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Series: Studio Series Gamer Edition
Year: 2024
Allegiance: Autobot
Class: Voyager
Prelude: The early 2010s were a weird time for Transformers. Everything was supposed to fit into the so-called Aligned continuity, even if it clearly didn’t. All robots had that slightly Movie-like look due to the success of the live-action films. And a pair of video games from High Moon Studios set the bar for Transformers games so ridiculously high, it might never be reached again. Now the Gamer Edition brings back the characters from those games, including those who never got a Generations toy the first time around. Enter Ratchet, the doc with the huge, menacing-looking healing gun for an arm. Let’s say go!
Robot Mode: Ratchet is a Voyager-sized robot, though on the small side of the class, and definitely captures the look of the character from the War for Cybertron video game very well. He clearly has the classic Ratchet look, but with enough extra bulk, shiny veins, and kibble to mirror his appearance in the game quite well. His head, too, is the classic Ratchet head, but with a certain Movie-style influence that was pretty prevalent during the early 2010s. So look-wise he is pretty much exactly as advertised, a toy version of the video game character. Thumbs up for that.
Ratchet is also a very nicely articulated figure. His feet look a bit weird, but they provide a stable platform, including a poseable toe, and the figure can move pretty much freely. The only limitation are those shoulder pads he has, which are connected to his neck via ball-jointed extensions. He can still move his arms freely, but if he raises them above shoulder level you have to move the shoulder pads out of the way and it looks weird. No other limitations, though. He does carry a bit of a rucksack, but it doesn’t hinder him.
Now one of my biggest complaints about the previous Gamer Edition figures was the weapons they came with. In the games the characters transformed their arms into whatever weapon they were currently using, so the figures replicated that by making the arms detachable and giving you the option of replacing them with weapons. In most cases, though, the weapons were way out of proportion with the forearms they replaced and either looked ridiculously small (see Barricade) or way oversized (see Optimus Prime). Also, none of them had handles, so you never had the option of putting the weapons into the characters hands instead.
Ratchet is a breath of fresh air here for several reasons. While he, too, features the removable forearm, the weapon he replaces it with (actually an “Energon Repair Ray”) looks well-proportioned and also features a 5mm handle, so you can put it into his fist, too, if you want. Additionally, the removed forearm can be hidden away inside Ratchet’s rucksack instead of being plugged into his butt. Very nicely done. Ratchet’s second weapon is a truly humongous battle axe (micro surgery on Titans, maybe?). The axe’s shaft can be removed in order to slide it through Ratchet’s fist hole despite the big end piece. Very nicely done. Both weapons can be stored on Ratchet’s back, too, though they hang pretty low and sadly, the gun does not fit inside the rucksack like the arm does.
So bottom line for the robot mode: pretty great! A cool robot with no real flaws, a near-perfect capture of the video game character it is based on, and good weapons for a change, too. What more do you want?
Alternate Mode: Ratchet transforms into a Cybertronian emergency vehicle that looks somewhat similar to the vehicle mode of War for Cybertron Bumblebee, just a bit more angular. The transformation is surprisingly complex, as the figure is mostly a shell-former and roughly half of the vehicle shell unfolds from the robot’s legs. It works very nicely, though, but don’t except to transform him in five seconds flat.
The vehicle looks pretty solid and there are no visible robot bits, not even from underneath. Both the arm gun and the battle axe can be attached to the vehicle, too. The gun goes on the back, the axe onto the roof, where it looks like a giant gun barrel. So bottom line: a pretty good vehicle mode, looking sufficiently science-fiction-y and with a nice, complex transformation, too.
Remarks: Many people still consider War for Cybertron and its successor Fall of Cybertron to be the best Transformers video games ever made. Despite being over a decade old at this point, they are still remembered fondly and the Studio Series Gamer Edition is bringing the figures from the game back in toy form, some of them for the very first time. There was never an (official) WFC Ratchet figure before, so it’s nice to see one now and an Ironhide retool is already out as well.
After the rather unimpressive Gamer Edition figures I’ve seen so far, Ratchet is a ray if sunshine. The robot looks great, the transformation into vehicle mode is cool, the weapons are so much better than any of the previous ones, and overall Ratchet is just a great figure. I got it as a gift from my buddy James, so some more bonus points for that, but overall Ratchet just works. So if you like the WfC/FoC video games, this figure here is definitely worth a look.
Rating: B+
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