PS4 Version Check
This page is designed to explain the setbacks of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy speedrunning on NTSC PS4 and PS5 systems. All PS4 and PS5 versions of Jak II, Jak 3, and Jak X: Combat Racing are good for speedrunning.
Reasoning
In 2017, the first four Jak and Daxter games were virtually released for the PlayStation 4. These releases turned out to be PlayStation 2 versions of the games that were emulated on the PlayStation 4. This means that the PlayStation 4 releases are technically the same as the PlayStation 2 releases.
At first, the PlayStation 2 version of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy that was being emulated was Black Label Version 1 or 2 (see PS2 Version Check) which meant citadel skip was not patched. This was great news for Jak and Daxter speedrunners who ran on the PlayStation 4 since they were able to compete for top times in all speedrun categories. Unfortunately, there was a mandatory patch released in North America that updated the game version to Greatest Hits, which has citadel skip patched. This made it so North American speedrunners could only compete for top times in the No Major Skips category. This also applies to the PS5 release of the game since it is the same emulation method used by the PS4.
Workaround
The European (PAL) version of the PlayStation 4 release has not had citadel skip patched out yet. This is because all PAL PlayStation 2 versions of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy have citadel skip unpatched. There is a workaround that allows North American PlayStation 4 systems to install the PAL version of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy:
Step 1
Create a European PlayStation Network account by setting the region to United Kingdom and entering a street address that is located in the United Kingdom (a random restaurant will work just fine).
Step 2
Purchase a British Pound (GBP) PlayStation Store Gift Card code that can be redeemed in the PlayStation Store. These codes can be purchased at from these online stores:
Step 3
Redeem the card code and purchase the PAL version(s) of the game(s).
