History YMMV / Jak3Wastelander

* AssPull:
** Jak suddenly wanting to return to Haven City. He was given the perfect opportunity to go straight back there thanks to Ashelin, but rejects it and angrily says that he's staying in the Wasteland. Then suddenly the game points you in the direction of the temple to get him back home with no transition whatsoever, nor any scene building up to this.
** Ashelin suddenly having enough power and authority to dissolve the city council on a whim near the end of the game when in the beginning she couldn't even stop them from banishing Jak.
*** This one can be explained by everything going to hell after Jak is banished. Also Veger was behind the plan that left Torn stranded in The Port when new KG has taken over the industrial section, so it is not unreasonable to think he lost some credibility and power after his mishaps. Not to mention the city council probably realized it's futile to throw out someone not only able to survive in Wasteland, but also get back. On foot, no less.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: There's a mission where Daxter gets sucked into a computer and has to play a Pac-Man style game to find a MacGuffin. It evidently wasn't supposed to be ''that'' much of a stretch, since the character who put him into the computer [[BrainUploading was one with the computer himself]], but Daxter's ''whole body'' getting sucked through the ''screen''?
* ContestedSequel: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]; fans are divided on whether this is the best game in the trilogy, the weakest, or even the middle, but those in the "weakest" camp still generally regard it as a good game in its own right, and a good ending to the trilogy nonetheless.
** A common complaint by those who think it is the weakest generally cite the plot as being relatively underdeveloped, the gameplay as too similar to Jak 2 with not enough improvements to make up for it, and the combat being made significantly easier (see GameBreaker below). A lot of these issues had to do with the very rushed production schedule. Unlike the 2-year development cycle of Jak II, Naughty Dog was given only 13 months to make a complete sequel in time for the 2004 [[ChristmasRushed Christmas season]] (albeit being released in November). While not an ObviousBeta (the game is very polished and had very impressive graphics for the time), the obviously reused Haven City assets (as well as the ScrappyMechanic Titan Suit from the previous game being given a palette swap with no improvements) and undercooked story make it apparent.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Many refuse to treat the cutscene where Jak [[spoiler:coldly refuses Ashelin's offer to return to Haven City]] as canon, as his immediate next actions of [[spoiler:returning to Haven City]] contradict this.
* GameBreaker: The Beam Reflexor upgrade for the Blaster. The shots bounce off walls and home in on enemies and it can be fired fairly frequently, allowing it to easily clear even very large rooms in under a minute. It's also one of the very first upgrades you get in the game. Using the "jump-spin-fire" move usually destroys anything on your way.
* HarsherInHindsight: One of the adverts for the game parodied LukeIAmYourFather, with Daxter attempting to convince Jak he was his father and the announcer assuring the audience that the game wouldn't "end like this". [[spoiler:He's right. In the game proper, Jak does meet his father, but it ends tragically, with Damas dying before he would ever know that Jak was his son.]]
* HilariousInHindsight: TheReveal that [[spoiler:the Precursors are ottsels]] became more hilarious given [[WeaselMascot Kyubey]] in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' being one himself. The main difference, however, is that [[spoiler:Kyubey is evil]].
* MoralEventHorizon: When exactly Count Veger crossed it is up for debate, but it's widely accepted that he ''crossed'' it. Many point to his [[spoiler: gloating to Jak immediately after Damas' death]] as one. He could have told Jak [[spoiler: Damas was his dad]] at several points and he would have lost nothing for it. Him suddenly ''deciding'' to tell him [[spoiler: Damas was his father right after Damas dies and Jak figures it out for himself]] [[ForTheEvulz displays a casual malice and cruelty]].
* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound:
** The charging noise of the Wave Concussor, the sound of the Mass Inverter waves, and the NukeEm Super Nova blast.
** Light Jak's regeneration invokes this with a high-pitched crystaline humming noise as your health fills back up.
* {{Narm}}:
** The battles between the Freedom League and the Metal Heads/KG bots become hard to take seriously, especially after the War Factory is destroyed. The ''entire city'' sans the port consists of endlessly respawning soldiers and enemies killing each other ''over'' and ''over''. You can't even help effectively because the FL troops are just {{Palette Swap}}s of the original guards, so your weapons will automatically target them too.
** Out of all the characters to bring back as a major villain, ND chose the twerp from ''2'' who was a more-annoying-than-anything TheRival in the last game. Granted, he's the closest thing to [[EvilCounterpart an evil Jak]], but his new powers, vague motivations and general absence from the plot may remind some players of the equally awkward handling of [[Film/SpiderMan3 Topher Grace's Eddie Brock/Venom]].
* NightmareFuel: [[spoiler:The Dark Makers]] aren't pretty.
* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler: Damas's]] death makes you want to [[KillItWithFire Kill Veger With Fire]].
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: The [[{{Pun}} Hellcrap]] Cruiser went from being useless in ''Jak II'' to being instrumental in [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome a certain mission]].
* ScrappyMechanic: The Titan suit again, though this time at least it only has one mission.
%%* ShockingSwerve: There are quite a few in this game such as [[spoiler:the Precursors actually being ottsels like Daxter with highly advanced technology]] or [[spoiler:Jak possibly being ''the'' Mar]].
* StrangledByTheRedString: Another downplayed example. This game gives a few ship teasing between Jak and Ashelin, but downplays Keira's role, leading fans to assume that the first two are in a relationship. It doesn't help that there's an implied kiss at the end between them, and to be fair, the second game ''also'' had moments between them. As a result, Keira was given a larger role in the next games to fix this (although The Lost Frontier wasn't well received by fans) .
* TearJerker: [[spoiler:Damas's death. He dies in Jak's arms, never knowing that Jak is really his son, Mar. All Damas says was that [[ItHasBeenAnHonor it was an honor to fight with Jak]] and that the people need him.]]
* ThatOneLevel: The NintendoHard ''VideoGame/PacMan'' esque minigame in the power station. It becomes a lot easier though once you realize that [[spoiler:you can speed up Daxter's movement]].
** You'll hate the Mission at the Marauder Stronghold. First part is easy, defeat 60 at their base, the second half less so as you have to catch four escaping vehicles in a time limit.
* UnderusedGameMechanic:
** Jak's new Dark Eco ability of {{Invisibility}}. Aside from an once-visited volcano level, it could only be used at the Monk's Precursor Temple monastery, thus meaning any use of it this for any stealth based tactics (or for that matter any sort of stealth-based missions) outside that location is denied to players. Granted while there is an unlockable ability to turn invisible by pressing the triangle button in Dark Jak form, but that only becomes available after completing the game (though it is somewhat subverted if someone buys it from the Secrets menu and then starts a New Game on [[NewGamePlus Hero Mode]]).
** During the sections that you play as Daxter, it is possible to kick while hanging from ceiling grates. Since there are no enemies or breakable objects up there, this is never put to any kind of use.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: Seem. The feminine voice really doesn't help in that regard.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The two commercials that have the NotHisSled treatment have remarkable animation similar to the works of Creator/{{Pixar}}.
* WinBackTheCrowd: For those who were unhappy with the drastic GenreShift Naughty Dog made between ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'' and ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'', Jak 3 offered more of a happy medium between the two.
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* {{Narm}}: The battles between the Freedom League and the Metal Heads/KG bots become hard to take seriously, especially after the War Factory is destroyed. The ''entire city'' sans the port consists of endlessly respawning soldiers and enemies killing each other ''over'' and ''over''. You can't even help effectively because the FL troops are just {{Palette Swap}}s of the original guards, so your weapons will automatically target them too.

* VindicatedByHistory: The success of the racing segments of the game is the reason why ''VideoGame/JakX'' exists.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The two commercials that have the NotHisSled treatment have remarkable animation similar to the works of Creator/Pixar.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The two commercials that have the NotHisSled treatment have remarkable animation similar to the works of Creator/Pixar.

** Most fans remember it as ThatOneLevel.

* FanonDiscontinuity: Downplayed example. The game isn't seen as {{Sequelitis}}, but fans refuse to treat the cutscene where Jak [[spoiler:coldly refuses Ashelin's offer to return to Haven City]] as canon, opting to skip it and pretend [[spoiler:it was Ashelin who refuses to take Jak back]].

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The charging noise of the Wave Concussor, the sound of the Mass Inverter waves, and the NukeEm Super Nova blast.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: One new feature that many fans felt was disappointing was the implementation of Jak's new Dark Eco ability of {{Invisibility}}. Aside from an once-visited volcano level, it could only be used at the Monk's Precursor Temple monastery, thus meaning any use of it this for any stealth based tactics (or for that matter any sort of stealth-based missions) outside that location is denied to players. Granted while there is an unlockable ability to turn invisible by pressing the triangle button in Dark Jak form, but that only becomes available after completing the game (though it is somewhat subverted if someone buys it from the Secrets menu and then starts a New Game on [[NewGamePlus Hero Mode]]).

** Ashelin suddenly having enough power and authority to dissolve the city council on a whim near the end of the game when in the beginning she couldn't even stop them from banishing Jak. To be fair, by that point, [[spoiler:Jak no longer had a ZeroPercentApprovalRating, and the council itself had enough of Veger]].

* MoralEventHorizon: When exactly Count Veger crossed it is up for debate, but it's widely accepted that he ''crossed'' it. Many point to his [[spoiler: gloating to Jak immediately after Damas' death]] as one.
** Worth noting he could have told Jak [[spoiler: Damas was his dad]] at several points and he would have lost nothing for it. Him suddenly ''deciding'' to tell him [[spoiler: Damas was his father right after Damas dies and Jak figures it out for himself]] [[ForTheEvulz displays a casual malice and cruelty]] that makes him stand out amongst the series' antagonists. Veger is just a bastard.

** Worth noting he could have told Jak this at several points and he would have lost nothing for it. Him suddenly ''deciding'' to tell him [[spoiler: Damas was his father right after Damas dies and Jak figures it out for himself]] [[ForTheEvulz displays a casual malice and cruelty]] that makes him stand out amongst the series' antagonists. Veger is just a bastard.

* ContestedSequel: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]; fans divided on whether this is the best game in the trilogy, the weakest, or even the middle, but those in the "weakest" camp still generally regard it as a good game in its own right, and a good ending to the trilogy nonetheless.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Another downplayed example. This game gives a few ship teasing between Jak and Ashelin, but downplays Keira's role, leading fans to assume that the first two are in a relationship. It doesn't help that there's an implied kiss at the end between them, and to be fair, the second game ''also'' had moments between them. As a result, Keira was given a larger role in the next game to fix this.

** Ashelin suddenly having enough power and authority to dissolve the city council on a whim near the end of the game when in the beginning she couldn't even stop them from banishing Jak.

* ClicheStorm: Some of the lines of dialogue.

* ShockingSwerve: There are quite a few in this game such as [[spoiler:the Precursors actually being ottsels like Daxter with highly advanced technology]] or [[spoiler:Jak possibly being ''The'' Mar]].
* StrangledByTheRedString: This game has Jak and Ashelin become a couple, despite the previous entries of the series has Keira and Torn as Jak's and Ashelin's respective love interests[[note]]though the previous game ''did'' have a few cutscenes where Ashelin shows signs of feelings towards Jak[[/note]]. ''Jak X'' and ''The Lost Frontier'' would ignore this and restore Jak and Keira's relationship.

* WinBackTheCrowd: For those who were unhappy with the drastic GenreShift Naughty Dog made between Jak 1 and 2, Jak 3 offered more of a happy medium between the two.

* AssPull: Jak suddenly wanting to return to Haven City. He was given the perfect opportunity to go straight back there thanks to Ashelin, but rejects it and angrily says that he's staying in the Wasteland. Then suddenly the game points you in the direction of the temple to get him back home with no transition whatsoever, nor any scene building up to this.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Seem, the feminine voice really doesn't help in that regard.

* GameBreaker: The Beam Reflexor upgrade for the Blaster. The shots bounce off walls and home in on enemies and it can be fired fairly frequently, allowing it to easily clear even very large rooms in under a minute. It's also one of the very first upgrades you get in the game.