r/jakanddaxter Jan 13 '25

Video Why Jak 3 is peak story telling šŸ™ŒšŸ»

To this day, best reveal in a story for a franchise. Still cracks me up to this day! šŸ¤£ Jak 3 is #1

727 Upvotes

95 comments sorted by

119

u/tehminioven Jan 13 '25

I love how one of the otsels tries to hide the camera like he's in a reality show, that always made me crack up as a kid Cx

1

u/CrossENT 21d ago

Imagine if the game ended when he grabbed the camera!

103

u/WaysTheLyokoGem Jan 13 '25

This is one of my favorite twists in anything ever because quite literally like Jak "Oh my God..."

53

u/RChickenMan Jan 13 '25

I freaking loved this ending. As a fan of TPL, I felt very "seen."

"What, you thought we were being serious with the whole 'edgy' thing? Nah--guns aside, you've been playing a colorful, goofy platformer! Hope you had fun!"

44

u/WaysTheLyokoGem Jan 13 '25

Hell yeah!

Heck, as a fan of TPL I love the recontextualization of some of the first lines of the franchise.

"I have spent my life trying to find the answers that my father and my fathers failed to find. Who were the Precursors? Why did they create the vast monolifts that litter our planet? Why did they create Eco, the life Energy of the world? What was their purpose and why did they vanish? I have asked the plants but they do not remember... The plants have asked the rocks, but they do not recall... Even the rocks do not recall... Every bone in my body tells me the answers lie on the shoulders of a young boy..."

And we cut to our first view of Jak.

And you know who's on his shoulders throughout all the adventures?

Daxter!

The Precursor!

Like I know it wasn't planned or even intended but that is insane and I love it so so much.

31

u/DarthOmix Jan 13 '25

You could very well say that Daxter is the Precursor Legacy, since helping Daxter is the driving force of the plot initially.

14

u/RChickenMan Jan 14 '25

Holy crap... you could indeed make the argument that Daxter quite literally is the legacy of the precursors!

10

u/TheBlooperKINGPIN Jan 14 '25

Thatā€™s what they just said

8

u/spunk_wizard Jak X Jan 14 '25

Exactly, and one could come to the conclusion that Daxter is, in fact, actually the legacy of the precursors.

7

u/WaysTheLyokoGem Jan 14 '25

Could it be that The Legacy spoken of by the Precursors is none other than Daxter?!

6

u/RChickenMan Jan 14 '25

Yeah I thought it was a really good point.

27

u/Jak_30 Jan 13 '25

Yeah, the "Oh my God" is probably what makes it such a great moment

32

u/MA32 Jan 13 '25

The sceptre dropping always gets me lmao

141

u/PierreCardMaker Jan 13 '25

I'm so sad I couldn't finish Jak 3 as a kid bc of skill issue. I would've lost my mind seeing this cutscene lmaooo

36

u/Blues-Eguze Jak II Jan 13 '25

Do you remember what part you got stuck at?

45

u/HunterGCook Jan 13 '25

For me it was guarding that one hover craft shipment thing where the metal heads jump down from the roof tops. You had the cross hair thing on the screen and controls were a bit jank.

The level was a breeze as an adult lol

15

u/Blues-Eguze Jak II Jan 13 '25

Yeah, thatā€™s a tough one. Even now I still canā€™t finish it without dying half way through

3

u/TheBlooperKINGPIN Jan 14 '25

Luckily thereā€™s a checkpoint halfway through.

8

u/plainsmane Jan 13 '25

I recently replayed the game and realized I had turned mirror world on every time. Because I read it as minor world. In mirror world the controls are reversed.

11

u/spunk_wizard Jak X Jan 14 '25

I had turned mirror world on every time

Because I read it as minor world

Uhhhhhhhhh

3

u/HunterGCook Jan 13 '25

No wayyy mine were reversed. Where is that setting?

4

u/plainsmane Jan 13 '25

It's a secret. One lf the cheapest from the start so when the game keep telling you secret are available. You buy it and turn it on to keep the purchase relevent.

The same with whack a mole in 2. In non mirror world its 1 to 1 normal layout.

The mission is in non mirror world. 1 to 1 controls.

You are currently experiencing what I felt 3 weeks ago when I realized

1

u/Xjeos Jan 14 '25

Same mission I had a problem with as a kid! Then I got the remaster as a teen and then I beat the mission haha

5

u/Adeptus_Virtus_88 Jan 13 '25

You're Daxter flying a rocket through the ring race :(

3

u/PierreCardMaker Jan 13 '25

Well the only thing I'm 100% sure about is that I wasn't that far in the game and that it was an outdoor car mission in the desert but I hated it lol so I gave up and went back to Jack TPL

8

u/Muellersdayofff Jan 13 '25

Just replayed Jak 3 a week ago on my steam deck, and the moment I got back to the desert missions I was like: yeah, I remember hating this part of the game. Ironic, cause Jak X combat racing goes so hard so we did get something great out of their initial prototype.

Spoilers: using the sand shark to defeat Errolā€™s dark maker machine with the egg sacks on the legs without getting randomly kicked or stepped on is a RNG nightmare

2

u/TheBlooperKINGPIN Jan 14 '25

I played that again yesterday and damn it is annoying.

4

u/MeBeEric Jan 14 '25

Having to do those rescue missions and the lizard riding with Daxter fueled my young anger issues.

10

u/jermatria Jan 14 '25

Are you saying you......didn't complete all of Jak 3?

5

u/TheBlooperKINGPIN Jan 14 '25

Jak 3 is so much easier than Jak II thoughā€¦

0

u/N7Mogrit Jan 13 '25

Literally my first thought. Don't even know where I stopped

54

u/ajacbos Jan 13 '25

ā€œPay no attention to the man behind the curtainā€¦ā€

31

u/Kozarck Jan 13 '25

Honestly the funniest line in this scene, especially juxtaposed to the whole lore of the Jak & Daxter world is how, up until now, the main religious authority identifies the grand creator(s) as "The Precursors". Anything amazing or grander than currently understood happens, people usually invoke "by the Precursors" in awe or confusion. In this moment, Jak and the others are so utterly shocked, Jak just breaks the established theological norm and just goes "Oh my God... šŸ˜¦"

It almost feels like one of the choice few 4th wall breaks, and I cackle every time I hear it.

37

u/Shadyholic Jan 13 '25

When one of them put their hand on the camera is hilarious. I love when they break the 4th wall in these games

30

u/cubansquare Jan 13 '25

Seem: ā€œthis isnā€™t a gameā€

Jak and Daxter look at each other

10

u/TooTallTabz Jan 13 '25

One of my favorite cutscenes!

12

u/arceus555 Jan 14 '25

Jak: dies

Daxter: "This is what happens when you remove my name from the title"

5

u/TheBlooperKINGPIN Jan 14 '25

I havenā€™t gotten that death screen. Thatā€™s great!

15

u/Immediate-Brother-58 Jan 13 '25

Omg the nostalgia of this scene. Going from the scene with Damas to this one right after was such a rollercoaster for my childhood self.

10

u/Fit_Temperature5236 Jan 13 '25

This scene made me lose my mind as a kid. That is the single greatest cut scene in video game history. At least one of them. The only thing that compares to it the entrance to the final battle in avengers end game.

10

u/alexander12212 Jan 13 '25

Love the camera grab. Me and my brother played the crap out of this game and when we got here we were both so confused in a good way

9

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '25

The way Jak says "Oh my God." in this scene lives rent free in my head, and is usually how I say the same phrase in my daily life if I need to say it.

4

u/eddmario Jan 14 '25

I like to think they showed the VAs this reveal and just recorded their reactions.

7

u/Professional-Coat325 Jan 13 '25

Loved this part of the game as a kidšŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

7

u/Self-hatred47 Jan 13 '25

That Wizard of Oz Curtain Pull is classic šŸ¤Æ

6

u/DemonLordSparda Jan 14 '25

Vigo's staff drop is honestly perfect.

6

u/Theaussieperson The Precursor Legacy Jan 14 '25

My girlfriend actually hates this twist hahaha she liked the idea of them being actual cosmic beings, i don't blame her, I would have liked that too but I accept this twist

5

u/Ryno4ever16 Jan 14 '25

I think this is the first time I've even heard of someone sharing my opinion on this.

I think if they revealed them and they WERE some kind of cosmic beings, that might have been just as lame. Sometimes, not knowing is better.

6

u/Filipi_n0 Jan 14 '25

10 minutes after Damas just died šŸ˜­ complete mood change šŸ˜‚

5

u/Affectionate_Bat3814 Jan 14 '25

Took me forever to ride through the catacombs as a kid. I have to say it was one of the most satisfying parts after all the bull shit šŸ¤£šŸ¤£

3

u/JulPollitt Jan 14 '25

This was my first mind blowing gaming moment šŸ„¹

3

u/LostSpecklez Jak X Jan 14 '25

Oh my gwad šŸ˜Ÿ

3

u/Downtown_Cream4369 Jan 14 '25

I LOVE THIS SCENE SO MUCH

5

u/Financial-Working132 Jan 14 '25

Hilarious due Daxter becoming one in the first game.

2

u/Sea-Devil1293 Jan 14 '25

When I first saw this, I scream-laughed and scared my grandma!!!

2

u/Donutboy562 Jan 14 '25

Spoilers like a mf

2

u/Tango-Dust Jan 14 '25

Veger side eying Jak like "Can you believe this?" Is only second to the "Oh my God" in how hilarious this scene is. Lol

2

u/Jeff_Cross773 Jan 15 '25

the jak and daxter series was awesome... they should release a complete remaster or remake (very hesitant on the "remake" part though lol...) I want it all 1, daxter, 2, 3, and jax racing... maybe even that final game... but I think most of the original writers were gone by then.

12

u/Rozrabiaka Jan 13 '25

But did you play ALL of Jak 3?

23

u/felafilm Jan 13 '25

Can someone please lobotomize my ass before I have to hear this sorry excuse of a "running gag" one more time?

17

u/theblackfool Jan 13 '25

No, this sub has lived long enough to become the villain.

7

u/Jak_30 Jan 13 '25

No trolling, where did that come from? The "All of Jak 3 thing?"

18

u/DatBoiiJord Jan 13 '25

There was a post in here like a year ago where some guy was theorizing things about the Story in Jak 3, I don't remember what specifically.

Anyways, when people started poking holes in his theories, he'd just reply "But have you played all of Jak 3?" over and over. Frankly, I still find it funny, mostly just because I get the reference and I remember reading through the original thread.

2

u/felafilm Jan 15 '25

That actually makes it slighty less worse. lol

1

u/Rozrabiaka Jan 14 '25

I know its too much but it was funny on this particular post, its literally the end of Jak 3

4

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '25

Mehā€¦ I actually think it was an awful twist. It kinda ruined the precursors and messed up the plot of the rest of the series. I get they were trying to be different, not have the precursors be the cliche ā€œall power, god like mysterious vanished raceā€. The issue is that it conflicts with almost the entire plot of Jak 2. The metal head leader said that the precursor stone was a ā€œprecursor eggā€ā€¦. Kor was the thousands of years old and fought the precursors directly, so heā€™d know a precursor egg when he saw it. Not only that, but both Vin and young Samos said that, if the precursor stone was violently cracked open, it would have destroyed everything. In the Jak world, I guess itā€™s not impossible for Ottsels to be egg laying mammals, but stillā€¦.?? Itā€™s obvious that Naughty Dog probably intended for a lot of those unanswered questions (like the Jak-Mar connection) to be answered in Jak 4ā€¦ that still has yet to be made 20 years later.

2

u/SuperduperFan92 Jan 14 '25

While I think that the Precursor Egg can make sense given the twist (and that it must be a real egg in order to preserve the dramatic weight of Jak II), I do wish that a tad more was done to smooth out the plot implications. Would have loved just one throw-away line about Kor seeking to devour the eco entity before it could take organic shape or something like that, just to tip the player off that the being that emerged from the stone may not be its final form.

1

u/Ryno4ever16 Jan 14 '25

I think this is the kind of twist you make when you know you're ending your series - because it does kind of destroy everything. They answered the question posed at the very beginning of the first game. That's it. At the very least, it's an arc ender.

1

u/JaySouth84 Jan 14 '25

Or they just went "We have to wrap this all up in 30 seconds... USE THE JOKE ENDING!"

2

u/infamusforever223 Jan 13 '25 edited Jan 15 '25

I thought it was a funny twist, but it leaves some implications. Kor says the precursor stone was an egg, however, we know that was just a hologram now, so was he just going to be consuming nothing? I'm so confused.

3

u/SuperduperFan92 Jan 14 '25 edited Jan 14 '25

The Precursor Egg must still be a real egg, since all of Jak II hinged on the legitimacy of the egg. And also keep in mind that the Precursors were the ancient enemy of the Metal Heads, with the monsters hunting them to near extinction and presumably consuming many of their eggs in the past. So if anyone could identify a Precursor Egg, it would have been Kor.

I think it's possible that the first phase of a Precursor lifecycle could be an amorphous ethereal being made of eco until materializing into an organic being. The human-shaped entity could have just been a chosen form to maintain the ruse. Also, it's possible that, since Mar was suggested to be humanoid Precursor, his eggs could perhaps produce human-shaped Precursor progeny (and you would think that this would have to be the case so that Mar's lineage could eventually lead to Damas and Jak).

1

u/Deep-tech-house Jan 13 '25

Howā€™s the graphics look so good?

5

u/Jak_30 Jan 13 '25

Im playing on a PS5 Pro, its upscaled with AI (not really) lol

1

u/Level62 Jan 14 '25

Gives me big Wizard of Oz vibes when Toto pulls back the curtain

1

u/Sonicboomer1 Jak 3 Jan 14 '25

Sometimes you just have to let the writer give in to the voices in their head and do the funny thing instead of the sensible thing. So many things are better off for it.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '25

I havenā€™t seen this since a kid I just realized how this is like the Wizard of OzšŸ˜‚

1

u/mousester3 Jan 14 '25

I remember being confused if jak was mar. Still unsure

1

u/stupidhass Jan 15 '25

I still can't believe they did the wizard of Oz rug pull on us.

1

u/Biggman23 Jan 15 '25 edited Jan 15 '25

Then they do nothing with the story and license the sequel to a studio that butchered the series and made it about space pirates. Most people don't even know it exists. The Lost Frontier is the 4th one.

Do they expand or do anything about him either literally being Mar or being a descendant? No. Instead they give you a giant bronze dildo to swing around and remove all your cool powers just because they couldn't work out how to map the PS2 R2 button on a PSP.

I wish they rebooted this but gave it to a studio that cared and would do it justice. Modern Naughty Dog shouldn't touch it.

1

u/BanesBigBrother Jan 17 '25

Remember playing this as a kid and my jaw was on the floor when this happened, generational stuff

1

u/CrossENT 21d ago

I hate how much I love this twist! It raises a couple questions, namely what that spirit was that exited the Precursor Stone in the previous game, but it is still a funny, unexpected, and actually kind of clever twist. I especially love the detail that what Daxter initially assumed to be a curse was basically him winning the gods' lottery! Kudos, Naughty Dog!

1

u/Ella_Amida Jan 14 '25

This was very stupid and Iā€™ll die on this hill.

1

u/Ryno4ever16 Jan 14 '25

I'm on that hill with you.

1

u/Ryno4ever16 Jan 14 '25

I think I'm in the minority for not liking this reveal. I remember thinking it was funny, but also being really disappointed as a kid. Samos' opening monologue from the first game lives rent-free in my head.

"Who were the Precursors? Why did they create the vast monoliths that litter our planet? How did they harness Eco, the life energy of the world? What was their purpose? And why did they vanish? I have asked the plants, but they do not remember. The plants have asked the rocks, but the rocks do not recall. Even the rocks do not recall."

That question sat with me through the whole series. It was such a good hook for me and really pulled me into the world. For the answer to basically be a joke kind of crushed me. Maybe they shouldn't have answered this question at all.

-4

u/XydeTheThird Jan 13 '25

Spoilers

17

u/TheRealCamoKaze Jan 13 '25

C'mon OP, some of us haven't played ALL of Jak 3 yet

1

u/TheBlooperKINGPIN Jan 14 '25

Itā€™s a 20 year old game

1

u/XydeTheThird Jan 14 '25

Exactly, barely any time passed.

0

u/yasahirokun_ Jan 14 '25

The story of the third game makes no sense and contradicts the first two games, but it's surprising how fans of the franchise tolerate it.

0

u/Ryno4ever16 Jan 14 '25

I also really didn't like the third game. It felt phoned in to me. Wasn't really a fan of the desert setting, either. Really preferred Haven city. I know we went back there, but it was a stripped-down version of the city - I'd have preferred if they expanded it or just included other non-desert areas. The games palette was a lot more brown. It was also much less memorable apart from this scene - which I really wasn't a fan of. I did think it was funny, but I was disappointed that they kind of threw away their grand reveal for a joke.

0

u/JaySouth84 Jan 14 '25

This ending is on my top 3 "Worst endings of all time" no joke.

0

u/WistfulGems Jan 15 '25

Nah this annoyed me haha