Jak

Jak is the main protagonist of the series, being the titular and playable character in all of the games in the series (with the only exception of the spin-off game ). From his debut in the first game, he has undergone many changes in his body - both internal and external - and matured into a fully-grown man, with a constant thirst for some action.
In the first game, Jak was voiced by , who also provided Max Goof's singing voice in . Jak was later voiced by in , , , and . Jak was then voiced by in and non-canon games like .
==Appearance==
Jak's appearance varies over the course of the series. However, his clothing maintains the basic pattern of a blue tunic, white trousers, goggles on his head, ared bandana wrapped around his neck, and a metal on his left shoulder, though it is made of Precursor metal in Jak 3, giving it a brown appearance. Except for in Jak X, he has a steel ring in the center of his chest held up by three leather straps, except for The Lost Frontier, in which it's held by just two.
The most noticeable change in Jak's appearance from game-to-game is often his hair, which ranges from spiky and long, to short and rough, in addition to the appearance of his goatee seen in all games except the first and last. Also, as a child, his hair was completely green, though it became more blond as he aged.
He has a lean, muscular, yet athletic build, as well as yellow-green hair and cerulean eyes. He has long and pointy ears, common to humans in the Jak and Daxter universe. Jak grows in terms of both height and mass as the series progresses, since he is still not quite at his peek in height due to being a teenager; the number of times that he has fought enemies would also contribute to the growth of his muscle.
When he becomes Dark Jak, his skin turns grey, his eyes turn black, and he grows long claws from his fingernails. In Jak II, his hair turns white, and he also grows horns. In Jak 3, his hair turns dark grey, and he no longer has horns.
==Personality==
===Jak and Daxter===
Jak's personality is ever-changing due to the various changes in his character throughout the series. When he was first introduced as a 15-year-old boy, Jak was notably headstrong, courageous, adventurous, and loyal - willing to leap into danger without a second thought. However, he appeared to have been somewhat shy, as he never spoke once, though he does occasionally attempt it before being interrupted by Daxter.
As noted by Samos, Jak has trouble listening to his wisdom; when he didn't listen to Samos' advice about Misty Island, Daxter was turned into an Ottsel forever. Jak also has a penchant for doing various heroic poses with Daxter after gaining a Power Cell, and again after their victory over Gol and Maia.
===Jak II===
His personality took a turn for the worse after being plunged into the future with Daxter, Keira, and Samos, separated from them and tortured for two long years with Dark Eco experiments. With both his body and personality, Jak changed forever. He became violent, blunt, sarcastic, angry and reckless - this is exacerbated by the presence of Dark Eco in his body that gradually corrupted the innocence inside him. He also takes some enjoyment in killing metal heads and a fondness for guns.
Revenge becomes his main motive, and he will stop at nothing to get revenge on Baron Praxis, the ruler of Haven City. His morality had also fallen, having allied with Krew, the heavy of the city and notorious crime lord, solely so he can fight the Baron. Furthermore, his temper has caused friction with others, notably Daxter, his best friend whom he almost killed upon meeting again after two years due to his Dark Eco form, as well as Keira, his childhood friend with him almost pushing her away due to his desire for revenge.
Nonetheless, Jak does retain some heroic personality traits. This is apparent when he truly wants to stop the Baron and save the city from his evil rule and join the Underground to stop him. He also retains some of his humor, having casually having to ask Vin to turn the power back on and joking that he couldn't do it and chuckling on more than one occasion, with Daxter upon hearing Pecker's name, when Daxter got himself drunk while trying to go "undercover", and when Kor's staff was peed on by the Crocodog.
He also forms a bond with Sig, a Wastelander and fellow warrior whom Jak trusts as much as Daxter with his life. Jak also retains his bravery, refusing to abandon his friends and protect them at the cost of his life. He was also disgusted when Krimzon Guards tried to apprehend a child and told them to pick on someone their own size. Also, despite his temper, Jak truly felt guilty over his fight with Keira and, after the two awkwardly tried apologizing, Jak was able to make amends with both her and himself.
===Jak 3===
After being banished to the Wasteland, Jak had to adapt the harsh lifestyle of the desert in order to survive. This, coupled with the city having thrown him out to die, blaming him for the war going on in the city after Kor's death, made Jak very bitter, and he refused to help Ashelin, claiming he has new friends, and is done with saving the world. However, Jak eventually accepted that he couldn't just abandon all his friends, and resolved to reunite with them and save the city.
After gaining Light Eco inside his body, Jak's anger and the darkness corrupting him due to the Dark Eco gradually disappears. He becomes less angry and much more mature, and even happy, as he was in his introduction, and he smiles more often. He begins to regain more of his original, loyal, and kinder self with the balance of Light and Dark Eco inside him. After the death of his father Damas, Jak takes on a much more leader-like role in protecting both Haven City and Spargus.
Since he was little, Jak had no knowledge of his parents and would frequently treat Samos with respect for his wisdom and for being the only father figure he had (unlike Daxter). He also forms a bond with Damas, who views Jak as one of his finest warriors, who are both notably similar in personality: head-strong, reckless, stubborn, brave, and loyal.
After learning that Damas was his father, Jak was clearly saddened over his death, and flew into rage to the point of turning into Dark Jak after Count Veger mocked him for his death. Since then, Jak vowed to protect Spargus in his father's place (though he does choose to let Sig rule it in his stead). By his father's death, Jak had truly matured into a strong and confident man ready and willing to protect those dear to him.
===Other===
In Jak X, he turned into something of a relaxed character, though his final encounter with Mizo shows that the anger still exists under his calmer exterior. In The Lost Frontier, he seems to be more carefree and happy. Despite some scenes hinting at his anger (for example, when he tries to turn to Dark Jak, seeing the Dark Warrior Program chair, among others), he seems to be more cheerful and like he was when he was younger.
Jak's goatee may seem to represent this attitude; he was angriest in Jak II, when his goatee was at its longest, whilst he'd mellowed down in Jak 3 and Jak X, when his goatee was shorter. In Jak & Daxter and The Lost Frontier, he appeared his happiest, when he had no facial hair. Jak's most prominent relationships are with his childhood friends Daxter and Keira, as well as his mentor and father-figure Samos.
==Powers & Abilities==
*Eco Harnessing: Jak demonstrates the ability to harness and use different kinds of Eco far superior than those of the Eco Sages, later revealed to be due to his heritage as a direct descendant of Mar. Whenever Jak comes in contact with any kind of Eco he can absorb and use that Eco's powers as his own up until the Eco runs out, letting him use different kinds of powers such as electrically charged super speed, shooting projectiles, super strength, etc, depending on what kind of Eco he is harnessing. Jak's Eco powers allowed him to survive being injected with Dark Eco as part of Baron Praxis' Dark Eco program where every other test subject had died, though the Dark Eco did have a negative impact in Jak's psyche and powers which created Dark Jak. Jak then obtained a Light Jak transformation which keeps his Dark Jak form balanced.
*Dark Jak: As a result of being injected with Dark Eco for 2 years, Jak mutate into a dark form of himself, though the transformation is only temporary and wears off if Jak doesn't absorb more Dark Eco. Dark Jak is highly dangerous and difficult to control, nearly killing Daxter the first time Jak transformed. Jak initially struggled to control Dark Jak, but overtime he slowly learns to control Dark Jak and even use it as an asset in battle, however Jak can still occasionally transform involuntarily in moments of high stress, such as when battling Marauders in the Spargus Area or after Veger taunted his father Damas' death.
*Light Jak: During his time as a Wastelander Jak was given Light Eco by the precursors which created his Light Jak form. Compared to Dark Jak, Light Jak's powers are more oriented towards protection rather than destruction. Light Jak's presence also balances out Dark Jak which in turn makes Jak's anger issues less problematic.
*Combat Skills: Jak is proficient at hand-to-hand combat.
*Driving Skills: Jak is a prodigious driver with different kinds of vehicles such as zoomers, dune buggies which he used to explore the Wasteland desert, or the race cars used for the Kras City Championship.
*Shooting Skills: After being given a Morph Gun, Jak quickly demonstrated talent using the weapon.
==Gallery==
Jak evolution.png|Jak's evolution.
Dark Jak from Jak II render.png|Dark Jak (Jak II).
LightJak.png|Light Jak.
Light Jak screen.png|Light Jak (Jak 3).
Jak Sig.png
Jak in Hot Shots Golf Fore!.jpg|Jak in Hot Shots Golf Fore!.
Jak Hot Shots Golf Fore!.png
Jak Promo.webp
==Trivia==
*Jak and Daxter are 15 in The Precursor Legacy, 17 in Jak II, 18 in Jak 3, and 19 in Jak X. Kiera is a year younger, though Daxter is actually from the past, whereas Jak, Kiera, and Samos are from 200 years into the future.
*Since Jak is approximately 200 years in the past in the first game, and since he's roughly 10 years in the past in the following games (since his child-self is correctly present there), he'd first time-travelled when going 200 years into the past as a child with Samos, and has never been in the correct time since.
*One of the reasons that Jak is banished from Haven is because he is tainted with Dark Eco and was looked down upon by the inhabitants since the destruction of the Haven Palace. While he's darker than he used to be, he still has his heart in the right place.
*Despite being mute in the first game, he is much more vocal in-game, grunting and screaming when he attacks or jumps, and even saying "Ouch!" when he loses health (his only spoken line in the game).
**In contrast to this, he makes no noise in Jak II when using attacks or collapsing to the floor after dying. Moreover, he has different sounds when losing health, and a different scream when falling into a chasm, voiced by Mike Erwin. Jak reuses these voice clips in Jak 3.
*Interestingly, there's a gag that happens in the trilogy, once per game, where Jak slaps Daxter on the back of the head, which was warranted to shut him up:
**In The Precursor Legacy, Daxter flirts with Keira and continued to do so when she made it clear that she doesn't date animals.
**In Jak II, Daxter fantasizes out loud about using the Precursor Stone to build the palace with pools of chocolate and a harem of women living in the palace with him to the point where it began to drag on longer than it should.
**In Jak 3, When Kleiver gives Jak a challenge to beat his record with shooting targets using a turret, Daxter remarks that "Jak beats things all the time", which Jak took personally.
*His character model in cutscenes of The Precursor Legacy is composed of 3,000 polygons but in the sequels, he is composed of about 15,000 polygons.
==External Links==
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