Daxter the Ottsel

**Daxter the Ottsel** is the secondary titular main protagonist of the *Jak & Daxter* games.

The sidekick, at least at first. His ego is enormous and he is always telling tall tales, mostly about his adventures with Jak, although he stretches the truth to make him seem like the hero. His friends seem to like Jak better than him (for the most part) but they just can't resist his unique charm, though he still irritates them to some degree. Most consider him to be a nuisance and a coward but they're wrong (well, at least about the coward part).

In the AWA fics, Daxter is set to appear in a future AWA storyline.

## **Appearance**

Before becoming an ottsel, Daxter appeared to be an ordinary, orange-haired, buck-toothed boy with red and white tunic with off-white trousers. He also appeared to be a few inches shorter than Jak. After the transformation, Daxter became a two-foot-ten-inch-tall rodent with orange fur and a yellow underbelly. He often made remarks about his claws, whiskers, and paws, typical to a rodent species.

Throughout the games Daxter makes various remarks about how he misses pants. In *Jak 3*, however, he is granted a pair of three-quarter length denim shorts with a small hole for his tail by the Ottsel Leader upon request after the Precursor granted him one wish.

Daxter also retains goggles and aviator's gloves throughout the entire series as a constant aesthetic.

## **Personality**

Daxter has provided comical relief throughout the series, and despite being a significant plot factor in *The Precursor Legacy* and *Daxter*, was not really present there for any purpose otherwise.

In an interview with Naughty Dog's creative director, Dan Arey, it was stated that "Jak is the hero you want to be, Daxter is the hero you're afraid you are. Daxter is just a little bit concerned, a little bit afraid, and he would rather take the easy way out." He also stated that they used Daxter as a "secret weapon" for when scenes start to get boring, allowing the character to use witty but camp jokes, often using poor pickup lines and innuendo. Daxter also, despite being cowardly, attempts to paint himself in the hero's light, exaggerating stories to make him out to be the "real" hero, with Jak merely as a sidekick, though when faced with danger aptly backs away.

Albeit, Daxter has shown some heroic and loyal traits, sending after Veger when he taunted Jak about his childhood and early separation from Damas, his father. Daxter also stayed behind with Jak when he was banished to the Wasteland, and also went on a two-year-long journey to free his friend from prison. Additionally, after being doused with dark eco for a second time, Dark Daxter appears to be braver and reckless, being a self-proclaimed "top-of-the-food-chain" predator.

## **Abilities**

Daxter has very few notable abilities. He was playable in Jak II, Jak 3, and The Lost Frontier during a few sections when only Daxter could reach certain areas because of his size. His move-set is relatively similar to Jak's, though simplified. He can spin kick, and whack his enemies with a lunging strike forward using his tail. He is also capable of hanging on to netting, allowing him to climb and swing from place-to-place. He has also proven to be a very skilled driver despite his size, having placed first in the Class 2 race during Jak II. He is also a skilled combatant (usually when faced against creatures close to his size) as shown in Daxter for his ability to exterminate metal bug infestations, even taking on creatures of behemoth proportions such as Bug queens as well as Kor's right hand, Kaeden.

It was not until The Lost Frontier when Dark Daxter became available, that he had any special abilities. Dark Daxter was dissimilar to Dark Jak and replaced many usual playable Daxter sections. Dark Daxter was a huge monster that could pick up and throw enemies, shoot dark eco bolts, and slam his fists on the ground. He could also use a powerful frenzy attack, which was an immensely fast spinning attack which used up dark eco quickly, but could break through several things such as doors, and quickly defeat enemies.

### **Equipment**

Daxter uses very little equipment throughout the series. In all games, he retains goggles and gloves. During Daxter, Osmo gave Daxter exterminator's equipment which included an electric bug swatter, a spray gun, a flamethrower attachment for that spray gun, and an ultrasonic attachment as well, which was similar to the spray gun, but launched "ultrasonic" bombs at enemies. Daxter will also operate the Morph Gun while Jak is driving a zoomer.

## **Trivia**

* It can be seen in the beginning of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune an ottsel head (possibly Daxter's) on the arm of Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher, as well as the word "ottsel" across the chest.
* In Wipeout Pure, a ship called the Daxtinator was available as DLC. The ship is modeled after Daxter.
* Daxter is featured as a DLC character in the PlayStation 3 exclusive game PAIN.
* In Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, when Ratchet gains a gadget piece, Clank does the same dance as Daxter when a power cell is collected, but is interrupted by Ratchet. A sign poster of Jak and Daxter can also be found occasionally in that game.
* In the game Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, the player can collect a treasure called "Lutrela nivadensis" which is Daxter wearing a leopard skin loincloth. Its description is, "The Lutrela Nivadensis is a rare hybrid species of the Carnivora family. It is known for its orange fur and loud mouth."
* Daxter makes an appearance during Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer.
* Daxter appears in the 2016 movie Ratchet & Clank when Clank is trying to identify Ratchet.