Insomniac Games' Ratchet and Clank has tremendous staying power. The series' unique blend of gun-toting action, athletic platforming, and innuendo-laden dialogue has earned it no less than seventeen games, a Hollywood feature film, and a bevy of merchandise. Fans everywhere adore the Lombax and his cerebral robotic companion.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart continues the ongoing 'Dimensionator Saga', one of numerous arcs in the series' history. What started as a pretty lighthearted romp has evolved into an intergalactic soap opera of sorts, to the point where newcomers may feel rather overwhelmed. To catch everyone up, here are the best stories Ratchet and Clank has to offer, recapped and ranked.
Insomniac-developed entries only, and fair warning: here be spoilers.
10 Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault (2012)
Launched in 2012 to mark the series' 10th anniversary, Full Frontal Assault is widely considered a misfire. A half-baked tower defence mode forms the core of the three to four-hour campaign, and a lightweight, DLC-laden multiplayer mode did little to bolster its reputation.
This mediocrity extends to the game's narrative. Fan favourite bumbler Captain Qwark runs afoul of Stuart Zurgo, a one-note side character from Going Commando who precisely no one was clamouring to see again. Zurgo is a former fanboy-turned-supervillain who aims to plunge a system of three planets into a new ice age, but his schemes come undone when he fails to account for the Q-Force. Unmemorable, short and with no bearing on the narrative fans were keen to see continued, this tale comes in at the bottom.
9 Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty (2008)
Continuing the trend of notably short games, Quest for Booty was a downloadable adventure that ultimately ended up feeling like idle wheel spinning.
Picking up with Ratchet's search for Clank, after the diminutive bot was snatched up by the mysterious Zoni race, the game sees him navigate a bunch of nautical environments in search of the Obsidian Eye. This convenient bit of tech will allow him to zero in on Clank's location; but as is usual for these sorts of plots, one MacGuffin after another is required to track it down. A run-in with the ghostly pirate Captain Darkwater, who's only introduced in the final hour, hardly leaves much of an impression either.
8 Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One (2011)
All 4 One is unique among the Ratchet pantheon in that it's the only title explicitly designed to be experienced in co-op. Sure, you can technically go solo, with an AI Clank picking up the slack – but the sheer number of mechanics built to accommodate four players, and the unbalanced difficulty, make this a somewhat depressing endeavour.
The story similarly expects you to be playing with friends, as the three other playable characters phase in and out of cutscenes with reckless abandon. It's a confusing tale that introduces far more concepts than it knows what to do with, as the team is embroiled in the experiments of Dr. Frumpus Croid – whose research appears to have inadvertently birthed an abomination. Its name? Mr. Dinkles. Naturally. Toss in some overly-complex lore about transdimensional souls, and you have a recipe for... well, not the series' finest hour.
7 Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus (2013)
The final outing for the iconic duo on PS3, Into the Nexus was launched essentially day and date with the PS4 – and it would probably have been better served as a launch title for it.
Narratively, the game scores points early on by committing to some major character deaths. Granted, they were two characters that most players found supremely irritating, but nonetheless it set the stage for a grimmer tale. Ratchet's longtime squeeze Talwyn deals with the axing of her warbot pals Cronk and Zephyr, against the backdrop of yet another otherworldly threat. The criminal Prog twins are looking to unleash eldritch Nethers upon the world, and it's up to the trusty Dimensionator (again) to seal them away. Not exactly riveting, but a decent lead-in to Rift Apart.
6 Ratchet and Clank (2002)
Strange as it may seem to place the original adventure so low on the list, Insomniac themselves would agree. They've gone on record stating that the characterisation of Ratchet in this inaugural game was so off, they would do it over given the chance; which, of course, they did with the 2016 re-imagining.
A far cry from the version of Ratchet fans would come to love, here he seems to go out of his way to antagonise everyone he encounters; most of all Clank, who bears the brunt of his attitude. As the pair are thrust together in a cynical galaxy, and tasked with taking down the corrupt Chairman Drek, players needed a more sympathetic lead character than the Lombax we were given.
5 Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando (2003)
Thankfully, Insomniac corrected course in spectacular fashion with the sequel, going so far as to recast Ratchet as James Arnold Taylor, who's now been at it for twenty years.
In Going Commando, one Abercrombie Fizzwidget hires the duo to recover a stolen 'Protopet'. Of course, it turns out to not be that simple: the thief is unmasked as Angela Cross, a Lombax freedom fighter who's discovered the Protopet turns into a fuzzy killing machine under certain conditions. Suitably comedic and with a greatly improved Ratchet, this one set the series up for greatness.
4 Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (2007)
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Tools of Destruction kicked off the HD era of Ratchet with a bang, bringing an overarching narrative to the forefront for the first time and introducing numerous firm favourites like Talwyn and Mr. Zurkon.
The minuscule maurauder Percival Tachyon invades Ratchet's galaxy, aiming to wipe out the last remaining Lombaxes. Why? Well, them being responsible for eradicating his entire race might have something to do with it. We also get the first appearance of the Dimensionator, which is established as a Lombax invention used to seal the Cragmites into another reality; a fate which, ironically, befell them too soon afterward. Things end with Clank being spirited away to a 'Great Clock' and Ratchet's origins thrown into question. Talk about cliffhangers.
3 Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005)
Back on the PS2, Deadlocked is an outlier in the series. It's unabashedly grimdark, in response to the prevailing trend in the mid-2000s of turning cuddly gaming mascots into hard-edged badasses.
Ratchet, Clank and a handful of secondary characters are beamed aboard DreadZone, a bloodsport where gladiators must kill or be killed. Fitted with exploding collars that'll detonate if they try to escape (ah, the Watto business model), the team must face off against Gleeman Vox, CEO of Vox News. The story has some biting commentary on consumerism, and some stellar gags courtesy of the bickering DreadZone presenters, but just misses the top spots thanks to the bizarre tone.
2 Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)
Up Your Arsenal is often cited as the finest offering from the PS2 Ratchet lineup, and its bonkers narrative undoubtedly plays a significant part in that praise.
Where to begin? Clank's now a television star, 'Secret Agent Clank', and must deal with the advances of Courtney Gears, the lewdest robot this side of the internet. She's also in league with Dr. Nefarious, a screeching buffoon whose robotic parts have a tendency to short circuit and tune into questionable telenovelas. On top of all this, there's a galaxy-wide smear campaign against organic lifeforms, a blossoming romance between Ratchet and the President's daughter, and Qwark? He thinks he's a monkey. Enough said, really.
1 Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time (2009)
Representing the pinnacle of the games' thematic storytelling, and tying up several loose ends, A Crack In Time is an all-timer. Pun intended.
For most of the game, you'll alternate between Clank and Ratchet, both still separated and both dealing with familial revelations. While Ratchet once again battles Nefarious, he runs into Alister Azimuth, a friend of his father Kaden. Clank, meanwhile, discovers his creation was no accident. He contains the soul of the son of Orvus, the Zoni leader of the Great Clock, a space station at the centre of the universe maintaining the flow of time. Azimuth wants to use the Clock to undo the Lombaxes' mistakes, which of course puts him in the crosshairs of Clank's newfound responsibility – and, by extension, Ratchet. Epic showdowns and tearjerking scenes ensue as paradoxes are averted, Azimuth perishes and Clank chooses to abscond from the Clock to be with his Lombax buddy. Wise choice.