Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

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.

This pack kinda crams a bunch of pre-existing AngelScript stuff into the original campaign. I doubt uploading the entire campaign with minor changes is legal, but whatever.

All levels have new palettes, which are sometimes cool, often take-it-or-leave-it, sometimes just look like they're hue-shifted in an unpleasant way, and one one occasion downright eyesearing (Castle). Levels occasionally do a palette shift partway through, but most of them are indoors so it doesn't make sense. The one I did like is in Marinated Rabbit with the sky turning red before the boss. That's a cool touch.

Level design is occasionally altered with the addition of previously unused enemies and a bunch of spikes. The Pac-Man ghost appears in Labrat, and its placement combined with its movement would actually add some welcome spice to proceedings, were it not for the fact that it doesn't do contact damage and therefore is basically no threat at all. The Butterfly appears in Jungle and is just kind of obnoxious. Probably the most batshit addition is the randomly appearing Cheshire Cats that fly through walls to shit fire on you (yes, really). These are, to their credit, a genuine challenge, and some tense situations can be created by putting you in a room with them where you don't have much to maneuver. Unfortunately, you're supposed to get out by using the regular hook-tail Cheshire Cats, which are bugged and almost impossible to use properly.

New bosses taken from elsewhere appear in levels that didn't have one previously. I haven't played the packs these are taken from, so the only one I recognized immediately is the falling Devan boss, which appears twice and has some graphical problems. A number of the new or altered bosses are inserted very awkwardly by doing things like turning the level exit into a warp that appears to take you back to a previous portion of the level, and then expecting you to go to some arbitrary, unintuitive place to trigger the fight. Then they're often followed by making you unintuitively go backwards to actually end the level for some reason.

Some of the changed bosses are hideously evil, such as Tweedle; he steals your ammo (somehow) and then starts firing smoke rings (which now come with an even more annoying visual effect) leaving you completely helpless. I assume you're meant to nail him with melee attacks instead, but nothing I did seemed to actually make his health go down. Then there's the Witch, who still turns you into a frog and runs off. This resets her health, so if you get hit once, all your effort is wasted. Bilsy is inexplicably only vulnerable to melee attacks; yeah, the boss who was cut from the game for being too hard is now even more of a pain. Good stuff.

Some come from the Sonic Superstars school of extending game time by being incredibly irritating; the Robot boss now only takes damage when it feels like it, which adds no challenge but just makes it take a very long time to defeat. Bubba returns for an encore in the second Hell level, now as an invulnerable ghost. The objective is to get 10 coins and enter a bonus room to escape, which is actually a pretty neat idea. The thing is, I have no idea what causes the coins to appear; I was shooting and buttstomping but the coins just seemed to appear arbitrarily sometimes. Once you warp, it sends you into a hidden passage above the arena to hit the Level End trigger and… drops you back into the arena, which is very awkward.

So yeah, this is just a hodgepodge of mostly bad ideas.