Ratchet & Clank - Megathread

[Becomemysoulreaver]

I was just rewatching the gamingbrit videos about the series and, am I the only one that doesnt agree at all with the focus a lot of people give to this edge and anti corporate themes to the story? They are part of the games yeah, bit some people act like it is the most important part of a ratchet and clank game even going to the point where some people flat out say that everything after the ps2 is bad because they dont have them
I dont know tbh, to me the gameplay was always the obvious focus of the games, and if we take that in mind, at least for the first 3 games and the future trilogy the core gameplay is improved each game, level design is a bit more complicated as I still think the first one has the best in the series.
Now I cant disagree that the first games were much funnier, but it just seems off to me to put this much enfasis on the story for a platforming game and acting like it is much deaper than it is.
Btw, I dont mind if people have those opinions, hell I enjoyed GB videos, but I do think that some people are acting like mindless idiots just parroting his opinions as facts

 

[The Last Stand]

Dude's only 61 and he's already got Alzheimer's. That fucking sucks, man. Jim Ward is awesome and he doesn't deserve that.

I found this article that expanded on it. COVID really put him in bad shape, and his Alzheimer's is bad enough to where he apparently has zero short-term memory.

Captain Qwark's Voice Actor, Jim Ward, Won't Be In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Due To Illness - PlayStation Universe

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will not see the return of Captain Qwark voice actor Jim Ward, who has sadly fallen ill, his Facebook page has revealed.

www.psu.com

So that's who Jim Ward is.

Wishing him and his family good wishes.

Horrible writing aside, Jim Ward still gave his all with Qwark in the reboot and movie.

 

[Kane Lives]

I was just rewatching the gamingbrit videos about the series and, am I the only one that doesnt agree at all with the focus a lot of people give to this edge and anti corporate themes to the story? They are part of the games yeah, bit some people act like it is the most important part of a ratchet and clank game even going to the point where some people flat out say that everything after the ps2 is bad because they dont have them
I dont know tbh, to me the gameplay was always the obvious focus of the games, and if we take that in mind, at least for the first 3 games and the future trilogy the core gameplay is improved each game, level design is a bit more complicated as I still think the first one has the best in the series.
Now I cant disagree that the first games were much funnier, but it just seems off to me to put this much enfasis on the story for a platforming game and acting like it is much deaper than it is.
Btw, I dont mind if people have those opinions, hell I enjoyed GB videos, but I do think that some people are acting like mindless idiots just parroting his opinions as facts

I think you misconstrue his arguments (and those who didn't like 2016 version either). While gameplay is a core component in any game, the fact being that memorable games are sold on both gameplay and story and character. Spyro wouldn't be Spyro if he wasn't the sassy purple dragonling who bitchslaps gnorcs. The story doesn't need to be some enlightened thesis on War & Peace or someshit like that, if I wanted some deep-thinking philosophy, I'd just read the bloody book myself.

We all can agree that the OG R&C had a very basic, but competent archetypical hero's journey. Ratchet starts by being a selfish teenager, runs around happily for awhile, gets betrayed by Qwark, then has to dig himself out of the hole he created and mend his relationship with Clank. Then goes all the way to first defeat Qwark, then Drek. Simple and allows both Ratchet & Clank to have their little moments (Ratchet apologising to Clank, Clank meeting his mom, etc.) You'd notice that these are all not complicated concepts; they're as basic as you can come as storytelling tropes.

So what you get in 2016 instead? Oh, Ratchet has always been good, mega-super-good, and also he helps Clank because he's that good and therefore its his destiny to be a good guy. Ratchet & Clank are totes best buddies despite only meeting yesterday, without any arguments. Also Qwark exists to spout memes. That 2016 managed to fuck even this simple setup up, is something that really struck me, considering that Insomniac didn't hire writers for the OG trilogy. When your story stinks worse than one written by nerds in the early 00s, you done fucked up. When you do a remake of a game, of course people are going to compare it to the original, so 2016 has no leg to stand on for being this bad. I mean, I guess the movie is to blame for the disjointed pacing as well, but yeah. Gameplay can only make up so much before shit starts to stink. I play R&C for Ratchet and crazy weapons, not one or the other. You cannot pick and choose.

I won't touch the anti-corporate or edge themes because that's more of a manner of taste. You'd honestly be hardpressed to find anyone who'd say the PS3 trilogy isn't good as well, because they really do stand on their own. (And frankly, the anti-corporate shit is just as prominent there, if buried by the muh save the galaxy stuff. Ratchet always took the piss out of contemporary issues anyway, so I'm not seeing how the Future trilogy is any different.)

 

[The Last Stand]

I won't touch the anti-corporate or edge themes because that's more of a manner of taste. You'd honestly be hardpressed to find anyone who'd say the PS3 trilogy isn't good as well, because they really do stand on their own. (And frankly, the anti-corporate shit is just as prominent there, if buried by the muh save the galaxy stuff. Ratchet always took the piss out of contemporary issues anyway, so I'm not seeing how the Future trilogy is any different.)

Even taking the anti-corporate themes out of play, the appeal of Ratchet & Clank (the duo) is their character development.

We all can agree that the OG R&C had a very basic, but competent archetypical hero's journey. Ratchet starts by being a selfish teenager, runs around happily for awhile, gets betrayed by Qwark, then has to dig himself out of the hole he created and mend his relationship with Clank. Then goes all the way to first defeat Qwark, then Drek. Simple and allows both Ratchet & Clank to have their little moments (Ratchet apologising to Clank, Clank meeting his mom, etc.) You'd notice that these are all not complicated concepts; they're as basic as you can come as storytelling tropes.

I found their spats from 1 & 2 the equivalent of "good cop, bad cop." They both see the situation differently, even argue about it. But at the end of the day, they stick together to get the job done. That's what the R&C reboot is missing. They didn't just start as friends. Once Ratchet saw the bigger picture, they began to bond through thick and thin.

I play R&C for Ratchet and crazy weapons, not one or the other. You cannot pick and choose.

I would also argue that the goodie two shoes Ratchet clashes greatly with the insane weaponry and stakes of R&C.

 

[Becomemysoulreaver]

I think you misconstrue his arguments (and those who didn't like 2016 version either). While gameplay is a core component in any game, the fact being that memorable games are sold on both gameplay and story and character. Spyro wouldn't be Spyro if he wasn't the sassy purple dragonling who bitchslaps gnorcs. The story doesn't need to be some enlightened thesis on War & Peace or someshit like that, if I wanted some deep-thinking philosophy, I'd just read the bloody book myself.

We all can agree that the OG R&C had a very basic, but competent archetypical hero's journey. Ratchet starts by being a selfish teenager, runs around happily for awhile, gets betrayed by Qwark, then has to dig himself out of the hole he created and mend his relationship with Clank. Then goes all the way to first defeat Qwark, then Drek. Simple and allows both Ratchet & Clank to have their little moments (Ratchet apologising to Clank, Clank meeting his mom, etc.) You'd notice that these are all not complicated concepts; they're as basic as you can come as storytelling tropes.

So what you get in 2016 instead? Oh, Ratchet has always been good, mega-super-good, and also he helps Clank because he's that good and therefore its his destiny to be a good guy. Ratchet & Clank are totes best buddies despite only meeting yesterday, without any arguments. Also Qwark exists to spout memes. That 2016 managed to fuck even this simple setup up, is something that really struck me, considering that Insomniac didn't hire writers for the OG trilogy. When your story stinks worse than one written by nerds in the early 00s, you done fucked up. When you do a remake of a game, of course people are going to compare it to the original, so 2016 has no leg to stand on for being this bad. I mean, I guess the movie is to blame for the disjointed pacing as well, but yeah. Gameplay can only make up so much before shit starts to stink. I play R&C for Ratchet and crazy weapons, not one or the other. You cannot pick and choose.

I won't touch the anti-corporate or edge themes because that's more of a manner of taste. You'd honestly be hardpressed to find anyone who'd say the PS3 trilogy isn't good as well, because they really do stand on their own. (And frankly, the anti-corporate shit is just as prominent there, if buried by the muh save the galaxy stuff. Ratchet always took the piss out of contemporary issues anyway, so I'm not seeing how the Future trilogy is any different.)

I mean, I cant disagree with that because I didnt even say anything about the 2016 games, my comment is only refering to the edge and anti corporate theme and my disagreement with the focus some people give it, also my dislike of people mindlessly copying a youtubers opinion

 

[The Last Stand]

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart trophies are revealed. Can be possible to Platinum in one playthrough, Insomniac says. No challenge mode trophy it seems like this time. Possible spoilers inside, tread carefully.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart trophies are revealed. Can be possible to Platinum in one playthrough, Insomniac says. No challenge mode trophy it seems like this time. Possible spoilers inside, tread carefully.

That's a shame, though "one sitting" would probably involve an unholy amount of grind.

 

[Marissa Moira]

That's a shame, though "one sitting" would probably involve an unholy amount of grind.

Not really, it involves 100%ing all the areas. None of the R&C games have been hard to platinum. They're more annoying since some games require multiplayer trophies, so you need a friend or a second PS3. They tend to average around 15-20 hours.

 

[The Last Stand]

Not really, it involves 100%ing all the areas. None of the R&C games have been hard to platinum. They're more annoying since some games require multiplayer trophies, so you need a friend or a second PS3. They tend to average around 15-20 hours.

Not the trilogy or the Future saga thankfully. Just All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Not really, it involves 100%ing all the areas. None of the R&C games have been hard to platinum. They're more annoying since some games require multiplayer trophies, so you need a friend or a second PS3. They tend to average around 15-20 hours.

No trophies to get weapons to max levels?

 

[Marissa Moira]

No trophies to get weapons to max levels?

The new game still has that, but they also have a different form of challenges. While there's no difficulty based ones there's a bunch of other stuff to do rather than just running through the game again. It's fairly similar to how they changed GOW trophies when the new one was released. The separate modes were just integrated into the game as actual side dungeons.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

The new game still has that, but they also have a different form of challenges. While there's no difficulty based ones there's a bunch of other stuff to do rather than just running through the game again. It's fairly similar to how they changed GOW trophies when the new one was released. The separate modes were just integrated into the game as actual side dungeons.

I just hope there will be a museum...

 

[Marissa Moira]

I just hope there will be a museum...

I dunno, I mean they probably will want to show off the models with the ray tracing so there might be a whole concept art and model gallery.

More than likely a ton of stuff might go to a digital or physical art book.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I dunno, I mean they probably will want to show off the models with the ray tracing so there might be a whole concept art and model gallery.

More than likely a ton of stuff might go to a digital or physical art book.

I never liked those type of galleries. I want to see the original modules in-game and how they relate to the characters size or even some primitive interaction.

 

[Becomemysoulreaver]

If I am honest, I am kind of disappointed that the story continues, not that ot continues from into the nexus, but that a crack in time isnt the ending.
A crack in time to me is such a perfect ending to the series that everything just feels tagged on in my eyes, kind of like Toy story 4.

Also, now that I mentioned ItN, man does that game run terrible, the game doesnt even look that much better than aCiT yet that runs much much better, ItN is fine tho

 

[The Last Stand]

@albert chan

Love the redesign!

With Rift Apart getting closer to release, Insomniac is celebrating with a couple videos showcasing Rift Apart in action.

A little history retrospective of Ratchet & Clank from IG. I hope Rift Apart succeeds enough to where they rerelease previous games on PS4. It would go perfect with its 20th anniversary coming up next year.

 

[albert chan]

Right now, one can be optimistic enough to admit that Rift Apart will do the same, if not better, numbers as Spyro The Dragon and Crash Bandicoot’s remastered versions.

 

[gaystoner]

@albert chan

View attachment 2241393

Love the redesign!

With Rift Apart getting closer to release, Insomniac is celebrating with a couple videos showcasing Rift Apart in action.

A little history retrospective of Ratchet & Clank from IG. I hope Rift Apart succeeds enough to where they rerelease previous games on PS4. It would go perfect with its 20th anniversary coming up next year.

I mean I have a feeling the comedy is going to be more slap stick than anything and I'm really not digging the dodge animation of mirror images. Seems like a standard next-gen release of old IP. Not like I have a ps5 or interested in buying one before they announace the PS6...and by then this will be a game they give away for free

 

[Becomemysoulreaver]

@albert chan

View attachment 2241393

Love the redesign!

With Rift Apart getting closer to release, Insomniac is celebrating with a couple videos showcasing Rift Apart in action.

A little history retrospective of Ratchet & Clank from IG. I hope Rift Apart succeeds enough to where they rerelease previous games on PS4. It would go perfect with its 20th anniversary coming up next year.

@albert chan
What kind of faggot uses an image of a game they like as their profile pic

 

[The Last Stand]

Seems like a standard next-gen release of old IP.

The whole rift tether gimmick between dimensions and within levels is only possible with the SSD. I admit, I am impressed with the technological marvel Insomniac brought to the table. So far, it looks like Rift Apart is the only next generation capable game out.

Not just better graphics but a mechanic that needs horsepower to accomplish. Is Rift Apart solely worth picking up a PS5? Personally, no. But it has potential to rejuvenate Ratchet & Clank, even showcase the power of PS5 from 4.