The Games That Time Forgot Vol. 2: Jak and Daxter

It's 2AM and I'm jacked on caffeine. That can only mean one thing.
The games that time forgot!

Okay, so time didn't really forget this game because this year it was re-released as an HD collection for the PS3, but I'm really basing this series of reviews around the games which shaped my childhood and my early gaming experiences. And this is definitely one of them.

JAK and DAXTER: the PRECURSOR LEGACY
Rating: 5/5

One morning I went out to the local game store with my Dad to trade in some old games and get a shiny new one, and I saw Jak and Daxter: Precursor Legacy on the shelf. My Dad told me we could get it but he was sure it would suck. One week on and he was as hooked as I was, and despite the fact that we're now 20 and 44 years old, we enjoyed a recent playthrough together. Just like when I was a youngster.

What makes this game so special though?
There's no easy way to answer this, because this game really holds a special place in my heart. It's right there in the core along with Pokémon Red/Blue and Shadow Hearts (more on these later). For starters, I think this is one of the first 3D games I played, so the freedom of being able to move not only left and right, but forwards and backwards, side to side, up and down and any other which way you can imagine was so new to me. Nowadays that doesn't mean so much, but back when there were "3D" games like Crash Bandicoot where it was actually extremely difficult to judge the depth properly, this was a whole new world. I believe this was published in 2001, and the graphics were impeccable on the original version. Even to this day they are still very good, very eye-catching and very fun. Colourful but not annoyingly so. There's nothing worse than boring graphics in a game.

Ignoring this though, what makes this game still stand out in 2012? The humour is broad enough to keep kids and adults alike entertained, it's just the right difficulty for casual gameplay, the plot is pretty unique, Jak looks totally badass and there is quite a lot to do in terms of collectibles and sidequests. Essentially, it has everything you would expect from a modern day game, minus online capability and a bit of length.

For those interested, the HD re-release comes on a disc with the original game, Jak II: Renegade and Jak 3. It's 3D TV compatible (I wish I could experience that for myself) and for the original Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy game it has 39 trophies including the platinum. When I got it it was retailing at around £30 but I think that's dropped now.

Without giving too much of the plot away for those who haven't played it, when Jak and Daxter travel to Misty Island, Daxter is attacked by a 'lurker' and falls into a vat of Dark Eco, which causes him to turn into the ferret-like creature you see above. He is actually an Ottsel, an otter-weasel hybrid, but I like ferrets better.

Green Eco Vent

Eco is an energy used in the game, and comes in different forms:

• Dark Eco - Dangerous. Stay Away.
• Green Eco - Replenishes Health
• Blue Eco - Used to trigger switches, draw in items and increase speed
• Red Eco - Increases attack power
• Yellow Eco - Pew Pew. Fires energy balls as a weapon.

The different Ecos can really enhance the gameplay, although the locations are quite limited at times. Some Ecos are necessary for minigames and also for normal progression, but you can find vents around the world to charge you up, though they're mostly placed in a supply-demand sort of way. That said, it's super fun to charge up with Yellow Eco and just blow some random stuff up.

The pair seek help to turn Daxter back into the human he once was, but are told by Samos, the sage of Green Eco, that only person who can help is Gol, the sage of Dark Eco. And so their quest begins. In order to reach Gol, they must pass through the regions of various sages, collecting 'Power Cells' along the way to fuel their equipment. When you eventually reach Gol there's a big boss fight and such, but I won't ruin the ending. I'll just say that in spite of being theoretically simple, that boss fight is pretty hard. The whole game is littered with humour too - this isn't one to be taken dead seriously.
Then there are the collectible 'precursor orbs'; 2000 in the entire game. On my recent playthrough I had just one left to find and it drove me crazy, but I eventually found it and got my platinum. Just a word of advice, if you see an orb, don't save it for later.

Left-Right: Jak, Daxter and Keira (The romantic interest)

As in pretty much any game, there is also a love story but it doesn't amount to much. I think this might be because Jak doesn't say a word throughout the whole game. I like a silent protagonist though, I think it makes him more enigmatic.

This was one of the greatest games released on the PS2 in my opinion, and I really think anybody who hasn't already played it should play it - PS2 or PS3. It really is very entertaining, and the rest of the game series isn't bad either, though it does get a lot darker.

The Games that Time Forgot: Vol. 1 - Klonoa

Happy Thursday!
Over the next however-long-it-takes I'll be doing a series of reviews of the games which shaped my childhood. If you haven't played these already then you really should. Or most of them at least. Some of them are just good for a laugh or to occupy you for twenty minutes.
First on the agenda - The Klonoa series: Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil.
I have also just discovered that Klonoa: DtP is available on the PS Store, so bear with me one moment.
*Purchases*
Okay. Let's get started.

KLONOA: DOOR to PHANTOMILE
Rating: 4/5

The first PS game I bought with my own money. I feel that I had good taste as a 5 year old.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a cutesy platformer following a fluffy non-human thingy (named Klonoa, unsurprisingly) and his ring spirit Huepow. I'm not sure why, but as a kid this game seemed like it was endless. Following a recent replay, I realise now that it is in fact only about 45 minutes if you know what you're doing. Nonetheless, it is still a fun game to play and not only because of the nostalgia. It essentially follows the same template as mostly every other game - you rescue somebody and save the day. But what makes this game special to me is the enemies. The Moos.

GAHHH THEY'RE ADORABLE.

These little critters are also your main enemy. You zap them with your ring spirit and they inflate into ballooney type things which you then throw around in order to complete puzzles and destroy enemies.

I don't remember too much more about the original Klonoa game, other than that the storyline is quite interesting. It's about a place named Phantomile, which is fuelled by people's dreams. This causes everybody to forget their dreams. But I won't say too much more about the storyline. For the time period, the graphics are quite nice too. It's really worth a look in. And if you enjoy this, then wait until you see..

KLONOA 2: LUNATEA'S VEIL

Rating: 4.5/5

Again, a cutesy platformer following the same unidentifiable human-animal Klonoa as he attempts to help the Priestess Lolo and her dog-thingy Popka. What I like about this is that it breaks away from being just another platformer by way of the inclusion of annoyingly fun and addictive mini-games. Also the Moos return in this title to my great joy. Graphically, Lunatea's Veil greatly improves upon the graphics of its predecessor although both graphically and narratively it has a bit more edge. Still cutesy, but more "Aww" than "SQUEEE".

The games are both very short, so I think if I say a whole lot more I will give away the plot. And a game without a plot is like a chocolate fireman. Useless.
So please, if you ever get the chance, do check these games out. They were pretty underrated and I think they deserve a little more credit because they hold a special place in the platformer folder in my heart.