A former Sanzaru Games developer has shared an incredible blast from the past.
Founded in 2006, Sanzaru became best known for remasters of PlayStation games, particularly The Sly Collection on PS3 and Vita. They also developed the original PS3/Vita title, Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time.
Animator Travis Howe shared an incredible demo reel on his LinkedIn. As he explained, this was a shot for shot remaster of the opening scene of the first Jak & Daxter game for the PlayStation 2.
Sony did not commission this animation. Sanzaru made it to convince Sony to let them do the remake. Of course, as we all know, they never got that chance.
Going by Sanzaru’s history, and the visuals of the remastered animation, this was probably planned for the PlayStation 3. It has a specific aesthetic similar to other cartoony video games of that generation, and it looks completely different to say, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.
Sanzaru was acquired by Meta in 2020, and sadly shut down last January. Sony could always choose to rerelease or remake the Jak & Daxter games at any time, but they won’t look like this. That door has closed completely.
