Ratchet & Clank is a video game series in the platformer and third-person shooter genres.
The characters include Ratchet, who is a cat person as well a mechanic, and Clank, who is a little robot.
The game is known for having a zany feel, including having gadgets and weapons that you won’t often see anywhere else because they are so creative, strange, and outrageous.
Below we are listing and describing all Ratchet & Clank video games in order of release, so let’s get started.
Ratchet & Clank (2002)
Originally, the first game in the series came out for PS2. Eventually, it was ported to PS3 and PS Vita.
The plot starts with Ratchet, an alien cat person, meeting a little Robot called Clank on the planet Veldin.
Clank finds out that an evil alien named Chairman Drek is making a new planet for his species, the Blarg, by destroying other planets for the material.
The game has many minigames you can play on your quest to figure out puzzles and stop enemies.
The two items you start with include the OmniWrench 8000 which is a huge wrench that lets you solve problems on the levels and a bomb glove which can throw grenades.
Going Commando (2003)
The next Ratchet game also came out for PlayStation 2. This game is also a platformer, just like the first game in the series.
You control your character from one side in the third person. The plot involves the cat alien Ratchet and the Robot Clank teaming with a new character named Angela Cross to stop a nefarious project by the MegaCorp organization.
Gameplay is similar to the first one, involving solving puzzles and defeating enemies using lots of items and weapons. One difference is that you can now upgrade weapons.
Up Your Arsenal (2004)
This Ratchet platformer came out for PS2 originally. It was a very well-reviewed game scoring 91% with a popular review site.
Gameplay follows the previous games, but new options are added such as being able to upgrade weapons even more than before.
In terms of plot, the usual characters are now fighting against Dr. Nefarious, who is a robot trying to destroy all organic, non-robot life. The game included multiplayer options as well as the usual single-player.
The game adds more action elements to the usual platform genre. It adds a large number of weapons, each with multiple levels of upgrades possible. There are also ten different gadgets in the game.
Another new character added is Sasha, who is a captain of a Cazar starship.
Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005)
Another PS2 game, Deadlocked is an action platformer, continuing with the theme of the series.
This game starts with Ratchet, Clank, and an original character from the first game, a computer hacker named Big Al.
They find themselves in DreadZone, which is a game show where the characters have to fight one another. The characters have to free each other from their control collars and escape.
Gameplay trends towards more action and less platform in this one. There’s also a cooperative mode where you can play with a friend at the same time. Or, you can play first-person if you want as well.
Size Matters (2007)
Size Matters came out for both Play Station Portable and PS2. The plot involves Ratchet and Clank looking for a kidnapped girl as well as a race of aliens called Technomites.
The gameplay has you playing as the Giant Clank character. Sometimes you fight in an arena, and Clank turns into different kinds of vehicles.
Just like in other games, you can upgrade your weapons and use gadgets like the Bolt Grabber or RYNO nanotech for health.
One difference for this game beyond others is that instead of buying armor, you find it in levels and slowly put it together.
Future: Tools of Destruction (2007)
This Ratchet game came out for PS3. It’s the first episode of what was called the “Future” saga for the series.
The game did well and even won multiple awards for being fun to play. The game is a shooter/ platformer hybrid game, much like many of the previous ones. Most of the time you are playing through the game as Ratchet, the cat alien.
One thing that’s new and fun about the gameplay is that if you are using a SIXAXIS controller, you can tile the controller this way and that to control Ratchet while he’s falling, or to fly with him if you get a special Clank upgrade.
The plot involves Clank, the little robot, picking up a distress call and going to help an ally defeat an enemy known as Emperor Tachyon.
Future: Quest for Booty (2008)
Continuing the plot of the Future plotline, this game came out for PS3. This game is a bit shorter than other games at just a few hours, which is why it tended to be sold at a lower price point. At the end of the last game, the robot Clank was kidnapped by a group known as the Zoni.
The gameplay is full of puzzles and platforming with less action than what often happens in other Ratchet games.
As usual, there are some strange elements in this game, like the Helio-Grub you have to use to have light for navigating a dark board at one point.
On your search for Clank, you will also use some strange weapons that have shown up before like the Tornado Launcher.
Future: A Crack in Time (2009)
The third installment in the Future saga for Ratchet and Clank, this game is a platformer for PS3.
Beyond the usual crazy weapons and items you’re already used to from the series, there are some new options for the game.
One of these includes the Chronosceptor. This is a staff that you can use to fix broken objects.
The game has other time elements as well, such as time pads, that you can use to create holographic Clanks that will repeat previous actions while normal Clank performs a different action in order to solve puzzles. New items include hover boots for Clank.
The plot continues from the last game, where Ratchet is still trying to find Clank, and Clank himself is still being held captive.
All 4 One (2011)
All 4 One is another platformer game for PS3. The game adds co-op elements again. You can play up to four players either all in one room or on the Internet if you want.
The plot consists of Dr. Nefarious awakening a light eating Z’Grute to cause havoc at an award ceremony.
He loses control, however, and the four players have to team up to find a way to stop the creature.
While they are tracking it, another robot shows up and captures all of them. They then have to fight against this new threat, the Creature Collector.
Many people love this game because of its co-op play since not every game lets you play 4 players all working together at the same time.
Collection (2012)
This game for PS3 is a remastered collection of previous games, including the first three.
It’s an HD collection that upgrades the first three games in 720p. You get some extras including trophy sets for each game offers.
There was a Vita port that lets you play it on that system as well. They also added some stereoscopic 3D modes as well.
In general, people were positive about the addition of this game, but some were critical of technical issues and others were critical that the collection didn’t add a lot of extra material.
Full Frontal Assault (2012)
The Assault game for PS3 and Vita combines platform and tower defense elements.
This game is more of a spin-off game than one that is part of the mainline. It got average reviews. The game is rather short and doesn’t add much in story elements.
Gameplay gives you the usual weapons but focuses more on defense with the tower defense mechanics that are more often used in mobile games.
There’s also a multiplayer option as well, which people did like better. It’s been compared to Dungeons Defenders in terms of gameplay.
Future-Into the Nexus (2013)
This PS3 game has the usual platform and action mix for gameplay It’s the fourth and last installment for the Future series plotline in Ratchet & Clank.
As usual, you have a lot of exotic locations and eye-popping gadgets in the game, which is just what you expect. It’s another short game but got good reviews.
Gameplay has a gravity focus, whereas past games in the series focus on other things, like time for example.
There are some old weapons like the Fusion Grenade, but you get new ones too, like the Winterizer which turns bad guys into snowmen, showing that Ratchet sense of humor. You have something called a Nightmare Box which frightens enemies with clowns. Sometimes it emits pirates that give Ratchet weapons.
The plot involves Ratchet and Clank hunting down some criminals named the Sprogs.
Before the Nexus (2013)
Before the Nexus is a mobile game that came out for Android and iOS. It was released in 32 bit, which means that you have to use older mobile phones such as those running something before iOS 11.
As a spin-off game, this offering is different than games that came before. Instead of being a platformer, it’s an infinite runner game.
This means that your character just keeps running forward and you have to help him through the game by shooting at minions and jumping around in order to avoid hazards.
Specifically, you jump back and forth between three different grind lanes. You can get extra lives in the form of hero bolts, and there are other weapons, weapon upgrades, and items you can collect throughout the game.
Ratchet & Clank (PS4)(2016)
Ratchet finally makes the move to PS4 on this platformer game. This offering is a reboot of the series, and it’s also connected to the movie that came out at the same time.
You play as Ratchet through much of the game, where Clank hangs on your back and helps you do things like dive in water and power through it, letting you jetpack around through the air and more.
Sometimes you play as Clank instead, and the gameplay is pretty different when you do. Ratchet has lots of weapons, but Clank can’t do much beyond punching.
Usually, there’s much more of a platform element when you play as Clank. There are a lot more puzzles, for example.
Plot-wise, it’s a reboot of the first game in the series, but you have weapons, items, and other elements that are featured throughout.
There are new weapons too, however, like the pixelizer, which makes enemies look like they are 8-bits. It’s a fun weapon to use.
Rift Apart (2021)
This platformer and third-person shooter game is a sequel to the 2016 Reboot game as well as Into the Nexus.
It came out exclusively for PS5 in June 2021. You have the usual Ratchet elements in this game like shooting guns, strafing around, upgrading everything and gadgets.
Your main character is Ratchet again, with Clank hanging on his back. You can also play as another cat character named Rivet.
Gameplay has some interesting options like jumping from world to world instantaneously through something called a Rift Tether.
It has some old planets but some new ones too. You can also wall run in this game, plus there are new weapons.
Plot-wise you’re using a device you repaired from previous in the series called the Dimensionator so that you can find the Lombax race, which are the cat people of which you are a member.
Image Credits
By https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/561107-ratchet-and-clank/images/152770, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1411583
By dualshockers, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46945632
By insomniac games, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67896275
