Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

Yep, this level is indeed quite weird. It's still a battle level through and through, no novelty Angelscript gimmicks, pickups, or whatever, but most notably, the layout is definitely unorthodox. This level has pits that are very easy to fall into. The pit on the right side leads to a coin warp that I'll come back to in a moment, while the pit on the left has a powerup that can really only be taken with Electroblaster while on a copter, and frankly, throughout the entire Anniversary Bash battle rotations I never managed to grab it and live. Skill issue on my side, perhaps. Copters are almost necessary to get back from the bottom of the level back to the rest, especially if you don't play as Spaz, which can result in some mean fights over who gets to ride one (they take a while to respawn, but fortunately not too much). There's also an odd open space over the left pit, but just on this side. Weird, but kind of memorable, and rather irrelevant to combat.

One of the custom weapons available is the ELEKTREK SHIELD, and there's some fun spots to abuse it, particularly a thin floor on the right side. Most of the wall structures feel rather cramped, which is convenient not just for this weapon, but for the overall selection here (well, maybe besides Firework, but there's some neat spots for it too). There's also a bunch of food in the level, so catching others with a sugar rush in here is actually doable.

All floating ammo is placed in rings, which means you either grab the whole cluster, or you don't. You can get loaded out very quickly, but if you're unlucky or just facing players who manage respawns better, you'll be quite starved for resources. In fact, I have a feeling the whole level is built around an all-or-nothing philosophy. Bouncer PU is placed on a platform that's reached by springs spring mushrooms (I really like their sound effect!) through very tight shafts. It's really tricky to get there because of how JJ2 Medivo walls are designed, and that's without anyone making it harder. But since it's a Bouncer PU, it's really easy to just stay there and defend the position from anyone trying to get there, and there's not much you can do to punish this camping spot. Not much of a problem in group games such as AB, since the player will likely fall behind on roasts just sitting there, but doesn't seem well suited for duels.

And now I should go back to the coin warp. It costs a whopping 130 coins. Sure, all the coins in this level are gold, and there's quite a few of them, but still, in a relatively small MP map that's a lot. If you do somehow manage to amass such a fortune and enter the warp, the reward (2 PUs!!) is made accessible for you and you only freely until the rest of the game. If you managed to survive that long to collect 130 coins, you're likely already way ahead of everyone else, so this is simply a way to stomp your opponents even harder. Personally, I like comeback-leaning designs more, so I'm not a fan, but you could treat this solution as a sort of game closer / sudden death, I suppose.

Graphically, well, it's a very Cooba-looking level. There's classic JJ2 tileset graphics, but mixed around and with some little fancy bits. Bricks overlayed as an alpha texture on top of original Medivo walls are a neat idea, but I do admit this looks weird to me, since this ignores shading and perpective. Foliage doesn't have any shading or something like that that'd glue them visually to the underlying terrain, but at this point I'm just being picky… This has been standard practice for many years before JJ2+ made us spoiled. It's fine, the colors vibe together well. I might be biased since I just like purple and orange a lot.

It might sound like I'm complaining a lot, but mostly I'm just rambling. Truth be told, I'm not much of a pro MP player these days, so I don't even feel that competent in rating this level, but it stuck in my memory after having played it during Anniversary Bash 28, so I wanted to do something about it having no reviews. It's an interesting experience, so if you play battle, you should try it! It's weird, so it might not be your cup of tea, which is why I think a rating of 8 to bring it just over the recommendation icon threshold will be perfectly suited.

Here goes my review for Freeport, another modern Loon classic battle map I could say!

This level gained quite some popularity in JDC events soon after its initial release, which was on the last day of the year as a Loon tradition. I can definitely understand that popularity, since it is essentially a large horizontal battle map with plenty of different weapons available, various scenery, gorgeous visuals and a very memorable landmark (the crane in the middle).

The irony regarding the gorgeous visuals in this level is that it is a very dark themed level, meaning that for example most of the background can barely be seen until a lightning hits the background mountains and reveals it for a second (which was a strong influence for Thunder Cliffs by the way). But at least the visuals are not distractive that way. I know I may be also at a disadvantage personally by playing the level and writing this review from a very bright room, which made me also realize how dusty my laptop screen was and cleaning it up also helped against this issue a bit.

The other thing to point out from the amazing visuals is that there is a large number of different Epic's tilesets used and combined here after all (and a few non-Epic too). Everything is palette-shifted just so that the different pieces click together, making it all look like it was just one unique tileset being used. Overall the level atmosphere is dark, gloomy and a bit spooky even with the ambient music choice, lightnings striking on the background and eyes lurking in the dark. I think Loon did a very good job at that!

Overall the gameplay flow works well around the level, albeit a bit too spaz-biasedly as is typical for a majority of levels in this game anyway. There is a good mix of large, solid ground and smaller platforms for jumping around. I'm myself not a fan of playing underwater, but I think that part of the gameplay has been executed well here too so that it plays fairly smooth as well.

I'm giving this a 9 out of 10, considering that it is yet another top-quality MP level by Loon that plays well in larger events like Bash and JDC, but I wouldn't recommend it for duels.

It's been 25+ years since we unleashed this on the world. Still kinda proud of it. Also incredibly surprised that it survived.

One of the more visually memorable Castle levels out there.The layout is really cool and the level plays well, or atleast plays well the intended way. The pit at the bottom and the goodies there make it a nice risk and reward to go around. This level has a coin warp and coins that usually require you to leave the high ground, which makes for a nice gameplay loop. While this level does not have many landmarks, it still has different style of areas that do just about enough to not get lost as a first time player. The only real downside is that the level has a heavy focus around the center coin warp and the top right powerup where the warp takes you. Perhaps it's an upside if you like grieving your opponents. The coin warp itself is really cheap for a firebird powerup, which is massively OP and uncounterable. It decimates all your opponents in seconds, and it's hard to run out because you get 50 ammo. On top of this the best strategy is to just camp in the top right and abuse an exploit / bug to electroblaster the powerup constantly. While fun for a while, it kind of taints what the level has to offer overall and hurts itself for a serious competition. Regardless, it's a nice level.

While it's not the most groundbreaking level, it's still very solid and adds to the modern levels of jj2+. This is professionally made on all levels. It shows again that Loon is a seasoned levelmaking veteran.

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It's good to have Snooze back. The idea is really creative. The background contrast and brightness is colorful and bright and bring a different kind of eyecandy that still resembles Snooze his style that is clearly authentic and different to other levelmakers. I've missed seeing levels like this.

Some small polishing tips: There is still some masking issues still existing in the chunks 22,31 and 15,38 and a mask specifically at 45,55 this is a really fun level. And on a sidenote the wobbly sucker tube can be made 'unwobbly' with the use of noclip sucker tubes on the left and right.

Fun! The level has a sort of cozy atmosphere, which may seem discordant with it being made for battle mode, but it works and that's what matters. The entire aesthetic is very cohesive with the level title. Visuals are not jaw-dropping but they don't need to be, it's all very readable and fits great together. Powerup placement goes well with inclusion of the Discharge gun, gives a decent alternative to Electroblaster (even if I don't like this custom weapon, but it's not snz's fault it's like that). The Fusion Cannon has good use too – its main placement is exactly the right place to abuse its power. The weakest point of the layout is probably the little room with springs and a warp, but I can respect its inclusion. Overall, the layout is on the smaller side but manages to stand out with those narrow drops in the middle, the placement of the sucker tube, and those little platforms with Fusion ammo. Felt just right for the Anniversary Bash!

A tiny, silly level that seems to achieve exactly what it's going for. It looks good overall; the sail stands out from the rest with its quality and could benefit from some pixel dithering, but it does its job at painting a picture. I'm mixed on the way water looks here – kinda fits JJ2, kinda doesn't… it's hard to put into words, but it's certainly not bad. Water uses the limited oxygen modifier, but it runs out surprisingly faster than in other levels that use it. This caught me off guard and I died a good few times this way before I realized what was killing me. Boomerang replacing default Blaster is certainly a choice, but it did work well for the absolute chaos that was playing this map during AB28 with 20-something players! Can't imagine many ways to strategize and outplay your opponent here in a duel, but if you're down for a tight Super Smash Bros-styled arena, this is the right choice, I think!

I really like this, and I appreciate the interesting use of blue and green. The layout is solid, simple and reminds of Scrapyard (as mentioned in the description). Overall this is nice and I recommend trying it out.

A new PurpleJazz's map made using one of Szadi's high quality tilesets. The map extends horizontally offering plenty of space for running and jumping, and has a very simple, almost mirrored layout. The lower half is underwater where you can hide (but not for a long) and skip the middle-upper part of the map, offering you multiple paths to take. I've found this map increasingly fun to play, as I almost consider it a playground for experimenting with different weapons, such as hiding underwater under the flag base and throwing a petrol bomb, or simply spamming the roller from the top parts. I really like the horror atmosphere and the lore surrounding this place, which really enhances it. There's nothing to say about the eyecandy and the visuals, they're truly excellent. I highly recommend this.

This needs to be higher on the rating list. The most fun gamemode mutator.

Dingle Dell? Sounds kind of Christmas-like, right? Even though the music somewhat carries that theme, this level actually fits perfectly with the current time of year. No, seriously: Violet, what an amazing piece of art you've created!

Yes, everyone: our amazing level builder once again delivers something truly magnificent for all of us JJ2 fans to enjoy. The layout of this level is quite simple, which works really well for me, since I tend to get lost easily. It's basically a matter of going down, after which you're launched back up and start over again. Along the way, there are tons of goodies for you to collect. It might sound a bit boring the way I describe it, and I think more experienced players might find this level slightly less engaging.

That said, there's still plenty to admire in the colorful eye candy this level offers. The vibrant background and the falling blossoms give the level a very cheerful feel. Also, I'm really impressed by your introduction of those colored springs, which launch you all the way back up the stage. It was incredibly satisfying to use them!

All in all, I'm giving this level a well-deserved rating of 9. Amazing work, Violet!

I'm not sure how this one does it (the colors probably), but it's just so lovely and relaxing to hang around in. Plays well too.

Uploading these in 2013, after years and years of memories from past Bashes and JDC events, was almost nostalgia bait. 13 years later they continue to hold up, even if some of the design choices are a bit questionable.

Was a surprise to see this for the first time in the 2020's, knowing how some things here were quite far ahead of their time.

I like this, but some more visual consistency would be an improvement.

Doomsday Darkdream is still a classic, despite the years, and a 7 is appropiate. The others are kinda whatever.

Visually one of the very finest, with some interesting surprises deep below. The layout, while not the most sophisticated, will still allow for a good match, or two, or more.

The music is VERY LOUD, and some things could may be better, but it's a decent level.

Pleasant and enjoyable, even if maybe a little too gray.