Jak Trilogy review

Re-proposing old glories of the past in special collections created for the occasion seems to be the most positive trend of this last period, a trend which on Playstation has led to the reappearance of numerous titles lost over time, an operation which for many may only represent a mere commercial activity aimed at extracting as much money as possible from users, but we like to think it is a way for “mature” gamers to relive the emotions experienced years ago and for first-time gamers a very important opportunity to have the opportunity to play valid titles of the gaming panorama that they have not had the opportunity to play.

The trend of collections today, after the arrival on PS3, brings the 3 chapters of the Jak & Dexter trilogy also to the Sony portable console which, to be honest, has seen very few valid titles from the day of its launch to today .

Jak and Daxter Trilogy developed by the guys at Naughty Dog will allow you to relive the adventures of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II and Jak 3, with specific mechanics reformulated by the programming team specifically to make the most of the potential of the small portable console from Sony (such as the touch that will dominate the minigames scattered here and there).
The game features over 100 trophies (including three platinum trophies) spread across all three titles.
If you are a trophy hunter you can’t help but get your hands on this beautiful triple title!

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

The first of the three chapters of the trilogy which will see us engaged in the attempt to return to normal the good Dexter, our adventure companion, transformed into a weasel(?) following the fall into a basin containing a force called “ECO” which will be present within the game for both good and bad, is a relatively simple action/adventure platformer. Our adventure will begin from the home village of our heroes, Sandover, and will lead us through numerous adventures in order to reach the wise Gol in the North, the only one capable of dominating the “ECO” force and therefore the only one plausibly able to give back to our friend Dexter his human form.
The game will begin with a small tutorial in which we will learn about the usefulness of the echo, the precursor globes and the batteries, elements that will accompany us for the duration of the entire game; furthermore, this intro/pseudo tutorial phase will allow us to take our first steps in the game by getting to know the basic controls and (alas) also the quirks that the camera will sometimes propose to us.
The pace of the game is always high and demanding and to prevent you from getting tired or stressed too quickly, it is often integrated/alternated with sub-games which however integrate in the best possible way with the main gameplay phase.
The other two titles are certainly more challenging, however guaranteeing in all three cases a very high level of fun and involvement.

Jak II: Renegade

The second chapter, although temporally followed by the first, differs a little from what was seen in the progenitor of the saga. In fact, this chapter will immerse us in particularly dark atmospheres with our heroes who will be catapulted quite randomly into the futuristic metropolis Heaven City, where poor Jak will be locked up and subjected to experiments that will make him ugly in spirit as well as in appearance and, after being freed by his friend Jak, he will be firmly intent on taking revenge for the distress he has suffered by also taking advantage of the new skills he has acquired.
Jak’s change will also influence the new game mechanics, the protagonist will now be able to collect the “ECO” that in the previous chapter gave him so much trouble in order to transform himself into a creature equipped with numerous special abilities necessary to eliminate decidedly more hostile enemies. strengths present in this second chapter compared to those we found ourselves facing in the first chapter of the series.
A further change that catches the eye is related to the game dynamics which in this new chapter reflect more of an action style thanks to the introduction of firearms compared to the purely platform style of the predecessor (the platform part will however be present, to a limited extent, also in this second chapter) and, as in the first chapter of the series, also in this one our gaming experience will be completed by numerous minigames present in the various gaming environments we will come across.

Jack III

The third chapter, which chronologically connects to the events of the second, will put us back in the shoes of a Jak now master of the dark powers who was exiled precisely because of them…
In this title we can witness the substantial disappearance of the platform dynamics in favor of an exclusively action game phase documented by the wide range of powers now exercisable by our beloved protagonist as well as by the variety of the arsenal at his disposal.
This third chapter, like the previous ones, also keeps morale and comic verve high thanks to the succession of jokes from the two protagonists.
During our adventure we will systematically find ourselves on board some vehicle, tossed from one mission to another, from one explosive situation to another.
There is no shortage of ideas in this third title of the J&D saga, some well developed, others simply sketched out as if to say that they are there (for example the use of Daxter, the arenas…).
The title is very pleasant to play (even though the camera management still turns one’s nose up) between races and adventures and full of new features such as the possibility of slowing down time or using (in addition to the myriad of weapons present in the game) also a shield .
The game follows the video game trend that has developed in recent years by lowering the difficulty level to guarantee satisfaction for the casual player, filling the game with checkpoints and allowing the adventure to end without any major problems.

Video/Audio/Gameplay

The graphics of the game, with the exception of the third chapter which graphically is a few steps higher than its two predecessors, are what they are and the signs of the passage of time are felt but it still manages to guarantee good quality despite everything thanks also to the vastness of the panoramas, the climate alternation and the day/night mechanics which guarantee a good level of variety that is difficult to find in other titles of the genre. The only problem relating to the video part may be some incorrect shots but nothing that could compromise your patience and gaming experience.
On an audio level, although we are faced with a soundtrack that is certainly not memorable (and it’s not like there was really an extreme need for it) we can say that we listen to it with pleasure and certainly the entire dubbing of the title in Italian it is a gem that is a pleasure to listen to, also being of excellent workmanship.
The gameplay component as analyzed in the lines above ranges from a purely platform style found during the first title of the saga to a purely action style manifested in the third chapter, knowing numerous middle ground between the two extremes mentioned above during the three chapters.

Jak and Dexter Triolgy is certainly a valid title that Sony’s beautiful portable console needed. The beauty of 3 games essentially belonging to the same story but with constantly evolving gameplay will give you hours of fun on your PsVita. The high number of trophies (including three very succulent platinum ones) will also encourage you in the game and will guarantee a good level of challenge to obtain everything obtainable. The crossbuy function which guarantees you the possibility of playing the trilogy also on Ps3 also represents a further incentive to purchase this title. Although the conversion for PsVita does not reach the maximum quality in terms of graphic impact and sometimes suffers some small slowdowns, the title undoubtedly represents a triple source of fun for every gamer; if you have played them you will certainly not mind playing them again in this new version and if you have not played them, know that the 3 titles in this trilogy absolutely deserve your attention.