One problem I have with this game that I haven’t seen anyone bring up is that the writers seem so eager to show us that ratchet and clank are friends to the point where it’s overly done and doesn’t feel natural imo. The ps2 games didn’t feel the need to beat you over the head that they’re friends you could tell by the interactions. These newer games just make the dynamic feel corny to me.
Agreed I found a lot in this game was overdone if I'm honest and it's the things that are alien to me as a OG fan a few of which are the bombastic music, the overly emotional cutscenes, and as you said excessive reminders of certain things one being the relationship between the main characters
Another thing that I feel like they beat over your head is that Ratchet is a Lombax thing. The PS2 games barely mention it (I remember Helga mentioned it in UYA during the training course) but from ToD onwards they made it their duty to remind you he’s a Lombax every other sentence lol.
Personally, i like the way it works :) i come from growing up on ACiT though, so take this as you will. I really fuckin’ love how unabashed Rift Apart is with being loving, it feels like a natural progression to the love and loss experienced throughout the future saga. If I experienced the loss that was Alister to Ratchet, or the loss that was Ratchet, literally dying, for Clank, itd be HARD to not cherish people. In the PS2 games , they were a lot younger, love went without saying of course, but also I think it never occured that they wanted to say it. I think that as they grow, their love does too. Rift apart feels natural to me in that way :)
1:26:39 In the Insomniac Museum back in Crack, they actually showed off an old concept for Tools which was removing the helmet. I am glad they didn't remove it.
I agree with your points on the story. While the game is technically full length, it only just barely reaches that mark, and only if you pull off all the side content along with the main narrative. So narratively, there's just not enough time to tell the story that it wants to tell. It's similar to Into the Nexus in that regard, where it feels there was meant to be a larger story here, but huge chunks had to be torn out for one reason or another. In the case of Nexus, it was in part due to Full Frontal Assault being such a huge bomb that Sony slashed the budget and wanted a smaller game. For Rift Apart, it feels like it's due to rewrites. Sam Maggs was the original lead writer, and I think someone else, first name was Lauren, came in as another lead writer afterwards. So many scenes in the trailers were changed or reworked in the final product, and some sources I know hinted at things that were supposedly there, but didn't end up in the final product. And I can't not believe those since they were right about so much else in terms of character specifics. Just makes you wonder what happened during development.
@@bigpenny8223 Sam Maggs is a terrible writer, she's the one responsible for the God awful Mary Jane sections in marvels spider man, I assume she's responsible for the terrible pacing as well, rivet is a terribly written character and if it wasn't for the amazing voice acting of Jennifer Hale she would have been completely unlikable
Wow, this was honestly pretty amazing to watch. Never really thought i would ever watch a video on someone’s views and opinions on a game and leave with a mental impact. And the sheer deminure you had through the whole thing was incredible. The emotions felt through it all were so genuine, the pure joy in the things you loved to blunt discontent to what seemed off or felt missing. This was more than just a video of your likes and dislikes to a video game, this was a whole documentary on your expressive opinions and emotions towards not only the game, but the series as a whole and the direction it’s going. I, too, felt the exclusions of even mentioning things like Tachion or Azimuth to be rather off, and do hope that if another game may come in the future, even if it’s the last of the series, that they bring up the things left open in the story and finally adress the plot holes from the later games. Also, i love the refreshingly honest opinions you had on this, even the stuff that was negative, it’s honestly something that you just don’t see to often nowadays, instead trying to act more positive and blind to the obvious to get on the higher-up’s good side so they’d get something out of it. And yeah, i know it’s just a game you’re talking about, but i’ve seen so much of the stuff i’ve said that somethings i feels disengenuous. I do love what you’re doing, never change how you see fit on demand and keep doing what you enjoy.
5:21 Rift Apart is the sequel to Into the Nexus, considering the Dimensionator is a big part of the plot. Into the Nexus is the sequel to A Crack in Time.
I think the plot hole with regards to the lombaxes escaping their dimension can be explained by the idea that the lombaxes evacuated lombaxes from *every* dimension, not just their own. That includes Rivets.
"A song, a video, a show, a film, a game is only ever too long or too much when you misconstrue playing it to be the point" Wow. This is why I've never complained about something being too long as a bad thing. Cause if the main reason you interact with a work of art is to just get it over with then you may as well not even bother as you're completely missing the point to begin with.
@@jojonta2119 it's kinda like how my dad thinks breaking bad is too slow and I have disagreeed saying it needs to be slow and has the perfect pace and it's a shame that the style wasn't for him. But the slow pace and the length didn't harm it as art just because it caused him to not stick with it. A choosen length or pace isn't inherently bad or good, it's dependent on what something needs to do because of what it's trying to be.
2:08:45 Yes! Someone finally said it! Also, Talwyn really needs character development. I know she isn’t one of the greatest characters in the games, in fact, I think she was done dirty. She didn’t really appear much in the Future Saga and was most of the times absented, and pretty useless (except in ToD a little bit and in the comics). But I still think she could have been a better character, if she was well written. And even, if she barely is a one or doesn’t really serves purpose to the story, she had potential to be an interesting and a great character…
These videos are so in depth, its hard not to watch the whole thing. The rachet videos in particular have given me such a different perspective on a series I really enjoy. Great work.
I'm really glad I stumbled upon this review after watching some others. Yours was the slightly ranting but most encompassing and genuine review of them all. I love how you discussed the consequences about choosing to ignore a large part of the future series while still being open minded to further development. The series has been part of my life for a long time now too and so I was getting worried I would never find someone who talked about the game in a way that resonated with me deeply. The only statement I would disagree with is the "this game is kind" one, I would like some more edge and natural quirkiness to our 4 main characters that could truly make them feel distinct while sharing core values such as justice and compassion. Aside from that, even if you feel you're being melodramatic, don't sweat it! Keep on doing what you do best :)
I love the game but Ratchet feels a little off character, he still has his ps4/movie boyish personality. He could have been more snarky and "quippier" but he's still a bit better than what he was in the movie. Also Rivet Mentions meeting Angela in dialogue in Zordoom prison, despite her apparently not meeting another lombax. 🤷♂️
@@KingTai64 I think they were trying to make him more mature and less like an edgy teen, but somehow made him less mature by always having him be so chill and nice with everyone, plus a bit whiney. I hope insomniac listen to feedback.
@@MinisterofTinyHeads that's probably right. But enjoying yourself and having an adventure by being a witty badass isn't considered immature by definition. But we live in a world where if you have fun, your a child. I hope they make him more like Rivet. It's pretty funny, she has all the things that Ratchet USED to have back in Deadlocked. Really gets you thinking 🤔
@@KingTai64 yes he used to be such a badass in the old games, but he gradually got watered down. The movie even made him a "nerd" even though he was the exact opposite in the original 🙄😒 Rift apart done a little better even though he was still very boyish. Bring back badass edgy quippy Ratchet
Kit only deserves the best things, 100% agree. But something, very very subtle, that I picked up on is that Rivet and Kit aren't just counterparts to the main duo's dynamic, they're a flipped version of it in personality and function. Rivet is a character with Ratchet's edge and intensity but with Clank's sense of duty and greater good ideals over personal desires. Kit has Clank's (mostly) logical sense of thinking and supportive attitude but with Ratchet's energy, smart aleck sense of humor, and self driven ideals. If the final boss is any takeaway then Kit is now the heavy hitter to Rivet's more focused combat style whereas Clank supports Ratchet in movement and traversal without getting into combat much himself. Overall the two have a dynamic flipped from Ratchet and Clank and it's such a great parallel that it borders on poetic.
I never thought of that, and now I desperately want them to explore that in a sequel. Because that is an absolutely fascinating thing to see in a series that has been going on for as long as this franchise has.
Great video, in my opinion I thought the new RYNO was a little underwhelming, sometimes it would do massive damage like you said, but more often than not it seemed to take multiple shots just to take out some of the lower tier enemies. It almost seemed like the Blackhole Storm was supposed to be the RYNO for this game because of how similar it is to previous RYNOs, but for some reason the devs changed their mind
Yo, bout to start watching the new ratchet vid, but before I do, I just wanna say that I love the way you do thumbnails. The way you combine the words with the colours is so well done. It’s as though the words convey a tone for the video. Just wanna say I love it.
Gotta agree with the story being so inconsistent. Its so frustrating seeing the gameplay constantly evolving to amazing heights yet the story just never being able to keep itself consistent ever since the PS3 era
I saw the retrospective from the gold bolt, apparently the previous writer for tod left and tj fixman had to step in and had to rewrite at the best of his resources
Yeah it pisses me off how many things are retconned. I haven't played Rift apart, I do like the games after deadlocked but the first 4 have a charm and consistency that has not been replicated. Plus, it was so easy to not have events contradict each other. Also they kept the social commentary, but not the dark humor and clever jokes.
I think I need the next game to try something completely different. Something a bit more pensive and slow-burn. Greater emphasis on exploration and movement. Combat should involve new melee-mechanics. And this might sound like heresy, but I think the model of having up to 20 weapons is getting a bit outdated. A smaller more focused line-up complimented by new combat mechanics would be great
Your questions about why this game seems so intent on ignoring ACiT have an answer, albeit a dumb one. Insomniac wanted this game to be a follow up for both longtime fans and those introduced through the 2016 game. But one, the series’ pre-existing canon had never become too complicated to be easily explained and understood by newcomers. This isn’t Kingdom Hearts. Two, Rift Apart still revolves around the dimensionator that was introduced in Tools and expanded on in Nexus. And three, attempting to make a game that acts as a sequel to a long-running series as well as a one-off game was always doomed to failure. They’re too opposed to one another to generate anything truly satisfying.
I think that is probably the most grounded reason and that does feel weird then why they have these fan service moments to the Future games all over the place without mentioning the events that drive Ratchet and Clank narratively in this game. Like Ratchet's motivation for not wanting to meet the lombaxes being they might not be what he is expecting or that he doesn't think he can measure up as an engineer just rings a little hollow with no mention of Azimuth influencing said motivation. The cutscene where Ratchet feels that he failed his father by letting the Dimensionator fall into the wrong hands while looking at his own hands is a great character moment, but it doesn't feel like it connects with the rest of his character motivation as its never brought up again and we are immediately moved onto the next thing. Or Cosmic Gary not mentioning Orvus or the Great Clock at all while looking up information about Clank was a weird omission.
I've watched (well, listened to) your complete series critique 3 times over, and so I'm incredibly excited to watch this, once I get a chance to play it for myself. I'm avoiding all spoilers, but I'm sure this is a quality video as usual Micah :)
Considering how long this series has been going, I've been wondering if at some point we will get a villain that takes advantage of all of that. A villain who has taken notice of Ratchet, studied his history and adventures, taken loads of data to form some sort of a plan that is inspired by how he works. A sort of a villain that forces him to reflect upon everything until now, showing another perspective, a viewpoint to see him from. A mask of Ratchet that he himself isn't fully aware of. Or at least at this point that seems like a good way to increase the stakes without going necessarily too far into the ridiculous side of things, like a what-if reality. Introspection without having to pull a Nega-Ratchet or something, sort of naturally bringing up the edge that Ratchet has lost over the years in the context of him having changed as a person, only paying attention to this without necessarily starting the convo about whether the old or new Ratchet is better. This is all of course assuming the writers can execute such ideas in a nuanced manner.
You want that kind of attempt at deep storytelling with consistently high quality visuals and animation while also being a satisfying length with several new mechanics and features for the actual you know *game?* Might as well just write your own fan fiction at this point because I'll tell you right now outside of the lombax plot stuff the only main things they'll address in a sequel is an expanded arena, unique gameplay mechanics between Ratchet and Rivet, better enemy variety and a new attempt at an weapon upgrade system.
@@TerrorOfTalos Deep? This isn't deep, this is just having some level of quality. All the building blocks for even setting it up is already there. All they'd need is just better writing and they should be able to pull it off. Even Uncharted 4 or maybe even Crack in Time level writing would be enough for executing this. I'm not asking for Silent Hill 2 levels of nuance. Though I do miss the Futurama humor of the ps2 era. Modern era's humor is quite weak even for saturday morning cartoon standards. And for the game itself I don't see a reason to really change the mechanics much at all. Just create better enemy variety and designs that build upon what Rift Apart setup and gameplaywise it'd be fine. Rift Apart is a pretty good foundation to build upon. All that's missing now is better writing. I also don't know why you made this about the rest of the game when I'm discussing an overall plot without specific story progression events, but what ever.
@@Arexion5293 Okay well considering the direction they're going the easiest thing to do would be bringing tachyon back and then build a plot about the lombax civilization around that, I can't see them creating a *new* main villain that actually fits what the series is trying to do now this late. Also Insomniac has always built the narrative around the gameplay and not vice versa, maybe if they had more production time they can pull something interesting off and RAs foundation is definitely a plus for that. RAs humor may be hit and miss compared to most previous games but outside of some merely servicable qwark lines 2016s humor was all miss so at least it's a huge step up from that. Since a sequel will come no earlier than 2026 having more enemy variety with a couple minor changes just won't be enough, one of the reasons RA was so praised (besides the visuals and technical aspects) were for the polished mechanics while having consistently fun action and gameplay variety which most people haven't experienced before outside of only playing 2016, so in another 4 years most people will have a clear idea of what RaC is conceptually capable of and Insomniac has to do more than having a few more enemy types and several more new weapons next time.
Rift Apart is the very 1st game I played on the PS5 after I picked mine up around some time mid to late last year alongside Resi 8 and I absolutely loved the way the game handled. I did have to adjust some controls to make it easier for me to play ( specifically changing the swingshot from L1 to Circle and the boost boots from pump to hold) but other than that the game felt fantastic to experience and I can't wait to see what comes next
1:48:44 That Lorb wasnt meant to be funny, it was meant to explain exactly what happened with the Dimensionator. It was first made by the Lombaxes as a gun, but Mags got tired of using it as a gun, so he found a way to make it into a helmet instead. In between then and the events of the Future games, the helmet fell into the hands of Emperor Tachyon (spelling?) (I'm not 100% sure how the Dimensionator was passed down, i never had a PS3 to play the Future series on, so i'm unaware of that part). During the final battle of Into the Nexus, the Dimensionator helmet was damaged, so Clank spent some time remaking it. From his knowledge of Phase Quartz, and knowing it was on Blizar Prime, we can assume he did more research into how to properly construct the device and learned that it was originally a gun, not a helmet. In Rivet's dimension, we know that the Lombaxes actually hid blueprints to making this device, and it was originally a gun, so we can assume that Ratchet's dimension had blueprints of a gun hidden somewhere as well, and i'm sure Clank was able to pull some favors to find them. But most of this is speculation, so who knows...
Loved it! CiT and the future saga being largely ignored kind of upset me too. I think most of your opinions I share too. Your analysis on the themes of the game were very thought out and I agree completely. I also tend to agree with the feeling that I've taken this franchise seriously for the past 20 years and I'm confused as to why Insomniac doesn't bite the bullet and actually create an overarching story that attempts more than a standard marvel/kids movie.
Really good video, as a long time fan of the series as well, I understand how you feel with both liking RA but also being deeply frustrated at it's refusal to answer any long standing franchise questions and instead just asks a whole lot of new ones. I recall the writer Lauren Mee and director Mike Daly saying in an interview that they purposely cut corners in the writing with the lore baggage to reestablish the fundementals of the franchise and characters because its been so long since a new story. Hopefully that means they will go into more depth with the inevitable sequel, one dealing with Ratchet finally going to the lombax dimension would pretty much make it unavoidable to talk about the ps3 games events. The whole thing with Emperor Nefarious and Tachyon you talked about at 1:52:32 I think can be explained with the space pirates. The IRIS computer in TOD said that the pirates were created by Tachyon when he was a child to gather resources to build his empire and after they completed their task, he abandoned them, leaving them to pillage by their own volition around the galaxy. Since the pirates in both Rivets and Ratchets dimensions are almost the exact same, it seems likely they would have been made by a counterpart of Tachyon. Emperor N's bio says he defeated all heroes and villains alike that attempted to oppose him like Drek, so it really looks like he dealt with his dimension's Tachyon when he was young before he could become a bigger threat, but still left the pirates behind afterwards. I dont think the dimensions should be treated as alt timelines either, at least not Ratchet's and Rivet's. One isn't really an offshoot of the other but they do share a lot of the same things. Also there wouldnt be a Great Clock in Rivet's dimension or zoni/orvus because they specifically come from a different dimension (The Zoni Dimension) and came to Ratchet's, so they werent a naturally occuring factor in Ratchet's dimension theyre an outside element, where they shared the ability to time travel with the Fongoids, leading them to misuse it and requiring the Great Clock to be build to maintain temporal normality in the universe.
I’m not sure why Insomniac didn’t take an approach similar to DMC 5 or Mass Effect 2 (PS3 edition). DMC 5 has a clever recap for those who’ve never played DMC 1 through 4 at the title screen. When Mass Effect 2 was first released on PS3 the first game wasn’t available on PS3 yet, so Bioware put in a interactive comic in Mass Effect 2 that let players experience a summarized version of the first game and make the more important choices that effected the overarching plot. Insomniac could’ve easily put in an animated slideshow recapping the Future series and Into The Nexus for new players instead of the half-assed attempt of trying to recap and draw nostalgia from a parade set piece. The easter eggs for other PlayStation games is all good and fun, but Astro’s Playroom was designed for that, Ratchet and Clank doesn’t need to be used for this purpose. Rift Apart suffered too much from being a “showcase game” instead of focusing on a more coherent experience that felt like a nice continuance of previous games.
The parade was also meant act as a gameplay tutorial, gameplay *always* comes first and I've yet read good argument otherwise unless you want a literal cutscene simulator. Also yeah no shit it was supposed to be a showpiece game but you can't say they didn't at least try to make a competent story and polished game around it.
Having now beat the game and Platinumed it, I am going back and replaying the whole Series on my PS3 again (since I'm on Holidays it's perfect timing 😁) and I didn't even realise even how HALF the Planets in Rift Apart are Planets we visited in Tools & Crack, Kaden (Ratchets Dad) is mentioned in those Audio Logs (the Sphere Collectables) Mark Mothersbaugh doing the music explains why it was SO GOOD (he did Crash and Jak for Naughty Dog, more linking between Insomniac and Naughty Dog haha) and shit it even links Sly and Jak as being alternative Dimensions within the same Universe which as a PlayStation Fan since the PS1 made me crack a fat 👍 🤣
Dude, I hope you´re still reading comments, because I want you to know how much I enjoyed this video. Your honesty and knowledge had me really invested in listening to what you had to say. Your thoughts and views on all the topics were so deep and logical. You´re not a simple observer, you think beyond the obvious. I also like your style of obviously having a script, but not planning every word so you can really express yourself. You´re awesome! I haven´t played the game myself, but I can agree with you on so many points: yeah, the game looks great, everyone can see that. But the emotion is so real. The story might not be the greatest, but the story is delivered excellently and with so much fell and emotion. It begins with great writing and character interaction and doesn´t end with voice acting. All the little details in the character animations help sell the dialouge very well. These subtle movements of eyelids, ears, tail (best seen in the Lombaxes) fill the characters with so much life and emotion. You can tell that there were many different animators, but they all did a phenomenal job. The OST is also fantastic and it´s interesting to see all the different themes and motifs reappearing throughout the game. Sometimes I´m on the verge of tears listening to specific tracks, because they´re 1. beautiful and 2. carry the weight of the emotion of the cinematic/scene they appeared alongside with. Subscribed! Excellent video!!
On the subject of how the RaC multiverse works and the questions of "Are there lombaxes in other dimensions with Dimensionators of their own?" and "Are there an infinite number of universes where lombaxes use a Dimensionator to escape to another dimension?" A very important factor people need to take note of is the Surinox Shard from the 6 issue comic series. They explained in this that the shard is a piece of the Surinox comet, a near impossibly rare, transdimensional celestial entity that traveled through realities. The Surinox shard that fell on Fastoon hundreds of years ago was key to the lombaxes building the Dimensionator in the war with the Cragmites. Basically, lombaxes in other dimensions would not have the capability to build a Dimensionator without access to a piece of the comet and the odds of them finding one would be infinitesimal. There's some more info on the shard at the wiki if anyone wants to know ratchetandclank.fandom.com/wiki/Surinox_Shard
I really feel like Rivet is, narratively, an attempt to explore the first games Ratchet again. She's cynical and aggressive in the same way he was, but a little softer and cooled down since she has been with other people for a while.
PS5 or not, but I find it stunning to see, how good these PS3 Games still look. I remember watching the Tools of Destruction trailer in early 2007 and I was creaming my pants on its 480p RUclips glory. Having been with the franchise since day 1 it surely was an amazing graphical upgrade. My favourites will be always. the first 3 games though
From the og 3 the 2nd one was the one with the most variety of weapons, most diverse maps, enemies and puzzles and also I think gladiator is underrated
My hope is that now that insomniac have their game mechanics, assets and basis for story in place, they’ll have more time to actually implement lore and create a more expansive story and further develop their characters (including ratchet and clank) in the next intallment.
@@ciligonzalez2897 it would use designs and key art from old games for sure but I dont know how much that correlates when they say it’s “built from the ground up for the PS5”.
@@ciligonzalez2897 2016 was used as a base obviously but everything else was either created or recreated from the ground up. That's like saying 2016 used assets from the original game from 2002, make it make sense.
@@ciligonzalez2897 What specific assets are you even referring to? Everything from the PS3 era is either recreated from scratch (goons-4-less, robot pirates, multiple returning planets) or they used 2016 as a base for some characters (skid, qwark, ratchet, clank) and enemies like sand sharks, amoeboids and snappers but polished their models and animations. The game does reuse assets on different planets at times but those are already new and were specifically made for RA.
Stumbled across this video after hard binging on some pretty venomous material declaring the insurmountable excellence of the PS2 era over everything thereafter, and I'm absolutely blown away. I love the music of this video; I love the pacing; the thoughtfulness behind the reflecting voice; I love how you pose the characters in such a way that makes their endearing yet noirish melancholy shine through, and take us through gorgeous environments on foot at walking pace in addition to showing your command over the core mechanics. When I actually first played this game, as a diehard fan of the PS2 era and absoolutely nothing after, I was so disappointed that it had gone further down the route of Pixar-esque child-friendly animation rather than the abrasive, snarky, anti-capitalist-but-who-actually-cares approach of the earliest games. Yet your enthusiasm for the new characters ("she's so *kind*") and love for the sheer human effort and care that has gone into this title - as well as the entire series - is honestly humbling. I'll never see a game, nor possibly any other piece of art, without hearing a little echo of this video's uncynical voice, decentring me from my own ideas of what I want it to be and highlighting the journey taken through each work of art through many creative stages to reach something whole, coherent, flawed, and different in each separate iteration. I love the bite of the closing remarks, too - a little tough love, and a call to return to the emotional highs that a series with this much emotional (as well as literal) firepower should absolutely be aiming for. Love it, love you, great job.
I'm pretty sure in the end scene they're heading to Zurkie's cuz to my understanding the Lombaxes across multiple dimensions, they would have no idea where to look. It would be a whole game based off that, not a short, cute epilogue that is better left unsaid, since it's just a good time with friends, no need to document that unless something significant happens.
1:53:00 I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this. From what we know, the Lombaxes escaped Ratchet's dimension (let's say Dim. A.) to flee to the Lombax Dimension (Dim. L.). In Rift apart, we learn that Rivet's dimension (Dim. B) ALSO had Lombaxes fleeing to Dim L. This alone would imply that every dimension (with living Lombaxes) would have Lombaxes (presumably) trying to escape to Dim L, so you could hypothetically have infinite Lombaxes going to Dim L. Now, in Dim B, we learn a few things from the Lorbs, 1. Dim B had Kaden as well as Dim A, which MIGHT be an inconsistency, ORRRRRR Maybe Kaden is Rivet's father in this dimension, since Ratchet and Rivet are basically counterparts, possibly their dad is his own counterpart? (does that mean there's at least 2 Kadens in Dim L? Weird...), another thing we learned from the lorbs is the Dimensionator, in Dim B, was made from a gun into a helmet, which we can assume also happened in Dim A, since it was a helmet originally in it's debut. We also learned, on Savali that the Dimensionator's blueprints were hidden there, so that would mean 1 of 2 things, 1. Dim B Lombaxes hid the stuff on the planet that had the most dimensional significance, or 2. Dim A Lombaxes for some reason left the stuff on this dimension, instead of on their home dimension. Another thing we learn from the game in that The Plumber is Gary's father, and that he has a great relationship with Ratchet and Clank... How would Dim B's Plumber know R&C? unless Dim B's Gary is actually from Dim A, and he somehow got transported to Dim B, but that seems far-fetched...
Not only did Ratchet find another lombax, not only did he find another *female* lombax, but he found another SHINY lombax! He must be super lucky. (The first shiny was Alister from crack in time) lol
My logic on the lombax lore is they come from ratchets dimention and the first place they managed to travel to another dimention is the rift apart level so they make that their kinda vantage point to discover the other dimentions and as is stated in a lorb they are spread out in manny dimentions 1 whitch has alot of them and rivet is just a lomaxes daughter that lived in rivets dimention so maby most of their dimentions have counterparts while in reality ratchet and rivet are just alike etchother in some ways Btw sorry for some shit english and i hope it made anny sence
And while i agree whit alot of your oppinions acid was a thirs game in a trioligy so i feel if there comes games afther ra i feel it should not be afraid to tell a story fully
Great review! I really enjoyed the game as I love Platformers, and haven't played a R&C game since the PS2 Era. The game did feel on the bland side at times and the dialogue did feel cringey.
It's more about combining SSD tech with the PS5s hardware and if anything the game is really well optimized, they must've spent months on that aspect alone.
And this is why i believe that rift apart is a sequel to the 2016 game/ remake era and not a continuation of the future series. 1:57:50 They ignor stuff from the future series just like what happened with the classic era.
What a beautiful peice of art. I agree with so much of this and relate to so much of it so closely. Thank you for articulating this, and sharing it. Mwah! Mwah!
I'm hoping for a Sequel on the level of A Crack In Time... To be fair I think this would have been in production a while before their Acquisition so I hope that's the reason it was not as long or in depth/risk taking as you, and many of us long time (PS2 Era onwards) fans had hoped for 🤷♂️ looking forward to what's next and hopefully this isn't all we get this Generation like with R&C 2016 last Gen 🤞
It was in production since early 2019 so yes before the acquisition. Also outside of story, clank puzzles and arena RA is either at least on par or superior to ACiT if we take off the goggles.
@@TerrorOfTalos ACiT was never my favourite (don't have goggles for it, probably just swept up in it being "The Best" as that's what is often thrown around) personally was never a fan of Clank Segments and Arena Combat so while they may be super refined and stuff the most compelling and important part for me are the Regular Levels/Planets which are lacking comparatively to older entries 🤷♂️
@@MrRhysReviews Interesting because outside of the story it gets more praise for what it does different than necessarily better. On the topic of planets/levels are you referring to ACiT or RA because for the latter I can easily see savali and blizar prime on peoples top 10 RaC planets. ACiTs planet design though is mostly dull; exceptions being lumos (krell canyon) and zanifar, this was mostly a result of them already putting so much effort into the great clock puzzles and ship exploration while also also only having 9 to 10 months production time.
@@TerrorOfTalos I was just talking about NUMBER of Planets/Levels... As for ACiT Comparison I was probably referring to the Open World/HUB Space Exploration with more than 10 Planets (like 20 or so like PS2 Era Ratchet) and the smaller Circular Planets as well, with Main and Side Missions... That would be the perfect R&C game.
@@MrRhysReviews Ah, yeah I'm hoping for them to bring back the ship exploration too but revamped with also realistically 10 brand new planets (remember games take a lot more resources now) with maybe half being open levels like savali and the other half being more linear but at least having a couple paths.
I do feel like this game is 2/3 of what was planned or made, sometimes it felt like it's going too fast and only later I've realized that it wasn't fast it's like it was built from pieces and some were lost on the way so it's like clicking through long video (*cough cough*). Game is good but underdeveloped story-wise.
I'm really trying, but after playing the ps2 games again this feels... hollow. I'm glad people like the games and the series is still relevant, but what I'm seeing isn't ratchet and clank. It's something else with the same name. It would be cool to see a return to the old narrative style with a deadlocked 2 or something. Just one more game where nobody cares about lombaxes.
Amazing thesis. MSc worthy.. Food for thought: what if in the sequel Ratchet and Rivet find the lombaxes, after they find them, the lombaxes somehow discover that Ratchet actually 'killed' Alistar. Atleast, they think he did. The story then builds on the lombaxes (including Rivet(?) not trusting Ratchet. This makes way for Ratchet being able to 'save' his own kind. (Again). Feel free to add your own twist to this thought! Please do!
What if the Lombaxes falls into a Civil War with one faction wanting to takeover entire galaxies and dimensions since the species are supposed to be the most advanced, and the other who simply opposes that
this shit got me emotional as hell, really is heartbreaking to see the franchise still kinda lost after all these years, still a solid comeback though.
@@riley9485 I mean to be real with you all the series that I have any actual real attachment to are pretty much dead (exception being RaC of course). On some level I'm ok with that and after realizing that if RaC 2016 flopped something like RA could've potentially been on the back burner for a longer amount of time I'm more forgiving of any faults RA has because of the amount of good it introduced and refined to the fun but admittedly starting to get stale formula. When people keep begging for sequels to dead series I have to really have to ask myself do they think a game they want can realistically live up to their expectations? Especially after so long, I don't think its possible and to my knowledge has never happened before.
@@TerrorOfTalos the series will be never be what it once was and realistically it should end soon, it's still good for another two or so games and then it should stop, RA was very fun and is amazing in its own right, the story is ok, it's just conflicted. Just sucks to see it happen to RaC. It's not dead yet either, just past it's prime.
@@riley9485 Yeah the PS5 is definitely where the series will end as there's only so much left you can do with it now, I know this because they needed new tech to keep things fresh and I assume they'll leverage it even better by the mid point of the gen and could probably even make RA look outdated somehow. I'm just really hoping they have a good idea on what to do when the inevitable game focusing on the lombax dimension happens because that's a huge deal, one that has so much potential to payoff a lot that's happened in the series but also one that's really easy fuck up (don't think that'll happen though).
RA storyline might be a bit bad but at least is ain't bad like secret agent clank. Rivet herself is kinda abit bland but she does has some beautiful and sad moments I do feel related too. Her character arc is really interesting, I would wish they extended her character and make it a masterpiece.
@@TerrorOfTalos it's basically everything wrong in some part of an RNC story and combine it to a big mess. Infact that game is actually canon to the mainline games is just awful and even remembering it exist just hurts my mind
@@TerrorOfTalos atleast size matters storyline try to be it's own thing even it just have the most goofy ahh momments ever but atleast I can tell it still try to follows the canon but secret agent clank felt like made by people who doesn't even know RNC and instead making shit up from limited stuff they saw
@@bruhford3954 No high impact game is canon and some intern from 5 years ago on twitter saying otherwise will never change that. Also size matters story is tolerable if you don't take it seriously in the slightest but the only way I'll get any enjoyment from secret agent clank is from watching a review shitting on it and there's several of those already.
@@TerrorOfTalos that's basically my problem, I don't mind if SM is canon but having SAC in the canon is like trying to make every dragon ball Z movie into the canon series
Absolutely adore this breakdown. Ive never seen a fan that shares my desire for rnc to add hack an slash and skill trees. I think ratchet could take inspiration from 4 games to be the perfect experience ive always wanted. Doom eternal for the movement tech and weapon swapping. God of war for a more engaging mele combat system. Borderlands for its loot system gun manufacturers and elemental dmg system and finally destiny for its gun perk system and class system with special abilities. I recently played Doom eternal and they made the meathook into what i always wanted the swingshot to do. I want ratchet to use his arsenal in more interesting ways. Insomniac made spiderman so i want the swingshot to work kinda like spideys webs in that i can hook off walls to gain height in combat and like the meathook and pull myself towards enemies.The quickswapping in doom is jus how i played ratchet but imagine weaving mele combos in the mix with ratchets amazing guns. God of war had a simple combat system that really was fun to master and throwing the wrench feels like it was inspired by the axe in rift apart. I want the crouch button to comeback so you can do different mele attacks. Square is light r2 is heavy crouch light is a ranged and crouch heavy is a sweep aoe attack. Putting crouch back allows for movement tech controlled sideflips and you could slide when crouching or dodge so you have multiple ways to get outta danger or get in close for mele. You should be able to replace your wrench with a plasma whip or waloper or shredder claws or scropion flail or alisters wrench a lightsaber or rivets hammer which could be a heavy version of the wrench. The wrench should have multiple variations one that throws infinitely and you press a button and ratchet teleports it back to hand while one wrench throws out its end as a taser like the quest for booty one or one thats magnetized and locks on to guys when thrown etc. The shredder claws ranged attack could be the chopper or a boomerang and the whips would pull the enemy to you like blades of chaos. The wrench should level and unlock new combos and perks as it does. I think ratchet could use a loot sytem to really up replayability. Borderlands and destiny both had flawed loot sytems but if you take the best of both ratchet could have a great system. Every weapon should have its own manufacturer like borderlands. Ratchet has gadgetron megacorp blarg industries vox grummelnet and tacheyon could have one as well. They could have unique traits like grummelnet are homemade scrapped together guns like sonic eruptor while vox are stylized high tech stuff blarg has organic alien tech gadgetron are retro quirky weapons. The weapons could have multiple rarities so each gun has a common up to legendary and like destiny there is only 1 version of the legendary. The higher rarities would get you access to more options of weapon perks and the golden one has every weapon perk option. The rareitanium tree needs to evolve to something like destinys perk system mixed with constucto mods. All guns should have like 20 different meaningfull upgrades randomized for different rareitys and golden can choose any. These would be elemental mods charge mods mini bombs or seeking misssles and differnt ammo types for turrets or agents etc stuff that improves how a weapon functions or changes its alternate fire mode and as i level up i get access to up to 10 of the perks so i can customize how my gun works and alpha mods should be a separate upgrade system where i can modify gun stats like ammo range rate of fire and stuff like that. Borderlands had a neat elemental dmg system and i want to customize my guns like in deadlocked. I want frost grenades and a frost lancer or shock grenades corrosive devastator or a plasma whip made of vines that does nature dmg. I think the 5 elements should be fire frost shock nature and nether. Enemy types could be weak to certain elements and have shields like destiny that could change what their weak too. I always wanted a class system and coop for that matter and i like destinys 3 class system. Itd be nice to get more than jus 10 nanotech for leveling up that system desperatly needs an overhaul.For ratchet you got him as as engineer type he uses armor abilities and movement abilities with clank wrench skills can use gadgebots better than other classes etc. Rivet is like an assasian type class she gets upgrades to her movement with swingshot uses snipers and bladed weapons gets kit and has better dashing. And finally you got azimuth who is the commando hes tanky and skilled with explosives and guns and mele but doesnt have a robot on his back so he relies on hoverboots for movement. Like destiny all the classes could have ultimates ratchet turns into giant clank kit is a smaller more agile warbot for rivet and maybe allister drives his ship or something. One thing i want to make its way in are abilities on your armor kinda like size matters but improved. These abilities would make combat much more engaging and give you more options . Your armor abilities would have a separate resouce like battery that refills over time but gives you access to weapons in a different way. The tesla barrier would be an armor ability that doesnt use ammo or your weapon wheel its a recharging ability. Stuff like drone devices to block explosives zurkons n synthoids and even like flamethrower gauntlets or an electric slam, combat abilities that shape how you play. These would be tied to your armor and you use the arrows while in weapon quick select to quickly use em. They can have interesting applications like an armor set that lets you turn invisible or teleport or temporarily get a speed boost combat abilities that make enemies drop health and ammo or summon gadgebots or holoshileds. There could be different types of shields ones that shock nearby enemies an ones that make a fir explosion when deeted one sided or two sided holshields. These abilities let you either combo several together to like prevent falters speed up and heal for a reckless mele attack or combine a few to make your explosives more deadly and regenerate ammo or maybe you have a bunch of deffensive ones to help you snipe behind holoshields with gadgebots defending ya. They would make combat so much more engaging and rewarding.
Also all those fucking mechanics for a single game, are you insane? Goddamn not every game has to have a bunch of bullshit in it. The only thing I actually agree with is giving the wrench more utility but only outside combat.
@@TerrorOfTalos i cant explain how terribly wrong you are about the wrench. It has ALWAYS had a shitty controll scheme you are forgetting. A crack on time had the closest one since you could hoverboot and throw it but its range was still kinda low. Every previous game made you stand in fuckin place to throw it. Rift aparts throws further doesnt require you to stand still and goes way further.
@@TerrorOfTalos i dont think any of it is bullshit but you can do you man. You can simp rnc all you want but its a childrens game that said fuck you to its growing fans all we care about is money so were gonna remake the series for a new 5 year old audience and not try anything new cus we made GC like 20 years ago and well jus be lazy and copy that formula. I want real change to the series.
@@connoringram4948 Did you play Nexus or 2016? RAs aiming is most similar to those but with it's much more polished with a lower perspective but besides that the former 2 games let you throw your wrench while moving, also when you sprint in RA the wrench throw works like ACiTs which is pretty cool.
I would say "First", but I'm not a degenerate. Looking forward to this vid. Loved the Arkham Knight one you put out a while back. Keep up the good work.
i dont really get the idea that people are making this game out to be very short compared to crack in time they both almost the same length on how long to beat
That particular track is Laniakea by Yehezkel Raz - ruclips.net/video/qHbuRwBE4CY/видео.html A here's the full playlist if you're after that too - ruclips.net/p/PLVjiZyP4zfhRIW7IR0gX4ysZN3dlmV96W
I love this game, but I feel like the writers are unintentionally committing a pretty noticeable amount of character assassination that has unfortunately put the writers between a rock and a hard place by having Rift Apart take place in the reboot continuity. (Note: during the celebration areas and events that only took place in the reboot are mentioned like the Hall of Heroes and Ratchet saving the Hall of Heroes) In the reboot, the aspects of Ratchet and Clank's personalities and relationships that resulted in them becoming the people that we grew up with never existed. The Ratchet and Clank that spent several games going from polar opposites whose goals frequently clashed into opposites who understand and trust each other have been effectively and retroactively snuffed out for watered down generic good guys (Ratchet more so than Clank), which actively works against the strengths of Rift Apart's narrative. The relationship between Rivet and Kit is very clearly a callback to the relationship between Ratchet and Clank in the very first Ratchet and Clank game. The fact that neither Ratchet nor Clank decided to use their rocky start as an argument point to at least motivate Rivet and Kit to iron things out is a massive missed opportunity that would've very easily pulled the writers out of the corner the wrote themselves into towards the end of the game and would've created one the most powerful and reverential Ratchet and Clank moments. The story even attempts to demonstrate how integral Ratchet and Clank's partnership is to their successes through the story, but goes out of it's way to make sure that Clank and Rivet are virtually obsolete in the gameplay department by effectively replacing or omitting the gameplay tools Clank initially brought to the table that allowed Ratchet to complete his missions in the first place. The love is there, but it's very clear that the writers were trying to fix something that was never broken to begin with. Fantastic video, btw.
Rift Apart doesn't happen in the 2016 reboot continuity, it takes place after ITN. The director Mike Daly said in multiple interviews that they wanted to return to the canon that they had been building for so many years. The 2016 game/movie are sensationalized, in-universe fictional accounts of the original R&C from 2002, as told by Qwark and he is an unreliable narrator. The reason why the parade floats at the start of RA have stuff from the 2016 game is because Qwark is the one who organized the festival as said in his bio. Also Qwark's bio doesnt mention anything bout him being the captain of the galactic rangers like in the 2016 movie/game, nor does Ratchet's mention Grimroth Razz, the guy that raised and mentored him on veldin in the reboot. The solana rangers from the reboot are basically just fictional characters in the canon R&C universe, like Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story lol
@@stevehenry7245 Now that you mention it. Yeah. I can believe that. I never really watch interviews, so missing a detail like that is entirely possible. Thank you for clarifying. But Ratchet and Clank’s personalities in Rift Apart are still quite undersold, most likely a result of returning writing staff from the reboot. There’s a good chance most if not all of these discrepancies will be gone in the next game.
In regards to your comments on violence in games, I think art making you uncomfortable is often a good thing. The great film critic Pauline Cale called Straw Dogs a great fascist work of art. She was able to realize that it’s more interesting HOW art communicates rather than exactly WHAT it’s communicating. You can be uncomfortable or disagree with the real world implications of an abstraction like art while still holding up its value within the space it occupies and not falling into the pit of reactionary hysteria surrounding what it could potentially do.
I 100% agree with the upgrades and raritanium stuff kinda sucking. Personally I felt that the upgrades in this game felt the most consistently lacking out of pretty much the entire franchise. Especially the level 5 upgrades. Just rly boring and didn’t feel like huge changes. 54:03 HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT KNOW THIS COLOR SWAPPING FEATURE EXISTED IN MY 70 OR SO HOURS OF PLAYING IT. 1:16:00 I love what you have to say about the two mini-games/puzzle segments. Especially about how the fact that Kit rly should have had a different conceptualization of dimensional anomalies.
Not bringing back david for the soundtrack was certainly a mistake. I dont get the appeal of rift aparts music it sounds like generic crappy marvel music
I never played the ps3 era of games but i did play the ps2 era, i really enjoyed rift's story except when it felt like ratchet was like too nice and friendly to an oddly uncomfortable degree akin to the 2016 games, like they shimmed down a lot of his personality and snark in exchange of making him really really nice no matter what, he didn't feel like a humbled hero who's ego went down overtime, but rather just somebody who's far more generic past his insecurities. The ending was super unsatisfying to me, not only because of a giant robot being the final boss again from 3 but also cause i felt they hyped up British nefarious so much and then they beat him way too easily. This man conquered his galaxy, every single other hero, capable person and governmental force could not stop him and then our heroes take them down without any ace up their sleeve and simply gets beaten by brute force rather than something more impactful. It feels like despite everything rift did, how ambitious it is, how insanely impressive it is in almost every aspect, it sort of plays it a lil safe. Also I didn't find the game too funny but i don't really mind that since the original ps2 trilogy was full of hit or miss jokes anyway, it helps to create a contrasting tone with danger as long as the humor doesn't interrupt the pace.
Eh considering this was a B-team project (yes I'm serious) made in 3 years I can easily overlook the few underwhelming aspects. Also until I'm experiencing something that's just as technically impressive as this game while being really fun to play I'll continue to so. Especially for this generation I *refuse* to spend $60+ on a game that doesn't make me think "wow" at least once with either the mechanics, visuals, attention to detail and features.
I disagree heavily with most criticisms in this video and believe this game is the best in the series. But I really respect this video and the time you took to make it. You obviously care a lot about this series and even though i find your serious tone weirdly misplaced I enjoyed this review a lot. Edit:Anyways this game is amazing like holy shit woah knack 2 is still better though
One thing that bothered me about this game is how they just kinda yeet ratchet out of the climax of the game, it would have been nice too see ratchet and rivet fighting nefarious together, I get that it's her emotional climax, but that doesn't necessitate ratchets removal as an agent in the story, it has smackings of the insecurities of feminist writing, in that it would somehow diminish rivet if she needed help, which is untrue Also the weapon balancing is really bad
For the dimensionator: it was more used more as a teleporter because traveling between dimensions requires specific cordinates, something they only had at the very end of the game with the map. As for the other questions about Rivet's dimension: 1. Rift apart follows the remake's timeline, not the original's. 2. Rivet did not grow up on Veldin. 3. Rivet not being on Veldin means she was not there to rescue kit or stop Drek. Quark betrays the galactic rangers. Nefarious betrays Drek and Quark. Nefarious either gets accidentally or intentionally turned into a robot. Nefarious begins his galactic conquest.
This game is very forgettable man like Ratchet man you already met another lombax wtf azimuth and the personality is shit still acting like he doesn’t know anything for gods sake Ratchet was a commander for like 10 years or more he even says it’s been a while since I done this he should have way more better combat then rivit he should’ve beat both nefarious because he’s done it plenty of times Rivet should not been able to beat nefarious
Wel you got to realize this is a new writing staff they don’t really know the full lore of the franchise plus they wanted this game to be very accessible to both old and new comers
Rift Apart is the Worst R&C ever!!! 90% of Rivet and 10% of Ratchet. had to buy ps3 again to play a crack in time, tools of destruction, into the nexus, quest for booty and the 20th anniversary ps3
@@diesakuma367 Rift Apart reminds me of open world type games . you all over the place doing Nothing. 2016 RaC was alright wish insomniac had added 5 more planets to the game.
@@givehonestanswer5508 You are right On topic Of RA Also the OST and atmosphere is gone. Plot very predictable, characters predictable I think This game would be better if Rivet was more cruel even than Rachet in the 1st game It would make sense even since of what emperror nefarious done,her arm etc. Just think about it. Rachet encounters Rivet and realizes how much of an asshole he really was etc. Also the gameplay It improved it is more hectic but TOO MANY WEAPONS The deadlocked upgrades and weapon balance was the best IMO Also the double jump strafing was better. I dont know what other part should be fixed or removed and frankly I could care less about this game. The only good RaC games for me are 1,2,3,deadlocked,ACIT and into the nexus Honestly I stop caring about rachet and clank story after TOD. But ACIT and nexus brought me hope. But 2016 and RA ruined it for me. Right now Im just indifferent about this franchise.
@@diesakuma367 Agree with you 2016 RaC is bad and RA . in my personal opinion Deadlock is the only game I hated along with Sizematters. just as you I also liked RC 1 2,3, and ToD, ACIT, Into the Nexus, Quest for Booty short but I like it. Bought ps3 again to play those games.
it was a meh game to me , really the only thing i have AGAINST IT IS SOME OF THE PUZZLES WITH CLANK , AND JUST NOT ENOUGH IN DEPTH GROWING and charetor development with one another , and a few other cavorts . versus the originals on the ps1 ps2 and ps3 days . over all i give the game a 5 out of 10, as for meh OK just not as i like games to be like ff7 remake . and most games today are just so and to tamed , because of the kids , and other parents and triggers others get from one or a few things that they do not agree with when it comes to mature to adult rated games.
Wow I used to watch "the Golden bolt" that talked about the game rift apart and he said how it's the best by far but then I found out your channel and it felt like he was being paid to say all the good stuff about that game, thank God corporate haven't seized you yet so youare still trustworthy for now 😂
Yeah having a different opinion than you means he was paid off. He also never said it was the best Ratchet game by far and explained what “the strongest Ratchet game” meant in a qna video on his second channel. And I say this as someone who thinks Rift Apart definitely isn’t the best game in the series, mostly because of its story.
1:10:30 “Make comment on capitalism…” Are you serious? Forced labour under an authoritarian leader is capitalism to you? Sounds more like Stalinism to me. Seriously, why do so many people within the R&C fandom have this need to insert their personal political beliefs into the games? At best, the original trilogy of games were a tongue-in-cheek poke at consumerism and corporatism. The way you guys put it, you make them out to be _The Communist Manifesto_ in interactive format.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
One problem I have with this game that I haven’t seen anyone bring up is that the writers seem so eager to show us that ratchet and clank are friends to the point where it’s overly done and doesn’t feel natural imo. The ps2 games didn’t feel the need to beat you over the head that they’re friends you could tell by the interactions. These newer games just make the dynamic feel corny to me.
Agreed I found a lot in this game was overdone if I'm honest and it's the things that are alien to me as a OG fan a few of which are the bombastic music, the overly emotional cutscenes, and as you said excessive reminders of certain things one being the relationship between the main characters
Another thing that I feel like they beat over your head is that Ratchet is a Lombax thing. The PS2 games barely mention it (I remember Helga mentioned it in UYA during the training course) but from ToD onwards they made it their duty to remind you he’s a Lombax every other sentence lol.
Personally, i like the way it works :) i come from growing up on ACiT though, so take this as you will. I really fuckin’ love how unabashed Rift Apart is with being loving, it feels like a natural progression to the love and loss experienced throughout the future saga. If I experienced the loss that was Alister to Ratchet, or the loss that was Ratchet, literally dying, for Clank, itd be HARD to not cherish people. In the PS2 games , they were a lot younger, love went without saying of course, but also I think it never occured that they wanted to say it. I think that as they grow, their love does too. Rift apart feels natural to me in that way :)
"Corny" is the best word to describe this game's tone
Jesus, this 2.5 hour just flew by! I can't believe that a video of this high quality comes from such a small channel.
Just goes to show you don't need millions of subscribers to make good, high-quality content.
1:26:39
In the Insomniac Museum back in Crack, they actually showed off an old concept for Tools which was removing the helmet.
I am glad they didn't remove it.
Any more info / pics on that?
As a wiseman once said “You can love something, but still wish it was better” -The Golden Bolt
I agree with your points on the story. While the game is technically full length, it only just barely reaches that mark, and only if you pull off all the side content along with the main narrative. So narratively, there's just not enough time to tell the story that it wants to tell. It's similar to Into the Nexus in that regard, where it feels there was meant to be a larger story here, but huge chunks had to be torn out for one reason or another.
In the case of Nexus, it was in part due to Full Frontal Assault being such a huge bomb that Sony slashed the budget and wanted a smaller game. For Rift Apart, it feels like it's due to rewrites. Sam Maggs was the original lead writer, and I think someone else, first name was Lauren, came in as another lead writer afterwards.
So many scenes in the trailers were changed or reworked in the final product, and some sources I know hinted at things that were supposedly there, but didn't end up in the final product. And I can't not believe those since they were right about so much else in terms of character specifics. Just makes you wonder what happened during development.
Lauren Mee. She became senior writer after Maggs iirc.
I wouldn’t even say what’s there writing wise is bad just feels like it’s stretching itself kinda thin.
@@bigpenny8223 Sam Maggs is a terrible writer, she's the one responsible for the God awful Mary Jane sections in marvels spider man, I assume she's responsible for the terrible pacing as well, rivet is a terribly written character and if it wasn't for the amazing voice acting of Jennifer Hale she would have been completely unlikable
Wow, this was honestly pretty amazing to watch. Never really thought i would ever watch a video on someone’s views and opinions on a game and leave with a mental impact. And the sheer deminure you had through the whole thing was incredible. The emotions felt through it all were so genuine, the pure joy in the things you loved to blunt discontent to what seemed off or felt missing. This was more than just a video of your likes and dislikes to a video game, this was a whole documentary on your expressive opinions and emotions towards not only the game, but the series as a whole and the direction it’s going. I, too, felt the exclusions of even mentioning things like Tachion or Azimuth to be rather off, and do hope that if another game may come in the future, even if it’s the last of the series, that they bring up the things left open in the story and finally adress the plot holes from the later games.
Also, i love the refreshingly honest opinions you had on this, even the stuff that was negative, it’s honestly something that you just don’t see to often nowadays, instead trying to act more positive and blind to the obvious to get on the higher-up’s good side so they’d get something out of it.
And yeah, i know it’s just a game you’re talking about, but i’ve seen so much of the stuff i’ve said that somethings i feels disengenuous.
I do love what you’re doing, never change how you see fit on demand and keep doing what you enjoy.
He's going to talk about the new Ratchet game, it will probably be an hour long at most
(Over 2 hours)
...holy shit
5:21 Rift Apart is the sequel to Into the Nexus, considering the Dimensionator is a big part of the plot. Into the Nexus is the sequel to A Crack in Time.
I think the plot hole with regards to the lombaxes escaping their dimension can be explained by the idea that the lombaxes evacuated lombaxes from *every* dimension, not just their own. That includes Rivets.
As a newcomer to the series, I completely see where you're coming from and would love them to take greater story risks in future games.
"A song, a video, a show, a film, a game is only ever too long or too much when you misconstrue playing it to be the point"
Wow. This is why I've never complained about something being too long as a bad thing. Cause if the main reason you interact with a work of art is to just get it over with then you may as well not even bother as you're completely missing the point to begin with.
It's possible for something to be too long due to being dragged out you know.
@@jojonta2119 and because you can feel it being "padded" is why it affects it as a piece of art. I've had this problem with various films and games.
@@jojonta2119 it's kinda like how my dad thinks breaking bad is too slow and I have disagreeed saying it needs to be slow and has the perfect pace and it's a shame that the style wasn't for him. But the slow pace and the length didn't harm it as art just because it caused him to not stick with it.
A choosen length or pace isn't inherently bad or good, it's dependent on what something needs to do because of what it's trying to be.
2:08:45 Yes! Someone finally said it! Also, Talwyn really needs character development. I know she isn’t one of the greatest characters in the games, in fact, I think she was done dirty. She didn’t really appear much in the Future Saga and was most of the times absented, and pretty useless (except in ToD a little bit and in the comics). But I still think she could have been a better character, if she was well written. And even, if she barely is a one or doesn’t really serves purpose to the story,
she had potential to be an interesting and a great character…
1:52:32 ok that transition was cool as hell
These videos are so in depth, its hard not to watch the whole thing. The rachet videos in particular have given me such a different perspective on a series I really enjoy. Great work.
I'm really glad I stumbled upon this review after watching some others. Yours was the slightly ranting but most encompassing and genuine review of them all. I love how you discussed the consequences about choosing to ignore a large part of the future series while still being open minded to further development. The series has been part of my life for a long time now too and so I was getting worried I would never find someone who talked about the game in a way that resonated with me deeply. The only statement I would disagree with is the "this game is kind" one, I would like some more edge and natural quirkiness to our 4 main characters that could truly make them feel distinct while sharing core values such as justice and compassion. Aside from that, even if you feel you're being melodramatic, don't sweat it! Keep on doing what you do best :)
LET’S GOOO I thought it might be years before your Rift Apart review!!
I'm impressed. You are able to not only praise but give proper criticism without holding back.
Great Critique!
another brilliantly poignant essay, you genuinely inspire me in the best ways possible. Keep doing you.
I love the game but Ratchet feels a little off character, he still has his ps4/movie boyish personality.
He could have been more snarky and "quippier" but he's still a bit better than what he was in the movie.
Also Rivet Mentions meeting Angela in dialogue in Zordoom prison, despite her apparently not meeting another lombax.
🤷♂️
I agree with what they did with Ratchet. He needs to get his balls back.
@@KingTai64 I think they were trying to make him more mature and less like an edgy teen, but somehow made him less mature by always having him be so chill and nice with everyone, plus a bit whiney.
I hope insomniac listen to feedback.
@@MinisterofTinyHeads that's probably right. But enjoying yourself and having an adventure by being a witty badass isn't considered immature by definition. But we live in a world where if you have fun, your a child.
I hope they make him more like Rivet. It's pretty funny, she has all the things that Ratchet USED to have back in Deadlocked. Really gets you thinking 🤔
@@KingTai64 yes he used to be such a badass in the old games, but he gradually got watered down.
The movie even made him a "nerd" even though he was the exact opposite in the original 🙄😒
Rift apart done a little better even though he was still very boyish.
Bring back badass edgy quippy Ratchet
Dang. I didn't think that was a problem
Kit only deserves the best things, 100% agree.
But something, very very subtle, that I picked up on is that Rivet and Kit aren't just counterparts to the main duo's dynamic, they're a flipped version of it in personality and function. Rivet is a character with Ratchet's edge and intensity but with Clank's sense of duty and greater good ideals over personal desires. Kit has Clank's (mostly) logical sense of thinking and supportive attitude but with Ratchet's energy, smart aleck sense of humor, and self driven ideals. If the final boss is any takeaway then Kit is now the heavy hitter to Rivet's more focused combat style whereas Clank supports Ratchet in movement and traversal without getting into combat much himself. Overall the two have a dynamic flipped from Ratchet and Clank and it's such a great parallel that it borders on poetic.
I never thought of that, and now I desperately want them to explore that in a sequel. Because that is an absolutely fascinating thing to see in a series that has been going on for as long as this franchise has.
Great video, in my opinion I thought the new RYNO was a little underwhelming, sometimes it would do massive damage like you said, but more often than not it seemed to take multiple shots just to take out some of the lower tier enemies. It almost seemed like the Blackhole Storm was supposed to be the RYNO for this game because of how similar it is to previous RYNOs, but for some reason the devs changed their mind
I think the RYNO needing more shots to kill weaker enemies was a bug since the latest patch addressed it at times not damaging enemies at all.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m going in
It's such a good day when you upload brother
Man, I have trouble expressing how well made your videos are. I couldn't sleep so I've just been enjoying these videos for hours.
At 5:24 Rift Apart is the Sequel to Into the Nexus( Into the Nexus was the Sequel to a Crack in Time).
Yo, bout to start watching the new ratchet vid, but before I do, I just wanna say that I love the way you do thumbnails. The way you combine the words with the colours is so well done. It’s as though the words convey a tone for the video. Just wanna say I love it.
Gotta agree with the story being so inconsistent. Its so frustrating seeing the gameplay constantly evolving to amazing heights yet the story just never being able to keep itself consistent ever since the PS3 era
its kinda heartbreaking.
I saw the retrospective from the gold bolt, apparently the previous writer for tod left and tj fixman had to step in and had to rewrite at the best of his resources
Yeah it pisses me off how many things are retconned. I haven't played Rift apart, I do like the games after deadlocked but the first 4 have a charm and consistency that has not been replicated. Plus, it was so easy to not have events contradict each other. Also they kept the social commentary, but not the dark humor and clever jokes.
@@gabrielt4305 they didn’t retcon the first 4 games
I think I need the next game to try something completely different. Something a bit more pensive and slow-burn. Greater emphasis on exploration and movement. Combat should involve new melee-mechanics. And this might sound like heresy, but I think the model of having up to 20 weapons is getting a bit outdated. A smaller more focused line-up complimented by new combat mechanics would be great
Your questions about why this game seems so intent on ignoring ACiT have an answer, albeit a dumb one. Insomniac wanted this game to be a follow up for both longtime fans and those introduced through the 2016 game. But one, the series’ pre-existing canon had never become too complicated to be easily explained and understood by newcomers. This isn’t Kingdom Hearts. Two, Rift Apart still revolves around the dimensionator that was introduced in Tools and expanded on in Nexus. And three, attempting to make a game that acts as a sequel to a long-running series as well as a one-off game was always doomed to failure. They’re too opposed to one another to generate anything truly satisfying.
I think that is probably the most grounded reason and that does feel weird then why they have these fan service moments to the Future games all over the place without mentioning the events that drive Ratchet and Clank narratively in this game.
Like Ratchet's motivation for not wanting to meet the lombaxes being they might not be what he is expecting or that he doesn't think he can measure up as an engineer just rings a little hollow with no mention of Azimuth influencing said motivation. The cutscene where Ratchet feels that he failed his father by letting the Dimensionator fall into the wrong hands while looking at his own hands is a great character moment, but it doesn't feel like it connects with the rest of his character motivation as its never brought up again and we are immediately moved onto the next thing.
Or Cosmic Gary not mentioning Orvus or the Great Clock at all while looking up information about Clank was a weird omission.
I've watched (well, listened to) your complete series critique 3 times over, and so I'm incredibly excited to watch this, once I get a chance to play it for myself. I'm avoiding all spoilers, but I'm sure this is a quality video as usual Micah :)
Considering how long this series has been going, I've been wondering if at some point we will get a villain that takes advantage of all of that. A villain who has taken notice of Ratchet, studied his history and adventures, taken loads of data to form some sort of a plan that is inspired by how he works. A sort of a villain that forces him to reflect upon everything until now, showing another perspective, a viewpoint to see him from. A mask of Ratchet that he himself isn't fully aware of. Or at least at this point that seems like a good way to increase the stakes without going necessarily too far into the ridiculous side of things, like a what-if reality. Introspection without having to pull a Nega-Ratchet or something, sort of naturally bringing up the edge that Ratchet has lost over the years in the context of him having changed as a person, only paying attention to this without necessarily starting the convo about whether the old or new Ratchet is better. This is all of course assuming the writers can execute such ideas in a nuanced manner.
You want that kind of attempt at deep storytelling with consistently high quality visuals and animation while also being a satisfying length with several new mechanics and features for the actual you know *game?*
Might as well just write your own fan fiction at this point because I'll tell you right now outside of the lombax plot stuff the only main things they'll address in a sequel is an expanded arena, unique gameplay mechanics between Ratchet and Rivet, better enemy variety and a new attempt at an weapon upgrade system.
@@TerrorOfTalos Deep? This isn't deep, this is just having some level of quality. All the building blocks for even setting it up is already there. All they'd need is just better writing and they should be able to pull it off. Even Uncharted 4 or maybe even Crack in Time level writing would be enough for executing this. I'm not asking for Silent Hill 2 levels of nuance. Though I do miss the Futurama humor of the ps2 era. Modern era's humor is quite weak even for saturday morning cartoon standards.
And for the game itself I don't see a reason to really change the mechanics much at all. Just create better enemy variety and designs that build upon what Rift Apart setup and gameplaywise it'd be fine. Rift Apart is a pretty good foundation to build upon. All that's missing now is better writing.
I also don't know why you made this about the rest of the game when I'm discussing an overall plot without specific story progression events, but what ever.
@@Arexion5293 Okay well considering the direction they're going the easiest thing to do would be bringing tachyon back and then build a plot about the lombax civilization around that, I can't see them creating a *new* main villain that actually fits what the series is trying to do now this late. Also Insomniac has always built the narrative around the gameplay and not vice versa, maybe if they had more production time they can pull something interesting off and RAs foundation is definitely a plus for that.
RAs humor may be hit and miss compared to most previous games but outside of some merely servicable qwark lines 2016s humor was all miss so at least it's a huge step up from that. Since a sequel will come no earlier than 2026 having more enemy variety with a couple minor changes just won't be enough, one of the reasons RA was so praised (besides the visuals and technical aspects) were for the polished mechanics while having consistently fun action and gameplay variety which most people haven't experienced before outside of only playing 2016, so in another 4 years most people will have a clear idea of what RaC is conceptually capable of and Insomniac has to do more than having a few more enemy types and several more new weapons next time.
Rift Apart is the very 1st game I played on the PS5 after I picked mine up around some time mid to late last year alongside Resi 8 and I absolutely loved the way the game handled.
I did have to adjust some controls to make it easier for me to play ( specifically changing the swingshot from L1 to Circle and the boost boots from pump to hold) but other than that the game felt fantastic to experience and I can't wait to see what comes next
1:48:44 That Lorb wasnt meant to be funny, it was meant to explain exactly what happened with the Dimensionator. It was first made by the Lombaxes as a gun, but Mags got tired of using it as a gun, so he found a way to make it into a helmet instead. In between then and the events of the Future games, the helmet fell into the hands of Emperor Tachyon (spelling?) (I'm not 100% sure how the Dimensionator was passed down, i never had a PS3 to play the Future series on, so i'm unaware of that part). During the final battle of Into the Nexus, the Dimensionator helmet was damaged, so Clank spent some time remaking it. From his knowledge of Phase Quartz, and knowing it was on Blizar Prime, we can assume he did more research into how to properly construct the device and learned that it was originally a gun, not a helmet. In Rivet's dimension, we know that the Lombaxes actually hid blueprints to making this device, and it was originally a gun, so we can assume that Ratchet's dimension had blueprints of a gun hidden somewhere as well, and i'm sure Clank was able to pull some favors to find them. But most of this is speculation, so who knows...
Loved it! CiT and the future saga being largely ignored kind of upset me too. I think most of your opinions I share too. Your analysis on the themes of the game were very thought out and I agree completely. I also tend to agree with the feeling that I've taken this franchise seriously for the past 20 years and I'm confused as to why Insomniac doesn't bite the bullet and actually create an overarching story that attempts more than a standard marvel/kids movie.
Really good video, as a long time fan of the series as well, I understand how you feel with both liking RA but also being deeply frustrated at it's refusal to answer any long standing franchise questions and instead just asks a whole lot of new ones. I recall the writer Lauren Mee and director Mike Daly saying in an interview that they purposely cut corners in the writing with the lore baggage to reestablish the fundementals of the franchise and characters because its been so long since a new story. Hopefully that means they will go into more depth with the inevitable sequel, one dealing with Ratchet finally going to the lombax dimension would pretty much make it unavoidable to talk about the ps3 games events.
The whole thing with Emperor Nefarious and Tachyon you talked about at 1:52:32 I think can be explained with the space pirates. The IRIS computer in TOD said that the pirates were created by Tachyon when he was a child to gather resources to build his empire and after they completed their task, he abandoned them, leaving them to pillage by their own volition around the galaxy. Since the pirates in both Rivets and Ratchets dimensions are almost the exact same, it seems likely they would have been made by a counterpart of Tachyon. Emperor N's bio says he defeated all heroes and villains alike that attempted to oppose him like Drek, so it really looks like he dealt with his dimension's Tachyon when he was young before he could become a bigger threat, but still left the pirates behind afterwards. I dont think the dimensions should be treated as alt timelines either, at least not Ratchet's and Rivet's. One isn't really an offshoot of the other but they do share a lot of the same things.
Also there wouldnt be a Great Clock in Rivet's dimension or zoni/orvus because they specifically come from a different dimension (The Zoni Dimension) and came to Ratchet's, so they werent a naturally occuring factor in Ratchet's dimension theyre an outside element, where they shared the ability to time travel with the Fongoids, leading them to misuse it and requiring the Great Clock to be build to maintain temporal normality in the universe.
Nice Theory
Very high quality,refreshing, honest video,Great Job on this
i appreciate u doing this my man. i thoroughly enjoyed it.
I’m not sure why Insomniac didn’t take an approach similar to DMC 5 or Mass Effect 2 (PS3 edition). DMC 5 has a clever recap for those who’ve never played DMC 1 through 4 at the title screen. When Mass Effect 2 was first released on PS3 the first game wasn’t available on PS3 yet, so Bioware put in a interactive comic in Mass Effect 2 that let players experience a summarized version of the first game and make the more important choices that effected the overarching plot. Insomniac could’ve easily put in an animated slideshow recapping the Future series and Into The Nexus for new players instead of the half-assed attempt of trying to recap and draw nostalgia from a parade set piece. The easter eggs for other PlayStation games is all good and fun, but Astro’s Playroom was designed for that, Ratchet and Clank doesn’t need to be used for this purpose. Rift Apart suffered too much from being a “showcase game” instead of focusing on a more coherent experience that felt like a nice continuance of previous games.
The parade was also meant act as a gameplay tutorial, gameplay *always* comes first and I've yet read good argument otherwise unless you want a literal cutscene simulator. Also yeah no shit it was supposed to be a showpiece game but you can't say they didn't at least try to make a competent story and polished game around it.
Having now beat the game and Platinumed it, I am going back and replaying the whole Series on my PS3 again (since I'm on Holidays it's perfect timing 😁) and I didn't even realise even how HALF the Planets in Rift Apart are Planets we visited in Tools & Crack, Kaden (Ratchets Dad) is mentioned in those Audio Logs (the Sphere Collectables) Mark Mothersbaugh doing the music explains why it was SO GOOD (he did Crash and Jak for Naughty Dog, more linking between Insomniac and Naughty Dog haha) and shit it even links Sly and Jak as being alternative Dimensions within the same Universe which as a PlayStation Fan since the PS1 made me crack a fat 👍 🤣
Dude, I hope you´re still reading comments, because I want you to know how much I enjoyed this video. Your honesty and knowledge had me really invested in listening to what you had to say. Your thoughts and views on all the topics were so deep and logical. You´re not a simple observer, you think beyond the obvious. I also like your style of obviously having a script, but not planning every word so you can really express yourself. You´re awesome!
I haven´t played the game myself, but I can agree with you on so many points: yeah, the game looks great, everyone can see that. But the emotion is so real. The story might not be the greatest, but the story is delivered excellently and with so much fell and emotion. It begins with great writing and character interaction and doesn´t end with voice acting. All the little details in the character animations help sell the dialouge very well. These subtle movements of eyelids, ears, tail (best seen in the Lombaxes) fill the characters with so much life and emotion. You can tell that there were many different animators, but they all did a phenomenal job. The OST is also fantastic and it´s interesting to see all the different themes and motifs reappearing throughout the game. Sometimes I´m on the verge of tears listening to specific tracks, because they´re 1. beautiful and 2. carry the weight of the emotion of the cinematic/scene they appeared alongside with.
Subscribed! Excellent video!!
On the subject of how the RaC multiverse works and the questions of "Are there lombaxes in other dimensions with Dimensionators of their own?" and "Are there an infinite number of universes where lombaxes use a Dimensionator to escape to another dimension?" A very important factor people need to take note of is the Surinox Shard from the 6 issue comic series. They explained in this that the shard is a piece of the Surinox comet, a near impossibly rare, transdimensional celestial entity that traveled through realities. The Surinox shard that fell on Fastoon hundreds of years ago was key to the lombaxes building the Dimensionator in the war with the Cragmites. Basically, lombaxes in other dimensions would not have the capability to build a Dimensionator without access to a piece of the comet and the odds of them finding one would be infinitesimal. There's some more info on the shard at the wiki if anyone wants to know ratchetandclank.fandom.com/wiki/Surinox_Shard
Maybe they Can if it ended up in Another Dimension
I really feel like Rivet is, narratively, an attempt to explore the first games Ratchet again. She's cynical and aggressive in the same way he was, but a little softer and cooled down since she has been with other people for a while.
PS5 or not, but I find it stunning to see, how good these PS3 Games still look. I remember watching the Tools of Destruction trailer in early 2007 and I was creaming my pants on its 480p RUclips glory. Having been with the franchise since day 1 it surely was an amazing graphical upgrade. My favourites will be always. the first 3 games though
From the og 3 the 2nd one was the one with the most variety of weapons, most diverse maps, enemies and puzzles and also I think gladiator is underrated
My hope is that now that insomniac have their game mechanics, assets and basis for story in place, they’ll have more time to actually implement lore and create a more expansive story and further develop their characters (including ratchet and clank) in the next intallment.
I dont know, the Game already reuses assets and mechanics, not only from 2016, also from ToD, even all for one.
@@ciligonzalez2897 it would use designs and key art from old games for sure but I dont know how much that correlates when they say it’s “built from the ground up for the PS5”.
@@ciligonzalez2897 2016 was used as a base obviously but everything else was either created or recreated from the ground up. That's like saying 2016 used assets from the original game from 2002, make it make sense.
@@TerrorOfTalos not sure about that being true for this Game. Those assets look the same to me, from Nexus and A4O.
@@ciligonzalez2897 What specific assets are you even referring to? Everything from the PS3 era is either recreated from scratch (goons-4-less, robot pirates, multiple returning planets) or they used 2016 as a base for some characters (skid, qwark, ratchet, clank) and enemies like sand sharks, amoeboids and snappers but polished their models and animations. The game does reuse assets on different planets at times but those are already new and were specifically made for RA.
This is such an underrated video. It would be really beneficial if more people or even insomniac could see this. You earned a sub sir!
Stumbled across this video after hard binging on some pretty venomous material declaring the insurmountable excellence of the PS2 era over everything thereafter, and I'm absolutely blown away. I love the music of this video; I love the pacing; the thoughtfulness behind the reflecting voice; I love how you pose the characters in such a way that makes their endearing yet noirish melancholy shine through, and take us through gorgeous environments on foot at walking pace in addition to showing your command over the core mechanics. When I actually first played this game, as a diehard fan of the PS2 era and absoolutely nothing after, I was so disappointed that it had gone further down the route of Pixar-esque child-friendly animation rather than the abrasive, snarky, anti-capitalist-but-who-actually-cares approach of the earliest games. Yet your enthusiasm for the new characters ("she's so *kind*") and love for the sheer human effort and care that has gone into this title - as well as the entire series - is honestly humbling. I'll never see a game, nor possibly any other piece of art, without hearing a little echo of this video's uncynical voice, decentring me from my own ideas of what I want it to be and highlighting the journey taken through each work of art through many creative stages to reach something whole, coherent, flawed, and different in each separate iteration. I love the bite of the closing remarks, too - a little tough love, and a call to return to the emotional highs that a series with this much emotional (as well as literal) firepower should absolutely be aiming for. Love it, love you, great job.
I'm pretty sure in the end scene they're heading to Zurkie's cuz to my understanding the Lombaxes across multiple dimensions, they would have no idea where to look. It would be a whole game based off that, not a short, cute epilogue that is better left unsaid, since it's just a good time with friends, no need to document that unless something significant happens.
1:53:00 I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this. From what we know, the Lombaxes escaped Ratchet's dimension (let's say Dim. A.) to flee to the Lombax Dimension (Dim. L.). In Rift apart, we learn that Rivet's dimension (Dim. B) ALSO had Lombaxes fleeing to Dim L. This alone would imply that every dimension (with living Lombaxes) would have Lombaxes (presumably) trying to escape to Dim L, so you could hypothetically have infinite Lombaxes going to Dim L. Now, in Dim B, we learn a few things from the Lorbs, 1. Dim B had Kaden as well as Dim A, which MIGHT be an inconsistency, ORRRRRR Maybe Kaden is Rivet's father in this dimension, since Ratchet and Rivet are basically counterparts, possibly their dad is his own counterpart? (does that mean there's at least 2 Kadens in Dim L? Weird...), another thing we learned from the lorbs is the Dimensionator, in Dim B, was made from a gun into a helmet, which we can assume also happened in Dim A, since it was a helmet originally in it's debut. We also learned, on Savali that the Dimensionator's blueprints were hidden there, so that would mean 1 of 2 things, 1. Dim B Lombaxes hid the stuff on the planet that had the most dimensional significance, or 2. Dim A Lombaxes for some reason left the stuff on this dimension, instead of on their home dimension.
Another thing we learn from the game in that The Plumber is Gary's father, and that he has a great relationship with Ratchet and Clank... How would Dim B's Plumber know R&C? unless Dim B's Gary is actually from Dim A, and he somehow got transported to Dim B, but that seems far-fetched...
Not only did Ratchet find another lombax, not only did he find another *female* lombax, but he found another SHINY lombax! He must be super lucky. (The first shiny was Alister from crack in time) lol
My logic on the lombax lore is they come from ratchets dimention and the first place they managed to travel to another dimention is the rift apart level so they make that their kinda vantage point to discover the other dimentions and as is stated in a lorb they are spread out in manny dimentions 1 whitch has alot of them and rivet is just a lomaxes daughter that lived in rivets dimention so maby most of their dimentions have counterparts while in reality ratchet and rivet are just alike etchother in some ways
Btw sorry for some shit english and i hope it made anny sence
And while i agree whit alot of your oppinions acid was a thirs game in a trioligy so i feel if there comes games afther ra i feel it should not be afraid to tell a story fully
Also i think of rift apart as the new tod continues the older games but is a carefull new start
Great review! I really enjoyed the game as I love Platformers, and haven't played a R&C game since the PS2 Era. The game did feel on the bland side at times and the dialogue did feel cringey.
I hope this is not the last game from this great saga
17:05 funny, I feel the same way when I see Rivet.
What's funny is you can run a slow 8x slower SSD with this game and the levels still load fine without stutters.
It's more about combining SSD tech with the PS5s hardware and if anything the game is really well optimized, they must've spent months on that aspect alone.
This makes me curious as to how Insomniac would react to this
They watch almost every video ratchet and clank related, at least they used to
Well, An Insomniac Discord mod posted a link to this video so I hope they will see it
They are now corporate drones, Sony tells them what to do now.
I doubt they will listen to the little man anymore.
Considering how involved they are with their games it wouldn't surprise me if they have seen it.
And this is why i believe that rift apart is a sequel to the 2016 game/ remake era and not a continuation of the future series. 1:57:50
They ignor stuff from the future series just like what happened with the classic era.
This is After the Future Games i think by Several Years
What a beautiful peice of art. I agree with so much of this and relate to so much of it so closely. Thank you for articulating this, and sharing it. Mwah! Mwah!
I find it funny how when you are showcasing the Drillhound Ratchet and Rivet's faces look unamused. Nice detail!
I'm hoping for a Sequel on the level of A Crack In Time... To be fair I think this would have been in production a while before their Acquisition so I hope that's the reason it was not as long or in depth/risk taking as you, and many of us long time (PS2 Era onwards) fans had hoped for 🤷♂️ looking forward to what's next and hopefully this isn't all we get this Generation like with R&C 2016 last Gen 🤞
It was in production since early 2019 so yes before the acquisition. Also outside of story, clank puzzles and arena RA is either at least on par or superior to ACiT if we take off the goggles.
@@TerrorOfTalos ACiT was never my favourite (don't have goggles for it, probably just swept up in it being "The Best" as that's what is often thrown around) personally was never a fan of Clank Segments and Arena Combat so while they may be super refined and stuff the most compelling and important part for me are the Regular Levels/Planets which are lacking comparatively to older entries 🤷♂️
@@MrRhysReviews Interesting because outside of the story it gets more praise for what it does different than necessarily better. On the topic of planets/levels are you referring to ACiT or RA because for the latter I can easily see savali and blizar prime on peoples top 10 RaC planets. ACiTs planet design though is mostly dull; exceptions being lumos (krell canyon) and zanifar, this was mostly a result of them already putting so much effort into the great clock puzzles and ship exploration while also also only having 9 to 10 months production time.
@@TerrorOfTalos I was just talking about NUMBER of Planets/Levels...
As for ACiT Comparison I was probably referring to the Open World/HUB Space Exploration with more than 10 Planets (like 20 or so like PS2 Era Ratchet) and the smaller Circular Planets as well, with Main and Side Missions... That would be the perfect R&C game.
@@MrRhysReviews Ah, yeah I'm hoping for them to bring back the ship exploration too but revamped with also realistically 10 brand new planets (remember games take a lot more resources now) with maybe half being open levels like savali and the other half being more linear but at least having a couple paths.
I do feel like this game is 2/3 of what was planned or made, sometimes it felt like it's going too fast and only later I've realized that it wasn't fast it's like it was built from pieces and some were lost on the way so it's like clicking through long video (*cough cough*). Game is good but underdeveloped story-wise.
I'm really trying, but after playing the ps2 games again this feels... hollow. I'm glad people like the games and the series is still relevant, but what I'm seeing isn't ratchet and clank. It's something else with the same name. It would be cool to see a return to the old narrative style with a deadlocked 2 or something. Just one more game where nobody cares about lombaxes.
Amazing thesis. MSc worthy..
Food for thought: what if in the sequel Ratchet and Rivet find the lombaxes, after they find them, the lombaxes somehow discover that Ratchet actually 'killed' Alistar. Atleast, they think he did.
The story then builds on the lombaxes (including Rivet(?) not trusting Ratchet. This makes way for Ratchet being able to 'save' his own kind. (Again).
Feel free to add your own twist to this thought! Please do!
What if the Lombaxes falls into a Civil War with one faction wanting to takeover entire galaxies and dimensions since the species are supposed to be the most advanced, and the other who simply opposes that
this shit got me emotional as hell, really is heartbreaking to see the franchise still kinda lost after all these years, still a solid comeback though.
I don't know single long running game series (besides maybe Mario) that hasn't lost its way at some point, it is what it is.
@@TerrorOfTalos thats the part that sucks
@@riley9485 I mean to be real with you all the series that I have any actual real attachment to are pretty much dead (exception being RaC of course). On some level I'm ok with that and after realizing that if RaC 2016 flopped something like RA could've potentially been on the back burner for a longer amount of time I'm more forgiving of any faults RA has because of the amount of good it introduced and refined to the fun but admittedly starting to get stale formula.
When people keep begging for sequels to dead series I have to really have to ask myself do they think a game they want can realistically live up to their expectations? Especially after so long, I don't think its possible and to my knowledge has never happened before.
@@TerrorOfTalos the series will be never be what it once was and realistically it should end soon, it's still good for another two or so games and then it should stop, RA was very fun and is amazing in its own right, the story is ok, it's just conflicted. Just sucks to see it happen to RaC.
It's not dead yet either, just past it's prime.
@@riley9485 Yeah the PS5 is definitely where the series will end as there's only so much left you can do with it now, I know this because they needed new tech to keep things fresh and I assume they'll leverage it even better by the mid point of the gen and could probably even make RA look outdated somehow.
I'm just really hoping they have a good idea on what to do when the inevitable game focusing on the lombax dimension happens because that's a huge deal, one that has so much potential to payoff a lot that's happened in the series but also one that's really easy fuck up (don't think that'll happen though).
RA storyline might be a bit bad but at least is ain't bad like secret agent clank. Rivet herself is kinda abit bland but she does has some beautiful and sad moments I do feel related too. Her character arc is really interesting, I would wish they extended her character and make it a masterpiece.
Secret agent clank has the worst story in the series by far, even 2016s story is more competent than it and that's a damn movie tie-in game.
@@TerrorOfTalos it's basically everything wrong in some part of an RNC story and combine it to a big mess. Infact that game is actually canon to the mainline games is just awful and even remembering it exist just hurts my mind
@@TerrorOfTalos atleast size matters storyline try to be it's own thing even it just have the most goofy ahh momments ever but atleast I can tell it still try to follows the canon but secret agent clank felt like made by people who doesn't even know RNC and instead making shit up from limited stuff they saw
@@bruhford3954 No high impact game is canon and some intern from 5 years ago on twitter saying otherwise will never change that. Also size matters story is tolerable if you don't take it seriously in the slightest but the only way I'll get any enjoyment from secret agent clank is from watching a review shitting on it and there's several of those already.
@@TerrorOfTalos that's basically my problem, I don't mind if SM is canon but having SAC in the canon is like trying to make every dragon ball Z movie into the canon series
Absolutely adore this breakdown. Ive never seen a fan that shares my desire for rnc to add hack an slash and skill trees. I think ratchet could take inspiration from 4 games to be the perfect experience ive always wanted.
Doom eternal for the movement tech and weapon swapping. God of war for a more engaging mele combat system. Borderlands for its loot system gun manufacturers and elemental dmg system and finally destiny for its gun perk system and class system with special abilities.
I recently played Doom eternal and they made the meathook into what i always wanted the swingshot to do. I want ratchet to use his arsenal in more interesting ways. Insomniac made spiderman so i want the swingshot to work kinda like spideys webs in that i can hook off walls to gain height in combat and like the meathook and pull myself towards enemies.The quickswapping in doom is jus how i played ratchet but imagine weaving mele combos in the mix with ratchets amazing guns.
God of war had a simple combat system that really was fun to master and throwing the wrench feels like it was inspired by the axe in rift apart. I want the crouch button to comeback so you can do different mele attacks. Square is light r2 is heavy crouch light is a ranged and crouch heavy is a sweep aoe attack. Putting crouch back allows for movement tech controlled sideflips and you could slide when crouching or dodge so you have multiple ways to get outta danger or get in close for mele. You should be able to replace your wrench with a plasma whip or waloper or shredder claws or scropion flail or alisters wrench a lightsaber or rivets hammer which could be a heavy version of the wrench. The wrench should have multiple variations one that throws infinitely and you press a button and ratchet teleports it back to hand while one wrench throws out its end as a taser like the quest for booty one or one thats magnetized and locks on to guys when thrown etc. The shredder claws ranged attack could be the chopper or a boomerang and the whips would pull the enemy to you like blades of chaos. The wrench should level and unlock new combos and perks as it does.
I think ratchet could use a loot sytem to really up replayability. Borderlands and destiny both had flawed loot sytems but if you take the best of both ratchet could have a great system. Every weapon should have its own manufacturer like borderlands. Ratchet has gadgetron megacorp blarg industries vox grummelnet and tacheyon could have one as well. They could have unique traits like grummelnet are homemade scrapped together guns like sonic eruptor while vox are stylized high tech stuff blarg has organic alien tech gadgetron are retro quirky weapons. The weapons could have multiple rarities so each gun has a common up to legendary and like destiny there is only 1 version of the legendary. The higher rarities would get you access to more options of weapon perks and the golden one has every weapon perk option. The rareitanium tree needs to evolve to something like destinys perk system mixed with constucto mods. All guns should have like 20 different meaningfull upgrades randomized for different rareitys and golden can choose any. These would be elemental mods charge mods mini bombs or seeking misssles and differnt ammo types for turrets or agents etc stuff that improves how a weapon functions or changes its alternate fire mode and as i level up i get access to up to 10 of the perks so i can customize how my gun works and alpha mods should be a separate upgrade system where i can modify gun stats like ammo range rate of fire and stuff like that. Borderlands had a neat elemental dmg system and i want to customize my guns like in deadlocked. I want frost grenades and a frost lancer or shock grenades corrosive devastator or a plasma whip made of vines that does nature dmg. I think the 5 elements should be fire frost shock nature and nether. Enemy types could be weak to certain elements and have shields like destiny that could change what their weak too.
I always wanted a class system and coop for that matter and i like destinys 3 class system. Itd be nice to get more than jus 10 nanotech for leveling up that system desperatly needs an overhaul.For ratchet you got him as as engineer type he uses armor abilities and movement abilities with clank wrench skills can use gadgebots better than other classes etc. Rivet is like an assasian type class she gets upgrades to her movement with swingshot uses snipers and bladed weapons gets kit and has better dashing. And finally you got azimuth who is the commando hes tanky and skilled with explosives and guns and mele but doesnt have a robot on his back so he relies on hoverboots for movement. Like destiny all the classes could have ultimates ratchet turns into giant clank kit is a smaller more agile warbot for rivet and maybe allister drives his ship or something. One thing i want to make its way in are abilities on your armor kinda like size matters but improved. These abilities would make combat much more engaging and give you more options . Your armor abilities would have a separate resouce like battery that refills over time but gives you access to weapons in a different way. The tesla barrier would be an armor ability that doesnt use ammo or your weapon wheel its a recharging ability. Stuff like drone devices to block explosives zurkons n synthoids and even like flamethrower gauntlets or an electric slam, combat abilities that shape how you play. These would be tied to your armor and you use the arrows while in weapon quick select to quickly use em. They can have interesting applications like an armor set that lets you turn invisible or teleport or temporarily get a speed boost combat abilities that make enemies drop health and ammo or summon gadgebots or holoshileds. There could be different types of shields ones that shock nearby enemies an ones that make a fir explosion when deeted one sided or two sided holshields. These abilities let you either combo several together to like prevent falters speed up and heal for a reckless mele attack or combine a few to make your explosives more deadly and regenerate ammo or maybe you have a bunch of deffensive ones to help you snipe behind holoshields with gadgebots defending ya. They would make combat so much more engaging and rewarding.
"inspired by the axe in rift apart" my guy that wrench throw control scheme has been in the series since 2013, if anything GoW 2018 took from RaC.
Also all those fucking mechanics for a single game, are you insane? Goddamn not every game has to have a bunch of bullshit in it. The only thing I actually agree with is giving the wrench more utility but only outside combat.
@@TerrorOfTalos i cant explain how terribly wrong you are about the wrench. It has ALWAYS had a shitty controll scheme you are forgetting. A crack on time had the closest one since you could hoverboot and throw it but its range was still kinda low. Every previous game made you stand in fuckin place to throw it. Rift aparts throws further doesnt require you to stand still and goes way further.
@@TerrorOfTalos i dont think any of it is bullshit but you can do you man. You can simp rnc all you want but its a childrens game that said fuck you to its growing fans all we care about is money so were gonna remake the series for a new 5 year old audience and not try anything new cus we made GC like 20 years ago and well jus be lazy and copy that formula. I want real change to the series.
@@connoringram4948 Did you play Nexus or 2016? RAs aiming is most similar to those but with it's much more polished with a lower perspective but besides that the former 2 games let you throw your wrench while moving, also when you sprint in RA the wrench throw works like ACiTs which is pretty cool.
I would say "First", but I'm not a degenerate. Looking forward to this vid. Loved the Arkham Knight one you put out a while back. Keep up the good work.
You just said it though
i dont really get the idea that people are making this game out to be very short compared to crack in time they both almost the same length on how long to beat
They’re both pretty short, they just make up for it by having more side quests and a compelling story crack in time especially
What's the song at 1h22?
That particular track is Laniakea by Yehezkel Raz - ruclips.net/video/qHbuRwBE4CY/видео.html
A here's the full playlist if you're after that too - ruclips.net/p/PLVjiZyP4zfhRIW7IR0gX4ysZN3dlmV96W
What does "If you misconstrue playing it to be the point" mean?
Great video
Beautiful.
I love this game, but I feel like the writers are unintentionally committing a pretty noticeable amount of character assassination that has unfortunately put the writers between a rock and a hard place by having Rift Apart take place in the reboot continuity. (Note: during the celebration areas and events that only took place in the reboot are mentioned like the Hall of Heroes and Ratchet saving the Hall of Heroes)
In the reboot, the aspects of Ratchet and Clank's personalities and relationships that resulted in them becoming the people that we grew up with never existed.
The Ratchet and Clank that spent several games going from polar opposites whose goals frequently clashed into opposites who understand and trust each other have been effectively and retroactively snuffed out for watered down generic good guys (Ratchet more so than Clank), which actively works against the strengths of Rift Apart's narrative. The relationship between Rivet and Kit is very clearly a callback to the relationship between Ratchet and Clank in the very first Ratchet and Clank game. The fact that neither Ratchet nor Clank decided to use their rocky start as an argument point to at least motivate Rivet and Kit to iron things out is a massive missed opportunity that would've very easily pulled the writers out of the corner the wrote themselves into towards the end of the game and would've created one the most powerful and reverential Ratchet and Clank moments.
The story even attempts to demonstrate how integral Ratchet and Clank's partnership is to their successes through the story, but goes out of it's way to make sure that Clank and Rivet are virtually obsolete in the gameplay department by effectively replacing or omitting the gameplay tools Clank initially brought to the table that allowed Ratchet to complete his missions in the first place.
The love is there, but it's very clear that the writers were trying to fix something that was never broken to begin with.
Fantastic video, btw.
Rift Apart doesn't happen in the 2016 reboot continuity, it takes place after ITN. The director Mike Daly said in multiple interviews that they wanted to return to the canon that they had been building for so many years. The 2016 game/movie are sensationalized, in-universe fictional accounts of the original R&C from 2002, as told by Qwark and he is an unreliable narrator. The reason why the parade floats at the start of RA have stuff from the 2016 game is because Qwark is the one who organized the festival as said in his bio. Also Qwark's bio doesnt mention anything bout him being the captain of the galactic rangers like in the 2016 movie/game, nor does Ratchet's mention Grimroth Razz, the guy that raised and mentored him on veldin in the reboot. The solana rangers from the reboot are basically just fictional characters in the canon R&C universe, like Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story lol
@@stevehenry7245
Now that you mention it. Yeah. I can believe that. I never really watch interviews, so missing a detail like that is entirely possible.
Thank you for clarifying.
But Ratchet and Clank’s personalities in Rift Apart are still quite undersold, most likely a result of returning writing staff from the reboot.
There’s a good chance most if not all of these discrepancies will be gone in the next game.
In regards to your comments on violence in games, I think art making you uncomfortable is often a good thing. The great film critic Pauline Cale called Straw Dogs a great fascist work of art. She was able to realize that it’s more interesting HOW art communicates rather than exactly WHAT it’s communicating. You can be uncomfortable or disagree with the real world implications of an abstraction like art while still holding up its value within the space it occupies and not falling into the pit of reactionary hysteria surrounding what it could potentially do.
This is a great, insightful essay, but I do have to ask - which James Bond is the one you're talking about when you mention the One Good One
I 100% agree with the upgrades and raritanium stuff kinda sucking. Personally I felt that the upgrades in this game felt the most consistently lacking out of pretty much the entire franchise. Especially the level 5 upgrades. Just rly boring and didn’t feel like huge changes.
54:03 HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT KNOW THIS COLOR SWAPPING FEATURE EXISTED IN MY 70 OR SO HOURS OF PLAYING IT.
1:16:00 I love what you have to say about the two mini-games/puzzle segments. Especially about how the fact that Kit rly should have had a different conceptualization of dimensional anomalies.
No space ship fighting
Rac1 Ps2 has Both Space ship Fighting And Giant Clank
Not bringing back david for the soundtrack was certainly a mistake. I dont get the appeal of rift aparts music it sounds like generic crappy marvel music
They basically nurtured ratchet
This'll be good. I have serious reservations about the pixar direction R&C has been heading in since the reboot, and I'm sure you'll touch on that
I never played the ps3 era of games but i did play the ps2 era, i really enjoyed rift's story except when it felt like ratchet was like too nice and friendly to an oddly uncomfortable degree akin to the 2016 games, like they shimmed down a lot of his personality and snark in exchange of making him really really nice no matter what, he didn't feel like a humbled hero who's ego went down overtime, but rather just somebody who's far more generic past his insecurities.
The ending was super unsatisfying to me, not only because of a giant robot being the final boss again from 3 but also cause i felt they hyped up British nefarious so much and then they beat him way too easily. This man conquered his galaxy, every single other hero, capable person and governmental force could not stop him and then our heroes take them down without any ace up their sleeve and simply gets beaten by brute force rather than something more impactful. It feels like despite everything rift did, how ambitious it is, how insanely impressive it is in almost every aspect, it sort of plays it a lil safe.
Also I didn't find the game too funny but i don't really mind that since the original ps2 trilogy was full of hit or miss jokes anyway, it helps to create a contrasting tone with danger as long as the humor doesn't interrupt the pace.
Eh considering this was a B-team project (yes I'm serious) made in 3 years I can easily overlook the few underwhelming aspects. Also until I'm experiencing something that's just as technically impressive as this game while being really fun to play I'll continue to so. Especially for this generation I *refuse* to spend $60+ on a game that doesn't make me think "wow" at least once with either the mechanics, visuals, attention to detail and features.
I disagree heavily with most criticisms in this video and believe this game is the best in the series. But I really respect this video and the time you took to make it. You obviously care a lot about this series and even though i find your serious tone weirdly misplaced I enjoyed this review a lot.
Edit:Anyways this game is amazing like holy shit woah knack 2 is still better though
One thing that bothered me about this game is how they just kinda yeet ratchet out of the climax of the game, it would have been nice too see ratchet and rivet fighting nefarious together, I get that it's her emotional climax, but that doesn't necessitate ratchets removal as an agent in the story, it has smackings of the insecurities of feminist writing, in that it would somehow diminish rivet if she needed help, which is untrue
Also the weapon balancing is really bad
For the dimensionator: it was more used more as a teleporter because traveling between dimensions requires specific cordinates, something they only had at the very end of the game with the map.
As for the other questions about Rivet's dimension:
1. Rift apart follows the remake's timeline, not the original's.
2. Rivet did not grow up on Veldin.
3. Rivet not being on Veldin means she was not there to rescue kit or stop Drek. Quark betrays the galactic rangers. Nefarious betrays Drek and Quark. Nefarious either gets accidentally or intentionally turned into a robot. Nefarious begins his galactic conquest.
Hello remember me
@1:59:00 that was an AWESOME edit
Rift Apart is TOO cinematic, little replay value, slowly walking through club nefarious isn't fun a 2nd time
It takes 2 minutes.
how much were you payed for this ign review?
Lack of mini bosses
I am playing a crack in time for the first time but god damn spoilers
No giant clank/rivet
No swimming
This game is very forgettable man like Ratchet man you already met another lombax wtf azimuth and the personality is shit still acting like he doesn’t know anything for gods sake Ratchet was a commander for like 10 years or more he even says it’s been a while since I done this he should have way more better combat then rivit he should’ve beat both nefarious because he’s done it plenty of times Rivet should not been able to beat nefarious
Even before Azimuth he met Angela In Rac Going Commando
Wel you got to realize this is a new writing staff they don’t really know the full lore of the franchise plus they wanted this game to be very accessible to both old and new comers
I bought a game called ratchet and clank don't shoehorn other playable characters on me
Sounds like Gow Ragnarok with us playing as Atreus.
@@hurricane7727Not at all, God of War has been about Atreus and Kratos since the first game in the Norse saga.
Rift Apart is the Worst R&C ever!!! 90% of Rivet and 10% of Ratchet. had to buy ps3 again to play a crack in time, tools of destruction, into the nexus, quest for booty and the 20th anniversary ps3
In my opinion RaC 2016 was the worst but I can see why some people this RA is the worst
This video kinda shows why
@@diesakuma367 Rift Apart reminds me of open world type games . you all over the place doing Nothing.
2016 RaC was alright wish insomniac had added 5 more planets to the game.
@@givehonestanswer5508 You are right
On topic Of RA
Also the OST and atmosphere is gone.
Plot very predictable, characters predictable
I think This game would be better if
Rivet was more cruel even than Rachet in the 1st game
It would make sense even since of what emperror nefarious done,her arm etc.
Just think about it.
Rachet encounters Rivet and realizes how much of an asshole he really was etc.
Also the gameplay
It improved it is more hectic but TOO MANY WEAPONS
The deadlocked upgrades and weapon balance was the best IMO
Also the double jump strafing was better.
I dont know what other part should be fixed or removed and frankly
I could care less about this game.
The only good RaC games for me are
1,2,3,deadlocked,ACIT and into the nexus
Honestly I stop caring about rachet and clank story after TOD.
But ACIT and nexus brought me hope.
But 2016 and RA ruined it for me.
Right now Im just indifferent about this franchise.
@@diesakuma367 Agree with you 2016 RaC is bad and RA . in my personal opinion Deadlock is the only game I hated along with Sizematters.
just as you I also liked RC 1 2,3, and ToD, ACIT, Into the Nexus, Quest for Booty short but I like it.
Bought ps3 again to play those games.
it was a meh game to me , really the only thing i have AGAINST IT IS SOME OF THE PUZZLES WITH CLANK , AND JUST NOT ENOUGH IN DEPTH GROWING and charetor development with one another , and a few other cavorts . versus the originals on the ps1 ps2 and ps3 days . over all i give the game a 5 out of 10, as for meh OK just not as i like games to be like ff7 remake . and most games today are just so and to tamed , because of the kids , and other parents and triggers others get from one or a few things that they do not agree with when it comes to mature to adult rated games.
bo burnham
Wow I used to watch "the Golden bolt" that talked about the game rift apart and he said how it's the best by far but then I found out your channel and it felt like he was being paid to say all the good stuff about that game, thank God corporate haven't seized you yet so youare still trustworthy for now 😂
Yeah having a different opinion than you means he was paid off. He also never said it was the best Ratchet game by far and explained what “the strongest Ratchet game” meant in a qna video on his second channel. And I say this as someone who thinks Rift Apart definitely isn’t the best game in the series, mostly because of its story.
1:10:30 “Make comment on capitalism…”
Are you serious? Forced labour under an authoritarian leader is capitalism to you? Sounds more like Stalinism to me.
Seriously, why do so many people within the R&C fandom have this need to insert their personal political beliefs into the games? At best, the original trilogy of games were a tongue-in-cheek poke at consumerism and corporatism. The way you guys put it, you make them out to be _The Communist Manifesto_ in interactive format.
The arena was garbage 🗑
Crack🥴