Well, the start of a loong journey begins. Ratchet & Clank is a game series that really needs no introduction, and the first game was always something I used to play as a child but never fully finished. For some reason I always used to get to Quark’s Fortress and stop, but (15 years or so later) I’ve finally been able to complete it! So, here are my thoughts:
With this being the first Ratchet & Clank game, it's key to see Ratchet’s development. He initially starts out as very self centred, quite cocky & uncaring towards Clank, giving a certain edge to him that isn’t seen in later titles. Clank sadly doesn't have much of an arc with his character, minus one scene that was pretty touching, but he still has a lot of charm! The story isn’t something that hasn’t been done before, but it's the personalities of all of the characters you interact with that help flesh out the story that's being told, which is mostly trying to show how corporate & greedy most of the inhabitants are. This is what makes Chairman Drek an enticing villain to the storyline as he’s basically the epitome of said greed, and this is all told through great storytelling that doesn't treat kids that would’ve been playing this like idiots.
I can imagine being in LOVE with something this ambitious back in 2002, as I still am now. The scope of this game is no small feat, and they did an amazing job at making unique worlds that vary enough from one another that really sells that idea of exploring a galaxy of planets, even having multiple paths you could take in each level. Even the backtracking to previous worlds when you possibly didn’t have the gear yet never felt annoying either because it always opened up a new path that wasn’t explorable before. This great design paired with the gunplay and platforming, it feels like it opened up the genre to more experimentation than what was previously tried with Crash, Spyro & Jak & Daxter up to this point.
And ooo boy the game's soundtrack is a chef's futuristic kiss, it really does feel like every loop was built around trying to fit the atmosphere each world was going for. There are genuinely haunting soundscapes for Planet Orxon & the Gemlik Base but when going to Planet Kerwan I'm surprised at how well it fits the bustling city of Metropolis, EVERY world has their own distinct sound that compliments so so well. I also loved how separate paths sometimes included a deviation of the original song depending on what you were doing. David Bergeaud knocked it out the park with these tracks, and it's a shame that the modern Ratchet & Clank OST’s don’t have that same level of specialty he brought to the table.
So I think looking at the good, it’s clear R&C does a fantastic job at unique level designs, solid writing, & great exploration, but there are definitely some mechanics that could’ve been tweaked to be smoother or, well, maybe haven’t aged the greatest personally.
Speaking of the gear, it’s decent, but isn’t Insomniac's most creative collection like you see in the more modern titles. You have your typical machine gun, rocket launcher, bombs, etc etc, which whilst fun to use, especially weapons like the Visibomb, aren’t very distinctive. Some even feel pretty useless compared to others as well, I’m pretty sure in my whole playthrough I never used the decoy glove or the mine glove once, so whilst there are various ways you can tackle something, some lack the punch others do. But overall, it's a pretty solid collection to start things off alongside the gadgets (even though I wish they were on their own separate wheel).
I think depending on how much I enjoy the weapons also has something to do with how this game’s controls. For starters, the aiming can be awkward depending on what you’re trying to use, and whilst I give respect to Ratchet & Clank for being the first to merge shooter mechanics with platforming, it doesn’t feel as smooth as what I’d like it to sometimes, especially getting into the later worlds where it can start to push these mechanics to their limits, which can even start to hinder the platforming and make you realise how floaty it all feels. I also wish selecting items on the weapon wheel was a little faster as sometimes I try to switch weapons mid-fight and since the game doesn’t pause or slow down I end up taking damage in the process which always got on my nerves.
Another annoyance, grinding for bolts! Now I know the RYNO is meant to be obtained through multiple playthroughs, but that aside there were still a considerable amount needed for the more expensive weapons/upgrades like the tesla claw and the improved health, so I ended up doing grinding the giant clank fight for the most bolts which was definitely the most tiring part of this game.
Honestly though, whilst these complaints did dampen my experience they’re very minimal when looking at the entire journey which I'm very impressed by for a first outing. I can definitely understand why people were underwhelmed with the 2016 remake as whilst it might feel better to control and have better weapon progression, I think it lost the charm and style that made the original what it was (especially on the writing side where they made some very weird changes to the story) and doesn’t stand out near as much as what it did 20 years ago.
Overall, I highly recommend checking this out if you can, I think out of all the PS2 platformer mascots Ratchet & Clank to me had the strongest first entry from what I can gather, even with some bumps it has along the way. I’m very excited to continue playing through the series and seeing how the others stack up as I’ve only heard greater things!
With this being the first Ratchet & Clank game, it's key to see Ratchet’s development. He initially starts out as very self centred, quite cocky & uncaring towards Clank, giving a certain edge to him that isn’t seen in later titles. Clank sadly doesn't have much of an arc with his character, minus one scene that was pretty touching, but he still has a lot of charm! The story isn’t something that hasn’t been done before, but it's the personalities of all of the characters you interact with that help flesh out the story that's being told, which is mostly trying to show how corporate & greedy most of the inhabitants are. This is what makes Chairman Drek an enticing villain to the storyline as he’s basically the epitome of said greed, and this is all told through great storytelling that doesn't treat kids that would’ve been playing this like idiots.
I can imagine being in LOVE with something this ambitious back in 2002, as I still am now. The scope of this game is no small feat, and they did an amazing job at making unique worlds that vary enough from one another that really sells that idea of exploring a galaxy of planets, even having multiple paths you could take in each level. Even the backtracking to previous worlds when you possibly didn’t have the gear yet never felt annoying either because it always opened up a new path that wasn’t explorable before. This great design paired with the gunplay and platforming, it feels like it opened up the genre to more experimentation than what was previously tried with Crash, Spyro & Jak & Daxter up to this point.
And ooo boy the game's soundtrack is a chef's futuristic kiss, it really does feel like every loop was built around trying to fit the atmosphere each world was going for. There are genuinely haunting soundscapes for Planet Orxon & the Gemlik Base but when going to Planet Kerwan I'm surprised at how well it fits the bustling city of Metropolis, EVERY world has their own distinct sound that compliments so so well. I also loved how separate paths sometimes included a deviation of the original song depending on what you were doing. David Bergeaud knocked it out the park with these tracks, and it's a shame that the modern Ratchet & Clank OST’s don’t have that same level of specialty he brought to the table.
So I think looking at the good, it’s clear R&C does a fantastic job at unique level designs, solid writing, & great exploration, but there are definitely some mechanics that could’ve been tweaked to be smoother or, well, maybe haven’t aged the greatest personally.
Speaking of the gear, it’s decent, but isn’t Insomniac's most creative collection like you see in the more modern titles. You have your typical machine gun, rocket launcher, bombs, etc etc, which whilst fun to use, especially weapons like the Visibomb, aren’t very distinctive. Some even feel pretty useless compared to others as well, I’m pretty sure in my whole playthrough I never used the decoy glove or the mine glove once, so whilst there are various ways you can tackle something, some lack the punch others do. But overall, it's a pretty solid collection to start things off alongside the gadgets (even though I wish they were on their own separate wheel).
I think depending on how much I enjoy the weapons also has something to do with how this game’s controls. For starters, the aiming can be awkward depending on what you’re trying to use, and whilst I give respect to Ratchet & Clank for being the first to merge shooter mechanics with platforming, it doesn’t feel as smooth as what I’d like it to sometimes, especially getting into the later worlds where it can start to push these mechanics to their limits, which can even start to hinder the platforming and make you realise how floaty it all feels. I also wish selecting items on the weapon wheel was a little faster as sometimes I try to switch weapons mid-fight and since the game doesn’t pause or slow down I end up taking damage in the process which always got on my nerves.
Another annoyance, grinding for bolts! Now I know the RYNO is meant to be obtained through multiple playthroughs, but that aside there were still a considerable amount needed for the more expensive weapons/upgrades like the tesla claw and the improved health, so I ended up doing grinding the giant clank fight for the most bolts which was definitely the most tiring part of this game.
Honestly though, whilst these complaints did dampen my experience they’re very minimal when looking at the entire journey which I'm very impressed by for a first outing. I can definitely understand why people were underwhelmed with the 2016 remake as whilst it might feel better to control and have better weapon progression, I think it lost the charm and style that made the original what it was (especially on the writing side where they made some very weird changes to the story) and doesn’t stand out near as much as what it did 20 years ago.
Overall, I highly recommend checking this out if you can, I think out of all the PS2 platformer mascots Ratchet & Clank to me had the strongest first entry from what I can gather, even with some bumps it has along the way. I’m very excited to continue playing through the series and seeing how the others stack up as I’ve only heard greater things!