Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

A bit repetitive and claustrophobic but not bad!

Two quotes sprang relentlessly to mind while playing XX2: Colossal Cave Adventure's "YOU ARE IN A MAZE OF TWISTY LITTLE PASSAGES, ALL DIFFERENT," and horse_ebooks' "Everything happens so much."

Because these levels are twisting. And they are constantly changing. And they are relentless.

I really can't find any better way to characterize these levels. There are occasional individual moments that take up a lot of space and are separately memorable… the trigger scenery sequence on the far right of Space. The repeating circumflex platforms in Oasis. The Pirate's Walk block puzzles in Islands. The central warp hunt in Aztec. Uh, nothing in Twilight Park, sorry, you're good but you don't have a set piece like the others.

Mostly, though, gameplay consists of an endless procession of enemies, of ammo, of food, of carrots, mostly in twisty little passages. Nearly every enemy JJ2 has to offer appears somewhere across these five levels, and most of them manage to be threatening, but not too threatening, because you always have useful weapons to fight back with and there are enough carrots you're never in serious danger. (Especially important in Aztec, where by the nature of trigger scenery, you need to be able to survive very long times between checkpoints.) There aren't shields, there aren't coin warps, there aren't powerups or invincibility carrots or other rare stuff, there are barely gems or birds, there's just you and constant battle and constant pickup collection in all directions. Ammo and enemy placement hits that beautiful sweet spot where you are constantly collecting ammo but never too much (except maybe electroblaster), you're constantly incentivized to actually use it, to defend yourself more effectively and artistically than basic blaster could get you.

The levels are absolutely full of unnecessary, but welcome, detail. Hardly a wall does not contain some secret or some unique snippet of eyecandy that's just there to show off. There's unique room after unique room, even in tilesets we're all familiar with by now. Flat lines barely appear, instead your path is constantly spiraling around itself. Occasional gameplay objects like sucker tubes, collapsing floor, spike platforms, and pinball flippers are used to great effect but never take up too much space, they're just part of the levels same as anything else.

This feels like a redefinition, a reclamation, of JJ2… not repeating the old, not trying to be something radically new, but a distillation of the core gameplay that is, impossibly, both incredibly concentrated and yet also incredibly drawn out. No filler, only hit after hit.

Still, it's not a 10, I didn't like everything. Some of the regenerating enemies are fine, (and are often useful for buttstomping) but I particularly chafed at the skeletons in Twilight Park. The horizontal spring rooms don't do much for me. There's repeated confusion about what the block tiles mean: sometimes a block will be destruct scenery, and sometimes the same tile will be buttstomp scenery. The Aztec level features lock (=trigger) blocks as TNT scenery and ? blocks as trigger scenery. And for all that the Aztec level is hugely, enormously ambitious, it does try to do two specific things at once, and either would be okay but the combination isn't. Almost the entirety of the pack is linear, following a single (very curvy, elaborate) path, but Aztec sends you on repeated trigger crate hunts, and it's far from clear what they do. At the same time, it makes very heavy use of (pretty!) foreground layers that make it difficult to tell which directions you can move in or what areas are solid. Together these make it just too hard to know how to progress, and I genuinely couldn't find my way out of the Treetop area after hitting the trigger crate. Maybe I had done a sequence break earlier and messed things up for myself? I really don't know. (The foreground gets in the way in some other places too, especially Space, but Aztec is the biggest offender.)

But I can forgive that, because for the most part, there is so much being thrown at the player at every second in every level and so much of it is good, complex far beyond what anyone could reasonably expect. I imagine making these levels must been meditative, like embroidery, constantly layering new details into every square foot until there was no room left to add anything more.

x_xx.j2l is missing?

We do get the occasional diagonal level, like Sub Junction 3 from Subtracted Space, but this is the most consistently diagonal one I can think of. Unfortunately it does showcase JJ2’s limitations with diagonal designs, such as flying into space instead of running down slopes; getting stuck running into walls; and a lack of weapons that can reliably fire in the direction you’re moving. Another issue is that there are no powerups and lots of warps that send you to an entirely random location, so there’s not much in the way of strategy here, you just go to random places in a random order and hope to run into someone. The lack of powerups is not helped by how many carrots there are (including some hidden behind layer 3). There are some fun visual experiments going on here, including a number of animated tiles, and it’s always good to see non-standard tilesets getting some appreciation, but ultimately this feels more like an art piece than a battle map. Look at it and smile, but don’t try to roast people.

A decently lengthy pack with highs and lows. The highs show up more toward the end, so you leave with a good memory, but it takes some work to get there. I like the original, memorable sequences like the airboard level, the frog level, the fun and colorful rainforest level—I’m less into the trigger crate chasing, and there’s a lot of it.

Azazilisland starts strong (as shown in the screenshot), placing you in the middle of the level with a bunch of stuff going on in every direction. This is a very non-linear level, so you can go in any direction and still make progress, assuming progress is defined by gradually removing all enemies and pickups from the level. There are a handful of spots in the level that are actually necessary to visit, in order to hit certain trigger zones, but for the most part there’s not a lot distinguishing those spots from any other possible destination, so your best strategy is just to go everywhere and do everything. If there’s an enemy near you, you haven’t gone that direction yet, so give it a try.

There seems to be a bit of an intended order for you to visit the trigger zone spots, in that certain of them are initially locked off by trigger scenery blocks that get removed by others. Nothing about this order is explained anywhere in the level, and nor is the end area made very explicit, and yet somehow I found myself visiting everything in exactly the right order (and guessing where the end area was). I don’t know if this is coincidence or level design genius but either way it’s hard to complain about.

This is, then, a level all about exploration, and thankfully there’s a decent variety in areas contained within the level: you’re not just in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. The most obvious example is that the entire bottom section is a sandy beach, but the thin wooden platforms are more or less common in different parts of the level, and there are a handful of other landmarks to help you figure out where you are. Additionally, the level is very easy to explore (if you’re willing to do the occasional uppercut/double jump onto a higher wooden platform), preferring lots of small blocks over long tunnels, so it’s always possible to change direction and wander until you find somewhere genuinely new. The only real slipups on the explorability fronts are certain tiles which look like they should be vines but are in fact fully solid, therefore preventing vertical movement between areas.

Indeed, the level is so navigable that there’s even a witch enemy toward the top of the level, with Eva placed a little farther down, more in the middle. If you forget where she is, it’s possible to fall all the way down to the bottom of the level and eventually climb back up to find her again (provided you don’t die along the way). I’m not sure how I feel about the witch’s inclusion overall, but I appreciate that the level makes sure you can get back up to her as a frog… but not much farther up than that.

Besides the one witch, there’s a respectably-sized menagerie of enemies that seem appropriate to the tileset, all managing to pose the occasional, yet never outsized, thread. The level also boasts a solid, yet never excessive, number of carrots and ammo pickups to make your battles that much easier. And ultimately its success lives and dies on the question of how much you enjoy walking around and shooting normal JJ2 enemies, because it gives you a whole lot of opportunities to do that, without any obvious flaws but without any enormous innovation or variety… and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Xenobiotic Xeranthemum is a level pack which contains 5 full-length (that might be an understatement) levels, all of which are themed after JJ1 levels: Diamondus, Turtemple, Tubelectric, Ceramicus and Technoir. Each level has its own set of enemies and the pack is characterized by taking multiple paths to open other paths in order to proceed.

Gameplay: 7/10

The first two levels are probably the best in terms of gameplay, the other three are not that far off though. Some unfair and unfun segments but it’s got an overall good level design. None of the levels have any coins to pick up and there is a considerable lack of secrets. The major flaw in this is how lengthy and repetitive it can get. I like the idea of opening different paths to proceed but in this level pack, it feels more like a chore after the first 3 levels. The level scaling is fine-ish, ammo placement is good and there are just enough carrots scattered throughout the level. Also, the level design can be a bit claustrophobic at times, though that’s not as much of an issue as it may sound. The ending was a bit anticlimactic as the boss was ridiculously easy to defeat.

Also, Archon, if you’re reading this, players can get stuck in the damaging red water in the Technoir level.

Eyecandy: 9.5/10

It is, overall, a great looking level pack. As far as I’ve noticed, there are no misplaced tiles. In some levels, the foreground elements are a bit tiring to look at (for example, the clouds in Turtemple). The introductory screens are pretty bad looking, though it might be because of JJ2’s palette limitations. Ceramicus was not very pleasant to look at because of how crowded the level can get. Speaking of an anticlimactic ending, the boss visuals were very poor: the robot boss can be clearly seen behind the “real boss”, there are some asymmetric lights surrounding the boss etc.

Music: 10/10

There is not much to say about it. The music is well chosen and it fits each level in particular.

Overall: 8.7/10

Do I recommend this level pack? Yes! However, I don’t recommend playing this level pack in one go. The levels are lengthy and can easily get repetitive after a while. Download and play this level if you’re looking for a solid JJ2 Single Player experience.

Good levels! Much better than “Kaninchenbau”.
They’re big, but not endless. The gameplay is almost classical. Only drawback is that sometimes you have to spend some time on finding your way.
DR!

There’s not much point reviewing Kaninchenbau because you already know exactly what you’ll get. This is the same type of level as “Queen of B o a r D” or “Mines of Moria” or its sequel, using the same tileset. You can explore this level forever and receive minimal guidance. If you love those other levels, download this immediately; otherwise don’t.

Because this level pack is quite lengthy and levels vary in quality, I’ve decided to review each level separately. On the other hand, I didn’t separate it further into gameplay/eyecandy etc. categories as I wouldn’t have all that much to say about each of them in every level. Let’s get to it.

Down the Rabbit-Hole
By far the least enjoyable level of the pack, at least for me. I admit I’m not huge fan of puzzle games or mods, however I can appreciate them if they’re done right. Making puzzle game requires more effort than any other type of game, level and puzzle design have many rules a level designer has to adhere to to make level enjoyable, not confusing and not too much or too little difficult.
This level feels more like a maze then a puzzle, there are series of switches throughout the level, but in 90% of cases no indication whatsoever what they switched. This may not be a problem with smaller scale puzzles but in levels this big, it gets very confusing very soon. There are also many hidden places, again with no clue for the player. This is ok if you’re making a secret but not if the hidden path is imperative for progressing further.
There is very little eyecandy here but that is rather tileset’s fault, otherwise it’s quite pretty and I like that author tried to distinguish certain areas by color so they wouldn’t blend so much.
I have to admit I didn’t have the patience to finish this level in the end, and that even with frequent consulting the source map in jcs (due to high amount of switches and warps I still couldn’t figure out what to do next). However you’re given warning at the start that it’s only for patient people and also you’re given an option to skip it entirely at the start of the pack, so I won’t include it into final verdict.
Verdict: 3

Mine
This is where the fun starts. This level is very cramped place with some really tight spaces to go through. Sometimes you’ll block your way with a box or something and have to go around and also your maneuvering is limited so you have to be more careful in fights. Fencer and bat enemies are well chosen for this. Bats are very annoying as they are blending completely with purple background but I guess that was the point. Graphics are a bit boring sometimes with nothing in foreground or background layers and repetitive tiles but that’s more because of tileset’s limitations than anything else.
Verdict: 5.7

Psychotic Brain
One of the better ones. Very nice looking level, despite ever present pink goo. Author makes a good use of tileset’s assets in all layers considering how limited it is.
The level is kind of mazey, you have to collect coins and destroy bunch of crates spread throughout the level to progress further. As with DtRH, there’s little indication about what crate opens what and navigation here may get confusing due to little variability in graphics but the level is not that large, so backtracking isn’t such a big issue. Also I think that due to some bug a few enemies reappeared in my playthrough at certain points, which made backtracking much less dull than it would otherwise be (they were not generating events, I checked in jcs).
Verdict: 7

Kisten Karussell
This level is kind of forgettable due to being one of the few with classic tilesets. The best thing here is pacing, there’s lot of enemies, goodies and weapons everywhere, so it plays good even if it drags for a bit longer than necessary.
Carrot walls at the end are annoying, I missed one crate and had to backtrack good half of the level to open the wall and get to the boss (and of course there are no clues about crates locations).
The boss is well done, Schwarzenguards are usually a good way how to make easier bosses more challenging and requiring more maneuvering without making them super tough.
Verdict: 6.5

Spaceship
Not very long and very well paced level. There are some puzzle elements here and there but less than in previous levels. It is more linear and more centered on combat, there’s little backtracking here. Also music works well in combination with ambient lighting and chosen tileset, the final result is quite atmospheric and it makes the level feel somewhat epic. Definitely one my most favorite levels here.
Verdict: 9.2

Fliegen hinter Fliegen fliegen
This is a strange one. My first reaction was it’s downright ugly, but that is again because of limited tileset.
This is very linear and short left-to-right flying level. When I think about it, the tileset is actually well chosen with this concept in mind (or other way around). It feels more like a quick intermission bonus area. Also the checker pattern on walls in combination with flying and forest and mountains in background kind of reminded me of Harry Potter quidditch scenes, which is a neat touch.
The only problem I had with this is the animated mountains background which just looks weird, I think the tileset wasn’t designed with this in mind.
Verdict: 7.2

Blizzard
Very nice looking level, author makes a good use of all layers here. The music is well chosen, together with foxes and cottages it gives the level kind of laidback atmosphere, like a sleepy winter refuge deep in the mountains. There is a bit backtracking and sometimes I wasn’t sure where to go due to many branching paths, but nothing really difficult.
One notable thing here are reappearing smoke ring events which could get quite annoying as they are pretty much invisible with white/blue everywhere. But they make the level a bit more interesting so it’s not all bad.
The Boss here depends on whether you’re using fireball kick trick or not, I can imagine it could be quite difficult without it, especially with smoke rings flying around. At this point I was already packed with weapons and fast fires and spammed him with RF missiles, so I can’t really tell.
Verdict: 7.5

Kanal Krümmung
It was my first time seeing this tileset used in a level and I think it is utilized quite well despite its limitations. It can get quite boring (the tileset) after a while but there’s lot of pipes in all direction and enemies in them, some of them hidden, to keep your attention. Otherwise nothing much to say about this one.
The boss is well made here with a low ceiling and some reappearing rats at the back. It could have provided a good challenge haven’t I spammed him like the previous one.
Verdict: 7

Sandsammler
Again a very good use of tileset here, especially the sand. The platforming sections with disappearing blocks, elevators and moving spikes provide for a nice change of pace, even though they can get quite frustrating. I liked the fact that there is always one stable block you can stand on and calm down before continuing further (or save you game). The bad thing is that there isn’t any pattern in these disappearing blocks so jumping around them is kind of a guessing game. In my opinion it’s better when all blocks have animation of same length so you can learn their pattern while retrying.
Verdict: 8

Magic Moshrooms
Not very memorable level. Diamondus gets old fast and bees and turtles are as annoying as ever. Inclusion of crabs and Uterus boss and those magic mushrooms is a nice touch though, it kind of give it this feeling of ‘something isn’t right here’, like in Dreamscape. But otherwise quite forgettable level.
Verdict: 5.2

Frosch Flöte
Definitely one of the most original levels here. As if drowned castle and frog morph wasn’t enough, there’re also pinball bumps and paddles thrown into the mix, which allow for some interesting platforming when you jump from below the paddle to get some speed. As you cannot fight it’s quite short and linear, you’ll run past most enemies (mostly fish) as fast as you can before they’ll even notice you.
The only problem I had here is with the last two consecutive paddles, which seemed impossible to me and I had to resort to cheats in the end to get past them.
Verdict: 8.2

Kairo
Quite memorable level, for good and bad reasons alike. On one hand there are some unique ideas here like shafts where you have to look for a draft wind to go up, on the other end there are problems like hidden crates in the sand you have no chance of noticing unless you pay super attention. I also didn’t like the use of a tileset very much, it could use a little bit more variety, especially with yellow bricks in layer 4. I’m not talking about foreground/background eyecandy here, as I know Egypt Cave tileset doesn’t really have any.
What I like on the other hand is the boss here which was pretty much the most challenging for me. The good thing about Queen is that you can’t spam her, so you have to beat her in a traditional way. Reappearing dragonflies in the walls proved to be quite a challenge, you have to shoot the queen and be prepared to move away each time she stomps or you’ll see a sparkle in the darkness indicating a dragonfly generation. Also they dragonflies are placed in a way that you can kill them with ricocheting bullets from the shield with the right timing. Great work on this one.
Verdict: 6.5

Japan
This is a linear rocket turtle chase level. The idea here is that you’ll chase him towards the end where he gets stuck in the wall and you finish the level by Area End Level event. This is a neat idea though the problem is, you don’t have to do anything to trap him in the wall, he’ll always go there. So at my first playthrough I didn’t even know I’m supposed to chase him, I just let him go and played through the level at my own leisure. I still enjoyed the level even then though. The level is beautiful and together with calm music it gives pleasantly serene atmosphere. Normally there’s supposed to be boss music playing but due to some loading error it skipped back to standard level music so I kinda enjoyed the level in a way I wasn’t supposed to.
I guess to make one play this level in a way it was intended, some angelscript would be needed to kill the player or close the path for him should he stray too far from the boss. Or have a metal crate at the end of the level that would trigger the wall to entrap the boss, otherwise he would get away – something like that.
Still a neat idea though, also plus points for using blue ghost enemies, they actually kind of fit in here.
Verdict: 7

Nikolaus
Christmas themed Candion level. Good work with the tileset, nothing in background/foregroung layer but it still looks nice due to good looking textured background in layer 8 and solid wall tiles in layer 4. Also pink snow is a nice touch and I liked that candies match the level theme. Otherwise pretty standart level, it is quite linear with no puzzles, but has a good pace.
There’s Xmas Bilsy as a boss but nothing unusual about him either, except one generating floating lizard in a wall in a top right corner. The arena is maybe a little too cramped and complicated for a boss like this, but you can always rush him or use a fireball trick. So nothing too bad.
Verdict: 8

Party
A really unique hotel level, it’s all just one big house, or several interconnected houses. You’re party crushing a club full of lizards, monkeys, and several tileset characters and your goal is to get to the largest party at the end. There are MANY enemies on the dancefloors and picking them one by one can be quite tiresome. You can just disregard them and go on, or if you absolutely need to kill them, dynamite works great here. The problem is, you have to get quite close and the explosion will probably throw you right at them, hurting you in the process. It would be great to be able to use some bomb weapon you could throw right in the middle of the crowd without risking getting hurt, something like what was used in Tweedle Wheedle level by Bloody_Body.
Still fun though, even as it is. Only issue here was an atrocious red/yellow/blue tapestry backgroung in some rooms which just burns my eyes, but that’s the tileset’s fault, not creator’s.
Verdict: 7.5

Dampflokomotive
A really cool train level made in dark industrial WTF – Deadly tileset. It’s very linear with no puzzles and little platforming due to no verticality, you’re just traversing a train from left to the right. At the start you’ll get a Chuck bird who’s gonna be great help in a cramped train car corridors if you’re careful and won’t lose him.
It’s just pity the creator didn’t feel need to make a real wheels for train cars which would make it look even cooler, but I understand that making tileset adjustments can be quite time consuming.
Verdict: 7.2

Baumkrone
I always liked rainforest tileset in JJ1 and its JJ2 conversion is absolutely gorgeous. It’s good that creator realizes this and have tries to utilize it to its full extent. There’s lush jungle in the background, leaves and vines in the foregroung and even raindrops in layer 1 which finalize the deal. Monkey and Dragonfly enemies feel of course right at home here. Just beautiful.
The whole level is very vertical, you’re moving up all the time and it feels like one big treehouse with interconnected bridges and platforms. It all looks very complicated, what with all those overlapping vines and leaves, but it’s in fact quite linear for most part.
There is a Schwarzenguard boss at the end with one additional one at bottom as a support. He’s standing on top of a tree and you have to jump on the spring to ba able to shoot him while evading attacks from both of them. Fun stuff.
The only bad thing here is Diamondus music. I’m sick of that stuff.
Verdict: 9.7

Gift
Very cool, even if a bit too long level. Good work with the tileset, there’s nothing in foreground but it still looks pretty well. There’s giant ground mass slowly moving through the air in a background layer and rocks with structures and toxic waste pouring machinery sticking from them here and there in layer 4, together with well picked music it all gives a feeling of this dangerous alien planet in a post apocalyptic state with mutants (in form of Tuff Turtles and Fat Chicks) and monkeys all over the place.
There’s a lot of platforming here based around the idea that you cannot fall down as there is sludge lake at the bottom. Thankfully it doesn’t instakill you but instead warps you back to the start or the last checkpoint. Later half of the level is all about making it across big gaps on lizard copters while evading enemies along the way. It may be quite hard, though definitely not impossible. You also get as many tries as you need as long as you don’t bump into enemies too often. It’s a nice challenge well befitting the endgame towards which you’re getting close.
Verdict: 8.2

Hölle
The last level, and damn, it sure feels like it. This level got the most attention in terms of atmosphere. JJ2 Hell levels look like a friggin’ paradise compared to this hellhole. There’s lava everywhere, hooks, pentagrams, your copies on hover boards confusing you when you touch them, everything bubbling and flashing and exploding and ominous sound playing in the background… It’s a mess and you have to get through somehow.
The level is very short though, it’s basically just prolonged boss room. The idea here is that you have to go to these pentagram blocks which open a way further and warp you at the beginning at the same time. Then you have to repeat the level towards the next block until you get to the boss (all enemies are of course reappearing). It feels like you’re opening these seals one after another and slowly working your way towards the master of hell itself.
The final arena with Devil Devan is well made, it’s big and you have a lot of room to maneuver around. You can get to the top parts on hooks but it can be quite difficult while fighting him and you may just want to stay on the ground instead and fight him there, which means the whole potential of the arena is kind of wasted. There’s also lot of reappearing ravens everywhere which can often kill you more efficiently than Devan himself. Maybe redoing the arena so there would be less of careful jumping and platforming and removing some of these Ravens (or setting them on hard) would make final fight slightly more enjoyable. Being as it is, spamming Devan with RF Missiles seemed like the best solution.
Verdict: 8.5

Conclusion
I really enjoyed this pack. Most of its flaws are lack of eyecandy, especially in foreground and background layers and sometimes maybe sticking too close to traditional gameplay – a little angelscript here and there would be nice, even if copied from other levels. However I have to give a credit to creator for having a courage to work with custom assets, many of which are not very easy to use in big single player levels.
Most of the levels play very fluently and it seems the author has a good understanding of balanced level design and pacing in traditional JJ2 platforming. Placement of enemies and goodies is usually spot on and there are plenty of weapons and carrots all around so you don’t have to play extra carefully for fear of getting hurt. The author doesn’t experiment too much but for what he’s trying to accomplish, he’s doing well. Now if only he’d understand puzzle design so well…
Final verdict: 7.5

If you’re a lazy dumbass like me, if you only like to run, shoot and type “jjnowall” and “jjfly” when the level you’re currently playing is tedious but you want to get a better look of it to write a review, please scroll page down to “Brief review” – that part was written exactly for you!

Detailed review.

The level is really huge but my review isn’t going to be huge at all. Honestly speaking, I’ve spent an hour or so on checking out the rabbithole, and, obviously it was hardly enough to explore even 20-30 % of the level. Probably I should have spent a little bit more time on playing the level in order to write a non-quick review, but I was really fed up with it. However I managed to feel the gameplay and to make up my mind about the level itself.

So, what I was talking about, you are supposed to explore this enormous area of the rabbithole, which looks more like a futuristic space station. There are different areas or zones that are connected by warps and tubes (sometimes you have to walk in the tubes as they don’t actually suck you). The laws of physics don’t always work there (don’t forget that it’s a rabbithole, wonderland, Lewis Carol’s logic and stuff like that – how much better the level could be if you’ve used Psych tileset with its rich eyecandy!) – sometimes you may slam into an invisible wall, or be captured by “sucker tube” events that hang in the air, bullets and bird’s feathers are flying here and there but they don’t affect you in any way – they are kinda eyecandy.

Brief review.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time on finding your way. In fact it’s just a huge labyrinth. Only if you like unhurried monotonous gameplay (which I highly doubt if you’re reading the bief review) can I recommend this level to you.

6.0… Ok, well, let it be 6.5 for your efforts.