Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy jump started one of PlayStation's largest platforming franchises during the PS2 era. Believe it or not, Jak and Daxter is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and in recognition of the milestone, Naughty Dog has released the game's original teaser trailer.
The video game landscape looked quite different in the PS2 era when compared to today. As far as popular genres went, the mascot platformer was still one of the highest selling and most bankable types of games studios could make, with PlayStation having a "big three" at that time of Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, and Ratchet and Clank. Unfortunately, of these three franchises, Jak and Daxter was the first to stop receiving new games, the last entry in the series being Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier in 2009 on PS2 and PSP, a title that was not developed by Naughty Dog. However, the three franchises did join together for PlayStation Move Heroes, a motion control game that plays unlike any of the original series.
In celebration of 20 years of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Naughty Dog has posted the original teaser, offering early glimpses of the game before its final release. The teaser is primarily a visual showcase of the beautiful environments that the then-more powerful PS2 was going to provide in 2001, Naughty Dog showing off Sandover Village, Forbidden Jungle, and Misty Island. Interestingly (and perhaps a bit confusingly), partway through the trailer is the caption "The Legacy Begins" followed by the date of "5-17-2001" which is obviously not the game's release date, but as Naughty Dog points out in the video's description, was the day it formally announced the game.
Before the trailer ends, fans actually get a lingering shot of Jak and Daxter themselves though it isn't their traditional appearances. Jak and Daxter jump into frame, and rather than being fully colored, everything except their eyes are blacked out, hiding their character designs. Also interesting is that the trailer doesn't ever drop the names Jak and Daxter or a title of any kind, besides the hint of the word "legacy" in the one caption. Naughty Dog was clearly doing everything in its power to build anticipation for what it was cooking up on the PS2 coming off of the original Crash Bandicoot PS1 games.
While it is a welcome sight to see Naughty Dog remember its history, fans should remember that Jak and Daxter has never been forgotten by the studio, even as recently as The Last of Us: Part 2. Throughout the Uncharted series, and both parts of The Last of Us, players can find Precursor Eggs from Jak and Daxter, them typically appearing as a "Strange Artifact" in these newer titles. Furthermore, Jak and Daxter appear in a clever easter egg in this year's Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, a touching reference to the original relationship of the two franchises during the PS2 days.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is available on PS2, PS3, and PS4.
