Jak & Daxter - Was Jak Really Mute In The Precursor Legacy? 

He attempted to speak multiple times but was always interrupted. He sometimes says "ouch" when hit. However in Jak 2, when meeting Torn, Daxter said to jak "maybe he's a mute, like you used to be". My theory is Jak did speak, but was naturally quiet and only spoke when addressed. In the first game, he tried to speak whenever someone asked him a question, only to be interrupted. Going by this, he probably had a hard time socially and didn't bother speaking due to always being cut off or ignored, so he was just in the background. His poor social skills are even explored in Jak 2. When he first meets Kor, he straight up threatens and grabs him (a defenseless old man) and daxter apologises saying he's new to having conversations. He also struggles to talk with Torn when they first meet, going "um" a lot and pausing. Also, when he first meets Keira at the racing garage (unbeknownst to him) he tries to charm her poorly and is visibly shaken by her, where he freezes up and daxter tries getting his attention to snap out if it. My theory: Jak had poor social skills and didn't bother speaking, unless he absolutely had to. And in Jak 2, in order to survive Haven City and find his way around to get to Praxis, he needed to get over his poor social skills.

Also when we first heard Jak speak in Jak2, Daxter didn’t really act surprised or shocked as you would if you never heard your best friends voice, so him and Jak probably had talked before.

It's so funny that his uncredited voice actor for the first game is the singing voice for Max in A Goofy Movie. ❤

"HU-CHAA_WHU-SHAA-CHAA-HUSHAA" -Jak when he spin kicks in the air

"Ouch!" - Jak

He attempts to talk at least once before getting interrupted. I also remember him getting ready to introduce himself to someone but then Daxter starts before he could say anything

"Samos a good father figure" Jak - "I'm gonna kill Praxis"

Gotta love fan Theories of a classic game nearly 20 years old!!!!

Basically jak got taken away from damos and as a result jak decided not to talk anymore, in some cutscenes in the precursor legacy jak feels that he should talk but instead lets himself get interrupted, after 2 years of being experimented on by praxis, jak is so angry that he forgets the past and speaks, then he decides that he will talk for the rest of his life

I aways wondered about that,since he was a toddler he never spoke or talk and continued being silent until the precursor legacy,maybe jak was originally born a mute,I guess the dark eco from baron's praxis dark warrior program,formed jak's vocal cords and gave him the ability to speak. EDIT Or he was shy like you said 😂

The Jak series is like dead, and we never got to learn about the mothers of Jak, Ashelin, Rayn and others, Naughty Dog covered up a lot of secrets.

Did anyone else kinda have a thing for Keira when these games were popular or was it just me? Lmao for an elf like human in a video game world, she was hot no lie

You stated that Dark Eco may have Locked Jak’s shyness, but have you ever considered maybe it forced/pushed Jak away from his shyness. As continued exposure to something may force one to confront their flaws and moved away from it ?

I like the buttons with Ratchet Jak and Sly near the end.

I feel like I heard Jak say something during the Fighing game in The Forbidden Jungle. Saying "Almost there" after the fisherman yells "Hold Steady"

The boy (Jak) was stolen from his father and was used for a little while by the Metal Head leader as a pond. Stressed and conflict induced selective mutism could be relative to his trauma. But in Jak 2 he was older and dealt with other types of traumas.

Great analysis, but I can do your job in 10 seconds. Jak said "Ouch!" in Jak 1. THERE. CANNON.

I like the idea that young Jak is just a shy quiet teen... who also keeps getting interrupted whenever he does try to assert himself 😂 Nice ongoing joke that makes the whole silent protagonist thing feel more "realistic"

Something else that might contribute to this theory is Daxters and Keira's reacrtions to hearing jak speak. Both of them are not surprised to hear Jak's voice, when we see daxter, he isn't alarmed or weirded out like "Woah he can talk now!", he's not even like "I never knew your voice would sound like that!" or "man it's been a long time since I've heard your voice!" or anything of the sort, but daxter acts like it's a normal thing, and it was what he expected jak to sound like and was just generally unphased. Keira is the same way, she doesn't even bring up the fact that Jak is now talking, but she only recognized Dax's voice, and not jak's, this could just be a case of her not hearing it much and not putting the voice to the face until she saw him. This could make sense as Jak would most likely talk with daxter more and would be more comfortable around him, especially.

Before clicking the video I was like he’s definitely not fully Mute because of the Attack and jumping sounds however it was cool hearing the theories behind it, Nice video!

Thats a actually a very neat theory, especially when you notice how the child Jak acted and never spoke either

I always saw it as he was simply a little shy to talk to others, especially with an over zealous friend like daxter who would constantly interrupt him. So he probably just learnt to stay quiet because daxter would talk over him anyway

Issac Clarke:I was also silent in first Dead Space game

I think Naughty Dog wanted to present Jak and Daxter as polar opposites, in which they are. Jak was quiet, introverted, humble, never arrogant and not a braggart. Not to mention respectful to everyone he loves. Daxter is loud, extroverted, arrogant and likes to embellish and brag how great he is. He insults people and is very sassy and spunky lol 😂 One has qualities that the other doesn’t have an vice versa. Both are very different but both balance each other out. They are the yin to each other’s yang. Come to think of it, I think that’s what make these two characters so appealing to many. Naughty dog really accomplished that opposition polarity to to T with these two.

I always wondered why he didn't talk lol

Character analysys, I loooooove it. Its my favorite thing when someone goes in deep to analysing WHY a character does certain things. And Im so very very happy to see this kind of video about one of my absolute favorite games! Thank you for this! And yeah I believe he was selective mute in the first game, I think its the most realistic and backed up hypothesis. I do agree with basically everything you said.

They did that with Maggie Simpson in the future episodes too. She's constantly interupted whenever she's about to speak. Homer even saying "does that girl ever shut up?" even though we never hear her say anything in the episode.

Don’t forget about the lurker scene when Daxter asked Jak “wow how did you do that?” And he was about to say something

What an awesome Jak and daxter video thank you so much !!!!

I don't think Jak is quiet out of anxiousness really. Rather, he seems so laid back and willing to let Daxter do all the talking that Daxter literally does all the talking. In a conversation where Daxter wasn't answering for him, I think Jak would answer. It's almost like he's quiet out of politeness. Jak II he loses his patience and politeness, I tend to think of that as the only actual character change Jak really undergoes between the first and second games.

One day... I hope we get a completely new Jak game. This series is my favorite.

Jak is 15 is precursor legacy -- this is confirmed in Jak X in the character stats

I would very much like to say that it is also very hard to get a word in edgewise when you're around daxter, kira, or samos. But especially daxter. It's always beeny head canon that after a few years he tried to say words or speak in different conversations with them but every time he tried he can only get half a syllable out for somebody interjects with some thing else. Thus he's mostly just bored and annoyed throughout most of the first game because no one even let him speak

Well Jak was selective despite mainly making grunt sounds, screaming when falling, and the word ouch in Precursor Legacy. Now I had no idea mutism is a thing until now, so it gives a little more depth in the anxiety of socialization (at least, speaking per say).

I am a huge jak fan and I go through out the game looking for Easter eggs I found one that you may find interesting when you do the fishing mission in the forbidden jungle close to the end the fisherman says almost there and jak quietly said come on this proves that he was never mute

This stuff was very obvious to me, I had long since noticed Jak's patterns and growing up with selective mutism, I realized he exhibited similar behavior.

I grew up on TPL, I got Jak 2 when I was older. And when I heard him say "I'm gonna kill Praxis" I nearly fell out of my chair. It was the last thing I thought was gonna happen. I had no idea he talked before hand. It was really weird for me, especially after playing silent jak for nearly ten years.

18 years after Jan and Daxter launch, people still make viedos about that game...

Well he did say "almost there" during the fishing mini game...

The way I see it, jak was mute by choice for all of his life until the dark eco experiments making him really mad and wanting to express his anger openly and after the baron was delt with he just kinda kept talking

Can we also take a moment to talk about the relationship between Jak and Daxter? Even in the first game, they were portrayed as close friends, who were up to some mischief (they stole the fisherman's boat to go visit Misty Island) and often did those silly victory dances together. Yes, Jak is shown to be annoyed by Daxter at some points (in other games too), which is understandable, and perhaps the two see each other as brothers? They could have grown up together, and Dax was fine with Jak not talking a lot. It gave him more room to babble and I imagine he had learnt to understand Jak without him needing to speak. Then in the second game, Daxter tries his hardest to find his best pal and when he finally does. You can hear the desperation from his voice when he begs Jak to speak. I think he might even feel guilty because he just ran away and "let Jak be captured". Jak had gone through two years of torture and most likely severe social isolation as well, and he felt disoriented after the latest eco tests. He then transforms and is ready to go on a rage-fueled rampage and kill everyone he sees. But even in this dark Jak mode, he is able to recognise Daxter and shifts back. I do believe if Daxter hadn't been there, he would have killed whoever got too close and things would have ended differently. A lot of things about Jak and Daxter isn't told, but it is shown through their interactions. Their dynamic is very fleshed out, much more than many of the other friendships from similar games. Such as Spyro and Hunter/Sparks.

things that jak probably went through: losing his mother (we dont know what happened to her iirc but I assume she must have died in childbirth or when he was very young, maybe she got killed when damos got exiled. Then the Vegar thing, then the whole metalhead leader decieving him and kidnapping him, then getting sent back in time to a place you dont know with people who arent your parents that Im sure you miss very much. I always assumed it was selective mutism due to trauma

TL;DR He was a selective mute. You're welcome everyone. Lol

I don't know if someone pointed this out in the comments already but when in the very first cutscene in Misty island, Jak activated the object near the pool of dark eco Daxter asks him "How did you do that?" and Jak seems to try and say something but I think he remained just "uuuuuhhhmmm" because he wanted to explain but had no idea how it happened himself. You did some good research on this video and I was ready to talk about selective mutism if you wouldn't :D I study psychology and what you said was right. But I want to point a few more things. A kid doesn't have to go through traumatic experiences, not entirely. As you said, it can also happen due to anxiety. In real life this usually happens when the kid starts going to school, he/she suddenly has a lot of responsibilities and they feel stressed and that can also lead to them not speaking, for example in school, but at home they might be actually talking a lot (you explained, they talk in a place they feel comfortable in). The next thing I'm about to say is the most common selective mutism - when very young kids don't talk to strangers or neighbours even tho their parent is right there holding their hand, the parent is basically introducing the kid to the neighbor ut the kid stays silent or/and hides behind the parent. Just like in Jak 2, young Jak always hides behind Kor. And yes young Jak definitely went through a lot. Taken away from family, getting lost, suddenly surrounded by a lot of people who constantly shout (the underground when discussing serious matters between each other, I imagine they won't be discussing things calmly - just look at the scenes in Jak 2 and the one you pointed out where tiny Jak in fiddling with fingers) and let's not forget young Jak most likely saw Metal Kor many times. What kid wouldn't be traumatized if seeing such a large monster? We can simply say that selective mutism is when the kid or person decides when they want to speak or not (in any type of situation) Another thing is that the brain, in order to protect the wellbeing and functionality pushes traumatic events deeply into the subconscious. It means that the person basically doesn't remember the time during the trauma (yes it can happen that you won't remember one day, one month or several years - when being kidnapped, locked away etc) and that's why young Jak doesn't remember anything once he's in precursor legacy, once he's in the past. Samos did say during the end of Jak 2 "it's funny, the boy won't remember any of this." but Jak replies with "no, I do remember the light." the light as either the glowy precursor or the light from the rift. But he doesn't remember anything else. I don't know if it's a reliable source but people say young Jak is 9 years old (I can't find young Jaks age anywhere) but that's an age you should have some memories from especially if they were bad memories (the human brain tends to remember the bad things clearer and more often than good things). But since young Jak went through a lot he doesn't remember anything from his time in Haven City, he remembers the light because my theory is, that, that was the point where it got better for him (just like some victims in real life explain, when they don't remember what was happening while they were locked in a basement, for example, they don't remember the years that passed but they remember when the authorities were escorting them out).

With ads still rolling I write this. “Maybe he’s a mute, like you used to be.”

I wanna remind everyone that stopping a habit because of exposure to a bad thing isn't necessarily a GOOD thing. Jak is a much angrier and more troubled person in Jak II and in Jak III it's at one point heavily implied that for the entire time of the two games up til then the Dark Eco's felt very close to him. If he was selectively mute and did indeed need therapy, it's like using a sledgehammer to do the job of an edging knife. Is the part you wanted gone gone? Yes. But how much collateral damage did you do? Even after the mentioned scene, Jak still has a lot of his emotional troubles from then on in the series. In Jak III and X he may be a bit calmer instead of just straight angry, but he's also distant and stoic, even commenting that you get used to leaving people to die when someone tries to use his repeated exposure to it as a final guilt shot. I haven't played The Lost Frontier outside of a demo, so I won't dig into that, and I'd prefer not to have it spoiled in the meantime. By the way, I recall an interview or something saying Jak II happened how it did due to Grand Theft Auto's popularity causing the company to decide to emulate it to try to rake some profits. (Which, is, bleh, but I can't deny how good they still made the series.) What's all this about them wanting to prove they could do something other than Crash-esque stuff. Can anyone source this for me? And does anyone else remember the thing I'm referring to? I'm p sure it was said by one of the devs but I don't remember where.

If you listen closely during the fish game Jak says "Almost there"

Second comment. I believe he chose not to speak and was even comfortable with daxter talking for him but I don't think the dark eco treated his problems like anxiety. If you look at the difference between the two jaks it's like a full 180 in terms of personality. Sure you could blame it on the torture cuz that's enough to make someone angry but that's not Jak and if you notice Dark Jak seems angry while Light Jak seems calm so while the dark eco didn't change his ideals it definitely parts of his personality

I was very similar to kid Jak when I was a kid I have social anxiety from when i was a kid right up until my early 20s i had severe social anxiety where i was mute around everyone except my family and close friends it kept getting worse because i was not treated for so many years now I am being treated with exposure therapy and doing much better I always felt Jak had a anxiety disorder too

Him? Mute? HES THE NOISIEST MOFO EVER XD just do an X, O, O on your controller and see ghm, hear what I mean.

B-mask is finally doing a video on the jak and daxter at long last! This is honestly my favourite video you’ve done on this series ever!

maybe he just had a very Scratchy voice and did not want to annoy anyone with it.

I'm not sure Jak was specifically mute in _Jak and Daxter,_ he was a silent protagonist and it was played for laughs multiple times throughout the game. Just as he'd be about to talk, he'd be interrupted. Later, _Jak II_ lampoons the fact multiple times. It's still using the same "Silent Protagonist" gag from the first game for laughs, but it's self-referential in a different kind of way. Ostensibly, the later games change the lore and context of the entire series in ways that weren't necessarily originally intended. Young Jak being "Mute" serves multiple purposes ranging from "self-referential" (Jak being silent in the first game) to paradox avoidance (the characters don't ever realize who the child actually is).

He is taciturn (seldom talking/talker) during the first game while Daxtar is gregarious (active talking/talker). They basically balance each other out, in my opinion. I can see your theory as very plausible from a lore standpoint.

Cool theory!!!! And I can relate...a little. While I never had any childhood trauma, I was a pretty quiet kid. I wasn't "mute" or a chatterbox, but I would usually talk to most people. However, I began to get more shy and reserved when I was around more bossy, judgemental classmates. I would always feel judged and never comfortable around "weird," mean people. Nowadays, I have learned to trust and open up more, but honestly I'm still trying to recover from some bad experiences. I guess Jak got separated from his dad (and maybe mom???) when he was about 4-5. From his reactions, he used to fear unknown creatures, getting hurt, and adults talking seriously. After growing up with Samos, he seems to feel ok with talking, but easily gets pushed back when others are talking. (I used to be the same way.) P.S. Just played the Sly Cooper trilogy for the first time!!! Its already my fav series next to Rachet and Clank! Still haven't gotten around to finishing the Jak series yet. I have be calm and patient enough to finish the second game....

Better question was keira mute in jak 3

Samos could have also used green eco to help ease Hal’s anxiety

Jak (hurt sound): "OUCH!" Its true he wasn't a mute. At LEAST he said 1 WORD. Get it? Haha.

This was very interesting. I grew up having selective mutism. My parents would take me to a few doctors and they basically said I had it due to having some type of social anxiety. Also around the age of 5 I lost a close friend due to cancer.

hey I'd be mute if I got thrown around thru time and space a few times

i love your videos i miss jak

This is amazing !!! I’m a huge fan of Jak and Daxter’s games and I instantly clicked on your video for that ahahahah. Thank you so much, it was wonderfully interesting. Always though Jak started talking because the trauma was too big during his injections, mixed to the fact the eco was kind of making him stronger so he could find his voice again or at least the strength to talk and assume his words !!!! But your video makes everything deeper and I can’t feel anything else than more and more empathy for this wonderful hero. Thank you again for the work, the researches and all the facts. Keep the good work !!

The idea that mute people can not make noises is not fully true, you can still make sounds you'd just not be able to make it sound like words. Like if a person has no control over their vocals they can't speak but a sudden reaction could cause enough to energy for a sound, like a punch to the gut would still have a reflex reaction.

I think that, yeah, he probably was shy and had an anxiety disorder due to trauma, blah-blah-blah, but, while he was willing to speak in some scenes, I feel like his muteness was also meant to be comical. Daxter was always interrupting him when he was going to speak, so I think the idea was that Daxter was meant to seem like a blabbering loud mouth while Jak was more contemplatful in situations. So, instead of speaking, he was more busy thinking about how to handle something.

when i was little i always thought when jak gets hurt he always says ouch and i always thought that jaks Heath bar looked like a Pretzel lol

Speaking of how jak doesnt want to talk in jak 1 when I'm around new people I'm mute too I can speak but around new people I refuse to speak I get super anxious and shy around new people

I just thought the Dark Eco Power pump into him made him speak. Like you said the Dark Eco has a effect.

Samos could’ve been treating Jak’s selective mutism by having Mar live with The explorer/uncle character from the first game. Possibly initially starting off as babysitting/training Mar. While Samos was busy training and shaking up with his future daughter’s mother.

I’m just glad to see other people that love this series as much as I have all my life. The Jak and Daxter games have always been in my top 3 of all time and Jak 2 is probably my 2nd favorite ps2 game ever after Mortal Kombat Deception. Hoping for a new release soon like I can bet many of you are also!!

Ughhhhhh imagine an open world jak and daxter 4 with upgradeable fear guns and cars? Factions, racing, new looks for jak and daxter. Upgraded designs. Huge map filled with forests, caves, deserts, underwater temples, swamps, precursor artifacts and cities to discover. SHIT I love jak and daxter

I can't speak for the writers intentions since there's a good chance that a lot of Jaks mannerisms and grunts are all just coincedental rather than suggestive. But I love the idea that Jak couldn't speak in Jak 1 because of events in Haven City leading to trauma. That would've been a pretty clever way to explain his mutism in Jak 1.

You should do a video on what if jak and daxter never turned into a shooting game in the future what route would they have taken what grand adventures would have been next

I don't think he was mute in the first place. Because in the first game, it was Daxter who did most of the talking. When saving the sages, one of them ask for his name. Daxter introduced both of them, not giving him a chance to speak. Also in Jak 2 the child, who turns out to be Jak's younger version, he never did say a word. Also something could of happened to Jak as a child, to make him hide his voice away. OR DAXTER WAS TO MUCH OF A CHATTERBOX, EVEN BEFORE HE GOT TURNED INTO AN OTTSEL!?

Jak wasn’t mute. He just didn’t want to talk because he was probably going through puberty. His voice must’ve been cracking really bad in the first game.

Quite an interesting topic! I know a couple character's who simply "choose not to speak* and I certainly noticed Jak's Gestures but I never thought much of it.

Informative video! I guarantee you're thinking about this way more than Naughty Dog devs. Also, we really don't know anything about young Jak before he met his foster family, so it is really impossible to pinpoint his mute type or cause.

I actually have gotten back into playing the first game, and Jak actually does begin to say a sentence somewhere in the beginning. He opens his mouth to say something, a small sound comes out, but then he's interrupted by Daxter. So no, he is not a complete Mute in Jak and Daxter Precursor Legacy. He is selectively Mute. I would assume that the trauma he received during the Dark Eco injection (as well as the substance itself), finally got him to speak. He needed an outlet for some of his anger besides using violence, so he finally spoke more than grunts.

I read some where he was mute cause they couldn’t find a voice actor for him at the time

he was a mute. his younger self in jak II was a mute. the only things he could do grunt.

Well Naughty Dog made Jak as a Silent Protagonist in the first game while using voice vocals when he's grunting or getting hurt before speaking in the sequel games. So for the reimagining Jak and Daxter Game or Movie, this time Jak should talk. Wouldn't it be funny if the first versions of Sly, Ratchet, and Jak from the first games and Sly and Ratchet ask Jak "Why can't you talk?" and Jak makes a body language. I can't believe he only talked in Jak 2, 3, and Combat Racing. But during 2 Years of Prison in the second game, my theory would be that maybe the Dark Eco would go through Jak's Body and makes him scream and maybe gets his voice out to speak

Jak was probably selectively mute.

Was there any hidden sound bits in the game where he talks?

Back to theories cool

No he was just shy around keria.

Jak was mute in much the same way Crash Bandicoot, his predecessor, was. He made sounds, but only grunts or yells. Much of Jak 1 is poking fun at this trope. Jak 2 was never a flicker of a thought when Jak came out, so they didn't actually feel the need to explain his silence.

Youd make a good Psychologist. Capable of diagnosing problems even in game characters.

I suffer from selective mutism as a response to people saying "Don't talk back" after screaming at me for various reasons. Enough people (yes I mean more than just my family) did it that I now whenever I am panicking can't physically talk. To give you an idea of how that feels, think about breathing, now that you are manually breathing try to force yourself to automatically breathe. That interesting yet infuriating thing is temporary but a basic idea of what Selective Mutism feels like.

Hell no! He says, "OUCH!", "MAMA! (when he gets shocked and drowns in lost precursor city), "HOOMJAH HOOMJAH!" (when he spins,) "HUP!", and "HIKE!"

I think Jak was already capable of speech long before Jak 2. Like Link, he just didn't have any lines. That, or they just couldn't find a VA young enough to play him. I mean, he didn't have his goatee in the first game, so he probably hadn't yet gone through puberty then.

I don't think i ever realised jak didn't talk when I was a kid.

Theory"Jak told his younger self.to stay away from any 'wumpy nest's' on one of his birthdays and his tongue got stung by what ever a 'wumpy' is....maybe some kind of insects like a big bee maybe"

He could speak until about his 9th birthday when he got stung by wumpbees the dark eco probably opened up his throat

Silent Protagonist in games have been around since the 80s. Mario was the very first silent protagonist. Yet even now he still talks in grunts. Then we got Sonic up until 06 was released. As well as other heroes like Crash Bandicoot.

There’s only one issue, how did older Jak not recognize himself as a kid in Jak II?

I think it was because he wasn't in the future toddler jax probably had a hard time trying to talk but when he was sent to the Past to gain the power to fight the metal head leader and open the precursor Stone the jax we known came to the Future since he was old enough his voice became a reality and his first words "I'm going to kill Praxis" well first sentence I don't know something that have to do with time travel I guess.

So here's something to contemplate. Who is Keira. Jak is 15 in TPL and Keira is 14. Kid Jak and Samos go through the time portal at the end of Jak 2 by themselves. Kid Jak isn't given an age but he had to be older than 1. So how can Keira be Samos' daughter. Either Jak is older than everybody thinks or Keira is some random Samos decided to adopt in the past. Maybe even just for the sole purpose of knowing that his older self had a daughter that was raised alongside Jak.

I don’t think he was mute I feel like he was super shy and gets irrupted all the time but I can tell that Jak had a terrible childhood

I never thought you can make a video out of that question. But that's a Jak and Daxter video so I was pretty glad to watch it anyway.

From what I know, jak is 15 in precursor legacy, about 17 in jak 2 and 19 to 23 in Jak 3 and Jak x combat racing

Totally lines up with what Ive seen from the series, good to see someone else thinking of this