Ratchet & Clank: The Ultimate Retrospective & Development Deep Dive

[@TheGoldenBolt]

*Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Retrospective:* kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4e0qIBue9dmj6s Thank you so much for watching and sharing your time with me today, and a HUGE special thanks to those of you that made it the whole way through, commented, shared the video out with the world, etc.! If you enjoyed this Ratchet deep dive, make sure you're subscribed so you can catch future R&C retrospectives right as they come out!

[@TheAussieJPLoco93]

Would love to see more of these kinds of retrospectives for other series as well, I don't mind the long length, allows you to go as in-depth as you want, and it shows how much love you have for the series, which I always appreciate a passion-filled retrospective such as this, very well done. Been a Ratchet & Clank fan since Ratchet & Clank on one of those PS2 Demo Disc, replayed through the Metropollis & Blackwater City segments so many times, until I was finally able to get the full game, a week or so after finishing it, I was lucky to find Ratchet & Clank 2 on sale for like $30, and that's when my love for Ratchet & Clank truly soared to new heights.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

I feel it's really rare nowadays to see positivity spread in these longer-form videos (even if they contain critical elements, of course!), so you can be damn sure I'll be exploring this format more and more as time allows, with other series I adore and want to gush about or raise up!

[@agentclank8183]

Already subscribed. Great video.

[@neroheart3555]

This is a series i always come back to, my first exposure was the third one, but after i got the HD collection, i went back to going commando and this game, this game was fun, when i went back to this, i noticed the highs and lows, the 2nd arc being my problem, but it never ruin my enjoyment for it, especially because you had to use the weapons in creative ways, that’s why i love this game and the series as i, at least, played every game (except the mobile one, not a fan of them) and despite their flaws, they are my favorites. That’s why i’m glad you’re taking the time to not only look back at the series, but also show your love for this fun series.

[@Cyrene2006]

Watching this series made me feeling like playing the series from start to finish again. I was hoping that there would be and follow up and I’m happy to hear that there will be! Someday. 😌

[@iluvcakes19]

"You can love something and still want it to be better." That hit different.

[@Mediados]

They always say stuff has to end before it gets ruined. 19 god damn games and its still going as strong as ever. Ratchet and Clank breaks that logic entirely, it will never end.

[@jerrodshack7610]

@@Mediados I'm not sure if I'd say R&C has maintained its quality at all. In gameplay, sure. Writing? Meh.

[@Mediados]

@@jerrodshack7610 With that i have to disagree. I think the Crack in Time Games have a great arc and well written story, Nexus was kinda a side story but not bad either, and we dont talk about the Reboot. As a game it wasnt bad but well, it just isnt the R&C we know. Fortunately they seem to leave that one where it is and focus on the actual story.

[@jerrodshack7610]

@@Mediados Well, reboot is the most recent game so that's what I was talking about. And the writing in the Future series and Nexus is fine in terms of story-telling. It's just the the humor in the past few games has been painfully bad.

[@Mediados]

@@jerrodshack7610 Ok i get that, but all together i personally look over that and pay more attention to story integrity. And that hasnt become any worse.

[@randomcommentor]

1:18:03 This is literally THE perfect ending. By "you'll be alright", Ratchet meant "I'll fix you" and walks toward his garage, expecting Clank to follow him. Clank, being the guy he is, misunderstands and is disappointed that Ratchet seemed to revert back to his old ways (I:E abandoning Clank now that he doesn't "need" him anymore), but finds out that Ratchet actually values him as a person and would hate to part ways. It really nails how they have grown as characters, I feel. It's not Ratchet being inconsiderate, it's Clank misjudging him as so and Ratchet pulling through in the end.

[@ssssssssssssssssss50]

Precisely! The first game's Ratchet had a more realistic behaviour in a child like friendship. I had and still have those kinds of behaviours myself sometimes

[@romdan7136]

@@ssssssssssssssssss50 Yes, but the reason so many people see it as him being inconsiderate is how he handles this. Like, if he at least gave a "Follow me" gesture, it'd be more understood. But... He doesn't.

[@bigbadgammagnome]

I saw a YT video recently claiming the scene was bad and poorly animated just because they didn't understand it and it urked me to no end. Thank you for this comment, it's exactly what I thought the first time I saw it, I don't really get how anyone that's not a confused kid could mistake that scene for Ratchet changing his mind when he tells Clank "where you going?" It clearly shows he didn't expect Clank to leave.

[@superlombax1561]

​@axl1555 Eh. He's only really mean for the second 'act' so to speak, and even then he starts to care during Hoven.

[@JRProductions1203]

Finally, someone actually Defending Ratchet in R&C 1!!!

[@iambarrytoo]

Bro really 100% this game 3 times, wrote an hour and a half long script, voice recorded it, and then edited together all of it and I can only give it ONE youtube like? This video deserves waay more and I'm sorry I'm too poor to help you out financially. You made a new fan out of me and I cannot wait for the next video!

[@TheGoldenBolt]

Thanks so much for the kind words my friend, and don't be at all sorry - even hanging out and watching these videos, older ones, anything like that does more than you can imagine to help out! Also, to be totally fair, I only 100%ed Ratchet 1 once for the video, I just _played_ it three times (one 100% run/two playthroughs on Vita, plus one PS3 run and miscellaneous Challenge Mode/old file stuff for footage). There's not a huge difference there really, but I don't want to give off the wrong impression.

[@lefishe2258]

@@TheGoldenBolt is there a video where i can listen to the golden bolt theme? i really like it

[@Arthzul]

You can do a super thank you

[@kfed9834]

Great KZbinr fr love the retrospectives, huge throwback too

[@blender_unleashed]

L glaze

[@adognamedsally]

While I agree that Ratchet was a bit whiny in 1, it made the character more believable to me, and it made me care a whole lot more about the characters in the game. I was emotionally invested in making Ratchet see that Clank was a good robot trying to help people and also a potential friend, something that Ratchet seemed to lack. And at the end, when he finally gives up his tsundere exterior and admits that they're basically best friends, that warmed my heart and made me like him more. It would have made no sense to repeat that motif in the 2nd and 3rd games, so I get that, but I do think that it added a lot to the emotional/story side of the first game and is a big part of why the series grew on people. Also, it occurs to me that the whole game is essentially a coming of age story. Ratchet is initially very immature, only interested in hoverboarding and going to the beach on Pokitaru, and Clank is his foil, someone who is putting everything aside and seeking to help the greater good. Once Ratchet admits that he is being selfish, it marks him starting to mature, and it's at that moment that Clank gets taken out of the action for a level, and all of the sudden, Ratchet (and you as the player) is forced to realize how much he has come to rely on Clank (though I guess this happens earlier as well when they are separated so maybe my theory has some holes). I think that, once you beat that level, it feels like the heroes are finally united in vision and on the same team. While the following games in the series were fun to play, I don't feel that any of them came close to delivering that level of character development or making me care about the characters as much. They started to feel more like sitcoms where you had predictable plots and safe characters and nothing really happened by the end of the game. I'm sure it was a wise choice from a marketing standpoint, but I sure didn't care much about Angela or the crew in 3 (aside from Scrunch), and I'm not actually sure if Ratchet was even in the future games or the ps4 remake with how bland they made his character.

[@VihKun]

This comment should get more attention!

[@takatamiyagawa5688]

Strange how that word you've lifted out of anime seems to accurately describe Ratchet inviting Clank back to his garage at the end, on the pretext of just fixing Clank's arm. xD This reminds me of TheGamingBrit's first primary complaint in his 80 minute rant/essay 4 years ago, about the 2016 remake of Ratchet and Clank vs the 2002 original. -about how the sanitization of Ratchet's character in the 2016 version makes it a considerably weaker origin story for their inseparable bond in the coming games.

[@mja2317]

Whiny Ratchet works because he has a character arc. We're not supposed to like him at the start but we like him by the end. That's how it's supposed to be. Too many modern pieces of media forget this. The R&C remake certainly did. Ratchet and Clank get literally no development in that one.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

Agreed, they just kinda became action figures after deadlocked.

[@twinightptawn6138]

Yah I agree I would not have appreciated ratchet from the later games if it wasn't for his arc in the first game

[@tristantinethegreat]

I never thought it was a problem that Ratchet & Clank were best friends in Going Commando, as the ending of the first game perfectly sets up their budding friendship with Clank's arm getting fixed. We didn't need to see what was next, as it was implied. I think Ratchet's arc was done really well and never had an issue with his personality.

[@spiderman2638]

Yeah I like his character arc in the first game and makes the buddy cop dynamic more enjoyable. I don’t really agree with critics saying ratchet was too rude back then because that lead to his personality in the remake.

[@PixelatedBeing]

Same, the character progression between the first and second always made sense to me. Ratchet learned to be less angry and hot headed by the end of the first, seeing him changed in Going Commando made sense.

[@ballman55555]

Not even 5 seconds in & this guy understands me more than my entire family.....

[@angeloargentiero2984]

I agree

[@bigstone8612]

Same.

[@Hiro-r]

Edgy

[@slimcognito98]

@@Hiro-r stfu

[@FazeParticles]

Nice honesty

[@advisingassable]

Ratchet:"Did you see all the cool gadgets they're making? Lets go get some!" Clank: "ＮＯ " *roll credits* 27:11 perfection

[@jmablazer]

Yes😂

[@tmachine979]

With regards to that final scene, I always saw it as Ratchet starts walking away, expecting Clank to follow him, hence the "Where do you think you're going" when he sees Clank going the other way.

[@takatamiyagawa5688]

The way Ratchet walks away without even checking Clank is following him just plays up the uncertainty as to whether their partnership really was over, and whether Ratchet came to a sudden realization just out of camera shot. -and when he gets back to Clank he says, with some hesitancy, that they still need to fix Clank's arm. -as if, as an excuse to spend more time with Clank because he's too shy to acknowledge how deep their partnership already is at that moment. (1:18:17 -Yeah, in my opinion, that last line by Ratchet, is likeable.)

[@RACROX]

"Ratchet is just an asshole in this game" well now I disagree with everything you said or could ever say "Dana Carvey looks like Mark Cerny so much you didn't notice I used Dana Carvey" We need to hear this man out.

[@Ricky911_]

I just finished watching the whole video and the only major thing I disagree with is what you said about moving away from the plot in Act 2. I personally like to believe that they did that on purpose so you can focus on Ratchet and Clank's relationship. And while it is true that Ratchet is at times a douche and at other times nice during that period, it all makes sense in the end because deep down, he knows Clank is right but he doesn't want to admit it. We can understand that when we get to the end of the Gemlik Base level and he admits he was selfish going after Qwark. He knew all along that Clank was right but he was too selfish to accept it. He just wanted revenge at that point. This is what makes me love the plot of this game more than any other video game/movie out there. There just isn't any storyline out there that's better than the one in this game. Thank you for making this video and btw, you were right. This was way more entertaining to watch than the movie itself ngl.

[@Rokabur]

Ratchet is really only a douche because he was right about something being fishy about Qwark and Clank dismissed his concerns. You do see Ratchet slowly simmer down and eventually change by the time he learns of Drek's 'De-Planetizer'.

[@TaRAAASHBAGS]

Being a smug asshole who only tacitly admits he's wrong is way more human and believable behavior than his corny comic-book-tier moralizing in the remake and later games.

[@superpaytonmars8852]

Yeah the galaxy's kinda screwed now that Ratchet, the only one who was kinda shooting up the bad guys, is pissed off.

[@D4rkThuNderplays]

As someone sarcastic, cynical and jaded I absolutely loved ratchet in this game, he absolutely cracked me up and felt like such a "real" character

[@sniffelur7996]

I find the inconsistensies in his snarkyness realistic, it just felt like he was in a good mood sometimes and a bad mood other times

[@CompleteAnimation]

I hope you guys all understand how big of an undertaking it is when a channel with less than 25K subscribers puts out a high quality hour-and-a-half video essay. It's a lot of work.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

I stopped keeping track, but I wasn't exaggerating when I said this was over 100 hours of cumulative work. Not counting the Vita playthroughs, just the first PS3 playthrough, the deep digging research phase, and the parts of writing and recording that I time-tracked took at least 40ish, and that's not counting editing split between two different people across another 30-40 hours. And now we get to do it all again for next week!

[@aidigss4520]

This comment aged well

[@daseal1479]

The Ratchet title screen alone gives me nostalgia chills to this day.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

I like angry snarky ratchet, but he needed to develop out of that in game one not between 1 and 2. It makes sense he started out for adventure and was in it for himself when he's nearly killed by Quark his self centered nature is made worse. He treated the whole trip up to this point as some fun road trip adventure, but now he's mad and he blames Clank cause he's a self centered loner. That needed to be dealt with in game over time, but honestly I like seeing a flawed character actually learn.

[@HolyHolyHandGrenade]

Maybe someone already said this, but I appreciate that you did the thing with "Chairman Drek" into "Executive Chairman Drek" into "Supreme Executive Chairman Drek" into "Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek" and played it completely straight without drawing attention to it, exactly the way the game does. (Or maybe you acknowledged it and I just didn't notice.) I've always thought that bit was hilarious, ever since I was a kid, and in a more serious way it shows how he's becoming increasingly unhinged as the story progresses, his megalomania becoming increasingly obvious to the player at the same pace as Ratchet.

[@marlonhaigh1401]

Slight correction: The opening series of cutscenes, doesn't have voice acting because it was the last thing the team animated before the game shipped. It was too late to get the actors back to record new lines.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

Looking back through my notes - yep, I'm not sure where the wire got crossed from notes to final script, but at some point after combing through 15,000 words again and again, "last" turned into "first" in my mush brain, whoops! I recall reading somewhere that there was an original set of scenes before the intro we got, which had a similar plan to go light on voice as part of that silent protagonist trope lampshading, so that's probably where.

[@Zzzlol94]

I have to say something against how Ratchet & Clank develops as characters through this game, as I disagree that it was done to a too extreme and edgy way. Some inconsistencies are in every character when they are the protagonists and got a lot of dialogue, but this game is very consistent in how the characters act. You always feel there's some tension between them, as they don't agree on their goals or how to proceed to get there, so that the seemingly random outbursts are actually very consistent. If you had two people that didn't completely like each other, if one of them got just slightly annoyed, they'd most likely get back at the other with some brief hostility. You can directly compare this game and the reimagining on character development as they have basically the same premise, just updated with characters from later games. The original does a WAYYY better job at this. Both of them have different goals, different personalities, Clank is fairly inexperienced and Ratchet is hot headed. They don't get along immediately, this is more realistic when two characters are forced together. The ending of the game is possibly one of my favorite, both still have different priorities and missions, Ratchet's home planet is about to be destroyed and Clank finally reaches Drek to end his galaxy wide planet destruction. But they now have the same objective, which is to stop Drek. Their time together at the end have made them into actual friends and not co-workers. The reimagining goes like this: Ship goes crash, Ratchet finds Clank, bad thing happening to the galaxy, both decide they have the same goal and they are friends from the start with absolutely no relationship struggles. It is terribly written, there's barely any character development between Ratchet and Clank, and it's incredibly bland, which is why the original is always held much higher even than the sequels, because there's so much character development in the original game. It could of course be done better, everything can be. But, it's done very well and works even better when you include the trilogies, as you know they have gone through the struggles of the first game, making their friendship unbreakable. This is why I think the story and plot of R&C1 is one of the best throughout the entire series, and the character development is especially really good.

[@jamez470]

You basically said exactly what I’ve tried saying anytime someone mentions the 2016 game.

[@The_Novu]

Him acting like Ratchet throwing "Tin Can" at Clank at the end as if it was some genuine insult instead of just some gentle ribbing between friends irked me a lot. I call friends of mine names all the time and they do me. It's normal.

[@stephanepresley]

100% agree with you. I love their dynamics.

[@jackwagon1770]

Very much so agree, and this is something I've also had problems with in the newer games as well as the remakes. Ratchet feels so much more bland and unlike himself going forward. What made him distinct from Clank washed away, and we were left with a bland character.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

@@The_Novu Same, was kind of confused by his disdain for that scene, that part of the scene always tugged at my heartstrings when I was a kid.

[@REDRatchet]

An hour and a half analysis on the best video game ever??? YeS

[@radonstone]

Monster Knight legit sounds like an amazing concept. Them going back to fully make it would be mind blowing.

[@HoodoHoodlumsRevenge]

This is a fantastic video and extremely entertaining throughout. I even learned some things about the development of RaC 1 that I never knew before! Fantastic work all around, keep it up! I can’t wait to check out your retrospectives on the following RaC games, I’ll definitely be subscribing!

[@maestrofeli4259]

yeah, and what he said in the video is true, watching this is way more entertaining than the movie lol

[@rhager842]

wasn't expecting hoodo to comment on this video tbh lol

[@BowmansWorld]

People rag on the first games gameplay but I actually like the more platforming/weird elements of it. It feels more unique than just turning the game into a shooter like it is now.

[@PsychadelicoDuck]

It's rough and unpolished, I don't miss them shifting things towards being a shooter, but there were things lost in the translation. Take some of the the Gaspar enemies, one is a set of synchronized dodge-stepping missile-shooting security bots, the other swarms of surprisingly hardy suicide bomber drones. Those are interesting enemies with unique patterns and ways of approaching them, but not ones that modern Ratchet seems willing to use, because they exist just ever so slightly outside of the standard shooter enemy repertoire.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

I feel that's partly why they're adding a new playable character (besides variety) because outside of giving Ratchet another movement option with that new glove there's no more core mechanics left or even QoL changes they can add for him.

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

The art and sound design is so good, that any time I look in the distance at night and see those radio towers with the red lights, I 100% of the time start visualizing Aridia and hearing the song in my head.

[@Wolfkaosaun]

I've been waiting for this day for 7 years.......actually more like when you said you were working on this but that didn't feel as dramatic

[@onthedre]

Dude the aesthetic of Rachet and Clank is so good. The levels just have this a certain mystique to them. I don’t think the other games ever felt this intriguing.

[@SnowWolfAlpha]

Yeah, my strategy for Ratchet 1 in rooms full of enemies was walk into the room, use the glove of doom then run back out the door. The Glove of Doom, A fistful of boom, When you're just too scared, To go into the room.

[@SLTheOneAndAwesome19]

Yeah, and then there's that one monster house in Gemlik Base where you drop in from the ceiling into a room crowded with enemies. And you can't drop agents of doom from the ceiling because magneboots. I think that's the only part of the game where I legitimately flail around like an idiot lol

[@jorgediegoolivieri]

¡Gracias! I can't honestly recall how i came across your channel, but here i am. And wanted to say thanks (at least for this lengthy dedicated R&C playlist that i'm going thru) for such an in-depth "look" at each game in the series. I really love this series and Platinum'd every single one ( except for Deadlocked *GRR*) and try to replay the entre series once a year. These videos really show your love for R&C, there were a lot of things i didn't know about the developement of each game and secrets i did not know about. So, thanks again for a very entertaining playlist of videos of one of my favorite franchise ever. Will definetly check out the rest of your channel after i'm done with this.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

Thanks so much for both the kind words and the support, my friend! I'm glad to have been able to steal like...shit I'm guessing 12 hours of your life with my ramblings about this wonderful series!

[@MrJimBusiness]

That didn't even feel like 90 minutes, Great video about a great game.

[@valentinbarinov]

i actually like the fighting between Ratchet and Clank, it might be a bit too much for sure, but I feel like it moves away from the usual "we are all bestest best friends and we never go through hardships because we are perfect" kinda vibe, and the feeling of them starting to come back together adds a bit of actual emotion between the characters. i love it, and yes i smiled with a tear at the endiing cutscene

[@markhayward3017]

Thank you Golden bolt so much! This brought back so many memories of playing this game 18 years ago. I'd forgotten just how much I loved it. For such an immersive in-depth experience it must've taken you hours and hours of dedicated filming. Cannot wait to see Pt2!

[@shahinazmeerriza5377]

Amazing man! Even as a small child, i saved up money and bought the ryno... Did that in every r&c afterwards . . Your retrospectives are just on point and way too good to skip any second of

[@TKsh1]

I'm a fan of Insomniac since the Spyro days and when I played Ratchet and Clank for the first time, I was amazed about how the game was a evolution from the PS1 days. In my honest opinion, they are way better developers that Naughty Dog in general.

[@triledink]

Im a huge fan of the series, my number one favorite playstation series ever. Own every game (even multiple of some) an played them all. For me the series is just so fun to play. All the new weapons for every single game and music, worlds, characters and last but not the least Ratchet And Clank themselves are one of my favorite duos in any game series ever. So hype for Rift apart.

[@dapperfan44]

As a 2000s preteen, Ratchet definitely overtook Crash as my favorite PlayStation franchise.

[@Ricky911_]

Honestly, I absolutely loved the hydrodisplacer sections. I don't know why but I just did. They were fun imo

[@bralvar2352]

Ratchet and Clank's Title Screen was fucking magical to 7 year old me lmao.

[@TheShowCrow_Main_Channel]

OMG! the fact that this is gonna be a series is the greatest thing to happen to me this year!!!! I love long form analysis-type content. And ratchet and clank is my favorite franchise!

[@QuantumCha4os]

I love the Ratchet and Clank series, especially the PS2 originals. I also love this retrospective series that you’ve done for each of the major games. Probs to you GB, happy new year! 🎉

[@ZanicaKnight]

31:24 You forgot the Snagglebeast's projectile fireball attack that he'll shoot at you if you're standing on one of the elevated stalacmite-like platforms. The fire ball destroys it and can damage Ratchet

[@wolfblade019]

Now THIS is a retrospective I can get behind

[@wolfblade019]

You got a lot better at making videos. Also cool to see you and nicco are still friends.

[@WtfReal]

R&C series and jak and daxter series were my childhood. The story line is superb. I hope they remake them with the exact same stuff as the originals

[@jerrybivin3381]

This game along with Spyro and jak & dexter shaped who I am today. I remember staying up all hours of the night playing these games. Hearing you put give this game so much praise made me indescribably happy. Thank you for this great video. It's 2 I the morning so I'll have to watch the others tomorrow. To bad I don't have a ps2 anymore because I miss it so much 😄 just know you've gained a fan. This was a fantastic video.

[@renrenthemadscientist]

one of my favorite series of all time. up your arsenal was one of my first games on ps2, and a crack in time was my first ps3 game

[@Dirvinator]

That was an incredibly enjoyable watch. I'm loving the amount of love the first game gets nowadays (Red will be happy)

[@StarMechV]

I feel the "over-smoothness" of Ratchet's edges in the Movie and Reboot game have given those few folks clamoring for full jerk R&C1 Ratchet a lot of voice. However, I still believe it was a good idea for Insomnaic to have realized how annoying he gets by the latter half of the game. JAT's Ratchet really feels like a nice blend of snarky without coming off as an asshole.

[@jamez470]

Yeah I agree. The 2016 game made me long for when the duo would disagree with each other instead of be impenetrable best pals. Ratchets attitude in the first game made the very end much more satisfying imo. I personally liked his negative attitude that delved into care. And besides, like I said about the ending, it made it more impactful.

[@commisaryarreck3974]

If anything it contributes more to later games He was a dick in the first game, young impulsive extremely selfish and not a hero yet. Yet we SEE HIM GROW the scene right after defeating Dreck alone defeats any arguments on him just being an asshole the entire game. Jesus fucking christ I'll take the dick over the bland, paperthin characterization we got in 2016. Bland "hero" with no character beyond "I wanna be a hero"

[@TheWayOfShawn]

I know that this video is over a year old now, but being able to see someone who shares the same amount of love and critiques for this series is just truly refreshing and I look forward to binging the rest of this Retrospective series. Thank you so much for your dedication to the topics and for all the investment into this wonderful franchise.

[@MrGRmask]

1:00:56 Fact is, some of these issues even appear when playing the HD collection on a *PS3 emulator!* The most common ones I had to deal with, are how the games slow down when looking at certain spots, and since it also happens with in-game cutscenes, the audio either slows down or plays normally as it goes out of sync. Welp, it goes without saying that the best way to play the PS2 R&C games is on a real PS2 hardware.

[@MinuHex]

"Quark can breathe in space?" Yeah. He's such an airhead that he provides his own oxygen.

[@Spika94]

Hmm, I disagree, I really like how Ratchet was pretty much a dick in the beginning. Because, intentionally or not, it gave him a memorable character development. (Uhh, something entirely off-topic, that sentence sounds really weird to me. The grammar feels really off, but I cannot tell why).

[@Char_Aznable_Red]

going commando is my favorite game of all time ever since I got it for Christmas back in '03. Would love a retrospective of it!!

[@TheGoldenBolt]

That's a project already in production and should hopefully be ready next week!

[@rhager842]

"Did you see all the cool gadgets they're making? Let's go get some!" "No." Roll credits.

[@zachsteiner]

I completely understand your love for this series. It’s one of my absolute favorites of all time too. Words can’t even express how much I love these games. Thanks for this retrospective. It needs more views!!! I learned a bunch I had never known and I’m a ratchet and clank fanatic. Fantastic work!

[@Taegan345]

One of the best video essays I’ve ever watched. Thanks so much for taking all this time and effort to deep dive into my favourite game, it deserves all this love and attention.

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

Maybe you'll mention it later, I just passed the point where you talked about James Arnold Taylor taking over as the voice of Ratchet from Going Commando onward, but Ratchet's original voice actor, Mikey Kelley, was actually the one who recommended James Arnold Taylor be the one to take over when they were looking to recast, JAT has said this in several interviews and panels, and the two are still close friends to this day.

[@superlombax1561]

Ah. Where was this said?

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

@@superlombax1561 I don't remember exactly, but it was at a panel he did at a convention over a decade ago. Someone asked him how he got the role of Ratchet, and he told this story. It's annoying because he never goes into detail anymore when asked these days, but it was something I remember vividly after I first heard it, because I thought it was so cool that they were such close friends. I said "several interviews" in my original comment because I remembered it so vividly, but I looked into it and couldn't find it again, and I don't have enough time in my days to rewatch every panel he has done to find it.

[@DANCERcow]

Hey, since I've been banned from Twitter permanently... My condolences for your loss! Now I understand for the next video delay! As many of your fans would likely feel, take all the time you need!

[@TheKHmaniac]

Well now you piqued my curiosity, what did you do to get permanently banned?

[@Rudenbehr]

Why u banned tho

[@hawkeye6487]

Really enjoyed this video, brought back a lot of fun memories. Looking forward to the next video.

[@Amadboi]

Man I never comment on like anything for youtube but I gotta say, you are so easy to listen to, even for people who have never played the game because of how you are describing. You aren't bogging the video down with to many "video game" words that only gamers might get. It helps you really visually and/or at the least empathize why you are so passionate about this game at the same time. Like I could show this to my 56 year old mother - who called all my consoles "xcubes"(lol) - and she would love it lmao! Really well done bro

[@HeirofAzaran]

I think you gave this game the respect it deserved. I look forward to the rest of it

[@dapperfan44]

9:20 growing up with these games is why I still play inverted left to right when playing 3D platformers. I interpret normal as "character view" and inverted as "camera view". So when you push left in normal, character looks left. If you push left in inverted, camera swings left.

[@triumphantcarrot5388]

Dude you are incredible. So many insights from this video. This is the first videogame I have ever played and it is probably my favorite. Im an aspiring video game developer and this video just made me remember why I love videogames. Thank you

[@TheGoldenBolt]

That's some very humbling praise, genuinely. Thank you so much!

[@royalsteel1741]

This video made me very happy, and to know how much this game is loved by others warmed my heart. I grew up on this game and can never get enough of it, definitely deserves a play through very soon.

[@HollowJay]

Shots fired at Jak you Sly devil I really can't wait to see you get to the Future games now

[@galaxsija4591]

haha rewatching this years later and it still hits so hard dude! I love the mention of the weird inverted camera controls... I realized its totally because of this game that i prefer the inverted y axis. haha

[@literalcharlie4171]

I made it to the end and I still wanted more. This video was great. I was really freaked out with the popcorn comment near the end though as I was on my second bag haha.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

The secret about KZbin is that creators actually have a little camera view of the viewer at all times. Stop scratching your arm, it'll give you a rash.

[@literalcharlie4171]

@@TheGoldenBolt I've been trying to think of something witty to respond with and can't, but yeah, I'm going to have to go to the doctor to get that rash taken care off. Again, this video was great!

[@whoplays7061]

Got this video recommended after playing my first ratchet and clank game with the 2016 version after it got released for free in march and I got to say it's a really fun game and hearing you talk about the first few games give me a good insight on how much has changed and how much care Insomiac games put in this series.

[@timinou9915]

Im surpised I missed the upload but hey better late then never 😹 cheer mate , thanks for the epic content az usual 🤌

[@kamismixtape]

A friend recently recommended me to watch this, and i can't wait to watch the next one. R&C was (and is still) my favourite game growing up, so this meant so much. Thank you for this love letter!

[@bigmclargehuge8219]

Hour and a half video on a game I've never played and probably will never play? Yes please!

[@mcride6796]

I rarely ever comment .... but I really feel like I need to say this is such a well produced video! Loved every minute of it. Cannot wait to see your future retrospectives on other games in the series!

[@11thlaw-official93]

Did you know that in codebot room on Quartu, you recieve 10.000 bolts by smashing one specific box? the rest are normal bolts. Literally if you smash just that one speicific box you got the 10K guess it Insomniac's way of rewarding the players curiosity

[@TheGoldenBolt]

That actually has to do with how the levels' Bolt tallies are calculated, if memory serves! In GC onward at least (likely in 1 as well but I don't have corroboration on that) any crates you miss or Bolts you don't pick up from those crates is kept tallied and spread out among the crates later in the level, so that you're always picking up around the number of Bolts that Insomniac feels you need for fun progression. That plus their calculations to determine what denomination of Bolts to give the player, a fun amount that isn't the simplest "here's three quarters instead of 7 dimes and a nickel" (which players may feel is unsatisfying even though they don't realize the numbers are identical), and frame rate concerns when throwing 12,000ish Bolts at the player at once, is probably what made them hide it all in one crate. My hunch is if they'd spread it out, the game could crash if you broke all the boxes at the same time, because of too many Bolts appearing onscreen!

[@lolvap1637]

Im watching all of them non stop just because you made the playlist if I where to simp for anyone it would be you gold bolt thank you for everything you've done in this series these games are my childhood and they will always be in my heart. You are genuinely the best, keep it up man

[@arijan-itanmuratovic7495]

Thanks for doing this i enjoyed every minute!

[@XxT0kY0DrfTstYlExX]

Thank you for the video, golden bolt. This is still today, my favourite game of all time. Just to be in those alien worlds with that excellent ost...pure magic.

[@cliffturbo2146]

I love this game to death. It's how I got into gaming, and even eons later, I still love to play it from time to time. Ratchet & Clank just continues to grow better with each game. Few were pretty mixed, but it never felt like Insomniac Games downright devalues the franchise. Not to mention, it's always fun to travel to many planets, kick some asteroids and Up The Arsenals!

[@BowmansWorld]

Uh no. The originals were the best. The 2016 game was horrible. It ruined ratchet and clanks characters.

[@cliffturbo2146]

@@BowmansWorld Yeah, the story is not great. Still, the gameplay is what I find one of the best.

[@takatamiyagawa5688]

@@BowmansWorld I take it you've seen TheGamingBritShow's 80 minute take on _that_ perspective.

[@CrashJakFan1994]

Excellent and detailed retrospective. Ratchet & Clank is also my favorite video game franchise and it's always nice to see someone talk about certain titles with such enthusiasm.

[@arcaedonluminos666]

Yep, this was it: your magnum opus! Felt like a documentary for the original R&C, so much well researched behind the scenes info! Also loved the editing and jokes, made the video very dynamic. Also, is that traces of the Into the Nexus theme I hear at 1:35?

[@TheGoldenBolt]

I should've figured you might be the first to catch that! The full Golden Bolt theme has a bunch of references snuck in, and it felt appropriate to include the Ratchet part in these videos!

[@arcaedonluminos666]

@@TheGoldenBolt Very interesting! Is the full version available anywhere?

[@TheGoldenBolt]

My buddy is still adding a few other verses and tweaks to the song before finalizing it, but I think we'll release it for free on Soundcloud or something once it's done! The current ~4 minute version is also the pre-stream song over on Twitch whenever I'm live, for the time being.

[@arcaedonluminos666]

@@TheGoldenBolt Ah, good to know. Looking forward to the full version!

[@willardplaysgames6060]

Discovered your channel yesterday, these are some awesome documentaries. I have a new series to watch when I'm building models. Step aside Summoning Salt.

[@andreapareti324]

I *love* this series and "alternate finales that make the thing hilariously short" humor, like the one at 27:11, so.. What can I say, I'm not even halfway through but you gained a new subscriber.

[@Peanuts247]

The flex of the facts at the end was so great. Wonderful video on one of my fave series!!

[@Pupppeteer]

1:04:59 *slap* no no no no no no no!! Hahaha best clip on your whole channel!

[@patricklittle8281]

You ended this video perfectly, love how much effort you put into your dialogue. None of the love for ratchet and clank is conditional at all.

[@HansPeter-iv9ck]

I kinda liked Ratches personality in the first game. It really added character building and without it Ratched would just be another 0815 wannabe Hero. So his personality really helped him stand out from the others Heros we had back then.

[@herinespinosa3750]

I recently made the decision to play through the entire Ratchet & Clank series. I played through the original trilogy a long while back but it didn't really click with me. Skip forward a few years later; I put in a more thorough replay and suddenly I've fallen in love with the first game. Not sure what exactly changed but my heart has opened to this series and I needed some sort of discussion on it. This feature-length video is exactly he kind of thing I was looking for. My journey going forward is going to consist of getting 100%/platinum trophy for each R&C game and then following up with your retrospective on that game. You put some seriously outstanding work into this video. I've liked, subscribed, and will be more than happy to support your future videos through Patreon. Keep it up, I really cannot wait to see more from you.

[@jessicahutchinson5748]

thank you for this video

[@casperryborg4869]

I love the fact that this game / series managed to touch you enough to get a tattoo of it. I've seen other people's tattoo's of this game, and they were incredible!

[@icemanlj2k7]

I honestly think you did Ratchet dirty with the Pokitaru infobot cutscene. He was clearly not beinf antagonistic...until Clank pushed him. Clank was the aggressor there since Ratchet compromised with the 02 mask, something they both knew they would need going forward

[@GoldStorm07]

"Sudden end credits" is probably one of my favourite edit jokes (I'm going to assume Chris is responsible). That aside, the flow of this video despite its length is incredible and I'd have a hard time not calling it the best thing I've seen from you. If the rest of these Ratchet reviews have anywhere near this level of detail, we're in for quite the trip. Replay-focus is always the aspect of the series that caught my attention the most, I definitely veer toward games that I can get 4 to 5 runs out of without getting bored. I didn't know the first game was already going this hard with it tho, wow.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

The credits gag was actually one I popped into the script pretty early on, and just kept finding more ways to sneak it in wherever I could!

[@GumshoeGamer]

Never stop being awesome. I sware you just keep making better and better videos

[@TheSamBogan]

Just got done watching the video, and I must simply say thank you first and foremost. This was an excellent look at the start to Ratchet and Clank's still running story and I think you have done the game justice with this video. You cover the entirety of the game from its weapons, its characters, its narrative, so on and so forth. You give your own takes and opinions in a clear and concise manner while not being overly harsh about anything(except for maybe Ratchet's personality in the 2nd act but I can understand where you are coming from so it doesn't bother me and you give your reasons as to why you feel as such). This is honestly a great video and it has certainly made a subscriber out of me, something I decided long before the end of it. I'm very curious and excited to see what you say about the next games as Going Commando and Deadlocked are my favorite of the bunch. Again, an amazing video overall and I am happy to say that I have found a new channel to start being invested in. I hope the best for you and those around you in these trying times of ours.

[@TheGoldenBolt]

Thanks so much, my friend, I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the video this much! The Going Commando video has ended up taking a couple weeks more than I'd have liked because of some personal stuff, but it's shaping up to be hopefully just as strong as this one, and I should have UYA, DL, and Tools more or less ready to go shortly after that one if my plans shake out this time!

[@TheSamBogan]

@@TheGoldenBolt Good to hear. I'll make sure to check them out as soon as I can when they release. Again, from one fan of R+C to another, thank you for doing these as so few give this franchise the praise it deserves. I hope you and anyone else reading this have a great rest of your day.

[@Havenosoul]

Always happy to watch this restrospective series again, pretty sure this is the one that got me into them as a whole. Great job as always.

[@KonaSquid]

I prefer Ratchet's personality in this game. They turned him into a generic goody two shoes in the rest of the games.

[@Pinkyorangegirl]

Same and that comes from a person who loves goody two shoes characters

[@TheGreaterGamer1]

I mean in the 2nd game it would feel weird if he still acted like that

[@gumerzambrano]

Excellent work man! The music of this game alone gets me hyped. I need to boot up my PS3 and buy the HD Collection

[@Ricky911_]

1:15:17 when this part came up I exploded with laughter. I used to use that trick as well. It was so convenient 🤣🤣

[@hahafunnyhaha4216]

I've just found your channel and I'm strapping in for like ~17 hours of talk on a game series I have played for maybe a total of ten hours.

[@DanielAyy]

I find that Ratchet is supposed to be kind of scrappy and inexperienced at the start of the game. He's been stuck on a backwater planet for years and has probably not been able to develop his social skills too much or learn that much about trust. Once you tick him off he's gonna hold a grudge and not let you forget about it. Yes he's a big jerk, but I don't think he is supposed to know better or care about it at this point in the series. It's thanks to Clank that he is able to change and become a better person, and that's why he's nicer and more level headed in the sequels. There are inconsistencies, but I think overall that Ratchet's character and character arc is great in the first game and in the sequels he's grown and matured, which makes sense considering what he went through in the first game.

[@sykilik101]

1:15:18 Bruuuh, when you showed off this bolt-farming trick, a *gigantic* wave of nostalgia came over me, and I knew exactly what you were about to reference.

[@BladeBlur]

This was some of the best analysis I've seen on the first Ratchet. I actually never knew about the glitches like the visibomb door thing. Also I had one of the first PAL copies since I got it a day before the intended release, and there is a game breaking bug that 60hz doesn't work when you watch an FMV. So I had to play the game in 50hz...

[@TheGoldenBolt]

That's interesting, I vaguely recall that Jak managed to run at 50 or 60 without many issues, by making every animation scale to either rate. I wonder what caused Ratchet to run into that sort of issue!

[@stfu_grimmi]

YES the Blackwater city water raising part gave me mad anxiety every time I neared that level! It was super stressful.

[@BugsyFoga]

What a great way to celebrate the release of Rift Apart.

[@gjmarks1873]

To dive this deep into this game and to do such a good job with a video explaining everything is truely special. From 8 year old me to 8 year old you, thank you so much!

[@eckoschreiber]

Thx for the amazing indept analysis, pure nostalgia;o) This game tought me moving with left while adjusting kamera-angel and therefor direction with the right stick, played it endlessly (now mostly on PS4, hope it makes it to the switch?!) and in my Top 5 of all games (with TBoI, Bloodborne, Psychonauts and Infamous). Felt like in the first 3 games story got meh, but the weapons got better and better. Dr. Nefarious (with his butler and the malfunctions) bein my favourizte villain and the Vampire Duck my fav. weapon.And I for one liked the grindy exploration cause you always found loot and stuff to destroy and (to later level up) weapons I didn't care for as much. Drones were early Mr. Zurkon & family, right? And I hope you dive into the game-movie-game inspiration/based off... I still don't get it... Thx!

[@MrDark086]

Excellent work as always! Greatly looking forward to seeing my first R&C game, Goin Commando, get its retrospective!

[@TheGoldenBolt]

If all goes well, it'll be a much shorter wait than you might think!