Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Well, that’s a flashback. The first level of this pack (that contains only text in Hungarian, so if there’s any story I’m afraid I didn’t quite get it) is an actual tutorial, much like the original game’s ‘Rabbit in Training’ level and, I’m afraid to say, equally dull. You can assume that anyone downloading levels from this site knows how the game plays, making tutorial levels fairly superficial.

Anyway, on to the actual levels. The first two are perfectly okay and do reach the goal of a making a “remake” of the original episode: they’re very reminiscent of Epic’s style, but a little bit bigger. The difficulty is also slightly higher and the levels are less linear than the original – that is, they are linear, but you’re getting warped all over the place so it’s hard to get an idea of where you are in the level.

The third level starts with a puzzle area that I didn’t care much for. There’s a lot of “okay, where am I supposed to go now?” which isn’t necessarily bad but since there are respawning enemies in the area you can’t easily jump around trying to find the hidden tunnel or trigger zone, but need to be on your toes not to bump in the same enemy all the time, which makes the whole process fairly tedious. There’s also an area later in the level where you get warped to random places by warps you can’t possible see before running into them, giving the whole puzzle a really random feel which gets annoying fast. The boss fight that follows isn’t much different from the original castle boss fight and as such not very interesting.

Overall a decent episode, but with parts that got annoying/tedious due to overzealous use of respawning enemies and warps. Always make the player feel like they’re the one in control!

Download recommended if you’d like a more challenging interpretation of the original Epic style levels.

The title of these levels suggests that the gameplay is inspired by the Flappy Bird games. And indeed the first 10 seconds or so involve the player manoeuvring between pipes like in that game, but fortunately the gameplay similarities end there and the rest of this pack is more of a standard Jazz Jackrabbit 2 single player experience, albeit in levels made with tilesets inspired by Flappy Bird’s graphics.

When I say “standard” I mean to say that the levels play out much like the official Jazz Jackrabbit 2 levels: lots of easily-killed enemies, coin warps, some jumping and trigger puzzles, useless pickups (what have diamonds ever done for me?) and lots of blocks to destroy. It’s good enough in what it does; things never get challenging and level design could’ve been a bit more creative but the levels are perfectly functional as a short casual diversion. The final boss even changes things up a bit by hiding a Schwarzenguard in a giant Flappy Bird which you then have to kill with electroblasters only. It’s things like that that make a level interesting and I’d have liked to have seen a bit more of that kind of creativity.

Sadly there’s not much else of that and coupled with the rather dull tilesets (Flappy Bird doesn’t have much in the way of graphics to steal of course, but that’s not much of an excuse) this pack is fairly forgettable. Not bad by any means, just not very interesting either. But I think with a bit of added creativity Ande300 could certainly make some interesting things in the future.

All in all this is not brilliant, but not bad either. Download if you want to have a bit of casual single player fun, but there are better levels out there.

Haha, I somehow passed by this program by clicking too many links.. It works fine for a 2006 utility and does it’s job, besides Modplug Tracker supporting J2B’s for years now and Bass.dll giving a more accurate touch to all mods while played through JJ2+.

There are a few tilebugs, for example sometimes you can stand in the wall or you can’t jump on a spring, because there’s something over it that you can stand on.
Anyway, for a second map, it’s very good job! ;-)

[Review changed to quick review, see the review rules.

There isn’t much to say about it. It’s simply nice, but the music sounds like satan remixed the original theme. The map is a little bit confusing, too many annoying lizards… There are no other enemies than the reptilian foes, which is sad. The tileset looks nice. Something scares me when I play the level, I don’t know why. Playing it with Lori is almost impossible. Anyway, I think 9.2/10 is a fair review.

It was a kinda short map, the boss wasn’t a big of a deal, but not the easiest. The bee nest was a random thing that wasn’t necesary at all. It is a nice map for a first one.

It is a nice begginer map, even if it isn’t the best or close.

EDIT:
I see you’ve made some positive changes to the level. Generators are present now and have their respawn time set quite low, which works fine in such a small fast-paced level. Just remind yourself to set it higher if you ever build a bigger MP level. Next we have the much desired vertical space in the form of the upper platform and a big ‘chimney’ wall in the middle.

I generally like these changes, but my biggest concern lies with the chimney in the middle as it blocks off the entire path. Maybe try making an opening in it and/or in the upper platform? Death ends and linear movement can easely kill a CTF level.

Another (tiny) problem I found has to do with the PU’s in their enclosed areas on the upper left and right. Now that there’s a platform inbetween them, skilled players can use Bouncers to shoot the PU’s through the wall, making the coin warp obsolete. You may choose and keep it that way, or thicken the walls a bit to make coins absolutely necessary.

Also try and look at the tilebugs in the walls. I know the Holiday tileset can be a pain to do fully right, but this level has some masking problems that adds unnecessary gaps that players can stand on. Just enable the masking view in JCS’ editor window and make sure all walls are straight lines.

My original rating was a 4.0, and I believe the current changes are worth half a point extra. Keep up the good work and I’m sure it can get better!

Original review:
First things first, merry christmas and a happy new year! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s review this teeny weeny level.

The layout is as basic and simplistic as it can get. Well, it’s no ‘Best CTF Party Good Luck’ yet but you readers get the point (haha). One base on the left, one base on the right, the middle contains vines above spikes, a little secret passage, and that’s about it. I missed any form of vertical movement in this level.

Some things felt unexpected concerning tileset usage, especially the houses’ layer-3 usage and the choice of using the ?-block as a coin warp. There are also tilebugs in the ground and an overall lack of variety in available tiles (all spikes have their star animation, not all xmas light colors were used, etc).

Weapon choice is okay for a symmetrical level. Both sides have a weaker and a stronger weapon, and teams are used to switch sides after a round nowadays anyway.

Also, don’t forget to put in Generators in multiplayer levels for all events you’d like to respawn. This level is currently drastically broken due to the lack of them.

I give a 4 and can’t really recommend it in it’s current state. It’ll need some big changes before it reaches the amount of simplistic fun Mulch/Malch style maps do. Please don’t see this review as being too harsh, but take it as a way to improve the level! ;)

It works so… yeah… kinda useful.

EDIT 30th April 2020 – I decided to lower my rating a bit as I don’t think it’s worth a 7 by my current standards, mostly for the reasons all the other reviews with similar ratings have stated, but I’m sure Primpy wouldn’t mind as he’s made way better levels in the meantime. A good level designer’s gotta have a humble beginning I suppose. :)

Maybe I am not the best at reviews, but your map is just a joy to play. However, is not perfect.

Stuff I like:
-Great tileset
-Music matching to the map
-Large map, making it “open-world”
-The level has water
-Variety of weapons
-The map is nicely made
-Lots of details
-I didn’t encounter any visual bugs
-Pinball

Stuff I don’t like:
-The water event doesn’t always work, also the water appears suddenly
-Uhh, sorry, I can’t find any other stuff I don’t like… x(

9.7/10 – I recommend it. It’s perfect for 4-8 players.

One awesome map.

[See above. ~cooba]

Well, if you call my map bad…
Your level has the same problems as mine. There’s a very big space to the left of the chamber, the wallpaper is repeating. All I can say.

[You should actually download and play the level before rating it, not just comment on its preview. Original rating: 6.0 ~Stijn]

Good Job.It’s one of the best fan-made maps that i saw. Continue with that!

[I’m keeping this review for laughs. Original rating 10. ~cooba]

Very useful.10 out of 10

Firstly thanks for reviewing.
I know that I build very simple and mostly bad levels :D
I’m really a beginner and I’m learning to build levels.
I just share them on J2O to get advices to make better levels. My plans are remaking those levels again later, using Your and other people’s advices.

Your map is simply bad.

Very simple, no details added.
Very few enemies.
Bat sleeping in the air.
You can get to the top of the house easier if you perform a double jump with Spaz or use Jazz’s special power.
No new music.
The tileset is matching, but you built it bad, with lots of errors.
You can fall off the map at the limit of the ground.
Nothing exciting about it, it’s just a map for 2 years old to complete.

I’ll give 8 for encouragement, but I’d really give it like 6.
Can’t reccomend it.

Edit: For being a jerk, I’ll go down to 7. Just because I made a honest review of your map (Which is way worse than mine, everybody can confirm that) that doesn’t mean you have to leave a bad review for my map. Face the truth, your vengence via rating my map doesn’t bother me.

Edit 2: Back to 8 since Stijn removed your nonsense review. If you feel offended, please download the map, give it a shot then write a serious review, as I did to yours.

I always love seeing new Jazz1 levels being uploaded, especially when they include completely new worlds, not just new levels on existing planets. I’ve always preferred Jazz1 to Jazz2, and I think it catastrophically lacks in custom levels in comparison to its sequel.

So, about this level: it is great. It fits into the game perfectly, I find it has the same kind of layout used in regular Jazz levels, and the music not only fits the atmosphere of the level but sounds as if it has been written by Robert Allen specifically for Jazz Jackrabbit. The level is incredibly good looking, I love its atmosphere and eye candy is perfect.

I did not find the level too difficult, in fact I’d say it is easier than most custom Jazz1 levels. I think it is just a bit harder than your average Jazz1 level.

I give this level great big 10/10 on all aspects (design, gameplay, music selection, difficulty). Downloading this is a must!

I am not a professional reviewer, and this is my first about at JJ1 mod, so please forgive any stupidities I may write! ;)

Sonic With a Gun is absolutely phenomenal. It combines the high quality design of the original Jazz Jackrabbit with new and experimental additions to the engine, allowing for more variety in gameplay.

Unfortunately, I have never played Sonic and can review this strictly as a Jazz Jackrabbit game, but here we go:

Emeraldus: This level is the closest to the original Jazz in terms of gameplay, nothing new is really added here (aside from the new enemies). To me this is the least exciting world, including visually, but then again, it wouldn’t have been a great idea to give away all the cool stuff right in the beginning of the game, so it’s all good. And is it just me, or there are not really any emeralds in this tileset? ;)

Marbelava: Despite the title, this feels way more like Pezrock than Marbelera. This is where things start to get interesting, and the gameplay is already significantly more varied. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will say no more, other than that you have to see it for yourself.

Gravis: This is pretty much Industrius revisited, but again, with many new enemies and enchanced gameplay. I love that miniature version of the final boss (the gray hare) as an enemy! My only criticism is about those horizontal lines suspended at random places in mid air, they look kind of awkward.

Labyrinthion: This one is perhaps my favorite in terms of visual appearance, and again, a slightly different kind of gameplay here, this level is more puzzle-like. I do not have anything bad to say about it.

Noirlite: I hated it when I first played it due to how difficult it was (seriously, this one is not recommended for noobs). The death pits were especially frustrating. But after practicing and finally completing it, I can say with absolute confidence that it is one of the best planets in the game. However, I’m not a big fan of the Pezrock music in the first level, it just doesn’t fit the level at all. For some weird reason, the second level uses the Tubelectric music, which goes way better with this planet.

Cloudsduel: This is the only bad level in the game (only imho). It is about as linear as it can possibly get, eye candy is poor compared to the other levels, and all i need to do to complete it is press continuous fire and travel in a stright line to the exit. It would have been a million times better if it was an actual level with a cloud-themed tileset.

Fabricant: I don’t even know what to say anymore, other than this level is amazing, just like almost everything else in the game.

I also found three hidden levels (or two, since one of them comes after Noirlite level 1 anyways, so I’m not sure why it is called Hidden zone and whether there is another secret level on that planet). I love the fact that you use completely new tilesets for the secret levels instead of just making them a part of the planet on which the exit to them is located. On a sidenote, that Hidden level on Gravis is EXTREMELY annoying. If you find it, you will see exactly why ;)

UPDATE: Today, while playing this game with all kinds of cheats, I found the regular exit in Noirlite 1 for the first time. It’s funny how the hidden zone is actually easier to find in that level than the real exit. I also found the secret level in Emeraldus. Not much eye candy here, but it uses a pretty cool engine feature.

I like those “mystery weapon” orbs, I find that they are a really cool addition. I also like the new Grenade gun (which actually shoots pineapples lol) although I still haven’t learned to use it properly, i keep missing the target most of the time :/

I’m not sure why, but on the bonus maps I can walk anywhere, the borders of the road do not work. Is that intentional or a bug?

So, on to the ratings. I do not want to have the poor rating of Cloudsduel bring down the overall rating of this otherwise mind-blowing pack, so I will give that level a separate rating. For gameplay, it’s a 2/10… maximum 3. For design and eye candy, 4/10, because I like how it starts where you finished on Noirlite and then blends into the cloud world as you fly up on that airboard, but the rest of the level is very bland and uninteresting.

As for the rest of the game:

Gameplay: Solid 10/10

Design and eye candy: 9.5/10. Emeraldus and its hidden zone are noticeably more basic looking than the other levels, but maybe that’s just me. Also, those horizontal lines on Gravis… i don’t know.

Difficulty: 10/10 It’s nice how levels vary in difficulty. It’s somewhat harder than the original JJ1 levels, which can be good or bad depending on personal opinion, I think it’s great, after all, if you are downloading this, you probably want something new to play in JJ1.

Music selection: 8.5/10. Music selection is flawless other than for that first level of Noirlite, as mentioned above.

Final rating: 38/40 or 9.5/10.

Download recommended? Should be obvious :)

Before reading further, please note that I drank a bit too much beer while playing this level and feel quite tired writing this review, but I’ll try anyway. Hope I won’t regret this tomorrow. :P

The base setup of this level is a fancy scripted warp around the center that takes players to the upper part where the exit is. If they haven’t got enough gems they can simple enter the battlefield again by falling back into the pit.

The first thing noticable is the customized tileset, which is basically a combination of the original JJ2 tilesets Damn and Castle. The layout makes a lot of use of the abandoned ‘slide’ tiles that were in the Castle set by making clever use of One-Way events. A lot of the level’s layout resides around towers that players can climb by jumping through the One-Way blocks. Overall I really liked this yet the one-tile gaps that you can get ‘run-stuck’ in felt weird at times (it’s not that you actually get stuck, I don’t know how you call that effect, lol).

Weapons placed are the usual bouncers, toasters, RF, and seekers. I like how the seekers are mostly placed on harder to reach spots, since all those One-Way blocks and the vertical orientation of the layout makes seekers far more powerful. Gem placement is done very balanced and I like the placement of the non-red gems and the gem rings (and of course the invisible gem stomp!).

In my public game, most fights took place around the center and the exit, probably because it were mainly random strangers that felt attracted to the scripted portal and were quite slow moving through the various towers.. At least their seekers gave quite a fight. Matches usually ended pretty fast, but I’m sure more skilled players who know the level can make good use of the RF’s and bouncers as well to steal those gems!

I recommend this download, and just as Laro’s entry I believe it’s worth a solid 9. The tower layout doesn’t demonstrate perfection, or at least I think it doesn’t, yet it plays like nothing that has been done before in a treasure hunt level. Originality and overall fun-factor are the true showpiece here!

Whew, that was quite a speech. I’m going to sleep out the alcohol now hehe. ;)