Ratchet and Clank

[Anonymous No.10708862]

Playing this for the first time and it's really damn good.
Let's have a thread about the Ratchet games.
What do people think about the series?

[Anonymous No.10708869]

>>10708862
Found this unplayable after strafing in Going Commando. But the level designs here are better, more soulful.

[Anonymous No.10708878]

Good trilogy. Went to shit immediately after up your arsenal. Also have pity for the PAL fags and their censored titles

[Anonymous No.10708885]

>>10708878
I've seen a lot of anons praise Deadlocked, what's your take?

[Anonymous No.10708914]

Ratchet & Clank: Best platforming, story and characters, can be a bit rough around the edges compared to sequels.
Going Commando: Best game in tetralogy, best balance of gunplay and platforming, worst story, game was clearly rushed out the door.
Up Your Arsenal: Worst platforming, really good gunplay, pretty good story.
Deadlocked: No platforming, SUBLIME gunplay. Play if you want more combat. Has clunky vehicle stages which break action though.
All game are classics worth of two playthroughs.

[Anonymous No.10708957]

>>10708914
yeah that pretty much sums it up.

[Anonymous No.10708982]

>>10708869
Was surprised it didn't have lock-on when I went back to it, but you get used to it. You kinda have to play it more methodically than the later games

[Anonymous No.10709007]

I don't know why people say deadlocked has no platforming, I found it has pretty much as much as UYA had

[Anonymous No.10709162]

>>10708862
it's a cherished classic of my childhood but tbqh the platforming is weak and the combat while absolutely fine for a 6th gen platformer is just not something I can really justify spending hours with. a lot of 6th gen games are like that for me, loved everything or nothing as a kid, couldn't spend more than 5 minutes with the lock on shooting.

[Anonymous No.10709229]

>>10709162
I could see it being something not worth returning to if you'd played it over and over as a kid, but at this point in my life it's really fun to play through it for the first time, being able to appreciate the design of it all.
Being in a creative field helps I guess, I'm looking at it from that angle. How it ticks from a design standpoint.

But I guess the thing that's most refreshing to me about it is I'm realizing I've been playing a lot of modern games, and even older arcade style games, that are really only meant for one playthrough, stuff that doesn't have a lot of mystery or secrets, and Ratchet is just full of reasons to keep playing and exploring.
It's not the same kind of thing as Mario 64 or Banjo either, the world is really consistent in the way it's presented.
Haven't really thought out how to articulate this, but it's just really refreshing to play this kind of 00's game.

[Anonymous No.10709585]

>>10708862
after the ps2 ones it went down like a lead zeppelin

[Anonymous No.10709623]

Ps2 kino. I prefer Spyro but it is great

[Anonymous No.10709954]

>>10708862
I grew up with ratchet, played 3 first before i finished 1 and 2. I think 3 is the best in the series but I'm probably blinded by nostalgia.
I'm also currently in the process of dumping some ratchet 2 preview discs (later builds though, nothing that special)

[Anonymous No.10710098]

>>10708862
Completed the first 3 but never got into the later games since they started to feel like they fell off.

Some of the best games on PS2. The atmosphere and comedy are great.

[Anonymous No.10710119]

>>10708869
>Found this unplayable after strafing in Going Commando.
I've found the controls to be just fine once you get used to the camera. it is true though that they still didn't know how to introduce proper strafing during the original so they oriented the game around not strafing.
>But the level designs here are better, more soulful.
I really wished they expanded on the original more in terms of it's unique combination of shooter/platform/puzzle solving. It was more chill, slow paced and platform focused. Even though 2 does a great job, both games are vastly different with the second taking the fame because it fixed most of the bugs and issues in 1 while strafing was the future of those types of games.

[Anonymous No.10710137]

>>10708862
2>1>3>Deadlocked. It's a fine trilogy but it clearly lost its steam after 2.
1 is solid if unpolished. The ideas are there, the mix of platforming and guns works well, the humor and level design is good, but some enemies are a pain and practically have to be defeated with a specific gun, very easy to find yourself with no ammo and running all the way back to buy more.
2 is outstanding. Really feels like they hit their stride, found a good balance for combat, a lot of fun guns, a good level up system to encourage using different weapons, a lot of side-content to lose yourself in.
3 feels like they took the side-content and made it the main content while forgetting to design the proper game. I also didn't like Nefarious. Deadlocked is just the side-content, this time without the pretense of having the rest of the game. It sucks. Even if you get into the combat every mission is like 1 minute long. It's pic related.

[Anonymous No.10710145]

>>10710137
>very easy to find yourself with no ammo and running all the way back to buy more.
The first playthrough is really a grind, but once you have the pda your set as long as your not terrible at the game. I do agree tho too, 2>1>>>3

[Anonymous No.10710163]

>>10710145
Sadly the PDA only shows up towards the very end. Some levels before that feel like an uphill battle that you occasionally have to go back down the hill to restock. Still a lot of fun though, a strong first attempt at a unique blend of elements. My biggest complain for 2 are the bosses. That one boss with the turrets is just terrible. You can damage it with normal weapons but at least during the first playthrough your entire arsenal won't kill it so you'll still have to use the turrets.

[Anonymous No.10710230]

>tfw felt like Naughty Dog kept getting worse with each game
>Crash 1 is a minimalistic masterpiece
>Crash 2 is a great linear platformer
>Crash 3 is overall good but feels like an unnecessary bloated mess at times
>Jak 1 is meh, an alright collectathon, pretty forgettable
>Jak 2 is just shit
And I haven't played anything from them beyond that point. Now it's EXACTLY the same shit with Insomniac and Spyro for me except I haven't even tried Ratchet. Be honest with me, will it be the same as Jak? I mean like worse than the worst Spyro game

[Anonymous No.10710235]

love the og trilogy + deadlocked
>rac1
has the best looking environments and weapon balance
>rac2
has my favorite music and greatly improved controls. the weapons aren't quite as well balanced, but they hit fucking hard and give you a great spectacle
>rac3
fantastic online multiplayer. im sure that I spent more time in the multiplayer here than in any other ratchet game.
>gladiator/deadlocked
short but sweet bonus game. slick controls and combat. environments were pared down and enemies a little too repetitive, but they refined the core combat gameplay loop and the weapons did not disappoint.

been listening to the rac2 soundtrack lately, some real solid bangers all over that game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk13dtTAXgc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BzdpC-uhRY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1DG9M-V_JY

[Anonymous No.10710247]

>>10710230
Not as bad as Jak which takes a sharp turn into something different. At least for the R&C trilogy it's fairly consistent but 3 is where it starts focusing way more on combat and little isolated challenges rather than just dropping you off in the world and letting you explore. The 4th game is more of a spinoff. IIRC they were originally going to do a racing game but Naught Dog was also working on one and since they were bros they didn't want to compete with them.

[Anonymous No.10710251]

Got the first game upon release as a kid and I hated it. Felt too hard compared to Spyro. Replaying it as an adult and love it. Noticing assets from Spyro in the first game is charming. It is still hard though. Still playing physical with a PS2 on a good ol CRT so I used my handy dandy codebreaker to have max bolts and get things like the RYNO etc immediately and it makes the game that much more fun and chill to play. I have no interest in playing the sequels. Thanks for attending my ted talk.

[Anonymous No.10710281]

>>10710247
I mean I should finally give the first game a try I guess. In fact I don't even know what it's all about or if it's even a collectathon or what

[Anonymous No.10710282]

>>10710230
not at all for me. I thought rac1 was definitely better than spyro 3, maybe even 2 (which I still thought was great). closer feel to spyro 1, because there's a great deal of exploration and figuring out how to reach difficult areas. all the sequels were solid and kept a consistent baseline level of quality, definitely improving the combat, but somewhat sacrificing on the level depth and environment details. having played each of the 8 ratchet and jak ps2 games multiple times, I can safely say that ratchet wins as a series. Prior to those games, I played a lot of spyro and crash on ps1, which was a far more competitive match-up. I couldn't ever really pick a favorite between those two series.

[Anonymous No.10710291]

>>10710281
It's decently unique in its design so it's best to just jump in.

[Anonymous No.10710298]

>>10710235
gonna just leave veldin, novalis, and blackwater city here. both 1 and 2 though, nothing like it now a days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o5v7Sj9S_Y&list=PLEC644E72887AB7E3&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj3dgToY_Fg&list=PLEC644E72887AB7E3&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvS5TWTKHjg&list=PLEC644E72887AB7E3&index=17

[Anonymous No.10710486]

The majority of people online seems to hate collecting crystals. This was always my favorite part of Going Commando after arenas.

[Anonymous No.10710491]

>strafe and shoot
>flip around mindlessly to avoid damage
I love these games but the strafing feels like it ruined what could have been something deeper. R&C1 is my favourite as a result, even though the gameplay is a lot rougher. Strangely it still feels like the most high effort release and that it had the clearest vision in the series.

I think 3 is most fondly remembered because that's just what people recall playing the most, since it was the latest numbered entry on the PS2. Same thing with Jak 3 even though 2 and 1 are clearly superior.

[Anonymous No.10710510]

>>10708862
It's all been summed up but my favourite thing about RAC1 and why I keep coming back is the weapon designs and balancing. There's fun designs that make use of melee and planning, and you really can use every weapon all throughout the game, and every weapon feels hefty and powerful to use.
In later games, you're just there holding fire on an enemy while they literally just stand there soaking up the damage and it just feels cheap and pointless

[Anonymous No.10710717]

>hi there, fuzzball

[Anonymous No.10710947]

>>10708862
Great games on PS2. Everything after that is soulless trash on the nogames 3 and onward.

[Anonymous No.10711008]

>>10710486
I like the desert one, but they really overdid it making the ice one,

[Anonymous No.10711210]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXAXKIz-DY

[Anonymous No.10711218]

>>10708878
Censoring way less of a problem than fucking 50hz

[Anonymous No.10712408]

>>10711210

[Anonymous No.10713180]

>>10710486
I didn't have a problem with it until 3's sewer.

[Anonymous No.10713221]

>>10712408
>put it in the slot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66RaFPBPPEE

[Anonymous No.10713440]

>>10711210
That bigfoot reference always cracks me up

[Anonymous No.10713483]

>Sasha tells me your a man who's good with his hands, Ratchet
>Sir, I swear, I never -

[Anonymous No.10713510]

>>10708862
Here's a list of when to stop playing this franchise.
Going Commando: End it with the best, live with fond memories of it
Up Your arsenal: Will never top GC, but you're still hungry for more of that goodness, even if it's a lesser follow up. Proper closure. Stop here, you've been warned
Deadlocked: Last hurrah, barely a RnC game, still fun, but shallow. This is out of bounds last warning, it's deep space after this, you're all alone.
Crack in Time: you should've stopped at Up Your Arse, but you've slogged your way through the Future saga, and you want to treat yourself with something 'ok'. This is also a proper way to end, forever.
Into The Nexus: congrats, you've become a husk, you keep chasing that high in hopes you'll find that same feeling you did with RnC1 and 2, but nothing comes close and never will, but you're already here, you've been roped into this future saga lombax storyline shit that goes nowhere, so might as well keep that false hope alive, delude yourself with this distraction of a storyline and continue playing the empty shell that has become of RnC
RnC rEmAKe: you enjoy torturing yourself, you realize there are now more bad games than good ones in the franchise.
Rift Apart: you don't know what's good and bad anymore, and you swear on your life that this is the best ratchet game since GC, you even whisper to yourself it's best in the series. You immediately make a reddit account after beating this game and you start sharing your bad fan art of Rivet and get showered in praise with the rest of the crabs.

[Anonymous No.10713553]

>Let's have a thread about the Ratchet games.
Nice.

[Anonymous No.10713747]

>>10711210
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yghHCmlfimE

Hey look plumbers crack!

[Anonymous No.10713756]

man, these ads for R&C were great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxhUOU9zY2E

[Anonymous No.10713761]

>>10713221
ahh Slim Cognito, one of the best throwaway characters.
>>10710717
Based and Humble Gadgetron merchant.

[Anonymous No.10715074]

>>10713510
That takes me back - buying a PS3 just to play ToD and slowly realising everything was so wrong. The story made no sense, somehow the character models look worse, and the same goddam pirates everywhere. I never even finished aCiT

[Anonymous No.10715294]

>>10715074
speaking of ps3, what are people's thoughts here about the HD collection? I played all them, including the deadlocked HD that came later and I liked a lot it for the most part. the games looked fantastic in true widescreen HD. graphics were super slick and really popped. BUT a few things really did annoy me. I was able to get over the graphical glitches (like that really stupid one where his helmet looks too big), but the one thing that still bothers me was the incorrectly looping music. Oh and the fact that they fucked up the Shock Cannon's charged beam effect is unforgiveable.

[Anonymous No.10715397]

>>10715074
Future saga wasn't bad though? It is not exactly a direct continuation.
Worst games are PSP games.
>>10715294
I believe those are just ports without any changes. I'm not sure whether they've improved anything. My guess would be they've drawn UI elements and that's it.

[Anonymous No.10715489]

>>10715294
The numerous audio and visual glitches in the collection are absolutely abhorrent and they still haven't been fixed to this day.

[Anonymous No.10715530]

>>10710486
I liked the desert area but the tundra sucked, not because it's a big crystal collecting level but because the level is obviously rushed and incomplete.

[Anonymous No.10715590]

>>10708878
Gladiator was an amazing spinoff fuck you

[Anonymous No.10715631]

>>10715397
>Future saga wasn't bad though? It is not exactly a direct continuation.
Not bad per se, but I've never come back to them.
I think I should have left the franchise after Gladiator

[Anonymous No.10715737]

favorite weapons?
might be a boring choice, but im really partial to the pulse rifle/vaporizer from rac2. I just really like how each shot looks and sounds.

[Anonymous No.10715878]

>>10715737
Liquid nitrogen gun
I forgive the devs for ruining it by turning it into the shitty meteor cannon, but I'm still mad

[Anonymous No.10715881]

Liquid nitrogen gun
I forgive the devs for ruining the lava gun by turning it into the shitty meteor gun, but I'm still mad

[Anonymous No.10715893]

I was also unpleasantly surprised when the lava gun evolved into the meteor gun. although if there is any silver lining, the meteor gun does have very high dps and with the lock-on mode is still helpful in the arena challenges versus charging enemies.

[Anonymous No.10716095]

I still can't believe the character is named Ratchet

[Anonymous No.10716579]

I love how the games look
this and metroid prime define the ps22/gc generation for me

[Anonymous No.10716646]

>>10715074
Even though I recognize now that TOD is kind of low tier compared to the rest of the series (it's still a good game) I still have a massive nostalgia for it because it was the first HD game I ever played. I still remember starting it for the first time and thinking "holy fuck it's like I'm playing a pixar movie" as well as just being kind of emblematic for early PS3 nostalgia in general. Just thinking about that game reminds me of the original snazzy PS3 startup sound and UI.

>>10715294
The main HD trilogy is perfectly good overall. There's graphical errors but they're all completely negligible if you don't know to look for them. With the exception of the helmet bug, seriously, any graphical glitch on your player character whatsoever should be considered a major issue, it's ridiculous they shipped the game with that.

Deadlocked is a different story, came out later, was very rushed, actually has a lot of noticeable bugs, it didn't support online (not like it matters now), and it also had performance issues. It's still playable but it's also the only PS3 game I ever played that just up and randomly softlocked multiple times while playing it.

There's also the vita ports of the HD Trilogy. They have some graphical errors too (mostly certain transparent textures just not being transparent at all) but the big issue they have is that they are just rife with audio glitches, like looping sounds never ending properly on their own or sounds having no distance. Like in Novalis in RC1 if you're close enough to a fighter jet to hear it then its sound plays at full volume no matter how close it actually is, and if you fire the morph-o-ray the sound doesn't stop until you shoot another gun. A lot of ridiculous shit like that that you just can't ignore.

I still Platted the Vita versions because they're still fun games and I did like having a portable version of them. I'd rather play them than play the PSP games, they're godawful ports but still playable.

[Anonymous No.10717053]

>>10708862
I really liked the different worlds in the first game, I’m about half way through the second one I’d guess? It’s good, but it has way more of a focus on it’s over the shoulder TPSing, with the improved strafing it works better than you’d think but Ngl I prefer the platforming focus on the first, even if it starts to just feel like Spyro 4

[Anonymous No.10717445]

Going Commando has so much soul. It's like the devs were told, "There's no bad idea. Sheepinator? Come back with some ideas and we'll work it in somehow." Truly a game that looked as fun to develop as it was to play. R&C 1 was a great one as well. Arsenal to me was the oddball of the PS2 releases; it just felt...different. Was a bit too old when the PS3 series came out, may emulate them in the future. God I'm fucking old.

[Anonymous No.10718107]

>>10716646
Also because I always forget, the vita ports do the whole "rear touch = L2/R2" thing which sucks ass, but you can mostly ignore using L2/R2 in the games unless you really want to use lock strafe mode in 3. Never tried them with L2/R2 grips though.

[Anonymous No.10718396]

>>10716579
I've been thinking about Metroid throughout my playthrough. Visually similar, yea.

[Anonymous No.10718680]

>>10708862
Poor man's Jak or Sly. Always was.

[Anonymous No.10719797]

>>10716646
I'm not gonna make out like ToD is worse than cancer but it's pretty bad. The plot is awful, the NPC characters are probably the series' worst, the enemy variety is poor, and half of the guns feel like they do nothing, and the soundtrack is entirely forgettable. I have no idea how people reviewed the game so positively upon release