Ratchet & Clank (PlayStation 2)

Ratchet & Clank
Developer: Insomniac Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform: PlayStation 2 Released in JP: December 3, 2002 Released in US: November 4, 2002 Released in EU: November 8, 2002 This game has unused code. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused items. This game has unused sounds. This game has debugging material. This game has a prototype article

To do: Document the Greatest Hits/Platinum revisions. Some cutscenes aren't triggered like they should, and the EU re-releases retain bugs from the original US version which were fixed in the original black-label. Also, the fact that the original EU release had a bug which makes you unable to see the US ads. Maybe it was not an actual regression but a buggier progression? Later versions of the game also updated Kerwan's Infobot scene to use the final game's assets. Dev text loaded into the RAM in each level. Probably worth noting is the enemy behavior (especially the Blarg Space Commandos from Orxon) from areas of the Clank-playable sections which cannot be visited normally.

Ratchet & Clank is the first of Insomniac's efforts on the PlayStation 2. While considered a classic among many, it is often noted for its lack of RPG elements (weapon leveling, XP, etc.) compared to other entries in the series.

Based on an idea where an alien creature roams the galaxy with an esteemed arsenal of weaponry, the game formed the basis for a franchise that would eventually become one of the PlayStation's most popular.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Unused Animations

Debug Menu

To do: Finish documenting this.

A debug menu can be enabled at anytime in a level for the NTSC-U version of the game with this GameShark / CodeBreaker code:

Enable Code (for console only)
9011A8F0 0C0469E4
Press L3 For Debug Menu
D013C95C 0000FFFD
2015F5C4 FFFFFFFF

Pressing R3 while in the menu will return to normal game-play.

Notice the top of the menu says "I - 5". This is because it stands for "Insomniac - 5", Ratchet & Clank being the fifth game of theirs.

Debug Menu Features

UPDATE option	Function
Ratchett	Update the state of Ratchet or not. NOTE: switching this off means you can't control Ratchet anymore.
Mobys	Update the state of mobys or not. NOTE: mobys is a contraction of movable objects. Switching this off means no NPC/objects' states get updated.
Parts	Update the state of parts or not. NOTE: parts is a contraction of Particle FX. Switching this off means no particle effects get updated.
Camera	Update the state of the camera or not. NOTE: switching this off means you can't control the camera anymore.
Step	When this function is activated, everything else in the UPDATE option is automatically turned off, but by pressing L3 (while in gameplay) will advance the updates by one frame.

AMMO option	Function
Gold/Ammo/Bolts	This is pretty self-explanatory. The golden number (0/1) changes the state of the weapon (regular/gold). The white number specifies the amount of ammo a weapon has (some weapons don't need ammo). The Bolts function changes your amount of bolts.

MODE option	Function
Control	This function changes what you control. Possible options: normal (normal control), camera (only control the camera, everything else is frozen), cam+chr (control the camera and Ratchet, being able to drop him off anywhere and resume playing by switching back to normal), volume (only control the camera, only Ratchet is frozen).

Unused Cutscenes

To do: Actual videos are coming. For now, here's placeholder footage to prove accessing them is not too farfetched from reality. Although this was taken from a demo, the cutscene is 100% there in the final game.

Unused Gold Weapons

Every weapon can be potentially upgraded to gold, complete with the appropriate graphical tweaks. But the lack of any tangible difference in their behavior and the fact they're pointing to non-existing text and icons suggests they were probably never meant to be implemented.

Defensive Drone Glove Leftovers

If the Drone Device is placed into Ratchet's hand through hacking, the behavior it exhibits is actually a leftover from when the weapon was known as the Defensive Drone Glove. Pressing Circle will make Ratchet play a throwing animation like the other glove weapons in the game. The weapon also uses the Hologuise model, since they both shared the same model early in development.

Unused Icons

• This funny icon was used as a general placeholder for unavailable HUD graphics, such as having a golden Taunter. It can be seen in the behind-the-scenes video as the Pyrocitor's icon.

• This early bolt icon can be seen in several pre-release videos, and the texture still remains in the game.

• An unused icon for the Mackerel 1000, a cut weapon intended to replace Ratchet's wrench with a fish.

• An icon for the Revolverator, a drill weapon where Ratchet would grab enemies and spin them above his head. However, it was cut because it left Ratchet vulnerable to attack from other enemies. The icon still remains in the files.

Unused Textures

HUD Textures

• This placeholder image can be found in the HUD graphics for the commercials.

• In the files for the Help Menu, this image of some Sandsharks can be found. It would have been used for the removed "Enemies" category in the menu.

• In the files for the Help Menu, this image depicting some planets can be found. It would have been used for the removed "Planets" category in the menu.

Misc.

• A texture labelled "Breast Plate", likely as a placeholder.

• An early texture for the ammo crate. This design would later be reused in Going Mobile.

• A texture labelled "invis", short for "Invisible". It seems to do its job, since trying to load this texture in an image-editing software yields a completely transparent box.

"Death zone" textured with smiley faces.

• A crudely-drawn image of what appears to be a smiley face made in MS Paint. This texture appears to mark "death zones" (such as the electrified water in Drek's Fleet) when viewed in debug mode. It is only visible when using the debug menu to move Ratchet freely across the map, and it disappears when normal game-play is resumed.

Unused Models

Revolverator

• The scrapped Revolverator weapon can be found in the model data for Hoven. Sadly, there is no way to make it into a useable weapon.

Fred

In the files of Metropolis, there are 3 different models and textures used for Fred, the NPC that sells you the Grindboots and Persuader. He makes no appearance in this level, making these models and textures go unused. These models and textures don't make any other appearance in the game either.

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  The unused Freds on Orxon, taken from a level editor

• Fred is never seen wearing a blue labcoat anywhere in the game. This variant also appears in the files for Orxon, unlike the others, and five copies can be seen in a level editor at X: 227, Y: 147, Z: 62. It is unknown what the purpose of these five Freds are. This model would later be reused in Up Your Arsenal during the cutscene for Annihilation Nation.

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• The only time this model is ever seen in-game is during the prerendered cutscene for Nebula G34.

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• Neither this model or this texture ever makes any appearance in the game.

• The above is a screenshot from the Replanetizer level editor in Metropolis at camera position X: 350, Y: 204, Z: 52, showing all three of the unused Fred variants, which appear to be NPCs. Several of these are strewn throughout the path to Al's Roboshack, but do not appear in gameplay at all. Their purpose is unknown.

Unused Cheats

Two unused cheats remain in the game. They are as follows:

All levels
Left-handed Ratchet

Only Left-handed Ratchet's function remains in the game. You can activate the cheat with the following code for the NTSC-U version of the game with a GameShark or CodeBreaker:

Enable Left-handed Ratchet Cheat
0015EDB5 00000001

This will make Ratchet hold all his weapons in his left hand.

Hidden Areas

In Drek's Fleet, there is a 6th vessel that can only be entered with cheats/debug mode, used exclusively for cutscenes featuring Drek. It has no collision, and trying to stand in it will kill Ratchet.

Cutscene	In-Game

Unused Text

Help Menu Options

Cut options intended to go in the Help menu. Lots of little tidbits here.

Menu Text	Description
Planets	Gadgetrœn maintains detailed records of all inhabited worlds. To consult our database, select this option
Purchasing	None
Switches	If you want more information about Bolt-Cranks, Frequency-Jammers and other special switches, choose this menu item
Map	None
Enemies	Gadgetron keeps a record of all enemies you've encountered in your travels. If you want to find out more about any enemy you've fought, select this option.
Hints	Still stuck? Try our special hints section for some choice words of advice
None	Gadgetron's patented .QuickSelect. System makes equipping your gadgets and weapons a breeze. Let us show you how use it!

• At one point, Gadgetron would have been spelled as "Gadgetrœn".
• The game would have kept track of planets the player visited.
• Frequency-Jammers were a kind of switch cut from the game early in development. Their exact purpose is currently unknown.
• The game would have also kept track of enemies encountered at one point. This option would later re-appear in Going Commando.

HelpDesk Messages

You can exchange your .Gold Bolts. for Gold Weapons at the Gemlik Base in Nebula G34

You can exchange your .Gold Bolts. for Gold Weapons here on Planet Novalis or at the Gemlik Base in Nebula G34

While Gold Weapons are still purchased at the Gemlik Base, the of suffix Nebula G34 would later be used for the Blarg Station.

Other

((THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN CUT))

A cut message.

Congratulations! You've completed all missions for this world! 
You can collect more bolts to purchase weapons or go to your ship and blast off to the other world in this demo.
Demo Objectives:
Play Metropolis
Play Blackwater City

Leftover text from the demo versions.

This will aid you on your journey.

Clank's mother would have said this message during the cutscene on Quartu, but it never gets used.

Old Subtitles

Pokitaru's in-level movie "....where's that fighter?" has different subtitles: The resort owner says "I like to see that you really want to fly our jet" while the subtitles say "Hold on, hold on. I can see that you really want to fly our jet."

Version Differences

In the Japanese version of the game, Gadgetron is referred to as Galactron, meaning that all vendors say Galactron instead, In the PAL Platinum version on Kalebo III there is a rotating Galactron logo still present.