Ratchet & Clank v Jak & Daxter v Sly Cooper: Which Is the Best Series?

Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, and Jak and Daxter ruled the roost back in the PS2 days. But how do they fare going up against each other?

[DARKKENT]

Jak for me

But all three are great series

[GigawattConduit]

I would kill someone for that Jak and Daxter reboot. Going off the concept art, it woulda looked gorgeous as hell.

[naruga]

while Jak &Daxter 1 is by far the best game overall (reminiscent of original Crash games) ,the others Jak entries not so much ...instead R&C it kept its quality and its gameplay/atmosphere/feeling intact along the multiple entries and i consieder it the best series ...Sly cooper imo needs abit more work to reach the others (especially in its art direction)

[GigawattConduit]

Honestly, I played the sequels before the original Jak, and I like them much more than the original. It just...doesn't appeal to me like the other two do.

[bouzebbal]

I Love all 3 but I do prefer Sly games.

[Lore]

Hahaha #datpassion

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Jak and Dax for me.

The third one if my favorite. Like gigawatt, I played 2 and 3 before I played the first Jak, so that could be the reason why I prefer both over the first.

As for the reboot... I rather ND leave Jak and Dax alone if they're gonna go that route. I still really really want another Jak game though. I can only imagine what ND could do with a open world Jak and Dax game on the PS4.

[InactiveUser]

I never got into Sly.. it always seemed too kiddie to me. Whether it is or not, that's the vibe I always felt, so I never bought a Sly game. I played a demo a while back, that's it.

Jak always pissed me off how you had to physically touch the drops/collectables instead of being within range and them gravitating or magnetizing to the player like in R&C. I did play some Jak though and thought there were some good parts, but I don't remember finishing any. I just remember turning at a pickup, thinking I was close enough and ready to move onto my next target/objective, but missing it and having to turn around again to get it. I got so mad a bunch of times, like why the hell don't they just gravitate to you like in R&C.

Therefore, I've always preferred R&C. I've liked the graphics, gameplay, characters, story, comedy, etc. Like others have said, besides a couple offshoots that were stinkers, they've been consistently good.

[badz149]

R&C here all the way and Sly 2nd! the dark path J&D went with the 3rd really killed it for me and I still have a hard time pushing myself to finish it eventhough I got the HD collection during launch. I tried, but...I don't know. Dexter PSP game on the other hand was down right AMAZING! really love it!

really wish Sony would have let Sanzaru finished their vision of the Sly series and give him and the gang more chances like they did with R&C! it has only been 4 games and although another studio took over the for the 4th, the soul of the series is still in tact with fresher gameplay mechanics with the costumes. and most of you guys here are right! the ending of Thief in Time really left me wanting more! come on Sony...I hope they don't just leave it there!

[-Foxtrot]

Always Jak

The guy didn't even speak a word in the first game and I always found it better then Ratchet and Clank.

[Antnee534]

I almost would love if naughty dog asked insomniac to do a remake/reimangining for jak and Daxter like they did with the new ratchet and clank

[suli12345]

Thats blasphemy my friend

[Antnee534]

@suli12345

I agree but if its the only way to get a new jak and Daxter I'm down with it

[Relientk77]

I like all 3 but personally Ratchet & Clank is my favorite

[jaymacx]

Same... R&C overall is the best platformer on Sony Playstation

[Antnee534]

What about early crash ?

[ninsigma]

Jak and Daxter for me. Loved that series. That franchise is in my top 5 of all time. Ratchet and clank would be next. I didn't play sly cooper back on ps2 or ps3. I got the trilogy on vita and it's good but no where near as good as the other two I thought.

[PhoenixUp]

I liked Jak & Daxter the best.

However it is great we got HD collections of all these great franchises last gen.

[Lionalliance]

Specially for me Sly Cooper.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

For me its Ratchet and Clank > Sly Cooper > Jak and Daxter series. Ratchet and Clank is my favorite platform series and my favorite game of the franchise is either Going Commando or Up Your Arsenal. I'm personally not that fond of Jak 2 and Sly Cooper 3.

[Movefasta1993]

Going Commando was legendary.I loved the upgradable wrenches,i think that's the only ratchet game that has that.Plus it started the arena,upgradng armour,the whole minigame of collecting them crystal things from killing large beasts and exchanging them for crazy bolts,just a legendary game.I hope they remake that next.

[Sciurus_vulgaris]

I personally don't want Insomniac to remake the other games. Personally I want the story of the future story arch to be warped up.

[DanielEndurance]

Ratchet & Clank > Jak & Daxter > Sly Cooper

I was just thinking they should make a game that combines all the characters into one... then I remembered PS Move Heroes - yuck.

[tmisellati]

for me , it is Jak & daxter.

[PoSTedUP]

jak first especially 3. rachet then sly. actually i never got into sly cooper.

i liked the openworld-ness of jak 3 and the vehicles, had a bit of good rpg elements. and the platform gameplay is an obvious mimic of crash bandicoot which is a huge plus. plus daxter is way cooler than clank although i like rachet as a character more than jak.

[slinky123456]

Jak and Daxter for myself as well. I like them all and played many of most of the games from each series.

I hope with the success of R&C Naughty Dog will decide to do a remake of the first 3 Jak and Daxter games in one game. It would just be so awesome.

[WiseCrack10]

Ratchet by far, not even close. Sly Cooper is a good but forgettable game. Jak is the epitome of a mediocre platformer and is mechanically an extremely weak game. It does have a decent story but good stories don't make up for extremely lack luster mechanics

As a series, Ratchet an 8.5/10, Sly a 6/10, Jak a 5/10

[Germany7]

LOL at your scores.
So wrong.

[WiseCrack10]

Deep down, you know that I'm right and it hurts you inside. I guess it's because I grew up with Nintendo I played better platformers than what was available on the PS1 and PS2. Mario 64, DK 64, Banjo, all of these games are so far above Playstation's mediocre platformers.

That said if I only played Playstation platformers and wasn't exposed to superior games I'd rate them higher. Giving Ratchet an 8.5 despite playing vastly superior games is saying a lot. Jak is and always will be mediocre though, Sly slightly above that.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

@WiseCrack10
"Deep down, you know that I'm right and it hurts you inside". Wow, you're a really sad guy. The only thing that hurts is my insides laughing at your dopey, fanboyism-riddled comment. For tons of people, the PS2 platformers were far superior and memorable to the GameCube platformers (for me anyway), and of course, the inverse is also true. They're not even the same kind of games! Tons of us played collectaton platformers, and these PS2 games were just far more interesting, fun and original for us (or just, you know, great awesome games). And besides, why are you so intensely bothered by the love for these games? It seems very irrational.

Deep down, you know that the positively in these comments is killing you inside because people don't agree with you, and you hate seeing Sony games get so much positive attention and love. Honestly, fanboys like you are just deprived, negative weirdos.

[WiseCrack10]

@LucasRuinedChildhood

I'm sure there's the occasional screw ball who has terrible taste, but I'm speaking objectively and I can leave my emotions and nostalgia out of it. I agree that they're not even the same kind of games, the Nintendo one's are actually good, the Playstation one's not so much. Crash and Spyro on the PS1 had some of the most horrendous platforming mechanics and Crash in particular with it's fixed camera and those awful sections where you had to run towards the camera, nausea inducing, linear and mediocre.

PS2 wasn't much an improvement between Jak's crappy platforming mechanics and Jak 2 and 3's awful shooting mechanics. Jak doesn't have a single redeeming factor when it comes to how well the game plays, it's either bad or average. Sly was mechanically a good game but not a great one. It had some fun boss fights in the first game, Sly 2, 3 and Thieves in Time were all forgettable.

Heh, it's no wonder these series have been abandoned, Crash, Jak and Sly have all faded into obscurity where they belong. Spyro is off in the Skylands where he's making millions for Activision. Ratchet is the only game out of the Playstation platformers that's relevant and rightfully so since it was the only good series. At least that explains why they won't bring these series back. If they made a new Crash, Jak, Sly or Spyro people would play them, realize how crappy they are and it would ruin the nostalgia.

You wanna know the truth? It does kill me inside, because people who generally liked games like Spyro/Jak/Sly w/e were stuck with Playstation and were never exposed to Nintendo growing up. It's a feeling of guilt, I legitimately feel sorry for these gamers who grew up with mediocre games and didn't know any better. In fact pretty much everyone I speak to who grew up playing Playstation platformers ONLY played on Playstation.

That said, If you like PS1 and PS2 platformers, that's fine, nothing wrong with that, after all even pigs like to roll around in their own fecal matter.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

You're very misinformed. These franchises aren't made a lot anymore because the studios that made them went on to make great *new* franchises and try out new things (not every studio goes back to the same well, every generation, like Nintendo - it's healthy to just move to something *new*). You're being extraordinarily petty and idiotic trying to abstract far more meaning out of that than is actually present.

"If they made a new Crash, Jak, Sly or Spyro people would play them, realize how crappy they are and it would ruin the nostalgia." Half these games have had well-received HD collections very recently, and Sly had a well-made sequel so your thought process is off-base again. They didn't ruin the nostalgia at all, because they were and are great games. Your point actually applies far more to Donkey Kong 64, and Banjo Kazooie, which are outdated and stiff by comparison.

Part of the falling popularity of some of those franchises you mentioned is that they were sold off and poorly handled by Activision (you just sort of conveniently forgot about that). Nintendo actually still has access to Donkey Kong, so by your contrived logic, where's a 3D platformer Donkey Kong? Must be the worst game eva!!! (obviously not). Oh no, the old good Banjo Kazooie games are suddenly awful because MS didn't handle the IP properly!!!

"If you like PS1 and PS2 platformers, that's fine, nothing wrong with that, after all even pigs like to roll around in their own fecal matter." You can insult the games like a 4-year-old all you want, but it doesn't the fact that they were and are great games. In fact, millions of people played the games you cited as being good, and then bought a PS2 and enjoyed these games far more. These were games that reviewed extremely well and were very beloved (because outside the realms of fanboys who have severe issues, most people are fine with loving games, regardless of whether they are branded "Nintendo", when they are as great as Sly Cooper, Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank).

It's really easy to make the case that, while good for their time, games from the PS1/N64 era, like Banjo Kazooie (its really showing its age) and Donkey Kong 64 (a very repetitive and generic collect-a-ton), and to a lesser extent Mario 64, are mediocre compared to these more refined, fun games. But I don't feel the need to, because I enjoyed them as kid, but not as much as these games. They were good for their time.

It says a lot that you aren't citing GameCube platformers, and need to go back to the N64 (the biggest era of 3D platformers) to find a list of platformers anywhere near as good as the PS2 ones. "I agree that they're not even the same kind of games, the Nintendo one's are actually good, the Playstation one's not so much." But you said that you like Sly 1 and the Ratchet & Clank games. What the hell is wrong with you? You're just being a hyperbolic moron.

[Movefasta1993]

Ratchet easily.The humor of not just the main cast,but the enemies and people in the world.The gun play and guns are way better than jak's.The variety of worlds you go to,and all the gadgets that enhance the platforming. For me it's Ratchet>Sly>Jack

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

Jak and Daxter is my favorite of the three, and my favorite game franchise of all time in fact. But there's no denying the love for Ratchet and Clank. Had Naughty Dog not decided to do more realistic games Jak might be getting as much love as the Ratchet series.

[ruefrak]

I'll throw my hat into the Sly Cooper camp. I was late to the party with Sly, but wow was it a good time.

[Darkfist]

Ratchet & Clank managed to keep its formula while improving and adding new things, sly managed to add new characters with unique gamepaly, jak just turn to GTA clone.

gameplay Ratchet>Sly>Jak

games universe/story Ratchet>Jak>sly

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

I know the changes in Jak 2 were frustrating, but Jak 3 was amazing. Combat vehicles, a big wasteland to explore, light Eco ak, and weapon mods

[Germany7]

Jak 2 is still my favorite of the series.
Go figure...

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

@Ratchet8
I liked the challenge, and I thought that it was the one with the most interesting story. I actually played them all again fairly recently, and was surprised that I now prefer Jak 2 over Jak 3, albeit, certainly not by much (I think Jak 3 needed more platforming and puzzles in its second half). Damn great games though. I think the mix of story, a hoverboard that can act sort of like a skate board, hover vehicles, guns, more sharp humour, etc with the platforming formula is a very odd, but really great mix. When I finally played Jak 1 properly, I could see why a lot of people loved it, but it doesn't resonate with me anywhere near as much as the sequels do.

[P_Bomb]

I'm a Sly guy.

[EazyC]

R&D and Sly are up there as two of the most beloved characters in my videogame memory!

[elarcadia]

Jak for me, all the way. I very much enjoyed the other two as well though.

[quent]

Anyone up for a three way crossover kart racing game ?

[tanukisuit]

I can't believe no one has thought of that! We need to push that idea to Shuhei on Twitter.

[rezzah]

Damn, I'd buy this day one.

[feraldrgn]

Recently purchased the Sly trilogy on Vita, 1st was good with reasonable challenge.
2nd opened up but introduced annoying mini-games into the main game instead of in the boss battles, still not too bad.
3rd took a nosedive, got rid of bottles & has far too many mini-games as main gameplay, many of which are extremely frustrating (let's not forget the "challenges" menu section which gets you to play frustrating mini-games with even more limits).

So between R&C or J&D, I'd have to go with R&C because I enjoyed the story & humour more.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Sly Cooper > Jak and Daxter > Ratchet aND Clank

[Germany7]

All of them, also Spyro and Crash Bandicoot.

[rezzah]

They are all classics.

[WiseCrack10]

Aside from Ratchet, they're all mediocre. PS1 and PS2 had a low standard for platformers. I tried playing Spyro and Crash after playing SM64 and I nearly threw up. I tried playing Jak and Sly and felt as if my soul was being drained.

[Germany7]

You are a sad troll, also really dumb.

[WiseCrack10]

Deep down, you know I'm right ;]

[SonyStyled]

Jak and Daxter for me. I really liked the open world atmosphere of 2 and 3. I enjoyed Ratchet but my tastes kind of outgrew the goofyness. I only played Sly Thieves in Time so I cant judge there

[brando008]

I'm undecided between R&C and J&D. Loved both trilogies back in the day, platinumed them on PS3, and neither has lost any charm over the years. I'm almost done the first Sly game, and I do enjoy it more than I expected, however so far I haven't played enough of the trilogy to give an opinion up against the other platformers.

[NotanotherReboot]

Jak with ratchet a close second

[NotanotherReboot]

"Big Al, Skidd McMarxx, Helga–that haven’t been seen since the end of Up Your Arsenal in 2004. "

Big Al and Skidd are in the newest Ratchet lol

[tanukisuit]

I can't choose - I love them all equally!

[Muigi]

Im going to have to go with Jak. Jak 2 was mind blowing when it first came out.

[Hotabang]

didnt like jak 1, loved jak 2 and 3. couldnt get into ratchet and clank. Loved all 3 slys

so: Sly>Jak>Ratchet

[rezzah]

1) Jak & Daxter

2) Ratchet & Clank

3) Sly Cooper

[Hold_It]

Sly Cooper>Ratchet & Clank> Jak & Daxter

Then again imo SP>Insomniac>ND

[DasTier]

The first J&D was awesome, but I never liked 2 or 3. Sly was always cool concept; stealth platforming in a'noire' setting, but it also felt cringey and childish. Hands down R+C has been the most consistently entertaining franchise,

[Antnee534]

I love Ratchet and Clank 2016 it was a really great game and after seeing how hidious the game looked back on ps2 and now seeing it on ps4 it's amazing to see how much time can change what we love.

[jakmckratos]

Jak then Ratchet then Sly for me. Love all 3 but the original Jak and Daxter was something really special to me...Ratchet games got great once they hit the PS3 generation...I LOVE Tools of Destruction, Crack in Time and Into the Nexus. This past PS$ outing is my favorite one yet and proves these "old games" can still flourish on next gen systems. Hopefully Yooka Lele and Lobo Destroyo will be successful enough to revive more old school platformers