Ratchet and Clank’s reboot has become a hit with fans and critics. Many praise the game for not only capturing the original game’s essence but delivering a modern experience for fans of the franchise and newcomers alike. Sly Cooper, another critically acclaimed platformer from the PS2 era, received a long-awaited sequel back in 2013 with modest feedback. The only one missing from this picture is Naughty Dog’s dynamic duo Jak and Daxter. Many are hoping for Naughty Dog to create a new game in the franchise soon but after playing Ratchet and Clank I argue that this isn’t the best option to bring back these popular characters. Instead of churning out a sequel perhaps Naughty Dog should reboot the entire franchise.
Why should Naughty Dog reboot the franchise instead of developing a sequel? The original trilogy was a grand tale filled with incredible moments, fantastic boss battles, and gave players a conclusive ending to the franchise. Moving forward from Jak 3 has been a vexing for many fans, this due to the mediocre games that followed. Jak X was an average racing game based on the mini-games from Jak 3. It didn’t deliver the thrill that any of the other Jak and Daxter games such as exploration and diverse combat options. Considering that Naughty Dog included a trophy in The Last of Us: Left Behind called Nobody’s Perfect, where Ellie pretends to play a broken arcade version of the game, you can tell it wasn’t Naughty Dog’s proudest moment.
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, developed by High Impact Games, was another attempt to recapture the allure of the trilogy. Once again it was a barely mediocre experience that failed to capture the allure of the original games. Eco powers were dramatically changed from the other games, not in a positive way, and combat was stale.
Ratchet and Clank showed that the classic mechanics can still compete with modern taste. By reinforcing older games with new additions it’s possible to create an alluring appeal for those new to the franchise and still invoke a sense of nostalgia for older gamers. This concept can be mimicked in a reboot of Jak andDaxter.
Best of all the gameplay features found in Naughty Dog’s other two critically acclaimed games, Uncharted and The Last of Us, can be incorporated into the reboot. As I argued in my review for Ratchet and Clank the new additions added a modern touch to an already stellar game. Adding the climbing and shooting mechanics in Uncharted and the sneaking and crafting system from The Last of Us could help amplify the experience of not only the original game but other installments.
Seeing how successful Insomniac was with Ratchet and Clank’s reboot the same can be done with Jak andDaxter. The games that attempted to continue the story failed to live up to the acclaim of the original trilogy and starting fresh with the knowledge and experience gained from Uncharted and The Last of Us can be used to build an entirely new trilogy. Instead of moving forward with Jak and Daxter it’s time to end the the current path, diverge from the original’s starting point and start a new beginning.
Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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| Platform(s): | PS3 |
| Publisher(s): | SCEA |
| Developer(s): | Naughty Dog |
| Genres: | 3D Platformer |
| Themes: | Action |
| Release Date: | 2010-02-07 |
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