is somewhere between Gir of Invader Zim in form and chatty C3PO in function. He's the straight man to Ratchet's jokes, offering clueless intellectualism to contrast Ratchet's pissy humor." 
6. ^ Carlos McElfish (2003-11-21). "Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r22001.htm. Retrieved 21 July 2009. "The many instances of dialogue are excellently voiced, all the trademark inflections and quips that the original game established are successfully carried over to Going Commando, including Clank’s impossibly cute, awkward robot laugh. Ratchet sports an entirely new voice, forcing a psychological reset in the minds of players (He is no longer the laughably confident, smart-alecky hot-shot he was in the original game). Thank God." 
7. ^ Jeremy Dunham (2004-10-28). "IGN: Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal Review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/561/561352p4.html. Retrieved 22 July 2009. "Captain Quark in particular is pretty hysterical, with the Bill Clinton-esque Galactic President one of the more endearing characters. Clank's dry sidekick humor is in great contrast to Jak's own sidekick Daxter (for those of you that play both games), while Ratchet's "Why me?" delivery is spot on." 
8. ^ "The 25 best new characters of the decade". GamesRadar. Dec 29, 2009. http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-25-best-new-characters-of-the-decade/a-20091221171910974007/p-2. 
9. ^ IGN Staff (March 28, 2006). [ps2.ign.com/articles/698/698916p1.html "Top 10 Tuesday: Best Sidekicks - PS2 Feature at IGN"]. IGN. ps2.ign.com/articles/698/698916p1.html. Retrieved 2010-11-29. 
10. ^ Chris Littler (October 12, 2010). "The Cutest Video Game Characters - UGO.com". UGO.com. http://www.ugo.com/games/the-50-cutest-video-game-characters. Retrieved 2011-03-22.