15 years ago today, on November 8th 2002, Insomniac Games introduced the world to one of the most beloved game franchises to grace the Sony PlayStation system by releasing the original Ratchet & Clank.
The 3D platformer follows Ratchet (voiced by Mikey Kelley) as he meets the robot Clank (David Kaye) on his home planet. Together they discover that the villainous Chairman Drek of the Blarg race is planning to destroy a slew of planets so he can build a new planet for his own species and, to stop him, they vow to find the famous superhero Captain Quark (Jim Ward) and enlist him to their cause. Through hilarious hi-jinks and touching character moments, they endeared gamers young and old alike to become probably the most recognisable character partnership in the PlayStation’s game lineup.
The genius of Ratchet & Clank really lies in its writing and narrative – the humour is spot-on, emotional moments pack that punch, and of course the story is engaging throughout. Insomniac also produced a perfect mix of platforming and shoot-em-up at their first attempt, with perfectly designed levels and hilarious upgradeable weapons, not forgetting the brilliant hoverboarding races and space combat. It’s a formula that earned it a torrent of positive reviews, resulting in an aggregated score of 88/100 from Metacritic – a rating they would go on to beat with 2003’s sequel Going Commando, before producing a further six main series games, four spin-offs, two mobile games, a 2016 remaster of the original and even a feature-length film. But 15 years on, the original Ratchet & Clank is still the entry I look back most fondly on as the game that started it all.
Remind yourself of this timeless classic by watching the trailer for its PS4 remaster below:
