Ratchet & Clank - Megathread

[The Last Stand]

I'd really like it if the past R&C games became playable on PS4 (or PS5 I guess) but since Sony has made it pretty clear they give zero fucks about backwards compatibility beyond the bare minimum I don't have much faith in it happening.

I'd even take ports at this point but even that they are pretty damn inconsistent and slow about.

Broken record at this point, but the Future trilogy should've been ported to PS4. Or the PS2 games ported to PS4 as PS2 classics.

Why is Sony not good with ports?

Their Girl on a Stick concept. Why does it remind me of Zelda?

 

[The Last Stand]

How would you describe the Ratchet & Clank franchise?

Open world platformer or linear platformer?

The levels can be vast with set paths and optional objectives. But I never really thought of them as "open world."

 

[Zbk3VmLfujjzjxBd43tL]

They're pretty linear to me. Each level usually (some levels are smaller) has 2 paths for the main objectives you need to complete, although the PS3 games had bigger levels. Plus occasionally an area for optional items which usually has a minigame or lots of puzzles/platforming.

 

[Dom Cruise]

Broken record at this point, but the Future trilogy should've been ported to PS4. Or the PS2 games ported to PS4 as PS2 classics.

Why is Sony not good with ports?

Their Girl on a Stick concept. Why does it remind me of Zelda?

It'd be great if the PS3 games got a re-release as I skipped them.

 

[The Last Stand]

They're pretty linear to me. Each level usually (some levels are smaller) has 2 paths for the main objectives you need to complete, although the PS3 games had bigger levels. Plus occasionally an area for optional items which usually has a minigame or lots of puzzles/platforming.

Up Your Arsenal had less paths with their levels than Going Commando and R&C1. They replaced them with dropship missions; you're dropped into a set arena with challenges to complete for a gadget or planet.

I remember one Tools of Destruction level with the Smuggler and there were dinosaurs in it. That was pretty massive.

 

[The Last Stand]

YouTube recommended me another analysis on the PS2 R&C trilogy.

R&C3 was clearly rushed compared to R&C2 and R&C1.

He mentions not liking the tone shift from 1 to 2, I think it was a good call to do that. Clank had more of an attitude than Ratchet in 2; it still had that conflicting character dynamic they were doing with 1.

Going by this thread's vote tally: Going Commando is the beloved one of the Ratchet & Clank series.

I think Going Commando refined the Ratchet & Clank series, but Up Your Arsenal streamlined from Going Commando.

 

[Zbk3VmLfujjzjxBd43tL]

Up Your Arsenal had less paths with their levels than Going Commando and R&C1. They replaced them with dropship missions; you're dropped into a set arena with challenges to complete for a gadget or planet.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NEMzaoieKuQ

Weren't there a bunch of short levels in that game? Which isn't a bad thing because you'd see more pretty backgrounds and get to shoot up different environments.

I remember one Tools of Destruction level with the Smuggler and there were dinosaurs in it. That was pretty massive.

Yeah that one was utterly huge and exactly what I was thinking of when I thought of how big some of the PS3 levels were. Didn't you have to kill all the dinosaurs for a skill point or some other secret? I'm pretty sure it was the dinosaurs and they could take a beating.

 

[The Last Stand]

Weren't there a bunch of short levels in that game? Which isn't a bad thing because you'd see more pretty backgrounds and get to shoot up different environments.

Marcadia was a standout level. I believe the third level in UYA. I remember it being a beige city under siege.

Something I noticed that UYA lacked from 1 or 2. Weapon impact and feedback.

In Ratchet 1 & 2, if you hit an enemy, they would react from your weapon. A little animation and soundbite. In 3, the enemies would just stand there, sometimes they would "glow." No reaction until after they're dead.

 

[Kane Lives]

Weren't there a bunch of short levels in that game? Which isn't a bad thing because you'd see more pretty backgrounds and get to shoot up different environments.

Yeah that one was utterly huge and exactly what I was thinking of when I thought of how big some of the PS3 levels were. Didn't you have to kill all the dinosaurs for a skill point or some other secret? I'm pretty sure it was the dinosaurs and they could take a beating.

Quite a few, actually, now that you mention it.

Marcadia was a fairly short one, as with Starship Phoenix (under siege), the Obani moons, and both Mylon and Kronos. That said, I feel they're exactly the right length to serve as story beats, and they didn't overstay their welcome. You can tell they spent quite a lot of time on the bigger levels. (Metropolis, Florana, Aquatos)

 

[The Last Stand]

Quite a few, actually, now that you mention it.

Marcadia was a fairly short one, as with Starship Phoenix (under siege), the Obani moons, and both Mylon and Kronos. That said, I feel they're exactly the right length to serve as story beats, and they didn't overstay their welcome. You can tell they spent quite a lot of time on the bigger levels. (Metropolis, Florana, Aquatos)

Metropolis was both a level and arena stage.

Blackwater City was just an arena stage.

Florana originally had a racing track. It also had a catchy beat to it.

 

[The Last Stand]

FrameRater's takes on the spinoffs: Ratchet: Deadlocked, Size Matters & Secret Agent Clank.

 

[KingofNothing]

Never touched Secret Agent Clank because I never had PSP and heard the game was trash, but I didn't know I needed Qwark butchering Carmen in my life until now.

 

[The Last Stand]

Never touched Secret Agent Clank because I never had PSP and heard the game was trash, but I didn't know I needed Qwark butchering Carmen in my life until now.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LUCNU_3_Bqk

Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank share the same problems. The action on screen is so cramped with the smaller screen, the levels aren't designed for that in mind. And they are slower than the console counterparts. It felt a bit sluggish to play. I'm not sure if it's the enemy health or the weapon damage, but you burn through a lot of ammo.

 

[KingofNothing]

Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank share the same problems. The action on screen is so cramped with the smaller screen, the levels aren't designed for that in mind. And they are slower than the console counterparts. It felt a bit sluggish to play. I'm not sure if it's the enemy health or the weapon damage, but you burn through a lot of ammo.

I played PS2 port of Size Matters and the damage was a big reason I didn't really enjoy it. It's the only one I played where I was consistently low or out of ammo that didn't involve fighting the final boss. Enemies that beefy are not fun to fight. I beat that game once out of sheer stubbornness and never again. I assume the port fixed the screen issue but aside from that review, I remember almost nothing except feeling really annoyed with that game,

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

The PS2 version of Size Matters was the very first Ratchet and Clank game I ever played, and I don't care very much for it. Ratchet's movements are really stiff and the game's fights are both frustrating and tedious thanks to spongy enemies and Ratchet's clunky movements. When I played the mainline Ratchet games, it became clear to me how much of a lesser experience Size Matters is since even the first game controls a lot smoother than it does. I haven't played it in a long-ass time, so it's nice to see I didn't just imagine the enemies being bullet sponges.

 

[The Last Stand]

I played PS2 port of Size Matters and the damage was a big reason I didn't really enjoy it. It's the only one I played where I was consistently low or out of ammo that didn't involve fighting the final boss. Enemies that beefy are not fun to fight. I beat that game once out of sheer stubbornness and never again. I assume the port fixed the screen issue but aside from that review, I remember almost nothing except feeling really annoyed with that game,

I have to say, they optimized the PS2 port for Size Matters better than I thought. It's not just stretched out to fit a TV as par for many PSP to PS2 ports.

Unless my eyes deceive me, they changed several assets with the PS2 conversion.

The PS2 version of Size Matters was the very first Ratchet and Clank game I ever played, and I don't care very much for it. Ratchet's movements are really stiff and the game's fights are both frustrating and tedious thanks to spongy enemies and Ratchet's clunky movements. When I played the mainline Ratchet games, it became clear to me how much of a lesser experience Size Matters is since even the first game controls a lot smoother than it does. I haven't played it in a long-ass time, so it's nice to see I didn't just imagine the enemies being bullet sponges.

One of the disadvantages of making a console to handheld conversion, then putting said conversion back to console. I guess they had to keep it 1:1 with the original port.

 

[The Last Stand]

In Up Your Arsenal, Florana originally had plans for a racing level.

Here's two cutscenes proving this cut concept:

After winning:

 

[Archeops]

In Up Your Arsenal, Florana originally had plans for a racing level.

Here's two cutscenes proving this cut concept:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=slG8PPYgN_k
After winning:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=i5ocVss27i0

Seconding this, they’re even mentioned by the announcer’s idle chatter when you take part in Annihilation Nation challenges.

 

[The Last Stand]

Seconding this, they’re even mentioned by the announcer’s idle chatter when you take part in Annihilation Nation challenges.

Vehicles in UYA were regulated to just arena battles. I don't mind; I never cared for the races.

What's the hardest boss in the PS2 era?

 

[TFT-A9]

View attachment 1376413
I can get behind baiting porn.. But to say it 'fueled' you? That's a bit too direct. "Oh yeah fuck, give her big blue eyes that'll shine well with a cummed-on smirk!"
View attachment 1376424

These people were actually responsible for the deluge of Lombax girl porn, encouraged it? Like, I told someone about this and they want proof these people were responsible for this bullshit, because it's one thing to just have porn happen with furries because it WILL happen but to encourage it and say it was driving them shows an alarming trend in the industry.


Shit, nevermind went and verified myself that they were pulling furries to work on it and so yeah Rift Apart is basically a deliberately engineered furry fever dream in AAA

the thing is, furries will already just make porn of stuff completely unbidden by anyone so it's not like you HAVE to seek it out, so what the actual fuck