Easter Eggs
An Easter egg is a hidden secret in a video game for players to discover. Players can often find them through gameplay, but some may require digging into game files or using hacks or modifications to uncover.
Below is a list of known Easter eggs and hidden content that can be found in the Jak and Daxter series.
Jak and Daxter: The Preursor Legacy
Adam Marquis Face Texture
There is a stencil of Adam Marquis's face baked into a landscape texture that is used in the final boss area. You can learn more about it here.
Cut Content
All cut and leftover content for Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy can be found on The Cutting Room Floor.
Good Six
Good Six refers to an unidentified voice heard at the end of one of Keira's communicator voice lines. It is widely believed to be the voice of a sound designer or technician from Naughty Dog, mistakenly included in the final audio. The unidentified voice seemingly says "Good, six-" before the audio cuts off.
Green Hill Zone in Precursor Basin
Just beyond the boundaries of Precursor Basin lies a sprawling, hilly expanse that appears to be an unfinished section of the level. Players can reach this out-of-bounds area by entering Precursor Basin on foot and venturing past the edges near the end of Dead Man's Gorge.
Informally dubbed "Green Hill Zone" as a nod to the iconic first level of Sonic the Hedgehog, this area features little more than grassy hills.
It is not believed to be an intentional Easter egg for players to discover. Instead, it seems to be a leftover, unfinished part of the level that the developers chose not to remove.
Hard Fish
Hard Fish refers to the never ending variant of the fisherman mini game. After completing the fisherman mini game, return to the fisherman and press Left, Left, Right, Right, Left, Left, Right, Right, X. A prompt to speak with the fisherman will appear. Speaking with the fisherman will initiate the Hard Fish mini game.
Man-Eating Plant from Crash Bandicoot
In Samos' hut, there is a plant that serves as a direct homage to the Man-Eating Plant from the Crash Bandicoot series.
Precursor Orb Text Translation
Precursor text can be found inscribed on precursor orbs. The top text reads "Naughty Dog" and the bottom text reads "Mad Man".
Twisted Sister Reference
During the final boss fight against Gol and Maia, Gol delivers a line saying, "We're not going to take it." This is a nod to the hit song "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister. Gol's voice actor is Dee Snider, the lead singer of the band, adding an extra layer of significance to the reference.
Waiting For Player to F*** Off
Although probably not intended for anyone to find, there is a state in the game's code that is labeled as mistycannon-waiting-for-player-to-fuck-off which controls Jak's state when dismounting the cannon on Misty Island. Not something any parent wants to find in a game rated E for everyone.
Jak II
Accessing Sandover Village
Early on, players discovered that by opening and then closing the PS2 disc tray during the intro cinematic, a playable version of Jak would appear in the Sandover Village level featured in the cinematic, allowing players to freely explore the area.
Barrel of S***
There are barrels of eco scattered throughout the world in Jak II. The precursor text on these barrels reads "BARREL OF ECO" on the PS2 release of the game.
On the Mass Media PS3 port of the game, the precursor text has been changed to read "BARREL OF SHIT".
Cut Content
All cut or leftover content from Jak II can be found on The Cutting Room Floor.
Dark Jak Horns in Hip Hog Mirror
In the Hip Hog, a large mirror is positioned behind the bar. As Jak moves, his reflection in the mirror shows Dark Jak's horns on his head. This is most likely an accidental bug and not an intentional Easter egg.
"The model of Jak used for the mirror is the exact same as the default model. Jak's model actually always has these horns by default, it's just that they are tucked away whenever you are not Dark Jak. The mirror model that is spawned is what the game internally calls a "manipy", which is basically like a puppet model that you can manually animate or tell it to clone an existing model's animation. In this case, the mirror manipy is set to clone the real Jak's animations, but it has a bug where the horns come out when certain animations are played back, like the slow walking or crouching ones. This can also be seen when using the game's animation viewer on Jak's model, when playing back the walking animation, the model will also show the horns."
- Hat Kid
Jak II Art Team Group Photo
In Jak II, there is a hidden photo of Tate Mosessian, Bruce Straley, Adam Marquis, Simon Craghead, Rob Adams, Erick Pangilinan, and Don Poole. Learn more here.
Ratchet & Clank Poster
Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games have a history of referencing each other's projects in their games. In Jak II, you can find a poster of Ratchet and Clank from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando hung up in Haven City.
When dumping the game textures in OpenGOAL, the poster can be found in /ctygena-sprite/sign-ratchet.png.
Rift Gate Precursor Text Translations
There is precursor text seen on the inner and outer rings of the Rift Gate in Jak II. The text, in English, translates to ROB, AMY, BRENNEN, TITUS, ROWAN, and SUFFEED (or possibly SUCFEED).
Rob Titus was an artist at Naughty Dog who worked on the Jak and Daxter games and is most likely the one that implemented this easter egg. When asked about the other names on Reddit (u/robtitus), he replied "Those are the names of children of Naughty Dogs [developers] born during the production of Jak and Daxter". However, his IMDb page indicates that his spouse's name is Amy. Rob's decision to cross his first and last name on the outer ring of the Rift Gate suggests that Amy's full name is likely Amy Brennen.
Rowan might be the name of a child belonging to a Naughty Dog developer, as Rob previously suggested. Potentially even his own child.
Following the theme of names, Suffeed is also most likely a name. Not much is known about this name since it is extremely uncommon, but the word "sufeed" is used to refer to a plant found in India.
Alternatively, if we apply the same first and last name logic to the inner ring, we get Rowan Suffeed or Suffeed Rowan.
Another theory suggests that "suffeed" might be a misspelling of "suffered." If true, this could imply the existence of someone named Rowan Suffered or Suffered Rowan, or it could simply mean that someone named Rowan has endured suffering. However, this interpretation is unlikely, as it would make this the only instance of text that isn't a name.
Jak 3
Ashelin Kisses Jak
After defeating the final boss, a cutscene plays where Ashelin supposedly kisses Jak off-camera, with Daxter grinning and nodding in apparent confirmation. Using the freecam feature reveals that Ashelin does, in fact, kiss Jak during the cutscene.
Cut Content
All cut or leftover content from Jak 3 can be found on The Cutting Room Floor.
Daxter Flipping the Bird
In one of the arena cutscenes, Daxter appears to give Pecker what seems to be the middle finger. However, the gesture is cut off out of frame. Upon closer inspection using freecam, it is revealed that Daxter is actually making the V-sign, also known as the two-fingered salute. This gesture is considered an offensive equivalent to the middle finger in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
Jak 3 Art Team Group Photo
In Jak 3, there is also a photo of Naughty Dog Art team members.
Ratchet Gun Course
In Jak 3, there is a Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal themed gun course where Tyhrranoids, Ratchet, and Clank replace the civilian and enemy targets.
This Isn't a Game
In the cutscene leading up to the "Beat Monks in Leaper Race" mission, Seem says, "This isn't a game." Jak and Daxter then break the fourth wall by briefly glancing at the player, subtly acknowledging their awareness of being in a game.
Zathura Jak 3 Cameos
Subrails Mission
In the movie Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), there’s a scene where the character Danny, portrayed by Jonah Bobo, is seen playing the "Travel Through Catacomb Subrails" mission in Jak 3.
Jak 3 Poster
In the beginning of the movie, a Jak 3 poster can be seen hanging up in Danny's room.
Jak X: Combat Racing
Cut Content
All cut and leftover content for Jak X: Combat Racing can be found on The Cutting Room Floor.
Ratchet Unlockable Racer
If the player has a Ratchet: Deadlocked or Ratchet: Gladiator save file present on their PS2 memory card and selects the "Scan for Secret Characters" option in the Jak X Secrets Shop menu, Ratchet will be unlocked as a playable racer.
Daxter
Cameo Cosmetics
Daxter features a variety of unlockable cosmetic items inspired by other games and movies.
Ratchet & Clank Masks
Sly Cooper Mask
Indiana Jones Hat
Cut Content
All cut and leftover content for Daxter can be found on The Cutting Room Floor.
Dream Mode Film References
The six Dream Mode mini-games each feature a distinct theme inspired by iconic films, including The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and the Indiana Jones series.
In each mini-game, Daxter’s character model is transformed to match the theme, with appearances such as Neo (from The Matrix Reloaded), Sir William Wallace, Gimli, Indiana Jones, Neo (from The Matrix), and Gandalf.
Image Credit: Jak and Daxter Fandom Wiki
Picture of Young Krew
While it hasn't been officially confirmed, it is believed that this photo displayed in the Westside Hotel is of a young Krew.
Website Clues
There are four website clues/codes that can be unlocked by earning a gold ranking in the Dream Mode mini-games. Players could use these codes on the now defunct Daxter website, accessible via their PSP, to download bonus content such as wallpapers.
Clue A 32X83R
Unlocks a PSP wallpaper set, a forum avatar set, and a Precursor text translator.
Clue B 68T7E5
Unlocks a PSP wallpaper set, a forum avatar set, and a Daxter soundboard.
Clue C 5A3D36
Unlocks a Jak X: Combat Racing PSP wallpaper set, a Jak X: Combat Racing PSP photo pack, and two Daxter cineplex movies.
Clue D 7A8J25
Unlocks a PC wallpaper set, a forum avatar set, the Jak X: Combat Racing soundtrack, and two Daxter cineplex movies.
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
Cut Content
All cut and leftover content for Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier can be found on The Cutting Room Floor.
Hot Shots Golf Soundtrack
During one of the elevator rides, the soundtrack for the Highland C.C. level in Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds can be heard playing.
Other
Cheat Mode
Cheat Mode is activated by entering a specific sequence of button inputs, enabling various in-game cheats. Originally intended for developers, these cheats were likely designed for convenience during testing and debugging. Cheat mode can be found in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, Jak 3, and Jak X: Combat Racing.
Environmental Precursor Text Translations
Precursor text can be found throughout the worlds in every Jak and Daxter game, appearing on walls and various objects.
Every translation we know of can be found on the Jak and Daxter Fandom Wiki
Prototype Builds
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier