Ratchet & Clank - Megathread

[The Last Stand]

We've discussed many franchises on here from our childhood.

Some of us had PlayStations growing up. Before the likes of Uncharted, The Last of Us, Killzone, we had memorable exclusives like Crash, Sly Cooper, Jak & Daxter, etc. One franchise stood out to me growing up with a PS2:

Developed by Insomniac Games (yes, the Marvel SpiderMan guys), Ratchet & Clank is an adventure shooter, platformer hybrid where you play as a Lombax (feline like creature) named with a robot companion known as Clank. You travel from planet to planet on various adventures to save the galaxy using an arsenal of zany, over the top weapons and gadgets. This series has spawned several installments, spin-offs, comics and even a movie.

The appeal of this series for me has been the aforementioned weapons, social commentary, crude humor and interesting characters. I've played the PS2 series out of order, but recall some great memories of them.

Discuss Ratchet & Clank games, history, gripes, what have you here.

Edit: added a poll.

 

[Rotollo]

P I X E L I Z E R

 

[CIA Nigger]

The commercials for those games are still based.

 

[KingofNothing]

Aw yeah, I loved the Ratchet and Clank series. Some of the few games I went out of my way to do 100% completion. Grinding for the RYNO's each time was no joke.

It's been a while since I played them, but I think my favorite would probably Up Your Arsenal. That had a great cast of characters, Dr Nefarious and Lawrence were fucking hilarious.

Courtney Gears had an alright song too.

I would also recommend to any fan of the series that hasn't watched them yet to check out the developer commentaries on the PS2 games on Uselesspodcast https://www.youtube.com/user/uselesspodcasts/playlists?view=1&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

 

[Son of Sparda 84]

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

I remember getting one of the games as a kid for my birthday and ended up staying up all night to beat it. I loved the creativity with the guns and everything.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

My sibling's the bigger Ratchet fan than I, but I still do enjoy these games. They're funny and the shooting mechanics and guns are nicely done.

 

[Officer Eradicate]

Ratchet: Gladiator (Deadlocked) was one of the best in the series, in my opinion

 

[LatinasAreTheFuture]

I loved the series. I liked how the levels were different planets.

 

[Save the Loli]

Fucking classic franchise. I spent thousands of hours growing up on those games, especially the second one (my favorite). Also pretty hilarious, especially as a kid. So much cool shit in those games, lots of cool levels, and just plain fun gunplay, fights, minigames, puzzles, all sorts of fun stuff. I only ever played Tools of Destruction for the PS3 games because when I finally got a PS3 I was so busy in life with other shit. It didn't feel as memorable to me but maybe that's because I was older and too damn methodical while playing it (grind up gun after gun, complete everything on the level, etc.) and not exploring it like I would when I was younger. The weapons and level designs still were great though.

I once tried beating the second game with no armor and only the wrench and starting gun (not the bomb one). I couldn't get past the second-to-last stage because there's too many strong enemies to kill in order to get the doors open.

Ratchet Gladiator/Deadlocked was one of the best in the series

That was the worst of the PS2 ones (although I never played the port of the PSP Ratchet and Clank game). The level design was a huge step down, most of the weapons weren't that fun, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE FUCKING CLANK! Instead you had those two fucking sidekick robots who were kinda weak and you always had to waste time reviving them during some stages because of their shit AI which added a bunch of fake difficulty. Maybe it was meant to be played in co-op.

 

[The Last Stand]

It's been a while since I played them, but I think my favorite would probably Up Your Arsenal. That had a great cast of characters, Dr Nefarious and Lawrence were fucking hilarious.

I started with Up Your Arsenal along with Jak 1 from a family member.

Seeing the box art for Up Your Arsenal excited me, I wasn't sure of what to expect beyond weapons and mayhem. Upon playing the few levels and using the beginner weapons, I was hooked. Not only did your weapons upgraded during use, but your health did as well. Very flashy use of leveling up and progression.

The music that accompanied each planet was catchy. Florana was one level that stood out to me. Very opening and adventurous.

The characters were funny, particular Qwark and the Galactic Rangers. Levels being planets was my favorite, it felt like you were exploring a galaxy. Each level had two or more paths IRC, which encouraged exploration. Jak 1 was too open world for me; UYA had a great blend of linearity and freedom.

I'm glad this thread is getting traction, lots of fanfare and memories coming back.

 

[Chive Turkey]

Great series. The third one is probably the best game I ever played on a console.

One thing that stuck with me was how good the soundtrack was:

 

[Archeops]

Ah, I love these games... It's my third-favorite IP behind Pokemon and Kingdom Hearts. The only R&C games I can't really stand to play are the PSP entries and Full Frontal Assault.

I just hope that Sony decides to bring the series back even with the movie flopping hard, if their Twitter account is any indication Insomniac seems to still be fond of it despite having a hit in Spiderman.

That was the worst of the PS2 ones (although I never played the port of the PSP Ratchet and Clank game). The level design was a huge step down, most of the weapons weren't that fun, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE FUCKING CLANK! Instead you had those two fucking sidekick robots who were kinda weak and you always had to waste time reviving them during some stages because of their shit AI which added a bunch of fake difficulty. Maybe it was meant to be played in co-op.

The PSP games were BAD (especially Secret Agent Clank) and I can only assume the PS2 ports were as well, there's a reason why they're not considered canon to the main series and isn't because of Insomniac having nothing to with their development.

As for Deadlocked sucking it's in large part due to, as you pointed out, it largely being a co-op game. That said, fans do agree with its co-op mode being the best in the series.

 

[The Last Stand]

I remember that commercial. It's a Wonderful World (I believe) sets the tone for that trailer beautifully.

The leap from PS2 to PS3 from that trailer alone was jaw-dropping.

Metropolis looked like a living city first, level second.

I wanted a PS3 for that alone, but coming out at 2007 at $399, it was too expensive. Still, the production values of that would've sold people on the console and franchise.

 

[KingofNothing]

That was the worst of the PS2 ones (although I never played the port of the PSP Ratchet and Clank game). The level design was a huge step down, most of the weapons weren't that fun, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE FUCKING CLANK! Instead you had those two fucking sidekick robots who were kinda weak and you always had to waste time reviving them during some stages because of their shit AI which added a bunch of fake difficulty. Maybe it was meant to be played in co-op.

I'd say the Size Matters port is the worst of the PS2 era, the controls were stiff and all the enemies felt like damage sponges. I had to restock on a lot of ammo during levels to get through. Reminds me of Jak and Daxter Lost Frontier(another PSP port) hated both those games. As for Deadlocked, even if it was a significant step down from the trilogy, I still liked it in terms of combat, definitely a one and done for me type of game though, but whenever talks about it popped up, people said the co-op is amazing compared to singleplayer. Sadly I wasn't around anyone who interested in playing it.

If I had to rate the PS2 games it would be UYA>GC>RC>>RCD>>>>>SM. I would rate the others, but I've only had minimal experience with Into the Nexus and the 2016 game. But from what little I played, I much preferred the PS2 games.

 

[Token Weeaboo]

Ratchet deadlock was the last Ratchet game I actually enjoyed playing. The ones that came out after that just didn't seem quite as enjoyable. I've always been much more of a Jak and Daxter guy though between the PS2's titles of co-heros.

My favorite thing was how Jak and Daxter was always an easter egg in Ratchet and Clank and vise versa.

Here's a few of them.

 

[The Last Stand]

My favorite thing was how Jak and Daxter was always an easter egg in Ratchet and Clank and vise versa.

Here's a few of them.

Insomniac and Naughty Dog worked closely with each other between their games' developments. Fun fact: in the Going Commando intro, Ratchet and Clank were playing a Jak game if you stay idle.

I've played Jak II. I enjoyed it better than Jak 1. Haven City was a good open world, even reminded me of GTA style with the vehicle commandering and police presence. Weapons were added, which made gameplay better. It was more gritty than Ratchet & Clank, even Deadlocked. Not my favorite, but a good game.

 

[Token Weeaboo]

I'm also fairly certain the RYNO was already brought up; but look at the evolution of gun RYNO over each game.

Spoiler: Not the RYNO, but also overly expensive weapons that were crazy

 

[Save the Loli]

I always liked how in the first Ratchet and Clank game, Insomniac reused some sound effects and I believe other assets from their older and equally classic Spyro the Dragon games. It was kind of weird noticing that as a kid since I loved both.

Ah, I love these games... It's my third-favorite IP behind Pokemon and Kingdom Hearts. The only R&C games I can't really stand to play are the PSP entries and Full Frontal Assault.

I just hope that Sony decides to bring the series back even with the movie flopping hard, if their Twitter account is any indication Insomniac seems to still be fond of it despite having a hit in Spiderman.

I don't get why they put out the movie a few years ago. If they'd put out a R&C movie back in the mid-late 2000s when it was all still fresh in everyone's heads it would've done a lot better. I probably would've actually seen it for one.

As for Deadlocked sucking it's in large part due to, as you pointed out, it largely being a co-op game. That said, fans do agree with its co-op mode being the best in the series.

I agree, it was definitely fun playing it in co-op even if I still think it's a step down from the other three PS2 games. I like how they included a difficulty meter even if it doesn't make too much difference in terms of how hard the game actually is (except on the challenges where you can only use the wrench, fuck those).

 

[Officer Eradicate]

Insomniac and Naughty Dog worked closely with each other between their games' developments. Fun fact: in the Going Commando intro, Ratchet and Clank were playing a Jak game if you stay idle.

you can also unlock Ratchet as a playable character in Jak X Combat Racing, and unlock Jak as a playable character in Deadlocked