Gaming Bits: Jak & Daxter series

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The year was 2000, the most successful console of all time was released, it could play DVDs, It had hits in every genre, every 3rd party franchise (old and new), it had great graphics, and could play all your PlayStation 1 games. it was known as the PlayStation 2 (real creative name, amirite). Sony along with every 3rd part publisher joined the fun, one of those masterpieces was the Jak and Daxter series. how was this series created? what were it's games like? and  whatever happened to this series? All this and more on Gaming Bits...





Just as the PS2 was coming out, Naughty Dog (The creator of Crash Bandicoot) wanted to make games without going through Universal, but Crash was still owned by Universal, so they couldn't just pitch a new Crash to Sony, so they decided to do the next best thing, make an original IP. Fortunately for them, they got the last laugh, because while for the next decade, crash would appear in mediocre game after mediocre game before falling into obscurity, they actually had ideas for Jak games until the early 2010s, and franchise just disappeared, but more on that later.






Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was very similar to the collectathon platformers of that era, with various things to collect, varied levels and enemies, and a kid friendly story. You play Jak, a boy who brings along a ottsel named Daxter and finds the many precursor orbs to trade and save with the various citizens of Misty Island. The main objects of the game are power cells. What made this game unique was the huge open world without load times. Each area of the game had a seamless transition from each other. You could also get eco to power you up break crates, and make collectibles come to you. If you got all 100 power cells, you could get a preview of the next game. When this game was released, it was praised for it's big worlds, huge amount of colors, and great gameplay. it sold Pretty well too, with almost 2 million units sold.



2 years later in 2003, the game got a sequel, with a darker tone to grow with it's audience. Jak II took place in a post apocalyptic future with gameplay similar to Grand Theft Auto, minus all the M-Rated stuff. It had gunplay, better graphics, stealing cars, a little less platforming, and took some things from the original and added to them, or took then away, to an extent. The story was much more deeper, which is both a bad and good thing, the bad came from losing the charm of the first one, but it was good thanks to adapting to a changing market. The game was received with positive reception, more it's mature tone, and interesting new gameplay additions, but others criticized it. Some say it was better than the original, others not so much.



A year later, Jak 3 was released, it's more of the same, but with some interesting upgrades, including more weapons, and some new Powers... the story got more philosophical. But There's not enough new in this game, however it feels like there's more game to this game than Jak II. Many critics praised and criticized the game for pretty much the same reasons as it's predecessor. The game never came out in Japan,and other than a couple spinoffs (a racing game and platformer staring Daxter, none of which were great), the series was pretty much comatose until 2009...



Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier was meant to be the portable outing for the series, but also came out as a late note PS2 game. It introduced flying, and pretty much toned down the story. The gameplay was very limited compared to other PS2 games, The PSP Version's alright, but the PS2 version was not. it was buggy, ugly looking and not received well with critics. You could tell this was a budget title, but at that point, you could get a much more satisfying offer for not that much money on both platforms...



There was plans to make a Jak 4, but Naughty Dog never followed through with these plans, it had a much more realistic art style compared to the original games, but you might as well be playing any other AAA Game at that point. Jak also appeared some PlayStation crossover games, like a Motion Control mini game compilation, and a smash bros rip off... Yeah... The series would make an HD Collection, which is the definitive way to play the first 3 games, but The series just ended. There was a slight bit of demand for Jak 4, but I assume Naughty Dog didn't care anymore, with them having 2 bigger cash cow franchises to milk the hell out of (Uncharted, and The Last of Us), Jak and Daxter joined the team of PlayStation mascots (along with Crash, and Spyro), killed before their time has came, Yep, I hate video game industry Politics, it ruins so much...

FAST FACT:

There was a Jak and Daxter manga released in Japan, It was published in CoroCoro Comic. Just had to lighten up the mood with this...

NEXT TIME:

We go into the world Lombaxes, innuendo, and space combat, next time...