One of my absolute favorite video game series of all time is Jak and Daxter. The PlayStation 2 3D platforming series is filled with adventure, action, memorable characters, captivating stories, and one of the most fun experiences on the greatest gaming console ever. Just for fun, let’s take a look at how each entry in the franchise ranks when compared against the others.

6) Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier

While I’ll admit there are a handful of ideas and elements in Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier  that are pretty interesting, it’s still the only game on this list that I would consider outright bad. The story is a mess, leaving out major characters and including plotlines that don’t fully match up with the rest of the series. The gameplay is not very fun, with a clunky camera, awkward controls, and a lot of boring and repetitive sections. The plane segments, and there are a lot of them, are dull. It’s also clearly unfinished, leading to messy graphics and plenty of glitches. 

5) Daxter

It pains me to put Daxter on this list, because I adore it and it’s one of my favorite games on the PSP. It goes to show you how great the rest of the series is in comparison. Daxter is a pretty solid handheld gaming experience and adds some depth to the sidekick, as well as fills in some blanks in the overall story. That being said, the restrictions that come with handheld consoles at the time makes it ever-so-slightly weaker than the other games. Plus, there’s a pretty big reliance on side minigames and dated movie references. It’s also a little too short in terms of gameplay hours, only providing around six to eight hours for a single playthrough. It’s still a lot of fun, though.

4) Jak X: Combat Racing

This one also pains me to put in the lower half of this list because it’s easily one of the best racing video games of all time. It’s extremely action-packed, as taking the kart-racing game formula and adding missiles and machine guns makes things explosive. It’s also a racing game with a fantastic and dramatic story that brilliantly ties into the original trilogy of games. Plus, outside of the single-player campaign, there are plenty of exciting modes that really shake up the gameplay, and the vehicle customization was ahead of its time. This one needs more attention.

3) Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is the one that started it all, and it still holds up decades later. Naughty Dog took the gameplay formula of Crash Bandicoot and turned it into an open-world steam punk fantasy epic. The platforming is a blast, and the same can be said for the cartoony combat and the varied minigames. It also rewards exploration quite well. It’s a little basic compared to the others in the original trilogy, but it’s still fantastic.

2) Jak 3

Jak 3 is essentially Mad Max in the world of Jak and Daxter, and it’s just plain awesome. The action is bigger than ever before, and the vehicle combat adds so much fun to the game. The story is filled with revelations that will blow the minds of anyone who has followed along with the previous games. This one is almost perfect, except it’s a little too easy in some areas, and the focus shifted a little too much toward the vehicle combat instead of the usual exploration and platforming.

1) Jak II

If you’re ever wondering what a perfect video game sequel looks like, look no further than Jak II. It improves on the first game in just about every way, which is impressive given how great that original is. Sending Jak, Daxter, and their allies to a dystopian city environment made everything feel fresh, and the inclusion of weapons and shooting mechanics without losing the melee combat or the platforming was absolutely mindblowing. It has the most dramatic storytelling, and its challenge level is the perfect sweet spot. It has the best story and the best gameplay out of the entire franchise. This whole series (with the one exception) is phenomenal, and this is the best of the best.

I still really hope to see PlayStation return to this series in some form in the future.

Read Next: Now is the Perfect Time For a New ‘Jak and Daxter’ Game