The Jak & Daxter series has been a demon to me my whole life. Never was I able to beat them as a kid, be it because I was too dumb or because some of my copies were just straight up broken. But now here I am, unofficially christening my brand new PS5 with this PS2 port that isn't the PS3 HD remastering Naughty Dog what the hell is wrong with you.
Jak 1 is the most 3D platformer game of the series. 2 and 3 are also 3D platformers, but they were much more reliant on gunplay and vehicles than platforming. The checkpoints are also better spaced, but still kinda spastic. Soundtrack is mostly ambience with the occasional memorable tune like Sandover Village. Story is the simplest and thus weakest of the trilogy but the cutscenes remain expressive as ever, even if this was pre-Jak talking. Kinda astounding how much of an upgrade the character models in 2 onwards are compared to 1. I guess Naughty Dog really have always been the kings of character animation.
I kinda hate the health system. Getting health back is a chore and a half when you have to collect 50 green eco and enemies and boxes drop like 3-4 green eco at a time. And you're definitely gonna get hit while trying to collect 50. I really liked the vehicle sections this time around and retroactively wished Jak 2 and 3 had zoomer levels with Jak 1's level of perfect control. I really like the collect-a-thon aspect of Jak 1. Hunting down every orb, scout fly and power cell is stupid fun. They're never hidden in too obscure a place too, save for the occasional stupid power cell tucked behind a crevice or in a level you have to come back to later. Looking at you, Mountain Pass hidden power cell behind a rock that I can only break with the yellow eco vent that only unlocks after you beat Snowy Mountain later.
It feels good finally putting this childhood demon of mine to rest, even though I have now come to the saddening conclusion that the Jak & Daxter trilogy is kinda bad and the racing spin-off was the best game in the series. That being said: Naughty Dog. Listen. You're done with Uncharted. You just made a TLOU game. Instead of making another realistic IP, make another T or M-rated Jak game. Either reboot the series or make Jak 4. I NEED to see 4K Haven City. Insomniac still makes Ratchet & Clank games so you have no excuse.
Jak 1 is the most 3D platformer game of the series. 2 and 3 are also 3D platformers, but they were much more reliant on gunplay and vehicles than platforming. The checkpoints are also better spaced, but still kinda spastic. Soundtrack is mostly ambience with the occasional memorable tune like Sandover Village. Story is the simplest and thus weakest of the trilogy but the cutscenes remain expressive as ever, even if this was pre-Jak talking. Kinda astounding how much of an upgrade the character models in 2 onwards are compared to 1. I guess Naughty Dog really have always been the kings of character animation.
I kinda hate the health system. Getting health back is a chore and a half when you have to collect 50 green eco and enemies and boxes drop like 3-4 green eco at a time. And you're definitely gonna get hit while trying to collect 50. I really liked the vehicle sections this time around and retroactively wished Jak 2 and 3 had zoomer levels with Jak 1's level of perfect control. I really like the collect-a-thon aspect of Jak 1. Hunting down every orb, scout fly and power cell is stupid fun. They're never hidden in too obscure a place too, save for the occasional stupid power cell tucked behind a crevice or in a level you have to come back to later. Looking at you, Mountain Pass hidden power cell behind a rock that I can only break with the yellow eco vent that only unlocks after you beat Snowy Mountain later.
It feels good finally putting this childhood demon of mine to rest, even though I have now come to the saddening conclusion that the Jak & Daxter trilogy is kinda bad and the racing spin-off was the best game in the series. That being said: Naughty Dog. Listen. You're done with Uncharted. You just made a TLOU game. Instead of making another realistic IP, make another T or M-rated Jak game. Either reboot the series or make Jak 4. I NEED to see 4K Haven City. Insomniac still makes Ratchet & Clank games so you have no excuse.