I missed out on a lot of platformers after the fifth generation of video game consoles. Never owned a PlayStation 2 at the time. Thus, IP's such as Sly and Ratchet alongside a certain J. series. Were some franchises I never played. In order to rectify such a mistake. I decided to play another Naughty Dog(ND) platformer except in a 3D open-world environment. with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy for the first time.

Gone are the restricted side-scrolling segments we were forced to endure in Crash Bandicoot 1 and disconnected world through warping in 2 and 3. Jak feels like a natural evolution from the studio's PS1 days and wickedly refreshing with a narrative starting with an act of disobedience. Against the elders' warnings, the protagonists travel to a forbidden island. There the two witness mysterious figures who are sinisterly planning some horrible deed using dark eco and precursor artifacts. Knowing this is well above their usual tomfoolery the duo try to leave. However, before sneakily trying to leave the island... they were ambushed! The events that follow from here have the titular characters embark on a vital quest to fulfill for the elder, any side-missions to complete, and uncover what dastardly plans those two figures were plotting.

The world design is richly goofy. But has a certain serious aesthetic I like. To the extent I was venturing off the beaten path considerably to see what secrets lay in store for me. I bravely ventured into a diverse amount of biomes: A jungle with an old ruin, murky swamp, underwater laboratory, volcano with a spider-cavern, and a snowy peak, with huge snowballs rolling down a path to riding a hoverbike on racing segments and one larger zone to go ham. Reminded me heavily of Spyro using a skateboard. Seems ND was a fan of that and devised their take on a particular basin. Battled a wide assortment of foes from goofy but deadly frogs, drill enemies, shield dudes, not cute at all blue jumping rabbits, long centipedes, and the good old regular animals, but naughty dogified in every biome. Worms, bats, spiders, rats. You name it! Sooner or later they shall appear! Heck faced quite a bit of environmental hazards from falling to my death, being shot by smog, lava deaths, or shocked to a crisp. Not quite quicksand but quickmud. Encountered spiked traps, and spiked logs swaying from trees, and overcame countless jumping sections within. Not too hard and not too easy thankfully. Didn’t see much if any copy paste from the enemy design or world design. Everything was consistently varied and the final zone itself proved a serviceable final act.

Concerning the gameplay loop. I would say it’s consistently fun from the beginning until the very end credits. The open world without any loading aside from using fast travel when you need to is a plus. Allowing anyone to venture as far as they can within reason. The plot will stop you from venturing further until you accrue enough power cells. A collectible item and usually one that stops you from exploring more biomes until they reach a certain number. Didn’t have trouble getting these since I was already forgetting about the main quest to complete some side missions offered by NPCs here. Individuals who look similar to J-man. Although, he doesn’t look like a regular human. To me, he seems like a cross between a mad scientist trying to combine an elf and a human resulting in a humanoid with long ears and inheriting an athletic body to boot. Tasks can range from moving bulls into a pen, pushing an egg, doing a favor for a future mayor, or a fishing dude in a mini-game. I enjoyed finishing these day-to-day jobs since a majority are elderly. Didn’t feel right to leave them to their struggle. And I didn’t mind giving a helping hand for a power cell after the job was done. Thus, my reward felt adequate for my services rendered. Aside from the cells, you can also come across other collectible precursor orbs. Think of these like the apples from the Crash series you’ll often find on the paths, tucked away around the corner, nooks or crannies. Except, you can amass over a hundred to trade them in for a cell. Additionally, scout flies are in special boxes you need to slam into to release the flies. Gather seven of these spread throughout any major level to be awarded a cell. Kinda thankful they're here, so the player doesn’t amass orbs all day ya know?

Furthermore, the world has a varied amount of colored eco. These differ from absorbing orbs changing the gameplay formula in fun ways. They're a temporary power-up granting our main characters a wide array of elemental passives. Blue charges our dudes to move faster, jump a bit farther, and make it so easier to absorb collectibles nearby like a magnet. Red strengthens attacks and invincibility against exploding crates. Plus, a nice interactivity emerges when enemies die. Leaving off green residue for their remains. Once we accrue enough scraps, up to fifty to restore a ⅓ of our health points. In total, we have three health bars. And no finite life stacks to keep track of. Die and you respawn at a nearby point of a large level. Didn’t find too much trouble with re-spawning. They were fine for me. And the inclusion of colored eco’s is gratifying to add spice to the experience. An extra edge in both combat and traversal.

Usually, platformers(broadly speaking) offer some enticing gameplay to differentiate themselves from others in the same genre. To various degrees of enjoyment. Have you noticed other games conduct themselves around their mechanics through level design, encounter's and etc. Below are several examples I pulled from my limited experience in the genre.

- Ape Escape using the analog stick ingeniously. Left stick for movement. Right stick for your gadgets.
- Trine used the stick to coordinate with your allies. The thief can shoot a bow & arrow and a grapple hook in any possible direction when applicable, the knight can block enemies with his shield in any direction, and the wizard can conjure different objects by drawing to help them overcome obstacles or fall on unsuspecting enemies.
- Super Mario 64’s long jump, triple jump, wall jump combined with grabbing, kicking, running, swimming, crouching and etc. proved to be a simple, yet effective formula to endorse player freedom in the whole world.
- Pac-Man World’s shift from the classic game into a 3D landscape works oh so well. Heck P-man can interact with objects, solve puzzles and use new abilities!
- Spyro & Crash's basic movesets were frequently used and tested in various large levels from a hub to straightforward linear segments. Overcoming multiple obstacles both vertical and horizontal. Calling back once again if it ain't broke, don't fix it with sequels largely staying true to the same moves.
- Mirror's Edge smooth parkour capabilities lends itself well into the whole level design employing minimal visual aid to your destination.

Aside from the slew of other platformers. And returning back to Jak. Story-wise I felt the narrative had a stop-and-go momentum. Perhaps owing to the fact, that I completed sidequests along the way while not truly investing in the adventure, making the pacing slow to a crawl. However, the beats in the narrative were like a slow burn in a good way. I think this could be intentional to convey an absence of agency from an immediate save-the-world aspect vs. uncovering a devious plot. Allowing player freedom vs. player urgency to flourish for the former rather than the latter. As someone who adores freedom a great deal in games, such an aspect appealed to me greatly. I don’t like being rushed. Therefore Jak 1 succeeds at least for me in creating a freshly wacky fun world to navigate and a decent story. Unreasonable to expect a masterpiece in the first entry of a new franchise. However, the attempt to do so is noteworthy.

As someone familiar with several PS1 games in the same genre. Although, not an expert or veteran, I was pleasantly surprised how Naughty Dog did not regress in the sixth console generation and boldly made a new IP direction to positive acclaim. Back in the day, I felt plenty of rigidness in their earlier works in how levels were constructed and punishing in a way. Jumping on scaffolding, but hold up we got countless traps, and obstacles to drop us dead. Sure I could use Aku-Aku help, but hey it sucks having to redo a segment ‘x’ amount of times. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Crash series to the point I replayed them in the remastered trilogy. By comparison, Precursor Legacy in my opinion eliminates the rigidity in favoring a more open-freedom in gameplay and combat. The power to go anywhere you physically can is a compelling motivation to fulfill a wanderlust. Exploring what is on the horizon and saying “Oh I can go there.” Busting my athletic skills to their limit. Fluidity at work too. Where I didn’t experience much clunkiness from controlling J & D as one character. Weighty animations from his spin-to-win moves felt satisfying. The long almost Falcon punch from a select Nintendo IP has an immensely awesome feel to wham enemies. Uppercutting and ground slams extend the combat capability of our heroes. Blessing us, a nice reactivity to enemies dying.

Concerning my feelings on platforming. I was initially apprehensive due to the fact I am super horrible at managing timing, and the right jump distance, and easily frustrated if I have to restart a whole level after almost completing a dungeon/level. So after seeing the end credits and witnessing the 100% mark. I couldn’t believe I had the patience and perseverance to keep going. Perhaps owing to the fact the re-spawning mechanic and save system felt very generous, not punishing with ease to let players keep trying. The former mechanic felt quick and would make the duo spawn near the start of a level or a certain point within a zone. Usually after overcoming a major obstacle. The latter on the system feels very safe. In addition to saving at any time. Whenever our main character receives a cell, an autosave will occur. Considering there are over a hundred of these to collect I didn’t find much trouble losing progress upon dying or returning to the original point of death.

I usually die plenty in the Bandicoot games far more in the first and second. Consequently, I was holding my breath and mentally strengthening my willpower if I encountered similar levels of difficulty. To my sheer delight, most if not all platforming levels, sections, and areas are relatively easy to medium in challenging. Some examples I came across were: jumping on dais floating above water and above in mountainous regions. Sometimes moving while the water below is filled with electricity. Falling and rotating in some respects. Camera shifting to a traditional side-scrolling segment. Navigating through falling debris, snowballs, and slides while avoiding exploding crates. Maneuvering through a section to unlock switches, and levers and thus unlocking a new path. Add in timers to complete a task and you may have to think of an optimal route to beat the clock. Trick players into venturing into a dark room and force them to utilize unconventional crystal lights to persevere. Combine these elements in a lesser manner during riding segments and you have a recipe that tastes better as you eat more of the dish. With an excellent difficulty curve for beginners and a nice incline for enthusiasts looking for a challenge to master every level by acquiring everything.

Despite the praise I’ve been sprouting, I do have some mixed feelings. Not a positive or a negative, but some concerns I had during my playthrough I think should be important to note.

In the beginning, I had trouble adjusting to the inverted controls for the camera. But, ultimately got used to the control scheme as an hour or two passed. I felt meaningful collectibles were lacking in rewards. Could be a better incentive to introduce various extensions to temporary powers, permanent move sets, or classic increasing the player with more health would work wonders. Furthermore, I think having a timer for different eco uses is weird. I had to rush constantly to gather new types to utilize during combat. I propose a different alternative. Make the gathered amounts a stock type. Depleting when in use and able to switch between different types when the situation calls for it. Also, I didn’t know there was a secret ending upon gathering everything possible only to reveal a pretty underwhelming scene in the end. Therefore, going for 100% can be a chore in some respects since the collecting aspect doesn't seem to affect the overall gameplay by rewarding the player to search for them. Lastly, the game has a weird texture pop-in. Some textures in the far distance have muddy paint adorned. But upon closer inspection would magically reveal the appropriate textures. And I couldn’t help but feel the game dipped at times. Wonder if there is a definitive version out there to play the series… Well lo and behold OpenGOAL does. A fanmade PC port to play the series with higher fidelity. Currently, at the time this review was published, the team is working on Jak II. Here’s a comparison video I. Am. Amazed. At the difference in quality. While internally slapping myself why I didn’t start the first game with OG’s version. As a result, I recommend checking out the version differences from PS2, PS3, PS4, and unofficial PC port. And select the best one depending on your preference.

Ultimately, despite some minor mixed feelings I had. The overwhelming positives outweigh the concerns by a great deal. Jak’s seamless goofy yet serious, open world is a refreshing 3D experience without being too difficult and not too easy to deter newcomers and veterans. Resulting in a nice curve of challenge in approaching cool-level design. A solid fun gameplay loop kept my interest for a long while and doesn’t overstay their welcome by having enough of their own identity. Distinct from the Bandicoot days. Temporary elemental passives provide a nice spice to the movesets and offer interesting resolutions to tackle both enemies and obstacles. A decent story with a great sense of freedom brings a bright smile to my face constantly. Bringing relief with a generous save system and a painless re-spawn mechanic. Heck, your ottsel companion will incentivize the player upon dying with various quotes. “Don't worry, I'll avenge you! Not...!” “Hey, Jak! Can I, uh... have your insect collection?” Yeah… Oddly motivating.

Still for what it's worth I enjoyed my playthrough with the first installment. Chuckling in amusement at times at the silly things our heroes undergo. I'm looking forward to what awaits me in the franchise. Maybe I’ll dive into Daxter or Jak II next! Anyways! If you’re looking for an excellent platformer from the PS2 days. I recommend Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. Watch how a young foolish duo starts their adventure with an act of disobedience. Tsk tsk. What a naughty d-

8.2/10

References & Additional Material:
Jak and Daxter - PS2 vs PS3 vs OpenGOAL Graphics Comparison
Jak & Daxter PS4 VS PS3 VS Vita VS PS2
Fifth generation of video game consoles
OpenGOAL Jak Project

First review of 2024 baby! What a first game to start the year. I first played this back in 2019 and absolutely loved it. I beat all of the chapters, both A and B sides but never did any of the C sides nor did I get all the strawberries. This playthrough I did tho and man it felt good. Before I get into that let me talk about why this game is so great.

Why don't I just get right into the story first. When I first played, I remember being blown away by the story and absolutely loving it. While I do still think it's good, there was something bothering me throughout and it may just be a me thing. Theo, he's not a bad character but why all the mentions of selfies and his social media 😭. I hate to say it but it was really taking me out of the story at points. It was definitely the biggest issue I had when replaying this. Otherwise though, the Madeline side of the story is really good. I like how anyone that plays this game can at least relate to her need to overcome her personal demons and I think the fact they made it so she accepts them for what they are instead of just trying to bury them completely, I like that execution way more. They portrayed anxiety and depression super well and I think that's the game's strongest aspect when it come's to story.

The soundtrack is pretty solid, tho I remember loving it back then which I wouldn't say I love it now. Don't get me wrong, it's good and there are some standout tracks in certain chapters but I didn't like it as much as I did in 2019 I think. Maybe it was because I was more focused on playing the game and didn't pay attention to the music too much this time around? I also maybe wasn't a fan of the voices they gave the characters. Idk some of the time I found it kinda annoying which is a shame.

As for some of the biggest positives, the game is amazing visually. The pixel art is pretty much perfect the whole way through and the backgrounds in some of these chapters are breathtaking. Golden Ridge I think was the standout especially, it was gorgeous.

Now we come to my favorite part of the game, the gameplay. This is easily one of the most fun 2D platformers I've ever played. It's just so polished and the level design is so good. One of my favorite things was just finding all the secrets, there's a ton of them whether it's hidden strawberries or crystal hearts or B side tapes or even that one hidden indie game screen I somehow found by doing the wavedash (that was insane) they're all really fun to find. I also really love just how many different techniques you can perform. A lot of them aren't explained until late late game or not even at all and they can really break the game sometimes, it's awesome. Celeste is also extremely difficult I'm sure you know. Indeed, some of the later levels in the base game can get super duper hard. The B sides and C sides especially, some of those were nuts. As I said, I did everything in the base game...everything except for the golden strawberries. I got the one in chapter 1 A side but that was it. They just don't feel too worth it since it's not new content...just surviving an entire chapter without dying which isn't too fun imo. As for the hardest part of the base game, that hands down has to go to Chapter 7 Side C. Jesus Christ that last fucking screen took me 3 hours in-game time and exactly 1152 deaths. None of the other chapters came close to that many deaths and you know what, I'm so glad I did it. I'll never do it again mind you, but I told myself that if I did it...I'd bump this game to a 9. So for now that's what I'll do tho I may bump it down to an 8.5 who knows.

I do have some issues that are more a me thing but this game is super fun and definitely a top tier indie in my book.

Oh and as for farewell...yes I'll be doing that next and yes I am very scared. I got up to the point where you're required to wavedash back in 2019 and then quit. I've heard it's extremely brutal in the 2nd half so I'm nervous but I will persevere boys. Wish me luck!

man what a disappointment

alan wake was definitely something that I looked forward revisiting after the release of the second game but the more I went on with the game the more its seams started to break apart

this is a remaster of the OG game and as a remaster its pretty chill you have that new texture work 60 fps shiny graphics definitely the most interesting part of the game if I gotta be honest and also kudos to remedy for making a remaster that works wonders on the pc because after playing those shitty ports for ff7r and ff15 I really needed this to play accordingly and it did

in its premise this game has such a great introduction alan is a writer that slowly descends into schizophrenic madness after the disappearance of his wife during a holiday trip in idk where probably twin peaks (I've never watched twin peaks I have no idea what yall are talking about)

bomb subject matter that may or may not be enhanced by the fact that apparently a ghost manuscript somewhere allegedly written by alan is influencing the course of the story and making every single part of the game a nightmare

now there's a lot of different points and ropes to untie here and there but it never really get more interesting than that the many side characters are only a way for alan to keep being delulu or a way to contrast his schizophrenic frenzy and there's that his trustworthy pal is a dipshit the cop is atrociously underdeveloped there's an old woman somehow and the psychiatric doctor is probably the most based character because he goes to alan and tells him “gurl you delulu” and gets punched in the face rip

the main plot is basically what I said alan searches for his wife the end theres some degree of backstory and explanation to what is happening but the game really loves remaining confused to the fucking end to the point that you can't excuse its pretentiousness anymore I really LOVE the story here but there's not enough tension or insight for you to actually make a cliffhanger open ending

and adding to all this there's a kingdom hearts typa script with stuff like “his heart is full of darkness… only the light can stop the darkness” youre tripping this is so surface level it makes me want to tear my hair which is a shame because the fact that the game is segmented in different chapters and subsequent recaps makes it feel like you're watching a TV series alright

that being said the art department is pretty alright they're really going for a realistic based type of experiment because wow thr environments are so boring for a guy experiencing schizophrenia like theres a lot of woods and woods and woods sometimes there's some points of interest like structures here and there or natural formations like falls or cliffs but it's really sedimented into the reality aspect of things and honestly that was really a disappointment particularly for a game which has a lot of focus on “light and darkness” and the answer to that is literally streetlights in the forest ok whatever

last but not least the gameplay is pretty fun . for 5 minutes before you realise all you're gonna do is get from point A to point B doing this sequence of actions: shine light on enemies -> shoot at them and OPTIONALLY try to not get killed by phantom pieces of trains or construction machines or lintels rinse and repeat sometimes the game is gonna introduct new stuff like weapons or new ways of shining lights like a bigger flashlight or unmovable spotlights but apart from that this is what you're gonna do the entire game and all that while you run through woods until a cutscene or a mob of enemies tries to kill you while saying shit like “I love McDonald's burgers but they're not healthy” literally I'm not joking here

when the gameplay and art direction are not hitting and not even the narrative gets as gripping as you want it to youre left with a mid experience and I'm pretty sad because I remembered seeing this game around on youtube when I was younger and thinking it was absolutely groundbreaking but experiencing it again after all this years maybe I set my bar too high and was left empty ended

still !!! didn't hate it please fans don't kill me also the interlude songs are definitive bops

This game.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is a masterpiece. It's a game that I play at least once a year all the way through, and I never regret a single moment of it. It's one of those games that came to me at the right place, right time, and hit all the right notes. As a kid I was swept away by the mystical setting, the serious and stark (but not TOO serious and stark) tone that contrasted the other platformer games I was playing. The handpainted textures that gave it an ethereal quality. The charming, bizarre character designs and lively animation only a French production could provide. The mystical leitmotif-heavy soundtrack. The strange, alluring goobledegook language they all speak. And Rayman himself. That weird, weird guy. He really baffled me when I saw him on the cover of this game the first time. I couldn't make out if that right foot overlapping his torso was supposed to be a dress/kilt thing. Or if his hair was bunny ears. I was so confused..

The narrative pulls of Rayman 2 are not that deep, but everyone in this game is so lovable and whimsical that you really want to help their plight the best you can anyways. Globox is so inherently funny and I'm glad he stuck around for the rest of the series; in a similar way I really wish Clark the Giant got to as well. And Ly the Fairy is.. well, I crushed on her a lot. Maybe I still do. She's a cool catgirl, leave me alone! But anyways I wish she didn't disappear with this game. The game does a good job of making them feel like they've been your friends for a long time. Also Jano is seriously creepy, Razorbeard is a lovably despicable villain, and Polokus's design is wicked cool. Love those crazy arms.

I've mostly mentioned art, music, characters and presentation so far. But thankfully, my feelings on the game are not purely about aesthetics. Rayman 2 has brilliant level design that, while linear, makes use of every square foot with fun and exciting ideas. The levels are atmospheric and at times haunting, but simultaneously really, really solid platforming. While the stages have very similar theming all throughout (rather than doing a wide variety like most Rayman games), it makes sure to tie them well into the "Glade of Dreams" locale that the game's characters inhabit, and every single stage, scene and setpiece is dedicated to progressing the story, so I never feel like I lose interest in the next place I'm headed.

Your movement feels tight and responsive at all times, no jump feels off, and ledge grabbing into jumping feels like magic. Sliding down slopes feels extremely satisfying and lets you make big leaps. Your helicopter hair lets you descend through massive chasms and across giant gaps in ways that not only help platforming but can heavily enhance the scale or atmosphere of the surrounding stage. The combat mechanics aren't perfect as they couldn't make Rayman throw his fists in 3D yet, so they had him throw energy balls instead. While not AS engaging as what they wanted, they turned it into a positive by giving the energy balls a rubber-esque quality, letting you bounce them all around the stage and screen, with even some puzzles centered around ricocheting them at specific angles. It's really clever and makes up for the lack of the projectile-fist in spades.

This is one of those games I try my best to get everyone to play. Even if they don't like it as much as I do, I know exactly why I love it, and will always recommend someone to try it out. No matter what version of the game you're playing, you're not playing anything under an 8/10. Yes, even the Playstation 1 version with over a third of the content truncated. And yes, even the terrible DS or 3DS versions. Any version is gonna be a good game.

But if you were to ask me which version is my favorite, I'm gonna have to pick the N64 version. It's framerate is a little choppy, but the slightly lower poly count strangely makes the character models cuter, and the soundtrack (while MIDIfied) has some alternate tracks that I think are compositionally superior to the standard OST! If you want the general opinion though, Dreamcast did it best, and I wouldn't say no to that either.

Regardless, you should play this game. Everyone should. I keep asking God to tell Ubisoft to do one good thing and remake this game for me. But God will not listen, for he turns a blind eye to letting anything good come out of Ubisoft. Sigh.

Rayman 2 is one of the greats that pushed the 5th gen's boundaries to the skies with its technical finesse and wonderful presentation.
An awesome 3D platformer with a nice sprinkle of varied concepts for its never staling set of levels.

While it lacks functional, coherent gameplay, it bursts out with a charming amateurish confidence that's hard not to fall for. Criticizing it too much feels like punching down, and thankfully NanaOn-Sha got other chances to build upon the groundwork set out by this game. PaRappa the Rapper has been, in terms of polish and mechanical refinement, upstaged by the almost three decades of rhythm titles that followed it, including its sequels, but it's not difficult to see why the inaugural entry of the series still has its own fervent subset of fans.

Beat it last year, came back recently to finish off 100%. Wario Land 4 is a fantastic little platformer, and has a lot to offer on the GBA. The secrets are well hidden and the platforming is solid. Fun level designs too! I really wish they would revive this series, Wario Land has so many fun experimental gimmicks and mechanics that Mario is missing! (pun not intended). It's a must play title for any Nintendo fan.

...And yeah, I might still have rose tinted glasses for Shake It. Wario Land 4 is my personal close second in the series! However, this game really does have some fantastic platforming and satisfying puzzles. It lives up to all the talk surrounding it and has aged nicely.