Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

I wanted to pity White Rabbit for his review in #[TF] but as he had abandoned our lovely channel for mysterious and unexplained reasons I have no other choice than doing so in a review of my own…

As the Dutch say, “stilstand is achteruitgang” (stagnation is decline). I thought Tomb Rabbit 1 was nice, but it was way too hard, had a lot of bugs (knives!), and the theme worked only for so many levels. Tomb Rabbit 2, on the other hand, offers diverse environments, interesting puzzles and a difficulty level that is Just Right©.

As Violet said so well, reviewing each level individually is no use because Tomb Rabbit 2 works as a whole. Whether it is the beautifully retro training level, the Deus Ex-like elevator level, the amazing jungle levels, all are equally well-designed and equally fun to play. I must admit that. being the tileset freak that I am, I checked every tileset in JCS before playing, and not being too impressed. I started JJ2 with not too high expectations, only to be completely blown away by the levels, which have some of the best eyecandy till date… you play in a mario-esque world full of bright objects, a jungle with giant hollow snake-infested trees, a tribal temple environment of sorts, and finally in two different 7th-lava-fall-but-way-better-styled buildings. And all look completely wicked.

TR1 boasted a “completely new enemy”, which was nice but not that interesting and only seen in the very last level. TR2 is quite the opposite, with an awesome jumping Bishop that looked like it jumped right out of Alice in Wonderland in the very first level, and literally made me gape at it for a few seconds. There are no “new enemies” to be seen in later levels, though. I assume that was because the episode is unfinished.

Another sign of the unfinished state may be the lack of pickups (other than coins), but I hope that was intended, because unlike some other episodes with artificially limited pickups (BlurredD’s comes to mind) here I didn’t mind at all. The coins are fun to collect and the system which gives you one extra live per 100 makes up for JJ2’s non-functioning “1 live per 100 gems” system. One issue was that whenever you die you keep the coins you already collected, so you might end up with literally hundreds of coins, making getting all 400 coins a little easier than intended.

The puzzles were just as awesome as the visuals. I often dislike puzzles in levels because they seem artificial or are just not fun; why would I need to push boxes in the midst of a desert? TR2 however has puzzles that either make complete sense, such as in the elevator level, or somehow just fit into the level, such as most trigger block-puzzles. As White Rabbit pointed out, sometimes the blocks do not fit in the rest of the environment, but I didn’t really mind. It made clear what you were supposed to do (find the matching switch) and added a certain continuity between the otherwise seemingly non-connected levels.

I could go on for a while and pinpoint every individual aspect but in the end they are all equally well-done and as perfect as they probably can be. While playing I got reminded of games ranging from Commander Keen to Deus Ex to Mario, and what all those games have in common is that even though they may have tiny glitches, those do not matter at all because the whole game is just so damn fun to play. Rather than being disappointed because it is not exactly the same as TR1, you should be happy that Kejero chose to innovate, and download this right now ;)

Before you start reading my review, ask yourself why, if it’s positive, and why, if it isn’t, you need a reviewer to tell you whether to download this level pack. For Chrissake, it’s Tomb Rabbit 2! Granted, Tomb Rabbit 2 lite, but that little number alone should have you clicking on the download button more willingly than a brainwashed proselyte giving away his livelihood.

- – -

Of all the twists and turns I’ve seen during my first journeys in Egypt, none was a bigger surprise than seeing green blocks, as if taken straight from some Nintendo game, in a jungle, in a Tomb Rabbit level. From the first to the last, these confounding 1×1 blocks are the major building material of puzzles in the majority of the seven available TR 2 levels. The more I encountered, the more used to them I got, but I have to say that they still conflict with not only the levels’ overall appearance but also the spirit of the original Tomb Rabbit—which had its puzzles seamlessly integrated into the environment—all the while admitting that they remain extremely functional and without which most of the puzzles would not have been possible. It was just very strange to see my route blocked off by big, red blocks that look like nothing else in the jungle.

Normally, I would not mind when levelmakers have to employ questionable tiles when using other people’s tilesets, but Kejero must be excepted because all of TR 2’s tilesets are of his own hands. The blocks are clearly intentionally designed, but what was wrong with the original’s natural and environmentally consistent graphics, which not only looked the part, but also pressed my buttons much more satisfyingly? On the upside, those blocks fitted right in with the other brightly coloured tiles of the training level—a zany mix of vivid oranges, dark blues, and a whole array of other spectral spectacles, with a very spirited atmosphere about it that was starkly different from that of the original—and the warmly coloured island level, also with rich tones and a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky ambience (I don’t even know what that means) that actually uses the same music.

- – -

Different again from the original, Tomb Rabbit 2’s gameplay involves quite a lot more physical exertion: jumping, coptering, using other special moves, and not just running. But surely there was a lot of physical activity in the original too? Yes, but I didn’t mention the coins. Taking another departure from the original, TR 2 has coins in every level, 400 to be precise, and collecting 100 nets you one extra life. They are not always placed at ground level, and you’re obviously encouraged to jump and grab as many as you can. I’ve never been a fan of coin collecting, but given our rabbits’ easy, super-fluid motions, it became quite fun. Ironically, having money in the levels came at a price: the coins make you feel like you’re playing an old school platform game, and removes the intense feelings of isolation and, to a certain extent, (dare I say it?) realism. Again, this is surely intentional, but what was wrong with the original, which was much more about the atmosphere and the experience?

Apart from coins, there are various trigger zones that you can use to control the previously mentioned blocks. The zones are placed on specially made tiles that work in two directions: approach the tile from underneath, and you deactivate the block of the tile’s respective colour; approach it from above, and the opposite happens. The bottom or top of the trigger zone tiles may not always be within reach, so sometimes you can only perform one action, thus impeding or aiding your advance. This system is seen in all but two of the levels, and works wonders for general puzzle solving and level progression, but I wonder if it wouldn’t become over-used for a 20-level episode.

The two-way trigger zone arrangement is also successfully adopted for other means, such as controlling stairs (they don’t disappear; they just get inverted as if turning on some invisible swivel) and, most impressively, countless rows of spikes (you can lower the spikes, which renders them harmless, but they may then block your path; or you can raise them, which clears your path, but they’ll then become dangerous again—pretty cool, and it made me smile too).

Although you can only see it clearly from within JCS, the level structures tend to be very compressed, with a lot of platforms and passageways squeezed into a relatively small area, as opposed to the sprawling, if claustrophobic, corridors of the TR 1 temples that took up a lot of room, but didn’t actually allow much movement. Tomb Rabbit’s trademark foreground window, not just there for eyecandy, remedies this completely: while travelling literally all over the level, you’re usually no more than 30 tiles above, below, or to the side of your previous location a few minutes ago, but the smaller visible portion of the level makes it seem like you’ve gone a long way. This is most true for two of the pack’s most intricately built levels: the three trees forest and the rabbit HQ. The borders of the levels are even a couple of tiles thicker than normal in order to keep the illusion sustained. Unfortunately, the foreground window no longer acts as a sort of inventory like in the original, though it wouldn’t be implausible if it did in a full release.

Deceptively simple methods are used to create extra depth: warps, for example, are used extensively in most levels to transport the player to an indoor area. Given the specially created tilesets, this is an incredibly effective method, and it was a pleasure to zip in and out of towers, temples, huts and caves.

- – -

I recall being disappointed at the lack of a proper Tomb Rabbit atmosphere when I played through the first two levels, due to the marked deviation from ‘standard’ TR 1 fare. The trio of jungle levels even uses official Epic music; hearing jungle.j2b three times in a row is tiresome, to say the least. Despite this, it was a pleasure playing both of the levels, though it was like going to the cinema and finding out that you were seated at the wrong movie.

Saying no to no, however, I played on, and was treated to two excellent waterfall/temple levels that took my mind off those confounded blocks once and for all. The tileset, especially the temple, was beautifully drawn, and the various tiles were put to excellent use, with lush, cascading waterfalls that grew in size from platform to platform, and overgrown stone paths beneath my feet. It’s a pity that there wasn’t a more appropriate music. The relatively advanced stone temple did not fit the tribal sounds of ‘jungle’, with the levels themselves also being devoid of any monkeys.

One thing I noticed about the levels so far was that they are much less hazardous. Where were the plethora of spikes, the boulders, and the knives? Where was my bottom? Not on something sharp, that’s for sure. This was addressed in the rabbit headquarters, with laser rays reminiscent of the spike traps of TR 1, and even some Bunsen burners firing up below a very low ceiling. My one complaint is that there’s a nasty bug involving buttstomping inside the tubes that allows the player to bypass the laser rays and Bunsen burners completely which, face it, is just not fair to those who have had their tails roasted, scorched, and fried.

Tomb Rabbit 2’s penultimate level, my favourite, is easily the best looking of the seven; ‘Elevator Perils’ took my breath away on several occasions, and marks a return to TR 1’s cinematic feel. It is a flawless marriage between tileset and level, with the soul of the level resting mainly on the marvellous tileset, a harsh, steel compound, in many places similar to ‘7th Lava Fall’. The action-filled music fits the level perfectly, and is right up there with ‘Helmet Shaker’ and ‘Cracking Ice’ in terms of meshing well with the level. I could even hear the wonderful Tomb Raider theme, and further credits must go to Kejero for compiling the music himself. If you play the level at the correct pace, the main melody will start just as you fall down the first elevator shaft, complete with friction sparks and animated girders. It was an unbelievable sight.

When I mentioned that this is Tomb Rabbit 2 lite, I meant it. An amazingly tight level, the tropical island allows you to backtrack across several areas, explore every part, poke your nose into every nook and cranny, yet there isn’t one wasted tile, not one wasted room. The blocks looked outlandish in the jungle, but here, I wouldn’t have it any other way, for they contribute to the pinnacle of good level design and, despite the easy difficulty, I was never bored.

- – -

The first question I asked myself after playing through the unfinished Tomb Rabbit 2 was ‘Is this worth the wait?’ During my first few seconds of tomb raiding, I came to the realization that Tomb Rabbit 2 looks and feels very much unlike its predecessor. The training level alone couldn’t be more different from one of JJ2 history’s most famous first levels, Central Cave. For a while, with the mass of bright colours, upbeat music, and chess motifs, I felt I wasn’t playing a Tomb Rabbit level at all, and I must confess that I was basically expecting more of the same. With that expectation defenestrated, I found the 7-level episode to be hugely fun, and, yes, a great experience in and of itself. For a sequel, it is not a successful evolution, but rather a triumphant revolution. Toto, we’re not in Egypt anymore.

gsgsddgsgd

[Rating (1.0) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

d

[Rating (1.0) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

very great lvl!

[Rating (10.0) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

idioci lvl!

[Rating (1.0) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. Also, you are spamming/trolling. – Violet CLM]

not very good lvl!!!!!!!!!§§§§§

[Rating (1.0) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

hm…good

[Rating (8.2) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

wow

[Rating (10.0) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

very good

[Rating (9.7) clearance. Please provide more support for your rating. For more information on writing a proper review, see \Review Rules\. – Violet CLM]

I have gone through several possible introductions to this review, and none seem to properly encompass how much I am blown away by this release. That it was released at ALL is of course unexpected, but that Kejero should have evolved so far beyond his work in Tomb Rabbit 1, although the same style is still at times visible, and that despite all the work visible in this pack being (as I understand it) many years old it blows all modern work completely out of the water… that is nigh-impossible to describe. I have thought through many authors and packs hailed as great examples of the single player genre – Moonblaze’s demon invasions, the ramblings of Spaztic and Agama and Blade, Mike’s sprawling classic narrative, the first venture into a world of tombs (which as you may already know are not present in this pack), the cinematic joy of the Lost World episode, or the antiquated inspiration of Another Story, and while TR2 is not able to beat every one of them in every field, it comes amazingly close.
TR2 is a pack that draws on all the atmosphere of the Lost World – aside from, regrettably, the 3D cutscenes – and then doubles it, throwing you into one new world after another without ever losing consistency. The story is largely absent – there are brief references to the player’s brother, and after apparently finding that brother you gain the ability to morph, which makes perfect sense – but this is because the parts of the pack that would tell the story are themselves absent. Still, it seems standard fare – you travel through a jungle, find a base, the base blows up, you go somewhere else… and then the pack abruptly ends, all too soon, despite the length of each individual level.
You start off in a training level, which is a relatively old concept from the days when packs would propose to be games, rather than just series of levels, and thus you would need to be taught how to play. And indeed a lot of what you learn in the training level is basic stuff, special moves, etc. But you also get introduced to some of the innovations of the pack, which I will describe in more detail later, including one feature people may remember from the end of TR1: tile enemies. Here they are done much better, quite amusingly, and had the pack been finished they might even have appeared in more than just this training level. The Island tileset has remnants of what appears to have been a planned Pacman obstacle, though it does not appear ingame. Anyway, the training level guides you through most things you’ll need to know, and is absolutely gorgeous – possibly my favorite of the many tilesets TR2 brings to play, though the elevator set definitely has its charms. The training set is chess-themed, is done in a style much more common in TSF tilesets than 1.23, and works flawlessly, pulling you into the TR2 experience without a backward glance at the rest of JJ2.
After that it would be senseless to try to focus on individual levels or even tilesets, because despite the different art style present in each set (sometimes even among the tiles of a single set), and the different level designs that come with each, TR2 functions as a whole. The only clues to its being unfinished are the choppiness of the level order, missing the story and other things to hold it together, and an occasional tile bug, uninteresting section, or spot where it’s not quite clear where you are supposed to go next (there are, sadly, a fair number of these, which is the only real con of the pack). For the most part, everything is brilliant, presentable, and, again, surpasses all else.
Kejero takes full advantage of the fact that every tileset used in the pack is made FOR the pack, and he may thus do absolutely whatever he wants for the level design. In the first jungle level, slot-machinesque levers trigger the disappearance of giant numbered wooden platforms. In the second and third, colorful staircases switch direction at the flick of one of the delightful multi-state blocks that fill TR2 and work flawlessly, while other blocks point spikes out of them and conceal or display new passages each time they are switched, making for a huge variety of possible environments, seemingly all of which Kejero happily inserts. Your main challenge in the first base level is to traverse a number of giant tubes that connect different sections of the level, and the second answers a question that I actually have asked many times before – how would Kejero design a level where you escape from a base that’s being destroyed? – and answers it incredibly well. The elevator sequences are pretty enough to sit and watch for many long seconds before bothering to figure out how to progress (although the third is a bit boring), and except for the wonky star block segment, everything about the level is beautiful. Finally you return to the trigger-friendly, kiddy-colored design of the training level for a journey through some caves and island huts, also featuring the introduction of the morph mechanism, which adds another enjoyable dimension to gameplay, though it wasn’t used too often or in any great detail.
I’m not sure if Kejero made the music himself – though I suspect he did – but it is all very good and works perfectly with the levels. An unused track for an unmade train level is also included, which only serves to make me wonder how Kejero would have tackled the moving vehicle design, a type of level which has long struggled to be finally “gotten right.” Anyway, the music contributes to the atmosphere, as do the various trigger innovations, and so does the familiar foreground border effect from TR1 or Agent Jackrabbit. This time around there are no pieces of artifact to collect and store in the border, so it serves a purely ornamental purpose, but adds beautifully to the pack, taking you away from everything else you’ve ever played. I definitely recommend playing this in fullscreen, particularly during the second base level, at which point you could easily be in a completely modern FPS were it not a 2D game.
There is really very little to say about TR2 that is not praise. The main problem is, of course, that it is not done, but while the levels fail to be held together plotwise, everything else is cohesive. A boss would have been interesting to see, though none appears. Again, there are no tile enemies after the training level. The classic rock puzzles from TR1 make two reappearances, but both badly need testing, as I was able to bypass them both without ever pushing a single rock. And there are a few moments when the level design is not quite perfect and it’s not clear where you should go – mostly the first base level, really, although the unfamiliarity of the underlying gameplay mechanic probably contributed to that, and a few in the later jungle. There exist minor tile bugs, the checkpoints need some work, and the perspective is at times insane. But most of these are minor ills. More important is the very real delight felt when the walls open up to reveal gorgeous hidden passages in the island level, which is just another reminder of just what’s so special about this pack: it WORKS. There is absolutely no reason not to download it; the only thing to worry about is the sadness felt at the end of level 7 when you realize that you may never in your lifetime see the other 13.

Relaxia Lakeside

here we go

ORIGINALITY

this level is kinda original. The mountians with the water are nice, first time it was like the mountains were floating in the air but after some time u see it ;).the bricks that flows from wall to wall are nice, ecially the translucent tile between the bricks.the level is still a bit small, and has a normally gameplay (platforms etc)

EYECANDY

u did a good job here as well, the buildings give a nice city feeling and the mountains like a beautiful nature, u cmbinated these elements good in each other, although i think this is not the best part of your level. There is not much scenery in layer 5, the floor ur walking on is a bit boring. but there are bricks, but there could be some more scenery imo (floor [like trees]).(the forground rain is perfect it is much but not yet annoying)

PLACEMENT

placement is 1 of the best things of your level, i hardly had to jump for ammo or other stuff.Most ammo is set on ground floor, so if u run u pick it up automaticlyand about big placements, the bouncer and rf are hard to reach.. the platform is a bit high maybe u should put a float up or something. but overall this is really nice :D

Gameplay

really pwnage, the platforms are simple though but it has a perfect flow (only that reaching pu stuff) XD …. anyway, it’s nice and i like the base placement, it gives more possibilities to rts or capping the flag, not much possibilities for camping either ;) that’s very nice :D,but.. this level is easier to play with spaz than with jazz..

MUSIC

it’s very nice, it’s gives a warm feeling when playing, it fits :D

Overall

Tips:try to make no difference for character possibilities, and put some more stuff on the ground

RATING

Nice level, small, easy to learn, brilliant design :D,normal level,quite good eyecandy,good placement

i give u a =

7.7

u worked a lot for it and ur in xlm
(welcome btw) nice level and i think u will make many other good levels :D!

Keep it going EIGUS!:)

DOWNLOAD RECOMMENDATION?

Yes, of course, this level is brilliant, and u must see this/have it
nice to host for a random time :) just small map but also fun :D ( or like u always says = IT’S FUN! haha)

i Hope ur happy with my review :D

~Faw

** R3ptile, its not a bug.. it is water

I’m not sure what exactly was going through the beta-tester’s heads during the first three playable levels, but I really want to know what it was. For everyone else: Start playing from Brother6. Here’s a quick summary: The rabbit you didnt choose has gone missing, presumed kidnapped by a gang of turtles, and your trail led you to the desert. The first few levels have horrid design. The Western Suburbs levels especially, since they dont seem to realize that theres about 90% of levelspace thats not being put to proper use. I honestly felt cheated after I finally found the end level goal in the first level, and even more cheated when I found that there was nothing done to make reaching the second goal harder. In the first level you can hunt for coins in the rather large level to give to Eva to enter a bonus room, however your end goal can be easily gotten to by making a beeline to the right.

Now lets stop and think about this predicament. The majority of the level is used for a subgoal, one that is extremely optional no less (I got through perfectly fine without it). Why did this level not make the coins the number one priority? Say the landlord wants his rent paid or something, whatever. Give me satisfaction for actually exploring the level and finding the exit by mistake.

While the first suburb level might get a slight pass on this since the player is not aware of its design, the second level should be perfectly ashamed of itself and sent to the corner. One of the first things learned in the first suburb level is the entrance of Battery Park, which is the end goal in level 2. Since we’re running the same level backwards, might as well spruce it up a bit eh? Unfortunately, all thats done is the addition of some enemies nothing that truly forces me to find another way into the park. I honestly don’t get this, and I may be alone here but why design an large open level if its merely going to be used so linearly?

The third level (i.e. Battery Park) suffers from this in a slightly different way. Theres a part in the level where it splits paths. One path is again “Hold button in one direction and do minimal work”, and the other one is slightly more interesting but extremely frustrating to go through due to a rather finicky puzzle-y area. Now don’t take that the wrong way, I loved the puzzle idea. The problem is that I was never sure if I was actually doing it right until I looked at the level in the JCS because I consistently landed only slightly off. I’m all for nonlinearity in levels, but couldnt the choices be something other than “Braindead Easy” and “Braindead easy with a wonky test level segment”?

Now at playable level 4 (I.E. The Desert) things all of a sudden change, the level has one sole path and a clear idea of what it wants you to do. Suddenly, it no longer feels like you’re aimlessly wandering around goalless. You’re instructed at the start to get to the top of the cliffs. Ah- an endgoal. Something levels 1 and 3 were missing. Somewhere specific to actually go to. This removes the fears of feeling like I was cheated at the end of the level, and I wasn’t. To say the least, level 4 is quite simply sublime.

The next level however is extremely whack. I get it, its to get us further into the story. Fine. Can we please start injecting some gameplay into these “Run from one world to the next” midlevels? I mean actual gameplay, not falling down into floating coins that are for the most part in a simple line. I don’t mean not doing anything for a level (i.e. JJ2 The Movie, not this pack). I mean something where I interact meaningfully with the level. Unless you’re giving me a large ammount of exposition, I personally feel like I’m wasting my time. Considering I tend to make up 33.3%-50% of the audience that actually writes a full 350 plus word review for single player levels I think I’m slightly entitled to use this space to urge level makers: STOP MAKING LEVELS WHERE YOU DON’T DO ANYTHING. I’m not saying “No levels where you sit and watch scrolling text”. I don’t mind those, don’t get me wrong. However if I’ve completed a JJ2 level and I haven’t gotten a better understanding of the plot, or shot and/or stomped anything (and no I daresay a lone turtle shell doesn’t count), then I think something is extremely wrong with said level. Theres a lot of repetition going on this subject, I think its time we move on.

The next level is oddly enough a coin hunt level furthering my hated for the wasted opportunity in level 1. The main thing I love about this level and the next is great use of the Top Secret tileset. The eyecandy caught my eye, which to me means it did a rather good job since I tend not to notice eyecandy. There was one odd design choice in this level, its one that I’m not all to fond of. Its the JJ2 cliche of large line of baddies thats somehow meant to be challenging. Maybe it wasnt, and was soley for story’s sake. Ok, in that case, its cool. I can dig that. However, if I was supposed to feel some challenge from this, I did not.

The next level is again quite well crafted and so is the final level. No major complaints that I can think of, and with gameplay this good (albiet not terribly inventive) the last level makes perfect sense.

Of course the last level also works as a twist ending to a well made story, which was for the most part well written and entertaining. My sole gripe with it (which may turn into an oversized rant), and quite simply something that I have a gripe with constantly in general, is that had the enemy gang been called “Devan’s goons” the story would be the same, and perhaps add some punch to ending. The real lack of motivation from the enemies doesn’t really make for a good case against removing Devan solely because “Devan stories are teh bad” (which is what I’m assuming the reason is, since the author made a point to mention that this pack contained no instances of Devan in the download info) Here’s the deal people, and listen up: Devan plots are NOT boring. Dull plots where the villain (typically Devan) has no sole motivation beyond being evil for evil’s sake are boring. The fact that this motivationless villain tends to be Devan has led to this misconception that Devan=bad story. Swapping out Devan for any other villain does not automatically improve a plot, dull or brilliant. While the plot in this level is quite good, the enemies’ motivation is quite rank, and I dare say thats the sole flaw with the story: without any explanation for the enemy’s actions I honestly don’t understand why the Turtles and Lizards are working together, why they have this elaborate base in the desert (though this stems from not know what the heck they’re up to), what Lori is doing in the base (though this is more of just plain random period), how the baddies are able to function extremely well without their leader, and why they even attacked the town in the first place. Perhaps that is the entire point of the story: while trying to achieve goals important to us, we seem to miss out on details in the bigger picture. The ending leaves many questions, and any answer can develop to an interesting story idea for a sequel pack. Though again, I’m probably looking far too much into a bunny game, sorry for going Roger Ebert on you guys.

I started playing the pack as Jazz, and interested by the information that there were differences for each rabbit, I decided to play as Spaz afterwards. Perhaps I expected to see the story from Spaz’s eyes (After all I just spent the last chunk of time trying to save him), however was quite discouraged that the story simply switched the roles around and I was no longer motivated to see any possible changes. Though thats a fault of my own expectations more than anything else.

That being said, this pack is worth a download. It tells an interesting story, and aside from some problematic opening levels has a consistent quality in level design throughout. If this pack does not win the featured download this month, color me extremely disappointed, and I look forward to playing more of Aeries’ levels in the future.

A rating of 8.3 looks promising, but after downloading the tileset myself I honestly don’t understand why this gets such high ratings. Sure, it’s huge, but sheer vastness isn’t enough for such a rating in my book.

And it’s a pity, but the tileset has little more to offer than sheer vastness. A lot of space is taken by animations of Black Ninja’s JJ2 character doing various things, and other JJ2 characters standing around doing nothing. Those animations are only really useful when making story-driven SP levels, and because the player names are part of the tiles a story-driven level using these animations is confined to using Black Ninja, Spotty, Violet, KJAZZ, Trafton or Hugela as characters. No offence to those mentioned, but I would rather have the possibility of making my own choice on who to include in my story.

The tileset of course does offer more than just these animations, such as platform tiles. Black Ninja’s Castle is drawn using semi-isometric perspective, which works well. However, and this is my main problem with this tileset, it just doesn’t look good. Colour reduction didn’t work that well and everything is dithered and looks grainy. The stone blocks are just grey tiles with a border, without any texture to speak of. The doors look like they had the wrong palette applied to them, the light beams look like a 10 second job with Paint’s spray paint tool.

There may have been some nice ideas and concepts behind this set, but it’s executed very poorly. The text suffers a lot from lack of anti-aliasing and horrible colour scheme, eyecandy tiles such as the “Ninja Cola” are grainy, destruct blocks and arrows are just normal block with ugly text on them, etcetera, etcetera.

All in all this is a very mediocre set that is not really worth downloading or using, except if for some reason you have a brilliant story for a level involving Black Ninja and Pals. 5.5 might be a little harsh, and 6.0 was my original rating, but to balance out the ridiculous ratings others have given it’s a 5.5 after all.

This is really awesome. I’m speechless. >O

This is one of the few utilities released for JJ2 that really add some new functions that makes the game interesting to play for many more years. And on the other hand it makes the ‘normal’ game types like CTF much easier to understand and manage. Great job, techie programmers of the community!

This is great! Love it! 10 all the way.

BTW good job on getting the best rating a tileset has ever gotten. (I’ve yet to see another tileset with a 10 as an average rating XD Agima came close)

If you don’t want to bother reading all of this, here is what it basically says: This tileset is awesome in every way. Download it now.

Practicality:
The most important thing about a tileset: Does it work? And does it work well? Violet CLM’s latest tileset conversion shouts the answer as a resounding “Yes!” The masking is flawless. I encountered no bugs whatsoever, and I believe that none exist. The content is great, especially for a conversion. There are so many types of… things available for use that it is almost staggering. There are (to name a few) belts, hooks, platforms, spikes, vines, poles, and sucker tubes. Everything that should be included is there, and then more so. You can make just about any type of situation you want with this tileset, and that in itself makes it great.
Rating: 10/10

Eyecandy:
The second most important things about a tileset. If the eyecandy is dull or monotonous, any level made with that tileset is likely to be dull and monotonous too, no matter how well it’s made. Thankfully, Violet has provided endless opportunities for eyecandy. There are at least six types of ground for you to just to stand on, depending on the version and how you want to classify it. And it is very possible that I could have missed some. I only have one single problem with the dirt-ish part. The horizontal pieces of ground lack the ‘sheen’ that is present on the slpoed tiles. The lighter color gives the ground a nice feeling of depth, and that it is missing in the hirozontal tiles looks slightly odd. But really I’m just nitpicking. Then, after that, there are three or four types of crystals, and wooden and metal ledges. Various walls, boxes, chalices, crystals, and ostriches (?) are included depending on which version you wish to use.
The animated tiles are plentiful. The water is gorgeous, and Violet even went so far as to animate the arrows on the signs. The walls literally sparkle due to another flawless animation. Even the 4-stage destructing scenery is ingenious. Four small crystal are on the blocks, and each time you shoot it a crystal disappears.
The background possibilities are endless. You can use black interspersed with decorative crystals, or use a slightly different colored ground. Animated waterfalls are also available, along with a very nice diamond-y pattern. You can use the background to set your level in a cave, but there is also and outside-sky for level eight.
There is some foreground in the form of large, transparent crystals, but the possibilities pale in comparison to the background. Yes, this may be the only area that is lacking. But in its defense, no one really likes too much foreground, and the crystals do their job well enough. You could get creative and use different types of vertical crystals as foreground, too, so there is really no need for more. The only reason it seems like there is not much foreground is because there is so much everything else.
Plus all of that, there are tiles only available in each version of the tileset. But I’ll get to that in the next section…
Rating: 10/10

Tileset Versions: I think different versions should be a staple of all good tilesets. Sure, having one is good enough, but is simple to modify the palette slightly in order to change the entire mood of the tileset. And Violet does this not twice but thrice. And what makes this even better is that they are not just simple palette changes. He has changed tiles in each one. The staples are all the same, but it’s the extra eyecandy stuff that gets a slight modification. A dinosaur in CrysilisV gets replaced with yet another background in CrysilisV2, then to a differnet type of wall in V3. The subtle changes are a lot better than what you see in most tilesets, and they still maintain the overall feel of the tileset. CrysilisV is my least favorite of the bunch. The bright yellow has a tendency to burn my retinas, but if it’s used sparingly no big problems should come of it.
Rating: 10/10

Organization: Also needed in a tileset. If you have to search everywhere for a piece you need, no one is going to bother looking and will soon abandon the idea of using your tileset. Not a problem in CrysalisV, because every tile is ordered in a very logical, easy-to-understand way. All the ground is grouped together at the top, followed by eyecandy, a nice section for invisible platforms, then transitioning into background and ending water animations. There are no odds and ends floating around to be overlooked, and everything has it’s own place.
Rating: 10/10

Ease-of-use: No matter how complex I made it sound, there is very little to mess up. Every tile is clear on what it is supposed to be, and are no ambiguous pieces. Once you familiarize yourself with the layout, which takes surprisingly little time, you will find yourself zipping around the tileset at warp speed. This is a great tileset for beginners as well as old pros because you can make it as simple or as intricate as you want. All the tiles fit together wonderfully, and you can blend and mix them in whatever way you wish.
Rating: 10/10

Reusability: This tileset can be used and reused in many different ways, but at its heart, it is still a conversion. The old 8-bit style shows through, and if this is overused, it will become old. (Battleships comes to mind) Mainly I am worried about the bright yellow I mentioned earlier. This is offset, though, by the fact that there is so much to offer. People that know what they are doing should be able to combine backgrounds and level designs to make something new every time, but still, it can only go so far. I think it will be new for a long time to come.
Rating: 9/10

Example Levels:
All three levels, including all three versions of the tileset, are top-notch. Short and sweet, as examples are supposed to be, they demonstrate the possibilities of this tileset and the proper way to utilize it. Layers two through eight are used extensively, and with them comes a clear picture of how this tileset is supposed to be used.
No rating, but if there was one I’d give it a 10.

Conclusion:
Violet CLM comes through with another brilliant conversion. It does everything right and very, very little wrong. In fact, I can’t find anything wrong. I do not own Jazz Jackrabbit 1, so I have absolutely no problem with it not containing every single tile in the original Crysilis. I am looking forward to some amazing levels built with this amazing tileset.
Yes, I know that 10/10 implies perfection, and perfection cannot be achieved. This is as close as it gets, though, so here you go: A ‘perfect’ ten.

One of the few times I felt like I was playing a totally different game.

Bravo Violet.

This has got to be the best tileset conversion EVER. This pack contains 3 different versions each with a bunch of other JJ1 tilesets combined into 3 FANTASTIC sets.
There are one or two minor errors but who cares?
This deserves a big fat juicy 10!
Even the example levels are AWESOME!

Don’t have the inspiration to write a full review yet.