I think there is nothing wrong to say that the story which presented in the Future Saga, in Tools of Destruction, related to Polaris and the Lombaxes especifically was generic and kinda blend for the most part.
Things like the the idealization and treatment of the Lombaxes as heroes devoid of nuance or plot conveniences like the fact that Alister, alone, had the full authority to give Tachyon the full acess to Lombax without any impediment from others members of the Council really give the narrative this feeling. Especially considering that everyone, except Azimuth himself, were wary about about the Cragmite and still no one did a damn to thing to try discover or stop any schemes that he might been doing.
Personally, one things that annoys the most are the treatment that was given to the Cragmites themselves, which were always treated like shallow monstrous conquerors, lacking any story or well-developed motivations. I always thought that the Cragmites always had a great potential of being the great final antagonists of the Ratchet and Clank franchise, given that they were the arch-nemesis of the Lombaxes and have a strong contrast to them, being a militaristic race. But, seeing the path that franchise has been taking, It seems highly unlikely that they will return in a future game, at least not immediately.
Look, it's not like I want to Ratchet and Clank to have a story and lore of the same level of Bioshock or something. I just wish the narrative had been presented in a more interesting and entertaining way, especially considering that the goal of the Future Saga was to deliver a deeper storyâparticularly when compared to the more cartoonish tone of the PS2 saga.
So, for that reason, I have a retcon proposal for the franchise's future game.
My idea is this: to reveal that the Lombaxes were actually the creators of the Cragmite species and the true culprits behind the Great War in Polaris.
My proposal is that, long before the Great War, Repoorâbeing a remote and isolated planetâwas used and maintained by a faction of the Lombax Council as a secret testing ground for research and experiments that were kept hidden even from much of Fastoon's leadership. There, one of the projects they carried out involved modifying and altering the biology of one of the planet's life forms to create an army of self-replicating monsters, intended for use as a weapon if necessary.
From this research, the Cragmites were born. Originally nothing more than a type of insectoid or larval creature native to Reepor's ecosystem, they were molded into the conquest-hungry beasts we know todayâpossessing the ability to spawn Cragpoles upon death, a direct result of the project's goal to create a resilient and inexpensive-to-produce force.
However, the Cragmites proved too voracious and autonomous to control. They rebelled, breaking free from their containment and conquering all of Reeporâwhich would serve as an anchor for the species to spread throughout the Polaris galaxyâlater igniting the conflict that would become known as the Great War.
The official Ratchet & Clank wiki describes the Cragmites as an empire that "traveled from galaxy to galaxy, conquering them, draining their resources, and then moving on to the next." However, this doesn't make much sense considering that the Cragmites are depicted as being native to Polarisâspecifically, to Reepor.
So what? They left their home planet and galaxy, conquered a bunch of random star systems, only to then return to seize their native territory? That is where the basis for my retcon originates, because this narrative wouldn't be a plot inconsistency, but rather propaganda and a narrative crafted by the Council faction that backed the Cragmite project.
They created this story to dehumanize the Cragmites and prevent the populations of Polaris (including the rest of the Lombax population) from questioning their origins as a species. The Ranger Rumble game itself introduced Widget, a Lombax journalist who played a pivotal role in uniting the Allied Polaris forces against the Great Cragmite Empire.
All of this also serves to explain why the Council adopted Tachyon after finding him on the Kreeli Comet following his species' banishment. It wasn't out of pity or anything of the sort, but rather to recover the project's sole survivor in order to create a new generation of Cragmitesâmore powerful, controlled, and loyalâusing Percival himself as the foundation.
This faction of the Council was also the reason why no one did anything to stop Azimuth from handing over his species' technology to Tachyon, and why there was no attempt to stop the Cragmite himself. Itâs because they counted on the attack against Fastoon taking place.
I imagine they developed a desire to relocate the Lombax species to another dimensionâespecially considering the existence of the outpost on the planet Savali in Rivet's dimension, which indicates that the Lombaxes had begun researching and exploring other universes some time ago. However, what was missing was a reason to convince the Lombaxes to abandon Fastoon and relocate to another realityâsomething Tachyon handed them on a silver platter when he made his proposal to the Council with clearly dubious intentions.
So, they allowed Alister to hand over his species' technology to Tachyon and let the Cragmite orchestrate their genocide without interferenceâall to ensure the exodus took place under the guise of an escape route. They even commissioned the mapping of the dimensions under that pretext, concealing the true conspiracy.
To be clear: Tachyon, Alister, and Kaden never knew about this plot. As I mentioned earlier, the whole thing was orchestrated by a partâa factionâof the Council, not the Council as a whole. When Kaden commissioned the mapping project from Mags, it was with the genuine intention of saving his race. Tachyon never discovered the true reason behind his adoption, and his motives for revenge remain the same as those presented in the canon. As for Alister, he handed over the technology on his own initiative; he was never manipulated or anything of the sort.
Tachyon's plan and Alister's naivety were merely two coincidences that aided the faction in its endeavor. They never planned those events themselves.
Now we get to what really matters. The goal of this retcon, beyond dismantling the image of the Lombaxes as infallible heroes, is to create a conflict for the narrative of the next game of the franchise; which most probably will involve the Lombax dimension and also bring back the Cragmites as a bonus.
My idea is that this entire plot was somehow revealed to the public, triggering an extremely violent civil war within the dimension. In an effort to regain control and crush the rebellion, the Lombax faction decided to turn to their most powerful weapon: the new generation of Cragmites created from Tachyon.
Using the beasts, they were able to suppress the rebels and impose total martial law, with Cragmites openly patrolling the streets under their masters' command. Now, the remnants of the revolutionary army remain in hiding, operating as a covert guerrilla resistance, unable to face the Cragmite hordes head-on.
The game's story revolved around Ratchet, Clank, Rivet, and Kit arriving in the dimension and confronting the reality of a place that was not only living through the aftermath of total war but also remained under the authoritarian rule of an oppressive governmentâone that employed their race's greatest enemies as enforcers. Now, they had to face the reality that much of what they had heard about their own species was nothing more than a lie and a fabricated story.
This is basically my idea and proposal for the story of the franchise's next game, along with a retcon that ties everything together. This was an insanely long post, and honestly, I feel a bit embarrassed about it. However, I think itâs an interesting idea worth sharing, which is why I decided to go through with it.
So, what do you guys think?
