I know Naughty Dog made the Crash trilogy, and those games will always be super important to me as they got me into gaming. But I really do think Precursor Legacy is their masterpiece. So incredible for the time and it still holds up insanely well.
Thank god i had an older brother who could do these levels for me, i remember on the final boss in jak 2 he did the jet board jump glitch to get up the cliff, thought he was a god
On 17:15 The ambush in the water sums as I remember correctly it was painful back in my nostalgic childhood and now as a young adult I finally got though the F*KING mission by the first lucky try.
Dude, this is one of my freaking favorite video game series EVER. I fucking pray that we get a good sequel someday lol I hope to make videos on these games some day :)
Square Eyed Jak Dude, I knowww! I feel like there’s finally hope, but I’m afraid to be let down xD For a split second, I thought the end of the new Ratchet and Clank trailer was Haven City too, and I almost shit my pants lol
Square Eyed Jak Seriously! It’s unlikely, but I’m always gonna have that little bit of hope that it’s possible xD it’s so sad that the only legit PS crossovers we’ve gotten are Move Heroes and AllStars Battle Royale -____- not that they were terrible, but God damn, the potential is insane lol
I was just replaying the trilogy a little while back. Even after all of these years, I can never get enough of them. I find the characters endearing, the world so interesting, and the games are just fun. I make it a point to marathon them every summer because, as you mentioned, they're replayable. The other half of the series are merely supplemental, though I did enjoy Jak X and found Daxter and The Lost Frontier all right. As for the Precursor twist in Jak 3, it was actually foreshadowed a couple of times by Seem with lines like "You [Daxter] may carry the color of our creators..." and mentioning seeing the face of the creators one last time... in front of Daxter. I don't know what that Precursor spirit from the Stone in Jak II was all about, but outside of that, it's a nice subversion on what people might usually view gods or deities as.
Good lord I remember the days when I first got my PS2! My mum brought me GTA Sanandreas, Jak 2, Spiderman 2 and Spyro Enter The Dragonfly... My mum wanted to play Spyro with me, we turned it on and her first words were "What is this sh't? This isn't PS1 Spyro, sorry for swearing honey do you want to play GTA?"😂😂I will always remember that, Great video Jak you're awesome
I must say I quite enjoyed the older review episodes of Jak and Daxter but this really was a level up. You paid some great respect and detail to each of the titles. Great work awesome production yet again. :)
You really are the king of logo's dude, it adds such a level of professionalism to your videos. This was the thing that drew me to your channel. Keep it up!
I don't need to use the FM on my PS3 but it goes through for PS1 games sake, so I slightly tweaked some settings for it. But nothing major. I'm also using HDMI, that helps majorly.
A touch I love is how Eco has gone from this mystical energy into something traced; converted to ammo for your Morph Gun it makes the world feel like it’s evolved a lot over the years. I also love the twists of Young Jak and Kor. They are foreshadowed enough to where you can catch on but it’s not in your face about it, and it’s easier to catch these details on a second play through. It’s honestly really interesting going back to this game years later because you could see this as an origin for Naughty Dog’s storytelling style that we’ve seen in Uncharted and The Last of Us. A change of the times which is what they were going for.
Not the best place for this, but can we just appreciate the fact that there are 101 power cells in Jak 1, allowing you to KEEP the muse for yourself without any penalty?
17:15 I found out just last week you can kill the thing in the water with a dark jak bomb... and now I want to go back and see if it's true.... cause fuck that level
For me it's become so much easier. I played the Precursor Legacy first though so I was pretty used to the controls and move sets again, maybe that's why it seemed harder for ya
To this day, the original Jak and Daxter is arguably my favorite game of all time. A gorgeous world to explore, beautiful soundtrack, intriguing lore/worldbuilding and loveable characters. Not to mention Jak's brilliant moveset, which makes for some absolutely top-tier platforming gameplay. The amount of crazy bullshit you can do to overcome self-imposed challenges (e.g. No Orb run) is awesome. Yes, the bosses are rather weak and the cutscenes are unskippable, but the pros massively outweigh the cons for me.
About the whole "Precursors are ottsels" reveal, I noticed that it was foreshadowed not only in the third game, but even the first game! In Samos' opening narration asking himself who the Precursors were, the answers rested on the shoulders of a young boy (Jak). Daxter rests on his shoulders whenever they're out on an adventure. As well as in Jak 3 with Seem saying things like "You may carry the colours of our creators, animal" and thanking him for the future.
There was definitely forward planning but I still don't like it. It lands more like a cheap and easy joke which should NEVER be the core of your entire narrative. Even if it was suggested that precursors take on many forms (which would also explain the Dark Makers also being precursors) I'd be ok with it. Cause it's still a joke for laughs but it's not blatant fact that ferrets created the entire universe etc.
@@SquareEyedJak I see what you mean, 2 years later I still laugh. But when you build up this lore through 3 games just for a throw away joke. It kinda breaks the emersion a bit. But hey I still would like to know the precursor history between them and it's enemies I can still feel emersed if jak 4 pushed a more bigger narrative with the precursor lore and even with it's connections with jak and mar. But for now it's still disappointing.
I think this trilogy is a masterpiece. The "best" one is actually the first one because of it's open world, music and platforming and the way the world comes together. Jak 2 and Jak 3 are both amazing. Jak 2 has the best story. Jak 3 is my favorite power fantasy because you're so stacked that you can literally almost just play how you want. :)
Perfect or not, this series has and always will continue to have a big, and i mean big influence and impact on me. Even since the early days. Jak truly was naughty dog's best effort, and my opinion: more than worthy of it's legacy, inspite of any nitpicks and occasional bs they may throw at the player. It's always a pleasure to return to this iconic gem of a series. - And the slums ambush is to Jak 2 what "Set to Kill" is to Simpsons: Hit and Run, and i'd equally put them on the top-prize pedestal in the hall of gaming infamy.
Super happy for your success, Jak! I already enjoyed your reviews as they were in your old place, but since you've moved out I have noticed a huge increase in quality overall. This review being a great example. Keep at it, man, and look forward to more content from ya!
For the longest time, I've owned a PS2 demo disk with the Jak 3 demo, which I played a TON since I was young. Those levels are permanently burned into my mind. Having just had the chance to play and finish the trilogy, I've got to say these games have easily become some of my all-time favorites. I absolutely loved them! Oh, and Jak X. Absolutely fucking awesome. That's all I have to say about that. Great review, Jak! Now onto the Ratchet & Clank trilogy...
It took me 15 minutes to realize that thing on your t-shirt isn't sweat or some water stain. Anyways, fanatstic video as always! I started watching your videos because of your Jake & Daxter reviews. Can't believe it already has been 5 years since it! Your evolution as a content creator is evident!
28:46 Actually, I liked this revelation about the Precursors; it's both funny (something that is in line with the tone of the first game and I always enjoy) and totally unexpected
This is such a gem and throwback! The original reviews of the series is how I found you and you also re-convinced me to source a PS3 and play the HD remasters of them!!! Been watching as a fellow aussie every since!
Square Eyed Jak finally enough I never knew what the games was like before this channel I thought just another PlayStation exclusive but I never knew it was this type of game
Aw 2015 , the year where you constantly teased fans on a possible Ratchet and clank retrospective (and we fans didnt shut up about it) , now that brings me back .😁
Was fun seeing your take a look back at one of the older series you reviewed. Still remember putting off watching your reviews because I was playing through Jak and Daxter myself :)
This trilogy will always be one of if not my favorite trilogy in gaming. God I love it. I could play jak and Daxter every day of my life. Jak 2 pisses me off, but I love it. Jak 3 is probably my favorite though. It's so huge, and so fun
Nice to see a new Jak and Dacter review. And it's nice to see you as well. You and Daddy Caddy are my favorite reviewers on the internet. :) hope you have a great fuckin day.
I can't believe these games are over 20 years old now... Times were simpler, then. When video stores were still around, when portable media was still in its formative years, and when the world wasn't so uncertain. I'm confident that we'll never get a remake of this trilogy, but that's alright because we have an unofficial PC port known as OpenGOAL. Jak 3 support is still in development, but I was able to play Jak 1 and 2 from start to finish with minimal bugs and glitches.
I missed out on a good trilogy of games when I was a kid I played jak 2 & 3 it for the very first time yesterday and I've had a ps2 since 2005 i also loved hearing the rugrats theme at 15:23
You shouldve mentioned the easiest way to beat the ambush in the water slums. Just dark bomb the water to kill the defense turret and then hover board your way to victory like "fuck this insanely fucking hard mission". I remember figuring out that trick as a kid and thinking i was a genius and also thinking "yea take that you fuckin game"
I liked this. The synchronicity is pretty cool cuz I just watched all your old Jak and Daxter reviews and then ordered the same HD 3 game collection for myself to play I've only played Jack to so this will be a good chance to experience them all again.
I can tell you the water slums challenge isn't even the hardest challenge of Jak II, if you ever unlock hero mode, good luck doing the "destroy ship at drill platform" mission, it is without question in my mind the hardest mission in the whole Jak series.
Oh man jak and daxter really need a remade. They aged like fine wine, but a new engine and lighting could make them feel like a modern series. Jak II is my favorite but it needs a difficulty select that gives more check points on easier settings. Also jak II needs more effects to live up the city. Having the city slowly change with how many missions like the pedestrians going against the crimson guards, to opening new hidden paths that lead to goodies would really be a nice bonus. Great review my man. Keep it up.
A pleasant surprise Jak. You’ve really come a long way in terms of overall quality in your videos :) While I love the original reviews for their charm, this is most certainly a worthy successor. Also, in regards to the Mole things in Precursor Basin. The trick is not to go full speed at them, as the fear of being torn to ribbons by that big F off propeller makes them run about erratically. Easing up on the throttle makes them a lot easier to herd around. That said, that particular mission is really annoying.
While I still really enjoy your older Jak & Daxter reviews despite their aged presentation and humour, it’s pretty crazy just how much you’ve improved your production values and general video quality from then.
I got stuck in that ambush level for so long, but I realized the best way is not to fight, so I speedrunned through the cops in the hoverboard, plus I had a lot of fun trying to stay over the bridges while dodging the cops in high speed
Excellent analysis on the series, Jak! Your style and review process have definitely matured during these years! I always find myself agreeing to your final scores, they're well-reasoned and accurate of the game's positives and negatives. Too many times reviewers slap a 10/10 when they like a game and a 4/10 when they don't like it and that just misses the point of reviewing entirely. Keep up the amazing work man :)
Jak & Daxter will never get old for me, always glad to replay them from time to time. I remember watching the original reviews like it was yesterday, hard to believe it's been five years. BTW the easiest way to beat that slums ambush is to mash the square button to spam Jak's punch, makes it a hell of a lot easier.
you are correct, the Design Bible for Jak and Daxter TPL, lays out the level design for the game, and there was suppose to be an additional hub area for the yellow sage
I was really hoping you would say something about the ambush in the water slums area... when I was a kid it took me MONTHS to get past it.. I started making new save files to replay from the start.
I unfortunately don't have fond memories of Jak & Daxter as I only got to experience it the first time just a few years ago, and didn't own a PS2 until 2005. But to those who have many fond and/or frustrating memories of the trilogy, cheers. Also, I need to watch the original reviews of these games sometime.
I got each one the Xmas they released as a kid, it was almost a tradition during the ps2 gen to play a new jak game on Xmas. The first one blew me away so much at the time haha.
I used to have them but don't remember them very well. I later got the trilogy digitally in 2012 I think and there was fine, even Sly I've tried, 1 was alright for what I got to and 2 I don't care for and get about a far way through the 2nd area I think, not played 3 yet. I find the characters cool, the stories alright, the gameplay to be fine but the mission structure of going back and forth and open world like is so boring to me. It can feel like padding and sticking to a level for hours instead of moving on the rest of the story, moves, locations, etc. I get what Naughty Dog was going for but while I suck at Precursor Legacy I do prefer it, while 2 & 3 I've beaten (3 up to the Final Boss but 2 I beat) I didn't enjoy them that much. I'm not into open world in general though. The missions were fine and what they were going for being GTA like made sense for the time but I don't care for these sorts of games. Even for getting to GTA late I own Liberty City stories on PSP and while I know it's not that comparable to SA or otherwise I don't care for it, the only thing I find impressive is the city recreation, the rest is uninteresting (yes even modern entries I don't enjoy either. Sunset Overdrive and Gravity Rush maybe but otherwise I get too bored due to how they don't make the moves interesting. Gravity or Grinding I can get behind, running/slashing stuff or doing things that are helping someone besides doing a minigame I can find very boring. Sure Jak 2 & 3 have minigames but some are quest like things you just don't care about doing like modern games I find and even then the minigames can be boring and overdone in linear games so the scale only kind of helps if it is or isn't crowded with walls or people to bump into and kind of makes it worse to reach the goals if they are too large or just annoying stretches of land with a bunch of hills or tight corners that sure work but are still uninteresting if you re-use a vehicle/do a similar challenge a few minutes or hours later you have already experienced). But I'm not into realistic games, I'm more into fantasy/sci-fi or fictional worlds, the closest I get to caring for realistic is alternate history stuff like Resistance or Wolfenstein but that's about it. I'm for larger worlds so we don't have too thin corridors, but I find large rooms work not large worlds, I find it impressive for showing off the engine/scale, not 'recreating a country' levels of scale like we might expect in the future or getting a recreated virtual holidays or otherwise big of sizes as they aren't always that interesting and the Point A to B taking too long is just like a long car ride, its boring! And swing/running or whatever to a destination isn't fun no matter who the skin/method of getting there is changed. It might be for 5 minutes but not the whole game when you'd want to teleport there to get through it quicker to play it properly over say glitches/speedrunning techniques.
Might I add that the character appearances improved throughout the games. Jak in particular. First game he was just a shy awkward kid? Second game he became this short tempered rebel with his hair weirdly combed back. And in the third game he became a literal badass with arguably one of the best character designs imho.
Not gonna lie. I had 2 missions in Jak 2 that I found unreasonably difficult my first time playing through the game. (As a full grown adult mind you. Never played it as a kid.) and neither of them was the Ambush at the Docks Mission. They were the Sewer Escort mission and the Hellcat Cruiser mission. It'd also be nice if there was a little more risk vs reward for fighting the Krimson Guard's around the city. Other than that the only major problems I had with Jak 2 was a few parts of it's story telling, with the biggest most egregious issue being the lover's spat had between Jak and Keira. I've had people argue with me on this but that spat was bad writing hands down... Why? Because Keira had a character arc off screen. The fight goes as so: -Keira and Jak are formally reunited. -A little later Erol tells Jak he's gonna steal Keira. -Keira misses that whole encounter and swoons over Erol. -Jak tells Keira in an oddly not douchey way to stay away from Erol cuz he's bad news. -Keira blows up on Jak. -Jak Blows up back and storms off, leaving Daxter to race in the next race. -Jak returns and the two continue "Hmph"-ing at each other. -Keira eventually apologizes to Jak. I've seen fanfiction handle this fight better. It's honestly a shame because it wouldn't take MUCH to fix it? The pieces are there, just putting it together is all.
I have this trilogy on PS Vita. Even though this version got a worse reputation than the PS3 remaster, it's still great having these 3 great games on a handheld (not that I can't get them to run on the original hardware as well; my PS2 Slim is still working... or at least I hope so, since I haven't been playing on PS2 for quite a long while because I'm always too busy for videogames and my business kept me far from home until now). Jak and Daxter was always something I picked more often than Ratchet & Clank; I'm happy these two got a new PS5 sequel, but I also miss the other two guys. It's such a shame not seeing them around anymore, I loved them. Daxter was so funny and Jak 3 is still my favorite no matter how much my latest replay was frustrating in some parts or how much things changed since Jak 2 (possibly my least favorite of the 3, but I still managed to appreciate it by playing it again on Vita).
i spend SO LONG trying to get thise animals in the holes.. I found out they do take specific laps and you dont necessarily chase them into their holes, but chase them until they are near the hole in their lap path; then cut them off towards the hole
Love jak and daxter. I always wanted a ps2 version of the daxter solo game for psp. But I guess they would have just done a ps2 remaster for it like they did with ratchet and clank size matters for ps2 which was originally a psp game
No joke, that tank on mission 4 was brutal for me when I was younger. Oh what about that mission where you have to kill all metal heads in some literally pitched Black Forest. God, those missions were extremely brutal. To this day, I haven’t finished the game sadly. I found my PS2 after a decade but the Jak disc were all scratched. Welp.
I do agree 100% with your Jak 3 weapon criticism. Last time I played through Jak 3 I forced myself to ONLY use the Jak 2 weapons and I did not purchase any upgrades. This actually made the game significantly more challenging and sort of forces you to utilize your dark and light powers once the difficulty increases.
On my latest playthrough of the series I really appreciated the most difficult missions of Jak 2, as I noticed that a lot of tactical knowledge I've gathered around came to use. A lot coming down to utilizing cover and managing sight-lines. And in some missions like the ambus and Haven Forest invisible metalhead hunt where I'd turn down or the music to listen to where enemies are coming from. Actually having to revise strategies. Hence why I think that Jak2 probably has the best replay value in the series.
@@sebastiankulche Now that the Jak 3 openGOAL PC port is in the works I wonder if we're gonna see some fan make a mod that tweaks the difficulty to make more use of the upgrades. Like a couple of things I'd change from the get go would be making the healing not stop time and upping the beam reflectors ammo consumption by like 5x. Another idea I've had would making the beam reflectors ricochet's do damage to Jak as well and making the super nova damage Jak too without using the shield.
@@reallyhimongod The entire Jak trilogy aged much better than the original Uncharted games, 1 to 3. The gameplay loop is way too static in the Uncharted games. While the gameplay loop in the Jak games is more varied and more dynamic. The open world design and the fantasty/sci fi world it takes place in gives the games a more creative worldbuilding. Daxter's dialogue might not be as witty as Uncharted characters but he comes pretty close.
I remember when Jak 1 came out. It was basically an open-world Crash Bandicoot. Amazing stuff. And those graphics? They seem dated these days but back then they looked like a Pixar film.
in regards to basically the entirety of the Jak trilogy, the design Bibles that were released as part of the Limited Runs collectors editions for these games reveals that a lot of content was cut from the games as deadlines neared, most dramatic of all is that nearly a third of Jak the Precursor Legacy was literally cut from the game, there was suppose to be another entire hub world that had the yellow eco sages hut and adjacent areas (a stilt village, and a savanna are two examples of cut locations) in Jak 2 the pacing at the very end is screwed up because of cut missions, same with Jak 3, but all in all these games are still fantastic 10/10 love them, even Jak X combat racing kicks ass
I know Naughty Dog made the Crash trilogy, and those games will always be super important to me as they got me into gaming. But I really do think Precursor Legacy is their masterpiece. So incredible for the time and it still holds up insanely well.
couldnt agree more
Naughty dog never dissapoints
Except with tlou 2 but that doesnt matter
@@gergopiroska5749I loved TLOU 2 but I like Jak 2 better
Thank god i had an older brother who could do these levels for me, i remember on the final boss in jak 2 he did the jet board jump glitch to get up the cliff, thought he was a god
Call him up and thank him🤝🏽 never had a brother so just had to do it myself lol
“Get torn on the line, we’re in trouble!”
“Shoot em all now, sort em out later!”
“We need more men!”
“I miss the old baron”
You read my mind. Same here lol
I *just* finished my playthrough of Jak 3, so those lines are still very fresh in my memory...
“I bagged me ten metal heads this week”
"I miss the old Baron"
"The city's lost"
AAAAAAAAAGH
Honestly can't believe it's been 5 years since you talked about the Jak and Daxter trilogy , it kind of feels pretty nostalgic.
I agree
Yes
guyss Jak and Daxter 5 The New Devil leaks ruclips.net/video/RycH3veJiv4/видео.html
So not only nostalgia for jak and daxter but now i start feel nostalgic about ur jak reviews, keep it up
Holy crap, I wasn’t expecting seeing this series again and didn’t expect me to live it
LoweredTech 92 I know right
On 17:15 The ambush in the water sums as I remember correctly it was painful back in my nostalgic childhood and now as a young adult I finally got though the F*KING mission by the first lucky try.
Isaac Rodriguez is it as painful as it looks sorry I haven’t play these games
@@n1njahawkssecondchannel84 Whatever do you mean I could care less what you think! So try to roast me I dare you!
Jak & Daxter was the first game I ever purchased with my own employment money at age 16. Holds a special place in my heart
Dude, this is one of my freaking favorite video game series EVER. I fucking pray that we get a good sequel someday lol I hope to make videos on these games some day :)
Well... we did get that example of the Haven City map in the early discussion of PS5 load times... 👀
Square Eyed Jak Dude, I knowww! I feel like there’s finally hope, but I’m afraid to be let down xD For a split second, I thought the end of the new Ratchet and Clank trailer was Haven City too, and I almost shit my pants lol
WOAH that'd actually be so cool and a great way to do a crossover... better than PS Move Heroes ever could be.
Square Eyed Jak Seriously! It’s unlikely, but I’m always gonna have that little bit of hope that it’s possible xD it’s so sad that the only legit PS crossovers we’ve gotten are Move Heroes and AllStars Battle Royale -____- not that they were terrible, but God damn, the potential is insane lol
One day.. one day 😌
I was just replaying the trilogy a little while back. Even after all of these years, I can never get enough of them. I find the characters endearing, the world so interesting, and the games are just fun. I make it a point to marathon them every summer because, as you mentioned, they're replayable. The other half of the series are merely supplemental, though I did enjoy Jak X and found Daxter and The Lost Frontier all right.
As for the Precursor twist in Jak 3, it was actually foreshadowed a couple of times by Seem with lines like "You [Daxter] may carry the color of our creators..." and mentioning seeing the face of the creators one last time... in front of Daxter. I don't know what that Precursor spirit from the Stone in Jak II was all about, but outside of that, it's a nice subversion on what people might usually view gods or deities as.
Good lord I remember the days when I first got my PS2! My mum brought me GTA Sanandreas, Jak 2, Spiderman 2 and Spyro Enter The Dragonfly...
My mum wanted to play Spyro with me, we turned it on and her first words were "What is this sh't? This isn't PS1 Spyro, sorry for swearing honey do you want to play GTA?"😂😂I will always remember that,
Great video Jak you're awesome
I must say I quite enjoyed the older review episodes of Jak and Daxter but this really was a level up. You paid some great respect and detail to each of the titles. Great work awesome production yet again. :)
I still like the "Hey, look, I found the light!" joke in the original reviews. Sure, it was corny, but even so...
I love these games so much. played them lots when i was a kid
It's incredible how much you got better with time, starting with terrible reviews and now here you are making awesome videos
You really are the king of logo's dude, it adds such a level of professionalism to your videos. This was the thing that drew me to your channel.
Keep it up!
Thank you, I actually had help with this one though.
Gotta give credit to Petronious: ruclips.net/channel/UCEyQqVIR62iNPE81xvycnIg
@@SquareEyedJak How do you get your ps3 footage so clear? You still using that Framemeister? Mine looks really blurry..
I don't need to use the FM on my PS3 but it goes through for PS1 games sake, so I slightly tweaked some settings for it. But nothing major. I'm also using HDMI, that helps majorly.
A touch I love is how Eco has gone from this mystical energy into something traced; converted to ammo for your Morph Gun it makes the world feel like it’s evolved a lot over the years.
I also love the twists of Young Jak and Kor. They are foreshadowed enough to where you can catch on but it’s not in your face about it, and it’s easier to catch these details on a second play through. It’s honestly really interesting going back to this game years later because you could see this as an origin for Naughty Dog’s storytelling style that we’ve seen in Uncharted and The Last of Us. A change of the times which is what they were going for.
Not the best place for this, but can we just appreciate the fact that there are 101 power cells in Jak 1, allowing you to KEEP the muse for yourself without any penalty?
17:15 I found out just last week you can kill the thing in the water with a dark jak bomb... and now I want to go back and see if it's true.... cause fuck that level
I literally just replayed Jak 2 I swear it gets harder the older I get lol, still tho these game remain to be my favorite series of all time.
Gets harder? Fam it gets easier lol.
For me it got easier to, but its cause of my gaming experience (little whisper: Thank you Dark Souls, I got better in any game because of you ;) )
For me it's become so much easier. I played the Precursor Legacy first though so I was pretty used to the controls and move sets again, maybe that's why it seemed harder for ya
@@buster3041 dog shit forced racing missions
To this day, the original Jak and Daxter is arguably my favorite game of all time. A gorgeous world to explore, beautiful soundtrack, intriguing lore/worldbuilding and loveable characters. Not to mention Jak's brilliant moveset, which makes for some absolutely top-tier platforming gameplay. The amount of crazy bullshit you can do to overcome self-imposed challenges (e.g. No Orb run) is awesome. Yes, the bosses are rather weak and the cutscenes are unskippable, but the pros massively outweigh the cons for me.
Absolutely. Just a shame it's so short. Double the length or at least add that 4th area and it would've been a 9/10 EASY!
About the whole "Precursors are ottsels" reveal, I noticed that it was foreshadowed not only in the third game, but even the first game! In Samos' opening narration asking himself who the Precursors were, the answers rested on the shoulders of a young boy (Jak). Daxter rests on his shoulders whenever they're out on an adventure.
As well as in Jak 3 with Seem saying things like "You may carry the colours of our creators, animal" and thanking him for the future.
There was definitely forward planning but I still don't like it. It lands more like a cheap and easy joke which should NEVER be the core of your entire narrative.
Even if it was suggested that precursors take on many forms (which would also explain the Dark Makers also being precursors) I'd be ok with it. Cause it's still a joke for laughs but it's not blatant fact that ferrets created the entire universe etc.
@@SquareEyedJak I see what you mean, 2 years later I still laugh. But when you build up this lore through 3 games just for a throw away joke. It kinda breaks the emersion a bit. But hey I still would like to know the precursor history between them and it's enemies I can still feel emersed if jak 4 pushed a more bigger narrative with the precursor lore and even with it's connections with jak and mar. But for now it's still disappointing.
I think this trilogy is a masterpiece. The "best" one is actually the first one because of it's open world, music and platforming and the way the world comes together. Jak 2 and Jak 3 are both amazing. Jak 2 has the best story. Jak 3 is my favorite power fantasy because you're so stacked that you can literally almost just play how you want. :)
For me:
Jak and daxter- 9/10
Jak 2 10/10
Jak 3 8.5/10
The only time I ever use the light shield is to do the infinite flight glitch with the wings
this is probably my favorite game series of all time, despite the iffy parts of certain games, but i have so much nostalgia for it.
Perfect or not, this series has and always will continue to have a big, and i mean big influence and impact on me. Even since the early days.
Jak truly was naughty dog's best effort, and my opinion: more than worthy of it's legacy, inspite of any nitpicks and occasional bs they may throw at the player.
It's always a pleasure to return to this iconic gem of a series.
- And the slums ambush is to Jak 2 what "Set to Kill" is to Simpsons: Hit and Run, and i'd equally put them on the top-prize pedestal in the hall of gaming infamy.
Super happy for your success, Jak! I already enjoyed your reviews as they were in your old place, but since you've moved out I have noticed a huge increase in quality overall. This review being a great example. Keep at it, man, and look forward to more content from ya!
Cheers dude!
For the longest time, I've owned a PS2 demo disk with the Jak 3 demo, which I played a TON since I was young. Those levels are permanently burned into my mind. Having just had the chance to play and finish the trilogy, I've got to say these games have easily become some of my all-time favorites. I absolutely loved them!
Oh, and Jak X. Absolutely fucking awesome. That's all I have to say about that.
Great review, Jak! Now onto the Ratchet & Clank trilogy...
17:11 There it is lmao, was waiting for that one to be brought up
Good one that was funny
With Ratchet and Clank with their grand comeback, might as well look back to the series and hopefully give these guys another chance In the spotlight.
Too bad Naughty dog doesn't really care about the franchise anymore
@@BugsyFoga And that's there lost and let some other company take care of that unlike the ones responsible for The Lost Frontier.
The 20th anniversary is next year.
@Ruthless Attitude Entertainment
that's what happens when companies grow and get older sadly
Grand comeback? Their last game was only 4 years ago.
Great video!! I love whenever someone makes a video on the Jak games! They hold such a special place in my heart playing them on the PS2 as a kid!
Loved this AND the intro! Very nice. Love seeing your channel grow.
Thanks!
It took me 15 minutes to realize that thing on your t-shirt isn't sweat or some water stain.
Anyways, fanatstic video as always! I started watching your videos because of your Jake & Daxter reviews. Can't believe it already has been 5 years since it! Your evolution as a content creator is evident!
28:46 Actually, I liked this revelation about the Precursors; it's both funny (something that is in line with the tone of the first game and I always enjoy) and totally unexpected
I just wish we got Mar on ps4 and saw how Jak built Haven City
This guy has his head up his ass, he doesn't know much of anything. He'd probably get rid of Daxter if he were someone working on the first game.
@@JamesPeach What was the point of Daxter in the first game though?
I haven't played it, FYI.
@@k-leb4671
Comic relief and is basically the voice of Jak. Surprisingly he is a fundamental part for the games enjoyment.
Nah I agree with him, it was played off in too much of a lame joke sort of way. It kinda killed the intrigue.
Glad to see you have put commercials Jak, you deserve any money you can get from how awesome your content is over these few years!
Yes I've been waiting for this bro thanks for a great video Square eyed Jak I love you brother!
I only found your channel recently because of the Jak series. Glad my childhood favorites could introduce me to such a funny lad
Good to see a revisit on this amazing series
This is such a gem and throwback! The original reviews of the series is how I found you and you also re-convinced me to source a PS3 and play the HD remasters of them!!! Been watching as a fellow aussie every since!
That right there is nostalgic and I remember Jak 3. I gotta buy Jak 1 and 2 to play those awesome games and I want you to keep up the amazing work.
Fun facts your jak and Daxter videos was how I discovered your channel
Surprised you stuck around because they were trash, thank you though! 😁
Square Eyed Jak finally enough I never knew what the games was like before this channel I thought just another PlayStation exclusive but I never knew it was this type of game
@@SquareEyedJak no problem man
holy shit the editing and production value in this vid is top notch! great job.
Aw 2015 , the year where you constantly teased fans on a possible Ratchet and clank retrospective (and we fans didnt shut up about it) , now that brings me back .😁
Well it started in 2015 but 2016 is when the requests became a daily thing.
@@SquareEyedJak So, Ratchet and Clank review when?
(just kidding :P, it would be the death of a glorious meme)
Square Eyed Jak oh god not the rich and clank madness don’t think I’m one of those guys but I just laugh when I see that comment😅
Does this mean that the Ratchet & Clank reviews will be coming soon?
Yes please, I would like that
Yes please!! Ratchet&Clank are the only one left from my PS2 childhood missing here!
I only played Jak 2 & 3 and those were my favorite playable games. The Jak series need to come back!
When i think of my childhood this gane always comes to mind
Great ganes
I felt the water slums part on a whole other level😂
Already so excited about the content coming from your new living space, great job
"And... nobody likes to finish early."
- Square Eyed Jak (2020)
Was fun seeing your take a look back at one of the older series you reviewed. Still remember putting off watching your reviews because I was playing through Jak and Daxter myself :)
This trilogy will always be one of if not my favorite trilogy in gaming. God I love it. I could play jak and Daxter every day of my life. Jak 2 pisses me off, but I love it. Jak 3 is probably my favorite though. It's so huge, and so fun
I love that the wall TV looks like those preview screens in shows on TV and Reviews I think I'm gonna like the new setup!
Excellent video man , keep up the good work !
Nice to see a new Jak and Dacter review. And it's nice to see you as well. You and Daddy Caddy are my favorite reviewers on the internet. :) hope you have a great fuckin day.
I remember quitting jak 2 after failing the race against Erol so many times.
Love these games so much. I love how dark it becomes from the transition from the first to second game
I can't believe these games are over 20 years old now...
Times were simpler, then. When video stores were still around, when portable media was still in its formative years, and when the world wasn't so uncertain.
I'm confident that we'll never get a remake of this trilogy, but that's alright because we have an unofficial PC port known as OpenGOAL. Jak 3 support is still in development, but I was able to play Jak 1 and 2 from start to finish with minimal bugs and glitches.
I missed out on a good trilogy of games when I was a kid I played jak 2 & 3 it for the very first time yesterday and I've had a ps2 since 2005 i also loved hearing the rugrats theme at 15:23
It's been five years? Holy shit. I'm pretty sure your Jak reviews were the first reviews I ever watched on this channel
You shouldve mentioned the easiest way to beat the ambush in the water slums. Just dark bomb the water to kill the defense turret and then hover board your way to victory like "fuck this insanely fucking hard mission". I remember figuring out that trick as a kid and thinking i was a genius and also thinking "yea take that you fuckin game"
Each game deserves a minimum of 8.5 you sir are BUGGIN. These games are CLASSICS 💯
I liked this. The synchronicity is pretty cool cuz I just watched all your old Jak and Daxter reviews and then ordered the same HD 3 game collection for myself to play I've only played Jack to so this will be a good chance to experience them all again.
I can tell you the water slums challenge isn't even the hardest challenge of Jak II, if you ever unlock hero mode, good luck doing the "destroy ship at drill platform" mission, it is without question in my mind the hardest mission in the whole Jak series.
Oh man jak and daxter really need a remade. They aged like fine wine, but a new engine and lighting could make them feel like a modern series. Jak II is my favorite but it needs a difficulty select that gives more check points on easier settings. Also jak II needs more effects to live up the city. Having the city slowly change with how many missions like the pedestrians going against the crimson guards, to opening new hidden paths that lead to goodies would really be a nice bonus. Great review my man. Keep it up.
The precursor twist one of of the best set up, funniest, and executed surprised EVER! You can't change my mind
I really honestly wish I could feel the same way. But just can’t. That was some whack shit
Amazing video man! Your voice is just so calming. When you're calm. :D 💚
I’ll have to go back and take a trip down memory lane to revisit those old episodes you made originally…
A pleasant surprise Jak. You’ve really come a long way in terms of overall quality in your videos :) While I love the original reviews for their charm, this is most certainly a worthy successor.
Also, in regards to the Mole things in Precursor Basin. The trick is not to go full speed at them, as the fear of being torn to ribbons by that big F off propeller makes them run about erratically. Easing up on the throttle makes them a lot easier to herd around. That said, that particular mission is really annoying.
While I still really enjoy your older Jak & Daxter reviews despite their aged presentation and humour, it’s pretty crazy just how much you’ve improved your production values and general video quality from then.
It would be nice to see them remake the trilogy like Crash. Fix up 2 and 3 and add more cutscenes and balance enemies so each weapon is viable.
I got stuck in that ambush level for so long, but I realized the best way is not to fight, so I speedrunned through the cops in the hoverboard, plus I had a lot of fun trying to stay over the bridges while dodging the cops in high speed
Excellent analysis on the series, Jak! Your style and review process have definitely matured during these years! I always find myself agreeing to your final scores, they're well-reasoned and accurate of the game's positives and negatives. Too many times reviewers slap a 10/10 when they like a game and a 4/10 when they don't like it and that just misses the point of reviewing entirely.
Keep up the amazing work man :)
28:27 Thank you Square Eyed Jak , this is exactly how i felt about this twisted joke!
Really like some of the stuff you touched on in this review, it addressed a lot of the gripes I have found revisiting the series as an adult
Jak & Daxter will never get old for me, always glad to replay them from time to time. I remember watching the original reviews like it was yesterday, hard to believe it's been five years. BTW the easiest way to beat that slums ambush is to mash the square button to spam Jak's punch, makes it a hell of a lot easier.
Jak and Daxter was the first video game i ever played when i was 6. really great to see it again so thank you for that blast of nostalgia :)
Your like the Cinemassacre of our generation :) Great channel and great reviews, especially the Tony Hawk games!
you are correct, the Design Bible for Jak and Daxter TPL, lays out the level design for the game, and there was suppose to be an additional hub area for the yellow sage
Advice for the water slum mission, use your jet board, blow past the gaurds
I was really hoping you would say something about the ambush in the water slums area... when I was a kid it took me MONTHS to get past it.. I started making new save files to replay from the start.
Im glad you rereviewed these i really love the jak games. Im excited to see what you have to say again.
I unfortunately don't have fond memories of Jak & Daxter as I only got to experience it the first time just a few years ago, and didn't own a PS2 until 2005.
But to those who have many fond and/or frustrating memories of the trilogy, cheers.
Also, I need to watch the original reviews of these games sometime.
I got each one the Xmas they released as a kid, it was almost a tradition during the ps2 gen to play a new jak game on Xmas. The first one blew me away so much at the time haha.
I used to have them but don't remember them very well.
I later got the trilogy digitally in 2012 I think and there was fine, even Sly I've tried, 1 was alright for what I got to and 2 I don't care for and get about a far way through the 2nd area I think, not played 3 yet. I find the characters cool, the stories alright, the gameplay to be fine but the mission structure of going back and forth and open world like is so boring to me. It can feel like padding and sticking to a level for hours instead of moving on the rest of the story, moves, locations, etc.
I get what Naughty Dog was going for but while I suck at Precursor Legacy I do prefer it, while 2 & 3 I've beaten (3 up to the Final Boss but 2 I beat) I didn't enjoy them that much. I'm not into open world in general though. The missions were fine and what they were going for being GTA like made sense for the time but I don't care for these sorts of games. Even for getting to GTA late I own Liberty City stories on PSP and while I know it's not that comparable to SA or otherwise I don't care for it, the only thing I find impressive is the city recreation, the rest is uninteresting (yes even modern entries I don't enjoy either. Sunset Overdrive and Gravity Rush maybe but otherwise I get too bored due to how they don't make the moves interesting. Gravity or Grinding I can get behind, running/slashing stuff or doing things that are helping someone besides doing a minigame I can find very boring. Sure Jak 2 & 3 have minigames but some are quest like things you just don't care about doing like modern games I find and even then the minigames can be boring and overdone in linear games so the scale only kind of helps if it is or isn't crowded with walls or people to bump into and kind of makes it worse to reach the goals if they are too large or just annoying stretches of land with a bunch of hills or tight corners that sure work but are still uninteresting if you re-use a vehicle/do a similar challenge a few minutes or hours later you have already experienced). But I'm not into realistic games, I'm more into fantasy/sci-fi or fictional worlds, the closest I get to caring for realistic is alternate history stuff like Resistance or Wolfenstein but that's about it.
I'm for larger worlds so we don't have too thin corridors, but I find large rooms work not large worlds, I find it impressive for showing off the engine/scale, not 'recreating a country' levels of scale like we might expect in the future or getting a recreated virtual holidays or otherwise big of sizes as they aren't always that interesting and the Point A to B taking too long is just like a long car ride, its boring! And swing/running or whatever to a destination isn't fun no matter who the skin/method of getting there is changed. It might be for 5 minutes but not the whole game when you'd want to teleport there to get through it quicker to play it properly over say glitches/speedrunning techniques.
So you admit that you don’t like Open world games but enjoy minecraft....
Might I add that the character appearances improved throughout the games. Jak in particular. First game he was just a shy awkward kid? Second game he became this short tempered rebel with his hair weirdly combed back. And in the third game he became a literal badass with arguably one of the best character designs imho.
Not gonna lie. I had 2 missions in Jak 2 that I found unreasonably difficult my first time playing through the game. (As a full grown adult mind you. Never played it as a kid.) and neither of them was the Ambush at the Docks Mission. They were the Sewer Escort mission and the Hellcat Cruiser mission. It'd also be nice if there was a little more risk vs reward for fighting the Krimson Guard's around the city. Other than that the only major problems I had with Jak 2 was a few parts of it's story telling, with the biggest most egregious issue being the lover's spat had between Jak and Keira.
I've had people argue with me on this but that spat was bad writing hands down... Why? Because Keira had a character arc off screen. The fight goes as so:
-Keira and Jak are formally reunited.
-A little later Erol tells Jak he's gonna steal Keira.
-Keira misses that whole encounter and swoons over Erol.
-Jak tells Keira in an oddly not douchey way to stay away from Erol cuz he's bad news.
-Keira blows up on Jak.
-Jak Blows up back and storms off, leaving Daxter to race in the next race.
-Jak returns and the two continue "Hmph"-ing at each other.
-Keira eventually apologizes to Jak.
I've seen fanfiction handle this fight better. It's honestly a shame because it wouldn't take MUCH to fix it? The pieces are there, just putting it together is all.
Love the squareeyed Jak logo instead of the usual game logo 🤣🤣
I have this trilogy on PS Vita. Even though this version got a worse reputation than the PS3 remaster, it's still great having these 3 great games on a handheld (not that I can't get them to run on the original hardware as well; my PS2 Slim is still working... or at least I hope so, since I haven't been playing on PS2 for quite a long while because I'm always too busy for videogames and my business kept me far from home until now).
Jak and Daxter was always something I picked more often than Ratchet & Clank; I'm happy these two got a new PS5 sequel, but I also miss the other two guys. It's such a shame not seeing them around anymore, I loved them. Daxter was so funny and Jak 3 is still my favorite no matter how much my latest replay was frustrating in some parts or how much things changed since Jak 2 (possibly my least favorite of the 3, but I still managed to appreciate it by playing it again on Vita).
i spend SO LONG trying to get thise animals in the holes.. I found out they do take specific laps and you dont necessarily chase them into their holes, but chase them until they are near the hole in their lap path; then cut them off towards the hole
Love jak and daxter. I always wanted a ps2 version of the daxter solo game for psp. But I guess they would have just done a ps2 remaster for it like they did with ratchet and clank size matters for ps2 which was originally a psp game
No joke, that tank on mission 4 was brutal for me when I was younger. Oh what about that mission where you have to kill all metal heads in some literally pitched Black Forest. God, those missions were extremely brutal. To this day, I haven’t finished the game sadly. I found my PS2 after a decade but the Jak disc were all scratched. Welp.
Oh shit! Can't believe you're actually revisiting them!
I do agree 100% with your Jak 3 weapon criticism. Last time I played through Jak 3 I forced myself to ONLY use the Jak 2 weapons and I did not purchase any upgrades. This actually made the game significantly more challenging and sort of forces you to utilize your dark and light powers once the difficulty increases.
On my latest playthrough of the series I really appreciated the most difficult missions of Jak 2, as I noticed that a lot of tactical knowledge I've gathered around came to use.
A lot coming down to utilizing cover and managing sight-lines. And in some missions like the ambus and Haven Forest invisible metalhead hunt where I'd turn down or the music to listen to where enemies are coming from. Actually having to revise strategies.
Hence why I think that Jak2 probably has the best replay value in the series.
Jak 3 had much more replay value thanks to all of the unlockable secrets and the secondary orb missions are way more interesting imo.
@@sebastiankulche Now that the Jak 3 openGOAL PC port is in the works I wonder if we're gonna see some fan make a mod that tweaks the difficulty to make more use of the upgrades.
Like a couple of things I'd change from the get go would be making the healing not stop time and upping the beam reflectors ammo consumption by like 5x.
Another idea I've had would making the beam reflectors ricochet's do damage to Jak as well and making the super nova damage Jak too without using the shield.
this gentleman said he "had no experience back then, but things have certainly changed."
:O
The ambush in the water slums mission isn't very hard tho, you just need to use the right techniques to beat it.
The best games naughty dog has ever made
didnt age well tho
@@reallyhimongod ages better than uncharted 1 tbh
As opposed to Golf Simulator 2020
@@reallyhimongod In what way didn't they age well?
@@reallyhimongod The entire Jak trilogy aged much better than the original Uncharted games, 1 to 3. The gameplay loop is way too static in the Uncharted games. While the gameplay loop in the Jak games is more varied and more dynamic. The open world design and the fantasty/sci fi world it takes place in gives the games a more creative worldbuilding. Daxter's dialogue might not be as witty as Uncharted characters but he comes pretty close.
I remember when Jak 1 came out. It was basically an open-world Crash Bandicoot. Amazing stuff. And those graphics? They seem dated these days but back then they looked like a Pixar film.
Love the Crash 2 river level soundtrack that features in this video 😂😂
The day Jak reviews all of the Uncharted games. I will be so hyped!
I honestly thought your old review on the Jak games we’re pretty good but the quality jump now is really good.
in regards to basically the entirety of the Jak trilogy, the design Bibles that were released as part of the Limited Runs collectors editions for these games reveals that a lot of content was cut from the games as deadlines neared, most dramatic of all is that nearly a third of Jak the Precursor Legacy was literally cut from the game, there was suppose to be another entire hub world that had the yellow eco sages hut and adjacent areas (a stilt village, and a savanna are two examples of cut locations) in Jak 2 the pacing at the very end is screwed up because of cut missions, same with Jak 3, but all in all these games are still fantastic 10/10 love them, even Jak X combat racing kicks ass