Old thread? Perhaps. But I want to talk about Keira from Jak and Daxter - a character I've been thinking about a LOT lately. She was the first comfort character I ever had, and I'm beginning to realize that she really is my all-time favorite character. It wasn't until recently where I realized this, but being able to pour my heart out on the internet has helped a LOT.
My emotional attachment with her has been around for decades and has grown stronger with time, ever since I first played The Precursor Legacy. Other early games for me like Spyro 3, Ratchet 1 and Sonic Heroes were just games I played for...well, game, but my first time through The Precursor Legacy was the first time I felt like a character truly resonated with me. I was a little,
little girl when I played it. I was awful at the game; I found myself eaten by lurkers with stunning frequency and I could never beat the fishing minigame in Forbidden Jungle to save my life, but I enjoyed my time with the game nonetheless and my favorite memories with the game were always attached to Keira. I loved the little conversations she could have with you and I loved her little jabs at Daxter ("Rule number one: I don't date animals"). When my mom helped me reach Misty Island I loved the little zoomer mission you had there and that was thanks to Keira. Lost Precursor City is my favorite level in the game and yup, Keira was the one who suggested you go there. It also helped she had a really likable design and adorable voice. And really, she was honestly more important to the game than Daxter was - she was the one responsible for helping Jak get through Fire Canyon and beyond, and thus was the reason he got anywhere in the game in the first place. She was always in Jak's corner, and like the Red Sage himself said, the world would've been screwed if not for her ingenuity. Seeing her get her flowers for being just as heroic as Jak was really inspirational to me. It taught me that our contributions to the world truly do matter. And I've lived by that ever since.
TPL is the game in the series I've played most but I have an equal amount of appreciation for Jak II and X. Jak II showed her struggling to adapt in the new world she found herself in, especially with Jak acting decidedly different than the easy-going kid he used to be. She acts out of order and says some outta-line stuff, but I could never hold that against her because HELLO, apocalyptic town governed by a brutal baron and her crush is working for a freaky crime lord who would use Daxter as toilet paper if he could. And she's an aspiring racer so it's only natural a highly-skilled racer like Errol would get her attention, especially with Jak being so different to what she's used to. But in the end she comes back around and learns to understand the new Jak better, coming to understand that despite the anger issues, he's still
Jak, like he's always been. As I play Jak II I always find myself thinking about her and how she adjusts to the world she's in - and how, despite all the obstacles, she finds her footing at the end of the day. Adaptability. That's something I've always been wanting to learn from her, and I hope in the future I grow to be like her. And by Jak X, she's grown enough to become almost as skilled as Jak in the racing department, and despite her father's grumpy restrictiveness, she stands up to him and joins Jak's side in the race to help save her friends. Learning I was able to finally play as Keira was one of my happiest gaming memories, even if I'm still kinda bad at the game lol.
And look, I know The Lost Frontier has a bad reputation but gosh darn it, that game's story still resonates with me so much solely because of how it shows Keira at her best. In Jak 1 and X she showed her skills and abilities could change the world and save lives, in Jak II she showed her ability to adapt and come to accept change, and in this game...she shows her undying compassion for others. Now admittedly some of this is good old Offscreen Magic but it doesn't change the fact that Keira is able to make friends with Phoenix, and she's the most willing to understand his motives. Without spoiling the big twist, she's the one who convinces Jak to let Phoenix explain everything about the situation he was put in, without being hard on ANYONE, and when Phoenix showed his own distrust in Jak, Keira jumped in and stuck up for him, showing she believes in Jak with everything in her heart and soul, and that she adores him more than anything in the world. Even despite her initial difficulties with understanding Jak's personality change in Jak II...Keira still adores him wholeheartedly, and she'll stick with him until the end of time. *sniffle* I'm not crying! YOU'RE crying!
I'd forgotten it for a while. But as I look back upon my life and the experiences I've had with Jak and Daxter...Keira really has been the character I've aspired to be like for the longest time. I wanna be able to make the world a better place like she did. I wanna be able to adapt to everything like she does. And I've learned to try and be as compassionate, caring and willing to see the world from every angle...just like her. I feel silly for ever forgetting just how much she's inspired me to be better, and from here on out...I'll make sure to treasure that more than anything. While I've found comfort in characters like Zeena, Gabby, Tina, Caitlin, Corrin, really countless amounts of characters...not only was Keira the first character I ever found comfort in, but she's also...become my hero. My role model. My idol. My #1 gal.
TL;DR I like Keira from Jak and Daxter a lot
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