GitarooMan
Member
Same. It's a really great game, full of platforming challenge and really long.
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Late to the Edge: Jak II
- Thread starter purseowner
- Start date
Jak II is stupidly hard because of stupidly placed checkpoints. To me Jak 3 was way more enjoyable.
Also, this series yelled "fuck naming conventions" to our faces.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak II
Jak 3
Dont forget the spinoffs:
Jak X
Daxter
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
its like jak and daxter were a band that broke up and then had a reunion tour lmao
ivanthebearable
Member
I hated literally everything about this game as well as what the series became moving forward. Such a waste of potential and my time.
Rapscallion
Member
I actually think Shadow The Hedgehog is a less of a cash in than Jak 2. Sure it introduced guns and vehicles into a series about a super fast hedgehog, but at least it didn't try to poorly emulate other aspects of GTA. Plus Shadow was a villain/anti-hero to begin with, they didn't completely revamp the character to fit with the popular trend.
Jimnymebob
Member
It's hard for me to post about this game, because it's one of my favourite games of all time so I obviously have some bias for it.
The edgy factor of it is completely blown out of proportion by people who have only played the opening hours. Apart from the I'm gonna kill Praxis and Dark Jak stuff, the game has more adult humour, but most of it is played for laughs/involves Daxter getting screwed over. The second mission in the game has them do their power cell dance from Precursor Legacy, before the music cuts out and the platform they're on collapses.
I enjoyed the open world to the point I was at 48 hours when I beat it first time round, but on subsequent playthroughs I just stick with going through it as swiftly as possible.
There are certainly collectables, they're just hidden now. Getting full completion on Jak II is really tough.
It's probably one of the best 3D platformers, certainly on the PS2, and it's a shame that there weren't more platform heavy missions. The various gadgets you get mostly add to the platforming, which is cool.
In terms of hating the game, there's an infamous section in the slums/water area (I never struggled with that bit, but there were a few apparently easy missions that stumped me) where you need to get back into the main city. Just punch your way through that whole section; it's like the least obvious solution, but it works best.
It's hard to tell if you'd like Jak 3 or not. It has a larger focus on vehicle and other gimmicky levels, and the hub world is a huge wasteland, so if you're not feeling Haven City you're gonna hate that. All of the 'edge' from II is completely gone though. Most cutscenes are Daxter doing something stupid, and Jak encouraging him.
The edgy factor of it is completely blown out of proportion by people who have only played the opening hours. Apart from the I'm gonna kill Praxis and Dark Jak stuff, the game has more adult humour, but most of it is played for laughs/involves Daxter getting screwed over. The second mission in the game has them do their power cell dance from Precursor Legacy, before the music cuts out and the platform they're on collapses.
I enjoyed the open world to the point I was at 48 hours when I beat it first time round, but on subsequent playthroughs I just stick with going through it as swiftly as possible.
There are certainly collectables, they're just hidden now. Getting full completion on Jak II is really tough.
It's probably one of the best 3D platformers, certainly on the PS2, and it's a shame that there weren't more platform heavy missions. The various gadgets you get mostly add to the platforming, which is cool.
In terms of hating the game, there's an infamous section in the slums/water area (I never struggled with that bit, but there were a few apparently easy missions that stumped me) where you need to get back into the main city. Just punch your way through that whole section; it's like the least obvious solution, but it works best.
It's hard to tell if you'd like Jak 3 or not. It has a larger focus on vehicle and other gimmicky levels, and the hub world is a huge wasteland, so if you're not feeling Haven City you're gonna hate that. All of the 'edge' from II is completely gone though. Most cutscenes are Daxter doing something stupid, and Jak encouraging him.
Jak 1 2 and 3 were my shit back in the day. I don't care if the tone changed from generic ps1 mascots, its fucking awesome
also, why are you playing it on vita?? play it on PS3! or wait till the PS4 versions come out. Vita is the worst way to play these games, even playing them on PS2 is better
also, why are you playing it on vita?? play it on PS3! or wait till the PS4 versions come out. Vita is the worst way to play these games, even playing them on PS2 is better
Jimnymebob
Member
PS2 is the best way to play them currently, until the PS4 versions release (as long as they're 100% faithful).
The PS3 versions run at a weird, low resolution, they have graphical glitches, some physics are wonky, such as punching can randomly send you moving sideways rather than forwards, and the PS2 had two options for aspect ratio, 4:3, or a cropped 16:9; the latter is the only option available on the PS3 trilogy. When the trilogy releases on PS4, I doubt they'd be able to fix that, but you should have the option to choose 4:3 at least. X runs at a proper widescreen resolution on PS2 though.
MidnightCowboy
Member
I have very fond memories of Jak II
Wait you didn't like either? How come. I'm surprised. Anyway thanks for the response, Lijik, my senpai of PS2 platformers, I should have known you'd have the lowdown.
Thanks man. I knew you were pretty keen on the games. Is there any reason to play the remasters beyond the HD? I'd just as soon play them on PS2. Will definitely play in order.
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Other PS2 platformers for Lijik and purseowner to please comment on:
Tokobot
Finny
Scaler
Vex
Tak
Brave
Haven
Spyro PS2 games
Not too surprising since it was emulating the PS2 (the CPU at least). It also explains the vita's performance. I'm actually impressed that the vita version runs as well as it does...
Spyro: A Hero's Tail is actually a really good Jak & Daxter ripoff. (And really shameless -- I mean, they flat-out stole the redneck minigame!) The controls are tight and the levels are fun and interesting to explore, with some neat powerups allowing you to access areas you previously missed. And it runs at 60 fps, of course! Don't play the other Spyro PS2 game, though.
I never played the first one so the tonal shift wasn't really a big deal for me.
The front half of the game was good, if somewhat annoying.
The back half is the most frustrating, rage-inducing shit I've ever played. Relative to the first half:
- increased reliance on memorization
- reduced slack for errors
- Timed missions where (thanks to no slack & memorization gameplay patterns) you won't win until you nail the execution 100% accurately.
Basically, the only reason I finished it was because I was poor and had nothing else to play.
OP, if you're still in the first hour, you haven't hit the rough patches yet.
The front half of the game was good, if somewhat annoying.
The back half is the most frustrating, rage-inducing shit I've ever played. Relative to the first half:
- increased reliance on memorization
- reduced slack for errors
- Timed missions where (thanks to no slack & memorization gameplay patterns) you won't win until you nail the execution 100% accurately.
Basically, the only reason I finished it was because I was poor and had nothing else to play.
OP, if you're still in the first hour, you haven't hit the rough patches yet.
The Cartographer
Member
But that revelation at the end of the game...shit killed the whole series for me.
GitarooMan
Member
Nah it's too easy and like half the length
SprachBrooks
Member
Nope.
Jak 3 is like Jak 2 with the edginess cranked up to 11 lol, not sure why anyone who disliked Jak 2 would like Jak 3. Well I guess maybe if they liked Jak 2's edginess but thought it was too difficult and didn't have enough driving missions and minigame missions.
Thanks rjc! Appreciate the info including the excellent framerate. The other Spyro is no good? I thought there were more than two for some reason. I take it you like J&D1? I played some as a kid and kind of petered out on it and then tried it again with my wife a year or two ago and we couldn't really get into it. But if it's great I want to try it again....
flaxknuckles
Member
I love all three Jaks and have played them all multiple times. Jak 3 is my least favorite because it had barely any platforming compared to the first two.
As for Jak himself, he was pretty cool in the first game but never showed much personality other than edge in 2 and 3. Someone said it earlier in this thread and I agree, Jak is the worst character in the series.
As for Jak himself, he was pretty cool in the first game but never showed much personality other than edge in 2 and 3. Someone said it earlier in this thread and I agree, Jak is the worst character in the series.
NormalFish
Banned
Best game in the series. Difficulty is vastly overstated outside of a couple of missions (the rail shooter ones, mostly). The movement options are lots of fun, and the attack options (chaining punches/rolls/jumps and shots together) are a lot of fun.
GAF hates it and it's basically a meme that it's a GTA clone and betrayed the fans or whatever the fuck, but it's a much better game than it gets credit for, and despite aping aspects of other series (GTA, obviously) it does its own thing to great success.
GAF hates it and it's basically a meme that it's a GTA clone and betrayed the fans or whatever the fuck, but it's a much better game than it gets credit for, and despite aping aspects of other series (GTA, obviously) it does its own thing to great success.
that platformer is still there, there's tons of platforming in jak 2 and 3. Just cause they aren't rated E for everyone platformers doesn't mean they are not good
The tribalism that comes out for this type of shit is unbelievable to me, as bad as the "Ninja gaiden Sigma is an abomination" crowd. Nobody back when these games came out was ever talking that nonsense
It's bad because it's tryhard edgy dogshit where glimpses of half decent platforming are met with instant death pits and terrible shooting controls. Nothing to do with the rating.
NormalFish
Banned
It's not "tryhard edgy" anything. It's extremely self aware and campy as fuck lol. Not to mention J&D had instant death pits and awful shooting controls as well. I swear, half the people who whine and moan about this game haven't played the series.
Yes Jak & Daxter is great, though not as great as Jak 2 obviously. It's very short with only 10 main levels (a couple of which are duds) and a few smaller hub areas and transition areas, but levels like the Lost Precursor City, (~two thirds of the) Spider Caves, and the final temple are filled to the brim with solid platforming challenges and inspired design setpieces.
I think there's only two Spyro games for PS2, the first one was called Enter the Dragonfly and it was a buggy, unfinished mess.
It wouldn't surprise me if most people who complain about Jak 2's driving are unaware that ~20% of Jak 1 consists of driving on a zoomer which controls worse than the vehicles in Jak 2.
to keep it simple, theyre walky/collecty games and i prefer jumpy games. ty 1 has really huge levels with a lot of empty space and i didnt like that i felt like i had to keep double checking the map to find where the main objectives were instead of stumbling across them naturally. ty 2 has a lot of ps2 era minigames/vehicle sections which is not my bag.
im gonna try to keep these quick as to not derail the thread, you can pm me if you want me to expand on anything
tokobot + - i played this for 20 minutes when it came out and it seemed really unique but i could not get a handle on the control scheme at all. cant really comment on it. should probably give it a second look sometime
scaler - the first half is fun, its ratchet and clank with a wacky prehistoric world instead of a sci-fi one and a melee focus instead of weapons. instead of gadgets you transform into creatures with unique powers. the surface details make it hard to see the ratchet comparison, but the level structure is very similar, the way they present the level maps are straight up ripped from Ratchet, and there are copious amounts of grindrails/magneboot style sections. the second half has a lot of linear sections where you get stuck in constant DMC style enemy arenas and its really tedious, not fun and soured me on the game
vexx - i love this game a lot, but i gotta let you know up front - the controls are kinda slippery, it opens with an awful, long, unskippable tutorial, and the tone is so goofily tryhard edgy lmao. like in this game instead of stars or puzzle pieces, you collect beating human hearts. however the level design is legitimately really good and surprising. theres a lot of difficult obstacle courses built into sandboxy mario 64 style worlds, its rad.
tak - gotta be honest my dude, i dont like any of these at all for various reasons. 2 is the best of the 4
brave - i like the american frontier setting but otherwise the game is pretty middle of the road
haven - the tone and some of the setpieces are so similar to jak 2 that while playing it i wondered if someone at naughty dog played this during jak 2's development. like a lot of ps2 era games, the minigames/vehicle sections are numerous and bad, but the standard platforming is competent enough. when it rains in a level, your dude pulls his hoodie up. thats neat.
spyro - Enter the Dragonfly is some memetic cutscenes away from being sonic 2006 levels of bad. The loadtimes are outrageously long, the game is super buggy, the graphics were dated and awkward even in its time, and even if you cleaned all this up you'd still be left with a mediocre game. Avoid.
A Heroes Tail is fun, has a good vibe, but a little simple. Its probably the best of the non insomniac games
A New Beginning is a god of war clone with very little platforming, and is very easy/short (its clearable in like 4-5 hours). Was pretty for its time, probably still looks good now i dunno
Eternal Darkness adds more platforming, and its theme leads to some unique stage locations but Krome overcorrected the difficulty and too many of the fights are frustratingly difficult.
maybe in your immediate friend group, but this is not true at all
well that's just a hot take right there and literally is the opposite of my experience. Did we play different games?
don't forget about naughty dog's contempt for their audience!
pixelation
Member
I mostly love this game... but those target practice levels can go screw themselves.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
The difficulty only really ramps up in a few select spots in Jak II (the infamous docks/slums escape mission and defending the hideout from the mechs come to mind), but the real "difficulty" is in checkpoint placement. If you die, which you likely will at least a few times, you end up going back a lot further than you should far too often.
Jak II is, however, noticeably harder than the game before or after it.
BigEmil
Junior Member
Yeah some people being too hyperbolic now with the edge talk lol
Yoshi
Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
In what way is Jak 3 a cross between 1 & II? Where Jak II still had quite a few competently designed platformign sequences, arguably some of the best in the series, Jak 3 is just throwing them out alltogether and replaces platforming with the goddamn buggy, which is just the shittiest shit I have played in what people identify as a platforming game.
I think Jak II is an overall bad game with some brief moments of good game design in between in areas that seem like they were designed for an actual Jak & Daxter 2. Jak 3 however is just total trash from start to end, though it at least has a proper difficulty curve (and is easier in the hardest parts than Jak II), where Jak II is just all over the place.
@max: Vexx is a really good collectathon platformer with challenging platforming and surprisingly good level design. I think it is better than Jak & Daxter in all regards but visuals / style / music / story, which are all super edgy and quite ugly. Gameplay wise it is a very good game though.
Despite it's flaws, I can't help but love it. PL is one of my favourite games ever, this was a let-down in comparison but I still hold a candle for it.
The quality of animation, humour and character control for the whole series pretty much wins me over every time. Jak controls so fluidly that if you gave me just an empty room to run around in it'd still be a blast to play.
For the record, Daxter was the perfect middle ground between PL and Jak 2 for me!
The quality of animation, humour and character control for the whole series pretty much wins me over every time. Jak controls so fluidly that if you gave me just an empty room to run around in it'd still be a blast to play.
For the record, Daxter was the perfect middle ground between PL and Jak 2 for me!
Jimnymebob
Member
My problem with Jak 3 was the fact that I got Jak X on the same day, so swapping between a solid arcade racing game to trundling a buggy across a barren Wasteland wasn't fun.
I still don't understand how people call Precursor Legacy a platformer, but Jak II isn't. I've not tried it, but I'm genuinely curious how far you can get in Precursor Legacy without jumping normally, so just using the uppercut and the roll jump, and spinning in the air.
I still don't understand how people call Precursor Legacy a platformer, but Jak II isn't. I've not tried it, but I'm genuinely curious how far you can get in Precursor Legacy without jumping normally, so just using the uppercut and the roll jump, and spinning in the air.
Jak X was fun for like half an hour until I realized there was literally zero correlation between how well I played and how high I finished due to the ridiculous rubberbanding.