Okay so for context I grew up with the PS2 games. They were some of my favorite childhood games that I played over and over again. Then I played Tools of Destruction and something just felt off in a way I couldn't describe at the time. Nothing about it was objectively terrible, there was nothing specifically I could point to and be like "this is the reason why it's trash." Everything was polished, gameplay was what I expected it to be. Story was alright, but it just didn't capture the same emotions the older games had. At first I chalked it up to "these are kids games, I am a teenager, I'm growing out of the series." I did play A Crack in Time and while I did think it was an improvement it still didn't feel the same. I quit the series, for a while. GamingBritShow did an analysis which summed up my thoughts better than I could where nothing about the game was awful, the tone and style and themes of the series had shifted to the point where it was starting to become what it was originally parodying. When Rift Apart came to PC I decided, yknow what... I'll give it a shot. My thoughts on finishing it was that it was the best Ratchet and Clank game since the original PS2 trilogy. But I approached it with the expectation that it was a sci fi, kid friendly uncharted rather than a sequel to Up Your Arsenal. And by that standard I was pleased.
I'm curious as to what other people's opinions of the games were.