Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I’m just going to cut right to the chase with this one:

Positives:
+The technical feats. This stage is by far one of the most heavily scripted stages I’ve ever played, and I’ve played Ozymandius! Loop-de-loops, custom enemies, a custom boss, disappearing platforms that lower down a bit when you step on them (SURELY those must be scripted, anyways… either that or it’s a JCS technical feat, and either way it’s good stuff), and that’s not even the full list! If there is one thing this level deserves a play for, it’s this.
+Tile-set looks nice (hey, it’s also a tileset upload, so I pretty much HAD to mention it, lol). Oh, and the tile-set usage is pretty great too.
+Stage is perfectly playable as all three characters
+This stage has a TON of unique branching paths. Replay value is always a fun time, and this stage doesn’t disappoint with that. Exploring this stage is, quite frankly, much more enjoyable than simply trying to beat it, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing
+Some of the sections are really nicely designed, especially on the lower paths. For that matter, the way you reach some of the lower paths is in of itself pretty well-done
+Gem mechanic is an interesting concept in theory

Negatives:
-Oh gosh the MIDI music, why
-The upper path pretty much allows you to ignore all the enemies. Okay, I know, it’s Green Hill Zone and all that, but if you’re playing as Jazz or Lori this is a bit of a big deal since you can ignore about 50-75% of the level. This is honestly a big part of why I didn’t enjoy the stage as much on my first run through: I decided to try to see if I could ignore the enemies, and, well, I could. It’s MUCH more fun if you don’t ignore them.
-In practice, the gem mechanic feels a bit… pointless? I mean, you could use it for some neat self-imposed challenge stuff, but for regular play it doesn’t seem to really change how you go about playing the level much, honestly.
-Some of the enemy placement is a bit obnoxious.
-For that matter, some of the enemies themselves are a bit obnoxious, though that’s mostly because they’re faithful to their source material in fairness.

Overall, do I recommend a download?

Yes.

Absolutely.

This stage may not be perfect, but it’s great stuff.

(As a side note, why does this stage seem to have more to do with summer than most of the other Summertime Jazziness entries, despite its relation to summer being more incidental due to its tileset’s appearance than anything???)

10 years later, we’ve gone full circle.

Thank god I’ve stumbled across this download lately! The gameplay mechanics akin to the OG Sonic games is the definition of neatness on the highest level. I especially loved the part where you do the loop thing, as well as when at certain speed you can stick to the vertical and semi-vertical surfaces, which reinforce the Sonic feeling even more. The boss fight is literally the best one I’ve had playing a JJ2 level.

What I kinda disliked was the fact that the enemy placement was occasionally cruel and unforgiving. Like, you are running like you just don’t care and enjoying yourself and then BAM! you just ram into a group of baddies, inevitably losing all your ri… I mean gems. Also, there were sometimes some spots at which the floor layer blended with the still background one, which was slightly confusing and led to me hurting myself because I didn’t actually know whether I was supposed to land on something or not.

Apart from the cons mentioned, the whole experience was totally great and I wish Violet released even more levels like that (maybe even the whole series, hee hee).

Def recommended