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Template:Dialogue2 The Zoni were mystical ghost-like beings of energy, who had the ability to manipulate time and space to their will using bio-energy. They were neither robotic nor biological, but pure energy requiring metal suits to survive in other dimensions. The Zoni were a hive-minded race, making them much more powerful when in groups.[1] They helped Ratchet and Clank in Tools of Destruction on their journey for the fabled Lombax Secret. For most of the time, they were only visible to Clank, giving him visions of the present or future as well as the ability to slow down time. They also upgraded him with new gadgets: the Robo-Wings and Geo-Laser. At the end of their adventure, visible to everyone, they took Clank with them to fulfill his destiny. They then played a central role in A Crack in Time, where their purpose was revealed.

In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, there were three Zoni were shown to assist in the maintenance of The Great Clock. When Doctor Nefarious tried to access the Orvus Chamber, he betrayed these Zoni and unleashed the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler, which chased them out of the room. Their numbers were originally at 117,000; but, realizing they were betrayed, most of them had left the Great Clock to suppress Doctor Nefarius' plan to access the Orvus Chamber. Ratchet was able to find 40 of the scattered Zoni and returned them to the Great Clock at the end. It could use them in upgrading Aphelion with new parts to her.

Overview

Appearance

Contrary to popular belief, The Zoni were not mechanical nor biological, but rather pure energy. They did not appear in their pure form in Ratchet and Clank's dimension, instead appearing in their metallic casing. Most lacked visible mouths, other than Orvus, due to him being the keeper of time and leader of the Zoni himself.

The Zoni were not native to Ratchet and Clank's dimension, but rather to their own; the Zoni Dimension. The Zoni were also a hive minded race, meaning they operated in groups to think, although it is odd, possibly Orvus didn't seem to need it as he created the Great Clock to keep time balanced across the universe. If a Zoni became separated, then that Zoni become delirious and roamed around mumbling things such as "Zoni" "Wee" or "Weehoo!."

Abilities

Friendly little creatures they are. Can manipulate time and space to their will!

Angstrom Darkwater, writing in his personal journal, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty

Their bio-energy was the most powerful resource in the entire Omniverse.[2]

The Zoni were very intelligent and extremely powerful, able to phase here and there at will as well as being able to meet friends in need or ambush foes out of nowhere. Zoni could fix things, energize objects, lift allies slow down or freeze time, and blast foes with their powers. They could make themselves invisible and non-existant to those who they did not want to be seen by, could also give visions of the future to whomever they wished, and could gift people with the ability to travel through time.

However, despite seemingly being all powerful, the Zoni did possess one weakness: they were greatly affected by sonic weaponry, as they were powerless against Nefarious' Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler, and many of them were possibly killed by it during Nefarious's attack on the Great Clock. Even the Zoni leader, Orvus, may have been killed by the blast of the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler; however, it is also possible he escaped back to the Zoni Dimension. During Dr. Nefarious's attack on the Great Clock, the Zoni never seemed to phase out but always ran away. It's possible that Zoni couldn't phase in and out when near sonic weapons, but still had enough power to run away. Additionally, the Zoni could be captured inside a special capsule called a "Zoni vessel", which they would be unable to escape from, Nefarious used his own special Zoni vessel to keep Orvus captive.

Inventions

Due to their great intelligence, the Zoni created some powerful inventions. They were able to instantaneously create and upgrade Clank with both the Robo-Wings and Geo-Laser devices. The brightest Zoni, Orvus, was able to create the Great Clock in the centre of the universe - the clock was able to keep the space-time continum in balance, and if used in an attempt to rewind time, could destroy all of time and space. The Zoni were also the creators of the first Zoni vessel, a device which generated the most Zoni bio-energy the universe had ever seen. Zoni also created the Chronoscepter and the Time Bombs. The Zoni Blaster was created based on the Time Bombs.

Related species

Zorthan's species were another known race of beings made of pure energy who utilized metallic casing. However, Zorthan's species were far inferior to the Zoni in power and intelligence.

History

Eons ago, the Zoni entrusted the Fongoids with the ability to travel through time. But the Fongoids, who had abused, misused, and overused this privilege, caused time paradoxes that ultimately resulted in a small rip in the space-time continuum which eventually resulted in the destruction of 83 celestial entities. Luckily, Orvus, the most intellegint Zoni in existence (and presumably their leader), constructed The Great Clock at the center of the universe (give or take 5$1 ft) to repair the damage and maintain the temporal normality of the universe. In A Crack in Time, the Zoni were scattered around the Polaris Galaxy due to Dr. Nefarious' meddling, and Ratchet had to rescue them in order to find Clank. When Ratchet found Clank, the Zoni appeared to have returned to the Great Clock,[3] and repaired most of the damage caused by Dr. Nefarious and Alister Azimuth's attempt at time travel.

According to Fongoid lore, the Zoni were the guardians of time. They, along with Orvus, were seen as some sort of religious icon due to the way the Fongoids erected temples and statues based on them. Also, the Fongoids were known to use phrases such as "Praise Orvus!."

Notable Zoni

OrvusChronoscepter

Orvus holding the Chronoscepter

  • Orvus - Creator of the Great Clock, and presumably the leader of the Zoni. He was captured and possibly killed by Nefarious, though his final fate is unknown.
  • Clank - The son of Orvus, who possessed a purely robotic body created on Quartu.

In-game information

Collectibles

File:Space Zoni.jpg

Ratchet finding a Zoni on a moon

Vapedia zoni

Ratchet collecting a Zoni with his Wrench on Planet Vapedia

In Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Ratchet would need to find as many Zoni as he could on each planet to lead him to Clank. Finding the Zoni was very similar to finding gold bolts. The more Zoni Ratchet found, the better he could upgrade his ship and weapons.[4]

Finding Zoni

Ratchet after finding a Zoni in space

There were 40 Zoni in A Crack in Time that Ratchet needed to collect using a special capsule. Zoni were found a lot on spherical worlds. When he collected all 40 Zoni, Ratchet is challenged to defeat Lord Vorselon. When Ratchet defeated the Vorselon, the player was given access to the Insomniac Moon. The collectible Zoni were placed in a Zoni Vessel.[5] When Zoni were found, Ratchet gainedNanotech experience. There were 40 Zoni among the 5 space sectors in the Breegus System.[6] The Zoni could be collected by grabbing one in mid-air via Ratchet's wrench. The collected Zoni also helped Ratchet live through another crash of his ship. Clank appeared to be angry about Ratchet collecting the Zoni. Ratchet told Clank that he'd put them back[7] and was true to his word, as the Zoni appeared at the end of the game.

Skin

File:Zoniskin.png

The Zoni skin in Secret Agent Clank

Zoni was an unlockable skin in Secret Agent Clank. The cheat to unlock the Zoni skin is:

Left, Left, Right, Up, Down, Down, X

Enter the cheat at the pause menu.

Crossover appearances

PlayStation Move Heroes

The Zoni appear in PlayStation Move Heroes as Clank's special move, they hover above his head and shoot at enemies to aid him.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

A Zoni appears as a downloadable Minion for Ratchet and Clank in the game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

Trivia

  • It seems they got bigger in A Crack in Time; because if you use the Razor Claws glitch in the caves of Fastoon in Tools of Destruction, you can see that they are about the size of Ratchet's foot. In A Crack in Time, they are about half the size of Ratchet himself. Their appearance may be altered to be seen easier as they were too small in Tools of Destruction.
  • When you play as Clank and fall to death, the Zoni will still follow him, at Fastoon, IRIS and Reepor. This also happens with the Plasma Stalkers.
  • When an enemy attacks a Zoni, it will lie on the ground and stand up after a few seconds.
  • When Clank slows down the time while Zoni are following him, the Zoni will be affected by time, although Orvus is not affected by Time Bombs.
  • Zoni could be a pun of the word Sony, the company which publishes the Ratchet & Clank games.

Appearances

Non-canon
  • PlayStation Move Heroes
  • PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
  • Crazy Ride

Notes and references

See also

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