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Currently, what's your opinion on Jak II and Jak 3 in retrospect? Good? Bad?

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a big title, great sales, and reviewed highly. Everyone either liked it or didn't care for the collectathon platforming game design (although one could argue it's the best implementation of it without the slow movement and empty levels) or platformers in general. But even people who weren't fans of its style still figured it to be a good game.

Jak II completely changed the formula into a dark, weapon-based action title. it still had platforming but now the game was much more open with all kind of things going on. It introduced a GTA style city and traversal system but within a sci-fi framing, and for some people it was incredibly challenging. It still sold well, but not as well as Jak 1, and while many have said it's the best in the series and one of the best games of all time, many have also said it was a mistake to change the first games formula and it created a game that was a trainwreck. The most polarizing game in the series.

Jak 3 shared a lot of criticisms that Jak 2 had, but did change things up a bit. It added a bit of Mad Max and Twisted Metal to the gameplay with weaponized vehicle traversal across the dangerous desert plus a battle arena for a large portion of the game, with a smaller city and platforming segments taking up the last 3rd of the games playstyles. It was the worst selling of the 3 but not as polarizing as the 2nd game. However, it was still polarizing overall especially with it's clashing genres, seen as too unfocused.

But what about now? How do you view Jak II and Jak 3 today? Where they great games? Does the platforming or gunplay hold up? Has the sci-fi setting and GTA style open world immersed you into Haven city? Or are they mistakes that should have never deviated from the first games formula, and are not too good?
 

Ian Henry

Member
I thought the trilogy was dope as hell. TPL and Jak 2 are my favorites tho personally. ND had a great run with this series altogether.
 

Umbasaborne

Banned
I think the first game is a classic, two leaned way too hard into the gta bad ass aspects, but i think 3 was a big improvement over 2. The mission designs were more fair, the weapons were better, the desert was a rad enviroment. I thought jak 3 was jak 2 perfected
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
The appeal of that era of mascot platforms is lost on me. I aged out of that stuff around the n64 so no nostalgia for anything after that in the genre.
 

Cravis

Member
Both were shit. Not worthy follow ups to the masterpiece that was the Precursor Legacy. ND should have continued doing their own thing instead of following that GTAIII money.
 
OP there was a Jak 2 thread just a few days ago.

My opinion on these games haven't changed since their release, great games hated by scrubs who wanted the series to remain a bing bing wahoo lite.
 

Mobile Suit Gooch

Grundle: The Awakening
Jak 3 was a better game but I liked Jak II more. Probably because Ratchet and Clank Going Commando came the same year too and it was also a great game. Hell 2003 was a good year for me as a gamer.
They were masterpieces. The 2nd one was tedious. 3rd one is one NDs finest games. If you disagree go F**k yourself!
Come fuck me yourself, you coward!
 
The 2nd and 3rd were pretty decent games that were better than I originally thought they were at release, but neither is in the same universe as the 1st one, which is still one of my favorite games of all time
 

Kilau

Gold Member
Played them all again for trophies and they were just as awful as I remember. Series belongs in the dustbin of history. 🗑
 

radewagon

Member
Jak II is absolutely awful. The entire game revolves around an open world with some of the worst vehicle mechanics ever. The entire game is a slog to get through because a huge majority of it is just tedious and unfun to play.

Jak III is aiight.

EDIT: gow3isben gow3isben Your comment came up after I finished typing. We used the same word! Noice opinion on Jak III. Shame we didn't agree on Jak II.
 
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gow3isben

Member
Jak II is absolutely awful. The entire game revolves around an open world with some of the worst vehicle mechanics ever. The entire game is a slog to get through because a huge majority of it is just tedious and unfun to play.

Jak III is aiight.

EDIT: gow3isben gow3isben Your comment came up after I finished typing. We used the same word! Noice opinion on Jak III. Shame we didn't agree on Jak II.

Jak 2 was the first videogame I ever owned. Too many good memories to notice the faults lol

But yeah could be unfair AF at times
 
I enjoyed the first one and could never get into 2 or 3. I don't get the appeal of 2, it tried the GTA aesthetic but why bother when you could just play GTA3/Vice/San Andreas. 3 seemed like it was an improvement from what I played but I still didn't find it interesting enough to finish it. Maybe I'll give it another shot eventually but reading the other comments makes me feel like only the first game was worth playing.
 

TransTrender

Gold Member
I liked them all, and I would probably rank them 2, 1, then 3. There were parts to 3 I liked and there were some elements that didn't resonate with me, so it was kind of flat in the end.
 

TexMex

Member
I think the pivot in tone and gameplay was unnecessary and I wish they had kept up the pure platformer greatness of the first.

That said, they're both great games. Especially 3, which I think is better than 2 but always seems lost in the shuffle. I just think they could have made a new franchise.
 

DeepSpace5D

Member
The first one is one of the best examples of 3D platforming you can find. Just a joy to play from start to finish. Jak II and 3 are still great games but with much more emphasis on action and shooting mechanics. Seems like the sequels were influenced by GTA and Ratchet & Clank.
 

PhaseJump

Banned
68a.jpg
 

muteZX

Banned
JaK 1 so-so, JaK 2 horrible, JaK 3 stopped playing after 3-4 hours. Typical ND - a very bad gameplay, gamedesign etc.
Play RaC2 and thanks me later .. it's unbelievable good.
 

Fahdis

Member
Am playing Jak 2 for trophies right now. Its fucking horrendous and a slog. Jak 1 is amazing. 3 I don't know yet. Let's see.
 

Max_Po

Banned
Loved all 3 ... 2 and 3 were day 1 purchases...

It was a great time ..I was younger no responsibility... mgs2....sly Jak gta3 ...ratchet ....devil may cry ....


I wish I could go back in 2001 and relive the years
 
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Cyborg

Member
Honestly, I can't even remember the games/story. The only thing that I remember that it gave me a happy feeling while playing. The same goes for Beyond Good and Evil.
 

Shivvy24

Member
I find that all 3 are fantastic games in their own space. First was a fun platformer. 2nd was dark gritty gta style. 3rd is a blend of the first 2 and added vehicle combat, arenas etc. One thing that all 3 did well was their story. Really enjoyed them all including the PSP Daxter game. Didn't really like the other spinoffs.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
I thought all of them were great in their own way. I just wish ND wouldn't have went the GTA way with 2 after the first one was more like Mario 64.

Platted the original on both PS3 and PS4 but didn't bother to do the same for 2+3. For me the first one will always remain an all time classic.
 

Whitecrow

Banned
Those who say that only the first was good...

You have to be so blind to not appreciate the story, the characters, the gameplay, and the world just for a couple of difficulty spikes, or still worse, it's not like the first one.
Not being what you wanted doesnt make them bad games.

Still, I beat the game being 13 years old. So the difficulty spikes means absolutely nothing in the whole amazing package the games are.
 
I like all 3.

but for a remake they should remove the guns. Or atleast separate the guns from the eco. Red, yellow, etc eco should be elemental powers like in the first game. Red = Fire/strength, Blue = Electricity/Speed, Green = Earth/Health/Shield, Dark = Hulk, and so on. Making the series more platform wizardry than shooter.
 

MetalSlug

Member
I haven't played them since their original release dates. I should grab them off the PS5 store and give them a shot again.
 
The appeal of that era of mascot platforms is lost on me. I aged out of that stuff around the n64 so no nostalgia for anything after that in the genre.
One could argue that's why they changed Jak II to be entirely different from Jak one, so it wouldn't be a mascot platformer anymore. Instead it was a sci-fi Action Adventure tpd with some GTA involved.

I don't get the appeal of 2, it tried the GTA aesthetic but why bother when you could just play GTA3/Vice/San Andreas. .

Sci-fi/apocalyptical themes, and there was still a good amount of platforming and the gunplay was arguably much better than two of those GTA games but maybe not San Andreas.

The first one is one of the best examples of 3D platforming you can find. Just a joy to play from start to finish. Jak II and 3 are still great games but with much more emphasis on action and shooting mechanics. Seems like the sequels were influenced by GTA and Ratchet & Clank.

Which is hilarious when you think about it, since Jak only started falling behind Ratchet in sales after after Jak II came out. Jak 1 was huge for the time.

Am playing Jak 2 for trophies right now. Its fucking horrendous and a slog. Jak 1 is amazing. 3 I don't know yet. Let's see.
Slog? How so? The driving?
 
I was looking around and it seems there's a major complain for Jak II about a specific mission. The mission is the one that takes place where you have to cross back across a bridge while you have swarms of guards trying to kill you. It's the most cited mission I've seen and the one most people complain about.

For Jak 3 the most cited complain I find online is that Daxter Pac-man knock off, though that one seemed easy to me.
 

Fahdis

Member
One could argue that's why they changed Jak II to be entirely different from Jak one, so it wouldn't be a mascot platformer anymore. Instead it was a sci-fi Action Adventure tpd with some GTA involved.



Sci-fi/apocalyptical themes, and there was still a good amount of platforming and the gunplay was arguably much better than two of those GTA games but maybe not San Andreas.



Which is hilarious when you think about it, since Jak only started falling behind Ratchet in sales after after Jak II came out. Jak 1 was huge for the time.


Slog? How so? The driving?

Yea, its literally horrible how the city is just there to be a damn obstacle in every inconvenient conceivable way.
 

Krappadizzle

Gold Member
I really really liked the first one, but when they showed the second I lost ALL interest and never even gave the series a second look. I should replay the first one though, I think I got the "remastered" or whatever version released a while back on PS4.
 
Yea, its literally horrible how the city is just there to be a damn obstacle in every inconvenient conceivable way.
I will say they didn't space out most of the city which makes me wonder if the vehicles were an after thought. Some areas like the larger area where you meet krill are fine but most of the city is a bit bumpy. It wouldn't be that bad if there weren't missions that involve quick driving or not taking hits.

In some cases changing to hovering at ground level under the traffic helps but because the ground is also filled with people and guards (and sometimes objects) you might either still bump into things, though not as often, or the most likely scenario, hit a guard.

I really really liked the first one, but when they showed the second I lost ALL interest and never even gave the series a second look. I should replay the first one though, I think I got the "remastered" or whatever version released a while back on PS4.
You should play it and see how you like it, I know it's polarizing but there's still elements of the first game in there.
 

tkscz

Member
I REALLY like the first one, took what Banjo Tooie attempted when it came to traversing one big world as separate levels and made it work so much better (mainly by shrinking the levels), but I never got to play 2 and 3. During that age I could only afford like one game at a time and Ratchet and Clank Going Commando just came out and I ended up going with that. That and I didn't care of the sudden theme change to be more dark and gritty, felt forcefully edgey because of the times.
 

TheAssist

Member
I was looking around and it seems there's a major complain for Jak II about a specific mission. The mission is the one that takes place where you have to cross back across a bridge while you have swarms of guards trying to kill you. It's the most cited mission I've seen and the one most people complain about.

For Jak 3 the most cited complain I find online is that Daxter Pac-man knock off, though that one seemed easy to me.

I just played that mission the other day. I remembered it from my childhood as being a pain. However, it wasnt that hard as I remembered. Its not easy either, but I guess most people want to storm through it, but thats not how it is intended to be played. You have to patiently kill all the guards from each dropship, including those that land behind your back. And surely but slowly you will advance. The AI for the guards seems to be dumped down for this mission, they usually approach you to almost melee range before they seriously start shotting at you. From range they almost never hit, so dont bother hitting them back. And use the vulcan rifle.

I love the game still. The fact that its sometimes hard makes me feel more accomplished after beating each level. Something R&C never gave me. Also, after beating the level I'm always like "actually it wasnt thaaat hard, just takes some getting used to". I do have a lot of gripes with the game, but in the end I enjoy my time with it. Looking forward to playing 3 for the first time in the near future.
 

Rodolink

Member
Jak 2 was stupidly hard for me, good thing I could use cheats.
jak3 was the best imo in terms of production quality.
But I played it on the Vita so maybe that was the issue.
 
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JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
They were/are good games, but never great, failing to reach the elite status of their primary rival in R&C.
They were the brother series of R&C. For anyone here I recommend looking into dev videos or finding the dev levels of Ratchet 2 and 3. Insomniac explains a lot about how these two dev teams(Them and Naughty Dog) were rivals under Sony yet helped each other excel, they used the same engine, and would trade tips and try to outdo each other with each sequel. Eventually Naughty Dog went down their own path but those were fun times while it lasted.

Both Ratchet 2 and 3 and Jak 2 and 3 were incredible games.
 
Yea, its literally horrible how the city is just there to be a damn obstacle in every inconvenient conceivable way.
honestly the city being difficult to traverse is sort of part of the gameplay. you can look at it like a pain but realistically it spices things up. even if it was partly due to technical limitations at the time, i think i still would have wanted the city to be designed as difficult and windey as it is should they have had the freedom to do whatever.

all the j&d games were great, honestly naughty dog needs to quit fucking around and make some more j&d before mike erwin and max casella get too old. this series is literally a goldmine waiting to be tapped and they're just sitting on it.
 
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Rest

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
3D platformers were already dying with Jak and Daxter came out, if they'd left it all alone I'm sure the second game would have been the last.

I never played the first game or the third one. My memory of Jak 2 is that the platforming was annoying and the combat was needlessly difficult. It's not on my list of great PS2 era games.
 
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