What is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters?
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters could be considered a spin-off title for the Ratchet & Clank series, as it was not developed by Insomniac Games and instead developed by a newly established developer (at the time): High Impact Games.
The game follows the standard Ratchet & Clank gameplay formula that the series is renowned for, travelling from alien planet to planet, navigating with 3rd Person action-platforming and an array of unique weaponry and gadgets.
Size Matters follows Ratchet & Clank and they embark upon an impromptu adventure to unravel the secrets of a mysterious and ancient race known as the Technomites.
Is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Canon?
Technically, yes, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, though not being developed by Insomniac Games (developers of the main series), can be considered canon to the Ratchet universe.
The game is designed to take place following the events of Ratchet: Deadlocked (Gladiator in the EU). The events of the game do not conflict with any pre-established lore elements of the games that had come prior in the series, nor is anything in this game in direct opposition to any that succeeds Size Matters.
Ultimately, however, as the game was not developed by Insomniac Games, it’s up to you whether you choose to consider Size Matters canon to the official Ratchet & Clank timeline.
Is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters good?
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is a middling experience, not having any outright atrocious aspects, but has nothing truly stand out that would make me recommend this game to anyone that isn’t already a fan of Ratchet & Clank series.
Visually, Size Matters doesn’t look the greatest, even compared to the other games that released around the same time on the PSP, like Daxter. The textures for almost everything appear very unrefined and smudgy, not enough to lose any sleep over, but it shouldn’t be winning any awards for its presentation.
The gameplay of Size Matters is very much the well-known Ratchet & Clank formula that you’d come to expect from the series. Looking holistically at the game, it performs its purpose well, but it doesn’t come close to the same experience you’d find from any other game in the series, predating or succeeding Size Matters’ original release.
A lot of the fundamental issues you’ll find with the game does ultimately come down to the nature of its creation: it’s a PSP game.
No matter where you choose to play this game, you’ll experience the same issues – none of which is best befitting a 3D action-platformer.
Firstly, the camera is far too close to Ratchet or Clank at all times. This isn’t too much of an issue for the early game, but towards the end when the enemies ramp up in volume, or their AI gets more aggressive, you lose out on your peripheral vision which can often put you into precarious situations.
There is no up or down camera control, unless you’re in first-person mode; this make the moments (albeit sporadic) where you need to glide across to another platforms that little more frustrating as you can’t tell if you’ve safely covered the distance.
With there only being L and R buttons on the top of the PSP, some standard moves for Ratchet such as high jumps, long jumps, or wrench throws can’t reliably be performed on the fly (unless your timing is spot on). While Size Matters definitely prioritizes the fast action gunplay over the platforming elements, the times when these moves are needed feel cumbersome and slow down your momentum in the game.
Beyond the issues with the PSP hardware, the standard gameplay can feel clunky and at times unresponsive when it comes to player input. During my time playing the game, I found that often minor movements were not registered or were over-compensated – fortunately not resulting in an unnecessary death too many times. One standout example I can think of is when trying to quickly switch to certain weapons in the Quick Select menu.
Towards the end of the game, my Shield Barrier would end and I’d try to equip a new one during combat, but despite hovering over the right weapon in the menu, the Shield Barrier would just refuse to launch, even after multiple attempts. Again, this was never game breaking or result in a death, but there is that element of frustration that comes with the game not responding the way I wanted it to.
Or this is just a skill issue, and I just need to “get good”. Who knows?
I think that the selection of weapons in Size Matters is pretty good. There is a healthy variety of close, long and remote range weapons that can be applied to almost any situation. With weapons like the Bee Mine Glove, or the Laser Tracer in your arsenal, I’d honestly say that the overall level of creativity of the weapons in Size Matters is better than Ratchet: Deadlocked, though no where near the level of the original trilogy.
However, while I like the weapons in concept, not all of them have the staying power to be worthwhile during an average playthrough. Size Matters struggles heavily with its damage scaling. By the end of the game, enemies have a habit of just being damage sponges to most weapons in your inventory – especially those acquired earlier in the game. Furthermore, because of enemies’ higher defenses, weapons that are intended to be close range, like the Scorcher (a flamethrower weapon) barely have any utility in the endgame because enemies are closing the gap to quickly.
I was a bit disappointed by the worlds in Size Matters, both from a variety and layout perspective.
I completely understand the smaller scale of the game due to the portable nature of the game when it was originally released, however, the worlds that we got felt very generic.
There are some very obvious exceptions to this, such as Dayni Moon playing with the time of day, but I felt like we could have had more variety in the locations we got in the game, there was nothing to make many of the world stand out to me, and perhaps a weather effect, or different terrain could have changed that.
With the purpose of Size Matters being around the concept of size, I’m surprised the game didn’t do more with its signature gadget: the Shrink Ray. It’s used to access a few levels, and for a door unlocker, but it could have been used much more creatively to let us play with the environment in a more abstract way – like shrinking down to access a secret area or two. Which brings me nicely to my next point…
Where are all of the secrets?
In the Insomniac Games entries to the series, there were entire paths dedicated solely to finding hidden collectibles or special gadgets. There is virtually none of that in Size Matters.
Items like the box breaker and bolt magnet, that required exploration across multiple planets and perhaps even a secret boss fight to obtain, are now bought from a Gadgetron Vendor.
There are no ‘off the beaten track’ places in Size Matters, instead what’s left is ‘did you check behind this wall?’, and it makes exploration dull, unrewarding and often non-existent on planets.
One thing that Size Matters introduces that is one of its most standout features is collectible and customizable armor sets!
Rather than purchasing armor periodically throughout the game, Size Matters splits up each set of armor into each of its components: Helmet, Body, Gloves and Boots. These components can then be found throughout your adventure through ‘exploration’ or completing certain objectives. The armor then gives you damage reduction based on the rank of the armor.
You can mix and match different parts to get the most defense possible, and if you wear a complete set of armor (or find the right combination) you can get different armor set bonuses. These set bonuses can give your wrench different abilities, such as being able to deal fire damage with each swing.
I absolutely love the concept of this system! It adds value to the collectibles in the game, giving you a tangible reward for exploring or completing the various minigames.
Speaking of the minigames, Size Matters contains two substantial minigames: Skyboarding and the Clank Arena.
Skyboarding is okay, it doesn’t feel as fun as Hoverboarding in the original game or the Hoverbike races in Going Commando. The core is definitely there, but it just lacks a sense of speed to give them the same exhilarating vibe as before. Additionally, there does seem to be an issue with the rubber banding, you could be performing at top form, but you’ll always have other racers hot on your toes!
The Clank Arena is, again, interesting as a concept, but could have done with being fleshed out more.
These arena challenges are split into multiple events across three different game styles: Destruction Derby, Gadgebot Toss, and Gadgebot Survival. Each of the three challenge style vary drastically from one another, and as a whole I found them significantly more entertaining than the Hoverboard sections for Ratchet.
There are a lot of them, which can get tedious when you’re trying to work through the challenges to obtain a piece of armor, but they’re actually a refreshing break from the standard gameplay formula.
I’d say the weakest part of these challenges has to be the controls themselves, especially on the Gadgebot Survival levels. It goes back to my earlier point that the controls can sometimes be too unresponsive or over-reactive to any input.
The port to the PlayStation 4 and 5 has given the game a second wind through its rewind and save state features, making the game much more accessible to a wider number of players.
If you’re a purest and want to experience the game the way it was originally intended upon first release, you are more than free to play the game your way. However, if you’re new or inexperienced with the Ratchet & Clank series, platformers or have difficulty with finer motor skills, then these port features help make the game much more enjoyable – you’re much less likely to face frustrations of replaying more tedious sections of gameplay and can enjoy everything the game has to offer.
This rewind and save state feature is also perfect for the trophy hunters among you, as you’re no long a single mistake away from losing your progress towards a desperately desired trophy!
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters story is probably one of the weakest stories in any Ratchet game.
Obviously with the game being smaller in scale, it doesn’t give itself enough time to explore the story it’s telling in enough detail. Without giving too much away, by the time we have a clear idea understanding of the main villain and their motives, we’re already in the final level.
The game doesn’t deliver its stakes soon enough (if at all). The basis does kind of reflect the plot of Going Commando, in which we don’t find out the true villain or their motives until right before the final fight, but in that game, the stakes of the Protopet had been made clear from around the middle of the game. In Size Matters, we don’t really get to see anything even close to the implications of what the villain’s plot could mean for the rest of the galaxy. So, it ultimately fall flat.
What’s worse for me though is the odd and inconsistent characterizations of Ratchet and Clank. The game seems to flip their archetype to suit the butt of the joke they’re wanting to tell, without considering whether or not that is in-character for them.
Does Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters have trophy support?
Yes, for the re-release of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for the PlayStation 4 and 5, a set of 33 trophies have been added for collection in the game.
How long is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters?
A single playthrough of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters can take around 5-6 hours to beat by a new player. Although for a returning player to the Ratchet & Clank franchise, you could be looking at closer to 4 hours or so.
You’d definitely get more from the game if you’re aiming to continue playing into a Challenge Mode playthrough, or gunning for that 100% completion.
What consoles is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters on?
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters has been re-released on the PlayStation 4 & 5 and is now the most convenient way to access the game. It is available for standalone purchase, or you can download it for free if you have an active PlayStation+ Premium membership.
Alternative, the game can still be found on the original PSP hardware it was released for in 2007, or the port to the PlayStation 2.
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Rating
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is one of the more forgettable entries in the franchise, with sluggish gameplay in all areas and ignorant narrative changes to character portrayals for the sake of cheap gags or forced plot progression.
It wouldn’t be my first recommendation for getting into the Ratchet & Clank series, or into 3D action-platformers in general either. However, credit needs to be given to the High Impact Games team where it’s due. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters was the first game published by the team, and they did a great job at capturing the essence of a Ratchet & Clank game in a smaller and weaker device in the PSP.
Positives
- Digestible experience with decent benefits for repeat playthroughs.
- Additional current-gen rewind features make up for some of the weaker game design elements.
- Unique armor system.
- Enjoyable minigames (just marred by controls)
Negatives
- Held back by limitations of the original PSP hardware both visually and mechanically.
- Controls feel clunky and unresponsive at times.
- Late game damage balancing is poor.
- Weak story with a lot of out-of-character moments.
Time logged at point of review: 8 Hours
Played on: PlayStation 5
Available on: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 (through port), PSP, PlayStation 2
What do you think? Will you be picking up Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters any time soon? Let me know in the comments.
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