Insomniac Games has long been one of PlayStation’s premiere developers, first working on theSpyro the Dragongames on the PS1 and then producing the hugely successfulRatchet & Clankgames on PS2, PS3, PS4, and soon, PS5. The originalRatchet & Clanktrilogy on the PS2 are widely considered to be some of the best games in the 3D platforming series, and so it makes sense that Sony chose to showcase them in their own collection on PS3.
In 2012, Sony released theRatchet & Clank Collection, which remasteredRatchet & Clank,Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, andRatchet & Clank: up Your Arsenalwith slightly improved visuals and added trophy support. But by since it only included the original three PS2 games, a great number ofRatchet & Clankgames were left out of the equation, makingRatchet & Clank Collectionnot nearly as comprehensive as other video game collections tend to be.
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Withthe newRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartcoming to PS5 andnarratively taking place after the events ofRatchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, it’s time for a revamped, more thoroughRatchet & Clank Collection. Considering how manyRatchet & Clankgames have released to date, though, perhaps it can go theKingdom Heartsroute and release multiple collections. Regardless, it would be great for a new collection to release so that fans of the franchise can more easily access the older games on newer consoles like the PS4 and PS5.
Original Collection
TheoriginalRatchet & Clank Collectionbecoming playable on PS4 and PS5 would be a big step in the right direction. Released for PS3 and PS Vita (though the Vita port was not nearly as well-received as the PS3 version), the originalRatchet & Clank Collectionlets players play through the original PS2 games, unlocking trophies along the way. Some were unimpressed with its lack of bonus content, as that kind of stuff is expected in these collections, but that criticism can be addressed in a enhanced re-release of the collection.
Perhaps the developers could take things a step further and add a fourth game to thisRatchet & Clank CollectionwithRatchet: Deadlocked.Ratchet: Deadlockedis the fourth game in the main series, focusing almost entirely on combat instead of platforming. It’s generally not considered the same quality as the original trilogy of PS2 games, but it has its charms and is also one of the few games in the series to offer co-op support. An HD version ofRatchet: Deadlockedalready exists, so some of the major legwork has already been done.
To take things evenfurther, a fifth game could be added to this collection to giveRatchet & Clankfans that already own the collection on PS3 a reason to buy it again on PS4 and PS5. From 2002 to 2005, a newRatchet & Clankgame was released every year, with 2005 seeing the launch of the aforementionedRatchet: Deadlocked, as well as theGoing Mobilespin-off.Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobileis nothing to write home about and it can be completed in an hour or so, but it would still be nice for fans to have access to the entire franchise. As it stands,Going Mobileis not readily available through official means, as it was meant to be played on cellphones from the mid 2000s.
In the meantime, maybe Sony can add theRatchet & Clank Collectionto its PlayStation Now Streaming service, as it’s done with many of the other PS3 eraRatchet & Clankgames.
Future Collection
If the firstRatchet & Clank Collectionre-release is expanded to include five games, the series is set up well for Sony to do the same thing with a second collection of games. In 2007, theRatchet & Clankseries made its debut on PlayStation 3 withRatchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. 2007 also saw the release of the firstRatchet & Clankgame on PSP,Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, which stands as one of the most critically-acclaimed PSP releases to date.
ARatchet & Clank Future Collectioncould include all three games that were released as part of theFutureseries, which includes the aforementionedRatchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, the small-scaleRatchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, and finally,Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. And just as the original collection added trophies to the PS2 eraRatchet & Clankgames, this game could add trophies toRatchet & Clank Future: Tools of DestructionandFuture: Quest for Booty, as they remain two of the onlyfirst-party PlayStation 3 games without trophy support.
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To round out the collection,Ratchet & Clank: Size Mattersfrom the PSP could be added, along with the PSP gameSecret Agent Clank. This would give the second collection another five games to work with, and whileSecret Agent ClankandFuture: Quest for Bootyare two of the lowest-rated games in the franchise, they are still necessary for fans to fully experience what the series has to offer.
2010s Collection
After theRatchet & Clank Futuregames, the series sort of went off the rails. 2011 saw the release of the4-player co-opRatchet & Clank: All 4 One, which was not nearly as well-received by fans of the franchise. It was followed up in 2012 byRatchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, which actually stands as the lowest-rated game in the 3D platforming series to date. 2013 saw the release ofRatchet & Clank: Into the Nexusas well asRatchet & Clank: Before the Nexus, with the latter being an endless runner game that allowed players to unlock content in theInto the Nexusgame.
The problem is that these games in the series are much shorter than previous entries, especially in the case ofFull Frontal AssaultandInto the Nexus. That’s why, to make this collection a little more worthwhile, perhaps the developers should rope the2016Ratchet & Clankgameinto the mix as well. This would give the collection five games to work with, even though it would still offer significantly less playtime than the previously proposed collections.
The Purpose
As Square Enix has shown with itsKingdom Heartscollections, many gamers have an appetite to be able to experience all the games in a series in one place on modern consoles.Ratchet & Clankcollections would accomplish that same goal, bringing the classic games to PlayStation 5 and with therelease ofRatchet & Clank: Rift Aparton June 11, allow fans to see everything that the series has to offer, all the way from the beginning to the end.
Not only that, but it would make some of these games playable on modern systems for the first time ever. The vast majority of theRatchet & Clankgames are trapped on older platforms and are not playable on PS4 or PS5. But in lieu of releasing new collections, Sony could use the olderRatchet & Clankgames to instead bolster itsPlayStation Now lineup, adding more games to the streaming service to make it more enticing to PlayStation gamers.
As it stands, there fiveRatchet & Clankgames currently available to play on PlayStation Now. They includeRatchet & Clank Future; A Crack in Time,All 4 One,Full Frontal Assault,Into the Nexus, andQuest for Booty. Clearly, there are manyRatchet & Clankvideo game experiences that are skipped on PlayStation Now for whatever reason, so hopefully Sony fills the gaps at some point. While full-fledged collections would perhaps be the most popular choice among fans, having these titles added to PlayStation Now would be sufficient for others.
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