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berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.


I'm not going to play Ratchet and Clank! No, HE IS!

From 2002, Ratchet and Clank is one of the PS2's seminal franchises, extending even into the PS5 era and beyond. As a 3D Action Platformer, the game takes our plucky protagonists from world to world in search of their enemy, Chairman Drek and his forces. It is fun, fast, (mostly) well written, with great action set pieces, great guns, and pretty tight movement. All in all, Insomniac hit it out of the park with this game, and I'm going to show it all to you. Or HE will, being the Blargian Snagglebeast that is being kept in reserve for such situations.

What sort of LP will this be?

Much like KalonZombie's own LP from almost ten years ago, I will be doing a commentated LP. Commentary will be recorded via the Discord that I use for such things, and I would love to have people come along and chat with me over the game, telling about what they like and hate about it.

I intend to get all the Gold Bolts and all the Skill Points before going into New Game+, then getting all the Gold Weapons to show them off. So, let's say it's a 100% Completion LP, come hell, high water, and at least one dead computer.

What?

Yeah, so the LP curse struck while I was doing pre-recording of the game, and I needed to get a new computer. Such things happen. The old one was over 10 years old regardless, so it had a good long life. The important part you all need to know is that I was in the middle of the collectathon videos when it happened, meaning that I have to replay the game to near the end to do everything for you. And I'm having fun doing it because it's Ratchet and Clank. How can you not have fun with this game?

Spoilers?

This game is 20 years old. Captain Qwark is working for Chairman Drek, Clank actively lies to Ratchet to get him moving and is still by leagues the most honest and heroic character in the series, and why yes, I will be using the Hologuise Glitch to buy the RYNO. And use it on Drek. Open Spoiler season people! Talk about what you want, and if I see any spoiler bars, I will be very disappointed!

But now, onto the game!

Video 0 - Veldin
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Video 1 - Novalis

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Video 2 - Aridia

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Video 3 - Kerwan

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Video 4 - Eudora

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Video 5 - Blarg Station

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Video 6 - Rilgar

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Video 7 - Umbris

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Video 8 - Batalia

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Video 9 - Orxon

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Video 10 - Gaspar

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Video 11 - Pokitaru, Orxon (2)

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Video 12 - Hoven

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Video 13 - Gemlik Base

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Video 14 - Oltanis

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Video 15 - Quartu (1)

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Video 16 - Kalebo III

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Video 17 - Collectathon 1

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Video 18 - Collectathon 2

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Video 19 - Collectathon 3

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Video 20 - Collectathon 4

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Video 21 - Collectathon 5

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Video 22 - Quartu (2)

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Video 23 - Drek's Fleet

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Video 24 - Veldin

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Video 24 - New Game Plus and Extras

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(27:23)

berryjon fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Jul 3, 2022

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Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

Ah, a proper classic, this game. Drek is still my favourite villain in the series, although the last game I played was A Crack In Time so I don't know if anyone else has come close since then.

I kinda miss the days when the weapons didn't have upgrades. From the second game on, you're somewhat discouraged from using weapons you've already maxed out since you're wasting potential XP. On the one hand it means you get to give all the weapons a proper try, but on the other hand you end up filling up your favourite, most fun weapons quickly and then not really using them much again.

Nidoking
Jan 27, 2009

I fought the lava, and the lava won.
Well, yes, discouragement from using your favorite weapons has its obvious downsides, but when you're determinedly trying to complete the Impossible Challenge using only the Spiderbot Glove, you get REALLY good at using the Spiderbot Glove. This game discouraged me from using weapons because if I used them, I wouldn't have full ammo, and I'd find myself picking up Decoy Glove ammo when I really need Visibombs. Keeping all of your unused weapons topped up means all of the ammo pickups are helping you.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Which makes it nice that each of the weapons in this game and later ones are more than just niche, they have practical uses in general fights as well. Sure, the Visibomb Gun is really only needed for a couple Skill Points and Gold Bolts, but it's a nice emergency backup for the Devastator. There's rarely total overlap between weapons, and how you play the game is up to you, be it Wrench-Only, or spamming the RINO till the end of days.

stryth
Apr 7, 2018

Got bread?
GIVE BREADS!
This is just a thought, but, given how nearly impossible it is to get a ps5 without getting robbed blind, can we at least put a moratorium on spoilers for rift apart? I'd really love to play it, and experience the story, before learning everything about it through youtube.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
I'll see what we can do, but we've already recorded a few videos worth of material. And to be fair, most of our commentary has been focused on the initial trilogy.

Solitair
Feb 18, 2014

TODAY'S GONNA BE A GOOD MOTHERFUCKIN' DAY!!!
Sweet! I loved the first three games, especially Up Your Arsenal, but stopped following the series after Deadlocked. My memories aren't fresh enough for me to be a confident co-commentator, but I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
I'm going to have to go back and grab screenshots for the approaches to all the planets for announcing new Videos, but for now, there's this!

Level 2 - Aridia

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berryjon fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Mar 7, 2022

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

looking at it its amazing to me how little clank changed over the last 20 years compared to the rest of the game.
And not just look but also how they animate him.

Rigged Death Trap fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Mar 7, 2022

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Unlike Ratchet, who has grown older over the past twenty years - and it shows -, Clank has had, what, two real changes to his character model in that same time frame? One was for his alternate getup in Secret Agent Clank. I mean, why mess with perfection? Clank's model is elegant, simple, expressive and easy to animate.

Nidoking
Jan 27, 2009

I fought the lava, and the lava won.
As I'm catching up with the videos, finally, it's worth mentioning that you don't have to wait until New Game + to get the Gold weapons. The game gives you easy access to the shop in Challenge mode, but there's a room at the Blarg base that has five of them for sale as soon as you get to the end of the level.

It's also kind of weird returning to this game after playing absolutely any other Ratchet game, since you almost always start with some kind of pistol, while this one doesn't make that available until... Metropolis, I want to say? It's been a very long time since I've played it through.

General Revil
Sep 30, 2014

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
This is one of those games that makes me slightly regret being on team Nintendo. I'm positive I would have loved this game as a kid, and probably still would now if i tried it. Sadly, my one friend that was on team Sony didn't have this game, so i never played it.

Still, if speedball need a break and you want someone else coming in with fresh eyes, I'm game.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Nidoking posted:

As I'm catching up with the videos, finally, it's worth mentioning that you don't have to wait until New Game + to get the Gold weapons. The game gives you easy access to the shop in Challenge mode, but there's a room at the Blarg base that has five of them for sale as soon as you get to the end of the level.

It's also kind of weird returning to this game after playing absolutely any other Ratchet game, since you almost always start with some kind of pistol, while this one doesn't make that available until... Metropolis, I want to say? It's been a very long time since I've played it through.

You can only get 5 Gold Weapons, the basic five, at the Moon Base. The rest are all NG+.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
DOUBLE FEATURE!

Level 3 - Kerwan

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Level 4 - Eudora

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Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

I think lockon is less when you're standing still and more when you stay facing the enemy. It's just that without a strafe mechanic, to stay facing the enemy you either have to be standing still or running directly toward them.

Eudora is a funny planet, since the main bulk of it with all the interesting gameplay is a totally optional path that just leads you to a weapon. You never need to do anything there besides the swingshot route.

Chimera-gui
Mar 20, 2014
Strictly speaking at the point we get the Swingshot, we hadn't actually done anything to be seen as a legitimate threat to Drek or Quark.

Recall that the former only said that "This could be a problem" when he told Quark to take care of Ratchet & Clank while Quark believes that he can lure us to our deaths on his planet, it won't be until after Quark's trap fails that Drek chews him out on his idiocy because Drek "Simply needed him [Quark] to eliminate those two nuisances before they can cause any real trouble".

Also technically you're jumping the gun regarding Ratchet and Clank's respective priorities because it isn't until after the aforementioned back stab and being lured into death trap by Quark that Ratchet prioritizes getting revenge vs Clank trying to stop Drek. Right now though Ratchet is only looking to have fun while Clank is the one currently looking for Quark, believing that Quark can be trusted to stop Drek.

General Revil
Sep 30, 2014

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
I'm joining in the calls for a PS2 hero platformer megathread.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
screams in lost game audio

On a completely unrelated note, I should have the rest of the game recorded tonight, with my certified commentation crew catching cruel conundrums concerning careful ... dammit, can't finish that off. Yeah, I'll get Drek and all the Gold Weapons finished tonight, then take a breather before starting to record Going Commando.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Level 5 - Blarg Station

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Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

Man, back when I was first playing this game as a kid Blarg Station was so tough for me. You can see why in the video too; there's some very tough combat encounters here for this stage in the game. Fortunately you don't need the grind boots until all the way out in Pokitaru, so you can come back later with much better gear if you need to, but I didn't know that back then!

It's another odd planet where the main combat route of the level leads you to just a gadget while the main progress route is just a quicker side one. At least this one wasn't completely optional this time.
Come to think of it, this is true of both the previous and the next planet. It seems like something they played with early on then never really return to in the series, although that might be factor of the later games leaning harder into combat as their primary gameplay in general.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Tenebrais posted:

Fortunately you don't need the grind boots until all the way out in Pokitaru, so you can come back later with much better gear if you need to, but I didn't know that back then!
Batalia actually, the 'under siege' level. You need the Grind Boots to get the next infobot. There's no grinding on Pokitaru, as that's where you need the Fighter's Helmet from Gaspar to finish the objective on Pokitaru to get the O2 helmet you need to get the Infobot on Orxon.

Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

berryjon posted:

Batalia actually, the 'under siege' level. You need the Grind Boots to get the next infobot. There's no grinding on Pokitaru, as that's where you need the Fighter's Helmet from Gaspar to finish the objective on Pokitaru to get the O2 helmet you need to get the Infobot on Orxon.

Batalia is when there's a grind rail, but you don't need that infobot just yet - the other route gets you the Orxon infobot, which gets you the Pokitaru one. Only once you're at Pokitaru is your progress stopped by the fact you didn't get the pilot's helmet, which you needed to do the grind rail to get the infobot to reach. So you can get as far as Pokitaru without having picked up the grind boots.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Tenebrais posted:

Batalia is when there's a grind rail, but you don't need that infobot just yet - the other route gets you the Orxon infobot, which gets you the Pokitaru one. Only once you're at Pokitaru is your progress stopped by the fact you didn't get the pilot's helmet, which you needed to do the grind rail to get the infobot to reach. So you can get as far as Pokitaru without having picked up the grind boots.

Ah, I misread what you wrote. Yes, the Pokiskip*, still missing a way to get to the second waypoint. I thought you said you needed the Grindboots on Pokitaru, not to get past Poki/Gasp.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqS-ohYDedk - This is a video describing what we're talking about, and the efforts people have gone through to try and get around it.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
What's this? Another Double Feature?!? Yay!

Video 6 - Rilgar

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Video 7 - Umbris

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berryjon fucked around with this message at 12:46 on Mar 29, 2022

Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

Ah, the Rilgar water section. R&C was the first PS2 game I had and I wasn't yet used to the pressure-sensitive face buttons - didn't realise you had to press them harder to get Ratchet to swim up more. I caught a lot of deaths to the fact that I just couldn't outswim the rising water.
The whole planet strongly feels like it's built for you to do the race first and then go to see Qwark - you're there to attend the race to meet him, and then get the ironic twist that he didn't turn up in person, with the later joke that his trailer right next door - I don't think there's any actual other reason to have a door between the two end points except that joke. Ratchet even mentions that he was from the race when they do meet.


Pyrocitor was always my weapon of choice for dealing with the floating mines. It can keep them at bay when they're coming to you. Also, I suspect the bomb glove would have worked to permanently destroy the machine gun turrets? Most things if they respond to different weapons like that care if the weapon is explosive rather than how actually powerful it is. Similar for some of the destructible walls that hide a couple of gold bolts and the like.

Odd that you got Glove Of Doom ammo in the Snagglebeast fight, seeing as you hadn't bought the Glove Of Doom. I assume you're saving up for the Devastator?

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Tenebrais posted:

I assume you're saving up for the Devastator?

You know it! And the Nanotech upgrades. 30K for the second one. Ouch!

stryth
Apr 7, 2018

Got bread?
GIVE BREADS!
That flooding sewer section ended up being a weird, "hand training" thing for me when I was a kid. By the time I could get through it, I had learned the exact timing to travel around using only the long jumps, whick made playing Jak & Daxter a lot more interinting.

Also, the green slime things are called Amoeboids, not Blarg, that's Drek's people. the news lady mentioned it in Rilgars intro video.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

stryth posted:

Also, the green slime things are called Amoeboids, not Blarg, that's Drek's people. the news lady mentioned it in Rilgars intro video.
And yet they say "BLARG!" so they count. Sorta. ;)

General Revil
Sep 30, 2014

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

berryjon posted:

Video 7 - Umbris

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(32:30) | NO COMMENTARY

You've got the time wrong here.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Video 8 - Batalia

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(16:05) | NO COMMENTARY

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
I think I'm going to be moving to a Sun/Wed release schedule as I have a nice backlog right now.

Video 9 - Orxon

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stryth
Apr 7, 2018

Got bread?
GIVE BREADS!
Ah Orxon, a planet so polluted, it doesn't have water any more, just toxic waste.

Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

It does feel like Clank's sections are supposed to be conceptually more puzzle-oriented, but since this is an action game for children they can't include real puzzles. There's a couple of bit like those doors that fit the idea but mostly it's just an object hunt for the gadge-bots in enclosed areas.

I'm not sure they ever really nail that balance. I think after R&C3 they just stopped trying to do Clank sections.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Tenebrais posted:

I'm not sure they ever really nail that balance. I think after R&C3 they just stopped trying to do Clank sections.

The only fun Clank sections are the Giant Clank sections, although they kept trying to do Clank-Only areas up to a Crack in Time, really, where half the game was Clank puzzle solving his way through the Great Clock.

Update should be up in half an hour because I forgot to upload the video last night.

Mycroft Holmes
Mar 26, 2010

by Azathoth

berryjon posted:

The only fun Clank sections are the Giant Clank sections, although they kept trying to do Clank-Only areas up to a Crack in Time, really, where half the game was Clank puzzle solving his way through the Great Clock.

Update should be up in half an hour because I forgot to upload the video last night.

crack in time was the only good clank-only bits

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Video 10 - Gaspar

COMMENTARY
(13:45) | NO COMMENTARY

Mycroft Holmes posted:

crack in time was the only good clank-only bits

Well, there was Secret Agent Clank... which was middling. But I still stand by Giant Clank.

stryth
Apr 7, 2018

Got bread?
GIVE BREADS!
Giant clank was fun, but it could get a bit frustrating with, how slow he moved, the multiple sources of chip damage, how hard it was to keep him healed, etc. I guess I'm one of the weird people who LIKED Clanks puzzle sections.

Why haven't you bought the Glove of doom yet? Tt's basically made for taking out enemies from around corners. They make that tunnel a breeze. Or are you saving for something else?

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

stryth posted:

Giant clank was fun, but it could get a bit frustrating with, how slow he moved, the multiple sources of chip damage, how hard it was to keep him healed, etc. I guess I'm one of the weird people who LIKED Clanks puzzle sections.

Why haven't you bought the Glove of doom yet? Tt's basically made for taking out enemies from around corners. They make that tunnel a breeze. Or are you saving for something else?

Saving for the Visibomb Gun and the Health upgrades. Once I get the Hololguise, all my money woes vanish, so I buy everything.

stryth
Apr 7, 2018

Got bread?
GIVE BREADS!

berryjon posted:

Saving for the Visibomb Gun and the Health upgrades. Once I get the Hololguise, all my money woes vanish, so I buy everything.

Ah, the hologuise, most useful gadget in the game, and not even remotely for it's intended function. Also I miss the Visibomb gun in later games, remote controlled missiles are just fun.

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Tenebrais
Sep 2, 2011

stryth posted:

Ah, the hologuise, most useful gadget in the game, and not even remotely for it's intended function. Also I miss the Visibomb gun in later games, remote controlled missiles are just fun.

The Visibomb does put a lot of extra level design pressure on, though. There's a lot of stuff that thing can break.

Gaspar is an odd planet, having three routes but only one actual objective. It probably says something about how the levels were designed, that they'd put together the planet challenges first and decide which progress rewards are where afterwards.

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