Well, the Bash is nearly over, and I'm sad to report that due to port problems, I was able to make only a few brief guest appearances. However, I don't want that to be all I have to do with this Bash; I mean, ten years is huge!

As a result, I'd like to say a few things. These things I'd like to say don't necessarily warrant their own topic, and I won't be offended if an admin or mod moves this into the Anniversary Bash thread. However, it's my hope that as many people as possible will read what I have to say and feel compelled to also share what this game has meant to them.

And that's exactly what I'm going to share right now.


When our family bought first Windows-based PC from a family friend, it included a box of floppy diskettes containing numerous game demos. The diskettes were all official releases, with nice cover pictures and such - all the diskettes except for one. In the back of the box, labeled with only a home-made sticker marked in felt pen, was a demo of the original Jazz Jackrabbit. For a long time, I never played it. At the time, I was obsessed with the Tyrian demo included in the same box. However, upon completing said demo for around the twentieth time, I decided I'd take a look at Jazz Jackrabbit.

Suffice it to say, I was impressed.

It was around Christmas time, and I knew immediately that Jazz Jackrabbit would be on the top of my "list."

Christmas came and went, and I received Jazz Jackrabbit CD as a gift (it was about all I'd asked for, so I guess it makes sense that's what my parents got for me, though they weren't especially happy about me spending all my time playing video games). As so many of the rest of us in the community, I absolutely loved the game.

Time passed. Finally, in 1997, our family decided to bite the proverbial bullet and subscribe to a dial-up connection. I remember to this day how enamored I was with the twelve kilobits per second glory. After surfing the web for a while, I became bored. I decided I'd search for Jazz Jackrabbit, and sure enough, I found The Daily Carrot. When I discovered that there was a demo for Jazz Jackrabbit 2, I was ecstatic (though I hated the idea of there being a rabbit other than Jazz). I downloaded the demo that very night (yes, it took all night).

At the time, I was a huge fan of Tillamook's fine dairy products. In particular, I adored (and still do adore to this day) the sharp cheddar cheese. As a result, my JJ2 nickname became Tillamook, and I started playing online. For a brief time, I even ran a Tillamook-based clan (I don't remember the names of many members, but I do remember TillaMark was a great guy; haven't heard from him sense).

More time passed, I beat the demo countless times, and eventually I received my hot fresh copy of Jazz Jackrabbit 2 in the mail. Shortly thereafter, I changed my nickname to Black Ninja (which is a story in itself, but perhaps I'll save that for another time).

And now ten years have passed. Many of my friends from back in the glory days of JJ2 are now gone, yet for some reason I remain. Rather than bore you with more history, I'd like to explain what that reason is (though I'd be happy to tell humorous anecdotes about Wakeman and some of the "old gang" if anyone is interested).

Throughout my life, I've been a involved with many communities, gaming and otherwise. However, the only one that's stuck with me throughout all these years is this one.

It's truly remarkable for the community of a game, especially an old platforming game for children, to have lasted ten years and be stronger than ever. In fact, it's unheard of. I'm willing to bet that I could count the number of such communities on one hand, in fact.

The reason we've lasted so long is really quite simple. It's not because JJ2 is one of the best games out there; it's certainly not because the original developers still support it; so why, then? I'll tell you why.

The people.

I'll say it again: the people are the reason why Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is still around.

I am willing to bet that no gaming community in the world is comprised of such great people as this one.

To prevent myself from rambling further, I'll end this post with one final thought.



I truly believe that this is the strongest game community on the entire web, and I am thoroughly convinced that Jazz Jackrabbit will live on for at least another ten years.

I'm also convinced that I will be here for those ten years.


Please, feel free to discuss, and feel even more free to post your thoughts regarding the tenth anniversary of our prized bunny game.