Just two real-world years after The first Jak and Daxter, everything has gone totally off the rails. Is Jak 2 still a good game? Let's find out in this retro game analysis.
@3:39 Jak turned into Dark Jak because he was born with a gift for channeling eco. Back to the first game, any eco orb you get flows through Jak to give him abilities. After enough exposure to dark eco, I’m sure his body learned to channel that too.
What I learned from the back story of Jak is that is he is actually a sage who can use any echo that’s why when they tortured him with the dark eco he lives because all the other test subjects failed because they died when they injected the first dose of eco. I could be wrong but Jak does have a gift
One of the best games of its time and one of the hardest. Some missions still haunt me: The Erol city race, the eco wells hoverboard mission, the slum seal mission, protect the boys in the sewers mission and destroy the eco tanker mission. Still love it.
One point: Seeing old Jak at the start of the game is probably why the Metalhead leader ended up kidnapping young Jak the way he did at the end. So it's not necessarily an un-resolvable time travel story as you can imagine the prime timeline was the metalheads winning and Jak being sent back to avoid the devastation. Then travelling back to the future he creates a splinter timeline where the metalhead leader is aware there is some timeline alteration at play, which makes him more cautious around trying to ensure Jak doesn't go back in time or the adult Jak dies, so the way Jak gets sent back now is different than how it happened in the OG timeline when the metalheads won. That's the only reasonable writing choice in my eyes when it comes to the timelines.
Before Watching: Good but flawed. I say this having beaten the game 100% dozens of times. Some missions are just simply way more difficult then needed either due to poor mechanics (almost all of the escort missions) bad checkpoints or lack thereof, or just sheer difficulty or clunky mechanics (the drill platform turret missions, the slums seal of mar escape, and any mission with the mech suit) Dark Jak also doesn't get nearly as much emphasis as you would expect, most of the time I forget I have it or I save it for a massive damage drop on a boss. It would have been nice to have more sections of the game require you to play as Dark Jak because say you are about to die and dark jak takes over to preserve your health or maybe in storyline Jak is insanely angry at say the kid being kidnapped or errol hitting Keira. There isn't a single time in the game where you transform into dark jak other then the very first mission after escaping the foretress protecting Kor and the kid, not counting cutscenes or oracle powerups which are all optional. More sections like that could have been really interesting considering the whole concept that Jak has changed. I almost never use dark jak, story wise it would have been nice for this to be implemented more. That being said, everything else about the game I love. The story especially for its time in the very early Ps2 era is great, and showcased Naughty Dog's ability to tell bigger and better stories, I do think the series peaked here especially in terms of writing, plenty of great characters all with their own stake in the game and motivations pretty clear. The weapons are all great, the map is just big enough to feel huge but not enough to where driving around feels like a chore as fast travel was not really a concept in 2003. There are tons of great locations to explore and fun secrets to enhance your gameplay, hero mode, unlimited ammo, big head mode, all sorts of whacky stuff to make the game feel like there's real passion here. After watching: Yeah we pretty much agree.
Oh man, this is a nostalgia hit. I used to play this a lot... but always got stuck on that one turret mission and never finished it. I always remember being confused about Torn, since I really couldn't speak English much back when I played this I had to go off of other things to keep up with the story to even a small degree, and Torn wearing the colors of the Baron's lot always made me assume that he was on their side.
I think Samos didn’t call out at the beginning because he knew he needed to wait for his younger self to be captured so they can have what I assume was/will be a life changing conversation
To this day, Jak 2 is still my favourite game in the trilogy. It's also one of the most difficult games for the PS2, but I still love playing it, and I would highly recommend it to any gamer
@danthemann7 But still worth playing, no matter how many times it takes to escape from KG, or win one of the races, or beat one of those tedious timed missions
I always said that this game was ahead of it's time. Along with the third game, i think they always stay playable, thanks to their interesting, detailed but not too deep lore, open world in general and good designed interior levels and above average, easy gameplay.
Nice video! I love discovering new small creators talking about games they love. I agree that the pacing of Jak 2 is pretty bad, but it's not the story's biggest issue for me. For me, it's that Jak (or any character, really) doesn't have a meaningful arc. They try to have something like it, with Jak randomly saying things like "This place is worth fighting for" right at the end, without actually showing how he got from point A to point B. It wouldn't even be that hard, there's enough hanging threads that you could string together a pretty good arc. Imagine if Jak's focus on revenge and chaos was explicitly because he thought he was another planet, or in another universe or something. He doesn't care at all about this world or these people, because he believes that once he's wrecked shop he'll go home and never have to live with any consequences. Then, when he sees Samos' hut and realizes it's the future, he has a moment of awakening. This is his world, his people that he's been hurting. While he still believes he'll just go back to the past, and thus continues to work towards revenge, he starts being more considerate of the innocent people. Then, I'd have it so that Jak figures out that he's the Kid at the Tomb of Mar, either by the Precursor telling him or just putting it together. This would be the lowest moment, he realizes that in order to preserve a stable time loop he has to send his young self back in time and give up his own chance to go home. He either gets depressed, or really falls back into "fuck the consequences" mode, either of which leads to Daxter going off on his own to try and play the hero and getting hurt. This awakens newfound purpose in Jak, he realizes he has to fight the world he has, not the one he wants, and they go into the final act finally fighting for the right reasons. Man, Jak fanfiction is fun to write. That's just how I would've done it, using the story elements in the game, but I do think the story is missing something to latch onto. It's not a terrible story, the twists and turns are fun in the moment, and the characters are very solid, but there isn't a whole lot to get attached to, y'know? Really, it's the gameplay that holds it all up for me. The movement is so fluid, all your movement and combat options flow together great. It's so much fun, to the point where I completely agree that the game would be better without the sandbox. Just give me the levels and let me play with this great moveset, thanks. Anyway, I'll watch the Jak 1 video when its not 2 AM lol. I hope you keep making videos, on Jak or whatever else. You got a new subscriber, and I hope you have a good day.
I completely agree that there really isn’t any character arc for anyone, and it especially hurts for Jak because there is so much that could have been done with him. Thank you for watching! And there is already a Jak 3 video in the works and I’ll be moving to other series/IPs after for a bit
I thought I was the only one who felt that “this place is worth fighting for” felt unearned and just came out of nowhere There’s next to no plot to this game
While that is true, without the context of him surviving in Jak 3, it is still an odd moment and can’t be treated as anything other than a character dying off screen.
Jak II’s story is focused as much as it is messy with the time travel situation. But what irks me the most about it is that it neglects Dark Jak. For being majorly promoted and touted as the central theme of the game and its story, Dark Jak has little relevance to the narrative. Characters only briefly mention Dark Jak’s existence before forgetting about it later, and although Dark Jak was created as a weapon against the Metal Heads, the Metal Heads can be easily dispatched by the Morph Gun anyway. I would’ve liked if Dark Jak played a greater role in the story. Have Jak’s life be in danger because of it-the Precursor Oracle mentions that the Dark Eco in his body will “destroy him with its madness,” and one of the Baron’s propaganda voice messages taunts Jak by telling him the Dark Eco is slowly killing him. With Jak’s life on the line, it would encourage him to seek some kind of cure to his dark powers, or at the very least, learn to control them (this at least is included in the game with the Oracle). Maybe even have Jak’s relationships with characters like Samos and Kiera be challenged because of their fear of Dark Jak. And with the knowledge that his dark powers were given to him to defeat the Metal Heads, from a gameplay perspective, it would’ve been neat if the Metal Heads were immune to physical attacks and the Morph Gun, but weak to Dark Jak. On the gameplay topic, Dark Jak is _never required_ for any enemy encounter or mission in the game at all. It’s possible to finish the entire game without ever using Dark Jak, minus the one scripted transformation during the _very first mission._ I would’ve liked for more scripted transformations, such as during Metal Head ambushes. Have the special Dark Jak abilities be required for certain platforming puzzles too. It would’ve been cool if when battling the giant Metal Head beast in the Haven Forest Temple, Dark Giant is recommended as it would be most effective against it. During development of Jak II, transforming into Dark Jak was originally going to cause severe damage to Jak, leaving him left with one HP after he reverts to normal. It’s little things like this that make me wish Dark Jak played a bigger role in the story and gameplay. Dude even appears on the logo but can potentially never appear in the game after the first mission. 😭
Jak's life was in danger in the beginning of the game, twice, when he (no thanks to Daxter) broke out of prison using said dark form and again when Jak's vulnerable unequipped morph gun self was surrounded by Krimzon Guard. Then at the end of the game it was used again to break out from his entrapment under building rubble. Dark Jak was underutilized at best overall, that's all. Not every plot point needs to be addressed in the same game it's introduced. Jak II's story already had enough going on as is. What you wanted was addressed in Jak 3, alongside the Mar plot also introduced (and ignored by you) in Jak II.
@@windy3935 I wouldn’t say I _ignored_ it. I played and finished Jak 3. I get where you’re coming from, I guess I just feel that Dark Jak could’ve played a larger narrative role in Jak II, given that Dark Jak was a very strong (if not _the_ strongest) focus of the game’s marketing. I’m not exactly sure how to put it into detail, since I already said a whole lot in my initial comment. Where Jak 3 was about uncovering the mystery of the Precursors and Mar, I wish Jak II was more about exploring the inner struggle between Jak and his dark powers.
So I did finish the game and watch the video! Really nice summary. I loved this game a lot, more than the first honestly. It is definitely rough around the edges, but you can feel it striving to do so much and I can't help but appreciate that.
The note about the game increasing in difficulty in an unnecessary way is my biggest critique of the game. Like you said I like a challenge but having levels be too difficult can ruin your time
As long as you understand your tools and aren’t just trying to spam the not-so-effective jump spin blaster move, I find the difficulty to be just fine.
3:41 My theory on why they reacted differently is that Jak was slowly experimented on over the course of 2 years while Daxter fell into a massive amount of dark eco all at once.
I would've loved it, for the sake of the time travelling continuum, if after Metal Kor is defeated the ring opens and he repeats his "finally the last rift gate has been opened!" line from the intro before attempting to escape through with "you cannot hide from me boy!" before past-Jak launches the rift rider right into his face, sending him back into the chamber and killing him.
Hey, you kept your promise! Nice upload! Many good points here! I can add that several Y.Tubers have made Jak reviews before; the most prominent about Jak 2 being the shift in tone. This is due to the era/time period the game was made in, as well as what was popular in the market. Namely, GTA (hence the sandbox open-world). Another points from me are: - the music/OST: the OST isn't any special on its own (Dragons of the Forest being an exception, it's the 'battle theme' so to speak) * ambient sound/music effects: the OST is used to its full advantage, as it changes according to the situation (there are videos about this on YT). The cloaked enemy fight in the forest is perhaps the best example of this ** Jak 3 DIDN'T have this, although the music and instruments are richer and more 'full' - plotlines: time-travel is a can of worms, one that Jak 2 handled surprisingly well. However, this concept was underutilized in subsequent games. * Jak 3 and/or possible 4 could have had the antagonists from Jak 1 come back as a final boss ** Which you, ExtraPyxel, can research on and bring up in a future Jak 3 analysis - character development: characters are way more fleshed out. Sadly, the drama between Keira and Jak is odd. Tess and Daxter is... ODD. - controls: about the inverted controls in Jak 1 and 2; they can be swapped using button combinations (look it up, either on Google or YT). However, they are not in the menu or anyway intuitive... WHEW! I could go on, but that would be a bit strenuous... Unless anyone has any specific questions
Not much for me to add here, you’ve laid things out pretty well! For me the biggest narrative downfall of Jak 2 is just the pacing of story beats. Major plot points are made and then tossed aside for way too long, undermining the importance/severity. There are a few times this happens, but the biggest in my mind is the time travel reveal.
@@extrapyxel Which is something that should have been elaborated upon in the 3rd game, but was mishandled like in 2. Also, the effect the Dark Eco had on Jak is understated/not shown well enough in-game. Jak 3 introduced Light Eco, but we only got to see the underlying effects/changes in Jak X: when the final boss finds himself in a situation alike to Krew, he tells Jak has a habit of leaving people to die. THIS SCENE should have been in 2 and 3 thematically! All of this just adds to the discussion whether or not Naughty Dog should make a new Jak game or simply revamp the existing ones. Not just graphics, controls or OST, but lore-wise and cut content. Perhaps even polish some of the lore aspects you mentioned. I fear Jak will be forgotten among the many PS1/PS2 titles that were lost in the transition age of PS3. Arc the Lad 1 through 4 being among the most notable, in my personal opinion...
Sig, another black man with a golden heart. There's nothing wrong with that, I like the trope. Sig and DJ (Total Drama) first come to mind when thinking about black men who are sweet. That was not meant to be racist. Don't cancel me, please. PLEASE
Not as good as the first game but it’s still a good game along with Jak 3 although I wish Jak 4 would be a collectathon platformer like the first game.
Yeah while I do like Jak 2 and 3 for what they are but me personally I like Jak 1 the best mainly because I find it more fun to replay than 2 and 3 personally
This game was so weird... it's such a different feel to the first and, tbh, I never liked that. I actually enjoyed the collectathon of the first game. No dark, angsty teen Jak, no gunplay and awful checkpoints. The fact that it has an actual story and more than like 20 NPC's is nice though.
I’m not sure there are many missions in ANY game that are as hard as the dock mission in jak 2. And you can’t bail out once you start it you’re stuck there until you beat it. That’s just mean.
I gotta add it really upsets me that people put this game down because it’s difficult. Yes the long checkpoints make it frustrating but it’s just that much more rewarding when you complete a mission.
I keep coming back and watching these Jak retrospective videos. I don’t know what it is, but something about your videos is more enjoyable than other retrospective style videos.
Have you ever heard of bootstrap paradox? That's what the time travel in this game is and as long past, present and future in the story stay consistent and nothing is altered, it's well written and makes sense. Time travel like this is poorly though out only when events change in the timeline and don't make sense anymore. An example of poorly written time travel in Jak 2 would have been if baby Jak had died in the game. It makes no sense because then adult Jak wouldn't exist in the first place to save his younger self.
I did my best to enjoy the game. For me I would say no mainly because the gameplay is very flawed. It's so hard and unbalanced. But I have to admit the story, characters, and writing are excellent in the game. It's just the poor gameplay is the main reason why I don't recognise Jak 2
Finally somebody that has the same issues I had with the inverted camera and the open world GTA thing, AND the difficulty spike. The first game may not have been perfect but I never liked Jak II due to these issues.
Im gonna go with no the games open world is just awful and the missions in the game are not fun it mostly boils down to trial and error due to things like escort missions, races and missions with dozens of enemies that will gang up on you and melt you in seconds.
I wonder what could've been if the Jak and Daxter series was more akin to the likes of Gravity Falls and The Owl House where they tackled dark and serious subject matters while still manages to maintain its original identity
I’m honestly glad they didn’t try to tackle anything more serious. Sometimes it’s nice for a game to just be wild, crazy, and completely disconnected from reality to be an escape.
@@extrapyxel This. So many games these days feel like they "try to tackle a series topic"; I play games to have a vacation from reality, not to experience more of it! Its a big reason I loved Hi-Fi Rush so much.
Earned a sub for jak 3 and 2 video make jak x video and then what u think... will we get new jak game? If u like... u have nice and atractive voice... this game was my childhood with ratchet a clank 2🫶🏻
