Monday, May 2, 2016

Death Battle Analysis: Jak and Daxter

Jak
Background
Originally an innocent young boy living in the village of Sandover village, Jak’s life changed forever when he embarked on a quest to cure his friend Daxter of a horrible body changing transformation and discovered a large ring like artifact known as the precursor ring. When examining the precursor ring Jak spontaneously activated it and set in motion a series of events that would only shape his future, but the future of his village as well. When the precursor ring activated, it created a portal that flung Jak and his friends in time 300 years, and placed them in a dystopian city called haven city. Upon jak’s arrival he was immediately captured by the city’s leader baron Praxis and was subjected to cruel super solider experiments for 2 years. After escaping Jak swore revenge upon the baron and during his ensuing quest got involved in larger events that helped determine the future of haven city, and eventually even the world itself.

 Due to Jak’s torture at the hands of the baron he developed a very angry and vengeful personality, although these traits have diminished somewhat as he has grown older and matured.

Armor
Armor of mar
A set of armor said to have belonged to an ancient hero known as mar. This acts as Jak’s standard armor in Jak 3 and consist of a set of gauntlets, leg armor, chest armor and shoulder armor.
It’s said to be made out of precursor metal. Because this is a fictional metal with no real world equivalent it may be difficult to gauge to durability of said armor based on name alone though. That being said precursor robots like these and these could presumably be made of the same material and tends to be able to stay intact under explosions around the size of small house with little issue.

Lost frontier armor
Jack could also find and equip various sets of armor sets in the lost frontier. These armor sets include the brick field jacket, the crash plate armor, the sky baron uniform, the precursor battle gear and finally the dark sages mail (this one can only be gained in a new game plus however). Gauging how much they increase his durability would be tricky unless you want to measure the increase in health in game as a percentage, though the precursor battle gear is probably made out of precursor metal so you could possibly compare it to my speculations about the armor of Mar.

Here’s an example of him picking up one of the armor sets: https://youtu.be/QUAw-xreCnI?t=547

Special abilities
Eco channeling
In the world of Jak and Daxter there’s a kind of mythical natural energy called eco, which the characters use to power machinery, amplify their weapons and to keep the balance of nature in order. Eco is generally found in airborne clusters, rock formations or liquid collections. Vents also commonly disperse it in each game. Some people like Jak can absorb, channel and utilize echo to perform super human feats or use various super powers.

There’s 6 different types of eco total, blue, red, yellow, green, dark and light.

Blue eco
Blue echo is described as containing the energy of motion. When Jak collected and channeled it in his original game it allowed him to run faster, break fragile objects just by standing near them and activate precursor tech by standing near it.

-It should be noted that Jak’s level one special attack in all stars is based on one of the uses of blue eco in the first game. He basically summons a jump pad of sorts below him(which would be activated by using blue eco in the first game) and flings himself into the air while doing an uppercut attack.

This is what it looked like in the original game: https://youtu.be/5lOKpWzgYeg?t=350

PlayStation all-stars version: https://youtu.be/VkVu9H659LI?t=54

Green eco
Green echo basically represents life energy. It’s typically used as fuel and has vast healing properties. Collecting green echo in pretty much every game results Jak having his wounds healed.

Red eco
Red echo appease to correlate to physical power and strength. Collecting it and channeling it in the first game gave Jak a temporary boost in physical strength, raising it to at least double his normal if not more (bone lurkers which normally take 2 hits, can be killed in one for example).

Red echo also seems to have fire like properties, and Jak could actually set flammable objects on fire when using it in the first game (https://youtu.be/-26Y-pfJlcQ?t=78)

Yellow eco
A yellow colored echo that seems to be correlated with energy projection and long range projectile attacks. When absorbed and channeled in the original game it gave Jak the ability to shoot yellow explosive projectiles for a short period of time.

You can see Jak using it here: https://youtu.be/01sVQHONFp0?t=44

Dark eco
Dark echo is dangerous and mutagenic. Those who come into contact with it over long periods of time typically transform into hulking monsters or die. Dark eco can be split into the 4 normal colored variants through the use of specific prism devices.

Light eco
Considered the opposite of Dark eco. It has healing properties like green eco and generally is used in more defensive manners than the other eco types. It’s created by combining the 4 colored variants of eco together.
Eco powers
Over the course of TLF Jak was infused with echo at various precursor idols and was given several different red, blue, yellow and green eco based powers. Most of these powers work on a “cool down” mechanic. Meaning there is NO LIMIT to how many times Jak can use these abilities, and he does not need to manually gather eco to gain access to them. However he can’t spam them excessively and will need to wait a few seconds to use them again if he pushes himself too far (it’s generally anywhere between a 2-10 seconds depending on the ability in game).

Eco amplifier
A red eco based ability that allows Jak to shoot out an orb of red eco energy that explodes when shot. The explosion from this attack is powerful enough to destroy large 2 story high boulders

-You can see Jak gaining the ability here

Eco construct
A green eco based ability that allows Jak to impale/encase enemies in spires of green eco energy. They can also be used to block attacks and could probably be used to surprise or stop advancement of opponents for a second or so. If used in places where dormant green eco crystals are laden, the ability can make large green eco columns grow from the ground, which are useful for platforming.

-You can see Jak getting it here

Some enemies can get there attacks stuck in these spires: https://youtu.be/AxrZJAOUe5w?t=176

Eco reflex
A blue eco based ability that seems to slow down time, allowing Jak to outmaneuver fast opponents or platform on fast moving objects. Conversely given this is a blue eco based ability IT IS COMONLY BELIVED JAK IS SPEEDING UP when using it, not necessarily that time itself is being altered. This makes sense given blue eco is the “energy of motion”, and tends to be correlated with speeding things up in most of the series.

-You can see Jak getting it here

-examples here https://youtu.be/670T5ywKud0?t=15 and https://youtu.be/670T5ywKud0?t=121 ) before and after using the eco reflex ability.

Eco rocket
A yellow eco based ability that gives Jak the ability to hover in the air with jets of yellow eco from his hands. He can also use the ability to give himself a slight vertical boost and can gain a lot of altitude if he uses it over vents of yellow echo.

You can see Jak using it here: https://youtu.be/QUAw-xreCnI?t=497

Eco shield
A green eco based shield ability that encases Jak in a shield of green eco energy that deflects melee and long ranged attacks (and Jak can also move and shoot weapons while it is in effect). It can also be used to cross over dangerous vats of liquid or ground laden debris.  Only lasts for a few seconds per activation and Jak’s ground traction is reduced when using it. Attacks weaken this shield and it will deactivate if it takes to much damage.

You can see Jak getting it here https://youtu.be/UMoRMvmDbSA?t=120

Jak can apparently use this ability on people other than himself and from a distance as well. For example he does this with Daxter here

Echo teleport
A blue eco based ability that allows Jak to teleport.  The catch is he can only teleport and switch places with specific “precursor idols” making it pretty useless in terms of conventional combat.

You can see Jak get this power here https://youtu.be/Dl_kdVa3VoM?t=415

Eco skills
During the events of TLF Jak’s friend Keira came into possession of a green eco prism. Using this prism to break down Dark Eco collected by Jak into the colored variants of eco and using her own developing powers as an eco-sage, she was able to grant Jak various eco based upgrades to his abilities in that adventure. All of the abilities granted to Jak this way are generally passive, and do not require him directly gathering eco or wait for a cooldown period to end. Some eco skills serve as upgrades to eco powers.

Red eco skills
Melee damage 1,2,3: Increases the damage of physical attacks. From a glance this has some similarities with how Jak could channel red eco in his first game, except here it’s permanent.

Infuse enemy 1,2: Allows Jak to infuse enemies with red echo, causing them to explode when they dies.

Amplifier efficiently: Reduces the amount of echo needed for each amplifier attack

Amplifier radiation: Causes the eco amplifier attack to release a cloud of damaging red eco after being set off.

Construct spike: Increase the damage done by the eco construct attack,

Yellow eco skills
Energy punch 1,2: Allows Jak to shoot out balls of yellow eco as a projectile with punching attacks. It’s pretty much the same ability he had when he directly absorbed yellow eco in the first game.

Energy dive: Allows Jak to release a blast of yellow eco energy upon diving a diving tackle attack (think of it like an explosive ground pound).

Aimed construct shards: Makes Jak’s construct eco power auto-target enemies.

Rocket jump knockback and explosion: The former skill causes enemies to be pushed back when activating the eco rocket ability. The later damages enemies in the launch zone of the move.

Energy uppercut: Pretty much the same thing as the energy punch, but releases during an uppercut instead.

Shield spikes: Ads spikes to the eco shield, allowing it to damage enemies it comes into contact with.

Blue eco skills
Spin diffuse: Allows Jak to diffuse projectiles that come near him with a spin kick attack.
-This is an important ability. I would look into it more in depth

Spin reflect: Allows Jak to reflect projectiles back at their owner with a spin kick attack. Creates kind of a blue electric energy around his feet when used. It should be noted Jak could hit back bombs and other more placid projectiles with normal attacks in older games as well.

Cheaper reflexes: Reduces the amount of eco needed to activate the eco reflex ability.

Eco power regen 1,2: Reduces the cooldown needed for all eco powers.

Increased shield time: Increase the amount of time eco shield can stay active in one sitti2ng

Increased reflex time: Increases duration of the eco reflex power.

Green eco skills
Health bonus 1,2,3,4: Increases the health bar of Jak

Health pack 2,3: increase how much Jak health from green eco health crates

Cheaper shields: Reduces eco needed for eco shields

Life Siphon: Causes Jak to absorb health from opponents he attacks physically.

Transformations
These transformations are not permanent. Jak pulls from an internal well of light and dark eco to use their abilities, and will transform back to normal when he runs out. It should be noted that being in the forms on their own doesn’t really sap eco energy as of the 3rd game (though using either forms special abilities ,as well as hitting enemies as Dark Jak will notably decrease it).

Dark Jak
After being infused with large amounts of a mutagenic substance known as dark eco in Jak 2, Jak gained the power to transform into a destructive and near invulnerable beast known as Dark Jak. While in this form Jak can focus the energy dark eco accumulated in his body and release it in the form of several special attacks. Melee attacks also seem to release some form of dark electric energy. Dark Jak cannot use normal weapons, and can be a bit uncontrollable mentally.

In times of danger or mental stress Jak has been known to transform into dark Jak involuntarily (this happens when Dax initially recuses Jak at the beginning of the second game, during the final boss of Jak 2 and a few other scripted scenes in the series).

Dark bomb
The dark bomb attacks create giant blast of dark energy that decimate all nearby enemies, but depletes Jak’s dark eco reserves and makes him revert back to his normal form.

You can see an example of Jak learning the move in Jak 2 here https://youtu.be/1au0aYr5mhA?t=549

You can see him using it here https://youtu.be/oaxZc_vcYZ8?t=590

Dark blast
A powerful burst attack where Jak discharges steams of Dark eco from his body to strike nearby opponents. Uses up all Dark echo in his systems and causes him to transform back to normal upon use.

You can see Jak gain and use the ability in Jak 2 here https://youtu.be/in9eSslLdrk?t=600

Dark strike
The dark strike attack shoots a projectile of dark energy at an enemy powerful enough to destroy armored vehicles. This attack drains a moderate amount of dark eco energy.

You can see him gain and use it here https://youtu.be/R-a-FwUwYdM?t=576

Dark giant
An ability that allows Jak to grow to twice his size, increasing the power and range of his attacks.

Invulnerability
An ability only given to Jak in Jak 2. It makes him invulnerable to damage as long as he maintains the Dark Jak transformation.

You can see him use it here https://youtu.be/fJsTd7qEMX4?t=677

Dark Invisibility
A dark eco ability that allows Jak to turn invisible. Can only be activated normally by touching an object called a dark idol. Because of this it isn’t very useful for conventional combat.

You can see Jak getting it here https://youtu.be/my77azgG-uo?t=301

You can see him suing it here https://youtu.be/my77azgG-uo?t=396

Light Jak
Contrasting greatly to the destructive powers of dark eco, light eco tends to focus on much more defensive and supportive abilities. While Jak has accessed the power of light eco through several different methods, his best known way for harnessing its power is through the light Jak transformation. Like the dark Jak transformation, the light Jak transformation needs to be induced by a large supply of light eco and Jak has accumulated during his travels. Once Jak’s accumulated light eco has been depleted, Jak will be unable access the transformation or its powers. Like the dark Jak transformation, light Jak can also be activated involuntarily in times of mental stress (he does so in this scene https://youtu.be/n9E_LYojrhY?t=300 ). Light Jak can in fact use weapons in this form.

Flash freeze
The flash freeze ability allows Jak to slow down time to a near standstill, allowing him to move around the environment and outmaneuver enemies with increased dexterity. It depletes half of his accumulated light eco though, so it can’t be spammed.

You can see him getting it here https://youtu.be/3FvdeF5-Qjc?t=514

Here’s a good example of him using it. He can get across this collapsing bridge while he’s still using it https://youtu.be/kfA0Yra_GKg?t=107

It should be noted weapons speed up to when this ability is in effect.

Light flight
The light Flight ability allows Jak to produce a pair of spectral wings behind his back that can be used for limited flight.

This ability doesn’t really deplete light eco to a noticeable extent.

You can see Jak getting it here https://youtu.be/kJgLDiada_0?t=365

Jak clearly uses it to get altitude in this scene of him pushing cyber Errol off a cliff

Light shield
The light shield ability produces a sphere of light energy around Jak, which protects him from all attacks.


Light regeneration
Finally the light regeneration technique allows Jak to use his accumulated light to heal his physical wounds.

You can see Jak getting it here https://youtu.be/my77azgG-uo?t=610

-It takes pretty much the entire light eco meter to heal Jak up from low levels of health.

PlayStation all-stars light Jak abilities
It should be noted that light Jak had a few additional abilities during his appearance in all stars. For one it is deliberately shown that he can fly freely. He also has two brand new abilities called light boost and light blast. Light boost is basically just a dashing maneuver he can use while flying and light blast is a light eco based explosive projectile attack.

You can see the all-stars version of light Jak here https://youtu.be/TcCl-n99dz0?t=16

-The light blast attack in all stars does have a basis in the actual Jak games. At the ending of the first game when Jak absorbed and channeled light eco, he did produce a light based explosive projectile as his finishing attack. You can see it here

Weapons
Morph gun
Jak’s most reliable and iconic weapon.

Like its name suggest the morph gun can morph into different forms capable of producing several different attacks based on the types of “mods” it has been equipped with. There are 4 different lines of modifications Jak can use for this gun, which each line running from different stockpiles of ammunition. These lines are blue, red, purple and yellow mods, which get their names from blue, red, purple and yellow echo respectively (they fuel the ammunition).

In general the red morph gun line of weapons focuses on powerful short ranged attacks and has a collective pool of 100 units of red eco ammo. The yellow and blue morph gun lines of weapons can both focuses on long range medium power shots and hold 200 units of blue and yellow eco respectively. Finally the dark morph gun weapons have devastating power, but have a very limited ammo cap of 15 shots.

Morph gun upgrades
--- It should be noted that you can buy several upgrades for Jak’s morph gun through the “secretes menu” in Jak 3. This was generally done by collecting precursor orbs in game and then spending them in said menu.

While you could get a few upgrades in Jak 2 through story mission, the bulk of Jak’s weapon upgrades exist in Jak 3 and where unlocked through this menu. Whether you consider being able to upgrade through this manner as “canon” or acceptable could alter the outcome of the fight. TO BE FAIR you cannot access most of the upgrades in Jak 3 until after completing specific story missions, and the secretes menu makes a clear distinction between what the game considers” cheats” and general upgrades(for example broken stuff like unlimited echo for light/dark Jak or invulnerability aren’t in the same section as weapon upgrades).


Regardless here’s some Notable upgrades if you want to go down that route.
Red ammo capacity: Increases Red ammo capacity to 150.

Blue ammo capacity: Increases blue ammo capacity to 300.

Purple ammo capacity: Increases purple ammo capacity to 20.

Yellow ammo capacity: Increases yellow ammo capacity to 300.

Plasmite rpg ammo efficiency: Plasmite Rpg weapon used 8 red ammo instead of 10, per shot.

Needle laser ammo efficiency: Reduces Needle ammo use uses 1.5 unit per shot.

Super nova ammo efficiency: Reduces Super nova ammo use to 8 ammo per shot.

-There’s also several upgrades that increase weapon damage, duration of certain attacks, radius of specific weapons, ect.

Red gun mods
Scatter gun
The scatter gun is the first weapon in the red morph gun line of weapons, and shoots out explosive short-range burst of red eco energy at enemies. The weapon is best used against slow moving or grouped enemies. This weapon takes up 1 shot of red eco ammo whenever it is fired.

Wave concussor
The wave concussor is the second weapon in the red morph gun weapons mode and creates a circular field of red eco energy around Jak when shot. The weapon is best used as a way knock back large groups of opponents and give Jak some space in a claustrophobic environment. This gun can also be charged, allowing Jak to make larger explosions that can topple bigger enemies. Each shot from this weapon can take up anywhere between 1-5 units of red eco ammo, depending on how long it has been charged.

Here’s an example of him using it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91xonZCNFaI

Plasmite RPG
The Plasmite RPG is the most powerful weapon in the red morph gun line of weapons, and specializes in shooting explosive grenades filled with red eco energy. Each grenade fired by this weapon can bounce several feet when they hit wall in order to get around corners or obstacles. This weapon needs to be used sparingly, as it normally takes up 10 units of red eco ammo each shot.

Here’s an example of him using it https://youtu.be/vPh024nsoSQ?t=38

Yellow gun mods
Blaster
The blaster is the first weapon is the first weapon in the yellow morph gun line of weapons, and is Jak’s Preferred weapon for most combat situations. Because of the weapons elongated barrel and laser sighting, it can instantly lock on to enemies’ dozens of feet away and take them out with single precise shots. Each shot of fired from this weapon consumes a single unit of yellow eco ammo.

Beam reflexor
The beam reflexor is the second weapon in the yellow morph gun line of weapons, and works similarly to the blaster gun, but with one major difference. Unlike the blaster gun all the shots fired by this weapon ricochet of the walls, allowing it to be incredibly deadly in an enclosed area. Like the Blaster this weapon uses one unit of yellow eco ammo when shoot, but unlike the blaster weapon it will also use an addition unit of yellow ammo each time it gets a successful hit on an enemy.

-Jak himself never seems to get hit by the reflections of these attacks, though that could just be a mechanic.

Here’s an example of him using it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-ZGEHTVspI

Gyro burster
The gyro burster is the final and most powerful weapon in the yellow morph gun line of weapons. Each time the weapon is fired it shoots a hovering disk drone into the air, which scans the immediate area and shoots dozens of bullets into the enemy. However this weapon uses up 50 units of yellow eco ammo, so it cannot be spammed over and over.

Blue gun mods
Vulcan fury
The Vulcan fury has similar targeting abilities and power as the blaster weapon, but has a significantly higher rate of fire. It is the first weapon in the blue morph gun line of weapons and uses one unit of blue eco energy with every shot

Arch wielder
The arch wielder is the second weapon in the blue morph gun line of weapons and shoots a large stream of electric energy at an enemy. The steam automatically locks on to an enemy in range and is best used as a crowed clearing weapon. The weapon chews through units of blue eco ammo fairly fast, using more than 1 unit per second.

Needle laser
The needle laser is the most powerful blue morph gun weapon and shoots 3 bullets of blue eco energy at the enemy with every shot. Each shot homes into nearby enemies, and can curve in a circular fashion to reach its target. The weapon eats ammo faster than any other weapon jack owns, consuming at least 2 units of blue eco ammo per second.

Here’s an example of him using it https://youtu.be/w3Oa_Rz3Rxk?t=34

This weapon eats through ammo like fuck. The above video has infinite ammo, but it still runs through over 50 ammo in seconds.

Dark gun mods
Peace maker
The peace maker is powered by dark eco, and therefore is one of the most destructive weapons that Jak can wield. Each shot creates a ball of electrically charged dark eco that homes in on enemies and typically kills them in one hit. The peace maker is one of Jak’s last resort weapons and uses up 1 unit of dark ammo.

A Blast from a peacemaker can destroy a large water tank about the size of a small bedroom. https://youtu.be/iRvFZd8gBuc?t=61

Mass inverter
The mass inverter is the second weapon in the dark morph gun series and creates an anti-gravity field around Jak. All enemies caught in this field will float helplessly and are completely open to Jak’s attacks. The mass inverter uses 1 unit of dark energy each time it is shot.

You can see an example of him using it here https://youtu.be/w3Oa_Rz3Rxk?t=90

Super nova
The super nova is easily Jak’s most powerful weapon and is his last resort when the tables are turned against him. The super nova shoots a miniature nuclear warhead that instantly incinerates all enemies within the immediate area and obliterates all surrounding obstacles.

-This uses a lot of ammo. Like you can only use it 1-3 depending on upgrades and if you don’t decide to use other dark mod weapons.


Gunstaff
The Gunstaff was originally invented by Keira to act as a reliable close combat weapon for Jak to use in TLF. It has several gun attachments/upgrades, including its own version of the blaster gun, the scatter gun, and the Vulcan fury. The gunstaff also has its own unique weapon called the lobber. Which is pretty much a green eco based grenade launcher.

-Given it’s a different weapon than the morph gun, the ammo cache could probably be considered separate. It also has various upgrades for rate of fire, damage ect as well. Though it’s difficult for me to look that up all the specifics myself, so you may have to look into it on your own.

-The shots from the gunstaffs version of Vulcan fury can ricochet of walls.

Equipment
Jet board
The jet board is a retractable hover disk given to Jak by his friend Keira in the game Jak 2. The board allows Jak to travel faster than his normal running speed, over bodies of liquid and grind on rails to reach out of the way areas. In playstation all-stars he also uses it for a mid-air dashing attack.

You can see him riding it here https://youtu.be/QFruslTZnq0?t=980

Feats
Strength
Could kill large snake monsters with a single spin kick in the original games https://youtu.be/xqvl44OvpM8?t=86

Could kill a giant dark eco infused plant monster in the first game with physical attacks https://youtu.be/xqvl44OvpM8?t=792

Kicks his way through a large pillar of bone on misty island in the first game. https://youtu.be/rLCa1SAs6Xw?t=200

Easily kills tons of lurkers in single hits in the first game (they are slightly larger than an average human) https://youtu.be/rLCa1SAs6Xw?t=221

Could take down the several story high boss monster klaw with some yellow echo projectiles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6lBmY5f5R8

Uses several echo types, including white eco to destroy Gol and Mia’s precursor robot at the end of the first game https://youtu.be/k2e2dZq6FwE?t=43  This single light echo blast at the end was what particularly totaled the machine.

Easily broke through tight metal restraints as dark Jak at the beginning of Jak 2 https://youtu.be/UdE9JaIIzk0?t=256

Can easily kill crimson guards in Jak with physical attacks. Note they seem to be fairly well armored. https://youtu.be/UdE9JaIIzk0?t=371

Uses his dark Jak strength to get out of a bunch of rubble, after being buried by the final boss of Jak 2 https://youtu.be/VvCDE63O8ls?t=671

Pushes over a large stone pillar about 2-3 stories high with a little help from Daxter in TLF. This could easily be a few tons based on appearance https://youtu.be/bTwVcfR5HVs?t=347  and https://youtu.be/uTqAp5QydV4?t=204

Jak’s weapons seem to be effective against at least light energy shielding used by dark maker troopers https://youtu.be/XYyrrR-hvMI?t=233

Can break out of the grip of this status crushing mutant, with a bit of help from Daxter https://youtu.be/vXsXRcq0VaM

Speed/agility
Can easily doge tons of projectiles, enemies, and attacks from the first games final boss https://youtu.be/k2e2dZq6FwE?t=73

Avoids gun shots from a grating below himself, by crimson guards in Jak 2 https://youtu.be/UdE9JaIIzk0?t=441 

Gets flung several hundred feet into the air, but lands smoothly and balances/grinds down a narrow rail after stealing the barrens banner in Jak 2 https://youtu.be/6RmsZ9vq-fM?t=455

Avoids the gunfire of a large tank while avoiding tripping off laser turrets during a chase scene in Jak 2  https://youtu.be/1au0aYr5mhA?t=716

Manages to hover board around a mining facility and distribute several bombs into silos within a few minutes after they’ve been activated https://youtu.be/tVTYepxArys?t=80

Avoids various projectile and melee attacks from the Jak 3 first boss https://youtu.be/JbWTGrAk_4A?t=204

Drives a hovercraft while avoiding rocket launchers https://youtu.be/RloeT-oRcMU?t=114

Outdrives and out weapons various drivers in Jak X https://youtu.be/wYNf4pa9uo8?t=87

Jak is shown to have some decent boxing skills when fighting captain phoenix in TLF https://youtu.be/bTwVcfR5HVs?t=169

This boss in lf does a good job at showing Jak’s abilities to outrun projectiles and physical attacks https://youtu.be/AxrZJAOUe5w?t=86

Fights off various kg robots while avowing bombs and long range attacks from the boss cyber erol https://youtu.be/XYyrrR-hvMI?t=31

Jak is fairly acrobatic, having very heavy emphasis of platforming and avoiding obstacles in his games. You’ll also probably notice he can swing and pole vault around poles pretty easily in most of his games.

Endurance
Survives a small explosion in his face from precursor tech he was holding at the beginning of the first game https://youtu.be/n9Tf2G5TX0k?t=203

Can survive a fall from several dozen stories high with no strain, when using Blue eco and a jump pad https://youtu.be/k2e2dZq6FwE?t=53

Gets violently blasted out a window by an explosion during a mission in Jak 2 https://youtu.be/1au0aYr5mhA?t=922

He survived being thrown into the wasteland (basically a desert) at the start of Jak 3. Albeit he would have died eventually if the ruler of spargus hadn’t found him https://youtu.be/5f4d4C3Pc38?t=113

He survived a plane crash with the cockpit getting more or less directly hit, after being shot down early in TLF https://youtu.be/8n5PDqTRElI?t=507   

Survived being near the explosion of the Jak 3 final boss https://youtu.be/dgBt62H4wYU?t=445 

Can get flung from a catapult, several stories into the air in TLF https://youtu.be/Nxpka4_09cg?t=244

Training/Experience
Got some light warm up “training” at geyser rock in Jak and Daxter (it was basically a tutorial level) https://youtu.be/n9Tf2G5TX0k?t=374

Completed the red mod gun course in Jak 2. Was impressive enough for Krew to hire him for some jobs https://youtu.be/lAWovvoDvys?t=297

Completed the yellow mod course in Jak 2 https://youtu.be/QFruslTZnq0?t=553

Searches out and defeats cloaked/invisible metal head enemies in a level of Jak 2 https://youtu.be/nUPqgFvqJRw?t=109

Completed the precursor tests of manhood in Jak 2. This area had various puzzles and platforming challenges https://youtu.be/xzdhwmrQ-2o?t=674

Beat yellow gun course in Jak 3 https://youtu.be/DmLfm70ik8Y?t=469

Beat the red mod 2 gun course in Jak 3 https://youtu.be/hEC5lLAeFqU?t=790

Finished the gun staff blaster mod course in TLF https://youtu.be/6A7a7f8a7B4?t=495

A more mobile platforming-ish training course in TLF https://youtu.be/oj9XPFFDru8?t=84
Performs an assault on a kg base https://youtu.be/RLcP3iidaaw?t=91

Could beat ur 86 in races in Jak X. He’s pretty much a super robot designed for the specific purpose of racing https://youtu.be/c3T9WeLbBX0?t=1205

Regularly gets into sky dog fights in TLF https://youtu.be/6A7a7f8a7B4?t=86 https://youtu.be/8n5PDqTRElI?t=152

Was instrumental in turning the tide against the metal heads, kg forces and repelling the dark makers over the course of Jak 2-3. Prevented Maia and Gol from destroying the world with eco in the first game and managed to outdrive dozens of competitors during the kras city championship including the legendary driver Mizo in Jak X. Finally restored balance to the world eco by helping repair the eco core in TLF.

Despite his attitude, a lot of the Jak games have extensive puzzling in them, requiring some critical thinking. Most of his bosses are not straight forward either. Jak normally needs to use the environment to his advantage, seek out weak spots or turn his opponent’s attacks against them.

He has a fair amount of experience with piloting airships, hover bikes/crafts and the such.  He’s won several racing competitions in the main game for example, and Jak X. TLF had extensive airship use, and Jak’s gotten involved in aerial assaults on huge bases or gunships more than once.

Daxter
Background
A wise cracking otsel that follows Jak on all his adventures. According to the 3rd games the reason why he’s an otsel, is because all eco contains the precursor genetic code, and he just happened to get  mutated based on that when he fell into it in the first game(the precursors are otsels) https://youtu.be/lQvAcog9CbU?t=1359

Weapons
Electric bug swatter
An electrified fly swatter given to Daxter by osmo at the beginning of the game Daxter. It’s useful for melee attacks, though it’s fairly small for a weapon even given Dax’s size.

Spray gun
Basically a supped up extermination gassing machine meant to kill smaller metal head “bugs”. It shoots out a spray of green eco gas that stuns/damages opponents.

-You can see Dax get it here https://youtu.be/ioZtcWMLGAo?t=269

The weapon has several upgrades, the pressure boost, the flamethrower and the ultrasonic attachment. The pressure boost increases the power behind the released gas, allowing Dax to aim the gun downwards and use it as a makeshift jetpack of sorts. The flamethrower mod adds a lighter to the gun which can light the guns gas on fire to make a makeshift flamethrower. Dax can also hover higher if he uses this mod when hover crafting https://youtu.be/6zk3CfUSi_8?t=740

Finally the ultrasonic attachment allows the gun to fire explosive blue spheres of energy, which can break down 1-2 story high walls. https://youtu.be/Wsh6lK-vUbI?t=180
This weapon runs on an ammo meter, and Dax needs to manually find green eco in the field to refuel it.

-It should probably be mentioned ammo runs out pretty quickly when you use the flamethrower or ultrasonic mod. For example https://youtu.be/6zk3CfUSi_8?t=507 (the ultrasonic mod last an even shorter amount of time).

Transformations
Dark Daxter
A dark eco based hulking transformation that Daxter took on in TLF. He initially transformed only after coming into contact with large quantities of liquid Dark eco . However after the initial few transformation he internalized the form and gained the ability to use it in times of anger or stress. It generally lasts for a few minutes at a time. Daxter becomes SIGNIFICALTY more blood lusted/cocky while in it, though he retains his intelligence to a much higher degree than that of Dark Jak.

In this form Dax size increase immensely(According to Dax he’s about 15 feet tall https://youtu.be/KJVXPFnRCpE?t=176 )He can throw giant balls of dark eco with a move called Dark eco bolt, can perform a ground pound attack and can easily pick opponents around his own size and throw them.

By collecting and expending dark eco he can also go into a mode called “frenzy”, which is basically a spinning tornado maneuver similar to Taz from Loony toons.  While in this mode he moves faster,and can endure most projectiles/physical attacks. Given he needs to collect dark eco to power this mode and the fact the mode eats through it very quickly, it’s benefits are pretty short lived.

-If Dax’s moves over a source of fire while in frenzy, he’ll become a fire like tornado

Feats
Strength
Daxter can actually attack and knock away enemies his own size pretty easily. https://youtu.be/T-CVErTY85E?t=253

Can kill meatheads slightly larger than him in one hit in Jak 3 https://youtu.be/iQDTkQuzrzk?t=571

Dark Dax can easily smash through large metal barriers around 1-2 stories high https://youtu.be/oj9XPFFDru8?t=319

Easily breaks through a metallic holding cell as dark Dax https://youtu.be/M_cfs3eP-gY?t=67
Manages to hold onto a missile while sabotaging and redirecting it https://youtu.be/DeUujnuwjQE?t=145

He can kill some fairly large metal head bugs with that flyswatter in Daxter https://youtu.be/CzGEBOiK-wY?t=694  and https://youtu.be/TE5q7B7CzJA?t=792

Hurt this 1 story tall boss mainly with physical attacks, albeit by attacking a weak point https://youtu.be/ODp-C7N4htg?t=859    

Speed/agility
Out runs various obstacles including boulders, a giant spider, ect https://youtu.be/T-CVErTY85E?t=207

Can actually climb up trees and around obstacles with a bit of dexterity (kind of like a squirrel) https://youtu.be/iQDTkQuzrzk?t=540


Climbing up a vertical pipe with relative ease https://youtu.be/RLcP3iidaaw?t=393

Can aim and use a turret in TLF https://youtu.be/bTwVcfR5HVs?t=96

Can easily climb up grated surfaces https://youtu.be/CzGEBOiK-wY?t=700

Can wall jump to an extent https://youtu.be/2kcS0nGQ7VQ?t=770

Jumps across moving trains https://youtu.be/ODp-C7N4htg?t=224

Endurance


Gets flung several hundred feet into the air, lands on his cotch on a wire. Is flung upwards again and lands with no protection https://youtu.be/UdE9JaIIzk0?t=951

Gets sucked into a water valve and violently squeezed through a large water system https://youtu.be/1au0aYr5mhA?t=466

Gets violently blasted out a window by an explosion and has Jak land on him https://youtu.be/1au0aYr5mhA?t=922

Dark Dax can get caught between these hydraulic presses and be fine https://youtu.be/oj9XPFFDru8?t=365

Can be shot out of a ship like a cannon onto another ship and through its metal hauling with no damage. Also can sabotage enemy hardware this way https://youtu.be/8n5PDqTRElI?t=208     
Gets smashed between two presses in Daxter https://youtu.be/6zk3CfUSi_8?t=134

Training/Experience

Won the second race in the NYFE race in Jak 2 https://youtu.be/tITrksBIKf4?t=256

He can still do puzzles and strategize as dark Dax https://youtu.be/oj9XPFFDru8?t=425

It’s worth pointing out that Daxter can hold and use any weapons in Jak’s possession in the 2nd and 3rd game. He typically does this when you’re riding on a hovercraft or hoverbike around the city (if you zoom in you’ll notice he holds the gun to focus on shooting while Jak focuses on driving).

Worked for osmo’s metal bug Extermination Company in Daxter.

Defeated these bosses on his own in Daxter https://youtu.be/Wsh6lK-vUbI?t=821 and https://youtu.be/qHPNKrzYVz0?t=1952

Despite taking 2 years, he did eventually rescue Jak after he was captured n Jak 2. He also took down Kaeden, the leader of the metal bug forces.
Summary

Advantages
  • Light Jak’s abilities to fly does gives him some extra mobility and air superiority.
  • Jak has several shields at his disposal to block devastating attacks and Dark Jak is invincible
  • Super nova weapon is pretty overpowered
  • Can diffuse and reflect some projectile attacks with spin kicks.
  • Can sap health from enemies with physical attacks. Also has light regeneration for healing.
  • Jak is clearly at least moderately superhuman. He probably has around a few tons in strength, is acrobatic enough to avoid gun-fire and physical attacks from giant monsters on more than one occasion. Finally has survived ship crashes and explosions that would normally injure normal humans.
  • Dax is fairly strong for someone his size. He’s also fairly agile, being able to climb up objects in a manner almost similar to a squirrel.
  • Dark Dax is a fairly large power upgrade for Daxter, and doesn’t hamper his intelligence.
  • The speed afforded by light freeze and eco reflex would allow Jak to more easily avoid attacks and counter. Eco reflex potentially speeding Jak up rather than altering time would also be useful against opponents who have protection against time hax.

Disadvantages
  • Jak has terrible ammo and eco power efficiency.  Some of the higher tiers of gun mods can barely even be used thrice in a row or for more than 10 seconds at once. Since a lot of the weapon mods share ammo as well, you also can’t go crazy with one, without potentially impacting your abilities to use others to their full capacity. Most of Jak’s Dark abilities tap out his dark eco reserves completely and even most of his light Eco abilities can only be used in limited amounts or for short periods of time(Light freeze for example can only really be used twice).
  •  Likewise while eco skills are passive, eco powers mostly work on a cooldown mechanic. Granted while using some of those powers repeatedly without rest isn’t that difficult with upgrades, needing to worry about over indulging in a skill and balancing out the use of your abilities isn’t great for a fight.
  • Some of Jak’s abilities are situational (can only be used in specific places).
  • Jak seems to have learned the majority of his skills on the job. There’s very little evidence he’s gotten formal training in marksmanship, fighting, ect
  • Daxter’s arsenal is a bit lacking. Seriously an electric bug swatter isn’t all that impressive. Granted the flamethrower and ultrasonic mods on the sprayer are more impressive, but the ammo efficiency is SOOOOO BAD they really couldn’t last him more than a few seconds in a fight.
  • Dark Dax’s frenzy mode also can’t really last more than a few seconds without a constant source of Dark Eco.
  • Daxter is honestly a bit of an idiot. Don’t get me wrong he can step up when he needs to, but he’s much more content to allow Jak to do the majority of the work.


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