The Game That KILLED Jak & Daxter (The Lost Frontier Analysis)

[@LeeEverett1]

The fact they added a Precursor Orb as both a hidden artifact and trophy in TLOU2 gives me hope that ND hasn't forgotten about the Jak series entirely.

[@MrRhysReviews]

They've done that in every Uncharted/TLoU actually

[@gelato101]

After TLOU2, I never want to see Naughty Dog touch Jak ever again

[@jonahbrown5669]

@@gelato101 Jak is killed off by that barrel pants guy from the first game. You then play through the game as a gay black transgender Daxter that seeks revenge on the barrel pants guy, but ultimately forgives the barrel pants guy because "revenge bad hurr de durr"

[@EggEnjoyer]

@@gelato101honestly just stfu. You’ve no taste and no one cares about your trash opinion that you’ve had fed to you from KZbinrs

[@canontheory]

Not only that but in Ratchet and Clank rift apart they made a completely new next gen HD model for Jak and Daxter.. insomniac made it but still

[@jamesdorpinghaus3294]

Daxter turning into a monster by touching dark eco makes no sense. He turned into a precursor because he fell in dark eco. I didn't even know The Lost Frontier even existed.

[@kidprime6863]

Yeah, you would think touching Dark Eco again would just destroy him instead. It feels more like a ripoff of Giant Clank.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

​@@kidprime6863I'd imagine Dax touching dark eco would either do nothing or burn him somehow.

[@playerback7722]

High Impact Games ignores the lore

[@saintsboss4life941]

Dark eco is a matter destroyer and transformer, do your research before you talk bull.

[@victorvVerce]

@@Flesh_Wizard Or what I thought and still want somehow, is turning him back or at least the ability to turn back in to his human form. Which I thought of at the end of Jak 3, where the precursors did fulfill his wish.. but he got his pants :P

[@steliosks6610]

Honestly this franchise has a lot of good games tied to it and even tho that last entry did end the series on a sour note the whole experience is far too great not to experience both as a new fan or an old one.

[@wallaceshawn-zk8iw]

Loved Jak X. At least it tried to differentiate itself from the Kart racers.

[@Legend-qq6km]

Sad thing is, there's still one major plot thread that needs resolving. We learn in Jak 3 that Jak is Mar, the same person who designed the eco grid and shield walls. So how does he do it? They could make a whole game out of this idea. Perhaps they could have Jak travelling between the past and future, learning about the design and materials in the future and then putting it together in the past.

[@sebastiankulche]

Well, maybe when the precursors gives Jak the option to go with them, he doesnt refuse.... and who knows, maybe he traveled on time, discover secrets and so on. And.... it just passed a few seconds and he returned for the lunch.

[@spartan-1072]

i think you’re thinking of the original Mar, jaks ancestor. He was the one who founded haven city and designed the grid and walls, jak is only his descendant.

[@laplongejunior]

@@spartan-1072 Yes and no. The game itself is confusing. We usually consider that Jak is a mere descendant, however the way the final cutscene plays off that reveal implies that Jak is THE mar. It may be that the plot was misunderstood by whoever made that cutscene... or maybe at some point they wanted to hint at time travel. Or they scrapped a time travel plot point and forgot to scrub it from the ending. I guess that in canon, Jak's real name is Mar in honor of his ancestor... and that Ashelin "he is THE mar, but how?" was due to in-universe confusion and Daxter was stupid and didn't correct her. In a way, that works and make the trilogy self-consistent. There is, however, one additional issue : Jak2 ending ALSO implied that Mar could be closer than we think, combine that with the weird obscession of J3 to give lore details about Mar and the catacombs... That implies AGAIN that at some point Jak had to be the founder of Haven City. The same ending that very suspiciously introduced the idea that Samos may have extra knowledge. In hindsight, it's weird that the 3rd game is a straight linear sequel and that this Mar guy is simply an historical figure unrelated to the story... right? (And if you want a proof that the J2-J3 gap suffered from retcons : if the Metal Heads had managed to open the green relic, what would've they found inside? J2 states it's a precursor egg, J3 established it contained an hologram to continue the legend of precusors... and J2 actually used it as a power source so it wasn't a worthless rock.)

[@SuperTravis5000]

​@@spartan-1072Jak is Mar. Play it again

[@Guardian-of-Light137]

16:50 That's cannon actually. There were a lot more precursors before something happened wiping most of them out. Those 3 (And the ones in the ship at the end of Jak 3) Are all that was left. They were in the process of finishing that planet when whatever happened, happened. That's why there's so much abandoned precursor tech and robots all over the world. It was all in use before the survivors had to make a run for it. I assume the dark makers got to them and it ended up being a pyrrhic victory for the precursors.

[@EngY2502]

Honestly the game needs to be remade, and that what you described needs to be the main plot. Now I've never played this game so I'm only going by what is said in this video. What if the cause of depleted eco is related to whatever caused this catastrophic stalemate between the dark makers and precursors. Imagine an ancient battle that spanned across the planet, and it abruptly ended after a device was used to manipulate eco at an enormous range. This device may have had a specific purpose but was damaged during the fighting and absorbed almost all eco in its range. This could have killed everything it had contact with and left a large crater on the surface of the planet. The Precursors who had survived the initial battle could have stayed behind to repair the planet and restore the ecosystem but being so few in numbers their progress would be impeded. The displaced precursor technology across the planet, both functioning and destroyed, would be lost to time and reclaimed by nature. The Dark Makers, having a larger presence in the galaxy, could have sent a ship to Jak's world to investigate the outcome of this battle. This ship would be the one from Jak 3 but would never be able to report back to the larger fleet. We never get to know the full extent of what the Dark Makers were doing during the events of Jak 3, so it could be possible they deployed more troops around the planet before being destroyed. They could have had a presence at the end of Jak's world, and their objective would be the acquisition of this lost technology that nearly destroyed the world. We could learn more about the lost history, the Precursors, and the Dark Makers through the introduction of a new ancient villain.

[@Guardian-of-Light137]

@@EngY2502 I definitely like your idea more as far as world consistency. Granted could use a few tweaks here and there. But the plot we got isn't terrible just disconnected. ... From. Literally anything else in the Jak universe. But i'm a sucker for pirate stories and the plane stuff was fun. So at the end of the day I can't complain TOO much. But they changed Jak a little to much for my liking.

[@Judgement_Kazzy]

For some reason, the Precursors in this series remind me a lot of the Dwemer from the Elder Scrolls. I wonder if there was any inspiration there. Yes, I know the "super advanced lost civilization" concept has been a common fictional trope since Atlantis, but something about the aesthetics of their architecture, the fact that they disappeared mysteriously at the end of a massive race war, the giant robots, the strange half-scifi/half-magic power sources. There seem to be a lot of paralels between those two particularly.

[@AlrightThere]

Im late to the party but in Jak 2 when you complete Mars Tomb the voice tells you that the metal heads and the precursors waged war across the universe and that there isn't many left. Could be another reason they got wiped out.

[@Guardian-of-Light137]

@@AlrightThere Ah true.

[@demontorch]

Also Josh Keaton voiced Jak in this ( yeah the same bloke who voiced Spectacular Spider-Man and if you want to get real obscure he was that bull fighter guy from Pyschonauts). No hate towards to the bloke but his take on Jak isn’t that good

[@LedYouAshtray]

also young Ocelot in MGS3, can't forget that

[@demontorch]

@@LedYouAshtray and Rick Taylor from that 2010 reboot of Splatterhouse

[@aortaplatinum]

His Jak voice sounds like StamperTV before he became a meth head

[@ThePugDawg3]

And Electro from Spider-Man PS4

[@LedYouAshtray]

Oh yeah and also Harry Osborn in the Spiderman movie game that you play as in Green Goblin mode

[@mbrillon765]

8:17 YES I REMEMBER THIS! At first I hated it but then I learned to use it to my advantage for platforming and I also used to spend long periods of time looking at all of Jak's animations in slow motion and seeing all the things I couldn't make out at normal speed because it was too fast (like Daxter crawling all over Jak's torso when you do a punch)

[@PowercellZeke]

It really is disappointing that the game didn't reach its full potential. It could have been a really cool experience if ND was able to fully flesh out their thoughts and realise their vision. As for the game itself, it honestly could have been much worse. I think it's easily the best game HIG made (haven't played SAC, but I'll take your word for how bad it is). Though that isn't saying a whole lot. The game feels extremely clunky, but you can tell they were trying to replicate Jak's moves. (The camera slowdown was very common on PSP, I'm pretty sure it happened most of the game, or just select areas). The new eco powers were actually pretty cool. The plane gameplay is boring as hell, but it's funtional at least. The Dark Daxter is just horrible though. The thing is though, for a handheld Jak game, if it was mostly platforming gameplay it would have been ok. But the structure of the game and emphasising dogfighting make it feel so miserable to play. The story was pretty nothing as well. There's a couple decent ideas, but it's not a Jak 3 where some more time in the oven would have fixed it. I also don't think it's fair to label this game as the one that "killed the series". Sure, it wasn't a great game, but it sold decent, and ND tried making a Jak 4 after this anyway. The fact of the matter is the Jak series just isn't an easy one to bring out of retirement into an era it wasn't born in. The series tone, themes, and mechanics are extremely tied to when they were conceptualised, so it would feel pretty awkward if they just made another one today when expectations are so different. The argument could be made that they could adapt to the modern times like they did with Jak 2, and make a game to compete with today's big titles, but then that's just going to piss off most of the fanbase. Your takeaway at the end of the video was pretty on point. The series doesn't NEED to return, but it'd be neat if it did. The legacy of the series is 4 stellar games on the PS2 which pushed technology and game design forward like no one else, and it's fine to leave it there. These Jak videos were really well done my guy, was awesome to hear your renewed thoughts on the series

[@WHATISUTUBE]

the rebirth of crash is proof you dont need to "update" a franchise with nostalgic ties. The fact that Jak 1 is the most popular one speaks to how unnecessary it is to change the franchise in a potential rebirth

[@WapakalypseMan]

I remember seeing something about Jak 4 being made for ps4 but it ended up becoming the last of us

[@CallumByrne-ug6rx]

Jak and Dexter: The Lost Frontier is it canon

[@playerback7722]

Yes

[@dudeenigma888]

My problem with modern Naughty Dog isn't that they didn't continue the Jak series it's more that they have an attitude of cartoony games are a thing of the past and beneath them to make. I feel that they are to far up their on ass and see them selves as like a movie studio. I just feel like you can do more with cartoony than realistic.

[@bamban_garcia5562]

While I somewhat agree I think it has more to do with the people in charge of Naughty Dog not the team itself not even Sony Interactive Entertainment is involved considering its a self managed studio

[@Victorcolongarcia]

And they are right. I’d love cartoony mid budget but I hope they never stop evolving with TLOU / UNCHARTED/ NEW IP

[@igorz4582]

Sony games are really leaning into being movie games,people like photorealism

[@ElAssoWipe-o]

Naughty Dog is woke AF and they will ruin Jak and Daxter.

[@Victorcolongarcia]

@@ElAssoWipe-o you are cavemen af. Woke for me is POSITIVE. Whsts your problem?

[@restlessapprentice]

In regards to the future of the Jak games, honestly, at this point I wouldn't mind a re-imagining of the og trilogy. Not a full on reboot like they were apparently toying with back in the day, but a remake of the originals, but with an altered plot to be more cohesive between the three games. I feel like that would do a good job strengthening people's opinion of the franchise, while also giving them an opportunity to set up a proper Jak 4 if said trilogy did well. I think Naughty Dog doing a comparatively smaller scale project like that on the side would do well for them as a studio.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

They don't have the blueprints for what people want or expect out of the series, it's not changing the camera angle like GoW or toying with experimental mechanics and features with a similar formula like RaC. Doing something ground up for JaD on a triple A scale with the standards ND made for themselves would be just as expensive as the usual AAA game especially now.

[@artistanthony1007]

You alter the plot and you're changing more than you want, you're asking for a major makeover.

[@mjc0961]

After Uncharted 4 and TLOU2, I don't think there's much hope for modern Naughty Dog in general. It's clear that all the talent is gone, and it's just a husk using the studio's name. Sadly like so many other game developers these days.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

@@mjc0961 I wouldn't say *all* the talent but some important people are definitely gone now. I think whenever they show this new standalone TLoU multiplayer game off it will be easier to see if they gained a notable amount of new talent at some point or if there's obvious aspects of diminishing returns due to their management.

[@manueldelbono202]

@@artistanthony1007 it depends on how they do it. Fixing the story of the third game with just a couple of cutscenes isn't a makeover

[@AlexxxMYLSince2013]

12:14 wouldn't it make more sense that the Light eco given to him by the precursors in Jak 3 fixed his eco power? Thats what i believe, by regaining balance within himself his powers came back.

[@windy3935]

No. Nothing in JII or J3 implies his dark eco injections ruined his ability to channel eco. It was ONLY to access a Precursor entity inside the Precursor Stone. How does one compare and treat a Precursor Stone and eco as the samething. In J3 Jak still couldn't use color eco after getting light eco. (Obviously Naughty Dog just simply had no desire to have Jak use color eco from his body. Jak doesn't use a gun in these games for purely story/setting reasons; it was an intentional design choice to appeal to a wider and more mature demographic.) TLF then tried being an amalgamation of the trilogy, eco power wise, minus the transformations. That's all

[@noblesseoblige319]

@@windy3935 you could easily argue that the precursors just fixed jak. He was on their ship for at least a bit in the light show. Does it make sense? Eh no not really, but it's a totally believable explanation without any evidence against it. Just... If you need an in-universe excuse as to why he can suddenly do this stuff now and somehow do more than he used to be able to do.

[@windy3935]

@@noblesseoblige319 That's a prime example of headcanon. And it's a rather weak theory, having no evidence to back it up either. Once again however, nothing in the series actually said or implied Jak lost his ability to use colored eco. Infact, Jak harnessing Dark Eco and using a full on dark eco form contradicts that very immature theory. As unpredictable as dark eco is, it's still an eco. And TLF shows Keira breaking down dark eco into color eco (which means Jak could always use it, under the right circumstance, none of which TPL sequels gave). Lastly, backing up a little, a true reasonable argument why Jak didn't use color eco in the sequels can be attributed to a few reasons, but all you need is one of them: no color eco vents for him to burrow it from it. That's it.

[@noblesseoblige319]

@@windy3935 there are massive eco vents in jak 2, during the stress inducing mission where you need to blow them up in a time limit. You can stand on them, and nothing happens. No speed, no energy blasts, no healing, nothing. There's one that will damage you, but that seems to be a bug since the others don't. And they are listed in the game as eco vents specifically, so it's not like it's a completely different thing. I'm not saying you're wrong in general, but I will point that we do in fact have eco vents in other games that jak cannot interact with.

[@windy3935]

@@noblesseoblige319 Those things in the Strip Mine that Vin tasks you to do? Those are Eco *Wells.* That's what there always referred to as, not Eco Vents. Even without the name it has, it clearly isn't the same thing as the vents from the TPL (nor J3). There are no color eco vents in those games.

[@PirateNinjaKitteh]

I really liked two things about this game: they rectified who Jak ended up (he always belonged with Keira but him and Ashelin did have a thing in Jak 3) and they mentioned all the different types of eco again (Jak 2 and 3 were heavy focused on dark eco whereas the original game had all the different ones and I like that they showed all the different kinds again in this game)

[@mattkent4397]

So we all agree this game never happened.

[@UnknownG2000]

I loved this game as a kid! ~Sincerely, someone that only ever played this and Daxter from the whole series.

[@kenjiolarte8130]

Same! Can't believe I'm not the only one who only played those two games haha

[@starman3533]

saame lol

[@BarenaGaralina]

Same lmao

[@CrossOutBryce]

I definitely tolerated this game (even 100% it) because it felt HUGE for a PSP game. If I'd played it on PS2, I would've been disgusted after the ND Jak and Dax games lol.

[@DerekofEarth]

The Praxis bit is fantastic. Loved these reviews btw

[@sebastiankulche]

Funny enough this is the game that introduced me to the series and i quite like it. Thanks to it i become interested in the series. In part i can understand why fans become dissapointed, i think it shouldnt be released on the PS2, because after playing the trilogy it pales into comparison, but on PSP is good enough for an spin off imo. The side content of this game believe it or not is very high, arguably the highest of the franchise, and i wasted so much time trying to get everything. Idk why, but the way this game handled the collectables and the hard mode reminds me of Ratchet And Clank.

[@DwillGame]

I was disappointed that he didn't have his dark powers anymore

[@Typhoon_Lex]

They explained that with a throwaway line. Eco was too unstable at that point and Jak going Dark could have killed him.

[@smokindat-rock_babay2401]

What joke this game is . As far as I’m concerned this game isn’t canon and doesn’t even exist for that sake . I’m never gonna play it . I’ll stick to the original 3 that are gold

[@philiplubduck6107]

This was a good game. You have to also realize it’s limited by being a psp game. Even with that its a solid game worth finishing just not worth completing.

[@playerback7722]

True

[@LiquidArmProduction]

Oh J, I didn’t vote for you to do the psp version cause I knew it was superior, I just thought it’d make for the most entertaining review XD (and also, I thought the psp version came out first, so I thought it’d be better to critique the most played version of the game.)

[@__-be1gk]

The fact that Jak and Daxter died for Uncharted to be born says so much about video games in the 2010s

[@CarbyGuuGuu]

And beyond, it changed PlayStation’s mindset that all of their exclusives needed to look cinematic and have inflated budgets. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was the result of the brand’s big ambitions getting to them. It only sold 2 million copies with an $80 million budget. Putting the IP in limbo and forcing Sony to lower budgets on all of their releases. But time will tell if PlayStation is willing to go experimental again like they did during their classic years.

[@SeriousDragonify]

Jak trilogy was garbage anyway. Majority of people are into games like COD, GTA and Palworldm

[@sh-juno-1019]

​@@SeriousDragonify Palworld went from 2million active players to around 67thousand within the span of just a month lmfao

[@SeriousDragonify]

@@sh-juno-1019 2M? Sheesh that's much more than Baldur's Gate 3 that had 500k. Still it's far more popular and not everyone is active. They'll return when updates be dropped.

[@sh-juno-1019]

@@SeriousDragonify I just play whatever games that I feel like playing without worrying about how many players are playing

[@jaborsey_joseph]

Fun Fact: Gol Echeron from TLP was supposed to be in this game as the amnesia ridden dark eco sage and he was on a mission to cure Mira. I think it was scrapped due to VA issues which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

[@scottprice4955]

Not likely, its an entirely different VA for Jak in this game. I can't see them hanging an entire major plot point on the VA to villain that hadn't been mentioned since the first game

[@link_team3855]

i wouldnt be shocked really

[@AHylianWarrior]

The removal of Dark Jak with the excuse they used was just really stupid. We didn't need a Dark Dax, could've just been Dark Jak sections instead (and Dark Jak's movement would've made the game way faster too). I'm just sad that this is the last Jak game and who knows if we'll ever get one in the future

[@kidprime6863]

@@Jahlil.W If Jak can't transform into Dark Jak without the instability killing him, then where does that leave Light Jak?

[@playerback7722]

I guess cause Daxter is a precursors

[@daseal1479]

That Baron Praxis impersonation is 10/10, lol. Great vid!

[@HidroFalante]

I was quite happy when i discovered that there was another "actual " kak and daxter game after 3 when i was 10, so i ran out to the local shop and bought one for me. Ngl, i kinda forced me to like it back then because "it was jak" (and also because i insisted to my mom to buy it for me) but nowdays...i just don't like this game at all. It's like a mix of all the good and bad things that the series had (mostly the bad ones), but with bad animations, messy and spinoff-like story, and Dark Daxter.

[@medoagamer9497]

I think part of the reasons some fans of the platformer franchises resent the newer franchises like Uncharted, Last of Us, Infamous, and so forth is kinda a symptom of a wider issue I personally feel is surrounding Sony/PlayStation. It's that a lot of their older and more obscure franchises (Like Jak and Daxter) have basically been left on the back burner for several years. Other franchises include (off the top of my head) Ape escape, Sly Cooper, Parappa, Twisted metal, Gravity rush, Star hawk, and others have basically been kicked to the curve. It's been over a decade since some of these franchises had a new release of any kind. Some of them are lucky to have seen ports. It's similar to have fans of the more niche Nintendo franchises like say F zero feel about not having... Basically anything outside of smash since the 6th generation. I think that's why certain fans of franchise like Jak and Daxter have a resentment towards something like Last of Us. And I'll admit. While I don't hate every modern PlayStation franchise, I am bitter of my favorites being left in the dust like Jak and Ape escape.

[@Niyucuatro]

Playstation is just the home of the cinematic third person shooter.

[@kingdomkey2262]

If you can't have slow walking segments and wide sweeping cinematic camera shots than Sony wants nothing to do with it

[@dragondelsur5156]

Here's the thing: If the developers don't want to continue with a franchise, they have every right not to. What F-Zero and Jak and Daxter have in common is that the developers felt that they did what they could with their respective series and called it quits because they didn't know how to keep going forward. Jak 4 was almost a thing, but I think the fans and especially the developers knew this couldn't work if you saw the concept art, fan outcry is not enough if the devs feel fatigued. And you do need to remember: PlayStation isn't all about cinematic third person shooters, it is what sells but not the status quo, otherwise things like AstroBot wouldn't exist and Ratchet as a series would be dead with Rift Appart not even being developed. I am bitter that Japan Studio died alongside Gravity Rush but the second game conluded Kat's overall story and I feel happy with that, but I don't curse Team Asobi for taking the studio's place, I'm not that pitiful.

[@jahkareramkissoon419]

Ah thank you for telling the truth. As someone who grew up playing those jak games. The lost frontier was absolutely the most atrocious excuse for a jak game and I wish it didn't exist. Honestly to me the biggest crime was the fact that the light eco was ass pulled away from Jak.

[@SoranotRoxas]

Good Lord I remember getting this game when it first came out. I was so happy to play another Jak game that I brought it when I got out of work that day. Was about two missions in when I realized I wouldn't like this and took it back lol 😆

[@yasumedia9528]

I get that this game can't compare tp its predecessors, but it still has a special place in my heart. I owned a psp before a ps2 (strange I know). This was one of my first psp games and it made me want more games like it. Because of it, I found the Jak, R&C, and Sly series, all of which I fell deeply in love with. Those games made me a lifelong passionate gamer and a loyal Playstation fan. For better or worse, I owe a lot of my fandom to this one admittedly mediocre title from a bygone era of portable games. You've made excellent, true points, but oddly enough, I wouldn't mind digging up my PSP to have one last session with the game that helped make me a gamer. Does anyone else have an unusual game that catalyzed their love of a franchise? P.S I always thought the slow mo rotation was intentional LOL

[@sebastiankulche]

Yeah, for me it was Secret Agent Clank even though is considered by some "questionable" youtubers (specifically two, but anywaaaaaaaaaay) the worst game ever made. I mean, is not perfect, is much inferior to the trilogy and so on, but a bad game to the point of being one of the worst? They seem to didnt know about the actual BROKEN ones like Big Rigs. At least SAC was playable, hell, even without all of the nostalgia i have i really enjoyed it but thats just me. Even though i played tons of boring games, for the simple fact that they work i couldnt call it one of the worst. I think its intentional, for helping a bit the player.

[@yasumedia9528]

@@sebastiankulche You know, I agree. SAC is not the trilogy and certainly not the Future trilogy, but I have a lot of fond memories with with it. One of my favorite psp games despite its flaws. One man's trash is another man's treasure as they say.

[@miknel-san6769]

In Jak 3 Seem said the Dark Makers were there to claim the 'Unfinished World' maybe the Brink was the part of the world that was unfinished or underdeveloped, the Precursors may have ran out of resources because of the war with the Metal Heads or the Dark Makers. We'll never know. Also the dark Daxter might have been the in-between stage of Precursors and Dark Makers, it's an interesting thought, how much dark eco does a Precursor have to be exposed to to become a Dark Maker? Some questions will never be answered.

[@kidprime6863]

For now, at least.

[@artistanthony1007]

Dark Daxter, the Mutants and the ability to almost warp with I think those Dark Eco Statues were the only things I liked about the game, that Dark Eco Injector is also less frightening than the one in 2 and like they were too safe to show sharp tools and needles.

[@thomaskuzma4360]

You have made an interesting retrospective series with a take that is new. I would say I am in the 5 franchise camps, not just because of my love for those games, but I think the warped perception of Hollywood media has made the triple a game companys feel that making the PS2 generation a "kiddy option" when games like ratchet, Jak and Sly tackled things like Death and disability in dignified ways. I loved resistance and infamous, but I think naughty dog forgot the primary essence for fun.

[@calvinmatthews1527]

You say it like it is J, and I respect you for that. It is a shame that franchises like Jak & Sly went out on such weak notes, but like you said: nostalgia is a cash cow these days. And if Crash Bandicoot can make a grand comeback, its most likely those two I mentioned can as well. As long as their done right.

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

That bit about how the PSP might not have been able to handle the more technical PS2 bits about combat...makes me wonder if that's how Birth By Sleep's combat turned out the way it did, where enemies often do not react to your attacks which makes you take damage in the middle of a combo or spell because tons of bosses simply have Super Armor most of the time as a result. Granted, BBS is still a very good game and story weirdness about Dream Drop Distance aside, Kingdom Hearts has always translated well into a portable setting. Yes, even Chain of Memories. I may be hating myself for playing it so many times, but the card system isn't that bad. It just makes you wish you can just throw an attack out without being cancelled by thin air just because their card had a better number.

[@Morijin-ek2tm]

Chain of memories is great imo

[@RhapsodyHC]

I wasted a big part of my childhood replaying this game on Challenge Mode and unlocking all the secrets. I even made that secret plane that you can unlock if you find all the plane parts. Looking back, those plane missions were HELL. I think this game is best left behind in my childhood TBH.

[@Ineedanameplease]

I learned two things from this video, 1) the existence of the game because I simply NEVER heard of it 😅 2) I barely remember anything of Jak 3 except for more time travel shenanigans and a weird angel/demon thing with Jak’s powers

[@SniperKt]

For me, it's the 2nd game of Jak and Daxter that I liked the most, 1st being Jak 3. The theme of playing a plane shooter I think it's one of the best things they could do to make this game funny. Watching your gameplay when you were struggling to destroy the turrets with 2 lasers and 1 rocket launchers made me think that you really didn't know how to play that parts of the game. You needed to upgrade or had more of the same weapons to do at least double of damage, in that plane you were flying it could be mounted 4 lasers, and you were carrying only 2, and of course it was frustrating, you were going with half the power you could go! I won't say that this game is the best, the history have a lot of holes and it's not very good, but I had a lot of fun playing. But you did a good video and you have my like. 👍🏻😁

[@huz7531]

!spoilers! They could of made a jack & dax 4 story wise ngl. They never explained who mar was and what were the origins of the metal heads were they could of somehow made jak go back in time and assist in the creation of the legend of Mar and explained the origins of the metalheads.

[@fionna_cool_girl]

Your last point is very interesting. I didn't grow up with Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper or Ratchet and Clank like most die hard fans of those games. I only got into those games because of PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale. I played the Jak and Daxter Trilogy and Sly Cooper Thieves in Time on the ps3 and played the Ratchet and Clank remake on the ps4. While I don't have the same nostalgic feeling like most playing these games in the ps2 era, I understand the hurt people feel for Sly and Jak not getting the ending on a high notes they deserved. I genuinely loved Sly Cooper Thieves in Time but it ends on a cliff hanger and probably will never be resolved. While the Jak and Daxter trilogy are great games, because of the Lost Frontier, the series just has a bad aftertaste. Meanwhile Ratchet is still getting the praise and relevance it rightfully deserves. In an era where game companies and Hollywood are digging up old franchises to milk for money, it feels strange that these two franchises never got brought back into modern day. We'll see what the future brings. Personally for me I'm content with the game library I have and the new wave of indie games take over. It'd just be nice to have a proper conclusion to Sly and Jak

[@Sneaky_racoon_sly]

trust me ratchet may be still relevant but he is a shadow of his past. after the ps2 games he became a kid friendly mario without personality. at least the games itself are still fun but when you play the first 4 games you will understand me. and tbh i think sly and jak were a lot better than ratchet because i just played the ps3 and 4 games but then i played the ps2 ones and now i understand why they were the ones that were so popular. also insomniac was indipendent back then and they had to release 1 game every year

[@NekoNick2770]

I always thought the reason jak couldn't use eco powers in 2 and 3 was because the eco in the was concentrated or refined. As an example eco in the first game would be wheat but the eco in the weapon ammo was basically made into eco bread

[@jess648]

yeah they ended up concentrating eco into weapons instead

[@Flesh_Wizard]

I feel like eco toast

[@_Tzer]

Know what really makes no sense here. Jak can't become dark jak due to the eco shortage yet daxter can become dark daxter and they have dark warriors.. Yet dark jak is the result of being in the dark warrior program.

[@Dom-HSK]

Now, hear me out, un-popular opinion, but I liked this game quiet a bit, granted I was a young kid when I played it, but I enjoyed it for the most part, I haven't gone back an played via an emulator or what not, an I imagine my opinion will change, but I think I'll still enjoy it.

[@Infernox-tg6ky]

8:30 Yes whenever you pressed L or R button while moving, the game is in slow motion. I don't get how they didn't realize about this bug in the game. I noticed it on PSP

[@Typhoon_Lex]

Yep, but you could always use that to abuse several kill hits if timed with the punch correctly

[@slashingkatie7872]

2 yrs later it’s just sad the PS5 won’t revive Sly, Jak or Ape Escape in favor of another open world action game.

[@CosmicSponge2004]

Bonus fact about the PS2 Version, it has a Glitch on Slimline models that corrupts saves. In 2009. For PS2 Slims (a system from 2004) I can excuse it with Revenge of the Flying Dutchman due to its age but for a 2009 game to not be adjusted to all models of the PS2 deeply upsets me despite never getting into the series

[@SKX2k16]

I think Jak and daxter need a brand new game! They are literally the only old school game that hasn't had an actual remaster with updated graphics or even a continuation of an old game/reboot.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

A bunch of old playstation IPs have it worse but ok

[@PsychoWerekitsune]

It's a shame Sony never really invests in evergreen franchises to represent their brand and would rather just completely forget most of the IPs they own in favour of propping up whatever's currently popular. Where Crash was, at some point, Sony's Mario, I always felt like Jak was their Zelda; games that were targeted towards teens and young adults that featured deep lore, incredible expansive worlds populated by interesting characters and had and epic story to tell. The Lost Frontier does that setting such a massive disservice in its premise that the world they live on is incomplete (much like how the game itself feels now that I think about it), indicating that there's very little room for the franchise to explore other parts of it for future adventures. Where Haven City was a dystopian, cyberpunk metropolis and Spargus was a wasteland village, there could've been plenty of other locales they could've come up with like a futuristic utopian, city, or one in the midst of a lush, green forest considering the variety of biomes we've seen between all four main games. Every day I lament the loss of this fantastic franchise. I was really hoping the HD re-releases would've renewed interest in them considering Ratchet and Clank are still going strong and Sly Cooper got at least one major sequel (despite how unpopular it might be). I really feel like we could do with a new Jak title today.

[@MystM]

This series died when it suffered a complete tonal whiplash XD The Lost Frontier was just beating the corpse.

[@BenOlsberg1995]

I could write a novel on how and why I found this game to be such a monumental letdown as an avid fan of the series. I was kind of concerned I was going to be the odd one out after playing it for the first (and last) time, but after traipsing around online for a bit the day I got it and played it, I was relieved to find I wasn't the black sheep as I had initially thought. There's so much wasted potential with this game it hurts. They had a ton of really cool ideas at play (like the new Eco powers Jak had access to for one thing) but the haphazard implementation of them just really held this game back and kept it from being the highly anticipated and sought after 4th main line installment we had all hoped for. In fact it's kind of like Devil May Cry 2 in that regard. Lots of cool ideas, very poor execution of said ideas. And in the end wasted potential is often times far worse than something just being outright bad. But I do love your mindset you conveyed at the very end about how even if, sadly, we never get a proper 4th main line installment for the Jak series, at the very least we can look back at the preexisting trilogy (and Jak X) with fondness and admiration that we got something that was as a whole, so damn good.

[@jacobholly2096]

Imagine a remake of Jak and daxter what do you guys think of Yuri lowenthal being the voice of Jak.

[@AbyssalMerc]

If you suggested this five years ago I'd have said no because I wouldn't be able to see him doing Jak's personality. But after seeing him play Davion in the DOTA show, hell yes.

[@hattoripool1533]

I heard Jak and Daxter the Lost Frontier was originally going to continue what Jak X’s ending set up

[@JojoMonReturns91]

So J Reviews, have you been hearing about the WB Discovery takedown of 26 shows and I dont know if you heard Mao Mao and Infinity Train has been taken down for good? Reminds me of the final nail in the coffin like The Lost Frontier. Thoughts on the whole Cartoon Network takedown as of late J Reviews?

[@JojoMonReturns91]

For me, I officially dislike and dispise WB Discracery since this might affect all shows whether cartoon or live, past or present. And worst of all, this might kickstart the takedown of videogame related reviews since I dont want to scare you J Reviews, but if other companies are going to do this by erasing the current, past and future shows, this review might be in danger. :0 Stay safe J Reviews since I dont want it to affect even videogames as of late.

[@TheeCambion]

What does that have to do with jak and daxter?

[@JojoMonReturns91]

@@TheeCambion Well, with how WB Disgracery destroyed themselves this week with taking down alot of good shows from the CN block, I was wondering if this idea and concept of deleting old shows and such might be implied to everything in both gaming and shows. Like if this review got taken down since Naughty Dog or Sony Computer Entertainment just said "KILL THE PAST" and literally had everything of the past games, like Sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank, erased off the face of the planet because of what WB Disgracery did, then we would be in all sorts of hellish trouble. PS2 games being erased, Switch Games now having the infamous P2W idea like Fortnite and Kirby Dream Buffet since those games have now become infamous for that tactic (that and the skin idea of how Fortnite has shown, while people are telling me they can keep the skins, I am not so sure if that is true since it is limited time and it might end up being like an NFT where you don't keep it for very long), yeah this week has sucked the biggest donkies ever. Would suck if the Last Frontier was the last nail in the coffin for this channel since I don't want J Reviews to end up being taken down by this idea.

[@TheeCambion]

@@JojoMonReturns91 wb took those shows off streaming services and television. Plus the shows themselves are copyrighted so you can't upload full episodes to KZbin. Video games are completely different atleast jak and similar games have physical releases so if they took down the digital releases it wouldn't matter. Gameplay can't be copyrighted so they wouldn't be able to take down reviews/ playthroughs on KZbin.

[@obeyabe8613]

@@JojoMonReturns91 to clarify, the main reason why WB deleted those shows was for tax write-off since shows/movies have a "profit life expectancy" Axing those shows before the "life expectancy" ends would serve as a tax write-off for the rest of the revenue it was supposed to make. So if show A was axed before its life expectancy ends, a part of show B's revenues that makes up from show A's wouldn't be taxed Imagine like killing cows so you can sell their meat instead of milking them Ik it's scummy, but in a period of economic uncertainty. Movie providers like WB should be careful with their money

[@xXYannuschXx]

If only ND had stayed in charge of the development of this game. The two leaked cutscenes from when ND was still developing this game already looked so much better then what we got...

[@GunnerTheThunder]

Yeah I don't think anybody knows to talkin about this was the best Jak and daxter EVER

[@SigmaRho2922]

The Lost Frontier’s soundtrack contains a few tracks that were repurposed for use on reality competition shows.

[@CosmicSponge2004]

No way

[@Sil3ntLynx]

I've never played any other Jak and Daxter game outside of this (and Daxter I guess); I don't have many strong feelings towards it, but I had fun back in the day

[@K-C-D-A]

11:42 Ayyy, nice to see my comment made it in time to get corrected in this video. Thanks again for adding that, and keep up the great work!

[@SoloGamer42]

There was a lot of good about the Lost Frontier. I actually enjoyed how they did the upgrade system and I love the fact that the PSP version as an actual lock on beam so you can see where your gun is actually aiming. I actually like how much light RPG mechanics are in the game as well and for the most part the upgrade system is on point. If they had implemented some of the systems in some of the other games I think they would have been even better especially the lock on beam. I just think it being developed for a portable hurt it and honestly I think they should have just developed it primarily for the PS2. I mean it did get a PS2 Port but it seems the PS2 Port actually has more hate on it than the PSP version. It's not a terrible game just a mediocre one but it has some unique aspects even the combat has some interesting mechanics about it. If it had been developed solely for the PS2 I think it would have done all right.

[@YukeWeiss]

Personally, I'm happy to think of these games fondly as childhood nostalgia and while it would be cool to see them come back, it's not essential to me.

[@TheMightyKite]

They took his Goatee…. *NOT THE GOATEE!*

[@andycortes123110]

I'm really glad I saw all these Jak and Daxter videos, I grew up loving Jak 3 as it was the the game that really introduce me to the series, lol despite it being not as good or better than the first 2 games, its one of my favorites for the ps2, I really enjoyed these videos bringing me back so many memories, look forward seeing your other vids

[@natez31796]

if it comes back, I would hope Jak & Daxter returns with a transformation similar to God of War (2018). some kind of fresh rework of the franchise but true to its identity established in the jak trilogy.

[@bobbynick5358]

I think the only downside in Secret agent clank on the PS2, the loading times are like 3 to 6 times longer then the PSP and also the missing traveling planets in the loading screens, no clue why. But loading times is big detail change...

[@doomarang3208]

22:21 Except for The Last of Us Part 2! While the 1st game? YES! And Ghost of Tsushima is WAY better then TLOU2 and Suckerpunch's best game, I'll even say Ghost is better than Sly Cooper! But all the nostalgia fans will think otherwise.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

In terms of being "unique" I still think sly cooper is their most standout series but outside of nostalgia and being a cartoony game everything they made afterwards is just objectively more impressive overall. The open sandboxes they starting doing for sly 2 and 3 carried over and were utilized even better for new IP.

[@doomarang3208]

@@TerrorOfTalos Well I already get Sly Cooper MO vibes in Ghost of Tsushima but felt perfected with a lot of Sly DNA in the stealth sections.

[@PocketPixelPortablePower]

Thanks for making this video series, it seems these games are finally being recognized again, hopefully the renewed interest gives us a sequel.

[@MrEustace]

I love your content. Channels like yours aspire me to keep on making videos 😄

[@douglasmonroe7417]

Glad you finished the Jak and Daxter games. What's next up on your list? The next RE game? Doom series retrospective? Possibly a God of War series too? Those are some awesome games that need to be covered.

[@daveontyra9232]

completely irrelevant to this vid but i’d love to see you do a retrospective on the x-men animated series

[@renardnoir2581]

This was the game that, I as a major fan of the series when I was younger, somehow never heard of and only knew it existed by seeing it randomly at Walmart. From everything I know, I understand why nobody talks about it.

[@Eldeamoth]

I actually had a blast playing this game as a kid. For a game that had resources siphoned away from it, it blows my mind that it came out as good as it did. I remember how impressed I was that it worked so well on the PSP. I wonder how I would feel returning to it after all these years.

[@lockequaman523]

If they brought jak back I'd like for it to be like the Spiro reignited trilogy/crash nsane trilogy

[@baico657]

This was the first Jak game I ever played. At the time I thought it was good quality and fun... until a friend lent me the Jak 3 and I never played The Lost Frontier again.

[@MM-ij1jh]

It’s still pretty sad to see many other games get remakes and announcements of said new games, meanwhile Jak and Daxter are just waiting to be remade but are just sitting there collecting dust.

[@dvda9725]

Oh my god just piss off with this remake shit. Jak does *NOT* need to be remade, it's great how it is, it doesn't need its legacy shat on with some garbage new remade version for consoomers like you. They should either do a sequel or leave it alone.

[@_Tzer]

Kinda glad jak ended where it did with this game not being made by them it at least could potentially be considered non canon. It didn't get the chance to decay like ratchet and clank did and forget it's original themeing(ratchet and clank was originally a parody of capitalism and big budget movies then literally became it.) Like i could potentially see modern naughty dog potentially taking out all cartooniness and comedy and making it not as cool and also adding some weird values and messages.

[@sleeplessstoner9522]

The game I try to remember but constantly forget. Played it after major knee surgery and its literally an opiate fever dream. "Why cant i roll?" Only thing i think of when i try.

[@FindTheFun]

They shoulda just done Jak X 2.

[@thatssomegoodpie]

The High Impact games get way too much hate. I really don't understand it, they're great in my opinion. Sure, maybe not as good as the orginal trilogies but still solid entries.

[@sebastiankulche]

X2. They also included neat improvements to the formula that i would love to see in newer entries (although obviously upgraded and with the better level design of newer entries), like the armor system in Size Matters or the upgrades of TLF, its plane levels and its "Treasure Planet" ambientation.

[@charleschamp9826]

I wonder if that Camera Bug was actually intentional. Since the controls are what they are perhaps they thought the slow down would be beneficial, the slow down being there to give the player time to get the camera where they want to be without worrying so much about enemies. Intentional or not though I do not like it.

[@doomarang3208]

17:36 And now you know how all of us Ryan Drummond Sonic fans felt like during 2005 when he got replaced just when Ryan was almost reaching his peak performance as Sonic.

[@NonStopKnocks]

He was never good lol

[@doomarang3208]

@@NonStopKnocks Eh, it's your opinion... kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6bdhmpmpMmFpaM and kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3SbqmitdsZ6ntU

[@redstreak9430]

It’s funny how I didn’t notice when playing Shadow until I got to the Carnival Stage and saw Tails in the opening cutscene. While everyone remembers it for the infamous “damn 4th Chaos Emerald” quote, I’ll always remember it for hearing Tails and thinking “hey, he sounds like how he did in Sonic X” and then it clicking everywhere else.

[@BlackTheBerserker]

@@NonStopKnocks Ryan was great in Sonic Heroes.

[@Darkfawfulx]

@@BlackTheBerserker I love his Heroes preformance but I dont think his SA2 preformance was that bad.

[@cameronpearce5943]

Honestly if we got a new Jak and Daxter game I think it would be something like a grittier Breath of the Wild. Exploring ruins of locations from the first game, seeing locations from the 2nd and 3rd games restored and less dystopian. I hope they include nods to Jak X and Lost Frontier. Technically the Dark Maker's we saw were only foot solders, I kinda like to imagine this huge lanky Otsel whose for the power of a Dark Eco Sage and the strength of Dark Daxter rolled into one. Could be a good ark villain, like a really sinister one.

[@user-ou5ls2xc7v]

Am I the only one who thought this was a fun game? I mean I was a kid, but. I figure that’s the demographic, and it was a good time.

[@medoagamer9497]

22:03 "The only platformers they like are these 5" R.I.P. Ape escape fans... Including myself...

[@TerrorOfTalos]

Interesting seeing you here lol

[@viliamsneakman1508]

And Pacman world.

[@matiasjauhojarvi9551]

I just finished Jak and Daxter The Lost Frontier and I think that the game Is great. Sure there are problems with the game that cutscenes lag and your character sometimes also. But I still think that the game Is great. The gameplay Is great and the exploring Is good. Also finding the secrets aren't too hard plus I like flying the planes and upgrading It too. I also liked the story and It's a PSP game they don't have as much memory as a playstation 2 game.

[@wille.2215]

dark daxter doesnt make sense conceptually, since according to daxter himself, THE most reliable source of information, in the very first game, if he were to fall into dark eco again he'd turn into samos.

[@kidprime6863]

Daxter was just being sarcastic about that

[@wille.2215]

@@kidprime6863 i know, im joking

[@theguybehindyou4762]

What's stopping them from just retconning TLF and making a better continuation?

[@Iotatheprotogen]

I wish I never got this game for Christmas

[@DameonRaye]

Watching this video and reading these comments, I'm feeling completely lost. I had no idea there was this much Vitriol for The Lost Frontier, that's honestly sad, I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and this is coming from someone who had Jak and Daxter from day 1, I've been with the series since the beginning. I didn't even have a memory card at the time, I had to actually play through J&D1 from beginning to end without turning off my PS2. Sure, a few story bits in The Lost Frontier were odd or questionable, but overall I personally felt the game was good enough that I played it through to the end on my Star Wars PSP back in the day, enjoyed every minute it of, which is rare for me. I never saw J&D TLF as the CAUSE of the end of Jak and Daxter, but a symptom of it; everything I saw and read about the game hinted that it was kicked to the PSP as Naughty Dogs hope to revitalize the series by producing a less costly, but surprisingly deeply produced game on the PSP, and hopefully get enough of a draw to justify another game in the primary story line. Always thought that the fact that it failed was more to people being drawn to other series it was more directly competing with (namely Ratchet & Clank), which was always much sadder to me. Oh well.

[@RancidRiki]

I remember finding a glitch that skips like half the game in the fourth area (the dark eco lab thing) where you could somehow get into the loading zone for the late game dark daxter segment and the game went on from that point. I repeated that glitch a few times

[@kimzee59]

To be honest, what I personally think (and kinda hope for) is the most likely future for the Jak series, is for it to be done in a crossover with Ratchet and Clank. There were multiple references in Rift Apart, so why not a full on crossover. It would make sense, the 2 series have been very close for most of their live spans

[@DolanDuking]

The guy who founded High Impact Games is now making NFT games if anyone was curious.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

Ah more garbage just great...

[@isauldron4337]

Seriously? I swear everyone wants to get into NFTs

[@Jander406]

You know honestly the world brink makes sense. If read into the deep lore the Jak&Daxter world was never finished by the precursors.

[@cleibergustavosoaresrodrig990]

Just to know: the slow ups that you find during the gameplay i believe thats come from a fact the Vita uses Adrenaline to emulate psp so it's a predictive overhead in this type of game

[@reallyhimongod]

Oh my god that final mission where you said it took you an hr in the dog fight mission is literally what’s keeping me from playin this dumpster fire😂

[@shadowsonshadowson3929]

I’ve never heard of this game until now. I thought it ended with Jak X racing

[@PantakesVGP]

I like the idea of the Brink a lot. It was actually hinted in the og trilogy that the world was left unfinished, so they visit this concept in TLF. The game needed to be much better in order to do justice to the Brink concept though. The way it is, it was just ruined. Small and linear levels, the whole world building is all over the place, they just throw some random directions like "over the Brink" or "beyond the brink", and you never get any sense of the place. Having no open world or at least a hub area, is against the very soul of the series, that was created to be the first seemless open world, where you could see the entire world that you could visit. Unacceptable. The story is so short, it takes leaps of logic and there is no natural flow. For example in a cutscene Jak knows Phoenixs name, even thought he never heard it from anywhere. The two factions in this, Aeropans and Pirates are both underdeveloped and uninteresting. Also the Dark Makers, the undefeated world eating aliens who invaded the planet some few years before the events of TLF, are never even referenced in this game. This huge event, and nobody cares for it anymore. The story makers could have made the Dark Makers being responsible for the eco core malfunctioning, but no, it is never explained how it happened. It would tie in nicely with the trilogy. The sages are a thing of the past. This modern world of Jak has scientists obviously who now know the secrets of eco. Bringing them back just cause a huge portion of the fans is obsessed with the first game, is dumb. Imagine in our world, if we made druids or witches a popular thing again, instead of scientists. Its doesnt make any sense. Jak survived the dark warrior program cause he has special eco powers. They even reference his specialty in this game a lot, its not like they forgot about it. Yet everyone in Aeropa has survived their own dark warrior program and have all dark eco powers. Nobody expect jak should survive that. Breaking the lore just so you can set up a villain side, when they could choose anything else. Not only that, but Jak who is special cannot handle the transformation, yet everyone else who shouldn't have gotten dark powers in the first place, can transform just fine. Where is the logic in this? The controls are atrocious. The flying mechanics are actually really fun, and its a natural evolution for the series to have a game centered around flying, though this aspect alone couldnt save this game

[@MrRobot-xz8by]

The Precursor interactivity was granted back to him we see it in Jak 3 because of light jack

[@TheMasterJay]

I'm not sure how much I agree with The Lost Frontier being the reason why there hasn't been a new Jak and Daxter game since that game's release, although I will say that the game is mediocre. 10:01 - Having played TLF on Ps2 since I don't have a PSP, I don't know where the High Impact Hoax came from either honestly.

[@TheRecklessGamerINC]

Thanks for this look at one of my favorite childhood series J! Looking forward to the next vid

[@DeftestAphid2]

Jak and Keira's reaction to dark Daxter pisses me off to no end.

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

I dunno if that small bit in the video was any indication of that, but they seem...not very perturbed by the fact that Daxter swallowed another batch of Dark Eco.

[@KingsNJenssons]

so the lead of this game came into my chat while i was streaming this game, answered some questions i had like why dexter went dark eco was a request by sony

[@Finchsicle]

I would love to see either a proper Jak 4 or a Lost Frontier remake. Like how they did for the cod mw games. Have naughty dog take the concept of Lost Frontier and start over, not just HD remaster to pretty it up