the ps4 ratchet and clank game is kind of a weird adaptation, not in the "WOW WERE THEY ON DRUUUUUGS" weird or the "lets make a nightmare before xmas dmc clone" weird (this owns though) but like, in the sense of that i don't know what it is, it's a remake for one, of the ps2 original, but not really because it's much more of an original game and only really follows a few level designs and gameplay systems but also in that it's also an adaptation of a movie, itself based loosly on the game but it's also not really an adaptation of that because of how different it is and that even there it basically doesn't adapt any of the movies scenes outside of a few setpieces and levels and a few cutscenes. it's a lot all at once and i really like it, it's neat.

so i first played this version first, weirdly, i say that because usually i play originals long before remakes, it's how i prefer to do things, but during the pandemic i just ended up picking this up and beating it twice, i'm not even sure why i picked this one, i just did, it's a lesser experiance versus the original and i will get to why, i just figured this was worth mentioning since usually i don't do that. so in what ways is it a remake, well it does play very similarly, has the same base, 3D platforming with fun gadgets and super fun whackey weapons, it's what sets the series apart from a lot of other platformers and this one does still nail both, you do miss a lot of gadgets from the original because of cut mechanics or levels but you have most of them, the real change and what i think helps make it feel more original is the weapon selection, you have very little of the first games roster here because it's mostly from the sequels so you have a far different combat loop overall, but it's still a fun one since the weapon selection is really fun with things like a zurkon npc to help you, the pixelizer that makes enemies blurry, the sheepinator that turns enemies to sheep or the groovitron that stuns them with a dance, you have your more powerful guns too like granades or shotguns and flamethrowers, but these funny guns are what make ratchet feel like ratchet to me, you also do have a melee with the rench too and it's probably the most fun melee in a 3D platformer outside of the warehog stages in sonic unleashed. there's some side stuff to do here beyond the combat too, hidden bolts to find that you can use to add things like invincibility and infinite ammo, a few cool open world levels that let you really explore and some side activities like the hoverboard racing or some grindrail sections, you also have a pretty cool card collecting system now where enemies can drop them and getting full sets can give you cool buffs, this was a lot of fun but it's very random, even over two playthroughs i don't think i got everything there was to get. the levels are also marginally similar, some have the same layoutish like veldin or novalis (bar a removed secret area or two), some are changed up a little but still mostly similar like metropolis. some levels are radically different though, like the robot factory which has a radically different vibe, the second veldin level which got changed for another deplanetiser level or batalia which is now a snow level (replacing the actual snow level which got cut) . i think it still plays very fun overall, the weapons are great, levels still fun and it's mostly still a very pretty game with some amazing looking levels, the tropical level and the new snow sections look especially amazing and the particle effects with the bolts is cool too, theres even some new systems thrown in there too to differenciate it more like a skill tree for weapons alongside the xp system it had before, think FF2 for the main comparison. it also captures mostly the same vibe with some of the humour and parts of its looks, mostly, ratchet has a new design that doesn't super gel well with that old game and rather than a retrofuture feel, much of the game feels more sleek and, for lack of a better word, generic future, it does lose some charm that way, but it's following the movie more than the game, so it makes sense it would be that way, it wants to tie into that movie so it would have to look the same.

the games story is told like a mix of how the old game did it, with some npcs to talk to and some normal ingame cutscenes(though many NPCs got cut which is a shame) , but it also channels some older licenced games like stuart little 2 by throwing in movie cutscenes sometimes, though with how different the story is and how it's told here, they sometimes make less sense than the original ones, but it's such a cute implementation that i don't even mind. the story itself though is a lot worse, the humour just doesn't hit as well as the original game, it's still good and i honestly do think much of the writing is super funny (especially when it makes fun of angry reviewers) and i think it's an overall good time, it's just not as good of a time as the original, you can tell some of that original spark is gone now that it has to be more in line with the humour of the movie and the general tone it sets, it feels less original and i do also think the relationship between the two is also a lot less developed here and they don't feel anywhere nearly as much like friends but it does handle this much better than the movie where they barely interact. the music is a definitive downgrade though, where the original games soundtrack is really catchy and fun, one of the best 3D platformer osts of its era, this one is just, movie music, it's a term i've used before but it just means its very plain, orchestral, unmemorable, the kind of OST thats trying to emulate a movie score, i wouldn't go as far as to say its bad at all, but i just dislike it, this kind of music kills a games vibe to me, never use these kinds of scores, please. it is also significantly shorter than the original too because of all the cut planets, but you are incentivised to replay with a new mode that lets you unlock different weapon variations, so it's not a massively short experiance, even with the cut levels it's still about 10 hours which is still long for a game like this, it's paced super well though and there's enough variety it never feels long.

the movie its based on is also pretty interesting and i watched it for this article, it's also not really an adaptation at all like the game. sure it takes a few story beats, some characters and a general vibe and world but it's much more focused on being it's own thing, it's a kids action movie moreso than tryig to be super faithful and it's a fun one at that, has some fanservice with the weapons showing up and some references to things like hot shots golf and dexter and sly and it has some fun interactions so it's not like a fan of the games wouldn't get anything out of it, but it's really not an adaptation at all of either version of the game, you only really see two of the games planets, plus a ship sequence, the robot base and the final planet destroyer so if you wanted to judge it as a retelling, it's not great, but as it's own thing i enjoyed it, you even have some of the original VA's show up for the main cast, plus a few celeb voices i didn't recognise, but you might, i'm surprised we even got that much though since i fully expected ratchet to be chris pratt or something, so i think credit is deserved there. the action is super fun, the jokes usually land well, but it doesn't do some things like the relationship between ratchet and clank well at all and the weapons are also very much downplayed which is weird since you would have expected that to be a focus here. i don't watch a lot of movies so i can't judge them at all but this one was nice, i don't really know how to talk about movies beyond that, the dvd is cheap? and it's on some free streaming services, sadly there isn't much for special features, a demo on the blu ray would have been cool like some of the old tomb raider dvds had, that'd have been cool.

that kind of leaves you with 3 versions of the same story, all told completely differently and all being essentially original projects under the same name, that's cool! each is a unique take on it from a unique team of people all trying their own thing and you don't see something like this happen too often, sure they all share the same DNA and you don't need to play every single one, but it's cool that you can do all 3 and get 3 unique experiances and that's not something you can do too often, would i reccomend doing it? heck yes! the movie is the weak link for sure, but it's also a kids movie that you can just enjoy over dinner, there's no commitment to it, the original game is tons of fun on its own and the version you should prioritise because it is the most fun and charming and it has the most going on with the levels and sections from it that werent in either other version and the remake is original enough that you can play it after the original and have it still feel fresh enough, like an expansion pack or a similar spinoff, that's how i would treat it, something like resi 4 remake which is also similar to its orignal while still having something different enough to make it not feel like a waste of time playing both. it's also not like this was the end of the series either like many at the time said it would because of the movie bombing, we got a sequel that seems super good, though insomniac themselves seem stuck in the marvel factory now, which sucks a little, those games seem fine though, might try one one day but, not exactly the most interesting games to me, especially compared to things like ratchet or resistance or sunset overdrive.