In this thread I want to make some comparisons of Ratchet and Clank (PS4) to the original Ratchet and Clank (PS2). Ill first go through the parts I feel the reboot does better than the original game, and the parts original excels better at.
Before going to the thread, do note that these are just my personal opinions. Ive played the series since the first game was released more or less, so there is definitely some personal bias and nostalgia, that could have influenced on my opinions. I also note that some of my complaints might be considered nit-picky. But I digress. I also wont go through the basics of R&C gameplay, so I will assume the reader has played at least one of the two games in comparison here. There will be spoilers to the story for both of them.
I will also note that I havent seen the movie that the Reboot was tied into.
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Areas Reboot does lot better than the original game:
Gameplay
This is basically a given, and its one of the core parts that make Ratchet & Clank (PS4) a very good game. The core combat is very refined version of the gameplay that has been updated over the years with all sorts of Quality of Life modifiers. Strafing works like a dream, weapon variety is fun and everything is just so satisfying to use. The system where weapons level up as they are used is still pure genius, as it promotes trying to use the whole arsenal, and not only defaulting to few favorites. Only problem with it is that some of the less used weapons can be rendered useless in later stages, if they are not leveled up at all.
The original game on the other hand is Insomniacs first try on this formula, and it shows. The gameplay of the original game hasnt aged as gracefully as the other games in the series. Lack of any real strafing really hurts the game, the only option to use it is to use very clunky Thruster-Pack strafing, which just does not work very well. There also isnt any weapon leveling up system outside of gold weapon upgrades, which can be mostly used only in New Game +. There is one secret area you can access during initial playthrough for the golden weapon shop, but a first time player is most likely going to miss it by accident.
So yeah. A first try on the gameplay versus 14 years of refinement, its pretty easy to see that the Reboots core gameplay loop is lot more fun.
Visuals
The original game was a very pretty early-PS2 game, but even it was outclassed by Ratchet 2 & 3 in terms of visual spectacle.
And well the reboot looks extremely pretty. Its still one of the best looking PS4 games in terms of pure eye candy.
The way the colours just pop up so brightly, and the beautiful vistas the game gives throughout the game is really great.
The takeback is that the game runs on 30FPS compared to original games 60FPS. While this is really unfortunate, the 30FPS is very consistent, I didnt notice many dips at all during gameplay. This was a definite step up from the last PS3 Ratchet (Into the Nexus), which looked extremely rough in 30FPS with constant dips. Its easy to give this point to the Reboot.
Overall polish
The Reboot just feels very polished game, its clear lot of care went into the game feeling just good. The original PS2 game felt polished too, but not to this level.
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Areas the Original Game does better that the Reboot:
Quality of Character Writing
This is one of my biggest gripes with the reboot. It seems that the games script was heavily tied to the movie released around the same timeframe as the game was, so I cannot say that the games writer (TJ Fixman) is solely to blame with the issues I have with the writing of this game. Its extremely disappointing none the less.
The original game (and arguably 2 & 3) worked as a buddy comedy in terms of writing. Ratchet & Clank were written as foils to each other with good, clashing personalities to play off each other. Ratchet was written as a pretty selfish teenager who doesnt usually act rationally, while Clank was the voice of reason with certain type of naivety that clashed well with Ratchet. This lended itself to lot of funny banter between the two during cut-scenes, and helped to make them both feel more realistic. These two character had only just met, and werent necessarily always friends.
A Short example of character banter (from 17 minutes mark until 17.30)
The original games Ratchet has been criticized for becoming way too unlikable during the second act of the game. I can see the complaints, and agree that he should have been maybe toned down a little. But it still works in the game, and gives the second act some needed tension.
In comparison, the reboot version of Ratchet & Clank felt very badly written. Ratchet is very typical positive hero, with no actual personality to himself outside of being curious. He lost more or less all of the interesting bits about himself. Clank is more or less the same. He is just very bland and robotic, and the story of the reboot does not even really need his presence at all, which is just bizarre.
With both of the characters just being so bland, their interactions are really boring to follow as well. In the reboot when the two characters meet, they seem to become best friends in just few minutes, and never have any sort of arguments about anything until the end of the game. There is no back-and-forth, just them stating things to each other, as if they had known each other for 10 years already. It doesnt work in terms of reboot well at all.
The other characters take a huge hit as well. Captain Qwark is a very boring character in the reboot, definitely his worst iteration out of all Ratchet games. In the original game he is framed very antagonistically, while in the reboot he is more sympathetic. While neither approach isnt necessarily better, the reboot version in this case isnt written very well. Chairman Drek doesnt feel very threatening in the reboot either, although that could be partly due to the plot twist revealed late to the Reboots plot. The other note-worthy characters in the reboot are completely forgettable (Does anybody remember anything about the Galatic Rangers? Or that big robot bodyguard Drek had?), while original had lot of funny personalities, even if they only had few minutes of screen-time (Big Al, Helga, Plumber, etc.)
This lack of quality character writing is a big shame, because the characters is one of the big parts of what made the original games feel for charming. The Reboot characterizations just feel very bland in comparison.
Quality of Story Writing
This one is shorter, because in general I dont think Ratchet games really have ever excelled in plot, and its not their focus outside of maybe the Future Saga on PS3. The original PS2 game didnt have very interesting story, but it was serviceable. Captain Quarks betrayal brought a fun twist to the narrative, even though it could be seen from a mile away by basically anyone. But more than anything, the main plot of the PS2 game helped to strengthen the Character Writing and the banter, which is the more important part of the writing for me anyway.
The Reboot story is somehow still even weaker than the original game, which is strange considering its a movie. A movie has some structural demands that make it incompatible with a game (90 minute length versus 8 hours for a game, usually a movie 3-act-structure that a video game does not have to follow, etc.), but its still fairly bland story, at least based on what the game shows.
Soundtrack
This is a big problem for myself, personally. The soundtrack in all of the PS2 games were very strong in almost all of the songs. The music had lot of memorable melodies. In the first game the music also plays a central role in building up the atmosphere to all individual levels. It plays very loudly, and is always in the foreground of the soundscape of the game. Lot of the songs composed by David Bergeaud are still memorable to this day. Few examples of both fun, colorful planets and dark, oppressing planets:
Kerwan
Gemlik Base
Orxon
Eudora
In comparison, the reboot soundtrack is extremely bland. Its not awful or anything, but it lacks any sort of real personality to it. It sounds like a usual movie soundtrack. But bigger problem is how the music just melds to the background during play. It doesnt build any atmosphere to the levels themselves, which was a big part of why the original soundtrack was just lot of fun.
Kerwan
Gaspar (IMO the best song in the Reboot OST)
Pokitaru
Its fine to like the Reboot soundtrack more than the original one, but for me personally, the reboot soundtrack just isnt as memorable. This is a big problem due to how integral the music was for the original games appeal, IMO.
Sterilisation of Atmosphere
This is very heavily YMMV, and might go into the nostalgia goggles/nitpicking territory. But I feel like the reboot is very safe in terms of the atmosphere and general feel of the game.
The original game has an oppressing atmosphere to it that even the next direct sequels (2 & 3) did not seem to retain as well. Lot of the planets in the original game felt intimidating to play in the first playthrough of the game. Part of this is due to the art style and the soundtrack playing to that feel of being in an alien environment. This is especially evident in few of the second and third act levels, Orxon, Gemlik Base and Oltanis.
Orxon, for example is devoid of life outside of seemingly mutated enemies that are out to kill you, unless you react to their attacks. The music in the level (as linked in the soundtrack part above) is very bleak, especially when adding to the art style. The levels routes are also fairly long, giving the players a very real sense of relief once you finally get to the finish of both of the routes.
Oltanis is another interesting example.
The opening level to games third act has you in a ruins of a city against arguably hardest fodder enemies the game has thrown at you until this point (robots that shoot out electicity beams at you). But more than that, the game takes out the Heli-Pack/Thruster Pack during this level, showing you just how much you had relied on Clanks added mobility abilities. This works especially well in the context of the writing at this point of the game, where Ratchet has only just realised that he has acted fairly selfishly during the course of the game.
Reboot, while being very fun in its art style and levels, does not capture this feel in any of its levels. The game does try to invoke this with some of its later levels:
But its not as effective due to the soundtrack still being fairly bland, and the level design of this later levels not feeling as interesting than in the brighter, more fun levels.
However, this part is heavily YMMV. I personally enjoyed the original games more diverse set of different atmospheres to its planets, but the reboots consistency might be a better fit for other people. Its also note-worthy that part of what made some of the levels feel oppressive was how difficult some of them could feel. But that difficulty is partly tied to strafing being missing from the first game, so I wouldnt give that as a plus.
Other personal disappointments/nit-picks:
I wasn't personally happy how so many of the original planets and areas were completely cut from the game. However, this one is most likely tied to the budget of the game, and the fact it had to abide by the rules set by the movie. I did enjoy how some of the levels were expanded (Gaspar was a nice surprise, for example).
Weapon variety could have used some some new weapons, and not only re-uses from the older games.
Insomniac Museum could have been a little different in terms of implementation.
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TL;DR
In general, I think that the Reboot is technically the better game than the original, just due to the virtue of having so much more better gameplay and visuals. But all of the other building blocks around that gameplay just feel very shaky. Character writing, general atmosphere and the music are important parts for giving the original PS2 Ratchet games some of their spirit. And I personally feel, that the Reboot is not able to capture that at all, instead going into a lot more bland direction. And that in turn, makes the game very forgettable, sadly.
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What are your opinions? Do you completely disagree with the points, or do you maybe have some personal insights?
Before going to the thread, do note that these are just my personal opinions. Ive played the series since the first game was released more or less, so there is definitely some personal bias and nostalgia, that could have influenced on my opinions. I also note that some of my complaints might be considered nit-picky. But I digress. I also wont go through the basics of R&C gameplay, so I will assume the reader has played at least one of the two games in comparison here. There will be spoilers to the story for both of them.
I will also note that I havent seen the movie that the Reboot was tied into.
---
Areas Reboot does lot better than the original game:
Gameplay
This is basically a given, and its one of the core parts that make Ratchet & Clank (PS4) a very good game. The core combat is very refined version of the gameplay that has been updated over the years with all sorts of Quality of Life modifiers. Strafing works like a dream, weapon variety is fun and everything is just so satisfying to use. The system where weapons level up as they are used is still pure genius, as it promotes trying to use the whole arsenal, and not only defaulting to few favorites. Only problem with it is that some of the less used weapons can be rendered useless in later stages, if they are not leveled up at all.
The original game on the other hand is Insomniacs first try on this formula, and it shows. The gameplay of the original game hasnt aged as gracefully as the other games in the series. Lack of any real strafing really hurts the game, the only option to use it is to use very clunky Thruster-Pack strafing, which just does not work very well. There also isnt any weapon leveling up system outside of gold weapon upgrades, which can be mostly used only in New Game +. There is one secret area you can access during initial playthrough for the golden weapon shop, but a first time player is most likely going to miss it by accident.
So yeah. A first try on the gameplay versus 14 years of refinement, its pretty easy to see that the Reboots core gameplay loop is lot more fun.
Visuals
The original game was a very pretty early-PS2 game, but even it was outclassed by Ratchet 2 & 3 in terms of visual spectacle.
And well the reboot looks extremely pretty. Its still one of the best looking PS4 games in terms of pure eye candy.
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The way the colours just pop up so brightly, and the beautiful vistas the game gives throughout the game is really great.
The takeback is that the game runs on 30FPS compared to original games 60FPS. While this is really unfortunate, the 30FPS is very consistent, I didnt notice many dips at all during gameplay. This was a definite step up from the last PS3 Ratchet (Into the Nexus), which looked extremely rough in 30FPS with constant dips. Its easy to give this point to the Reboot.
Overall polish
The Reboot just feels very polished game, its clear lot of care went into the game feeling just good. The original PS2 game felt polished too, but not to this level.
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Areas the Original Game does better that the Reboot:
Quality of Character Writing
This is one of my biggest gripes with the reboot. It seems that the games script was heavily tied to the movie released around the same timeframe as the game was, so I cannot say that the games writer (TJ Fixman) is solely to blame with the issues I have with the writing of this game. Its extremely disappointing none the less.
The original game (and arguably 2 & 3) worked as a buddy comedy in terms of writing. Ratchet & Clank were written as foils to each other with good, clashing personalities to play off each other. Ratchet was written as a pretty selfish teenager who doesnt usually act rationally, while Clank was the voice of reason with certain type of naivety that clashed well with Ratchet. This lended itself to lot of funny banter between the two during cut-scenes, and helped to make them both feel more realistic. These two character had only just met, and werent necessarily always friends.
A Short example of character banter (from 17 minutes mark until 17.30)
The original games Ratchet has been criticized for becoming way too unlikable during the second act of the game. I can see the complaints, and agree that he should have been maybe toned down a little. But it still works in the game, and gives the second act some needed tension.
In comparison, the reboot version of Ratchet & Clank felt very badly written. Ratchet is very typical positive hero, with no actual personality to himself outside of being curious. He lost more or less all of the interesting bits about himself. Clank is more or less the same. He is just very bland and robotic, and the story of the reboot does not even really need his presence at all, which is just bizarre.
With both of the characters just being so bland, their interactions are really boring to follow as well. In the reboot when the two characters meet, they seem to become best friends in just few minutes, and never have any sort of arguments about anything until the end of the game. There is no back-and-forth, just them stating things to each other, as if they had known each other for 10 years already. It doesnt work in terms of reboot well at all.
The other characters take a huge hit as well. Captain Qwark is a very boring character in the reboot, definitely his worst iteration out of all Ratchet games. In the original game he is framed very antagonistically, while in the reboot he is more sympathetic. While neither approach isnt necessarily better, the reboot version in this case isnt written very well. Chairman Drek doesnt feel very threatening in the reboot either, although that could be partly due to the plot twist revealed late to the Reboots plot. The other note-worthy characters in the reboot are completely forgettable (Does anybody remember anything about the Galatic Rangers? Or that big robot bodyguard Drek had?), while original had lot of funny personalities, even if they only had few minutes of screen-time (Big Al, Helga, Plumber, etc.)
This lack of quality character writing is a big shame, because the characters is one of the big parts of what made the original games feel for charming. The Reboot characterizations just feel very bland in comparison.
Quality of Story Writing
This one is shorter, because in general I dont think Ratchet games really have ever excelled in plot, and its not their focus outside of maybe the Future Saga on PS3. The original PS2 game didnt have very interesting story, but it was serviceable. Captain Quarks betrayal brought a fun twist to the narrative, even though it could be seen from a mile away by basically anyone. But more than anything, the main plot of the PS2 game helped to strengthen the Character Writing and the banter, which is the more important part of the writing for me anyway.
The Reboot story is somehow still even weaker than the original game, which is strange considering its a movie. A movie has some structural demands that make it incompatible with a game (90 minute length versus 8 hours for a game, usually a movie 3-act-structure that a video game does not have to follow, etc.), but its still fairly bland story, at least based on what the game shows.
Soundtrack
This is a big problem for myself, personally. The soundtrack in all of the PS2 games were very strong in almost all of the songs. The music had lot of memorable melodies. In the first game the music also plays a central role in building up the atmosphere to all individual levels. It plays very loudly, and is always in the foreground of the soundscape of the game. Lot of the songs composed by David Bergeaud are still memorable to this day. Few examples of both fun, colorful planets and dark, oppressing planets:
Kerwan
Gemlik Base
Orxon
Eudora
In comparison, the reboot soundtrack is extremely bland. Its not awful or anything, but it lacks any sort of real personality to it. It sounds like a usual movie soundtrack. But bigger problem is how the music just melds to the background during play. It doesnt build any atmosphere to the levels themselves, which was a big part of why the original soundtrack was just lot of fun.
Kerwan
Gaspar (IMO the best song in the Reboot OST)
Pokitaru
Its fine to like the Reboot soundtrack more than the original one, but for me personally, the reboot soundtrack just isnt as memorable. This is a big problem due to how integral the music was for the original games appeal, IMO.
Sterilisation of Atmosphere
This is very heavily YMMV, and might go into the nostalgia goggles/nitpicking territory. But I feel like the reboot is very safe in terms of the atmosphere and general feel of the game.
The original game has an oppressing atmosphere to it that even the next direct sequels (2 & 3) did not seem to retain as well. Lot of the planets in the original game felt intimidating to play in the first playthrough of the game. Part of this is due to the art style and the soundtrack playing to that feel of being in an alien environment. This is especially evident in few of the second and third act levels, Orxon, Gemlik Base and Oltanis.
Orxon, for example is devoid of life outside of seemingly mutated enemies that are out to kill you, unless you react to their attacks. The music in the level (as linked in the soundtrack part above) is very bleak, especially when adding to the art style. The levels routes are also fairly long, giving the players a very real sense of relief once you finally get to the finish of both of the routes.
Oltanis is another interesting example.
The opening level to games third act has you in a ruins of a city against arguably hardest fodder enemies the game has thrown at you until this point (robots that shoot out electicity beams at you). But more than that, the game takes out the Heli-Pack/Thruster Pack during this level, showing you just how much you had relied on Clanks added mobility abilities. This works especially well in the context of the writing at this point of the game, where Ratchet has only just realised that he has acted fairly selfishly during the course of the game.
Reboot, while being very fun in its art style and levels, does not capture this feel in any of its levels. The game does try to invoke this with some of its later levels:
But its not as effective due to the soundtrack still being fairly bland, and the level design of this later levels not feeling as interesting than in the brighter, more fun levels.
However, this part is heavily YMMV. I personally enjoyed the original games more diverse set of different atmospheres to its planets, but the reboots consistency might be a better fit for other people. Its also note-worthy that part of what made some of the levels feel oppressive was how difficult some of them could feel. But that difficulty is partly tied to strafing being missing from the first game, so I wouldnt give that as a plus.
Other personal disappointments/nit-picks:
I wasn't personally happy how so many of the original planets and areas were completely cut from the game. However, this one is most likely tied to the budget of the game, and the fact it had to abide by the rules set by the movie. I did enjoy how some of the levels were expanded (Gaspar was a nice surprise, for example).
Weapon variety could have used some some new weapons, and not only re-uses from the older games.
Insomniac Museum could have been a little different in terms of implementation.
---
TL;DR
In general, I think that the Reboot is technically the better game than the original, just due to the virtue of having so much more better gameplay and visuals. But all of the other building blocks around that gameplay just feel very shaky. Character writing, general atmosphere and the music are important parts for giving the original PS2 Ratchet games some of their spirit. And I personally feel, that the Reboot is not able to capture that at all, instead going into a lot more bland direction. And that in turn, makes the game very forgettable, sadly.
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What are your opinions? Do you completely disagree with the points, or do you maybe have some personal insights?
