The Ratchet & Clank Thread

[Bzzit]

Yeah they watered it down and made it really generic. Hate how Ratchet and Clank have no conflict or development.

[Master]

In fairness, the game was pretty much like so as well. Though it did have the sort-of excuse of being told from Captain Quark's perspective. Though of course, the events are still fairly different regardless, and retelling or not, it feels too different and as such, I take it more as a reboot.

[Bzzit]

Yeah, and I found that to be big problem in the game too.

Here's a well constructed video analysis, which underlines the problems with the recent Ratchet reboot. It's over an hour long, but an interesting watch if you're a fan of the series.

[Master]

A bit late for me to watch a one-hour video now, but I'll definitely give that a watch later today.

[Bzzit]

It's a good video to have on while you're playing a game or something

[Master]

Ah, I did eventually give it a full viewing. Gamingbrit, I think I watched his videos on 3D Metroid a while back.

He makes some fair points, particularly in regards to the shift in humour, tone and plot that the series has made. And I think I appreciate a little more why there are folks who aren't so keen on the PS3 titles, despite Crack in Time being my favourite.

[Bzzit]

While I prefer the more cynical + irreverent tone, humour and presentation of the PS2 titles, I think the more light-hearted PS3 titles are great. A Crack In Time and Nexus are examples where the Future format worked especially well, imo.

I agree with GamingBrit's general opinion and criticism of the reboot's story and characterizations, although I still found the gameplay and visuals to be great. For the reboot, I wish they had taken the best elements from the PS2 and future sagas and combined them, instead of just watering down the Future saga style and adding a bunch of pedestrian fluff.

[Dart]

I thought from a gameplay standpoint the ps4 game is the best one hands down; and although I might be the odd man out here, I don't care much about any of the R&C games's plot and character development because (at least to me) the characters are either really annoying or cliché archetypes.

[The Jonster]

Bump.

Ooh so there is a thread for this! I have been curious about playing these games ever since a conversation about them. I haven’t played any of them yet so I’m really eager to try them out soon before i give my thoughts on the series!

[Steo]

Well yeah I have to finish them all before I have an opinion on them bur I've played the PS4 version and got to the last boss on PS3. I decided though I'd prefer to play them on PS2 so there's no graphical glitches etc.

[Crash267]

ratchet and clank cut content here's some stuff found on the tcrf unused cutscenes
unused animations

[Master]

...carrying on from conversation in Music you are listening to thread

What's interesting is that Tools had the same composer as the PS2 games, it wasn't until Crack in Time that they got a new composer. I do wonder if the change in style was down to Insomniac more than anything else, given how they seemed to want to go for the more cinematic approach Future series onwards. I do like some tracks from the PS3 games like the aforementioned Nefarious Space Station, but also the Great Clock, Heroes Collide and Nexus' main theme, but they're still very much Space Epic vibes than the sci-fi electric of old.

I was originally going to mention it in my previous post before I cut it to make it a bit shorter, but it really caught me off-guard when I found out he worked on Tools and Quest for Booty! You can still recognise his style in a few tracks, but so much of what made it so catchy and memorable was still lost in translation...

Yeah I know what you mean, it definitely still sounds like his work, but you compare the theme for Metropolis in the PS2 games compared to when it shows up in Tools and it's a completely different vibe. It's far more bombastic in Tools, and while you could make the argument it's because Kerwan's under attack, that was also the case in UYA, and they managed to get by just fine with the same theme as was in the first game, but with a slightly more aggressive backing.

They're more tone setters first than brainworms.

I think that phrase summarizes it the best.
I'll eventually give them another chance once I inevitably marathon the whole series again, but I doubt I'll ever get accustomed to the typical movie soundtrack kind of feel emanating from most of them...

In general, the music change doesn't bother me too much since it still befits the mood of what's happening and the gameplay is still solid that I can get by just fine, but from a sense of aesthetic and general atmosphere, the feel is definitely significantly different. But again considering how more cartoony the original PS2 games were vs the more polished "Pixar-like" aesthetic of the Future games onwards, I can sort of get why that's happened.

In general, I wasn't very fond of the direction they took since the Future era (but I do know a lot of my complaints have to do with sudden changes of writers and quite a lot crunch time...).
With how much they changed the characters and stripped out the satirical aspects, the constant ToD UI style, or how stupidly hard they tried to make Ratchet and Clank so much more UniQuE aNd sPeCiAl than everybody else to the point of it being so contrived and nonsensical (also gotta love how they so conveniently forget about Angela from R&C2 except for like 2 random nods, while bringing back a joke character from that game as the antagonist for Frontal Assault )...
Not to mention the soulless take on so much of R&C1 in 2016... ("#GADGETRON Amirighte fellow kids!? BUY A PIXELIZER!!" )

So truth be told, the shift in the plot between PS2 and PS3 never really did bother that much, but I think that might be more down to the fact I didn't really properly get into the series until I played Size Matters (which while a proper R&C game, was bite-size in comparison and was pretty much the only PS2-era like game I finished at that point), the first Insomniac Ratchet and Clank game I played properly from start-finish was A Crack in Time. I had played bits and bobs of demos and at friend's of the PS2 games, but the Jak and Daxter trilogy was more my style and what I played in my PS2 years.

As such, I didn't properly *feel* that change much, since I didn't get into the series until that change was practically complete. I do get the issues, cause the "Chosen One" trope is one that can make an everyman character like Ratchet suddenly feel a lot less relatable. But in general I didn't really mind it too much as the story itself still felt compelling enough. Though I will admit I do miss the satire of the older games, it stil felt that were still a minor amount of that initially with GrummelNet in the Future series, but that quickly fizzled out. I know there's a lot of consternation about how Ratchet's personality has changed also, but I don't really have much issue with that as he's grown up and faced a lot of challenges at this point. I really wish they didn't rewrite his personality for the 2016 reimagining though, I can see why they had issues, but I would've preferred they toned it down rather than just making him a generic easygoing guy. Even in the Future series he still had a bit of wise-ass snarkiness to him.

Still, the gameplay was some of the series' best especially in Crack in Time or even Nexus and the 2016 remake (I have yet to try Rift Apart)! If they would replace the upgrade system with something like the extensive weapon customization from Deadlocked, it could become the ultimate R&C gameplay experience in my eyes!

I have actually played and beaten Deadlocked but I can't remember the weapon customisation, maybe I ought to do another run of that as well at some point. I will say I do miss the Constructo weapons from Crack in Time, I suppose in hindsight they felt like a bit of a novelty, but it was pretty cool and fun being able to tweak and recolour your weapons to suit your aesthetics and play style.

Well I'm currently at Veldin and honestly it's not been that bad, bit irritating but the Visibomb helped cheese a good few segments. I am however struggling against Drek, and I'm running low on bolts so I might have to grind xD.

I remember it got a bit easier when I did it again in the HD trilogy somewhere around the mid-2010s. But as someone who grew up with R&C2 and 3 + Gladiator/Deadlocked (my first R&C game) and only got the first game much later, it just feels unnatural to get used to the lack of armor and 8 max HPs! (Welp, I gotta git gud I guess )

Having just finished a run of R&C1 again for the second time, I understand that feeling well. I've now moved onto R&C2 and it's crazy even though R&C2 is just one title after, just how different the two games feel. Ratchet feels a lot tighter and lighter in R&C2 vs R&C1, and of course the addition of strafing makes a huge different to combat encounters. But I think that's what makes R&C1 particularly interesting, because it's not quite as combat heavy as the series would later become, there's a lot more platforming and the challenge isn't just in the gunplay (in fact I'd argue there's not really all too much given how the weapons aren't quite as outrageous as they'd become later on down the line).

(I did fizzle put halfway through R&C2, I think I got stuck at one of the Thug Leader boss fights...)

Was it the Giganto-Mech? That one is quite infamous for one of the roughest difficulty spike in the series!
Fortunately, there's quite a unique trick you can do with the Sheepinator to beat it if you can't do it the normal way...

I think it might have been, annoyingly I've lost that save file from a nuke I did so I couldn't even go back and check. I'm doing a fresh run of R&C2 at any rate so I'll find out soon enough when I hit a point of contentious struggle xD.

[Mortamon Saturn]

Alright, Ratchet & Clank! One of my favourite video games franchises of all time, pure unadulterated fun from beginning to end! (and pure adulterated fun for its titles' innuendos )
I'll probably do a ranking with some comments in my next post!

Yeah I know what you mean, it definitely still sounds like his work, but you compare the theme for Metropolis in the PS2 games compared to when it shows up in Tools and it's a completely different vibe. It's far more bombastic in Tools, and while you could make the argument it's because Kerwan's under attack, that was also the case in UYA, and they managed to get by just fine with the same theme as was in the first game, but with a slightly more aggressive backing.

Giving the ToD Metropolis version a listen right now and you can definitely recognize a lot of the style from R&C2/3 specifically, but those notes feel a bit behind in the track. Still, definitely one of the most iconic ones in the PS3 series, but I wish it had more catchiness and actually felt reminiscent of Metropolis... If someone would make me listen to this at random and ask me to put a name on this music, I would never be able to tell them from which planet it came from and just tell you it's from a big action sequence or something...
While R&C3 was a bit heavy on the soundtrack reuse from R&C1, I greatly enjoyed its rendition of Metropolis! True to the original while perfectly tweaked to fit the new context!

So truth be told, the shift in the plot between PS2 and PS3 never really did bother that much, but I think that might be more down to the fact I didn't really properly get into the series until I played Size Matters (which while a proper R&C game, was bite-size in comparison and was pretty much the only PS2-era like game I finished at that point), the first Insomniac Ratchet and Clank game I played properly from start-finish was A Crack in Time. I had played bits and bobs of demos and at friend's of the PS2 games, but the Jak and Daxter trilogy was more my style and what I played in my PS2 years.

As such, I didn't properly *feel* that change much, since I didn't get into the series until that change was practically complete. I do get the issues, cause the "Chosen One" trope is one that can make an everyman character like Ratchet suddenly feel a lot less relatable. But in general I didn't really mind it too much as the story itself still felt compelling enough. Though I will admit I do miss the satire of the older games, it stil felt that were still a minor amount of that initially with GrummelNet in the Future series, but that quickly fizzled out. I know there's a lot of consternation about how Ratchet's personality has changed also, but I don't really have much issue with that as he's grown up and faced a lot of challenges at this point. I really wish they didn't rewrite his personality for the 2016 reimagining though, I can see why they had issues, but I would've preferred they toned it down rather than just making him a generic easygoing guy. Even in the Future series he still had a bit of wise-ass snarkiness to him.

Not to mention Size Matters felt like a bit of a sudden reset after the late years of the PS2 era with the return to Ratchet's original outfit and how different it can feel from 2/3 or Deadlocked when it comes to the story set in its own bubble or even for the gameplay. And with the family shenanigans involving Qwark, some of its plot points felt a bit in line with the Future entries focusing more on the characters' origins. So I would get why the PS3 titles wouldn't feel so out place after such an introduction.

On their own, the Future games really do stand strong!
Honestly, I think the whole "going into Ratchet's Lombax origins" thing definitely had its place in the series, it was just natural to raise the question at some point. Problem is, not only does it get way too much focus into the stories when Ratchet never displayed any form of concerns about his species/origins in any of the games before, but they made the Lombaxes sound way too good and special in a world where 99% of the characters/species are comically flawed, thus the Chosen One trope issue!... In fact, only Veldin (and then Clank) ever mattered to Ratchet during the old era, meaning he was fully embracing it as his surrogate homeland/family... and then he stopped caring about it because- ONE OF NATURE'S MYSTERIES!
...And then they also decided Clank's special birth wasn't contrived enough, so they had to make him into Space-Time Jesus' son despite how little sense that made and how dangerous this was to spawn as a defect in a Drek factory on a barren planet out of the quintillions of possible places in the universe! Truly one of nature's mysteries indeed!
And yeah, at least Ratchet's character was still a natural evolution in the Future series even if there were a few times when he felt sort of off, even the PS2 titles already gave him a drastic change to something a bit more safe due to some complaints regarding his personality in R&C1... I hope those people now feel remorse when looking at his bland goody two-shoes version from 2016 (It feels like he became some of the very things the PS2 games would have been satirical about )

I have actually played and beaten Deadlocked but I can't remember the weapon customisation, maybe I ought to do another run of that as well at some point. I will say I do miss the Constructo weapons from Crack in Time, I suppose in hindsight they felt like a bit of a novelty, but it was pretty cool and fun being able to tweak and recolour your weapons to suit your aesthetics and play style.

I should have referred to it as weapon modification specifically. Deadlocked had that whole weapon mod system, kind of like the purchaseable upgrade mechanics introduced in the PS3 series except you eventually unlock the ability to freely mix and match those stat upgrades and place them on any weapon you want! But what truly makes it incredibly enjoyable are the Omega mods, which drastically alters all of the weapons' capabilities and some of their visual effects, so for example you can shoot missiles that explode into lava pools or burst into bouncy exploding mines, turn the classic gravity bomb into a sticky grenade, or give acid/freezing/brainwashing/morphing/electrical arcing properties to anything to freely replicate staple weapons/upgrades of the series!
Though the Constructo weapons were a great idea and I'm personally a sucker for that kind of features, so I would love to see them back but expanded and with something as free as the Alpha/Omega modding system!
I guess the robot customization from Deadlocked was also pretty close to that idea when it comes to the cosmetic aspect (which itself evolved from the ship customization in the previous games)!

Having just finished a run of R&C1 again for the second time, I understand that feeling well. I've now moved onto R&C2 and it's crazy even though R&C2 is just one title after, just how different the two games feel. Ratchet feels a lot tighter and lighter in R&C2 vs R&C1, and of course the addition of strafing makes a huge different to combat encounters. But I think that's what makes R&C1 particularly interesting, because it's not quite as combat heavy as the series would later become, there's a lot more platforming and the challenge isn't just in the gunplay (in fact I'd argue there's not really all too much given how the weapons aren't quite as outrageous as they'd become later on down the line).

As I've seen many people summarize it, "R&C1 is a platformer with action elements, while the others are action games with platforming elements" (so, basically the same evolution as Jak & Daxter, or Rayman 3 compared to other Rayman games). So yeah, it sure feels hard to adjust between the two at times, even for the story and characters which already changed starting from 2.
Even the fighting was like a puzzle at times, forcing you to save ammunition and think about which weapon in your entire Arse(nal ) is most suitable for each situation or to think outside the box to deal with the most dangerous foes. While the future (not Future ) games turned into a dopamine rush and a constant challenge of shooting/dodging skills with the starting weapons becoming increasingly irrevelant as you progress.
I used to think the game aged poorly because of these differences, but on the contrary, that's what made it age like wine as it stands out so much for many positive reasons!

I think it might have been, annoyingly I've lost that save file from a nuke I did so I couldn't even go back and check. I'm doing a fresh run of R&C2 at any rate so I'll find out soon enough when I hit a point of contentious struggle xD.

Make sure to play with the same memory card containing your R&C1 data so you can save up bolts on a few purchases, as affording the best things in this game takes forever and you're going to need them with how ruthless a few parts can get!

(Btw I apologize if there are some mistakes or if my phrasing feels broken in a few lines of this post, I'm sick today and my brain feels completely broken right now! )

[Tribelle2026]

I'm going to buy the HD trilogy on PS3. I've been meaning to replay these games for a while but I have never gotten around to it.

[Master]

Well in the time between my last post and this one, I've finished all the PS2 R&Cs (except for Secret Agent Clank, I was here for a fun time not a frustrated time - I've beaten it on PSP back in the day, and I have middling memories of it), meaning that with the completion of UYA, I've now finished every mainline R&C game!

I'm probably going to continue with the Future series at some point, but having finished the PS2 titles, I feel a break is in order. I will say that each of the PS2 titles feel far more distinct in themselves compared to the games that came after, which feel a lot more...samey, for want of a better term. I don't know if that's down to the fact that the PS2 titles underwent far more greater leaps in refinement, and were much more episodic versus the serialised story that Future began. Or if I'm just not giving Future a fair review seeing as I've not played those games for a while...but therein lies my current feeling.

Giving the ToD Metropolis version a listen right now and you can definitely recognize a lot of the style from R&C2/3 specifically, but those notes feel a bit behind in the track. Still, definitely one of the most iconic ones in the PS3 series, but I wish it had more catchiness and actually felt reminiscent of Metropolis... If someone would make me listen to this at random and ask me to put a name on this music, I would never be able to tell them from which planet it came from and just tell you it's from a big action sequence or something...
While R&C3 was a bit heavy on the soundtrack reuse from R&C1, I greatly enjoyed its rendition of Metropolis! True to the original while perfectly tweaked to fit the new context!

Indeed! Like I said in the music thread, I reckon it might be down to the change in tone for the series, going for the more bombastic and "cinematic" feel, and while his musical style exists, I think because the vibe he's going for is different, it doesn't have the same aesthetic as the PS2 games, which were more synthy and catchy in comparison. For the record, I do actually like ToD's Kerwan, it fits the situation pretty nicely, but yeah it's definitely not as iconic or catchy as the original.

Not to mention Size Matters felt like a bit of a sudden reset after the late years of the PS2 era with the return to Ratchet's original outfit and how different it can feel from 2/3 or Deadlocked when it comes to the story set in its own bubble or even for the gameplay. And with the family shenanigans involving Qwark, some of its plot points felt a bit in line with the Future entries focusing more on the characters' origins. So I would get why the PS3 titles wouldn't feel so out place after such an introduction.

Size Matters is an interesting game to me, because it feels like a weird mishmash of the first three games (though I think Going Commando was the one I felt the most what with the way it laid out the minigames and also the mods). Storywise...I have mixed feelings on it, it's trying to be more in line with the PS2 titles I think when it comes to general tone (though I feel like Ratchet was made into too big an idiot, he might not be as smart as Clank, but apparently he's dumb enough for them to reverse-uno "It's a robot!" joke on him, maybe he lost some braincells during those experiments -_-').

And I'm going to take this opportunity to also go on a bit of a tangent about Size Matters. Namely, how unsatisfying the combat feels in comparison to the other games. The weapons just don't have the same level of punch, even when levelled up and with mods. Enemies feel too tanky, the regular mooks that in other games would take one/two shotgun shots for instance can take five/six in this, and consequently the gunplay just doesn't hit right. I decided to play the PS2 version, I played and finished the PSP version originally all those many (15+?) years ago, and I was curious to see how the PS2 version would do. I did like the fact that I had analogue control of the camera, but I immediately rescind points because the camera itself still got very upclose to the point where it felt like the PSP version. Combine that with the cramped corridors and I had many instances where I couldn't even see what was going on with smaller mooks chasing me, and I was firing the Shock Cannon blindly as it was the best bet.

Some of these I can understand as being consequences of being a PSP game, but I do wonder why the enemies were made more tanky? Was it a way to pad game time as this was a smaller game? Am I just gaslighting myself into thinking enemies are more tanky? I dunno. The game itself is still enjoyable, but having played a lot more R&C between when I first played it and now, I can see why I haven't gotten back to it like I have some others.

Honestly, I think the whole "going into Ratchet's Lombax origins" thing definitely had its place in the series, it was just natural to raise the question at some point. Problem is, not only does it get way too much focus into the stories when Ratchet never displayed any form of concerns about his species/origins in any of the games before, but they made the Lombaxes sound way too good and special in a world where 99% of the characters/species are comically flawed, thus the Chosen One trope issue!... In fact, only Veldin (and then Clank) ever mattered to Ratchet during the old era, meaning he was fully embracing it as his surrogate homeland/family... and then he stopped caring about it because- ONE OF NATURE'S MYSTERIES!

From what I recall, it was only after it was really lumped onto Ratchet (thanks to Tachyon) that he really fostered any true interest in the Lombaxes, I reckon he'd probably be indifferent. But I will concede that making his Lombax status a point of mystery the way it was...is a bit clumsy considering how he's not really treated as anything particularly special in the PS2 era. You could make the argument that perhaps Lombaxes weren't native to Solana, so they were considered a rarer sight but nothing to be concerned about, and news of their disappearance in Polaris was unknown to Solana so there was no curiosity or mystery as far as they were concerned at the time?

At any rate, I do feel like the Lombaxes as a plot thread really needs to see some conclusion. What worries me is that this feels very much like how the Time Lords are treated in Modern Doctor Who, wherein they began as a mystery but ended up becoming a bit of a joke as time went on and more events involving them occurred. I don't see there being a satisfying conclusion to the Lombax storyline that doesn't inherently keep them separate, as what they're capable of would somewhat break the series going forward.

...And then they also decided Clank's special birth wasn't contrived enough, so they had to make him into Space-Time Jesus' son despite how little sense that made and how dangerous this was to spawn as a defect in a Drek factory on a barren planet out of the quintillions of possible places in the universe! Truly one of nature's mysteries indeed!
And yeah, at least Ratchet's character was still a natural evolution in the Future series even if there were a few times when he felt sort of off, even the PS2 titles already gave him a drastic change to something a bit more safe due to some complaints regarding his personality in R&C1... I hope those people now feel remorse when looking at his bland goody two-shoes version from 2016 (It feels like he became some of the very things the PS2 games would have been satirical about )

Ah yes, Clank being part-Zoni. Again, I don't really mind it too much, and from a gameplay perspective the Time Puzzles in CiT are actually my favourite of the Clank segments in the series, but I can see your point in that Clank's already proven to be extraordinary, and this is despite him being a defect. Only for him to not be. So yeah, I don't mind it, but I can see why it would be annoying. I will say I am a sucker for characters like Orvus (it helps he's voiced by Charles Martinet), so I think this might again be a case where I'm a little biased in favour

I think Ratchet would inherently become more mellow truth be told, the Ratchet in R&C1 wanted nothing more to get off Veldin and explore, by the time of R&C3 he's done that in spades, and was also professionally trained to be a fighter. But yeah, him being a goody-two-shoes in 2016 was nah. Even at his most mellow, Ratchet is still a snarky wise-ass (especially around Qwark). I know some folks also found this to be a point of contention with Rift Apart, and while I still think it's down to the fact he's much older at that point, I do miss his smart-arseness.

I should have referred to it as weapon modification specifically. Deadlocked had that whole weapon mod system, kind of like the purchaseable upgrade mechanics introduced in the PS3 series except you eventually unlock the ability to freely mix and match those stat upgrades and place them on any weapon you want! But what truly makes it incredibly enjoyable are the Omega mods, which drastically alters all of the weapons' capabilities and some of their visual effects, so for example you can shoot missiles that explode into lava pools or burst into bouncy exploding mines, turn the classic gravity bomb into a sticky grenade, or give acid/freezing/brainwashing/morphing/electrical arcing properties to anything to freely replicate staple weapons/upgrades of the series!
Though the Constructo weapons were a great idea and I'm personally a sucker for that kind of features, so I would love to see them back but expanded and with something as free as the Alpha/Omega modding system!
I guess the robot customization from Deadlocked was also pretty close to that idea when it comes to the cosmetic aspect (which itself evolved from the ship customization in the previous games)!

Well having now finished Deadlocked again, I agree completely! I loved using the shock mod with the Scorpion Flail for instance. I think the UI and conveyance of the system could be done a little better as it's not the most intuitive to figure out how it works, but it is a lot of fun.

As I've seen many people summarize it, "R&C1 is a platformer with action elements, while the others are action games with platforming elements" (so, basically the same evolution as Jak & Daxter, or Rayman 3 compared to other Rayman games). So yeah, it sure feels hard to adjust between the two at times, even for the story and characters which already changed starting from 2.
Even the fighting was like a puzzle at times, forcing you to save ammunition and think about which weapon in your entire Arse(nal ) is most suitable for each situation or to think outside the box to deal with the most dangerous foes. While the future (not Future ) games turned into a dopamine rush and a constant challenge of shooting/dodging skills with the starting weapons becoming increasingly irrevelant as you progress.
I used to think the game aged poorly because of these differences, but on the contrary, that's what made it age like wine as it stands out so much for many positive reasons!

I wouldn't say R&C1 has aged poorly as a result. There's definitely some roughness to it as I find myself having to safe-spot a lot more in it compared to future games (although I did end up doing a fair amount of safe-spotting in Size Matters actually, come to think of it). I think it's just a different flavour of game, you can see how the subsequent titles came from it, but you can also see how some other ideas could have come from it as well. But it's still very much a competent game and I would say it plays fine on the whole, just needs a different approach to how you play it.

Make sure to play with the same memory card containing your R&C1 data so you can save up bolts on a few purchases, as affording the best things in this game takes forever and you're going to need them with how ruthless a few parts can get!

Haha so I knew UYA did give you discounts if you'd played R&C1, what I didn't know is that it'd give you some of your Going Commando weapons for free if you had the save game for that. As someone who really enjoys the Bouncer and the Minigun Turret, I was certainly pretty happy to discover that perk! Those two weapons are great for clearing groups of smaller enemies, but also for DPSing bosses.

I'm going to buy the HD trilogy on PS3. I've been meaning to replay these games for a while but I have never gotten around to it.

The HD trilogy is playable, but I wouldn't consider the optimal way to play the games, from what I recall and seen, there's a few bugs that detract from the experience. I've played via emulator which is probably the better way to go if you've got the hardware for it, outside of playing on the legit hardware. It's a pity that the old games haven't had a decompilation effort like Jak and Daxter has had with OpenGOAL. That project's allowed for the games to be played on PC natively with support for higher resolutions, and also allows for modding and QoL improvements. I'd love to see the PS2 R&C games get something similar (and frankly there's a lot of QoL to be had - R&C1 doesn't pause when you bring up the weapon wheel, and the Future games did the weapon wheel and controls better).

[Tribelle2026]

I don't think Insomniac even knows where this series is even going at this point. Rift Apart had Clank repair the dimensionator after he took it in Into The Nexus. The "Finding the Lombaxes" storyline had been going for 14 years by the time Rift Apart released. I was hoping they would just drop the storyline but they keep bringing back the dimensionator. I also think Nefarious is overused at this point, they need to retire him for a bit in my opinion.

[Rsandee]

I have 100% completed R&C 1 and 2 on the PS2, I haven't completed the third yet but I find it to be more boring than the first 2 games anyways. I've seen some videos of the PS3/4/5 remaster and I was disappointed my favorite R&C1 level isn't in there: Gemlik base.


10/10 VGM.

[Master]

The PS4 remake of R&C1, while it does scratch the R&C itch when it comes to gameplay, definitely was a step-down tonally and in many other ways. I will say though, level design-wise some areas do feel very 1:1 with the original game, and in fact some folks did actually find some PS2 assets in there:


As for Gemlik Base, it is a big shame it got cut because I do agree that it is one of the most stand-out areas in the game. However, I don't think the remake would've done it as well, for one as you've shared, the soundtrack for that level is just iconic and the more generic orchestra of the remake definitely wouldn't have given the same vibes. I think Gemlik Base also is pretty distinctive due to it being where you finally confront Quark, but thanks to how they did his story in the remake, I can't see it working in the same way, or anywhere near as effectively.

(Actually since I've now played the OG R&C, I want to replay the remake now. I didn't really have a point of reference the first time round as I hadn't played much of the OG when I played 2016 before, but now I've finished the OG twice, I imagine I'll have a far better eye for how similar and different the two games are)