The PlayStation 2 era truly represented the pinnacle of gaming for many in the community who were fortunate enough to grow up with this console. Not only was it remarkably powerful at the time of its release, but it also boasted impressive graphics and hosted some of the best games ever created.
The exclusivity of titles was much more pronounced back then, with Sony having a plethora of well-known franchises across various genres. The introduction of backwards compatibility has allowed many of these series to return in different forms, including a legendary trilogy that is definitely worth revisiting in 2026.
Most individuals born in the 1990s who enjoyed video games will likely recall the Jak and Daxter series, with the first three games being prime examples of the open-world 3D platformer genre.
What you may not have known is that the original trilogy is available on PlayStation Plus Premium through the Classics Catalog for PS4 and PS5. Beginning with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, you can experience the story just as Naughty Dog envisioned it all those years ago.
You take on the role of Jak, who embarks on a quest to reverse his best friend Daxter’s transformation into a peculiar hybrid of an otter and a weasel. While the premise may not seem crucial, it originates from an era when developers were unafraid to delve into less realistic narratives as long as they could create an engaging game.
The second installment in the series presents one of the most significant increases in difficulty that players had to confront, leaving its predecessor far behind in terms of challenge. However, it rewards skill and completing it evokes all the same feelings as it did back then.
The third game is arguably the weakest of the trilogy, but if you enjoyed the first two, you’re likely to have a good time with it as well.
If Jak and Daxter don’t appeal to you for some reason, there are numerous other fantastic games in the Classics Catalog worth exploring, such as Dino Crisis, Harvest Moon: Back To Nature, and Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. Why not relive a bit of that childhood magic once more?
<img width="960" height="1440" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Jak and Daxter collection cover art.” data-img-url=”https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/sharedimages/2025/07/jak-and-daxter-collection-tag-page-cover-art.png?q=49&fit=contain&w=480&dpr=2″ src=”https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/sharedimages/2025/07/jak-and-daxter-collection-tag-page-cover-art.png?q=49&fit=contain&w480&dpr2″/>
- Released
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February 7, 2012
- ESRB
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T // Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Computer Entertainment
