Game Review – Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

K.K.Atlas

2 years ago

Jak and Daxter™: the Precursor Legacy_20180912203731

Review copy purchased.

IN CASE it wasn’t already apparent, my love for 3D platformers burns like an eternal, console indifferent flame. The only reason I (regrettably) missed out on Crash, Spyro and Sly in the nineties and 2000s is that I grew up with a Nintendo 64 and not a PlayStation, and I admit it – that beautifully shaped controller (and the Game Boy, if I’m being completely honest) turned me into a freaking devotee. But just so it’s clear – the second a dev unleashes a 3D platformer on Steam, Xbox, or PSVR, I’m so there. It’s that specific brand of evergreen eagerness that’s driven me to start plugging the holes in my collectathon history, starting with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. As it happens, Naughty Dog’s zany cash in on the character action game boom was a great choice to get the ball rolling. Jak and Daxter gets the basics right straight away. Platforming is just fun. If there was a recipe for instant 3D platformer greatness, this pretty much nails it. The moveset never expands (ala Kazooie, Tooie or Yooka-Laylee) but the selected assortment of punch, spin, roll and double jump is satisfactory enough to cover the whole adventure. Mario seems to constantly get away with a static repertoire, so I think the take away here is, as long as the controls a) make sense b) feel enjoyable and c) are a good fit with the environments, complicated mechanics aren’t necessary. Besides, the few minigames Jak and Daxter offers – catching fish, protecting snacks from a rat infestation – are evidence that basic controller input does not translate to a dumbed down experience. On the contrary, Jak‘s minigames are both challenging and entertaining, much like the broader missions across the levels. While some tasks, such as rustling up 90 precursor orbs (one of two main courses in the Jak and Daxter collectathon menu) for the hoarders in Rock Village or 120 orbs for the miners in Volcanic Crater are uninspired – and quite frankly, lazy – the great majority of errands are well-designed. Connecting eco beams to power a windmill, herding moles into their burrows, and escaping a lost underground city before a rising pool of dark eco swallows you whole are all symptomatic of the crazy puzzle logic that decorated this genre. Call it gimmicky, call it nonsensical, but to me, this is what 3D platforming is all about: the weirdness, the innocence, and the sheer joy in completing duties that would be impossible in the real world. Each level is structured in a very fetching way. And by ‘fetching’, I mean evoking player curiosity with colourful spashes of activity that hint a power cell (Jak and Daxter‘s jiggy/paigie equivalent) might be on the horizon. What I’d really like to stress is that while Jak and Daxter‘s level design does indeed stray into chaotic territory at times, there are almost always visual cues to guarantee you won’t get lost. Things are clear. This was one of my biggest gripes with Yooka-Laylee. Its lack of distinguishing landmarks/objects in spaces of considerable size (think back to Tribalstack Tropics, Glitterglaze Glacier and especially Moodymaze Marsh) is bad player communication because it is vague. I had no trouble remembering locations in Jak and Daxter because the game was effective at teaching me to commit areas to memory, and the teleport gates definitely had a role. Compare that with the inclusion of numbered signposts added to Yooka-Laylee in a post-release patch indicating which world was nearby. There is a reason older games didn’t need to spell out the obvious. What Jak and Daxter misses in this department is an ‘exit to hub’ option, particularly since saving the game in what might be a tricky area means you’ll have to beat said area when you load up your game file. Multiple times if you die. On the bright side, this does save you a lot of backtracking – who could forget being redirected to Jinjo Village each time Tooie booted up on the ’64? Good times. Jak‘s music is decent, by the way. Nothing like the Kirkhopian masterpieces we all took for granted, those effortless earworms you could still hum after 20 years. I would have killed for a few more tracks like the Mountain Pass theme – a tribally influenced ditty that thoroughly pulsates with iconic energy. Though I suppose Daxter’s fabulously sassy voice acting (and hilariously vexing commentary when you die) kind of makes up for it, along with Jak’s potent collect-’em-up appeal. After feeling deprived of that Somewhere Only We Know magic in Yooka-Laylee, it was so freaking good to relive it in a PlayStation 2 classic. Geez, Naughty Dog could have included scout bugs and I’d have gone off questing for another 112 of them, no questions asked.

So I’m pleased to report Jak and Daxter is generally ablaze with charm, despite its tendency to punish you (very regularly) if you’re slighly off in your platforming. For that reason, I wouldn’t describe it as easy. Take the transport challenge that’s necessary in order to access new areas, for example. It often involves some kind of time-limit, a restraint which immediately sets a fast-paced tone. It’s exhilaratingly fun, don’t get me wrong, but after a slew of intense challenges in the main levels, I would have preferred a more relaxing path en-route to the next area. If I had played this as a kid instead of Banjo-Kazooie I would have given up in frustration, guaranteed. But once you’ve practised a few runs, you do begin to appreciate the utter wackiness behind it – it’s essentially a rollercoaster ride that gives you all the agency, and now I’m just sad Naughty Dog didn’t include any loop-de-loops like the Sonic games. If I had to pick on something genuinely frustrating, however, the answer probably won’t surprise anyone intimately acquainted with 3D platformers. Yes, I’m talking about camera angst. In Jak and Daxter, you have an awkward, unwieldy camera that feels like it’s under a stranglehold. Sometimes it responds, other times it just doesn’t, period. Considering this is a 3D platformer, a shoddy camera has massive impact on the game, and I felt this more ugly side on a regular basis – especially the inconsistencies with standard versus inverted controls, which seemed to flip without explanation. It’s understandable that for an older game, developers hadn’t considered the possibility not all players are hard-wired the same way, and thank the heavens aiming wasn’t a heavily featured mechanic. Something I absolutely couldn’t stand during my playthrough was the depth perception. I’ve never experienced this with other 3D platformers, but I constantly found myself inaccurately judging my jump distances, and after much thought I understood precisely why. Jak and Daxter doesn’t have genuine y axis controls. In other words, players don’t have the ability to tilt the screen on the vertical frame and get a better look at their surroundings – crucial in environments that are not two dimensional. Instead, we’re given a faux y axis focus option that zooms in and out behind the two characters. I’ll be blunt. Without a separate button dedicated to different zoom distances (think Banjo-Kazooie or A Hat in Time), this not only makes it frustrating to navigate complicated platforming obstacles, but also incredibly easy to miss precursor orbs that are floating high up in space, such as those in the Spider Caves for instance. Slightly less grief-inducing issues include attacks that simply don’t register (even after multiple presses) and an excruciatingly fast enemy respawn rate. I’m well aware the levels would be barren without any foes present, but that’s not what I’m suggesting at all. I’d much rather AI that regenerated after a couple of minutes instead of a couple of seconds – Snowy Mountain’s yeti will no doubt continue to haunt me for months, and remind me how much I missed the Banjo-Tooie yetis – now there’s a line I never thought I’d write. So beyond occasional crashes on startup (there weren’t any mid-game, thank the stars) and the aforementioned critiques, Naughty Dog got a whole lot right in its second 3D platforming venture.

After collecting all there was to collect, I can say with confidence this is a title that is generally a blast to play, issues notwithstanding. Jak and Daxter takes goofy antics and dials them up to maxiumum with demanding challenges, generally solid platforming, and a pervasive spirit of fun. What I’d love to see from here is a remaster as per Ratchet & Clank – a fluid, magnificently rebuilt title with a savvy checkpoint system that practically oozes joy in whatever it’s doing. Perhaps after Naughty Dog’s finished up with The Last of Us 2? You never know. – K.K.Atlas