Off the Shelf Media

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy needs no introduction. Naughty Dog had hit it big with the Crash Bandicoot series, but as they headed into the new millennium, they needed something bigger—a new franchise to put the rocket on their backs and take them back to the moon! 

So what did they do? They stuck to their guns by reating a new franchise while sticking to what they know: silent protagonist and an annoying orange animal.

Friends, this is the Jak and Daxter review. Although the game is over twenty years old, does it stand the test of time? 

Ehhhhhh…

Gameplay: 1

If I were writing this review in 2002, I’d say the gameplay is excellent. But in 2025, it is dated. Its simplicity is its strength, but it is also its weakness. I remember this game being a challenge as a kid, especially the late game. Spider Cave still gives me nightmares and I’m not afraid to admit the final boss gave me a challenge in my recent playthrough. 

Take a look at Sly Cooper  (read my review here), which came out in September of the following year. It’s a similar platformer from a similar studio with a similar legacy. I’d argue the main difference in how they hold up today is the variety in gameplay. 

Sly had many ways to defeat enemies. Yes, you can whack them with the cane, but if you collected the bottles, you’d unlock special moves. Most of them were different attacks with the cane but there was variety with the exploding cap or the throwable Sly dummy to distract enemies. 

Now, let’s go back to Jak and Daxter. Spider Cave is one of the last levels you play before heading to the final boss stage and you’re attacking enemies with the same two attacks. You can punch and lunge forward with the Square button, or you do the merry-go-round attack with the circle button. That’s it. You defeat enemies the same way in level 1 as you do in the final level. 

Also, thank you to Naughty Dog for Jak’s “haya” attack noise being implanted in my brain for the rest of my life. 

What the game lacks in attacks, it makes up for in level variety. Every world you step into is different, with different tasks. Take the Precursor Basin, for example. You are riding around on the hoverbike with a variety of missions from taking out flying lurkers, to destroying dark plants and protecting lightning moles. Guys, the lightning moles were in trouble, but thanks to the silent protagonist, they are saved. They get to live to be annoying another day. 

My point is that there’s plenty of variety in characters, level development, and quests, but nothing with attacks.  

Story: 1

The world and lore of Jak and Daxter are wild and expansive for a game that came out in 2001, and it only gets expanded in later games in the series. Here’s the 101 of what you need to know:

Eco is energy that carries many properties. Green gives you health, Red gives you strength, Blue gives you speed powers, yellow gives you a different form of strength, and in this game, dark eco kills you or turns Daxter into an ottsel for some reason that isn’t ever explained.

The Sages are masters of each eco-color and understand their properties. They’ve all been kidnapped by the dark eco sage Gol Acheron and his sister Maia who is trying to use dark eco to reshape the world in their image. 

Lurkers are enemies you fight and are being controlled by Gol Acheron and Maia.

And finally, the Precursors are the mysterious, ancient, god-like race who created the planet using eco. Their main role in this game is their precursor orbs to act as currency. 

The story itself is a mess. In the opening video, Jak and Daxter explore the mysterious Misty Island because Samos the Sage told them not to. And wouldn’t you know it, shenanigans ensue. Daxter falls into the pool or dark eco and turns into the shoulder-standing, orange sidekick who is only slightly annoying. 

From there the story is simple. Find the Dark Eco Sage and get him to turn Daxter back to normal. As the story progresses you uncover a deeper plot that involves the end of the world, and that is where the problems arise for me. 

This story has no real continuity. The lurkers are believable enemies but other than the opening cutscene, there’s no real substance behind Gol Acheron and Maia controlling them. In fact, those two never do much of anything. You don’t fight them one-on-one, and you’re constantly reacting to something they already did off-camera. 

When you arrive in Rock Village, the Blue Sage is missing and the village is under attack by big boss Klaww. It’s hinted that Gol Acheron and Maia are behind it all but there isn’t enough development in them as villains or in the story overall for it to matter. You don’t get that until later, leaving the first two-thirds of the game nearly pointless. 

Now, let’s get to Jak. I don’t mind the silent protagonist but that leaves a lot of heavy lifting from the rest of the cast, and they fall short. Samos hypes Jak as the big hero in the opening cutscene, and Jak gives you nothing in return. There’s little emotion, zero words outside “haya”, and there’s nothing there to develop. 

If there was a story-driven reason as to why Jak was mute, I could let it slide, but for all I know, Naughty Dog forgot to pay a voice actor and they said screw it we’ll rely on Daxter to carry this thing. You can love or hate Daxter, but he isn’t a lead character. He does his best to carry the narrative, but you play as Jak, not Daxter.

I realize this is a game for kids, but playing this back as an adult made me realize how ridiculous the story was and the lack of development it has. Luckily, the lore is there, and the foundation was enough for the rest of the series, but we’ll get to those reviews later. 

Atmosphere: 2

I’ve played this game multiple times, and I finally noticed how there are 0 loading screens in this game. For a game that was released in 2001, that is insane. 

You can walk from Samos’ Hut all the way to the final boss without any buffers, loading screens, fog, or hesitations for rendering. Naughty Dog managed to make one massive world that you can walk in and out of seamlessly. 

I mentioned this earlier, but the environments in this game are 10/10, or in this case 2/2. The level design is way ahead of its time. The colors pop in the original and the HD remakes on the PlayStation 3,4, and 5 only add to the beauty of this game. If you pay attention, you’ll notice a day-and-night cycle in the earlier levels. It’s odd how Naughty Dog went the extra mile to plug in minor details like day and night but didn’t do it for the story, but I digress. 

The enemies are unique and each level has specific designs to fit the world they are in. It’s good to see different enemies on a snowy level compared to a cave or a forest. 

If you want to complete 100% of the game, you’ll have to explore every nook and cranny of the map. If you collect all the precursor orbs and power cells, you unlock the secret ending. This is no easy feat, but in my last playthrough, I finally unlocked it.  

Naughty Dog did an excellent job of crafting a world for you to play around in and get lost in the scenery time and time again. It’s 2025, and here I am, writing about a game that came out in 2001. The story may have been a mess, but the atmosphere can compete with any AAA game released today.

Value: 2

I wouldn’t pay $49.99 for this game today, but if there was a bundle that had all the games combined, I’d say it’s worth it. I’ve beaten this game five times, and in a few years, I bet I’ll play it again. 

The replay value is huge, and I don’t regret paying for it multiple times. My parents bought it for me on the PlayStation 2 and I bought the HD remakes on the PlayStation 4 even though I still have the original copy and my PS2. 

Duration: 1

In my latest run-through, I beat the whole game in 3 sittings, clocking in around 10 hours total. That was on par for games released in 2001, but it is a short game. I don’t know if Naughty Dog had a smaller budget or if they simply ran out of ideas, but they could have stretched it out a few more hours. 

They could have invested in their antagonists more. They could have given Jak more life and purpose behind his mission. The sages could have been useful rather than a damsel in distress. 

The potential was there, but instead, we got a good platformer with a messy story instead of a great platformer with well-written characters and a deeper narrative. 

Total Score: 7/10

At the end of the day, this game is a classic. It does stand the test of time, but time has shown some flaws. I’m happy with the 7/10 rating, and I think it’s more than fair. Jak and Daxter didn’t need to be a home run. Naughty Dog hit a single stretched out into a double that set the stage for Jak II to hit a home run and clear the bases. 

That review will be coming soon, but before that, I’ll be writing a review for the PSP-exclusive Daxter game. This is my first playthrough, and let’s just say I have thoughts, but that, my friends, is a story for another day. 

I’ll see ya there, but until then, y’all take care.