Sujet : Qwark and the Plumber in A4O *MAJOR STORY SPOILERS!*

I noticed two things in A4O that I found interesting… First off is Qwark, the guy is an idiot, and clearly has spelling and reading problems, but how about in Lombax? When Dr. Croid handed Qwark the buisness card Qwark read out Lombax with such clarity! And compare this to previous events such as getting the Vac-Us.

And you may think the plumber didnt give out some very useful advice.
(Something I cant remember) "…Advice on how to defeat Nevo?"
"Sorry, that kind of advice I cant give you" *wink*
*Ratchet looks confused*

Now you probably know what I am going to point out, they arent facing Nevo, they are going to be facing Mr. Dinkels.

Hah! I almost didn't notice that, but you're right really cool. And it is pretty funny that Qwark can read Lombax too… I didnt really think about that at the time

Oh the irony for Ratchet. He couldn't read his own species language in Tools of Destruction, yet other characters like Talwyn or Qwark could read it. Talwyn is understandable just because her father studied the Lombax technology before a devastating incident happened to him, and she continued to follow his footsteps. Qwark on the other hand is very questionable, as to where he learned how to speak Lombax, but can be ironically funny at the same time.

As for the Plumber's advice in A4O, it felt pretty rushed and confusing this time. Though perhaps that wink was to hint out Ratchet and the others that they will defeat something much greater than Nevo. That would have been my guess for that cutscene in particular.

And you may think the plumber didnt give out some very useful advice.
(Something I cant remember) "…Advice on how to defeat Nevo?"
"Sorry, that kind of advice I cant give you" *wink*
*Ratchet looks confused*

Now you probably know what I am going to point out, they arent facing Nevo, they are going to be facing Mr. Dinkels.

I never realised that either. Brilliant, but still, why didn't he give them advice on how to beat Mr Dinkles either?

Oh the irony for Ratchet. He couldn't read his own species language in Tools of Destruction, yet other characters like Talwyn or Qwark could read it. Talwyn is understandable just because her father studied the Lombax technology before a devastating incident happened to him, and she continued to follow his footsteps. Qwark on the other hand is very questionable, as to where he learned how to speak Lombax, but can be ironically funny at the same time.

He probably knows how to read the writing but not the spoken component. Keep in mind though that if the message in TOD is anything to go by, the Lombax language is essentially English written with mechanical symbols instead of Latin letters.

We don't know if Ratchet has learnt to read the Lombax symbols as well, as a lot of in-universe time has passed since ToD. And Qwark has probably learnt it after he became the president or at least after the happenings of ToD (due to the use of symbols in Polaris) since how could he have learnt it before he had been to Polaris?

anyone try translating the card?

anyone try translating the card?

I did. Qwark's thumb obscured some of the writing, but I was able to make it out. It simply says "Dr. Croid: Lombax Whisperer".


I've circled the X in Lombax because it was thought that there officially wasn't an X in the Lombax language. But now there is! And I discovered it! (Well actually, someone on TV Tropes discovered it, I just took a picture of it.)
Better let Skrunch know so he can edit the Lombax font!

(For those who can't see it in the picture that well, it's an upside-down P.)

Related to the Plumber scene:

To be fair, the Plumber never really give out hints on how to beat the "final boss" in the Future Saga games. Though I agree on his dialoge, it took me a while to figure out what he was talking about.

Related to the Qwark scene:

I didn't even known that it was written in Lombax till you guys pointed it out. Interesting.

can someone explain the plumbers adviice

can someone explain the plumbers adviice

Read Ratchetruler's post on the top of this page. It has the "advice"

I'd really like to know how the Plumber knows this stuff.

Also… does noone care about the new X?

i still dont get it explain it

New theory on Qwark's side:
Lombax text can be seen on several signs in Luminopolis, as well as some Agorian (I think?) text. It could be that they became official writing systems of the Polaris galaxy, a bit like how the UN has multiple official languages. Since Luminopolis is essentially the capital city of the galaxy, and Qwark is the president of said galaxy, learning to at least read Lombax (and possibly Agorian) seems far from optional for him.

Though the choice of Lombax as an official language is questionable, as its native speakers haven't been in their dimension for yonks…