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Light eco is one of the six colors of eco in the Jak and Daxter series. It is a rare, pure substance, created by combining all four colored ecos,[1] and is the direct opposite of dark eco. It was only seen in The Precursor Legacy, Jak 3, and The Lost Frontier.

Light eco is one of the few colors of eco known to crystallize. Light eco crystals were used to power the Planetary Defense System.

There are no known sages of light eco.

History[]

The Precursor Legacy[]

Epilogue from TPL 1

Jak channeling light eco in The Precursor Legacy

In The Precursor Legacy, Jak used light eco to defeat Gol and Maia's Precursor robot. It was formed when each of the four colored eco sages combined their powers by channeling their respective color of eco through towers surrounding the dark eco silo,[2][3] to create a large, white, cloud-like substance. Upon collecting it, Jak was able to use a newfound power to destroy Gol and Maia and save the world. When Jak uses light eco to destroy the Precursor robot, he seems to launch a blast similar to yellow eco from his hands.

From the characters' dialogue, it is clear that this type of eco has been foretold of its immense power and incredible rarity. Gol is amazed: "It does exist!",[1] and Maia is scared, knowing that it is the key to their destruction: "They must not be allowed to get it!"[1]

The oracles speak of "the light" in Jak. While this can be understood as a relation to Jak’s ability to channel the four colored eco powers in addition to light eco, the oracle’s dialogue may also refer to Jak’s persona. In addition, this type of eco should not entirely be confused with references to "the pure light" etc.

Daxter believed that light eco had the ability to transform him back into a human, however he never came into contact with it as it was more important for Jak to use it to destroy the robot. The events of Jak 3 would suggest that his assumption was untrue since he was likely exposed to light eco whenever Jak was powered up with it.

Daxter[]

Prison 3

The light eco area of the fortress.

Light eco was briefly mentioned in Daxter. Veger, when discussing the Dark Warrior Program with Erol in the Haven Palace, mentioned a desire to create light eco warriors opposed to dark, saying that "light eco is the key", and calling it the "power of the Precursors". During the final boss, there is an area of the fortress that appears to be a large light eco warehouse, similar to other areas with dark eco.

Jak 3[]

Light eco made a reappearance in Jak 3 after the Precursors gave Jak control of light eco powers in the wake of the oncoming threat that was the Dark Makers. This also helped balance out the dark eco in Jak. These light powers were used to aid in defense opposed to offense (like Dark Jak's powers) including a shield, regeneration, wings, and more. Jak also collected light eco crystals to power the Planetary Defense System in order to destroy the Dark Maker ship.

The Lost Frontier[]

Light eco was used to repair the eco seeker in The Lost Frontier after a small cluster of it was found by Keira at the Aeropan research rig. Light eco was only seen once in the form of a small cluster.

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

Light eco being created

Light eco being created

Light eco came in three basic forms; cluster, large cloud, and through vents. In cluster form, light eco appeared as a small white droplet with a blue glow around it. In cloud form, it appeared as a large, thick white cloud with various colored sheen around it resembling an oily substance. When dispersing from vents, it appeared as a pure, translucent, blue beam.

Light eco crystal[]

Light eco crystals (and its similar dark eco counterpart) appear as a component to a yin-yang-like shape, with a Precursor metal base and a light eco crystal embedded in it.

Channeling[]

In The Precursor Legacy, as soon as Jak picked light eco up, a cutscene initiated as Jak destroyed Gol and Maia's Precursor robot. He did show incredible strength by doing it with a single attack, but he did not show any other abilities.

Light Jak[]

In Jak 3, Jak could transform into Light Jak, giving him defensive and regenerative abilities. These abilities include Flash Freeze, allowing Jak to slow time down, Light Regeneration, which uses light eco to regenerate Jak's health, Light Flight, allowing Jak to briefly ascend into the air, and Light Shield, allowing Jak to cast a shield on himself. These abilities could be activated with any amount of light eco in Jak's light eco gauge.

Behind the scenes[]

There has been some controversy as to whether Gol Acheron and Daxter were saying "light eco" or "white eco" in the epilogue of The Precursor Legacy. The phonetic ambiguity and lack of subtitles has resulted in some debate in the past. While light eco is unequivocally named as such later in Jak 3, there are no clear similarities between the light eco in Jak 3 and the eco in The Precursor Legacy.

However, it can be conclusively determined from evidence and research assembled after the "white eco" myth had propagated that it is, in fact, a myth, and that the eco observed at the end of The Precursor Legacy is light eco.

The simplest form of evidence for light eco is that, although it is difficult to determine phonetically whether Gol and Daxter were saying "light" or "white", Daxter's facial animation system uses a viseme closer to his usual "L" shape, rather than "W", when he begins to say "light eco". His lips do not pucker to make a "W" shape, but instead stretch across his teeth.

The earliest mention of light eco is in a pre-release promotional disc entitled "The Making of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy", in which it describes Precursor robots as being powered by light eco.[4] However, the earliest support for light eco expressly applying to the eco observed in the epilogue is in the form of localizations for other languages, the words of which for "light" and "white" do not sound similar, and unambiguously translate to "light".[a]

Light eco was more formally confirmed in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, in which it spells out "light eco" as well as confirms that it was created by the four Sages.[5] Furthermore, through accessing the files on a The Precursor Legacy disc, it can be seen that the asset file for light eco is indeed named light eco.[6] Lastly, light eco was used by Sony Interactive in reference to The Precursor Legacy within its product blast upon being re-released for the PlayStation 4 in 2017.[7]

Some have cited the difference in physical appearance between The Precursor Legacy's light eco and Jak 3's light eco as support for them being different. However, other colors of eco appear in different forms with varying appearances as well, depending on the amount, concentration, and the source. The difference may also be explained by graphical improvements or creative license. Furthermore, because light eco is created by combining the four different colors of eco,[8] the nature of its constitution or synthesis may dictate its appearance.

Another common argument is in how Jak channels and uses light eco in The Precursor Legacy versus Jak 3. In the former he uses it to shoot a projectile from his hand, similar to yellow eco, but in the latter his light eco powers are purely defensive. This discrepancy can be accounted for by the fact that whereas Jak originally channeled eco in a pure, temporal manner, by the time of Jak 3, he could no longer do so, and instead harnessed control of eco powers through an alternative form accomplished only after storing enough eco in his body.

Notes[]

Annotations
  1. In Spanish: "eco luminoso" (bright, or light), versus "blanco" (white); in French: "eco de lumière" (of light) versus "blanche" (white).
Citations
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Naughty Dog (2012). Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. PlayStation 3. Sony Interactive Entertainment.
  2. Jak and Daxter Trilogy script § "Gol and Maia's citadel"
  3. The Precursor Legacy, guide
  4. "The Making of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy", Art Gallery › Character Descriptions › Precursor robots
  5. The Precursor Legacy, guide
  6. The Precursor Legacy, file: light-eco.o
  7. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy™ on PS4. Official PlayStation®Store US. Sony Interactive Entertainment America. 2017. Accessed May 30, 2018.
  8. The Precursor Legacy script § "Gol and Maia"
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