In the words of valeforXD, “Tachyon’s walking throne goes down with one swing of the wrench, but later on it takes no less than 300 R.Y.N.O. IV rounds, 15 Negotiator rockets, 260 Buzz Blades, three Groovitrons, one Mega Leech Bomb, and a few Mag-Nets. I’m calling bullshit.”
I honestly don't mind Ratchet being laid back and mature in the future trilogy because he earned it over the course of the PS2 games. The Reboot on the other hand potrays him as a bland boyscout from the begining which comes off as insulting to a Longtime fan like myself. I am really looking forward to seeing your thoughts on a Crack in time. I feel that was the last good insomniac game. I already know you're gonna rip Quest for booty to shreds lol.
Sunset overdive was okay. The dated memes and nothing plot really didn't add to the bland open world. I enjoyed the shooting and navigation but it got stale after 5 hours. I do like that it introduced me to HBlockz though. Great band.
mariokerter13 I would like to hear some essays regarding the Gamecube era stuff, it feels rather neglected as of late. But hey so long as I keep getting interesting perspectives on games I may or may not have liked, I'm game.
I've always hated the "chosen one" archetype the media can't seem to let go of. I love the original R & C because it doesn't try to overplay itself. The originals knew that kind of writing was lame, but the Future Series must have forgot.
@@ygobe2 same Both wind and ratchet were just normal boys doing their thing and ended up.being p much the only guys that actually did something to solve the situations they were in Now personally i liked thw future series for a number of reasons What i dont like is the writing of the r&c 2016 reimagening. I was really hyped for ir and i still like aspects of it but they could have done so much more..
One good subverted take on the "Chosen One" archetype is Tales Of Symphonia. In that game, there's multiple chosen one's that aren't revealed til' later. They are prepped up by the public as the pure savior that will regenerate the world. In reality, they are just lambs dressed up for slaughter. So the super special "Chosen One" isn't even that special, they're just cannon fodder for a plot point in the game. There's a major party member who gives insight on how much pain and stress being a chosen does on you.
@@Petronia911 Honestly I think subversions of the chosen one archetype are more common than played straight ones at this point, not that I'm complaining. Another good subversion of the archetype is Wandersong. Also Star Wars but everyone's seen Star Wars already.
OH SHIT, I never read it like that. I just thought she must have vanished off somewhere, but tachyon might have killed her if he wants all Lombax's dead.
@@venia6006 that totally could’ve been the reasoning for why she’s not around. How they could’ve fixed: Ratchet runs into Tachyon at the beginning of the game at metropolis as usual Tachyon says how he’s the last Lombax and ratchet then mentions Angela and then Tachyon tells him about how he already got to her and defeated her. Could’ve been an emotional moment early on and ended that plot hole.
I can't accept that because I feel Ratchet would have been A LOT more concerned for Angela's safety, in Future and in Rift Apart they hammer it in Ratchet has never met another Lombax prior Tools of Destruction. Imo Going Commando is just non-canon.
@@Spitfire_94 I think it's more the OG PS2 games are their own continuity as is the Future series, just that in Future *some* things from the PS2 series happened in their continuity as well, sort of a "soft" reboot thing
The thing that amazed me with the future series is how badly it managed to fuck up it's own plots. Both Tools of Destruction and A Crack In Time said the macguffin is bad, but then had it used multiple times throughout the plot with no ill effects, just to remember in the final act that it was supposed to be bad and forced it to suddenly malfunction. TOD: Dimensionator works as expected a total of 4 times, 2 mentioned and 2 on screen, NONE of those times had any ill effects. It only malfunctioned when Tachyon started spamming it while being shot at, and even then we see him alive in the comic series so what exactly was bad about the dimensionator? Doesn't matter, plot says it's bad because Clank must be right even though he has zero evidence to back his claims up. The only problem was it getting into Tachyon's hands which happened in the stupidest possible way. ACIT: Time travel is bad as the plot states early on. Clank knows this, so upon seeing Ratchet for the first time in a year Clank immediately demands that he go back in time to save his father. Later, after Ratchet fails doing so due to the cutscene stupidity virus causing him to sit there and stare while Orvus dies, Clank immediately says no to going back in time to save the lombaxes because time travel is bad and NO ONE brings up the last thing he asked Ratchet to do. LATER, they use time travel again to steal a friggin' space ship. Once again, NO ONE mentions how doing that was bad or a risk. Then Alister wants to do it, and based on what the games events have proven, time travel is heckin' awesome and does exactly what you want, but the plot has an agenda so he needs to be wrong. I'd also like to point out how little weight Clank's choice to use the clock to save Ratchet actually has, Time travel has had no ill effects at this point and the plumber outright told him it would work, so it was robbed of any impact before it even happened. It could have been a good moment of him showing that his best friend means more to him than the entire universe... but no, we got the plumber going "lol six minutes is a-ok!" It's impressive how badly they fucked up the main plot points of both games when they were so damn simple. They brought on the new writers for the future series to make it deeper and more complex, but it became more childish and poorly written than ever.
"Bringing on new writers to make x thing y." What all producers say before their series goes off the rails and into a river. By this point "bringing on new writers" might as well be code for hiring sucky ones.
They should've leaned really hard into satirizing chosen one narratives and how trite they are. Could've spun a whole thing about Ratchet getting kind of sick and tired of not just saving the day, but now this forced on label of "The one that is supposed to do all the heavy lifting". Not to mention being dragged into a conflict that has nothing to do with him, since he doesn't know diddly about Lombax lore. As for Clank. Instead of "being born" for the task, he could've been damaged and fixed with a supposedly insignificant scrap/gear, which turned out to belong to the great clock. Just spit balling here, but there were things they could've worked with.
I thought the future series was really good overall, I wasn't too impressed by the story but it was an attempt to expand the characters which I can understand. I didn't like that they disregarded some characters especially Angela Cross and I thought Insomniac had a real missed opportunity by not bringing back characters from older games and creating a story with them to expand their stories, even if they weren't part of the main plot.
*cough* Plumber *cough* Jokes aside I think from when I first heard the line “last Lombax in the universe” I was only looking at the game by how it’s no longer ‘my’ old R&C game rather than trying to enjoy it. I really should go back and just play the future saga by itself to see how it feels
One of the radio stations in A Crack in Time actually mentions Angela and tries to explain what she's been up to, although why Tacheon says Rachet is "the last" when Angela is still around is never explained as far as I know.
@@carlbloke8797 A lack of Loremasters presumably, somebody who's job is just to keep continuity straight and try and prevent plotholes like that. Angela being in an entirely separate galaxy could for example serve as an explanation as to why Tacheon never found her and the dialogue could be slightly tweaked to avoid having Ratchet just forget she exists entirely, I mean she was a love interest in Going Commando FFS people don't just forget their significant others, but those relatively small fixes needed to be implemented immediately because they fact that they went unadressed for 2 games and are only kinda lampshaded in an optional easter egg in the third game just makes the problem that much more glaring.
You know what’s funny? Spyro had a reboot in 2006 which took itself more seriously and featured Spyro as a dragon who could harness all the elements and would save the world. A year later, Ratchet and Clank started taking itself more seriously and introduced the plot point of lombaxes being amazing inventors and Ratchet supposedly being the only one left.
i like the implication that even if insomniac kept the licence for spyro, we probably would have gotten legend of spyro regardless. (though an IG-made spyro would probably have handled better than "god of war but you play as a dragon")
Angela being forgotten until having her name dropped in A crank in Time is even more hurtful when you learn that there was unused dialogue from Up your Arsenal that referred to her as a Lombax. (ua-cam.com/video/nFaxhkPd9F0/v-deo.html) They even removed some dialogue from A Crank in Time where Alister Azimuth talks about a friend of Ratchet's mother called Lorna Cross. Who may or may not be Angela's mother. (ua-cam.com/video/-nyBzhkFZaQ/v-deo.html) Still don't understand why it took Insomaic nearly seven years to say that tails are a male trait for Lombaxes.
4:36. Spot on - you absolutely nailed it. The first few titles projected how consumerism can become nefarious and how dangerous it can become. And the R&C games became enveloped in just that - cinematic consumerism.
The short way I look at the situation is like this: Ratchet and Clank started off as a small, humble story that thrust them into a big situation. As this goes on, the scale gets larger, the stakes higher, and the production values and tone shift accordingly. Not bad, just different.
My problem with it is that they retroactively denied something I really loved about the duo (they were both misfits, Clank being a defective robot and Ratchet a mechanic who simply sought adventure). Not chosen ones, they are closer to outcasts.
It would have been more interesting if the future series delved into themes like imperialism and colonialism. Not only would it have a stronger connection to the anti-consumerism message of the PS2 games, but also provide better context to the journeys Ratchet and Clank have. Imagine Ratchet having to learn about the unsavory past of his species while Clank struggles with an existential crisis over whether he has a soul or not. There's a real missed opportunity here for expanding on the R&C universe in an organic way that Insomniac sadly missed. I guess fan fiction is the only way any of this will be possible now.
Anybody miss the old school ratchet and clank commercials, where they test out a weapon from the game, with the tag line " these weapons were not meant for this world".
It's no longer about DMC references, it's all about bad R&C 2016 quotes You ain't helping the -economy- comments section by hoarding all those DMC references
I've hated the writing in every game after deadlocked. Each new game is unfunnier and more melodramatic than the last. I don't even see the new Ratchet and Clank as the same characters as the ones from the ps2 games.
I like the original and Future. I think They are well written. I would not say All4One and Full Frontal Assault, they are a whole new gimmick, but I find the series outstanding.
Nah i didn't like Crack in Time. The humor didn't work for me, nor did the EPIC STORY. Not a fan of the cinematic style, or what they did to Ratchet and Clank as characters. I also didn't experience it as especially ''complex''.
You mention the Metropolis level in Tools and it just reminded me how much I loved it. I remember when that demo dropped, I played it over and over. It was a great first level, something that you can go back and have fun over and over, like in Sonic 2 or the first two levels in DMC3.
I dont know how you are always able to read my exact thoughts about this saga and express them in a coherent and deep way... but wow... you nailed it, again.
This can be described as the Pixarization of Ratchet and Clank games. They started out as meta games with commentaries on the consumerism culture. Then the PS3 games tried to get more personal and ‘heroic’ with their stories, with no emphasis on meta commentaries. It finally culminated with the release of the PS4 reboot which was just as consumeristic in its personality, as something that they would have tried to parody during the PS2 era. The Dead Space franchise also was gradually pixarized until it stopped selling. And God of War also got pixarized this year. Basically, the more profitable a franchise becomes, the more mainstream the makers try to force it to be. A perfect parallel of what happened to R&C’s pixarization can be drawn from what happened to the Riddick franchise. It started with a self contained fun semi-horror story ‘Pitch Black’ which turned out to be significantly profitable for the studio. So, they pixarixed it and the sequel was your avg ‘hero saves the galaxy from evil’ flick. But it performed poorly and the makers went back to the roots in the sequel, even if it wasn’t that good. Guys, we just gotta stop giving ‘em our money if we want it to become what it originally was.
Nuclearpoweredturtle I remember that. Sadly, it became quite common for reviewers to call R&C games ‘Pixar-like’ since then. That’s why I used the term ‘Pixarization’.
Turtlemain The reason DS3 turned out to be so organic was because Visceral honed out their vision while simultaneously complying with EA's demands for making the game more mainstream. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the co-op campaign despite its flaws. But still the reason its sales were so poor was because the fans weren't happy with the change in the core of the genre and their reasons seem pretty understandable. Hardline was a solid game. But BF loyalists only buy the games that stick to routine.
Even to this day I don't understand why they never use Angela Cross again...I meen they use another Character again in previous games so why never use her again..?? I don't understand this series anymore...
Pretty sure it was a combination of her character design and ToD's story. Angela is very tall and lacks a tail, two traits that don't really mesh well with Ratchet's design unless Insomniac wanted to have the female lombaxes be twice the size of the males. As for ToD's story, Insomniac wanted Ratchet to be one of the last Lombax in existence so having Angela exist detracts from this. Ratchet even acknowledges that he's never seen a Lombax.
@@shadowknight743 Except that Angela is still canon, in A Crack in Time they mention her on one of the radio stations, and it's made clear by numerous other references that the previous games are all still cannon so...
I don't know why but I also really really love Crack in Time. I generally think they try too hard with the story in the new Ratchet and Clank games and sometimes it really miss the goofy humor from the classics. R&C 2 is still my favorite, but Crack in Time comes at a close second. I can't explain why I like it so much. (Besides that it just is a great game)
The Future saga in general may have felt somewhat at odds with original trilogy + Deadlocked, and while Tools made that distinction very blurry, Crack really nailed it into a genuinely touching story. (I love the final recording of Orvus that plays while Clank runs to the ship). It felt like the last time there was a genuine passion and desire to push Ratchet gameplay and structure forward, although I still enjoyed Nexus and even the reboot as games.
Why can't he just like... make content he likes without being pigeonholed? Plenty of people do that, and it's not like there isn't connective tissue; he reviews games he likes/doesn't like and does opinion pieces.
Your opinion on this feels so correct it hurts. CiT is the only "Future" game that was above average. Edit: especially the final boss of CiT successfully tugged at my heartstrings.
"CiT is the only "Future" game that was above average." I wouldn't necessarily say Tools was average. It was still pretty enjoyable and way better than other games that were considered average. Though yes, CiT is the best of the future series and my personal favourite Ratchet and Clank game yet. Quest For Booty is average tho.
I think the "chosen one" archetype could have worked in this series if they did it a little differently. Rather than having the lombax be this super intelligent race that saved the galaxy, simply focus on the fact that they're all missing. The lombax could still be known to be intelligent and such but don't make them the heroes of the story, rather than Ratchet being the chosen one the story could just be a simple on about finding his missing race. They could build Ratchet up as the "last lombax" all for it to be a bunch of horse shit in actuality, this would only further the original themes of if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I'm not too sure how this could play out, perhaps a villain spins a tale about the lombax in order to send Ratchet and clank away on a search for his people whilst they get up to their own evil deeds. This could add a bit more character to Ratchet too, showing how when he eventually finds out that he's just been strung along he has to struggle between doing the right thing and finding the family he's been missing all his life. I think making it this way would have made the generic plot we got have come off a lot more Ratchet like.
The original creators and founders of the franchise dissapeared along with David Bergeaud. R&C Deadlocked Gladiator was the last of them. It happens in modern companies and government, higherups surround themselves with asskissers rather than talented individuals.
Actually David Bergeaud was still composing the music for Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty. I think the problem was that they wanted him to change the kind of music he was making from experimental electronic & industrial to orchestral score type music which obviously weren't as good or memorable as the experimental stuff.
In the Future Saga the lombaxes are handled like thre Precursor in Jak and Daxter, but in jak and Daxter the Precursers were always handled that way. In RaC this is not the case.
It does seem different than the OG trilogy, I’ll give you that. Honestly, though, I though ToD was a fantastic game. Call me a sucker for spectacle and the melodramatic, but it was cool to see Insomniac do something different without totally butchering existing character development (a la 2016 remake). I grew up playing the originals and today as I play through the Future saga I find them very well done. Only things that really bugged me were the Zoni stuff and the audio desync in some cutscenes haha. I also thought the pirate bits were dope. I loved Treasure Planet as a kid, so seeing those tropes play into RaC was really fun, and that pirate theme is awesome.
I think the reason Ratchet is more laid back and mature on the ps3 game is because, like the player, he grew up. Think about it, he was 15 in the first game and 18 in Deadlocked.
robot ghosts, who I think were pirates, were in deadlocked tho. anyway I liked them and also talwyn. Idk, narrative was never that bad for me. also ratchet 2s ship levels were like, super frustrating and not fun.
The pirates never really had a large part of the narrative the same way that they do in ToD. I agree on the ship levels in Ratchet 2 not being fun, though.
The Ninjadillo except that we are talking about robot ghosts, which is still part of the story and since were at it, why not complain about robot ninjas, or that space hipster that can use magic to fix ships?
*Okay, I have to say.. In A Crack In Time they DO mention Angela Cross on one of the radio stations, and say that she fled the galaxy before Tachyon attacked.. sure, it's not a huge amount of detail, it does feel like a retcon, and I agree completely that it clearly didn't seem very thought out.. but it is at least brought up.. This game is fun to play, but I agree with everything you said about the story..* That being said... A Crack In Time is still my favourite in the series.. sure the satire is gone, but this isn't Robocop, it's a fun game for kids, and ACIT is beautiful, addictively fun, and has my favourite puzzle sections from any game ever.. I know you don't like the future series very much, but you always seem to focus on story, and writing, and not the gameplay.. You gotta remember that this is a game.. that people play... for fun.. ACIT has the best gameplay of the series, and the story between Ratchet and Azimuth is great, even if it completely lost the satire.. I do agree that this one is a complete mess, although fun to play for the most part (turn the six as controls off.. It's much better)
a) don't forget ACIT even doubts Angela being a Lombax due to the lack of tail. b) the gaming brit being a story and writing guy? nope... he's a very gameplay-focus critic. he just loves his games challenging. when they aren't there's just not much to talk about...
He focuses on everything he can. He said he still likes the game, he just felt like the presentation was off and I agree. The classics are still the best imo overall, but ACiT and Tools are enjoyable games.
And yet ACiT was one of the worst to play, IMO. The gameplay felt different from all the others, even just from the platforming that was completely different due to the Hover Boots, which were there because Clank wasn't. And it has the blandest Planets out of all the good R&C Games, and the least amount of them, something I'm still salty about; I don't care about moons that feel all the same, don't progress the story and are side-quests which you never have to do once you've done them once (seriously, when you play NG+, if you do all the Missions, the game is over in like nothing (aside from cutscenes) because almost all of the moons are done; it felt like complete padding to excuse the pathetic number of new Planets). Vapedia is fine, though. At least in concept and a bit in the presentation. The actual level design could have been better..
World and character building are still very important in games that choose to focus on the story to some capacity, and that is exactly what every Ratchet and Clank game does, they all have plenty of cutscenes. That's why Gaming Brit focuses on the story and writing so much in his Ratchet videos - because the PS2 games nail that stuff, so it's natural to be interested in seeing where they take it in the later games. And indeed, it's not Robocop, but satire in that vein is always fun and it's what the series established itself on, so it's a shame to see it go, in favour of story tropes that are a lot more safe and sterile. I'm not going to knock you for loving A Crack in Time though, it's great to hear that you had such a positive and memorable time with it, and nobody can take that away from you! So when you watch Gaming Brit's video on it and he inevitably criticises things about it that you enjoy, try not to feel upset, just remember that it's all down to personal taste - some people prefer the classic style of the series, and some people prefer the later style. Gaming Brit makes these videos in order to explain why he is the former, but he's not saying that his opinion is objective and that you must feel the same way or else you're wrong. As for myself, when I played ACIT I enjoyed Clank's puzzle stages, which actually seemed like they were comfortable with giving the player a challenge with brain teasers, unlike the 2016 remake. And I thought the ship radio was very funny, flying around in space battles whilst listening to smooth jazz or classical music! However, I wasn't much a fan of the lack of unique planets, with the game using the large amount of smaller, less visually interesting moons seemingly to pad itself. And then after that game there was Into the Nexus which was super short so it just kind of seems like Insomniac had trouble coming up with enough original content for Ratchet games towards the tail end of the series, sadly!
5:48-5:55 I have no idea if putting these scenes so close together was intentional or not, but the comedic effect can not be overstated at this point. Hoo Boy!
9:25 I like to think of it as destiny. These two nobodies met by accident, saved multiple galaxies together, and then later find that they both have greater purposes. I think it fits well, I like it. And the ending part of ACIT is super effective when you take each of the characters' motivations into consideration
Here's how I would've reworked the lombax-race plot to be more tonally in line with the og-titles: lombaxes are just an average alien-race who mostly work in lower working class-type occupations. They're largely kinda overlooked and under-appreciated, however this tide is turning because Ratchet's ever-growing fame as a hero is bringing new positive attention to the lombaxes. The main villain would be like a scummy two-faced politician who resists against this movement by enacting a smear-campaign on Ratchet and the rest of the lombax-race. Of course Ratchet's father would get involved, and he would be more like a recluse who wants nothing to do with "the system" and is perfectly content with his isolated self-sufficient lifestyle. I'm not saying this is the best possible alternative, but I reckon it's at least better than some chosen-one schlock
"exploring clanks origin" lol As if he isn't literally born and introduced in like the first 20 minutes of the first game and we never met his mother..... Riiiiiiight
They started this "Missing Lombaxes" storyline 15 years ago and it's still going. I liked Rift Apart, but there's no way the resolution to this arc will be satisfying at this point, if they even bother trying to conclude it.
yeah, at this point, it feels less like building up to an epic conclusion and more "wanna see if ratchet will find the lombaxes? buy our next game (and the console it's on) to find out!" not to mention the games post-ps2 really feel like one of those "you gotta play the Future series and the non-spinoff games that came after it (ITN and RA) to understand the story" shit that i hate that a lot of modern franchises do.
this is a half life 3 situation. No matter how good it is it won't live up to the expectations (unless it revolutionizes the industry, but that won't happen) and they know it. That's probably why they keep pushing back the reveal.
What's the name of the outro song? I know it's Death to Squishies by Courtney Gears but there's like 50 different remixes of it on youtube and that sure doesn't sound like the original version.
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for making this video. I was hooked on your hour long rant how Ratchet lost its edge, and I'm glad you delivered again with this video. R&C is so near and dear to my heart, those were the first games I played and finished all by myself and it saddens me so much to see where the series has gone. You eloquently explained what I've been feeling for so long, thank you again for the amazing vid!
This definitely nails down how TOD misstepped with so badly. It's just never felt genuine to me, and their attempt at an overarching narrative was definitely weak.
I genuinely LOVE a crack in time it is not perfect by any means and It has been a bit since I played it but I am very curious to see your thoughts on it.
Tools of Destruction was my first ratchet and Clank game, and I loved the hell out of it!!! Obviously when I didn't know that other lombaxs existed and that clank was supposed to be a defect the plot was a lot easier to stomach. Anyway, having played the first two games for the ps2 I can concede that your'e right on pretty much everything here. Except the pirates theme music, I love that track.
Been waiting for you to cover Tools of Destruction. Really liked it, but it had such a weird story. Not good weird, just this change in tone that heralds watering down. This is like Doctor Who with Matt Smith. Not total shit...but it was weird enough to let the standards drop much lower. EDIT: Story wise that is. Gameplay wise, played it by far the most of any of the games. The arena, traversing that asteroid station, when the final planet is a darker nighttime iteration of this abandoned planet was great.
I know they did, but I actually played 1 after TOD (for some reason I got into the series with 2 first, then 3 and TOS) I just remember that being a good novelty in this when I think back about the game, it was good in 1 too but that game's highlights are the darker look and far more industrialised aesthetic
After Matt Smith held up the Mighty Morphin' Dalek Rangers with a Jammie Dodger, I couldn't watch New Who again unless forced. Doctors 2, 3 and 4 are brill
I'm actually really glad you are covering the ratchet series. It was a big part of gaming for me growing up and i also have probably a *bit* too much knowledge of the lore for my own good
Tom Phelan It's an epilogue game and honestly, I don't get the hate. Yes its short, but they never said it would be otherwise. And it was less than 30€ on release
That one's pretty good. The gravity thing was VEEEEERY underutilized, though, and the chibified art shift kinda messes with the drama and horror it tries to build up, but the reformatted upgrade system is an absolute joy, making raratanium feel much more distinct from bolts, and doing much better than the raratanium mod system from Tools of Destruction. It's actually rather fun to use it. Plus, the museum is pretty cool, too, and the game has my favorite weapon IN THE ENTIRE SERIES; The Winterizer. It shoots a candy cane laser beam, turning enemies into snowmen that drop presents full of bolts. And as long as you hold down the trigger, the gun sings Jingle Bells. It's glorious. If the PS2 games are comparable to RoboCop, then Into the Nexus is Alien.
When it comes to story telling, there is nothing that irks me more than forgotten lore. FGS you wrote the story, how can you possibly forget it? I'M LOOKING AT YOU AKIRA TORIYAMA!
You know what is the real trouble? The made his hands more relative in size to his body rather than his massive hands. I still think the PS3 games look good, aside from Talwyn because actual people never look good in the cartoon-y 3D animation style. Can't wait for your Crack in Time review, as that is my favourite non ps2 R&C game.
I just wanna drop in and say I love you for splitting this into multiple parts. Like the 80-minute thing was super entertaining to watch, but it was like a movie.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, but I must say I still consider Tools of Destruction on par with the Ps2 titles. My only real issue with Tools is the stupid pirate door gimmick (where the pirates dance), the drawn out ship segments, some of the story points, and the check points. But that's pretty much it. I love this game, and it's one of the best ps3 games imo. I like how they gave Ratchet his more rudish demeanor from the first game back. "You know Clank, maybe you should spend more time talking to your real friends instead of your imaginary ones." Yes it's feel is different from the Ps2 RaC titles, and it could even be argued that it's a different type of game entirely (with the drastic change in tone) but I don't care about that. I don't know why I don't care, the change in direction just doesn't bother me. Great game with a good story, plot holes aside. But that's just my opinion. Great video.
(WARNING LONG THOUGHTFUL COMMENT) Somehow i find this game my fav in the future series and after finishing a NO ARMOR run recently (yes it was scary) i find it easier to critique and compare. The "cinematics" felt like when they make an hour-long tv movie special for a long-running cartoon. I think the story is "fine" but it feels too stiff and scripted most of the time. This game's graphics feel a little too "real" and lack most of the bright cartoony charm of the classics. And ratchet's face is slightly less expressive and stiff. (especially compared to up your arsenal) Now for the gameplay........After i finished up your arsenal, i immediately played this one, only to find that ratchet's movement (such as wall jumping and platforming) was REALLY stiff in comparison. I've never had the 6 axis on because i heard too much of how awful it was. The weapons....worked(with low ammo and damage sometimes)....but they were already lacking in creative designs and uses. The most i could get was using the net launcher first and then following up with the claws or alpha disrupter (the only weapon i really got attached to.) So.....to conclude....tools is about as fun as a one-off tv cartoon movie that is still great to enjoy as an occasional treat. When you do crack in time, ill tell about that one too.....
I agree completely, I deal with it by saying the original series ended at ratchet and clank 4, gladiator and tools of destruction onwards is a new universe separate and follows ratchet and clank PS4 directly i.e. Timeline 1: Ratchet and Clank 1, 2, 3, 4 and the psp series (including the clank game) Timeline 2: Ratchet and clank PS4, ToD, QfB, CiT and all the other spin offs
I started the series at TOD and I loved the series. I think I was able to enjoy it more story-wise because I never got the original lore. I was just dropped into the life of these two best friends and I guessed as to what their backstory was and how they were brought together. Sometimes I guess ignorance is bliss.
I was so hyped for ToD as a kid, 20 minutes in I got a gut feeling that something was way off. I never ended up finishing it despite replaying Rac 1- Deadlocked a good 20 times.
Same. I started to play the future saga 3 years ago. 12 years after i stop playing tools of destruction because it feels to different for me. For me tools of destruction is like a soft reboot
Firstly, I would like to say that this is, as always, a very well put together video. It’s always fun to watch your videos and see you discuss your opinion in such a respectable manner. Now, when it comes to your Ratchet and Clank videos I feel like you tend to over praise the old games and blow the new games’ flaws out of proportion. For example, yes Ratchet and Clank 1 had a good story for a 3D platformer of its time (a lot of the games in the genre didn’t care about their stories) and I do have respect for insomniac for not feeling like they were limited by the type of game they were making, but the writing wasn’t the best and Ratchet could really get on your nerves at times. Furthermore , Ratchet and Clank 1 and 2, even ignoring gameplay, have not aged well. I personally didn’t enjoy the interactions with the planets’ inhabitants, as most of them just felt pointless. I don’t think talking to one person can give you an idea of what their planet is like. If we do consider gameplay, then that’s when the first two games start to really feel clunky. Firstly, the controls feel very rough (especially in 1). Now, I understand that for a 2002 game it’s to be expected, however I believe it should be mentioned when comparing them to the other games in the franchise. Secondly, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m REALLY not a fan of the vehicle/spaceship segments. They’ve always felt so frustrating and broke the flow of the game. At least the ones in ToD are simpler and don’t give me a headache. So, let me talk about ToD, now. I am actually really happy with the cinematic approach of the new games. Regardless of what you think of the story, you have to admit, the cutscenes are very well produced and still contain a lot of light hearted humor, keeping the game from feeling to serious or melodramatic. For example, DMC 4 had a pretty generic story structure as well (Guy likes girl, girl gets kidnapped, guy saves girl and the world), however characters like Dante and Trish just have this “Let’s not take this too seriously” attitude that helps forgive a lot of the game’s cliches (Although I still think Kyrie is the most generic “girl” ever). Anyway, back to ToD. Yes, it has a lot of cliches and I do admit the story isn’t exactly Oscar worthy, but for a first attempt at a “bigger” story, I really think it’s good. Now here’s the thing, I’m actually not the biggest fan of Tools of Destruction. Don’t get me wrong, I like the game, (I like every game in the franchise), however it’s in no way one of my favorite. Like, even though this came out years after R&C 3, I think ToD has aged worse than that game mostly because of all those gimmicky “THIS IS PS3” mechanics and strange structure. In fact, I think we both feel the same way about this game, but for different reasons. So, I didn’t really write this because I disagreed with your overall opinion of the game, I just disagreed with some of your points. So yeah, I’m done. If I didn’t bring up one of your arguments it’s probably because I agreed with you. As I said at the beginning, this was still a great video with very well expressed opinions. P. S. On the other hand, I do love A Crack In Time and I look forward to your video on it, although I know you probably don’t like it as much as I do. P. P. S. Also, Angela was mentioned on the radio in aCiT, so she’s still definitely canon. Maybe the whole deal with her will be explained in a future game? I don’t know, I’m still hoping for an explanation.
I thought I remembered there being interactions between the spinning blades and the tornado? You could fire them into the tornado and create utter mayhem. That and combining the bees with Mr. Zurkon were some of my go-to combos.
Yeah I see your point but the thing is if you hoard all those bolts you’re not helping the economy.
That’s quite true, but of course Ratchet knew he’d have to surface to breathe.
It seems that you missed a weapon. Come and buy the Pixelizer.
Beognis 94 is it a good investment?
TheSonicManiac
Maybe. Atleast you help the economy.
Timmy Mynning WHAT A TRICK
In the words of valeforXD, “Tachyon’s walking throne goes down with one swing of the wrench, but later on it takes no less than 300 R.Y.N.O. IV rounds, 15 Negotiator rockets, 260 Buzz Blades, three Groovitrons, one Mega Leech Bomb, and a few Mag-Nets. I’m calling bullshit.”
@Dean Walters apparently at first it made a chain reaction in the knee that shuts down the chair entirely 😑
so UPGRADES is definitely what happened
Alpha disruptor can shred its healthbar like cheese
@@RetroFan2.0 It disabled it's internal retro-formation modulator so it was no surprise it went down the first time
'Hardlight, Ace, please report to the mess hall for kitchen duty.'
Nobody tell her
Nobody tell whom? Ace Hardlight is a dude. I'm very confused.
Wasn't he killed during the events of Deadlocked? I thinks that's supposed to be the punchline, I guess.
UltimateShamrock oh that’s good to know then. Thanks
That's just what they want you to think
Wait, he did? How?
I honestly don't mind Ratchet being laid back and mature in the future trilogy because he earned it over the course of the PS2 games. The Reboot on the other hand potrays him as a bland boyscout from the begining which comes off as insulting to a Longtime fan like myself.
I am really looking forward to seeing your thoughts on a Crack in time. I feel that was the last good insomniac game.
I already know you're gonna rip Quest for booty to shreds lol.
ToasterNinja yeah, it kinda is the last good insomniacs game isn't it
Patrick Murphy Sunset Overdrive is underrated.
Sunset overdive was okay. The dated memes and nothing plot really didn't add to the bland open world. I enjoyed the shooting and navigation but it got stale after 5 hours.
I do like that it introduced me to HBlockz though. Great band.
Sir. Marvin sunset overdrive looked like a mediocre infamous game. I sometimes forget it ever existed.
He's gonna take that Quest for Booty and Rip ya a New One.
I'm going to be so sad when you eventually run out of Ratchet games to review
ArsonBoy5996 I agree with you. Because I agree with anyone that has a Newgrounds profile pic.
I love you
Could always do Sony Smash Bros. or PlayStation Move Heroes. If anyone remembers those.
mariokerter13 I would like to hear some essays regarding the Gamecube era stuff, it feels rather neglected as of late. But hey so long as I keep getting interesting perspectives on games I may or may not have liked, I'm game.
He might finally have to buy the pixelizer then. :-(
I've always hated the "chosen one" archetype the media can't seem to let go of. I love the original R & C because it doesn't try to overplay itself. The originals knew that kind of writing was lame, but the Future Series must have forgot.
Thats why i like windwaker. It outright says the old hero has died, and the protagonist is just a random boy.
@@ygobe2 same
Both wind and ratchet were just normal boys doing their thing and ended up.being p much the only guys that actually did something to solve the situations they were in
Now personally i liked thw future series for a number of reasons
What i dont like is the writing of the r&c 2016 reimagening. I was really hyped for ir and i still like aspects of it but they could have done so much more..
One good subverted take on the "Chosen One" archetype is Tales Of Symphonia.
In that game, there's multiple chosen one's that aren't revealed til' later. They are prepped up by the public as the pure savior that will regenerate the world.
In reality, they are just lambs dressed up for slaughter.
So the super special "Chosen One" isn't even that special, they're just cannon fodder for a plot point in the game.
There's a major party member who gives insight on how much pain and stress being a chosen does on you.
@@Petronia911 Honestly I think subversions of the chosen one archetype are more common than played straight ones at this point, not that I'm complaining. Another good subversion of the archetype is Wandersong. Also Star Wars but everyone's seen Star Wars already.
@@GodOfOrphans That's true, you don't see alot of chosen ones played straight.
Regardless, a clever twist is always cool.
Come and buy a Pixelizer!
> Bad guy is trying to drive lombaxes extinct
> lombax character from previous game doesnt appear in games anymore
uh oh
OH SHIT, I never read it like that. I just thought she must have vanished off somewhere, but tachyon might have killed her if he wants all Lombax's dead.
@@venia6006 that totally could’ve been the reasoning for why she’s not around. How they could’ve fixed:
Ratchet runs into Tachyon at the beginning of the game at metropolis as usual
Tachyon says how he’s the last Lombax and ratchet then mentions Angela and then Tachyon tells him about how he already got to her and defeated her. Could’ve been an emotional moment early on and ended that plot hole.
I can't accept that because I feel Ratchet would have been A LOT more concerned for Angela's safety, in Future and in Rift Apart they hammer it in Ratchet has never met another Lombax prior Tools of Destruction.
Imo Going Commando is just non-canon.
@@Spitfire_94 I think it's more the OG PS2 games are their own continuity as is the Future series, just that in Future *some* things from the PS2 series happened in their continuity as well, sort of a "soft" reboot thing
The thing that amazed me with the future series is how badly it managed to fuck up it's own plots. Both Tools of Destruction and A Crack In Time said the macguffin is bad, but then had it used multiple times throughout the plot with no ill effects, just to remember in the final act that it was supposed to be bad and forced it to suddenly malfunction.
TOD: Dimensionator works as expected a total of 4 times, 2 mentioned and 2 on screen, NONE of those times had any ill effects. It only malfunctioned when Tachyon started spamming it while being shot at, and even then we see him alive in the comic series so what exactly was bad about the dimensionator? Doesn't matter, plot says it's bad because Clank must be right even though he has zero evidence to back his claims up. The only problem was it getting into Tachyon's hands which happened in the stupidest possible way.
ACIT: Time travel is bad as the plot states early on. Clank knows this, so upon seeing Ratchet for the first time in a year Clank immediately demands that he go back in time to save his father. Later, after Ratchet fails doing so due to the cutscene stupidity virus causing him to sit there and stare while Orvus dies, Clank immediately says no to going back in time to save the lombaxes because time travel is bad and NO ONE brings up the last thing he asked Ratchet to do. LATER, they use time travel again to steal a friggin' space ship. Once again, NO ONE mentions how doing that was bad or a risk. Then Alister wants to do it, and based on what the games events have proven, time travel is heckin' awesome and does exactly what you want, but the plot has an agenda so he needs to be wrong. I'd also like to point out how little weight Clank's choice to use the clock to save Ratchet actually has, Time travel has had no ill effects at this point and the plumber outright told him it would work, so it was robbed of any impact before it even happened. It could have been a good moment of him showing that his best friend means more to him than the entire universe... but no, we got the plumber going "lol six minutes is a-ok!"
It's impressive how badly they fucked up the main plot points of both games when they were so damn simple. They brought on the new writers for the future series to make it deeper and more complex, but it became more childish and poorly written than ever.
"Bringing on new writers to make x thing y."
What all producers say before their series goes off the rails and into a river.
By this point "bringing on new writers" might as well be code for hiring sucky ones.
They should've leaned really hard into satirizing chosen one narratives and how trite they are. Could've spun a whole thing about Ratchet getting kind of sick and tired of not just saving the day, but now this forced on label of "The one that is supposed to do all the heavy lifting". Not to mention being dragged into a conflict that has nothing to do with him, since he doesn't know diddly about Lombax lore. As for Clank. Instead of "being born" for the task, he could've been damaged and fixed with a supposedly insignificant scrap/gear, which turned out to belong to the great clock. Just spit balling here, but there were things they could've worked with.
nice spitball
I thought the future series was really good overall, I wasn't too impressed by the story but it was an attempt to expand the characters which I can understand. I didn't like that they disregarded some characters especially Angela Cross and I thought Insomniac had a real missed opportunity by not bringing back characters from older games and creating a story with them to expand their stories, even if they weren't part of the main plot.
*cough* Plumber *cough* Jokes aside I think from when I first heard the line “last Lombax in the universe” I was only looking at the game by how it’s no longer ‘my’ old R&C game rather than trying to enjoy it. I really should go back and just play the future saga by itself to see how it feels
One of the radio stations in A Crack in Time actually mentions Angela and tries to explain what she's been up to, although why Tacheon says Rachet is "the last" when Angela is still around is never explained as far as I know.
@@GodOfOrphans how did the writers become so clueless to not even mention her?
@@carlbloke8797 A lack of Loremasters presumably, somebody who's job is just to keep continuity straight and try and prevent plotholes like that. Angela being in an entirely separate galaxy could for example serve as an explanation as to why Tacheon never found her and the dialogue could be slightly tweaked to avoid having Ratchet just forget she exists entirely, I mean she was a love interest in Going Commando FFS people don't just forget their significant others, but those relatively small fixes needed to be implemented immediately because they fact that they went unadressed for 2 games and are only kinda lampshaded in an optional easter egg in the third game just makes the problem that much more glaring.
You know what’s funny? Spyro had a reboot in 2006 which took itself more seriously and featured Spyro as a dragon who could harness all the elements and would save the world.
A year later, Ratchet and Clank started taking itself more seriously and introduced the plot point of lombaxes being amazing inventors and Ratchet supposedly being the only one left.
The Legend of Ratchet
i like the implication that even if insomniac kept the licence for spyro, we probably would have gotten legend of spyro regardless.
(though an IG-made spyro would probably have handled better than "god of war but you play as a dragon")
Tenshi Cat Sounds like Avatar.
The 200x where the era of edgy reboots.
And I say this a LoS fan.
@@Morrowinder777 what's LoS, oh nvm I know now smh
Angela being forgotten until having her name dropped in A crank in Time is even more hurtful when you learn that there was unused dialogue from Up your Arsenal that referred to her as a Lombax. (ua-cam.com/video/nFaxhkPd9F0/v-deo.html)
They even removed some dialogue from A Crank in Time where Alister Azimuth talks about a friend of Ratchet's mother called Lorna Cross. Who may or may not be Angela's mother. (ua-cam.com/video/-nyBzhkFZaQ/v-deo.html)
Still don't understand why it took Insomaic nearly seven years to say that tails are a male trait for Lombaxes.
4:36. Spot on - you absolutely nailed it. The first few titles projected how consumerism can become nefarious and how dangerous it can become. And the R&C games became enveloped in just that - cinematic consumerism.
The short way I look at the situation is like this: Ratchet and Clank started off as a small, humble story that thrust them into a big situation. As this goes on, the scale gets larger, the stakes higher, and the production values and tone shift accordingly. Not bad, just different.
Yes!
My problem with it is that they retroactively denied something I really loved about the duo (they were both misfits, Clank being a defective robot and Ratchet a mechanic who simply sought adventure). Not chosen ones, they are closer to outcasts.
It would have been more interesting if the future series delved into themes like imperialism and colonialism. Not only would it have a stronger connection to the anti-consumerism message of the PS2 games, but also provide better context to the journeys Ratchet and Clank have. Imagine Ratchet having to learn about the unsavory past of his species while Clank struggles with an existential crisis over whether he has a soul or not. There's a real missed opportunity here for expanding on the R&C universe in an organic way that Insomniac sadly missed. I guess fan fiction is the only way any of this will be possible now.
@Ryan Vetter That reply makes absolutely no contextual sense to what I said.
@@belyayevsfox4753Dude, that is such an amazing idea.
Anybody miss the old school ratchet and clank commercials, where they test out a weapon from the game, with the tag line " these weapons were not meant for this world".
Anyone else find the DMC reference yet? It's not a proper TGB video without one
He talks about juggling enemies
DONTE.
It's no longer about DMC references, it's all about bad R&C 2016 quotes
You ain't helping the -economy- comments section by hoarding all those DMC references
I've hated the writing in every game after deadlocked. Each new game is unfunnier and more melodramatic than the last. I don't even see the new Ratchet and Clank as the same characters as the ones from the ps2 games.
What about A Crack In Time? It has the most complex and dynamic story arc, I feel like the game deserves more credit than it gets.
Poor Alister...
I like the original and Future. I think They are well written. I would not say All4One and Full Frontal Assault, they are a whole new gimmick, but I find the series outstanding.
It's so dense, every single frame has so many things going on.
Nah i didn't like Crack in Time. The humor didn't work for me, nor did the EPIC STORY. Not a fan of the cinematic style, or what they did to Ratchet and Clank as characters. I also didn't experience it as especially ''complex''.
The humor in the PS2 Ratchet games turned out to be ahead of its time, while the Future series ironically feels like a typical mid-2000s kid's movie.
Come and buy a Playstation 3.
Turbo Button i rather buy a Playstation 4 and ps2, atleast you get the original ratchet n clank on ps2.. =/
PandamanPandamanPandaman yeah but they're.....not good remasters
Turbo Button I get it ,
*Come and Buy a Pixilizer*
*Come and buy loot boxes*
What's bad about them?
You mention the Metropolis level in Tools and it just reminded me how much I loved it. I remember when that demo dropped, I played it over and over. It was a great first level, something that you can go back and have fun over and over, like in Sonic 2 or the first two levels in DMC3.
dood
Going commando was my 1st ratchet and clank game and it made me love the series as much as I do
Deadlocked furthered that love
I'm proud to say I played both Ratchet and Jak in order.
I dont know how you are always able to read my exact thoughts about this saga and express them in a coherent and deep way... but wow... you nailed it, again.
This can be described as the Pixarization of Ratchet and Clank games. They started out as meta games with commentaries on the consumerism culture. Then the PS3 games tried to get more personal and ‘heroic’ with their stories, with no emphasis on meta commentaries. It finally culminated with the release of the PS4 reboot which was just as consumeristic in its personality, as something that they would have tried to parody during the PS2 era.
The Dead Space franchise also was gradually pixarized until it stopped selling. And God of War also got pixarized this year.
Basically, the more profitable a franchise becomes, the more mainstream the makers try to force it to be.
A perfect parallel of what happened to R&C’s pixarization can be drawn from what happened to the Riddick franchise. It started with a self contained fun semi-horror story ‘Pitch Black’ which turned out to be significantly profitable for the studio. So, they pixarixed it and the sequel was your avg ‘hero saves the galaxy from evil’ flick. But it performed poorly and the makers went back to the roots in the sequel, even if it wasn’t that good.
Guys, we just gotta stop giving ‘em our money if we want it to become what it originally was.
Its funny since back in 2007 sites like gametrailers were praising the visuals for being like a pixar film.
Nuclearpoweredturtle I remember that. Sadly, it became quite common for reviewers to call R&C games ‘Pixar-like’ since then. That’s why I used the term ‘Pixarization’.
Turtlemain The reason DS3 turned out to be so organic was because Visceral honed out their vision while simultaneously complying with EA's demands for making the game more mainstream. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the co-op campaign despite its flaws. But still the reason its sales were so poor was because the fans weren't happy with the change in the core of the genre and their reasons seem pretty understandable.
Hardline was a solid game. But BF loyalists only buy the games that stick to routine.
GoW seems fine. Kratos got his revenge and is moving on.
"Come and get your Pixar-izer!"
Even to this day I don't understand why they never use Angela Cross again...I meen they use another Character again in previous games so why never use her again..?? I don't understand this series anymore...
Pretty sure it was a combination of her character design and ToD's story. Angela is very tall and lacks a tail, two traits that don't really mesh well with Ratchet's design unless Insomniac wanted to have the female lombaxes be twice the size of the males.
As for ToD's story, Insomniac wanted Ratchet to be one of the last Lombax in existence so having Angela exist detracts from this. Ratchet even acknowledges that he's never seen a Lombax.
@@shadowknight743 Except that Angela is still canon, in A Crack in Time they mention her on one of the radio stations, and it's made clear by numerous other references that the previous games are all still cannon so...
@@GodOfOrphans she was retconned by the devs in a livestream, they classed her as a "mistake" and were apologetic about having to do so.
According to one programmer The team didn't like angela much
@@Ikareruu seriously? The devs themselves thought she was a mistake? Where was this said?
Fair point but you can't be hoarding all those bolts. Come and buy a Pixelizer!
11:36 Wait... didn’t Ratchet *kill* Ace Hardlight? They had a funeral for him and everything! What the hell??
Vox was faking his Death to get Ratings.
A Crack In Time is my all time favourite Ratchet Game. Can't wait to see you cover it even if you don't love it.
Malazan27 Same dude, it’s my third favourite game of all time too
3, Gladiators and A Crack in Time, the last one being my favourite! It was my first real one and then I made the mistake and bought, all 4 one!
I don't know why but I also really really love Crack in Time. I generally think they try too hard with the story in the new Ratchet and Clank games and sometimes it really miss the goofy humor from the classics. R&C 2 is still my favorite, but Crack in Time comes at a close second. I can't explain why I like it so much. (Besides that it just is a great game)
The Future saga in general may have felt somewhat at odds with original trilogy + Deadlocked, and while Tools made that distinction very blurry, Crack really nailed it into a genuinely touching story. (I love the final recording of Orvus that plays while Clank runs to the ship). It felt like the last time there was a genuine passion and desire to push Ratchet gameplay and structure forward, although I still enjoyed Nexus and even the reboot as games.
I think the only R&C game I enjoyed more overall more is Going Commando, but yes loved Crack in Time
You really want to stop being "the PlatinumGames guy" to be "the Ratchet & Clank Guy".
And the metroid guy before that
Ben Harlan I mean, he was never really the "Platinum Guy."
Well we do need a Ratchet & Clank guy.
Why can't he just like... make content he likes without being pigeonholed? Plenty of people do that, and it's not like there isn't connective tissue; he reviews games he likes/doesn't like and does opinion pieces.
Yeah, we need a brit to tell us what's bad about the modern ratchet and clank games.
Your opinion on this feels so correct it hurts. CiT is the only "Future" game that was above average. Edit: especially the final boss of CiT successfully tugged at my heartstrings.
DoctorObviously I think you mean Future. But yeah, I am only underwhelmed when I had tried Quest For Booty. It was way shorter than Into The Nexus.
Nabinani 777 Yes, I meant Future :) Why was it called Future, in hindsight?
you were talking about azimuth as the final boss right? he was not the final boss. there was that vorselon guy :P
Red Floyd Yes.
"CiT is the only "Future" game that was above average."
I wouldn't necessarily say Tools was average. It was still pretty enjoyable and way better than other games that were considered average. Though yes, CiT is the best of the future series and my personal favourite Ratchet and Clank game yet. Quest For Booty is average tho.
Will Ratchet and Clank ever have a game with Devil May Cry?
I think the "chosen one" archetype could have worked in this series if they did it a little differently. Rather than having the lombax be this super intelligent race that saved the galaxy, simply focus on the fact that they're all missing. The lombax could still be known to be intelligent and such but don't make them the heroes of the story, rather than Ratchet being the chosen one the story could just be a simple on about finding his missing race. They could build Ratchet up as the "last lombax" all for it to be a bunch of horse shit in actuality, this would only further the original themes of if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I'm not too sure how this could play out, perhaps a villain spins a tale about the lombax in order to send Ratchet and clank away on a search for his people whilst they get up to their own evil deeds. This could add a bit more character to Ratchet too, showing how when he eventually finds out that he's just been strung along he has to struggle between doing the right thing and finding the family he's been missing all his life. I think making it this way would have made the generic plot we got have come off a lot more Ratchet like.
This is a completely good point
it's so funny reading this with the release of Rift Apart
The original creators and founders of the franchise dissapeared along with David Bergeaud. R&C Deadlocked Gladiator was the last of them. It happens in modern companies and government, higherups surround themselves with asskissers rather than talented individuals.
Actually David Bergeaud was still composing the music for Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty. I think the problem was that they wanted him to change the kind of music he was making from experimental electronic & industrial to orchestral score type music which obviously weren't as good or memorable as the experimental stuff.
Let's be honest though
R&C2's final boss sucks ass, there's no saying otherwise.
Yeah, facing a powered up mook was a big disappointment. And I was expecting Qwark to be the final boss this time.
I only found the hidden boss on my 2nd playthrough and even then it was a bloody nightmare
Yes
still the best one in the series
At least we get to fight Qwark in the reboot.
Crazy how history repeats itself, I too do not want to mortgage my home to pay a scalper so I can play the new ratchet and clank
Going commando is my favorite of the series
Tools of Destruction is my favorite in the series.
Awesome! Up Your Arsenal is my favorite.
@Josiah Sepulveda Oh yeah, trying to break that habit :/
@Josiah Sepulveda Lol yeah I was trying to joke too 😋
In the Future Saga the lombaxes are handled like thre Precursor in Jak and Daxter, but in jak and Daxter the Precursers were always handled that way. In RaC this is not the case.
Would you mind making any less sense?
You could almost say...
I DON'T LIKE CHANGE!!
Kaisburg valeforxd my guy
my man :D
Aw yeah
It does seem different than the OG trilogy, I’ll give you that. Honestly, though, I though ToD was a fantastic game. Call me a sucker for spectacle and the melodramatic, but it was cool to see Insomniac do something different without totally butchering existing character development (a la 2016 remake). I grew up playing the originals and today as I play through the Future saga I find them very well done. Only things that really bugged me were the Zoni stuff and the audio desync in some cutscenes haha. I also thought the pirate bits were dope. I loved Treasure Planet as a kid, so seeing those tropes play into RaC was really fun, and that pirate theme is awesome.
I'm still waiting for TGBS reboot so you can retcon your entire channel without all the edge
Crazyjc damn
I didn't realise how much I needed this until now.
The edge is what makes him stand out from all the cookie cutter analysis copy cats.
And he'll do take paid sponsorships in addition to taking patreon money
I’ve been trying to figure out what TGBS for the last forever please help
I think the reason Ratchet is more laid back and mature on the ps3 game is because, like the player, he grew up. Think about it, he was 15 in the first game and 18 in Deadlocked.
Yeah but his design dont fit with his character.
@@Rachebartps3 graphics bro
I really enjoy your R&C videos ! I would love to see a whole series going in depth on the games
I can't believe I've never noticed at 6:11 Ratchet's wrench is clipping through the floor during the cutscene
robot ghosts, who I think were pirates, were in deadlocked tho.
anyway I liked them and also talwyn. Idk, narrative was never that bad for me.
also ratchet 2s ship levels were like, super frustrating and not fun.
I know right xD, complaining about robot ghosts, yet praising the game that has one.
The pirates never really had a large part of the narrative the same way that they do in ToD.
I agree on the ship levels in Ratchet 2 not being fun, though.
The Ninjadillo
except that we are talking about robot ghosts, which is still part of the story and since were at it, why not complain about robot ninjas, or that space hipster that can use magic to fix ships?
Ratchet's ears are so wavey in the PS2 game.
Yeah they don't move around much anymore
:( It was so cute
*Okay, I have to say.. In A Crack In Time they DO mention Angela Cross on one of the radio stations, and say that she fled the galaxy before Tachyon attacked.. sure, it's not a huge amount of detail, it does feel like a retcon, and I agree completely that it clearly didn't seem very thought out.. but it is at least brought up.. This game is fun to play, but I agree with everything you said about the story..* That being said...
A Crack In Time is still my favourite in the series.. sure the satire is gone, but this isn't Robocop, it's a fun game for kids, and ACIT is beautiful, addictively fun, and has my favourite puzzle sections from any game ever.. I know you don't like the future series very much, but you always seem to focus on story, and writing, and not the gameplay.. You gotta remember that this is a game.. that people play... for fun.. ACIT has the best gameplay of the series, and the story between Ratchet and Azimuth is great, even if it completely lost the satire.. I do agree that this one is a complete mess, although fun to play for the most part (turn the six as controls off.. It's much better)
a) don't forget ACIT even doubts Angela being a Lombax due to the lack of tail.
b) the gaming brit being a story and writing guy? nope... he's a very gameplay-focus critic. he just loves his games challenging. when they aren't there's just not much to talk about...
GMMReviews ACIT also still has a great story
He focuses on everything he can. He said he still likes the game, he just felt like the presentation was off and I agree. The classics are still the best imo overall, but ACiT and Tools are enjoyable games.
And yet ACiT was one of the worst to play, IMO. The gameplay felt different from all the others, even just from the platforming that was completely different due to the Hover Boots, which were there because Clank wasn't.
And it has the blandest Planets out of all the good R&C Games, and the least amount of them, something I'm still salty about; I don't care about moons that feel all the same, don't progress the story and are side-quests which you never have to do once you've done them once (seriously, when you play NG+, if you do all the Missions, the game is over in like nothing (aside from cutscenes) because almost all of the moons are done; it felt like complete padding to excuse the pathetic number of new Planets).
Vapedia is fine, though. At least in concept and a bit in the presentation. The actual level design could have been better..
World and character building are still very important in games that choose to focus on the story to some capacity, and that is exactly what every Ratchet and Clank game does, they all have plenty of cutscenes. That's why Gaming Brit focuses on the story and writing so much in his Ratchet videos - because the PS2 games nail that stuff, so it's natural to be interested in seeing where they take it in the later games.
And indeed, it's not Robocop, but satire in that vein is always fun and it's what the series established itself on, so it's a shame to see it go, in favour of story tropes that are a lot more safe and sterile. I'm not going to knock you for loving A Crack in Time though, it's great to hear that you had such a positive and memorable time with it, and nobody can take that away from you! So when you watch Gaming Brit's video on it and he inevitably criticises things about it that you enjoy, try not to feel upset, just remember that it's all down to personal taste - some people prefer the classic style of the series, and some people prefer the later style. Gaming Brit makes these videos in order to explain why he is the former, but he's not saying that his opinion is objective and that you must feel the same way or else you're wrong.
As for myself, when I played ACIT I enjoyed Clank's puzzle stages, which actually seemed like they were comfortable with giving the player a challenge with brain teasers, unlike the 2016 remake. And I thought the ship radio was very funny, flying around in space battles whilst listening to smooth jazz or classical music! However, I wasn't much a fan of the lack of unique planets, with the game using the large amount of smaller, less visually interesting moons seemingly to pad itself. And then after that game there was Into the Nexus which was super short so it just kind of seems like Insomniac had trouble coming up with enough original content for Ratchet games towards the tail end of the series, sadly!
5:48-5:55 I have no idea if putting these scenes so close together was intentional or not, but the comedic effect can not be overstated at this point. Hoo Boy!
9:25 I like to think of it as destiny. These two nobodies met by accident, saved multiple galaxies together, and then later find that they both have greater purposes. I think it fits well, I like it. And the ending part of ACIT is super effective when you take each of the characters' motivations into consideration
Cynical Joker I get what you mean. Still, some people like it, some people don't. Insomniac just wanted to take everything in a new direction I guess
Here's how I would've reworked the lombax-race plot to be more tonally in line with the og-titles: lombaxes are just an average alien-race who mostly work in lower working class-type occupations. They're largely kinda overlooked and under-appreciated, however this tide is turning because Ratchet's ever-growing fame as a hero is bringing new positive attention to the lombaxes.
The main villain would be like a scummy two-faced politician who resists against this movement by enacting a smear-campaign on Ratchet and the rest of the lombax-race. Of course Ratchet's father would get involved, and he would be more like a recluse who wants nothing to do with "the system" and is perfectly content with his isolated self-sufficient lifestyle.
I'm not saying this is the best possible alternative, but I reckon it's at least better than some chosen-one schlock
I would save Ratchet's father for the next game
Also the main villain is a George Bush parody
@@allowableman2 basically president zogg from the R&C comics
Looking forward to more.
Nier: Automata's "A line through time"?
Eventually.
Didn't know you were a Ratchet & Clank fan. Is a R&C A line through time going to be a possibility?
Huh. There are more entries than I thought. Yes, this will happen.
Congrats on 100,000 subs! Been watching your reviews for a while and I enjoy them very much; keep up the great work!
Love your videos dude. Its always nice to see someone dive a little deeper into the changes of game mechanics and story telling made over time.
"exploring clanks origin" lol
As if he isn't literally born and introduced in like the first 20 minutes of the first game and we never met his mother..... Riiiiiiight
Having played the future games first, I just figured this is what it was supposed to be like. But I understand how a longtime fan might feel.
They started this "Missing Lombaxes" storyline 15 years ago and it's still going. I liked Rift Apart, but there's no way the resolution to this arc will be satisfying at this point, if they even bother trying to conclude it.
yeah, at this point, it feels less like building up to an epic conclusion and more "wanna see if ratchet will find the lombaxes? buy our next game (and the console it's on) to find out!"
not to mention the games post-ps2 really feel like one of those "you gotta play the Future series and the non-spinoff games that came after it (ITN and RA) to understand the story" shit that i hate that a lot of modern franchises do.
this is a half life 3 situation. No matter how good it is it won't live up to the expectations (unless it revolutionizes the industry, but that won't happen) and they know it. That's probably why they keep pushing back the reveal.
7:50
Looks at copy of the PS4 remake
“Why can’t you do that?”
What's the name of the outro song? I know it's Death to Squishies by Courtney Gears but there's like 50 different remixes of it on youtube and that sure doesn't sound like the original version.
It's one of the Groovitron themes from Tools of Destruction.
I love how the EU version took out the references to "Arse"enal and "Dead"locked.
Ay fam you played Hollow Knight?
Thank you thank you THANK YOU for making this video. I was hooked on your hour long rant how Ratchet lost its edge, and I'm glad you delivered again with this video. R&C is so near and dear to my heart, those were the first games I played and finished all by myself and it saddens me so much to see where the series has gone. You eloquently explained what I've been feeling for so long, thank you again for the amazing vid!
you plan on reviewing the sly or jak games?
This definitely nails down how TOD misstepped with so badly. It's just never felt genuine to me, and their attempt at an overarching narrative was definitely weak.
This kind of reminds me of Star Wars Episode 9. Going from "Anyone can be a hero" to "You have a special lineage".
Almost 100k Subscribers !!! You legit deserve it
Oh how I've been waiting for this.
Orange Lightning same
Orange Lightning! Big fan of your channel! Can I have your autograph?
I genuinely LOVE a crack in time it is not perfect by any means and It has been a bit since I played it but I am very curious to see your thoughts on it.
As soon as time magic got involved I just couldn't do it
Tools of Destruction was my first ratchet and Clank game, and I loved the hell out of it!!! Obviously when I didn't know that other lombaxs existed and that clank was supposed to be a defect the plot was a lot easier to stomach. Anyway, having played the first two games for the ps2 I can concede that your'e right on pretty much everything here. Except the pirates theme music, I love that track.
Why the Jak and Daxter trilogy is on PS4 and the Rachet and Clank Quarkology isn’t is beyond me
Been waiting for you to cover Tools of Destruction. Really liked it, but it had such a weird story. Not good weird, just this change in tone that heralds watering down. This is like Doctor Who with Matt Smith. Not total shit...but it was weird enough to let the standards drop much lower.
EDIT: Story wise that is. Gameplay wise, played it by far the most of any of the games. The arena, traversing that asteroid station, when the final planet is a darker nighttime iteration of this abandoned planet was great.
Hehe, the final planet being a darker nighttime iteration of one you visited earlier in the game? They already did that in the first game!
I know they did, but I actually played 1 after TOD (for some reason I got into the series with 2 first, then 3 and TOS) I just remember that being a good novelty in this when I think back about the game, it was good in 1 too but that game's highlights are the darker look and far more industrialised aesthetic
After Matt Smith held up the Mighty Morphin' Dalek Rangers with a Jammie Dodger, I couldn't watch New Who again unless forced. Doctors 2, 3 and 4 are brill
I'm actually really glad you are covering the ratchet series. It was a big part of gaming for me growing up and i also have probably a *bit* too much knowledge of the lore for my own good
Wait was Ratchet and Clank Nexus a Futures game or do we not mention that game......
Tom Phelan It's an epilogue game and honestly, I don't get the hate. Yes its short, but they never said it would be otherwise. And it was less than 30€ on release
Tom Phelan
That “game” was more like a game demo.
Niom A Sad Demo );
I'm waiting for the GamingBritShow x SuperButterBuns collab on that game
That one's pretty good. The gravity thing was VEEEEERY underutilized, though, and the chibified art shift kinda messes with the drama and horror it tries to build up, but the reformatted upgrade system is an absolute joy, making raratanium feel much more distinct from bolts, and doing much better than the raratanium mod system from Tools of Destruction. It's actually rather fun to use it. Plus, the museum is pretty cool, too, and the game has my favorite weapon IN THE ENTIRE SERIES; The Winterizer. It shoots a candy cane laser beam, turning enemies into snowmen that drop presents full of bolts. And as long as you hold down the trigger, the gun sings Jingle Bells. It's glorious.
If the PS2 games are comparable to RoboCop, then Into the Nexus is Alien.
I actually bought Tools of Destruction, Quest for Booty and Crack in Time two weeks ago so this is grrrrreat timing.
Mhhh, instead i guess you really enjoyed them :)
@@BioTheHuman To be honest... not really.
@@iggnifyre6333 well, i'm sorry for you that you can't enjoy games so :)
*Reads title
Oh no. My childhood is bout to get destroyed yet again.
Your outro was funnier then every joke the series attempted to make in the 2016 reboot
Azimuth's death was funnier than the 2016 game.
When it comes to story telling, there is nothing that irks me more than forgotten lore. FGS you wrote the story, how can you possibly forget it? I'M LOOKING AT YOU AKIRA TORIYAMA!
Oh my god, that Ace Hardlight reference has bothered me for years... just listening to it again at 11:36 gives me 'Nam flashbacks
As a ratchet and Clank veteran, I can say with utmost certainly....the future saga was awesome. Except quest for booty.
Please keep the Ratchet And Clank videos coming. It's a pleasure hearing how much you have to say, and how well you've thought everything through.
04:42 as soon as I heard that sweet sweet disc scratch i immediately closed the video and went to listen to the Novalis soundtrack
A Crack in Time, was the most heartfelt entry in the future series. And the end credits? Man... :')
At this point I think I know more about the ratchet series than the DMC series. And I haven't even played a ratchet game before
You know what is the real trouble? The made his hands more relative in size to his body rather than his massive hands.
I still think the PS3 games look good, aside from Talwyn because actual people never look good in the cartoon-y 3D animation style.
Can't wait for your Crack in Time review, as that is my favourite non ps2 R&C game.
I just wanna drop in and say I love you for splitting this into multiple parts. Like the 80-minute thing was super entertaining to watch, but it was like a movie.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, but I must say I still consider Tools of Destruction on par with the Ps2 titles. My only real issue with Tools is the stupid pirate door gimmick (where the pirates dance), the drawn out ship segments, some of the story points, and the check points. But that's pretty much it.
I love this game, and it's one of the best ps3 games imo. I like how they gave Ratchet his more rudish demeanor from the first game back. "You know Clank, maybe you should spend more time talking to your real friends instead of your imaginary ones." Yes it's feel is different from the Ps2 RaC titles, and it could even be argued that it's a different type of game entirely (with the drastic change in tone) but I don't care about that. I don't know why I don't care, the change in direction just doesn't bother me. Great game with a good story, plot holes aside. But that's just my opinion.
Great video.
(WARNING LONG THOUGHTFUL COMMENT)
Somehow i find this game my fav in the future series and after finishing a NO ARMOR run recently (yes it was scary) i find it easier to critique and compare. The "cinematics" felt like when they make an hour-long tv movie special for a long-running cartoon. I think the story is "fine" but it feels too stiff and scripted most of the time. This game's graphics feel a little too "real" and lack most of the bright cartoony charm of the classics. And ratchet's face is slightly less expressive and stiff. (especially compared to up your arsenal) Now for the gameplay........After i finished up your arsenal, i immediately played this one, only to find that ratchet's movement (such as wall jumping and platforming) was REALLY stiff in comparison. I've never had the 6 axis on because i heard too much of how awful it was. The weapons....worked(with low ammo and damage sometimes)....but they were already lacking in creative designs and uses. The most i could get was using the net launcher first and then following up with the claws or alpha disrupter (the only weapon i really got attached to.) So.....to conclude....tools is about as fun as a one-off tv cartoon movie that is still great to enjoy as an occasional treat.
When you do crack in time, ill tell about that one too.....
What’s the song at the end there, where did you get it? Yes I know it’s the Courtney Gears song but I’ve never heard a version like that
What is the song played at the end ? It sounds like a remix of the courtney gears song from RC3, but I couldn't find it.
I agree completely, I deal with it by saying the original series ended at ratchet and clank 4, gladiator and tools of destruction onwards is a new universe separate and follows ratchet and clank PS4 directly
i.e.
Timeline 1:
Ratchet and Clank 1, 2, 3, 4 and the psp series (including the clank game)
Timeline 2:
Ratchet and clank PS4, ToD, QfB, CiT and all the other spin offs
This make me happy that jak x was the last game of the jak and daxter series.
I started the series at TOD and I loved the series. I think I was able to enjoy it more story-wise because I never got the original lore. I was just dropped into the life of these two best friends and I guessed as to what their backstory was and how they were brought together. Sometimes I guess ignorance is bliss.
19:12 I like how both the review and the game ends on a cliffhanger. That was pretty slick.
Plus the ending song is pretty banger.
"discount daft punk" *ding*
all jokes aside, this remix of courtney's theme is pretty cool.
ALWAYS down for some TGBS Ratchet talk
I was so hyped for ToD as a kid, 20 minutes in I got a gut feeling that something was way off.
I never ended up finishing it despite replaying Rac 1- Deadlocked a good 20 times.
Same. I started to play the future saga 3 years ago. 12 years after i stop playing tools of destruction because it feels to different for me. For me tools of destruction is like a soft reboot
19:23 Is this some kind of Courtney Gears Remix in the background? If yes, I'd love to know where I can listen to the full version :D
Look up: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - Japanese Groovitron 3.
Japanese Groovitron 3.
This was the 1,000th video I've liked on UA-cam.
Thanks, Brit.
You praise the original Ratchet & Clank series games a lot, and hell do I agree on your points if ever.
Firstly, I would like to say that this is, as always, a very well put together video. It’s always fun to watch your videos and see you discuss your opinion in such a respectable manner.
Now, when it comes to your Ratchet and Clank videos I feel like you tend to over praise the old games and blow the new games’ flaws out of proportion. For example, yes Ratchet and Clank 1 had a good story for a 3D platformer of its time (a lot of the games in the genre didn’t care about their stories) and I do have respect for insomniac for not feeling like they were limited by the type of game they were making, but the writing wasn’t the best and Ratchet could really get on your nerves at times. Furthermore , Ratchet and Clank 1 and 2, even ignoring gameplay, have not aged well. I personally didn’t enjoy the interactions with the planets’ inhabitants, as most of them just felt pointless. I don’t think talking to one person can give you an idea of what their planet is like. If we do consider gameplay, then that’s when the first two games start to really feel clunky. Firstly, the controls feel very rough (especially in 1). Now, I understand that for a 2002 game it’s to be expected, however I believe it should be mentioned when comparing them to the other games in the franchise. Secondly, and this may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m REALLY not a fan of the vehicle/spaceship segments. They’ve always felt so frustrating and broke the flow of the game. At least the ones in ToD are simpler and don’t give me a headache.
So, let me talk about ToD, now. I am actually really happy with the cinematic approach of the new games. Regardless of what you think of the story, you have to admit, the cutscenes are very well produced and still contain a lot of light hearted humor, keeping the game from feeling to serious or melodramatic. For example, DMC 4 had a pretty generic story structure as well (Guy likes girl, girl gets kidnapped, guy saves girl and the world), however characters like Dante and Trish just have this “Let’s not take this too seriously” attitude that helps forgive a lot of the game’s cliches (Although I still think Kyrie is the most generic “girl” ever). Anyway, back to ToD. Yes, it has a lot of cliches and I do admit the story isn’t exactly Oscar worthy, but for a first attempt at a “bigger” story, I really think it’s good.
Now here’s the thing, I’m actually not the biggest fan of Tools of Destruction. Don’t get me wrong, I like the game, (I like every game in the franchise), however it’s in no way one of my favorite. Like, even though this came out years after R&C 3, I think ToD has aged worse than that game mostly because of all those gimmicky “THIS IS PS3” mechanics and strange structure. In fact, I think we both feel the same way about this game, but for different reasons. So, I didn’t really write this because I disagreed with your overall opinion of the game, I just disagreed with some of your points.
So yeah, I’m done. If I didn’t bring up one of your arguments it’s probably because I agreed with you. As I said at the beginning, this was still a great video with very well expressed opinions.
P. S.
On the other hand, I do love A Crack In Time and I look forward to your video on it, although I know you probably don’t like it as much as I do.
P. P. S.
Also, Angela was mentioned on the radio in aCiT, so she’s still definitely canon. Maybe the whole deal with her will be explained in a future game? I don’t know, I’m still hoping for an explanation.
Disagreed
anyone know the remix used in the outro?
I thought I remembered there being interactions between the spinning blades and the tornado? You could fire them into the tornado and create utter mayhem.
That and combining the bees with Mr. Zurkon were some of my go-to combos.