Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Overview

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is the first game in the Jak and Daxter franchise. It is also the first game to ever feature a fully seamless 3D world.

Jak and Daxter

Setting

Jak's (and Daxter's) adventures take place on a completely open continent similar in tone and visual style to Naughty Dog's previous work on the Crash Bandicoot series. The continent is geographically diverse to the extreme, full of both lava pits and icy mountains, thick forests and sprawling beaches. Curiously, the locations themselves are named, but the continent itself isn't, but that's the least of the mysteries surrounding this universe as it is littered with the remnants of a once great race of beings known only as the Precursors.

Gameplay

While primarily an open world 3D platformer, Jak and Daxter has some limited combat, which is again almost identical to that of the Crash Bandicoot games. Jak is capable of various attacks and moves, including a long punch, spinning kick, jump uppercut, downward smash, roll, double jump, long jump and high jump, which can be used to defeat enemies, activate secrets and speedily traverse terrain. Damage can be taken from enemies, falling long distances or touching dangerous surfaces, each event taking a bar of life or potentially vaporizing Jak entirely.

Power Cell

The main objective to proceed in Jak and Daxter is to collect Power cells, which are used to power vehicles and technology which provide (relatively) safe passage to the next major area. These can be found scattered across the landscape (usually as rewards for challenging platforming or combat situations), bought from various people Jak encounters on his journeys or acquired by completing quests

Precursor Orb

(sometimes including minigames) for these same people. The main currency in Jak and Daxter are Precursor Orbs, which litter the landscape. In every area, there are 7 strong boxes which Jak can break to release scout flies, the last of which yields a power cell.

A major game mechanic comes in the form of colored energy, called Eco. In total, there are six types of Eco in the game: Green, which replenishes life; Blue, which enhances speed, attracts nearby collectibles and activates Precursor technology; Red, which enhances melee combat power; Yellow, which gives a ranged burst of energy attack; Dark, which deals damage to or kills Jak instantly; and White, which is only encountered at the end of the game as the combination of the first four Eco types. The effects of blue, red and yellow Eco dissipate at a steady rate, which adds a timed element to many challenges that feature or require their use. Eco can be collected in hovering globules of small or large size, but only Eco vents give constant and complete filling of the Eco meter as long as you stand on them. Jak can only use a single type of Eco at a time, so collecting a different type will overwrite the current one.

Jak riding the Zoomer

Vehicle sections separate major sections of the game world, usually involving a timed mechanic (including overheating from lava and chasing down demolition-minded enemys), and there are a few major boss battles.

Success!

Comic Relief

Besides many comedic interactions and commentary, Jak and Daxter has a couple fairly unique methods of comic relief:

Whenever the duo acquires a new power cell, it is accompanied by a success dance or tableau cutscene and accordingly triumphant music. Also, whenever Jak keels over from losing all his life (and it makes sense that Daxter might not be out of commission as well), there is a short randomly chosen cutscene. These are viewed from Jak's incapacitated perspective of Daxter standing on his chest and making wisecracks at the expense of his buddy (and the player), including insulting his breath, requesting his change and, as long as he's down there, a foot massage.

Plot

Jak and Daxter, two young elfin rascals, secretly sail off to Misty Island against the wishes of Samos the Sage and discover a sinister gathering of evil Lurkers creatures addressed a pair of floating villains. The protagonists attempt to sneak away, but they are soon discovered by a lone Lurker who attacks them. Jak hurls a barrel of Eco at the Lurker which destroys it and sends Daxter flying into a vat of Dark Eco. He is spat out again as a loudmouthed ottsel (otter weasel). When they return to Samos for help returning Daxter to his original form he chides them harshly and explains that they must travel far, far north to Gol Acheron, who might be able to help them. A firey canyon stands in the way, which can only be traversed by Keira's Zoomer with a heat shield upgrade made possible with power cells.

After successfully passing through the canyon, Jak and Daxter find the next town, Rock Village, under siege by a giant cyborg lurker named Klaww and the Blue Sage, the patron sage of the town, mysteriously missing, his laboratory a mess. After gathering more power cells, a flaming boulder blocking the path to the monster can be dislodged with an anti-gravity device, and the duo proceed via Zoomer through a mountain pass to reach the Volcanic Crater.

Here, they find the Red Sage missing and his laboratory in similarly terrible shape. Gol Akuron and his sister, Maia Acheron, (whom we remember from the Lurker gathering) appear and explain how they have captured all the sages but Samos, and, in an effort to shape the world to their liking, plan to flood the world with the Dark Eco contained in the massive Percursor silos to the north. More power cells and another heat shield upgrade allow Keira's Zoomer to brave the Lava Tube, which leads to the Yellow Sage's lab.

When they arrive, Keira explains that her father has also been kidnapped. Jak and Daxter then venture into Gol and Maia's Citadel, where they learn the sages were being used to power the Percursor robot, which is powerful enough to open the silo. After freeing the sages, the two encounter Gol and Maia with a reworked Percursor robot atop the Dark Eco silo. Jak battles the robot, as its strikes open the silo further and further, and only with the help of all four sages combining their powers to create the fabled White Eco does he defeat it. Although Daxter realizes it would probably reverse his transformation, he decides saving the world is more important.

The Percursor robot containing Gol and Maia is disabled and crashes into the silo, which then seals itself again. Although this might kill them both, Samos is uncertain this is the case. The group's attention is directed toward a massive Percursor door, which requires 100 power cells before it opens, revealing some thing large shrouded in blinding light. This is not explained until the sequel.

Soundtrack

#	Song Title	Time	Artist
1	Naughty Dog	0:18	Mutato Muzika
2	Title Screen	4:59	Mutato Muzika
3	Intro	6:08	Mutato Muzika, Max Casella, Warren Burton, Anna Garduno, Dee Snider, Lisa Hagood
4	Geyser Rock	4:53	Mutato Muzika
5	Sandover Village	4:53	Mutato Muzika
6	Sandover Village (Keira Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
7	Sandover Village (Fisherman Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
8	Sandover Village (Mayor Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
9	Sandover Village (Uncle Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
10	Sandover Village (Sculptor Mix)	4:53	Mutato Muzika
11	Sandover Village (Farmer Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
12	Sandover Village (Bird Watcher Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
13	Forbidden Jungle	4:19	Mutato Muzika
14	Forbidden Jungle (Fisherman's Theme)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
15	Forbidden Jungle (Machine Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
16	Forbidden Jungle (Precusor Area Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
17	Forbidden Jungle (Outside the Temple Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
18	Forbidden Jungle Temple	5:10	Mutato Muzika
19	Forbidden Jungle Temple (Blue Eco Vent Mix)	5:11	Mutato Muzika
20	Forbidden Jungle Temple (Vs. Dark Eco Plant)	2:22	Mutato Muzika
21	Sentinel Beach	4:41	Mutato Muzika
22	Sentinel Beach (Windmill Mix)	4:36	Mutato Muzika
23	Sentinel Beach (Bird Watcher Mix)	4:36	Mutato Muzika
24	Misty Island	4:08	Mutato Muzika
25	Misty Island (On the Ship)	4:08	Mutato Muzika
26	Fire Canyon	3:36	Mutato Muzika
27	Rock Village	4:22	Mutato Muzika
28	Rock Village (Samos Mix)	4:22	Mutato Muzika
29	Rock Village (Warrior Mix)	4:22	Mutato Muzika
30	Rock Village (Gambler Mix)	4:22	Mutato Muzika
31	Rock Village (Geologist Mix)	4:22	Mutato Muzika
32	Rock Village (Levitation Cannon & Keira Mix)	4:22	Mutato Muzika
33	Lost Precursor City	4:10	Mutato Muzika
34	Precursor Basin	3:49	Mutato Muzika
35	Boggy Swamp	4:36	Mutato Muzika
36	Boggy Swamp (Flut Flut Mix)	4:36	Mutato Muzika
37	Mountain Pass	4:08	Mutato Muzika
38	Mountain Pass (vs. Klaww)	3:52	Mutato Muzika
39	Volcanic Crater	4:00	Mutato Muzika
40	Volcanic Crater (Samos And Keira Mix)	3:58	Mutato Muzika
41	Volcanic Crater (Miners Mix)	4:00	Mutato Muzika
42	Volcanic Crater (Train Track Mix)	3:59	Mutato Muzika
43	Spider Caves	4:42	Mutato Muzika
44	Spider Caves (Blackout)	4:39	Mutato Muzika
45	Spider Caves (Robot Mix)	4:39	Mutato Muzika
46	Spider Caves (Top of the Robot Mix)	4:47	Mutato Muzika
47	Snowy Mountain	4:53	Mutato Muzika
48	Snowy Mountain (Snow Boulder Mix)	4:53	Mutato Muzika
49	Snowy Mountain (Yellow Eco Vent Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
50	Snowy Mountain (Flut Flut Mix)	4:54	Mutato Muzika
51	Snowy Mountain (Lurker Fort Mix)	4:53	Mutato Muzika
52	Lava Tube (Part 1)	2:54	Mutato Muzika
53	Lava Tube (Part 2)	2:53	Mutato Muzika
54	Lava Tube (Part 3)	2:49	Mutato Muzika
55	Gol and Maia Citadel	4:19	Mutato Muzika
56	Gol and Maia Citadel (Red Sage Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
57	Gol and Maia Citadel (Blue Sage Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
58	Gol and Maia Citadel (Yellow Sage Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
59	Gol and Maia Citadel (Before Final Battle Mix)	4:19	Mutato Muzika
60	Final Battle (Part 1)	3:22	Mutato Muzika
61	Final Battle (Part 2)	3:40	Mutato Muzika
62	Final Battle (Part 3)	3:40	Mutato Muzika
63	Final Battle (Part 4)	3:40	Mutato Muzika
64	Ending Dialogue	1:12	Mutato Muzika, Max Casella, Warren Burton, Anna Garduno, John Di Crosta, Sherman Howard
65	Credits & Mountain Pass (vs. Klaww) [long version]	6:43	Mutato Muzika
66	Need 100 Power Cells Ending ~ Dialogue	0:19	Mutato Muzika, Max Casella, Warren Burton, Anna Garduno
67	Got 100 Power Cells Ending ~ Dialogue	1:01	Mutato Muzika, Max Casella, Warren Burton, Anna Garduno
68	A Power Cell!	0:05	Mutato Muzika
69	Hiemlich (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:04	Mutato Muzika
70	Good Night (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:05	Max Casella
71	Good Night (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:01	Max Casella
72	Well, Uh... (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:03	Max Casella
73	Hey Jak (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:04	Max Casella
74	Down There (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:03	Max Casella
75	Don't Step Into the Light (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:03	Max Casella
76	Step One and Two (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:05	Max Casella
77	I Was Right Behind You (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:03	Max Casella
78	That looks like (Daxter) (Bonus)	0:02	Max Casella

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forum	Was this anyone else's first PS2 game?	dankempster

Game Name	Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Platform(s)	PlayStation Network (PS3) PlayStation 2
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated
Developer(s)	Naughty Dog, Inc.
Genres	Add a new genre Platformer
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy Comedy
Original US Release	Dec. 4, 2001 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	J&D
CERO	CERO: All Ages
ESRB	ESRB: E

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