Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy cover

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Critic score1 critic
First release
Dec 03, 2001
Developer
Naughty Dog
Engine
GOAL
Genres
Adventure, Platform, Racing · Open world, Action, Science fiction, Comedy

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a 2001 platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 2 on December 4, 2001, as the first game of the Jak and Daxter series. The game follows the protagonist, a young teenager named Jak, as he tries to help his friend Daxter after he is transformed into an "ottsel", a fictional hybrid of an otter and a weasel. The game offers a large range of missions, collectables and objectives, often in the form of minigames, which provide a variety of gameplay experiences, as well as puzzles and platforming stages, which are completed by the player to proceed with the story.

Also known as Jak1, Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak and Daxter: El legado de los Precursores, J&D

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
The opening sequence of the game features Jak and Daxter in a speedboat headed for Misty Island, an area prohibited by their watch over Samos. Upon arriving to the island, Daxter had second thoughts about straying from the village. The two perch on a large skeleton to observe a legion of lurkers crowded around two dark figures, Gol and Maia, who were commanding the lurkers to "deal harshly with anyone who strays from the village," and to search for any precursor artifacts and eco near Sandover Village.[4] After the secret observation, Jak and Daxter continue searching the island. Daxter trips on a dark eco canister which he tosses to Jak after expressing his dislike for the item, and as Jak caught the object it lit up. Shortly afterwards a bone armor lurker suddenly confronted the two, where Jak threw the dark eco canister at the lurker, killing it, but inadvertently knocked Daxter into a dark eco silo behind him. When Daxter reemerged, he was in the form of an ottsel, and upon realizing the transformation he began to panic.Read more

The opening sequence of the game features Jak and Daxter in a speedboat headed for Misty Island, an area prohibited by their watch over Samos. Upon arriving to the island, Daxter had second thoughts about straying from the village. The two perch on a large skeleton to observe a legion of lurkers crowded around two dark figures, Gol and Maia, who were commanding the lurkers to "deal harshly with anyone who strays from the village," and to search for any precursor artifacts and eco near Sandover Village.[4] After the secret observation, Jak and Daxter continue searching the island. Daxter trips on a dark eco canister which he tosses to Jak after expressing his dislike for the item, and as Jak caught the object it lit up. Shortly afterwards a bone armor lurker suddenly confronted the two, where Jak threw the dark eco canister at the lurker, killing it, but inadvertently knocked Daxter into a dark eco silo behind him. When Daxter reemerged, he was in the form of an ottsel, and upon realizing the transformation he began to panic.

Release dates
PlayStation 2
Dec 03, 2001
PlayStation 2
Dec 07, 2001
PlayStation 4
Nov 28, 2017
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
9h
Main + Extras
11h
Completionist
9h
Game modes
Single player
Perspective
Third person
Keywords
exploration, mascot, shark, frog, backtracking
… All 55, artificial intelligence, snow, teleportation, silent protagonist, climbing, swimming, day/night cycle, playstation network, boss fight, single-player only, anthropomorphism, platform exclusive, playstation trophies, 60 fps on consoles, world map, voice acting, protagonist's name in the title, language selection, polygonal 3d, breaking the fourth wall, cameo appearance, collectibles, descendants of other characters, save point, ice stage, checkpoints, auto-saving, useable vehicles, coming of age, moving platforms, destructible environment, temporary invincibility, vore, spiky-haired protagonist, ancient advanced civilization technology, time paradox, superpowers, combat-based platformer, invented language, trilogy, running gag, running towards the screen, dynamic difficulty, big head mode, greatest hits, comic relief, damage over time, ps2 classics, game developers choice awards 2002, male protagonist

At a Glance

Critic Score
90
Main Story (IGDB)
9h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
11h
Completionist (IGDB)
9h

How it plays

Languages

  • Englishinterface, audio
  • Deutschinterface, audio
IGDB · recorded 21 Oct 2026
Also in 4 other languages

Language data: IGDB · recorded 21 Oct 2026