Jak and Daxter Classic Reveiw

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)

Classic Review

So I may be biased, but this is one of the greatest games ever made. If someone asked me what I remember from my childhood, I would tell them Jak And Daxter. If they ask me what else I remember from my childhood, I would repeat Jak and Daxter again, perhaps more firmly. Hopefully, after this exchange,  they will eventually walk away and let me play some freaking Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.

For those of you who didn’t grow up and game in the early 2000’s, Jak and Daxter wasn't truly original in concept. It just took its concept to the next level with actually being fleshed out and fun. The early 2000’s were a time where many 3-D open-world platformer games were birthed on the PlayStation 2. Some household names in this genre include Ratchet and Clank, and Sly Cooper, and Jak and Daxter. However, there were some other contenders to this genre that have been mostly lost to time. Remember Ty the Tasmanian Tiger or Blinx the Time Sweeper? Yeah, most people don’t. Thankfully, Jak and Daxter wasn't one of those games. Jak, along with Ratchet, and Sly, created a holy trinity for early PlayStation era gamers. When you speak to someone who gamed in this PS2 era, most have only played one of the three games. Others, like me, consumed them all to sometimes an unhealthy degree. 

These games all explored the same basic premise. A quirky hero, sometimes with a sidekick or group, goes on a  quest to save the world from some quirky evil. Along the way, this hero has to collect forms of currency and other collectibles and interact with side characters who oftentimes con the protagonist out of all the currency they just earned. These early platformers had varying stories and gimmicks, but for the most part, could be pretty cut and paste. Very few of them lasted multiple entries, and even fewer saw successes outside of the PS2/ original X-box era.  This isn't to say platformers are far from a dying breed today, they have just evolved. Back between 2000-2005 though, one could close their eyes and pick a game at random on the Blockbuster shelf, and it was probably a platformer following this concept. One could argue that from the ashes of failure for many of this early genre, came a more refined experience for modern platformers today. Growing up, I came to love this genre, even if sometimes I wasn’t very good at them. And this love started with Jak and Daxter.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was spawned from the great minds inside Naughty Dog. A juggernaut of a development company you may remember making tiny indie games such as Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted, and The Last Of Us. The game follows a mute boy named Jak and his best friend Daxter. After falling in a vat of a substance the series calls “Dark Eco” Daxter is turned into a weasel creature or “Ottsel.” From there, they must journey through the world to change Daxter back to normal. Along the way, they battle Dark Eco junkies Gol and Mia and their army of minions. The gameplay centers around platforming puzzles and collecting artifacts called “Power Cells.” Jak and Daxter have to collect enough Power Cells to make it to the next area, and sometimes there's a boss blocking their way. There are over 101 Power Cells to collect, and collecting them all (though the games only require 75 or so for completion) unlocks a secret ending.

It’s hard for me to find a game that makes me happier and more relaxed than this game. From the opening logos, you are met with a dancing Daxter. He cuts a rug like Travolta in Boogie Nights, only to get sucker punched by a logo pushed by Link wannabe Jak. This was the greatest moment in my budding gaming career when I was 8 years old. The true pinnacle of comedy.  A dancing weasel creature should just be a standard when presenting company logos before a game starts. If this catches on I deserve some credit. Anyway, dancing weasels aside, a player can get engrossed in this game before pushing start. The title screen explodes out showing a seemingly gigantic world filled with beaches, mountains, and jungles. The world seemed gigantic and in 2001, it honestly was. From simple beach levels to high snowy mountain levels, this game has it all. Even though this game has been remastered for all of Sony’s modern consoles now, The original PS2 version still holds up graphically, albeit a little bit of fuzziness around the edges. From the monsters to the eccentric characters, the world of Jak and Daxter is full of life. I still find myself diving in for an hour or two, and I still find something new. The original score of this game is among the greats. The music encapsulates wherever you are at any given moment. The tribal-like, beach goer music for the opening levels still gets stuck in my head. I remember fondly as a kid staying on the title screen just so I could listen to it on repeat over the shouts of my parents wanting to disown me. The music made me feel as if I was on an actual adventure with my friends, and the first time I heard the score put to the final battle with Gol and Mia was the first time I ever felt like a bad-ass for reaching the end of a game.

I know I may sound like a fanboy, and I am, no question. However, I need to be fair and bring up the issues that bring this game down if only slightly. First, Jak and Daxter can be extremely hard at times. With only 3 (4 if you're lucky) hit points available to you, it can be hard to get out of some sticky situations alive. The platforming, while fun after having 17 years to practice, in retrospect can be all over the place and unforgiving. In the final levels, the checkpoints are Dark Souls level of brutal, leading to the trust issues I have today. Next, the dialogue is as cringy as a bad anime. Many of the jokes haven’t aged well, and Daxter’s grating voice spouting the vast majority doesn't help. These issues never go away in the series sequels, except for a few gems. Years later, though, these faults end up making the Jak series what it is.

This game is my childhood, and the series’s more teenage-focused sequels followed me into my adolescent and adult years. Every E3 I sit down to watch the Sony press conference and hope that a new entry is coming, but I know that’s a pipe dream. A man can dream though, right? Seriously though, this game is beautiful, endearing, and defined an arguably over-saturated genre. The music and graphics are stellar and the characters are memorable even if it can be unbearably hard. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is worthy of any gamers time, casual or otherwise, and learning to dance like Daxter remains one of my top goals as an adult.