Welcome back! Before I begin anew, I must warn you that this retrospective is going to take a bit more finesse and recollection out of me from here on out, since I already managed to complete the game with 100% completion and I'm moving on to Jak 2. I'll do my best to pump out the rest of The Precursor Legacy's Retraux-Spective before I rush too far ahead, but I have never played all the way through Jak 2 and am eager to see how it measures up compared to my limited experience with it as a kid, so I want to get it done rather soon. Now then...

When we last left off on our rambunctious questings, Jak and Daxter apparently tried to kill me twice, first by attempting to drive me to suicide with a raucous fishing side game and then by flashing strobe lights in my face in a vain attempt to trigger an epileptic reaction. Thankfully, I survived, but now we have to brave the dark, mystical realm of Misty Isle.

Anyone with half their brain still intact would be able to tell you that this is indeed the area that the protagonists explored in the prologue of the game, and now you get to run around in it at your own pace. Is it really all Samos was cracking it up to be?

...Well, no, not really. In fact, Misty Isle isn't much harder than the Forbidden Jungle in itself. There are some particularly annoying parts, though, like the aggravating frog enemies lurking beneath the mud or the armored Lurkers that take two hits to kill, but it's all rather manageable if you've been used to the controls by now. You're also introduced to the Red Eco clusters on this island, which are personally my least favorite type of Eco since all they do is give you a power boost, but it can be helpful when taking out the armored guards.

Most full levels in Jak and Daxter have about eight power cells in them and 200 Precursor Orbs. Some of them only have 2 or 4 power cells and 50 Precursor Orbs at minimum, and those levels are usually the transition levels between the hub worlds where you ride around on a Zoomer to get to the end of the course. Speaking of the Zoomer, guess what we get to ride around part of Misty Isle?

You know how I was rambling on in my bad game mechanics list about how fidgety and clunky the vehicle missions were in Jak 3? I forgot to mention that they were even worse earlier on in the series. The Zoomer wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't immensely top-heavy and turned like it actually had a steering wheel, but it's the handling that really kills the vehicle sections. One of your mission objectives involves ramming into a bunch of Lurkers piloting Dark Eco blimps, and this one's a real bitch since each blimp has two giant mines swinging in the front and the back which explode on contact. Coupled with the bad traction, this segment does not make for a pretty good time, and it only gets worse from here, as there are several levels dedicated to this junker.

Aside from the Zoomer section and the Donkey Kong-esque barrel dodging sequence, there's also an ambush you have to fend off in an enclosed precursor arena near where Daxter got transmogrified. If you think of other game's with ambushes in them, they're nothing compared to Jak and Daxter; upwards of up to 10 Lurkers can be found all running at you at once, and since they do damage on contact, you have to space them all out and strategize to figure out which one gets the next thrashing without putting yourself in danger. Oh, and there are dudes shooting explosive bags of gunpowder at you from the top of the level, at least if you didn't get the barrel-dodging sequence over with already.

By this point in time, if you've adamantly been collecting every single Power Cell you come across, you should be at an upwards of 30 or 32 or something. Crossing over the Fire Canyon requires somewhere around 20, if I recall correctly. I can't blame Jak and Daxter for having low progression goals, since several games have done it prior, but most Power Cells aren't that hard to come across and the most difficult ones will take you five minutes worth of your trouble at the most, so it's not uncommon to be quite a ways above the mark.

Fire Canyon's up next, and it's a Zoomer race. Oh goody.

The heat shield that Keira constructed is enough to withstand the boiling temperatures for a few seconds on its own, but prolonged exposure to the molten climate will overload the shield and disintegrate the Zoomer in an instant, and the pathway stretches on for a few minutes, so it's completely impossible to traverse beyond this point. I hope you enjoyed this retrospective, everyone, and I'm looking forward to the next one!

...Okay, yeah, that is a load of bologna. What REALLY happens is that you're supposed to keep the engine cooled off by busting through a series of balloon coolants scattered throughout the course by Keira. How she managed to get all these balloons suspended over a winding road of burning hot lava is beyond me, but I digress. Can't have a game without a challenge.

Fire Canyon's not so hard if you can adjust to the wonky steering. What IS aggravating about all of the racing segments is the fact that there are still Scout Flies and Precursor Orbs littered around the track, and if you miss one, you have to fly all the way back through the course again to grab it. Like I said, the vehicle sections aren't so hot - no pun intended - and we still have three more levels dedicated to them, so buckle your pants, hombres.

After that brief folly, you're introduced to the next hub world, Rock Village. Unfortunately, the town is being stalked by General Klaww, who uses his sheer size and might to hurl massive flaming boulders into the village. Whacking him is our next goal, but I'm gonna have to save that for another date. Next time on this thrilling Retraux-Spective saga, we'll discuss the three levels connected to Rock Village as well as the fight with Klaww himself. Stay frosty, folks!