Well this was worse than I expected, limited movement options because of Clank's absence, only a handful of weapons available and all of them were already in Tools of Destruction, so not a single new weapon, mediocre combat encounter, mediocre music, bad performance (this hits rarely 60fps) and even shorter than HowLongToBeat says (HLTB says 4h for main+extra, but I did completionist in 3h) but maybe that is for the better as I was quite happy when it was over.
A fun enough short little pirate themed-romp, that is as inoffensive as it is inessential. The weapons and gunplay here are as good as they’ve ever been, but are let down by tiny unimaginative levels with next to zero room for exploration and populated with a very small variety of enemy types. Not bad, but there’s nothing to recommend here either.
I love talking about how this game is better than Tools of Destruction, and it is, but it's not actually all that special. It's a fun little demo of some mechanics to be introduced in A Crack in Time. The length is nice if you want a pretty streamlined Ratchet experience.
Man was it hard going to this after playing rift apart. But it is still a good, fun time. All of the complaints I’ve seen about it ring true though. Wonky controls, average camera control, and an unbelievably short game hold this back, but I also know that it was just a side story to ride people over before the new game released the next year. I still enjoyed myself, and the pirate theme was a lot of fun!
Why does this even exist?
Was really bored playing this. Ratchet gets betrayed and you’re shooting waves of pirates on a beach with shitty weapons,
that’s when I decided this wasn’t for me.
that’s when I decided this wasn’t for me.
Quest for Booty is... odd. It's definitely DLC-sized, but it's different in some small ways from Tools for Destruction to justify it not being a DLC, but then it's too short to justify it being a standalone game.
More to the point, it's nowhere near good enough to justify it being the middle entry of the Future trilogy, and it seems as though it was made in the middle of A Crack in Time's development just so that the Future games could be a trilogy.
I don't mean to rant, but, like I said, Quest for Booty is just odd. My issue isn't so much that it's short, as I've played and loved many games that were as short or even shorter, but the swashbuckling adventure it depicts isn't quite exciting enough to justify being its own game and could have easily been covered in an intermediary comic series that bridges the gap between Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time.
In a sense, it's pretty much just an epilogue to Tools of Destruction instead of a narrative with its own individual merits.
The story is... there? It's not quite the pirate adventure it promises, but it's not exactly bad either. Not very much happens to further the characters or even provide interesting plot points that lead into A Crack in Time, apart from the end reveal just before the credits.
Some of the platforming on the main island, particularly involving repairing the wind turbines, is fun, as are the puzzles in Darkwater Cove, but other than that, and not to sound like a cliche, Quest for Booty is certainly one of the Ratchet & Clank games of all time. Not bad enough to be bad, not good enough to be good.
5/10
More to the point, it's nowhere near good enough to justify it being the middle entry of the Future trilogy, and it seems as though it was made in the middle of A Crack in Time's development just so that the Future games could be a trilogy.
I don't mean to rant, but, like I said, Quest for Booty is just odd. My issue isn't so much that it's short, as I've played and loved many games that were as short or even shorter, but the swashbuckling adventure it depicts isn't quite exciting enough to justify being its own game and could have easily been covered in an intermediary comic series that bridges the gap between Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time.
In a sense, it's pretty much just an epilogue to Tools of Destruction instead of a narrative with its own individual merits.
The story is... there? It's not quite the pirate adventure it promises, but it's not exactly bad either. Not very much happens to further the characters or even provide interesting plot points that lead into A Crack in Time, apart from the end reveal just before the credits.
Some of the platforming on the main island, particularly involving repairing the wind turbines, is fun, as are the puzzles in Darkwater Cove, but other than that, and not to sound like a cliche, Quest for Booty is certainly one of the Ratchet & Clank games of all time. Not bad enough to be bad, not good enough to be good.
5/10
It's a small side story in the Ratchet Future series, and honestly, I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. I mean yeah only have the same weapons from TOD, and yeah you're stuck on one planet through the entire game. But on the other hand, you get a fun pirate adventure so yeah, who doesn't like pirates.
This is a glorified DLC pack for TOD with some of the worst weapons and balancing in the series but the non-combat parts hearken back to the days of N64/PS1 platformers in a way that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I'm a little confused about why this exists. It's essentially an expansion for TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION that's about a quarter as long, has -literally zero- new weapons (and about a quarter of the previous game's total arsenal), has no secrets, unlockables, or any kind of optional content, and since Clank isn't in it (for story reasons) Ratchet only has about half of his normal moves. There isn't even any shooting combat for close to half of the game, and all of the sudden, the focus is squarely on platforming and puzzle solving. It honestly plays like some kind of Ratchet UNCHARTED, and wow, that is not what I'm looking for from these games! Is this what CRACK IN TIME is like?! Yikes.
Definitely regret spending $15 on this. Three hours of the instantly-tiresome pirate crap from TOOLS with close to no new assets and zero replayability. Baffling.
Definitely regret spending $15 on this. Three hours of the instantly-tiresome pirate crap from TOOLS with close to no new assets and zero replayability. Baffling.
If I could describe this game in one word it would be underwhelming. It is over as soon as it begins. The story is unnecessary and should have just been dlc for ToD. The pirate plot dragging on to long was one of my very few lowlights of ToD and this just drug it even further. There was only 7 weapons and non of them are new. The only Ratchet game I’ve played so far that this may have been more fun gameplay wise was Secret Agent Clank. The writing was decent, and there were a few laughs but it wasn’t enough to save this from the lower end of mediocrity. It does however have the best game title in the series so there’s that. Very excited to begin Crack in Time.
We now move on to the next title of the Future saga, and one that was not even supposed to exist, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty!
Like I said in my Tools of Destruction review, this game was the first 3D Platformer I ever played! I still have fond memories of me playing this game when I was 8 years old, and struggling to make simple jumps or trying to figure out when was the best time to move the camera.
Nowadays, I know how to do stuff like that pretty easily, but it goes to show that for a little kid, mechanics as simple as that can be tricky to figure out at first.
The game picks up immediately where Tools of Destruction left off, with Ratchet looking for a way to find Clank. Talwyn returns from the previous game, but she doesn't have much of an impact on the plot and mainly serves to bounce off of Ratchet's character.
Ratchet and Talwyn found from the supercomputer IRIS that there was a Space Pirate captain, known as Darkwater, that established contact with the Zoni. With that, they think he might be the key to find Clank's whereabouts, but as soon as they reach the Azorean Sea in Planet Merdegraw, they find out that Darkwater has been dead for many years.
And from there, Ratchet & Talwyn are pretty much taken for a ride, as they try to find out the things necessary to contact Clank, discover Darkwater's past, and they even re-encounter Rusty Pete and Captain Slag from the last game.
The story itself is not really much to write home about. It does its job, and really just serves as a tie-in to the events of the next game, A Crack in Time. But I imagine if you were already a fan of the series back when this game came out and saw that last scene, you'd probably be hyped for the next game.
In terms of gameplay, things haven't changed too much, but there have been some alterations. Due to Clank's absence in this game, Ratchet is not able to use any of his abilities but because of that, this game actually contains more platforming challenges than last time.
Tools of Destruction was already trying to bring back more platforming than Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked, so I see this as the next step. In fact, because of the game's shorter length, you won't be experiencing many guantlets of enemies to fight as much as you did in Tools of Destruction.
Ratchet can utilize his wrench to pull certain platforms towards him or far away from him, and can also pick up certain objects and throw them whenever he wants. This adds a nice extra element to Quest for Booty that makes it stand-out from previous titles.
Many of this game's platforming challenges, while not being ground-breaking, are genuinely fun to go through. Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved going through the turbines in Hoolefar Island, and I remember making a bunch of save-files in that area, just so I could revisit it whenever I wanted.
And yeah, that's another thing that I should discuss, the fact that you can't go back to previous areas of the game.
The entire game takes place in only one planet, a major contrast to previous games, and you rarely go back to previous locations. Even when you do, the area has changed enough to where you can't access certain things. In the case of Hoolefar Island, when you do return to it, it is impossible to access the turbines anymore.
This can be a turnoff if you're trying to go for 100%, but to be frank, there is also not much to 100%. The only collectible that this game has are upgrades to your existing weapons, that you can obtain in certain areas. These mimic the special effects you could get for your arsenal in the Skill Trees of Tools of Destruction.
These are a nice thing to go after, but they don't add that much to your weapons, for two reasons.
The first of them is that this game is not nearly as difficult as Tools of Destruction. For the first time in this series, Quest for Booty actually gives you a difficutly select before you start your adventure.
When I was a kid, I would play this game on Easy, but in recent years, I've been playing the game on Medium. Even on the Medium difficulty, enemies don't deal nearly the amount of damage they did in the previous game, and checkpoints are not as far apart from each other as last time.
The second reason is that this game is not very long. Actually, it might be the shortest mainline Ratchet & Clank game, clocking in around 2 to 3 hours.
And why is that, you may ask?
Well, like I said at the start of this review, this game wasn't even supposed to exist. Back in my Tools of Destruction review, I mentioned that Insomniac Games had a massive crunch culture at the time, and when the PS3 generation started, they decided to make the Resistance series to potentially avoid burn-out within the staff.
They would release a Resistance game one year and a Ratchet & Clank game the next.
2008 was the year that Resistance 2 came out, and a Ratchet & Clank game was not supposed to be released until 2009, with A Crack in Time (known as Ratchet & Clank Future 2 internally, at the time).
Back when Tools of Destruction was in development, Insomniac made a promise to Sony that the game would have a multiplayer mode like Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked. Because of the game's tumultuous development, Tools of Destruction ended up being just a single-player experience, but to compensate, Insomniac promised a small downloadable Ratchet & Clank title to be released in 2008.
Sony wanted more digital titles for the PS3's digital store, so a small R&C title would be perfect for that. In North America, the game is a digital-only title, but it got a physical release in PAL regions.
But because of this whole ordeal, Insomniac's staff was spread even thinner than they were before and there was even more crunch than before.
Although the game's short length does have a pro to it. In spite of its very linear nature, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty was a game I used to replay a lot when I was younger. Because of its short runtime, it made it super easy for me to just pick it up, play it, finish it and then go about my day.
When it comes to the presentation, it's about the same as Tools of Destruction, which makes sense, because they share the same engine. Environments still look pretty great, but because of the pirate setting, there are some more dark and "spooky" locations this time around.
It might be because they both have a similar theme, but this game actually ended up reminding me of the movie Treasure Planet in some aspects.
And like last time, the soundtrack is pretty decent. There are a lot of atmospheric music tracks, but because of my nostalgia with this game, it became easier for me recognize a lot of them, especially the title screen music.
This would also be the last time that long-time composer, David Bergeaud, would compose for a Ratchet & Clank game. It's sad to see him go, but he ended things on a strong note, I'd say.
It's a bit hard for me to properly rank this game considering the amount of attachment I have with it. Without it, I probably wouldn't have gotten the incentive to download the demos of the other Ratchet & Clank games that were on the PS3 and I wouldn't have become as much of a fan of the series, if at all.
But overall, in spite of its short nature and not doing anything super spectacular, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty is a game that I still enjoy a bunch, even to this day.
Like I said in my Tools of Destruction review, this game was the first 3D Platformer I ever played! I still have fond memories of me playing this game when I was 8 years old, and struggling to make simple jumps or trying to figure out when was the best time to move the camera.
Nowadays, I know how to do stuff like that pretty easily, but it goes to show that for a little kid, mechanics as simple as that can be tricky to figure out at first.
The game picks up immediately where Tools of Destruction left off, with Ratchet looking for a way to find Clank. Talwyn returns from the previous game, but she doesn't have much of an impact on the plot and mainly serves to bounce off of Ratchet's character.
Ratchet and Talwyn found from the supercomputer IRIS that there was a Space Pirate captain, known as Darkwater, that established contact with the Zoni. With that, they think he might be the key to find Clank's whereabouts, but as soon as they reach the Azorean Sea in Planet Merdegraw, they find out that Darkwater has been dead for many years.
And from there, Ratchet & Talwyn are pretty much taken for a ride, as they try to find out the things necessary to contact Clank, discover Darkwater's past, and they even re-encounter Rusty Pete and Captain Slag from the last game.
The story itself is not really much to write home about. It does its job, and really just serves as a tie-in to the events of the next game, A Crack in Time. But I imagine if you were already a fan of the series back when this game came out and saw that last scene, you'd probably be hyped for the next game.
In terms of gameplay, things haven't changed too much, but there have been some alterations. Due to Clank's absence in this game, Ratchet is not able to use any of his abilities but because of that, this game actually contains more platforming challenges than last time.
Tools of Destruction was already trying to bring back more platforming than Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked, so I see this as the next step. In fact, because of the game's shorter length, you won't be experiencing many guantlets of enemies to fight as much as you did in Tools of Destruction.
Ratchet can utilize his wrench to pull certain platforms towards him or far away from him, and can also pick up certain objects and throw them whenever he wants. This adds a nice extra element to Quest for Booty that makes it stand-out from previous titles.
Many of this game's platforming challenges, while not being ground-breaking, are genuinely fun to go through. Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved going through the turbines in Hoolefar Island, and I remember making a bunch of save-files in that area, just so I could revisit it whenever I wanted.
And yeah, that's another thing that I should discuss, the fact that you can't go back to previous areas of the game.
The entire game takes place in only one planet, a major contrast to previous games, and you rarely go back to previous locations. Even when you do, the area has changed enough to where you can't access certain things. In the case of Hoolefar Island, when you do return to it, it is impossible to access the turbines anymore.
This can be a turnoff if you're trying to go for 100%, but to be frank, there is also not much to 100%. The only collectible that this game has are upgrades to your existing weapons, that you can obtain in certain areas. These mimic the special effects you could get for your arsenal in the Skill Trees of Tools of Destruction.
These are a nice thing to go after, but they don't add that much to your weapons, for two reasons.
The first of them is that this game is not nearly as difficult as Tools of Destruction. For the first time in this series, Quest for Booty actually gives you a difficutly select before you start your adventure.
When I was a kid, I would play this game on Easy, but in recent years, I've been playing the game on Medium. Even on the Medium difficulty, enemies don't deal nearly the amount of damage they did in the previous game, and checkpoints are not as far apart from each other as last time.
The second reason is that this game is not very long. Actually, it might be the shortest mainline Ratchet & Clank game, clocking in around 2 to 3 hours.
And why is that, you may ask?
Well, like I said at the start of this review, this game wasn't even supposed to exist. Back in my Tools of Destruction review, I mentioned that Insomniac Games had a massive crunch culture at the time, and when the PS3 generation started, they decided to make the Resistance series to potentially avoid burn-out within the staff.
They would release a Resistance game one year and a Ratchet & Clank game the next.
2008 was the year that Resistance 2 came out, and a Ratchet & Clank game was not supposed to be released until 2009, with A Crack in Time (known as Ratchet & Clank Future 2 internally, at the time).
Back when Tools of Destruction was in development, Insomniac made a promise to Sony that the game would have a multiplayer mode like Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked. Because of the game's tumultuous development, Tools of Destruction ended up being just a single-player experience, but to compensate, Insomniac promised a small downloadable Ratchet & Clank title to be released in 2008.
Sony wanted more digital titles for the PS3's digital store, so a small R&C title would be perfect for that. In North America, the game is a digital-only title, but it got a physical release in PAL regions.
But because of this whole ordeal, Insomniac's staff was spread even thinner than they were before and there was even more crunch than before.
Although the game's short length does have a pro to it. In spite of its very linear nature, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty was a game I used to replay a lot when I was younger. Because of its short runtime, it made it super easy for me to just pick it up, play it, finish it and then go about my day.
When it comes to the presentation, it's about the same as Tools of Destruction, which makes sense, because they share the same engine. Environments still look pretty great, but because of the pirate setting, there are some more dark and "spooky" locations this time around.
It might be because they both have a similar theme, but this game actually ended up reminding me of the movie Treasure Planet in some aspects.
And like last time, the soundtrack is pretty decent. There are a lot of atmospheric music tracks, but because of my nostalgia with this game, it became easier for me recognize a lot of them, especially the title screen music.
This would also be the last time that long-time composer, David Bergeaud, would compose for a Ratchet & Clank game. It's sad to see him go, but he ended things on a strong note, I'd say.
It's a bit hard for me to properly rank this game considering the amount of attachment I have with it. Without it, I probably wouldn't have gotten the incentive to download the demos of the other Ratchet & Clank games that were on the PS3 and I wouldn't have become as much of a fan of the series, if at all.
But overall, in spite of its short nature and not doing anything super spectacular, Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty is a game that I still enjoy a bunch, even to this day.
haha Ratchet gonna go find some butts but if he touches them without consent he's going to jail forever
Forever salty by how the Ratchet and Clank game that reenacts the plot of Treasure Planet and gives you oodles of goofy, silly pirate content is also the shortest one at only a 2-3 hour runtime. I understand this was meant to be mildly overpriced DLC to tide players over before the release of ACIT but that trap-ridden pirate's cave filled with pilfered booty and dead man tell no tales should've been twice as long.
At least Insomniac understood the value of a good pirate in the ol' character roster and made both Slag and Rusty Pete reoccurring characters starting with this game. I'm glad that Slag inexplicably comes back from the dead and later hosts a radio station in ACIT.
At least Insomniac understood the value of a good pirate in the ol' character roster and made both Slag and Rusty Pete reoccurring characters starting with this game. I'm glad that Slag inexplicably comes back from the dead and later hosts a radio station in ACIT.
Even though it basically reuses all of Tools of Destructions assets, in a very limited format, it still has a few unique mechanics to it. For one thing the wrench now has an actual use outside of battle other than turning cranks.
It focuses a lot more on platforming - probably the most since the original games, which I guess was them making use of the fact there's no Clank, and thus half your "easy" movement options are gone.
It does ultimately feel a little pointless though. I played it on PS Now so I dunno the release history of this game, but it feels like it should have been a prologue to the next game rather than a standalone thing between releases that you have to pay for. It's not bad but it's just such a limited version of R&C to spend your time (and money depending on how you get it) on.
It focuses a lot more on platforming - probably the most since the original games, which I guess was them making use of the fact there's no Clank, and thus half your "easy" movement options are gone.
It does ultimately feel a little pointless though. I played it on PS Now so I dunno the release history of this game, but it feels like it should have been a prologue to the next game rather than a standalone thing between releases that you have to pay for. It's not bad but it's just such a limited version of R&C to spend your time (and money depending on how you get it) on.
This game actually goes pretty hard for a side-game meant to tide players over until A Crack in Time, and I think the short length works in its favour as I find most of the other Ratchet & Clank games begin to lose steam in the endgame. However, I can totally understand players back in 2008 feeling that it was an overpriced DLC for Tools of Destruction.
The space pirates are my favourite recurring enemies in the series, and I love pirate themes in general, so of course I was delighted to have a game all about them. It's a fun ride and doesn't overstay its welcome. But it may have been better off actually being DLC, and if it was released in the current gaming landscape it probably would be.
The space pirates are my favourite recurring enemies in the series, and I love pirate themes in general, so of course I was delighted to have a game all about them. It's a fun ride and doesn't overstay its welcome. But it may have been better off actually being DLC, and if it was released in the current gaming landscape it probably would be.
I enjoyed this side story of the Future trilogy. A well-tight crafted story that doesn’t leave too many holes in its short span. The enemies and the main villain of the game are quite charming and have just the right amount of humor tying in with the pirate theme.
Whole thing is like 3 hours long, A very satisfying one sitting experience. Next up, A Crack in Time!
One of the worst R&C by a massive amount, it doesn't take advantage of the fun gameplay and levels created for Tools of Destruction and instead replaces them with wholly uninteresting levels with enemies that don't feel satisfying or fun to fight
the people at insomniac games and at Sony just came up with the most suggestive titles for the Ratchet & Clank. Might As Well call them Cumsock & Playboy Magazine
This is possibly the most pointless game I've ever played, in the sense I don't understand why it was a unique SKU. This is a (lame) level or two of a regular Ratchet and Clank game. It could have easily been DLC for the first Ratchet and Clank Future game, since it was only released digitally in its home country anyway. It could have been the beginning of the next Future game. It could have been an email.
Quest for Booty feels like such a tech demo I feel like I'm rating a 8th grader's rough draft of an essay they plagiarized from themselves. Like, I can't give you a failing grade, because you technically did your homework, and I was able to comprehend it. But robot pirates have souls? But their robot brains can be brought back to life without souls? But their souls can animate heads without their brains? What are you DOING, and is it a regulated substance?
Special shout-out to the woman on the front cover who I will never learn the name of due to her nothing contribution to both this game and the previous one, who even the game hates to the point another named character refers to her as "Ratchet's female"??? Like, they call Ratchet by his species when they're being disrespectful. But she's just species: female. But Ratchet's female. She doesn't even get to be her own female. Even though she's not a lombax! Did the people MAKING this game know her name? Does she have a name???
Where the fuck is Angela?????
Quest for Booty feels like such a tech demo I feel like I'm rating a 8th grader's rough draft of an essay they plagiarized from themselves. Like, I can't give you a failing grade, because you technically did your homework, and I was able to comprehend it. But robot pirates have souls? But their robot brains can be brought back to life without souls? But their souls can animate heads without their brains? What are you DOING, and is it a regulated substance?
Special shout-out to the woman on the front cover who I will never learn the name of due to her nothing contribution to both this game and the previous one, who even the game hates to the point another named character refers to her as "Ratchet's female"??? Like, they call Ratchet by his species when they're being disrespectful. But she's just species: female. But Ratchet's female. She doesn't even get to be her own female. Even though she's not a lombax! Did the people MAKING this game know her name? Does she have a name???
Where the fuck is Angela?????
Quest for Booty is an inoffensive trip with some neat ideas, but utlimately lacks the impact of its siblings.
There are no new weapons; they're all taken from Tools of Destruction (yet the player's full arsenal isn’t present). Item-grabbing and the wrench tether seem like original mechanics at first, but they're both used later in A Crack in Time (CiT)
Major fights from Tools of Destruction (ToD) are also reused: Destroying a slew of pirate ship cannons was a particularly memorable moment in ToD, so having it implemented in a less challenging way feels cheap. It’s also disappointing that the player does this fight on a turret, as shooting shit with a turret is perhaps the series’ least engaging gimmick. The large mechanical pirate bosses also make a return, and since they were already overused in ToD, having to fight even more of them was tiring. Additionally, many battles are treated as "waves." Essentially, the player sits in one spot and fights tons of enemies as they spawn on top of them. R&C usually has the player progressing through areas and fighting enemies that are naturally placed; I assume this new system was implemented to pad the game's length.
Quest for Booty suffers from a severe re-use of assets in general. The game begins and ends around a collection of pirate ships (from ToD of course) that are sailing across a terribly animated sea with a few shittily modeled rocks placed to create the illusion of motion. The pirate enemies are also reused from ToD.
Quest for Booty being a direct sequel to ToD cheapens the game’s ending. ToD ended on a significant cliffhanger, and at the time, it was the most story-driven game in the series. To have it continue with mediocre filler is mind-boggling. I wouldn’t mind if it were a spin-off, but the events of this game are unfortunately necessary to bridge the gap between ToD and CiT.
I also have mixed feelings on how long it takes for the action to begin. Quest for Booty’s first and second levels are exclusively platforming puzzles (not including the introduction). This is a cool idea conceptually, but many of these puzzles felt a bit too simple to be engaging. Some of the windmill puzzles are clever though, like when you grind across a rail and have to quickly pick up a bomb to toss at a weakened gate. And avoiding ravenous winged creatures while cautiously traversing narrow platforms in a dark cavern is Quest for Booty’s most inspired quality.
Thankfully, the final boss is mechanically exciting. Jumping between pirate ships throughout a multi-phased fight is a fun idea; however, like I stated earlier, the environment itself isn’t original. I would have enjoyed it more if the player’s full arsenal from ToD was available and Insomniac treated the fight itself as a super-boss. I was playing Quest for Booty on Hard, yet the base game for ToD featured a far more challenging final boss.
Even after all the issues I have with this game, Quest for Booty features ToD’s excellent mechanical foundation. This instantly makes parts of it fun, regardless of how unoriginal half of the content is.
There are no new weapons; they're all taken from Tools of Destruction (yet the player's full arsenal isn’t present). Item-grabbing and the wrench tether seem like original mechanics at first, but they're both used later in A Crack in Time (CiT)
Major fights from Tools of Destruction (ToD) are also reused: Destroying a slew of pirate ship cannons was a particularly memorable moment in ToD, so having it implemented in a less challenging way feels cheap. It’s also disappointing that the player does this fight on a turret, as shooting shit with a turret is perhaps the series’ least engaging gimmick. The large mechanical pirate bosses also make a return, and since they were already overused in ToD, having to fight even more of them was tiring. Additionally, many battles are treated as "waves." Essentially, the player sits in one spot and fights tons of enemies as they spawn on top of them. R&C usually has the player progressing through areas and fighting enemies that are naturally placed; I assume this new system was implemented to pad the game's length.
Quest for Booty suffers from a severe re-use of assets in general. The game begins and ends around a collection of pirate ships (from ToD of course) that are sailing across a terribly animated sea with a few shittily modeled rocks placed to create the illusion of motion. The pirate enemies are also reused from ToD.
Quest for Booty being a direct sequel to ToD cheapens the game’s ending. ToD ended on a significant cliffhanger, and at the time, it was the most story-driven game in the series. To have it continue with mediocre filler is mind-boggling. I wouldn’t mind if it were a spin-off, but the events of this game are unfortunately necessary to bridge the gap between ToD and CiT.
I also have mixed feelings on how long it takes for the action to begin. Quest for Booty’s first and second levels are exclusively platforming puzzles (not including the introduction). This is a cool idea conceptually, but many of these puzzles felt a bit too simple to be engaging. Some of the windmill puzzles are clever though, like when you grind across a rail and have to quickly pick up a bomb to toss at a weakened gate. And avoiding ravenous winged creatures while cautiously traversing narrow platforms in a dark cavern is Quest for Booty’s most inspired quality.
Thankfully, the final boss is mechanically exciting. Jumping between pirate ships throughout a multi-phased fight is a fun idea; however, like I stated earlier, the environment itself isn’t original. I would have enjoyed it more if the player’s full arsenal from ToD was available and Insomniac treated the fight itself as a super-boss. I was playing Quest for Booty on Hard, yet the base game for ToD featured a far more challenging final boss.
Even after all the issues I have with this game, Quest for Booty features ToD’s excellent mechanical foundation. This instantly makes parts of it fun, regardless of how unoriginal half of the content is.
Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty is a quick but engaging little sidegame for the series. I saw it on PS Now many times but never got around to playing it because I always thought it was a full game, but once I learned that it was actually only a few hours long I figured it would be the perfect game to beat in one sitting and feel like I was actually making progress with something while im sitting here sick as hell. And well, there really isnt much to say about it. Its not different from the other Ratchet games I played. Thats to say it doesnt do anything new but its still a really fun time. The story isnt really there but its funny and entertaining. Theres a few annoying parts and bad checkpoints but theres not much to complain about either. Its just a short little fun time that you probably wont remember much of and sometimes thats just what you need.
Time Played - 5 hours 9 minutes
Nancymeter - 75/100
Game Completion #52 of 2022
May Completion #2
Time Played - 5 hours 9 minutes
Nancymeter - 75/100
Game Completion #52 of 2022
May Completion #2