Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I have to admit that I didn't at first quite understand this level and was therefore more confused than impressed by it, but during the past months I have started to like it more and more. I felt that the layout is rather maze'y and perhaps too cramped in certain places, plus I wasn't so fond of the tileset and so forth. However, the fact that this level has abolished the standard set of JJ2 weapons and replaced them with completely custom scripted weapons that support the layout and gameplay overall have quite made the difference between a good and an average gameplay for me.

And that is what this level is really about; It's about minmay's astronomical witchcraft in AngelScripting and making magic real in JJ2! The custom weapons, which I don't know how to call, have been designed cleverly to offer the players true tactical weapons to overcome their opponents in the level's creepy corridors and silent stairways. Although the weapon choices are few, they offer everything needed to make the good maneuvers in this level, much better than a classic set of e.g. Bouncers and seekers would do. There's even the really cool concept of a chargeable ultimate buttstomp strike to unleash your whole magical potential and the custom minimap of the level to ease navigating.

There is so much to describe about the cool scripted gimmicks here, which do not limit to just the gameplay features, as they also make the visuals come to life and dance to the music track as well. Even the mezmering background is mighty impressive on its own.

Although I haven't got to play the level for long yet, I did enjoy it for the shorts moments I got to try in the recent online events. I think I definitely prefer the CTF version here though (with the Halloween Evas), as the level kind of loses a part of its profile in a battle-based game mode, albeit that is playable too. I suppose the level wouldn't really work in duels, but I haven't tried that either yet. Maybe the only real complaints I have to the gameplay are the slightly too narrow pathways here and there, plus the minor dead ends at the center and top-right corner.

Still, outstanding work minmay and a strong download recommendation from me!

This level truly silenced me in awe in terms of visual concepts when it came out on the last day of the year 2024, especially by its breathtaking background visuals that for the most part are fully original and unique in JJ2 (for now). I don't know the source of the background cliffs and lava pits, and I suppose they weren't self-drawn either, but they do really fit into the overall visuals and atmosphere of the level! The background graphics and also some of the sprite- and foreground graphics add a certain extra dimension to the visuals, making the level look way more 3-dimensional than an average JJ2 level and that is truly special!

If I had to describe the level looks by some other reference, that would probably be something like Mines of Moria from LoTR movies, but with a strong green tone. And speaking of green, I also agree with Violet that there are strong ezhf.j2l vibes to this level on the sprite layer in some places, but I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. Guess another way to describe the level would be Green Hell!

Besides the astonishing visuals, there is also a solid gameplay design. However, due to the rather large size of the level it can really take a while to get used to the layout, and players new to the level will find themselves lost easily, especially since there aren't too many unique landmarks to be found around the level. But I do understand that the level size allowed Loon to experiment and utilize the massive tileset combination to its full potential.

Even if the level is large in size, there are hardly any places in the level that would have a quirky flow. There has been a significant effort to get the flow right, and that is something that Loon consistently delivers. The only real issue with the layout that I have found is the very top corner above the RF Powerup, which seems to have a lot of camping potential. Luckily since this ain't a level designed for duels, it probably isn't as much of an issue in the big games that this level was designed for.

This level was definitely fun to play in the last JDC season's final events and it was my favorite Loon level from last year. With that said, I can strongly recommend downloading and playing this level at the next opportunity!

A Titan, Ornery and Titan Armory were my two favorites in the JDCE 34 mappool, so it was a real clash of the Titans (pun intended)! I found both of the levels to be extremely entertaining to play battle duels in. While Titan Armory is a level that requires fast and intense maneuvers from the players in a small skirmish arena, this level is more about psychological play and cunning tactics, and so both of the levels brought something unique to the mappool.

Since Titan Armory was more polished on the visual side, I think that won the clash from my perspective, but that doesn't mean that this one would look bad either. It just feels that some parts of the level feel a little empty visually, even the background a bit, although that may be justified to some extent by the use of the massive lightning concept and a limited tileset.

But even without the visual side polished to the full potential, the gameplay here greatly compensates for that, with all the best traits and influences from classic battle levels that allows for enough room for strategic, yet skillful play.

The custom weapons, Elektrek Shield and Fusion Cannon, bring a nice spice to make the gameplay even more interesting and unique. While the Fusion Cannon's purpose and efficiency may be debatable, I think here it serves especially well as a decoy weapon due to its slow speed. You might fire it in a wide open area and make the opponent think they know your location in case they see the projectile, but you may have already changed directions, which might surprise them.

All in all, A Titan, Ornery is a very enjoyable level to play in duels and slightly bigger games, but bigger games may be chaotic. Also happy to see that the lightning concept from Thunder Cliffs yielded another similarly themed level, with a funny execution. Download and playing recommended!

Now this is a duel level that manages to pay tribute to the clear source of influence while being also very original on its own in terms of layout and visuals. It is everything but a remake of the original. I would dare to say that this is even the ultimate battle duel level for me or at least very close to it. Despite its small size, there is potential for slightly bigger games here as well, although a crowded JDC event could quickly start to feel overcrowded.

To elaborate, Titan Armory is a duel level that enables insanely fast gameplay in battle duels, where every room and corner of the level has its risks and benefits. The level flow may take time to get used to, but once fully learned it should be possible to move around the level at ease, although a couple of spots feature a quirkier flow that are always challenging to all players.

So is there any space to hide in and think for a moment or play defensively? Not really. I counted that there are a total of 2 spots that are only slightly more covered from open fire, but even those are still not completely risk-free. In other words, this is a level where offense is the best defense and I really mean it. Is that a good thing? In my opinion that is a great thing, considering how campy battle duels can often get in other levels, but I understand that not everyone may think the same way.

Relatively fast respawn times of pickups mean that it is difficult to maintain full control of the level, but players with a strong offense will be hard to counter here regardless. Basically the faster you maneuver in the level, the harder you are to kill, but it also requires that your maneuvers are meaningful. Basically you need to be on a constant move and think of counter-moves at the same time to survive and eventually out-maneuver your opponent.

The tubes that surround the level are the key to victory in most cases, as they not only give you quick access to higher ground and counter-play, but you also gain quick vision of around 30-50% of the level to better locate your enemy. Didn't spot your enemy while at the tube? Then they're most likely on the other side!

RF weapon enables fast turns in movement by its recoil (and RF climb maneuvers in a few spots), which further boost the gameplay speed here. The downside of the flow here is that it heavily favors Spaz, while players using Jazz/Lori will fall behind in terms of maneuver.

The level's visuals are also a great upgrade compared to the influencer, Triton Armory, as MLLE has enabled us to further mix tilesets and increase the depth of level backgrounds. That part has also been executed really well here, as there are no spots that feel too empty eyecandy-wise and yet nothing is too distractive.

So by that I conclude that this was clearly my favorite battle level of the year 2024 and one of my all-time favorites from PJ (but I have many of those xP). While one may think that a small battle level cannot be better than a large one with lots of different features and varying visuals, I tend to think of the level as a whole, and in this case the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Download and playing highly recommended!

PurpleJazz strikes again, but this time with more than just a pinch of salt (a shoreful of it)! xP

Puns aside, I think this one is yet another solid CTF level by PJ. It features a theme that is well executed and original to some degree, although I have to admit that there are two other levels that this level reminds me of in terms of layout traits and visuals; Vanilla Shores and Sand Castle. Perhaps those two were a source of inspiration/influence here? Just guessing.

I suppose the level isn't exactly duel-compatible due to its fairly large size, especially within the horizontal dimension. Judging by the looks of it, 3v3 games should work just fine here, although I haven't got to try that yet. It was definitely a fun level to play in JDC events though. Some spots around the upper parts of the level seem like they have some camping potential in them, but nothing that would be impossible to counter.

Overall I think the gameplay in the level flows well, with a balanced amount of open and closed areas. Even around the more closed areas there is sufficient space between different platforms, so the level does not feel too cramped or awkward to move in anywhere. Though I have to admit that since there are a lot of similar looking platforms throughout the level, there is some potential in getting disoriented flow-wise. But not that it would be a severe issue.

Otherwise, the level features neat visuals that make especially the background unique. I think the weapon choices are also well-thought and support a balanced gameplay, together with the reverse bouncers and boomerangs as the custom extras here. I am very much looking forward to play more games in here overall! Good job PJ!

2024 was quite the year for high quality CTF levels (and certainly battle too)! It was also a strong year for Dragusela and I think the strongest one from him so far! While there may be a certain bias from me towards my fellows in XLM, I genuinely think this is the most successful CTF level from Dragusela yet!

Since this is a fairly big level, it may not be suitable for duels (haven't tried yet), but the layout is still very solid and balanced which should allow enough room for versatile gameplay overall. I know it took quite some testing and effort to get the flow and balance right, but the result was clearly worth it! The flow has been optimized close to perfect, besides a few minor issues here and there. The level contains also multiple landmarks to ease learning and navigating in the level despite its size.

And boy does the level look pretty! The three main tilesets, Psych, Beach and Castle are blended perfectly together. The river, reflections, trees, mountains, clouds all tweaked to perfection in the aerial view. The only nitpick I have is that some of the key components were recycled from recent levels, mainly xlmthurism I guess. But the result is outstanding nevertheless.

With that said, I think you should definitely give this level a try in case you haven't yet! I am also looking forward to playing more games here in the near future. Well done Dragusela!

In 2024 there were a lot of high quality CTF levels produced throughout the year. However, I think this was clearly, albeit not overwhelmingly, my favorite CTF level of the year. The World Spear features a unique layout and characteristics that really make it distinguishable from the rest, combined with fast gameplay and top-notch visuals.

The only minor complaint I have, is that the flow could be slightly more optimized in a few places like for example around the full carrot. But by now I am able to find my way around it, so probably not worth modifying. Perhaps some of the areas also feel deceptively empty visually, but that is probably due to the high amount of contrast between the solid walls and the background walls. Since some of the previous levels by Warren have had too distractive eyecandy in some places, I definitely prefer it this way.

Although The World Spear is essentially a level made for team games, I've even played duels there, which seem to work just fine as well. Those little extras like the opening label, custom sprites for springs and the mascots next to CTF bases combined with a unique layout and inspiring visuals make this level a true phenomenon of its own. Download very recommended!

As the name suggests, this is truly the ultimate mashup of the classic JJ2 Diamondus, Diamondus Beta and beyond. When I made Thunder Cliffs with this tileset, I found it so versatile that it was sometimes quite difficult to find the exact combination of tiles that I was looking for, eventhough I knew that it was there in most cases. Sometimes I even had to consult DoubleGJ personally to figure out how to link certain tiles together, but in the end everything was doable with relatively low effort.

The example level is also really nice, combined with its many scripted features that I had overlooked before. Those scripted features and the Diamondus Funk music track give quite some extra spice to the level itself, which make it much more exciting gameplay-wise compared to an average example level with minimal effort to describe the basic usage. I would consider rating the level alone something between an 8.5 and a 9 for my tastes, but of course combined with the tileset the whole is much more than that. Double Good Job (pun intended)!

I'm not exactly sure how I should review a JJ1 level, as I had never played a custom JJ1 level prior to this one. Even the previous time I played JJ1 at all was years ago. But I am amazed by how modern technology makes it possible to play JJ1 even with custom levels and especially on a web browser! If that wasn't the case here, maybe I wouldn't have even bothered to pay the effort to get JJ1 installed along with Dosbox, etc. Also as I have minimal memory of what the official Marbelara levels looked like or how they played out, I can't really compare this one to them, but I'll just review it as a standalone level.

On to the level, it seems like the level gives enough room for the player to roam around and explore different areas with creatively placed secrets, as typical to a JJ1 level. Maybe some of the "indoor areas" were even slightly closer to the official JJ2 levels by design, which impressed me.

While playing JJ1 after a while, I definitely was not used to the slippery controls and restricted vision in the game, and I found myself dying quite a lot especially in the beginning. Luckily the level offers plenty of save points and carrots to give a chance to the player to survive throughout the level, especially on lower difficulty levels (I played on medium).

I suppose the level visuals are quite standard to a JJ1 level or maybe even slightly improved from that, I cannot tell for sure. But just saying that I find the level also visually pleasant and nothing is especially bothering me about it. Although the level is relatively big to enjoy the gameplay for a while (I don't know what are limits of how big a JJ1 level can be?), the fun often ends rather suddenly. But this was also certainly an interesting experience!

Are you a fan of JJ1? If so, then this is for sure worth a try for you as well!

Good morning Jazz2Online (at least at the timing of writing this review)! I had a go at this level a few weeks back and quite soon after entering into the level, I found out that it is a vanilla SP level with a fairly classic style gameplay. What in my opinion was not quite as classic, was the way the level environments changed suddenly by unexpected warps, but I got used to it by some point and managed to find my way around the level.

The level is also just pleasant to look at, although nothing is exceptionally visually outstanding. I don't typically create or play a lot of levels using Townhouse tileset, so I'm a bit unfamiliar with the standards, but at least it seems like the background skyscrapers are done with care and there are even some shapes that seem original. The only thing is that some of the horizontal layer speeds seem too fast, as is the case with many classic levels using Townhouse.

Maybe the level is a bit too platformy for my tastes, especially considering those thin floating platforms on the air. But strangely enough I did like some of those trigger crate puzzles around the level, even with the mile-long vine-hanging areas. I suppose overall this is around the average quality you could expect from a vanilla level and it was worth the try for me. I guess whether or not you'll like it depends a lot on what you expect from the level, so to whomever is reading this, consider giving this one a try as well!

Here's some classic good Single-Player gameplay combined with small scripted twists and neat tileset mashes. Have to say that especially the Holiday Hare and Carrotus tilesets work together really well, although fixing the flawed masking of Holiday Hare requires quite some manual effort with MLLE.

Here's some good showcasing of what's possible with AngelScript when it comes to raising the intensity of typical boss fights in JJ2+. Too bad the fun is over quickly.

This was definitely an entertaining experience! The level required me multiple attempts to finish, as the gameplay is versatile and it is easy to get lost in the level on the first try. Still, all the custom enemies and approach to the available weapons is very refreshing in the modern SP scene. Download recommended!

Hi WaterRabbit! Thanks for reporting your findings!

I'm not sure what the graphical glitches could be that you are talking about. Unless it is the same case what one of my betatesters managed to trigger after dying repetitively at the final boss of the same level, in which case the layers seemed to mess up completely (but I have no idea how to reproduce that or what could be behind it), which could also be a bug with JJ2 itself. I wonder if you would be able to post a screenshot on our JJ2 Discord Server? https://discord.gg/MUqr84tp

The spring issue you mentioned in The Prisoner is almost certainly a bug with object activation/deactivation behavior in JJ2 itself. I was able to reproduce it, although it was quite random. However, I realized that it was possible to force the spring crate to spawn by going far enough to the left, so basically by climbing up the stairs and all the way to the upper fire pit and back. Anyway, I realized that not all players may realize this, so I added some extra trigger blocks to work around the issue, since I most likely don't have too much control over the object activation mechanisms.

This is another large, high quality battle map by Loon, which offers a very comfortable gameplay that seems to be influenced by various other famous battle maps, like Wilderness, Virtuosity or Fall Era (though correct me if I’m wrong). The level is also visually pleasant without any distractive graphics. Btw the level looks funny in guide.mut.

Here’s another brilliant battle level where the theme is executed excellently both visually and gameplay-wise. The thorns, as the level name suggests are made part of the gameplay in a fun and challenging way. The level layout is solid and yet it suits well for the fact that there are no carrots in this level, but shields. Download recommended!

I can summarize this level with one word: Fun!

I mean it for real. So far I find this level to have everything it needs to be both fun to play and also to work out in more “serious” play. The level seems balanced despite being non-symmetric with a lot of room for skillful play, especially with the custom weapons. Download recommended.

Ahmed: You can read more about level groups here: https://www.jazz2online.com/wiki/Category:%20Level%20Groups

You don’t join one by claiming it out, but you’ll have to develop yourself as a level maker and when you feel ready, apply for joining by a tryout, typically. :)

+ Visually decent in the night version
+ Good selection of weapons and powerups

- Fairly quirky flow, hard to move in smoothly
- The vines at the top of the level are mostly on the way, rather than adding more gameplay depth
- The buffer tubes and spawn positions are quite evil, it takes a long time to attack the enemy base after dying
- The lower levels feel too cramped and it’s easy to hit the ceiling while moving
- Some things are a bit unintuitive, such as the floor below the bases which is not one way

/ Seems to be playable in 2v2 and 3v3, but 3v3 might get a bit cramped
/ The day version might be a bit harsh to the eye, the night version works better

From contest feedback:

+ Fairly original and inspiring level theme
+ Original choice of weapons
+ Generally solid layout with lots of potential if some improvements were made

- The big white blinking clock in the middle of the level is quite harsh to the eye, even if visually original, it could be less distractive
- Some things like the vines blend too much with the level primary colors, makes them hard to see
- Powered up roller weapon seems a bit overpowered in this map, it’s flying around literally everywhere
- The tiles could be used better in the sprite layer, looks a bit dull visually

/ Playable only in 3v3 apparently