History YMMV / RatchetAndClank2002

** Also, was Helga even aware that Qwark worked for Drek? And if she were, was she assisting him in stopping Ratchet or trying to help the lombax? Her refusing to give up the Swingshot for free could be interpreted as either stripping Ratchet of an important gadget or preventing him and Qwark from meeting.

* CompleteMonster: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Ultimate Supreme Executive Chairman Drek]], at first seemingly well-intentioned in finding his species, the Blarg, [[FightingForAHomeland a new home]], [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist is revealed]] to have been the one who [[ToxicInc polluted]] their homeworld in the first place. Drek's real motive is to [[PlanetLooters loot and destroy numerous planets]] due to the fact that he gets paid for every square inch of the new Blarg homeworld, with plans to begin polluting the new homeworld to start the process over again. Needing a place to put the new planet, Drek attempts to destroy Ratchet's home planet of Veldin, with the implication that he does so just to spite Ratchet for interfering in his plans.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: While still a fun game, in the context of the whole series, it's safe to say that its presentation, design, and narrative choices are really showing their age now and it can come off as a somewhat clunky and quaint game compared to the sequels.
** The CGI, once a top of the line showcase of what the [=PS2=] could do, is very dated-looking now due to the rudimentary, sparsely detailed models, flat lighting and airless quality of the environments, especially in contrast to the [=PS3=] sequels and the 2016 reimagining.
** The third person combat system ends up feeling clunky due to the lack of a proper strafe function and [[FakeDifficulty a lot of the game's challenge coming from just trying to use the weapons right.]] And the weapons, while fun, are rather generic looking and hit-or-miss compared to the arsenals Ratchet acquires in later entries.
** The narrative, which was praised for its depth also gets flack for making Ratchet an unlikable jerk, compared to the later games that toned this down significantly. The actual story also suffers from having any focus on it, which those from the development team admitted that they never had any long term plans to take it to where it is now with the sequels.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Was Qwark aware of Drek's plan, and if he wasn't, would he have still worked for him if he did? The question is raised by the 2016 movie, where [[spoiler:Qwark has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone reaction when he sees the Deplanetizer in-action]]. On the other hand, in ''Going Commando,'' despite Drek's actions being well-known to the public at that point, he still [[spoiler:sought revenge against the duo for defeating him]].

** Likewise, seeing Drek ream out Qwark a few times is very satisfying to watch,given what a lowlife Qwark is.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** While Ratchet is intentionally meant to be an AntiHero and some of his faults are part of [[TookALevelInKindness his character arc]] (and become somewhat more understandable when you know [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction his retroactive backstory]]), he comes off as an outright bully and [[HeroInNameOnly a hair-breadth away from being a villain himself]] during the second act of the game due to his incredibly selfish and petty revenge-oriented goals, and some of the things he does to Clank [[KickTheMoralityPet are unreasonably cruel]], even when factoring in why he acts the way he does--the only reason you'll still be wanting Ratchet to see things through is because Drek and Qwark [[EvilerThanThou are that much worse than him.]] And while [[TookALevelInKindness he does learn to be a better person]] by the third act (and even before then he's gradually realizing just what a big deal the threat of Drek's plans really is), but it takes a whole planet being reduced to ruins in front of his eyes to make him [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize just how badly he screwed up]], and this is ''after'' he fulfills his revenge fantasy, not just in spite of it. It got to where Insomniac Games themselves [[CreatorBacklash realized they went too far in making Ratchet a hotheaded punk]].
** The protagonists blowing up Drek's new planet at the end is clearly just meant to be a cool moment of them sticking it to the villain (also a bit of a "fruit of the poisonous tree" kind of thing), but it's hard not to have FridgeLogic kick in and realize that all those peoples who were displaced by Drek destroying their planets might've appreciated them NOT doing that, either because some of them could have found a new home there or just because of it containing the only remnants of their original home.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Ratchet's [[{{Jerkass}} unheroic characterization]] prior to his CharacterDevelopment. He acts like an abrasive and cocky jerk [[ItsAllAboutMe whose motives are purely self-serving]] for the first third of the game, comes a hairbreadth away from being a VillainProtagonist once he becomes [[SkewedPriorities obsessed with getting even with Captain Qwark while acting indifferent to Drek invading and destroying other worlds]] (and only narrowly avoids crossing the line because [[MoralityChain Clank strongarms him into doing the right thing]], and Ratchet [[KickTheMoralityPet treats him like crap in retaliation for it]]), and [[TookALevelInKindness finally gets his]] [[HeelRealization priorities straight]] once he [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone sees the consequences of his actions unfold right in front of him]]. In the game's initial release, many fans [[TheScrappy found him completely unlikable]] and were glad to see him [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap get nicer in the sequels]]...until the [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2016 2016 reimagining]] came around and made Ratchet a [[{{Adorkable}} nerdy]] [[NiceGuy Luke Skywalker clone]], the ''exact opposite'' of how he is portrayed in this game, and gave the lion's share of the character development to Captain Qwark, of all people. There are many fans who now believe that Ratchet is actually ''better'' characterized in this game (or, barring that, at least had the ''potential'' to be a more interesting character [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter if the storytelling execution had been better]]), since he and Clank have much more time and opportunities to play off of their personality flaws and [[FireForgedFriends eventually bond]] (not to mention it gives Ratchet a [[TookALevelInKindness fairly interesting character arc]]), whereas the reimagining removes virtually all of Ratchet's character development and opportunities for the duo to banter with each other, making Ratchet come off as a [[FlatCharacter bland and uninteresting character now]]. With that said, some fans still prefer his nicer characterization from the reboot and simply find the old Ratchet to be too mean to be likeable.

** Likewise, seeing Drek ream out Qwark a few times is very satisfying to watch, [[KickTheSonOfABitch given what a lowlife Qwark is.]]

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Ratchet's [[{{Jerkass}} unheroic characterization]] prior to his CharacterDevelopment. He acts like an abrasive and cocky jerk [[ItsAllAboutMe whose motives are purely self-serving]] for the first third of the game, comes a hairbreadth away from being a VillainProtagonist once he becomes [[SkewedPriorities obsessed with getting even with Captain Qwark while acting indifferent to Drek invading and destroying other worlds]] (and only narrowly avoids crossing the line because [[MoralityChain Clank strongarms him into doing the right thing]], and Ratchet [[KickTheMoralityPet treats him like crap in retaliation for it]]), and [[TookALevelInKindness finally gets his]] [[HeelRealization priorities straight]] once he [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone sees the consequences of his actions unfold right in front of him]]. In the game's initial release, many fans [[TheScrappy found him completely unlikable]] and were glad to see him [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap get nicer in the sequels]]...until the [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2016 2016 reimagining]] came around and made Ratchet a [[{{Adorkable}} nerdy]] [[NiceGuy Luke Skywalker clone]], the ''exact opposite'' of how he is portrayed in this game, and gave the lion's share of the character development to Captain Qwark, of all people. There are many fans who now believe that Ratchet is actually ''better'' characterized in this game (or, barring that, at least had the ''potential'' to be a more interesting character [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter if the storytelling execution had been better]]), since he and Clank have much more time and opportunities to play off of their personality flaws and [[FireForgedFriends eventually bond]] (not to mention it gives Ratchet a [[JerkToNiceGuyPlot fairly interesting character arc]]), whereas the reimagining removes virtually all of Ratchet's character development and opportunities for the duo to banter with each other, making Ratchet come off as a [[FlatCharacter bland and uninteresting character now]]. With that said, some fans still prefer his nicer characterization from the reboot and simply find the old Ratchet to be too mean to be likeable.

** While Ratchet is intentionally meant to be an AntiHero and some of his faults are part of [[JerkToNiceGuyPlot his character arc]] (and become somewhat more understandable when you know [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction his retroactive backstory]]), he comes off as an outright bully and [[HeroInNameOnly a hair-breadth away from being a villain himself]] during the second act of the game due to his incredibly selfish and petty revenge-oriented goals, and some of the things he does to Clank [[KickTheMoralityPet are unreasonably cruel]], even when factoring in why he acts the way he does--the only reason you'll still be wanting Ratchet to see things through is because Drek and Qwark [[EvilerThanThou are that much worse than him.]] And while [[TookALevelInKindness he does learn to be a better person]] by the third act (and even before then he's gradually realizing just what a big deal the threat of Drek's plans really is), but it takes a whole planet being reduced to ruins in front of his eyes to make him [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize just how badly he screwed up]], and this is ''after'' he fulfills his revenge fantasy, not just in spite of it. It got to where Insomniac Games themselves [[CreatorBacklash realized they went too far in making Ratchet a hotheaded punk]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: While the quality of the CGI is admittedly showing its age nowadays, the game's cartoony industrial/art deco and retro-futuristic approach gives the game a very timeless and all around fun aesthetic that still holds up well. On top of that, the modeling work is still very well done and the animation of the characters is very lively and expressive.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: While the quality of the CGI is admittedly showing its age nowadays, the games cartoony industrial/art deco and retro-futuristic approach gives the game a very timeless and all around fun aesthetic that still holds up well. On top of that, the modeling work is still very well done and the animation of the characters is very lively and expressive.

** Puffoids on Pokitaru and Anklebiters on Hoven, not only because they attack quickly and in large packs, but because they take ''two'' hits from the wrench to kill, unlike all of the other small enemies in the game that only require one swing. Luckily, the Suck Cannon works wonders on them... provided you remembered to find it.
** The Sentry-bots on Quartu and Drek's Fleet will run towards the nearest alarm and activate it should they spot Ratchet, activating missile launchers that rapidly fire homing shots until he flees. They have high health, a long sight range, and come in groups of two or three, leaving very few ways of killing them all before one reaches an alarm, even with the Tesla Claw. The only safe options are activating the Glove of Doom around a corner or Devestator/Visibomb sniping, and screwing up can lead to your health getting drained quickly.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** In Umbris, Ratchet and Clank pass Qwark's course, and are told to step onto a ring. But Ratchet knows that something isn't right.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That Clank would also be suspicious about the ring over a lava pit, and ask Qwark if the ring will trigger one final test for them. Or, alternately, realize that Qwark is trying to kill them, and decides to flee.\\
'''Instead:''' Clank ''pulls'' Ratchet to the ring, causing Qwark to drop them into the pit and send a Blargian Snagglebeast to kill them while he flees. This also causes Ratchet and Clank [[PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure to hate each other]], [[VillainProtagonist and the former becoming]] [[ItsPersonal very obsessed in killing Qwark]].
** Later on, after destroying a proto-deplanetizer on, a Videobot shows the Gemlik Base, above an orbit for Planet Oltanis, preparing for an unprovoked attack. Clank suggests that they invade the base to find Drek, while Ratchet counters that by suggesting that they invade the base to find Qwark.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' That they TakeAThirdOption and defend the ''planet'' from the Blargian invasion.\\
'''Instead:''' They board the base. But not without an argument other something they both ''agree'' on. As a result, most of Oltanis is in ruins by the time they finally reach it, but at least they're on good terms again by the time they reach it.

** The Alien Snappers on the Blarg Station are the first enemies in the game that can be tricky to beat with the wrench. Not only do they take four hits from the wrench to kill, but ''every time'' they're hit they'll snap back at Ratchet for nigh-unavoidable damage if he's still close. Did we mention that they sometimes hang out with large quantities of fast-attacking Alien Swarmers? Thankfully, they're easily dealt with using the Blaster, Bomb Glove, and Glove of Doom, but those won't be an option if you're going for the "Girl Trouble" skill point (see ThatOneAchievement below).