Cheat Mode

Cheat Mode is a hidden feature in the first four Jak and Daxter games that enables the player to activate debug text or abilities using button inputs. In the first three games, a two-part button sequence is used to activate cheat mode. In Jak X, cheat mode can only be enabled through memory editing.

Activation

Not all Jak and Daxter builds allow their cheat modes to be activated with a button sequence. Also, some builds require use of the "alternate" sequence provided below. You can find information about cheat modes of specific Jak and Daxter builds in the Game Build Database.

The button code for cheat mode has two parts, but you can input both parts in direct succession to achieve full cheat mode. Inputting the first part will activate partial cheat mode; inputting the second code will activate full cheat mode. You will hear a "boop" sound when you successfully input a code (if you input the full code in direct succession, you will hear this sound once in the middle and once at the end).

On the Vita, the rear touch pad replaces the following buttons: Top left - , Bottom left - , Top right - , Bottom right -

To fully deactivate cheat mode, simply enter the first part of the code.

Activation Tips

If you are having problems with activating cheat mode:

• Input the two parts of the code separately, releasing all buttons once you hear the first "boop."
• Input the codes in the pause menu or the "Press Start" screen.
• Do not move in any direction while holding it down.

Normal Sequence

This is what the majority of builds are using.

First part: Hold then press

Second part: Hold then press

Full code: Hold then press

Alternate Sequence

Some build use an alternate, shorter activation sequence. An example is the Jak 3 (September 2004 Preview), which has the same cheat mode features as retail Jak 3, but uses the alternate code. In some builds, like the Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (October 19 2001 Build), only the first part is present, and it gives you full access to all features.

First part: Hold then press

Second part: Hold then press

Full code: Hold then press

Early/Short Sequence

Some old TPL builds, like the Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (September 2001 Preview), use a very short sequence for activating Cheat Mode, and it gives access to all features.

Full code: Hold then press together

Known Button Combinations

The button combinations below are confirmed to be working on the following platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Vita.

There is no known way to use the second controller combinations on the PlayStation Vita.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Feature	Controller Number	Button Combination	Cheat Mode Requirements	Description
Ascend	1		Full	Push Jak, Zoomer, or FlutFlut upwards. Hold the button down to ascend endlessly.
Restore Health	1		Full	Restores 1 health while or after bumping into something or giving/taking damage. You can also restore health if Jak is dying, which means that you can avoid death.
Toggle Free Camera Mode	1	+ + +	Full	Toggles free camera mode: When enabled: Disables Jak, and doesn't prevent the loading of levels as long as you are not going out of bounds too much. You must hit the load triggers with the camera. When disabled: Respawns Jak in front of the camera, and also set the checkpoint to 'default' which immediately gets overwritten by an in-level checkpoint in most cases.
Restart Game	1	Hold and then press	Full	If you are in free camera mode then it only resets your current game state (clears everything) and doesn't restart the game.
Award Power Cell	1	+	Partial	While in pause menu on the power cell screen, awards the selected power cell to the player. While this does increase the power cell counter, it doesn't get removed from the world and collecting it won't increase the counter any further.
Unlock All Warp Gates	1	+	Partial	Must be near an active warp gate. You need to press You can start holding before that.
Spawn Zoomer or FlutFlut	1		Partial	Spawn the Zoomer or FlutFlut that should be on the trans-pad you are standing on.
Use Transport	1		Partial	Allows you to use the Fisherman's boat or the gondola before unlocking them. You will see the "PRESS TO USE." message as long as the button is held down.
Show Autosave/Get-Heap 0-3	1		(?)Full	When pressed during autosave, the game will show auto-save/get-heap 0-3 (depending on location of save file),then auto-save/save done above the autosave icon.
Display Death Counter	1	while paused in power cell menu	Full	"fcd: X" where X is number of deaths.
Advance Game One Frame	1	Hold then press	Partial	While paused, the game advances 1 frame then pauses itself. If is not held down, then the game will unpause itself, but only if you can see the text "PAUSE" on the screen.
Skip Credits	1		Partial	Can only be used during credits.
Toggle "display-level-border" Debug Text	2		Full	-
Display Debug Text	2	Hold	Full	Temporarily displays debug text.
Win Boggy Billy's Minigame	2	during Boggy Billy's minigame	Partial	-
Force Plant Boss	2	during Plant Boss battle	Partial	Force Plant Boss to go into its vulnerable state.
Jak II
Feature	Controller Number	Button Combination	Cheat Mode Requirements	Description
Toggle Free Camera Mode	1	+ + +	Full	Toggles free camera mode in the same way as TPL. Game can get messed up when you exit free camera mode without entering into it while the game is paused with the button, so use "Restart Mission" to fix it. Pausing, entering free camera mode, then exiting is also a fix if you forgot to pause the game before entering free camera mode.
Restore Health	1		Full	Restores health while or after bumping into something or giving/taking damage. You can also restore health if Jak is dying, which means that you can avoid death. You can also walk on damaging surfaces uninterruptedly if you hold down this button.
Reveal Hidden Pause Menu Options	1	Hold + in pause menu	Partial	-
Activate Flying	1	+ while on foot	Full	-
Ascend	1	while flying	Full	-
Descend	1	while flying	Full	-
Exit Flying	1	or while flying	Full	-
Push Titan Suit or Daxter Upwards	1	+ while in Titan Suit or playing as Daxter	Full	-
Restart Game	1	Hold and then press	Full	Restarts the game. If you are in free camera mode, then it only resets your current game state (clears everything) and doesn't restart the game.
Slow Down Cutscene	1	during cutscene	Full	-
Speed Up Cutscene	1	during cutscene	Full	-
Reset Cutscene Speed or Pause	1	during cutscene	Full	Resets cutscene speed if it is not at the default value. If it is at the default speed already then it just pauses the cutscene.
Lose Minigame	1	during minigame	Partial	-
Win Minigame	1	during minigame	Partial	-
Advance Game One Frame	1	while paused with	Partial	The game will advance 1 frame then pause itself.
Toggle Debug Text	2	+	Partial	-
Toggle "display-bug-report" Debug Text	2	+	Partial	-
Toggle "display-level-border" Debug Text	2		Full	-
Display Debug Text	2	Hold	Full	-
Fill Inventory	2	+	Partial	Gives 1000 Skull Gems, 1000 Precursor Orbs, all guns, the Jetboard, refills some ammo, and refills Dark Eco.
Toggle Cutscene Debug Text	2	+ during cutscene	Partial	Toggles debug text detailing cutscenes.
Jak 3
Feature	Controller Number	Button Combination	Cheat Mode Requirements	Description
Toggle Free Camera Mode	1	+ + +	Full	Toggles free camera mode. Also disables Jak, and doesn't prevent the loading of levels as long as you are not going out of bounds too much. When in free camera mode, respawns Jak in front of the camera, and also sets a checkpoint which immediately gets overwritten by an in-level checkpoint in most cases.
Restore Health	1	while on foot	Full	Restores health while or after bumping into something or giving/taking damage. You can also restore health if Jak is dying, which means that you can avoid death. You can also walk on damaging surfaces uninterruptedly if you hold down this button.
Reveal Hidden Pause Menu Options	1	+ while in pause menu	Partial	-
Activate Flying	1	+ while on foot	Full	-
Ascend	1	while flying	Full	-
Descend	1	while flying	Full	-
Exit Flying	1	or while flying	Full	-
Push Dark Maker Mech or Daxter Upwards	1	+ while in Dark Maker Mech or playing as Daxter	Full	-
Restart Game	1	Hold and then press	Full	Restart the game. If you are in free camera mode, then it only resets your current game state (clears everything) and doesn't restart the game.
Slow Down Cutscene	1	during cutscene	Full	-
Speed Up Cutscene	1	during cutscene	Full	-
Reset Cutscene Speed or Pause	1	during cutscene	Full	Resets cutscene speed if it is not at the default value. If it is at the default speed already then it just pauses the cutscene.
Change Direction in Eco Grid Minigame	1	during Eco Grid Minigame	Partial	-
Lose Minigame	1	during minigame	Partial	-
Win Minigame	1	during minigame	Partial	-
Advance Game One Frame	1	while paused with	Partial	The game advances 1 frame then pauses itself.
Toggle Debug Text	2	+	Partial	-
Toggle "display-bug-report" Debug Text	2	+	Partial	-
Toggle "display-level-border" Debug Text	2		Full	-
Display Debug Text	2	Hold	Full	-
Fill Inventory	2	+	Partial	Gives 1000 Skull Gems, 1000 Precursor Orbs, all guns, the Jetboard, refills some ammo, and refills Dark Eco and Light Eco.
Toggle Cutscene Debug Text	2	+ during cutscene	Partial	Toggle debug text detailing cutscenes.

History

Events strongly related to Cheat Mode's discovery, in chronological order:

• Luminar Light found something related to button inputs that could possibly activate full cheat mode in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. He informed the speedrunning community that there may be a way to activate full cheat mode in any Jak and Daxter game using button inputs, but speedrunners were not interested at that time.
• A way to activate Cheat Mode via memory editing in any of the Jak and Daxter games and builds was found by Luminar Light. He then started working on a trainer to eventually make cheat mode accessible for everyone in PCSX2 (a PlayStation 2 emulator).
• Luminar Light contacted ImJustATester about the discovery he made. Together, they figured out which buttons were required for the Cheat Mode activation, as well as the lengths of each sequence.
• Kuitar and Vaser figured out the correct order of the buttons in the Cheat Mode activation sequence.

Although the main person behind (re)discovering Cheat Mode was Luminar Light, there were several people who helped him and/or are worth mentioning:

• DonkeyPlanet found a way to activate Cheat Mode in the Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Earlier Demo) by using one of Luminar's methods. This Cheat Mode was activated in a different way than the Cheat Modes in all later builds we had/have access to, so this discovery did not help too much (because the buttons method did not work in the demo anyway, and the memory editing method was different in this demo). Still, this is worth mentioning, because this is the first known case of someone having access to Cheat Mode outside of the Naughty Dog dev team.
• ImJustATester helped with figuring out which buttons were needed for the Cheat Mode activation sequence, as well as the length of the sequence.
• Kuitar and Vaser were the people who first discovered the correct button sequence.