The 3D platformer genre was at one time as big as the first-person genre is today. There were countless games in the genre all trying to be the next Super Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. Most were centered around exploring a 3-dimensional world while collecting various trinkets all with a story that would feel right at home on a Saturday morning cartoon. While the genre is essentially dead at this point, there are still some games being released that follow the structure set in fifth and sixth generations with games like A Hat in Time and Yooka-Laylee.
The Playstation 2 was home to some of the best 3D platformers with Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, and Jak and Daxter releasing entire trilogies on the platform. Jak and Daxter came from the same team that developed the awesome Crash Bandicoot series on the Playstation 1 - Naughty Dog. Rather than continuing the Crash Bandicoot series, they decided to sell off the rights to the series and start a new independent project. The Jak and Daxter games take on a somewhat darker tone than the Crash Bandicoot games, especially later in the series.
Though we haven’t seen an entry from the series in over 10 years now, and Naughty Dog seems much more interested in making gripping dramas about zombies than going back to the world of Eco, the Jak and Daxter trilogy still stand as some of the best 3D platformers ever made. To throw some much-needed attention on series here is every game in the series ranked, worst to best based on their Metacritic score.
6 Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (Metascore 72)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is the sixth and final game in the Jak and Daxter series to be released. It was released for both the Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable in 2009 and is the only game in the series that was not to be developed by Naughty Dog, instead, it was developed by High Impact Games. It is also the only entry in the series that let you play as both Jak and Daxter in the same game.
The gameplay in Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is similar to the gameplay found in both Jak II and Jak 3. New to the game is flying - you can upgrade and customize your plane to better perform in missions.
5 Jak X: Combat Racing (Metascore 76)
At its core, the Jak and Daxter series is a mascot platformer and what mascot platformer is complete without its own cart racer. Unlike previous entries in the series, Jak X: Combat Racing focuses solely on arcade racing rather than platforming. The game is similar to the dune buggy sections that would occur in Jak 3 but in Jak X: Combat Racing you are competing in races rather than completing time-sensitive objectives. The game plays similarly to Nintendo’s Mario Kart series - there are fast-paced races with numerous pick-ups on the way that you can use to either help you or hinder other drivers. You can also customize and your dune buggy and upgrade it to perform better.
4 Jak 3 (Metascore 84)
In Jak 3, you are given light eco powers on top of the dark eco powers you had in previous games. These powers can be used to slow down time which is used in some of the game’s puzzles. There is also a large focus on arena fighting within the game. You are put in an arena with waves of enemies coming at you while the arena shifts to create obstacles you must fight around such as lava.
Like the previous game, Jak 3 offers a large open city to explore and find different collectibles in. There are also dune buggy sections where you must complete time-sensitive objectives in a large open desert located just outside of the city.
3 Daxter (Metascore 85)
Rather than starring the series’ typical character, Jak, Daxter stars, well, Daxter. Daxter takes place between Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy and Jak II and centers around Daxter’s time as a bug exterminator. Throughout the game, you unlock dream sequences, each being a mini-game that mocks a famous movie including The Matrix, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings, and Indiana Jones. Rather than focusing on gunplay like in Jak II and Jak 3, Daxter’s gameplay focuses more on melee combat similar to the first game in the series. You also have access to an extermination tank that will stun enemies when sprayed which will get a few upgrades throughout the game that allow Daxter to use it as a jet pack, flamethrower, or an ultrasonic attachment that shoots projectiles.
2 Jak II (Metascore 87)
Jak II was a distract departure from the first game in the series. While the first game was a straight 3D platformer with some beat em’ up elements, Jak II is an open-world action platformer that focuses heavily on guns. Rather than acquiring new guns, you gain different attachments to one single gun that can turn it into a shot-gun, machine-gun, rifle, and more.
Jak II adopts the Grand Theft Auto style by allowing players to steal cars from pedestrians within the city you are free to explore. It is also the first game in the series that Jak speaks as opposed to the first game where he is mute.
1 Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Metascore 90)
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is the first game and an early game for the Playstation 2. At the beginning of the game, Daxter, a human at the time, falls into dark eco and is transformed into an ottsel which is a combination of an otter and a weasel. The main objective of the game is to find Gol Acheron, a dark sage who can reverse Daxter’s transformation.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is level-based and plays like a collect-a-thon that you would find on the Nintendo 64 like Conkers Bad Fur Day, Banjo Kazooie, or Super Mario 64. There are Precursor orbs and scout flies hidden throughout each level to collect.
NEXT: 10 Awesome 3D Platformers To Play On The Switch If You Loved Mario Odyssey
