I am endeared to Ratchet & Clank due, in part, to how unrefined it is. There are a lot of rough edges, but for every oversight that would be later addressed, there is an oddity that is interesting. It’s a platformer with a ton of tools (some of which you hardly use) at your disposal instead of being a shooter first. The levels are linear paths, but branch in a Metroid lite sort of way, with rewards ranging from optional tools to currency that won’t be useful until you restart the game.

But perhaps the most interesting quirk is the premise itself. You follow a smack talking dick of a platform mascot as he reluctantly resists a corporation whose greed threatens the entire galaxy. Satires of capitalism, corporations, marketing, and hero worship abound as Ratchet and Clank travel together and eventually find common ground.

Unfortunately, throughout the course of the series, these interesting twists were sanded off as though they were rough edges, culminating in the absolutely soulless husk that was the 2016 movie tie in reboot of this game.

Perhaps this is why I’m so fond of the original. Beyond its bop of a soundtrack and lively art style, it is the kind of game that focus testing and years of formalizing the practice of game making have made practically extinct within the AAA space.

It’s not all rose colored glasses, Ratchet & Clank did have significant oversights in design that needed to be addressed. But at least it was trying a bunch of fun ideas and had something to say instead of trying to be dollar store Pixar.