Ratchet & Clank Ranked
Year: 2002-Present
Developer: Insomniac Games (2002-Present), High Impact Games (2007-2008), Sanzaru Games (2008), Nihilistic Software (2011), Idol Minds (2012-2013), Tin giant (2012), Mass Media (2014)
Publisher: Sony
Main Entries: 16
Spin Off's: 5
This year saw Ratchet and Clank return with not only a re-imagining of the first game, but also a big screen adaptation! Now whilst reviews for the film have not been favourable so far this has not stood in the way of the impressive heights the series has achieved in the last 14 years.
For the purposes of this list, the only entries not considered were mobile entries (13 entries). Sorry R&C: Going Mobile & Before the Nexus, but there's no place for you here.
#13 Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force (2012)
For the purposes of this list, the only entries not considered were mobile entries (13 entries). Sorry R&C: Going Mobile & Before the Nexus, but there's no place for you here.
#13 Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force (2012)
Someone at Insomniac thought a tower defence game and Ratchet & Clank might work out quite well. Surprisingly enough it didn't. It's not an explicitly bad game as such, but it is by far the weakest in the series. Not really much more to say.
#12 Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (2011)
#12 Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (2011)
A co-op title designed to be played with friends. As Dr. Nefarious makes a surprise return from the suspected dead, his plan fails immediately and the resulting adventure is trying to stop his mistake from causing even more damage. Good fun if you have friends willing to play it, less so if you're riding solo.
#11 Secret Agent Clank (2008)
#11 Secret Agent Clank (2008)
The first portable entry for the series was pretty good on the PSP but a very slim experience on the PS2. Building on the gameplay established in R&C3, Secret Agent Clank has Bond spoof written all over it. A pretty fun game depending on the system you play it on.
#10 Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty (2008)
#10 Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty (2008)
Quest for Booty was the 2nd PS3 entry and a very short one at that. Very heavy on the platforming and light on the combat, this was a short but sweet entry that bridged the gap between Tools of Destruction & A Crack in Time wherein Ratchet & Talwyn travel to Merdegraw in search of a pirate who holds information regarding the Zoni, the race that kidnapped Clank.
#9 Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (2007)
#9 Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (2007)
Size certainly didn't matter for this PSP entry. Just as high quality as it's console counterparts, Size Matters proved that handheld entries could stand against the big boys. When the dynamic duo are attempting to help a little girl with her school report, she is kidnapped and an ancient race of machines reveal themselves. Yet again, Ratchet and Clank must save the day...and the school report.
#8 Ratchet: Gladiator (2005)
#8 Ratchet: Gladiator (2005)
When Ratchet, Clank, and Al are kidnapped by Gleeman Vox, he forces them into competing in 'DreadZone'; a TV show where competitors are forced to kill each other. Playing as just Ratchet this time around, Gladiator was a combat focused entry that was reliant on grinding in arena combat to progress. A fun spin-off, but it lacked that classic R&C charm.
#7 Ratchet & Clank 2 (2003)
#7 Ratchet & Clank 2 (2003)
The second R&C game expanded on the first game in so many ways and laid the foundations for how the series would play in future entries. When asked by Ambercrombe Fizzwidget if they can retrieve a biological experiment called the Protopet, the duo get themselves in for more than they bargained for as they go on a huge adventure to stop Fizzwidget from unleashing it on the galaxy and causing massive destruction. It was fast paced, funny, and full of things to do, but not quite as good as its predecessor.
#6 Ratchet & Clank 3 (2004)
#6 Ratchet & Clank 3 (2004)
The third entry to the series is widely regarded as the best, shame so many people are wrong. It ushered in a more complex storyline, the best villain in the franchise, Dr. Nefarious, and some of the most refined and varied gameplay in the series. When Nefarious appears on the scene it's up to ratchet and Clank to find Captain Qwark, the only person to have ever defeated Nefarious, who in turn establishes the Q-Force. With Nefarious hatching a plan to destroy all organic life, the Q-Force must do everything in their power to stop him.
R&C3 offered so much to the player that back in 2004 you almost didn't know what to do with yourself. But in doing so it did lose sight of the series roots and over the course of the game everything became quite monotonous and droll. It also introduced multiplayer to the R&C series which even today is great fun to play split-screen with a friend.
#5 Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (2007)
R&C3 offered so much to the player that back in 2004 you almost didn't know what to do with yourself. But in doing so it did lose sight of the series roots and over the course of the game everything became quite monotonous and droll. It also introduced multiplayer to the R&C series which even today is great fun to play split-screen with a friend.
#5 Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (2007)
Tools of Destruction kicked off the PS3 series of games. Emperor Tachyon, the last surviving Cragmite seeks to finish the job he started so long ago of wiping out the Lombax race. With Ratchet being the only surviving Lombax, the duo must stop Tachyon from using a device called the Dimensionator and bringing back the Cragmite race to kill Ratchet. Very combat heavy, Tools was pushing to be more of an action game than a platformer, which at times paid off and others didn't. It did however set up perhaps the best R&C storyline and that certainly has to be commended.
#4 Ratchet & Clank (2016)
#4 Ratchet & Clank (2016)
The game based on the film based on the game. The newest entry in the series retells the how the duo first met and their first battles to save the galaxy. Following the films storyline, the game has some great guns, graphics, and gameplay, but its story can be a bit vague at times as it's so reliant on the film.
#3 Ratchet & Clank: Nexus (2013)
#3 Ratchet & Clank: Nexus (2013)
The finale to the PS3 series, after Vendra Prog is busted out of jail by her brother Neftin, Ratchet and Clank must travel around the galaxy to stop them from using the Dimensionator to open a gateway to another dimension known as the Netherverse. Nexus featured some of the finest graphics on the system as well as some great new gameplay additions. It's short length however stopped it from achieving the greatness it was destined for.
#2 Ratchet & Clank (2002)
#2 Ratchet & Clank (2002)
The original and one of the best. Ratchet & Clank are two star crossed buddies that meet by chance and are fated to save the galaxy from the evil Chairman Drek. Hilarious and filled with memorable levels and great gameplay mechanics. A little dated today but it's one of the greatest 3D platformers ever made.
#1 Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (2009)
#1 Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (2009)
Crack in Time presents gamers with the most complex and most interesting R&C story in the franchise. Picking up shortly after the events of Quest for Booty, Ratchet is still searching for Clank. Clank however is now trapped a place called the Great Clock. With Dr. Nefarious and a new Lombax in the fray, both vying for the Great Clock, Ratchet and Clank must protect it and in turn not only the galaxy but all of time.
Separating the duo for the majority of the game, they must find their way back to each other and close the storyline introduced in Tools of Destruction. Playing around with time mechanics as Clank to solve puzzles is a series highlight.
Separating the duo for the majority of the game, they must find their way back to each other and close the storyline introduced in Tools of Destruction. Playing around with time mechanics as Clank to solve puzzles is a series highlight.