Why Jak 3 Was Disappointing

[@zerotoanime3953]

People didn't like Jak 3? Thats a huge surprise. I love Jak 3.

[@fenyxtien2037]

Jak 3 is awesome. I think most people like it, they just seem to like 2 more

[@nyhtfall1969]

its mostly for different reasons its not a bad game just a very rushed game feels more like a knee jerk response to the criticisms of jak 2 instead of evolving things u could say this game feels more like dlc for jak 2

[@ericperez5769]

I loved jak 3 was and still is my favorite

[@TheBlackSamurai2708]

I don’t hate Jak 3 but after finishing it recently, you can really tell this game was rushed

[@nyhtfall1969]

@@TheBlackSamurai2708 it really feels like an admittidly dated response trying to gimp itself because people complained jak 2 was too hard

[@Arthur2light]

Jak 3 is actually the most replayed game of the three for me.

[@Yarharsuperpirate]

Same for me, Jak 2 is just hard for me to want to go back to due to its all over the place difficulty curve.

[@mikeexits]

@@Yarharsuperpirate I beat Jak II in hero mode a couple of years ago. That was hell. The on-rails ship-shooting mission was easily the most difficult and took me, I kid you not, around 4 dozen tries.

[@lovablemonty]

@@Yarharsuperpirate well the story is shorter. Maybe that's why? It ended to soon.

[@konstantinoskoutlas7608]

Jak 3 is most replayable game of the bunch. Jak and daxter is just plain boring/repetitive collecting all the power cells and trying to replay it. Jak 2 is the best game out of the 3 for so many reasons but trying to replay it(hero mode) and finishing it is hard due to the game being the hardest to beat and replay again.

[@chloeryanvtuber]

same. its very well balanced and the missions have so much variety. Great game!

[@bigkmoviesandgames]

This was my favorite of the trilogy personally.

[@RhapsodyHC]

Me too! I mean I’m biased because it was the first I played.

[@bigkmoviesandgames]

@@RhapsodyHC that's understandable.

[@ProjectRedfoot]

I respect both opinions, honestly. [I grew-up watching my big bro play Jak 1]

[@RhapsodyHC]

@@ProjectRedfoot My big bro was the reason I was a fan too! He bought Jak 3, and played it but then he never touched it for years. That’s when I decided to play it out of boredom. After that we both became hooked and I bought Jak 2 then TPL, and then Jak X. That’s why I say Jak 3 is my favorite because it brought me and my bro into the series. It holds a special place in my heart.

[@bigkmoviesandgames]

@@ProjectRedfoot yeah that one is great too.

[@minibleau]

I loved jak 3....1 and 2 were polar opposites and were amazing in their own way, 3 merged the mystical side of 1 into 2, and narratively tied it together. Theyre all perfect to me.

[@Rubrasileiro]

You get it !

[@RhapsodyHC]

I think some of the weird plot points came from Keira’s voice actor change. Perhaps Anna left and they couldn’t find a replacement in time, so they just cut Keira from the story entirely. But then they decided to put her back in at the last second with Tara as Anna’s replacement. This is why Keira doesn’t say much (or is just there like the first scene when you enter Haven City) and why they chose to have Jak and Ashelin as a romance instead. Not saying it’s true but it’s my theory.

[@greylithwolf]

I genuinely don't remember the romance in Jak 3. The twist of Jak's true identity and ripping around in a dune buggy are what sticks out in my mind.

[@angryface39]

I knew she sounded different

[@1KQ_]

@@greylithwolf Keira and Jak kiss at the end of the game cutscene but it cuts to daxter before they kiss, not sure why they went that route but yeah that's what I can think of at the top of my head

[@DaxterMaster]

@@1KQ_ Thats Ashelin not Keira

[@joel9104]

YOUR GAME THEORY!

[@nunyabusiness4904]

Instead of Erol being the main protagonist they had the perfect opportunity to bring back Gol and Maia since their fate was left ambiguous at the end of TPL and with the plot point of the Precursor Catacombs it would have been the perfect way to bring them in.

[@1DAR26]

That's an ideal for a Jak 4. Devs has stated that they are still alive down in the Precursor Catacombs. They hinted that being down there for years would've caused some warping to their physical bodies. So we probably get something far more than a "Dark" transformation for them as what happened with Jak when he was infused with Dar Eco.

[@NRF3703]

Yeah, Erol is not all that great a villain. They really should have brought back Gol and Maia as the Dark Maker leader or something.

[@kidprime6863]

@@NRF3703 Or at least have Erol brought back as their second-in-command or something

[@johnnygyro2295]

​@kidprime6863 That would make a lot of sense, actually. Gol and Maia were shown to have some skills in technology, considering they got a Precursor robot working again in the first game. Maybe them reviving Errol would also be a Dark Warrior 2.0, with Errol's cybernetics stabilizing and giving him his own Dark Eco powers? That way Gol and Maia would have their own counter to Jak.

[@munchrai6396]

The Precursors being ottsel is easily one of the best twists I've ever seen in a video game. It ties the series together in a really satisfying way that gives you this incredible eureka moment that I rarely ever get in games these days. Plus Veger is so hateable that seeing him get what he deserves is so satisfying

[@3DSDF]

Kind of a kick to the nuts though. I get the message, and if the second and third games were more in tone with Precursor Legacy, then I think the twist would’ve had a more positive reception.

[@UnifiedEntity]

Well ..... They did Jak and Ashlein which was random as hell.

[@RhapsodyHC]

@@UnifiedEntity I have a theory that they chose this because Keira’s original voice actor left and they couldn’t find a replacement in time until it was too late. It explains her absence in the story and why in some scenes she just stands there with no lines.

[@munchrai6396]

@@UnifiedEntity Yeah, that was random as heck.

[@3DSDF]

@@RhapsodyHC then just don’t do the scene. I do know why they thought having that kiss wouldn’t piss off fans. It’s like if in Sly 2, Sucker Punch had Sly make out with Neyla.

[@goatman9998]

Absolutely love all 3. But 3 has something a tad bit off. I feel it was rushed at some parts. Less polish

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

I feel the opposite about 3, I feel it's far more polished than 2. That said I do agree that it does feel off somehow, it feels like a more technically impressive game than 2 but the elements don't make a cohesive whole like they did in 1 and 2. 3 is my favorite but I absolutely see why plenty feel otherwise about it. As a game I find it to offer the most content and with a decent variety, feeling more polished and well put together than 2. However 3's structure and overall design is a lot messier, as J says the pacing is all over the place. I'd call Jak 3 a better game than 2 from a purely gameplay perspective but as a story and an adventure it's kind of a mess. I think Precursor Legacy is so different from 2 and 3 it's very hard to judge it against the sequels so I don't even try.

[@toaster4975]

I feel like it is a more enjoyable and thought-out game in comparison to 2. Felt like they sucked the life out of the series just to capitalize on GTA.

[@matthewsaenz4968]

Love Jak 3, but I agree. Story is main reason for me why going into 3 felt off (like WHO the hell is Veger?). We could go into a long tangent of reasons.

[@keithragin89]

Ok

[@ss2gora0]

@@zeroattentiongaming820 Even though I disagree with you, I can see where you're coming from and understand how you would prefer Jak 3 over 2

[@OneTwoMark]

I remember watching a video saying Errol could have been much better if he remained Jak's opposite/rival, so instead of becoming of robot from the dark eco crash he should have remained relatively intact but scarred and had a darker form like Dark Jak and so the two opposites clash again.

[@kidprime6863]

@@skibot9974 I would've brought them back too and maybe make Errol their second-in-command

[@artistanthony1007]

The Dark Eco is destructive and kills, you're forgetting that and he TRIGGERED AN EXPLOSION, there's no way you're staying intact after that but we see he is mutated, not just wrecked badly.

[@kidprime6863]

​​@@artistanthony1007You're not wrong. They could've just made him a Dark Eco mutant instead of a cyborg. Or maybe both. Why not? The Dark Makers are corrupted Precursors who turned themselves into cyborg mutants, so make him a Dark Maker.

[@megasoniczxx]

Jak 3 definitely felt like a "More is better" kind of game in every sense of the word. At first I would say it was my favorite game in the series since it was essentially more Jak 2 with new weapons, an expanded world to explore and just an overall bigger game than it's predecessors. After replaying the game after Jak 2 a couple of years back though, I started seeing a lot of holes in the design that I never noticed beforehand. For instance, I forget who said it but someone else I watched noted that the new weapons introduced in this game seemed to be made with the express purpose of making sure the player didn't have to do much aiming since near every one of them serves as a way to nuke things without having to actually turn and face them. One thing that i've come to appreciate more and more about Jak 2 is how much mileage you get out of the basic 4. It makes the game more tactical in a way and when jumping over to Jak 3 I just felt like they gave you too much with very little improvements to the enemies to make up for it.

[@falcoon_f_zero9450]

Jak 3 has its flaws with balance and storytelling but it's still my favorite in the series. I just find it the most fun to play out of all of them. Going through the nice variety of levels with the absolute banger of a soundtrack playing in the background never seems to get old.

[@aurthurpendragon1015]

I like the theory that Jak is actually the grandson of the orignial Mar. That there was Mar who created Haven City, then he had a son, Damos, (which would make sense that Damos would be able to become King of the city as well), and then he named his son Mar after his legendary father, whom we know as Jak.

[@idonotcomprehend]

Except Jak's cited as "the Mar" by Ashelin herself which make all of this a little weird.

[@markhester6556]

3 is personally my favorite story wise. The whole Haven City at War bit was great. Honestly Jak 2 is my least favorite out of the trilogy. The difficulty got on my freaking nerves and made me rage quit for weeks until I got interested again. Plus, I played The Precursor Legacy first both at 13 years of age when they were newer titles. So going in blind to Jak 2 and finding out the HUGE difference between the two was jarring at first it took me awhile to be actually okay with it. Like hearing Jak speak blew my mind and how dark the story was. Eventually I grew to love it. Then I accepted it for what it was. Jak 3 holds a special place in my heart. It got me through my freshman year of high school haha. Jak X I just consider as a spin-off but I loved it for what it was. I never played the Last Frontier because by the time it came out I was college aged. So I was too busy to actually play it. Jak 2 though I felt they changed the element because shooters were a big thing at the time. Like Ratchet and Clank it had to adapt or die. I loved the Adventure elements of Jak and Daxter but the genre was dying out because of Shooters. If Jak and Daxter came out today it wouldn't sale well because these kids just don't have the attention span for it. They like games like Cuphead fast paced and all over the place. It's a shame honestly but you either truly have to adapt or die in today's Gaming industry.

[@lukethelegendary1999]

It is so weird to watch two retrospectives in one day and say almost the opposites about the same game. You thought the story was all over the place, while the other video said that it was the best in the series. I know this doesn't matter because of "opinions are opinions stupid", but nonetheless it intrigues me.

[@HighPriestPlays]

whos the other retrospective? sounds intresting

[@MegaDrain]

When Jak 3 eventually gets decompiled, I hope by that point the modding community will have made tons of platforming levels. In my opinion because of how fluid Jak's moveset is, the platforming in these games have always been the best in 3d platformers.

[@freyathedragon899]

I had such warm memories of the Light Jak mode. I would go to Spargus, find the big light eco well they have there, and then park on the well. I’d time stop, slap three people in the face, go back to the light well, and just turn on the shield. Because I was on the light well, I had infinite light eco and could shield forever. Meanwhile, everyone else just shoots each other by accident and a giant civil war brews up, all while I watch from the comfort of my bubble.

[@jediuser8654]

Jak 3 is actually my favorite of the series, mostly for the quality of life improvements you mentioned. I especially like the refinements they made to traversal. No longer are you forced to go through massive congestion to get to the next mission, and I love the buggies (the race near the beginning of the game was dull, but at least there's only one). However, I will agree aspects of the plot were messy. I find it odd how the game seems to completely abandon Keira to make Ashelin Jak's love interest (who, in turn, appears to have forgotten about Torn), and the council being too powerful for Ashelin to stop is completely disproven when she dissolves them on a whim later on.

[@yashwant7109]

One thing I wish you mentioned is that even when taking the OP-ness into account and imposing self-challenges and rules, such as banning the Beam Reflexor or only using the four weapons from Jak II, the combat still fails. Enemy placement in TPL and Jak II was intentional, and that intentionality could be felt in every single combat encounter in each game. Naughty Dog knew which strategy you would employ to take them down. In Jak 3 however, enemy placement feels so arbitrary and random (no doubt a consequence of it being developed in only a year) that no encounter felt designed around a specific Eco or specific weapon, which also adds to breaking the balance of the game given how this compounds every other flaw in the action-platforming flow channel.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

Jak 3 proves ND had no further goal with combat after Jak 2, they just tacked on more OP weapons without the proper balancing, shooting mechanics, precision and an upgrade system that actively plays an active role in character progression like RaC.

[@557deadpool]

It literally doesn't

[@ObamaTheHedgehog]

I agree with you mostly but I still recommend avoiding the OP weapons when you replay the game. It's just less brainless gameplay to actually have to aim your guns LOL and they already give you too much health.

[@RomanCzachor]

you hit the nail on the head there. last time i played jak 3 i put on the self restrictions of only using the base 4 weapons and not using any healing or shield from light jak and well, it was harder, not that much harder and the difficulty was less consistent, but it also wasn’t fun. enemies are just thrown into an area without care, they aren’t animated like at all when they are idle from a distance, and every encounter just feels like a shooting gallery instead of unique situations that you have to approach tactically and use all of your tools on hand. it’s just fucking sad, every level feels so much more hollow and lacks the memorability of jak 2, especially since there isn’t even dynamic combat music anymore, not a single encounter feels intense

[@557deadpool]

@@RomanCzachor Jak 2 had worse mission design and had the same "problem" as Jak 3 when it comes to enemy placement. You're a clown

[@gundambassexe31]

I actually enjoyed Jak 3

[@joelface]

Jak 1 is the best. I think the magic was lost in the sequels, which i still loved, but as I reflect... there was just something so perfect about the world of the first game that I think "grungifying" ultimately destroyed.

[@adamcoloretti4202]

Agreed. I didn’t get into Jak 2 as a kid as was way too big a shift for me. I wish Jak 2 was a sequel like the sequels were in Crash and Spyro (same gameplay and world base but just building on it). Respect the fact that a lot of people love the sequels though maybe I wasn’t old enough for them when they came out.

[@jameshall8351]

Agreed as well. Jak and Daxter was special.

[@thefuzstache1139]

I grew up with all three games at once, and I think Jak 3 was my favorite out of the the three just because of how accessible it was to me. The relatively low difficulty let me enjoy it to the fullest extent, whereas Jak 2 just kicked the shit outta my 8 year old ass and the OG just didn’t have enough stuff in it to excite me. Still probably my favorite, for nostalgia purposes, but I can 100% agree that story was on some crackhead shit.

[@adamguthrie7063]

I love the whole series, but I’d rather play 3 than 2. I’m gonna have to go back and try them both again

[@RomanCzachor]

@3rd Way the problem is hero mode is still easy in jak 3. the guns themselves just break the game and making the enemies a little spongier doesn’t fundamentally change this. the balancing is far too broken for just some stat adjustments to fix, especially compared to jak 2’s fantastic balancing

[@sebastiankulche]

@@RomanCzachor Like if Jak 2 hero mode wasnt easy. Literally the only hard part is the turret section.

[@RomanCzachor]

@@sebastiankulche jak 2’s hero mode isn’t all that difficult ya, enemies just take a little longer to kill (but ya fuck that one turret mission) but that’s not my point. the difficulty is well balanced both on normal mode and hero, it encourages you to play well but it’s not brutal or anything. jak 3 is a joke whether it’s on normal mode or hero mode

[@RomanCzachor]

@@CerealKiller the enemies are generally tankier, as in they just take more hits to kill, usually just one or two more hits for normal enemies. for example, the infamous turret mission everyone talks about is only so hard in hero mode because it the crimson guards fly in faster than you can kill them due to their increased health. the players health is the same tho Source: I've played a lot of Jak 2

[@kingdomkey2262]

Jak 3 isn't bad but MAN did it feel very disappointing to Jak 2, very rushed and sloppy story, horrible weapon and difficulty balancing, and so many stupid driving and gimmicky missions that felt like they just expanded on the worst parts of 2 and made that most of the game.

[@TheBlackSamurai2708]

Agreed Jak 3 is good but the story is all over the place and the vehicle missions feel like unwanted padding.

[@_Tzer]

every shadow has a light source also the hillarious thing is the sequel to this one isn't the lost frontier it's the car game jak combat racing which has ratchet as a playable character.

[@joel9104]

Congratulations! Your the 666th comment!.....Devil

[@LeeEverett1]

It's a decent game but IMO it was boring mostly because it lacked challenge. Jak basically becomes an overpowered God from all the extra guns, light abilities, extra health from armor etc where it practically breaks the game; most of your deaths will be from falling. Also it lacked the wanted system that Jak 2 had which was a huge highlight of fun from that game. When you shot a guard in 2, the whole city would be chasing after you with guards shooting from the ground and vehicles trying to ram you, but in this one it's completely gone. A huge part of the mayhem in Jak 2 was getting the guards after you

[@The810kid]

Agreed the Metal heads and deathbots weren't as fun in the overworld

[@sebastiankulche]

Maybe, but it was also very annoying. The game always punish you when driving in the ground, despite that is the only reliable way of driving without crashing with something. Always when i play this game the guards are constantly chasing me.

[@TevyaSmolka]

I personally liked jak 3 it was a really interesting game

[@dlr4919]

The part where you talk about this game really taking it out of you is so true for me. The long missions of the same monotonous stuff is the reason this game has so fewer replays for me than the other 2

[@taylord5381]

Okay but like can we talk about how cool that render at 14:11 is?

[@Mwilli2132]

It’s literally impossible for Jak to be the Mar who founded Haven City and for the timeline to not have gone insanely off the rails. How can I know? Because the Butterfly Effect is a thing. Ya know, that theory that if you go back in time do something as insignificant as killing a butterfly, you can completely screw over time.

[@kidprime6863]

I like to believe Jak was just the descendant of and named after Mar and leave it at that. Saying they're one and the same just screws everything up. I'm not big on the whole "Grandfather Paradox" thing.

[@parasectkazuyabandicoot5360]

Listening to your analysis it was wild how all your criticism sounds like my complaints with Crash 3 (too many mini games, not enough dope Crash platforming, Crash is too powerful) Yet I’ve never thought that about Jak 3. I guess I like the mini games better in Jak 3? And I never had a problem with the difficulty of Jak 2; I felt OP as shit in that game too once I got the standard blaster. So being more OP just meant I got to do more things in the sequel if I felt like it. Jak 2 for sure had the cleanest story that do be right 😎💯

[@rvalle11]

it was not disappointing. you youtubers need to stop rewriting history. that game was great and it was the only thing that drew me to a playstation instead of an xbox.

[@Benjamillion]

I didn't think it was bad, but I didn't think it was all that great either. He did have some points that some story elements felt off compared to II. Bringing back certain characters, then having them disappear for some time, then randomly popping up out of nowhere, I think the devs could have put more time in the oven but I can understand the founders wanted to hurry up and leave the company.

[@ItsMorpHahnTime]

Still can't wait for the native fanmade PC port to finish decompilation

[@LSYagami]

I found your Jak retrospective videos randomly on YT yesterday and I'm glad I did. It's my personal favorite game series ever soooo this was my favorite thing to watch within the last day. Saw you just uploaded the Jak 3 vid and got excited lol This was fun If you've played the Kingdom Hearts series, that would be a really fun (yet extremely tough) series to tackle.

[@bloodgroundgaming7871]

Personally Jak 3 is my favorite in the series.

[@streamerknight8026]

Lot of good points. Jak 3 was always my favorite but now I’m inspired to do a run where I only use the base 4 guns. Sounds like it’s be fun 😁

[@giovannibramlia4801]

They could be made the Story characters levels longer.

[@fayeharrison1741]

How dare you talk so lowly of that metalhead mission, that one is memorable af and basically your only down side is there's no difficulty setting, other then that it's still not disappointing at all. Your title sounds like a massacre happened when it was a papercut. Disliked for false clickbait.

[@owenmoore581]

The only problem for me is the ending. There are still other worlds to save from the Dark Makers. Gol and Maia are still in the Precursor catacombs. If we ever get a new Jak game I hope it's a huge open world.

[@kidprime6863]

Not to mention there could also be more Metal Heads in the Cosmos too.

[@Ronin11111111]

I have a great fondness for Jak 3 because I finished it before 2, given it's much easier. In retrospect some of the weird ending twists are just baffling and the ricochet gun alone invalidates combat, not to mention the other guns and the massively increased health pool. So now I believe 2 to be much better as a game, but I still love 3 a ton still and I'll play both to death when the OpenGOAL project gets to them. The driving is mega jank, but I like it still (maybe a little stockholm syndrome) and I also remember really liking most of the mini-game stuff. Playing as the giant death robot not-so-much, doing the top-down perspective segment a whole lot. Oh and the Daxter segments too.

[@AA-in4so]

Really good video, actually made me reassess my own feelings on the game (though I already shared your sentiments about the plot being a mess)

[@brent.b.productions2015]

Personally I think Jak 3 is very good, but not as enjoyable as Jak and Daxter 1. Jak 2 is decent... But Jak 3 fixes all the flaws Jak 2 has.

[@fishy0929]

Jak 3 i think is the one i had the most fun with. Considering i never owned the first game i just played it at ny firends house. I did have the second game, but never ended up beating it. The third game though, i beat and then played until i got unlimited dark Jak and unlimited ammo. 3 definitely is the most replayable in my book. I really liked all the settings the game had. With the city, desert city, wasteland where the cars are and the destroyed parts of haven city were cool to go through knowing what it had looked like in the previous game.

[@BenOlsberg1995]

I personally love this trilogy as a whole, flaws even withstanding. For one thing, I think 3 had much better balancing in the difficulty department than 2 did. Jak 2 can be one of the most obnoxiously difficult games I've played for what feels like some very wrong reasons. I still like it and think it was a great sequel to its predecessor, but 3 feels far more accommodating/fair with its difficulty. Not necessarily because of how broken in the player's favor the new powers and weapon upgrades are, but rather because of little things like the more frequent health pickups and such. I loved the gun upgrades despite how redundant most of them felt once you got the first and second Blaster upgrades. I liked the idea of traversing the desert with the use of exaggeratedly large and weaponized dune buggies, even if the drives did often feel vapid and time consuming when you weren't doing a mission. Light Eco powers and the new Dark Eco Powers were cool additions. The story had its issues but overall was a good time, though I do agree that the whiplash they give you with how indecisive they seemed in regards to who the star love interest was does NOT sit well with me. It sure ain't perfect but I'd rather play 3 than 2 based solely on how dickheaded 2 gets in places. 3 had a lot of cool ideas but their execution left some things to be desired. Not unlike Megaman X3, ironically enough. Maybe the reason I liked 3 more than 2 was because after how burnt the hell out I was from how relentlessly shitheaded 2 is in many places, 3 felt like a satisfying reprieve. That could also partially be my fault though since the last time I played this trilogy I played them all in rapid succession.

[@stonetimekeeper]

My preferred way to play this game is with only the weapons you had in Jak 2 and the eco modes only when necessary to progress. Like slowing down time only for the platforming, Dark Jak's Dark blast to break the walls, etc. It makes the game much more satisfying and challenging and makes me wonder why they didn't keep things closer to the difficulty of Jak 2. The only things I think they needed to add to this one were the QoL improvements you mentioned and more consistent checkpoints. Then again, I don't think the drastic change in styles is out of Naughty Dogs MO. A very similar thing happened with Crash Bandicoot. The first two games were basically pure platforming. The third is a hodgepodge of vehicle and gimmick levels. Then they made a kart racer. Something really similar to what happened to Jak and Daxter. They are all good games, but there is a pattern.

[@mattwatson1974]

Honestly the original story of the game was supposed to be way darker with the precursors being malevolent and rather have the different factions fight each other in order to be save rather than be helpful beings we see at the end of jak 3

[@nestes_the_bestes]

“i only play jak 3 because i played one and two so i might as well” lmfao i completely feel that. jak 1 was the first game i ever played and the trilogy holds a special place for me as well. anytime im waiting for a new game to come out i play 1 and 2 but jak 3 feels like a chore around the halfway point. i just wanna say i love your reviews of these games and thanks for keeping me entertained until i get off work to go actually play them lol.

[@diogocunha07]

Stongly disagree, jak 3 is the best one for me

[@tjaeve7945]

I'm currently playing through Jak 3 for the first time and I think it's awesome so far

[@Dommy_Doo]

Me personally, i love the variety of driving, platforming and mini games jak 3

[@ZaxFSO8083]

As a fan of the series and having watched the retrospectives, my favorite honestly is Jak 3 (the gun upgrades and some of the vehicles like the dune hopper and heat seeker being my favorite ones. Having replayed the trilogy on PS4 and having taken the time to go for the platinum across all three I can say I say my favorite is three. I do have some dislikes obviously and I understand the (and I’m paraphrasing) ‘it’s a mess’ sentiment of it, as a stupid kid I hated a lot of mini games like the dark precursor button game at the beginning, turret game, hang gliders, both the first lizard race and car races but most importantly the desert artifact and rescue missions now as a somewhat smarter adult the only one I really still dislike is the chase after (as deliberately said by Daxter) Vegan. It’s not all bad as far as mini games though I still love chasing the metal head t-rexes (and I still wish there were more of that mission specifically not so much the other variations of ‘chase down something in a car’ like that one. As far as the story goes I do still hate the whole Jak x Kira, Torn x Ashelin and Jak x Ashelin hullabaloo debacle they created with Jak 3 (I mean come on the only thing that didn’t matter from Jak’s 1 and 2 going into 3 was Jak and Kira’s relationship?, seriously?! That’s the biggest BS the (former) trilogy pulled in my opinion AND NONE OF THEM ARE EVEN MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS!!, my favorite character is Daxter and him and Tess’s romance are the only stable relationship in the story and Tess is on screen throughout the series for less than 2 hours of cutscenes (at least I’m pretty sure (I’m saying this as an exaggeration of course). As for the enemies I’m still kind of salty Viggo didn’t outright die since he’s the only member of the supposed “Counsel” that we see and let alone hear in the entire game and we don’t get to really revel in his punishment of being stuck as Kleaver’s sidekick Otssel since it’s just once glanced over in the finale, Eros’s reveal to have survived as a cyborg while out of left field and relatively unexplained is outright dumb still makes a very slight bit of sense to me because of 2 things who else (who was on screen) would know how to orchestrate hidden machinations aside from him or Praxis and secondly there was never a final confrontation between Eros and Jak in Jak 2 so I’m glad we got one despite everything. (And a side note I thought about just now is that seeing as Vin was able to survive dying through technology why not a villain as well. Lastly I didn’t understand why the dark precursors were only robots and never had an actual singular presence we could actually tie to it all, the robots never got at least an AI that tried to successfully communicate with the duo at any point in our adventure. That feels like a missed opportunity to me. This is about everything I can think of in terms of my opinion on the video’s topic. Thank you J’s reviews for doing these I can’t wait to see the other 3 game retrospectives.

[@ryukopoolpeacemaker228hd9]

I didn't see much of an issue in jak 3 but I can understand your point of view

[@battlefontmatter1161]

Congratulations on 150k subs J you deserve it!!!

[@HidroFalante]

Oh god, let's see why the GOAT does not like Jak 3 that much. i'll be back when i finish the video to see what's your point.

[@TheRealUnkn0wn_289]

Can't wait to see what you think of the best one, Daxter PSP

[@TerrorOfTalos]

How is it the best one?

[@Benjamillion]

Best? The bosses required you to die a few times just to get their patterns right.

[@the12blank]

3 has gotta be my favorite out of the trilogy to be honest. It took little kid me like 4 years to beat it though

[@ninjay345]

The guns aren't the only problem with Jak 3's difficulty design. Inspired by your last video, I rocketed through Jak 2 on normal difficulty and had a great time. I played through Jak 3 before this review deciding only to use the base 4 guns from 2 and banning use if light/dark powers unless required to proceed in level. The problems I had were that for 90% of the game I had too much HP (jak 2 only lets you take 4 hits) and enemies also dealt too little damage. Also enemies drop green eco kits to heal you, which I don't recall at all in jak 2. At the very end of the game after the dumb sig shooting gallery protecting torn, the raid on that metal head nest is actually a little tough with these rules because enemies stop dropping green eco packs. But my experiment to see if banning the new tools would make the game jak 2's difficulty again was a failure. If I try this again, I'll also ban picking up green eco kits entirely and see if it helps. Also: Hero Mode in this game starts you at Full health upgrades, making the early even more of a stomp. I didn't notice enemies dealing more damage either.

[@RhapsodyHC]

That really shows that Naughty Dog overdid it to ease the difficulty of Jak 2. 😂 I believe Hero Mode only increases Enemies Health. It’s kinda useless because you get all the cheats/upgrades that you unlocked.

[@RhapsodyHC]

@@CerealKiller Have you ever got to the part in Jak 2 where you shoot the Krimzon Guards on Drill Platform on Hero Mode? That mission is infamous for being impossible on Hero Mode because the Krimzon Guards have extra health and need more hits to be killed. All enemies on every level have more health too. It’s a lot easier to notice in Jak 2 than Jak 3 because your weapons aren’t as OP.

[@BEYONDTHESPIDERFILMS]

oh weird Jak 3 is my favorite Jak game

[@TheMGMfan]

19:37 The gameplay of that minigame is actually based off a game called Head On; it was like a simplified version of Pac-man, with the maze just being a rectangle with a few lanes, while the player is only capable of going forward and switching lanes. The weird thing is that despite the gameplay being taken from Head On, the visuals _are_ a homage to Pac-man, which has a VERY different look from Head On, most notably in how you play as a car in the latter game. It's as if Naughty Dog made the minigame as a reference to Pac-man, but were concerned over copyright from Namco and decided to take the gameplay from a similar enough game or something.

[@JsReviews]

I see what you mean, I looked it up and it is 100% Head On. But with Pac-Man visuals...very weird.

[@Flesh_Wizard]

I always called it Daxman as a kid lol

[@McEezy94]

My first time playing these games and I gotta say the loose slippery controls for this game are the only reason its challenging to me

[@MuchWhittering]

Jak 3, Sly 3, and Ratchet and Clank 3 all definitely give off the impression of being more rushed than their predecessors. Jak 3 is missing stuff like the dynamic music, Sly 3 is way shorter, and RAC 3 is way shorter and more linear. None of them are bad, but I certainly think they are all missing something their predecessors had. As a child, Jak 3 was my favourite, mostly because a huge amount of my play time was just free roaming and fucking around post-game, and Jak 3 is probably the best for that just because of all the stuff you can do. But now I'd definitely say 2 is the best. I like 2's difficulty, and it's disappointing how relatively simple it is. That and the story that's kind of meh in 3. Also, I really hate the sloppy way they handled Jak returning to Haven. So after talking to Ashelin and saying he won't come back, Jak instantly decides to come back. Except there's no indication to the player this has happened. We just are told to go to the Monk Temple for...some reason, and eventually we figure out that we're there to ride the Precursor subrails back to the city. Okay...how does Jak know they're there? How does Pecker know to turn up to follow you? It feels like there's a cutscene or 2 missing. Why doesn't Jak just call Ashelin and ask for a ride, since she clearly is able to fly out there? And given Jak was thrown out of the city, nobody seems to make an attempt to arrest him when he returns. Also, it's kind of hilarious how Torn's like "You remember Jinx, right?". Honestly, no. It's only through his voice I realised he was one of the guys you have to escort through the sewers in Jak 2. I'm not planning on replaying 2 or 3 until the PC ports happen, so maybe I'll revaluate them then though.

[@TerrorOfTalos]

For UYA its issues were mainly from Insomniac needing to focus on the multiplayer component

[@MuchWhittering]

@@TerrorOfTalos Which is a shame, because I can't imagine anyone ever played it. I certainly don't remember playing more than 1 or 2 matches. Online play wasn't a thing for most people, and by the time of the PS3 version, I can't imagine there were many people playing it. A shame because it's a fun multiplayer mode and I'd love to actually play it with a group of people. But most of my memories of it are of running around on my own exploring the maps. Same with Sly 3. I wish they'd dropped the multiplayer modes and put that extra effort into the single player.

[@dubbhaus650]

This was the first jak game i played and i loved it one of the first games I beat like all the unlockable cars all the hidden egg things and it made me want to play the other ones I beat them backwards 3 then 2 and finally 1 although thinking about it may have never finished number 1 but loved the games all of them so good. Great video my guy taking me bak

[@toby1439]

"Erol and Veger have nothing to do with each other." You obviously have not played Daxter.

[@daseal1479]

Though I can agree that 2 at its best moments is the better game, I feel Jak 3 is just a more solid and fun game overall. I'd rather deal with the few bad moments in 3 again in a fun playthrough, then trog through the hours of torture 2 has once again, despite the story and general atmosphere being better in my opinion.

[@Wenomechainsama]

Personally, i like Jak 3, i'd even consider it my favorite out of the trilogy. Not that i hate the two other ones, i really like them too. The only bad thing i'd say about Jak 3 is how the Precursors look in the end of the game. Could've been better honestly.

[@sebastiankulche]

I mean, if they ended looking exactly like they the statues it wouldnt be as impressive imo. I think the game did a good job there. My only complain was that they never show how powerful they really are.

[@CiccioImberlicchio]

J, if you consider revisiting Lost frontier please do not play the PS2 port but consider playing it on real hardware, it's a way better game than people make it believe, yes it still have some incredibly stupid things like Dark Daxter but the PS2 port is just atrocious and this applies for "Ratchet Size Matters" and "Secret agent Clank" as well. Played on a real PSP or on a psvita they hold up much better. I never tried them on an emulator but again, in my opinion playing those on real hardware makes you enjoy them way more

[@iiHazzaaaa]

Great video can’t wait for the next one! Once you’ve finished your videos on the rest of the Jak games, I’d love to see a video on what you would like to see a new Jak game look like.

[@BrutalL3G4CY]

Loved Jak 2 & 3 was disappointed when the next game was a racing game.

[@kutaro633]

Here is a some story of mine (written in not so good English, sorry about that). My first game in the trillogy was Jak 3. I got it, when i was something like 9 or 10. My father and I went to shop and I saw Ratchet and clank 1 (RnC 3 was My first game on ps2, alongsode My Street and Dog's life), and I really wanted this. Then My farher saw the Jak 3 and said to me that it will surely be better (and to not tell mum, that I get a game for 12 years Old, when i was 9-10). So he bought this. Then, when i played it, i fell in love. I'm Polish so as a 9-10 years Old kid, i didn't understand a single word in the game (because it was in English, and I didn't understand it yet). But the animation was doing the work for me. When i first saw Sig (My fav character in the series) I instantly knew he was a friend of Jak, because of his attitude. When I saw Vegar i knew he is bad, because way he talked. When I saw Cyber Erol I knew he was bad because way he talked and gesticulated. The list Goes on and on. My point is, that I fell like i played this game almost like deaf. I heard the words but couldn't understand. But the animations, showed me whats going On, and I wasn't fell lost. To this day, i love watching Jak trillogy animations, its such a Joy to my. When I was something like 16-18 I first played Jak 3 with propper understanding of language and I finally found out what the characters are saying (now I'm 24 and can say that I understand something like 95% of the text in the game) and I really liked. And I still like it. I played all the Jak trillogy games and X (in order: 3->1->2->X), i love replaying it, I have so much Joy, Just looking at it, especially the animation. I revisit this games every year (3 and 1 and X on ps2 and 2 on ps3). But everytime I enjoy them a lot. I still prefer 3 over every other because I have the most fun (the least amount of fun i have with 1). To conclude, this trillogy is awesome. And I apologise for this mess of a story and thoughts. I don't really know how to write things that I fell. But I hope you can understand! P.S. My original discs of the trillogy are so scratched, that they No longer works because I played them so much

[@doradogom5460]

Jak 3 is the perfect example of a game that really is more than the sum of it's parts. The best J&D game by far. The whole wasteland thing was great, and the concept of having both dark and light powers was just so badass and gave the game a sense of scale, almost cathartic. You can literally fly and shoot kamehamehas. You descend into the core of the planet and ascend to the literal stars. The variety of weapons is also phenomenal and it feels so good to use them. I know some people say some of the new weapons felt unbalanced but I don't think so in the slightest, they're just more tools available for you and it's so fun to go crazy on Spargus trying them out. I'm sorry bt this whole narrative of ''having 4 weapons is better than having 12, including the previous 4 weapons'' doesn't stand on it's own legs. I could understand someone enjoying more The Precursor Legacy if that person only wants a straight forward pure platformer (and even then I would say Jak 3 is still more enjoyable) but come on... Jak II, as much as I love it, it's ''just'' a way less polished version of Jak 3. Missable orbs, unbalanced difficulty curve, lack of checkpoints, irrelevant Dark Jak, 4 weapons instead of 12, worse hoverboard... But misteriously, some Jak II fans are lately trying to damage control Jak 3. They claim that the game never really puts you into any specific situations where you’re forced to use those resources given to you (the new weapons). Then, when talking about Light Eco, they complain just about the oppposite. They claim that the game forces you to use those resources (light powers) into specific situations and that’s it. So, in one hand, we have the complaint of the game not requiring you to use the new tools available for you in any situation, but in the other hand, we have the complaint of the game requiring you to use the new tools in some situations.🤷🏻‍♂ Don’t you think there is a contradiction in the process of reasoning here? I don’t want to attack anybody but something makes me think that some people don’t truly know what they want. Interestingly, these Jak 3 haters never complain about how irrelevant was Dark Jak during Jak II. As far as I’m concerned, I think the Light powers were superbly implemented. The Light Flight and the slowing time power are very useful not only for specific situations in the story but also when collecting the precursor eggs and basically when doing any side quest where we have a timer. Maybe the sphere shield is the least used power.. unless you know how to properly fly. I also love how the extras included in Jak 3 are superior to what a special collector's edition from any franchise/company would include today.

[@sebastiankulche]

I agree in everything. I also feel like Jak 3 in its best moments its the best and most fun in the trilogy, but i feel The Precursor Legacy to be the most revolutionary and consistent polished of the three, imo. Great comment btw, you nail it 👌 I dont have a problem with people liking more 2 or Daxter or any game than 3 but i just sick that nowadays is viewed as "dissapointing". We are talking about Naughty Dog, not CD Projekt or Rockstar, lol. I feel like we know each other, no?

[@SpotifyMartinez]

Bought jak 2 for 5 bucks from GameStop out of a yellow disc envelope, I was 10 turned into my favorite game and I didn’t know there was a jak 3 till I was like 13 3 years isn’t a lot but it was awesome I realized there was another

[@flumphflumph6021]

I think Jak 3 is less because it's the only one I have finished. With Jak 1, I wasn't big on the whole collectathon thing. With Jak 2, I quit once I got stuck with the timed bomb mission (the one where you have to go up ramps and throw them into the thingy-me-bobs). With Jak 3, I knew a decent chunk of Jak 2 and could put most of the story pieces together as they happened. I also liked using the Light Form because I liked the idea of flying . . . and as you say, it was definitly the easiest of the trilogy. Hopefully I can change my track record now that I'm a bit older.

[@KeroKaminaX]

i love Jak 3 in terms of gameplay alot, the story was very dissapointing for me i'd always love messign with the infinite tim stop with Light Jak and usign the faster-hoverboard cheat (after unlockign both)

[@sheldonmorelli6962]

The only issue with jak 3 is that it’s so short

[@NostalgiaNet8]

The only part of Jak 3 I didn't like were the desert combat sections.

[@jaretprice6905]

I understand what you're saying about the broken combat, but having insane weapons as a kid was my favorite part of the game because it was fun

[@skylerashe]

When I first played jak 3 I had already failed to beat jak 2 or at that point had spent an absurd amount of time on certain levels to finally beat it. After struggling so much with the difficulty jump from jak and dax to jak 2 I really thought they nailed it down in jak 3 as far as difficulty. As an adult thats beat each of the 4 main games several times over that opinion has changed. While I still really like jak 3 and think its a good game the flaws stand out a lot more. A big thing with the difficulty in 3 is that not only did they add more generous checkpoints but the addition of more/stronger guns also made the game easier. It ended up being an overcorrection that took away from the thrill of getting past a tough level. The upgraded guns in 3 would have been very welcome in a level in jak 2 like the sewer escort that has zero checkpoints. I dont really need the upgraded gun when not only do I have a checkpoint nearby but I can also heal with light eco back to full. Best part of jak 3 is the fact that the experience with the desert vehicles led to a fucking sweet racing game. My ranking on best to worst would probably be Jak X, Jak and Daxter, Jak 2 and last Jak 3. That isn't because Jak 3 is terrible its just feels off.

[@BMWfreak19]

Yeah I totally have to agree with your points. I played Jak 2 and Jak 3 back to back last year and Jak 3 really didnt click with me. Its not bad, it has a lot of fun moments, but its nowhere near Jak 1 and 2. And you made it very clear why that is.

[@johnfinklestein6910]

Found your channel the other day and have been binging your videos. Really solid content 🌋🍻

[@dragonborndude7718]

Found your channel because of the first jack video happy I stayed around

[@calvinmatthews1527]

Hate to compare you to TheGamingBritShow again but he did a retrospective of the Jak trilogy a few years ago and yeah, he was pretty harsh on Jak 3 as well. GamingBrit brought up a lot of the same things wrong with Jak 3 as you and I think it's apparent: this game WAS rushed. Sure, it came out pretty solid for being developed in one year, albeit ND reusing a lot of assets, but it still doesn't change the fact that the game suffers from a lack of a focused narrative & being overstuffed with too many gameplay features. Jak 3 is by no means a bad or even unfinished game, it's just another case of a game being hurt by its development cycle, one of the reasons why it was considerably less critically & commercially successful. That's why many fans consider Jak X to be a better game because it doesn't suffer from any of those things. Overall, great video J, looking forward to the next one.

[@BULLET_J3ST3R]

Jak 3 was my favorite to play with Jak 2 being my second favorite.

[@itsmjq9391]

Jak 3 was my first taste of the Series back in 2006 when I was like 8. I borrowed the game from a friend in school and had countless hours of imaginary stories in my head with the Open World, so I think the game holds a special place in my Heart; I even downloaded Jak 3-2 and immediately went to 3, but I plan to play Jak 2, because Story Wise, its the best in the series. I definitely felt how easy Jak 3 was and always stood away from 2 because of its reputation with its Difficulty and lack of Checkpoints, but I definitely enjoy it for what it is, the Plot, Writing and Humor is Peak Jak and Daxter.

[@lambofdog9291]

Interesting to see that Jak3 and especially the first act is recivied so badly. As a kid all this missions and tasks that didnt have anything to to with the "core-gameplay" were a delight and sparked my imagination about this world, for example seeing all this vehicles at the desert citys entrance already set the seed for Jak X , bc the drving an exploring with those vehicles was one of my favorite parts of Jak3

[@Rogerregorroger]

Heh, this is the only Jak game I played, and immediatly made me lose interest in the series. Tutorial level was pretty good and felt nice, but then it's just weird time wasting driving missions that were boring and frustrated. Yeah, turned it off and never went back. Alas.

[@nyhtfall1969]

Please don't let that deter you from playing jak 1 or 2 at the very least

[@ScootLoops616]

I loved the cheat where it made your hoverboard move really fast on sand dunes

[@Game_Hero]

I don't like how they did Keira dirty in this game.

[@MinecraftGambits]

I often find myself feeling like something is missing with this game, but when I go play Jak 2 I feel myself missing some of the newer features that 3 added. I usually fix this by just playing both together. And obviously precursor legacy first. Although I find I can take some time between 1 and 2/3

[@Silux_Ray]

Jesus the amount of ads in this vid are agregious

[@ciarangrattan70]

Nope, just nope, favourite game of the series so many new features so even if you're not doing story line just the in game war keeps you going

[@poy110]

Jak 1 is the only game I really enjoyed tbh

[@T4RHUN]

Shame that developers used to do this. Another franchise which comes to mind is Need For Speed, with Carbon being released one year apart from Most Wanted. The game could have matches if not surpassed MW if it had more content. Still love Jak 3 and Carbon, but it makes me feel the same as about Cyberpunk; it's good but could have been so much more.

[@timgrove5757]

Jak 3 is and will always be my favorite in the series

[@Somegoy]

I spent so many hours in the desert blowing up the enemy cars. I loved this game so much

[@LilGrimey5Star]

They could’ve made another Jak game of him being older and going back in time where you start creating Haven City

[@Blade12113]

I feel a big part of Jak 3's problems are probably also due to being a PS2 game. They had too much to fit and had to scale back and had to replace stuff with the minigames.

[@zemox2534]

And why they would make the ps3 years later

[@coshayshay]

jak 3 was essenially an expansion pack for 2. so it was excellent. you got more guns and gear, you got more story, you got a second sandbox to play in, and you got a hell of a story. was it perfect? nope. but it was still great.

[@austinjoseph2881]

Ironically Jak 3 was my favorite of the series.

[@LilGrimey5Star]

Jak 3 was my favorite of the series, it was easier to beat than Jak 2 though, like way easier but that’s just because he has more weapons and abilities at his disposal

[@supersprawy]

Jak 1 was superior Jak 2 was flawless Jak 3 was eeeeh okay

[@TheBlackSamurai2708]

Jak 2 is good but it definitely isn’t flawless

[@TheBlackSamurai2708]

@@CerealKiller true

[@mikeysaab1911]

All right, Time to jack things up baby. Awesome video series Jay. You rock.