Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a fairly liked game. However, some don't realise it was actually a financial failure. It came with plenty of flaws, such as:

1. The bugs that caused the game to crash. And bad solutions to levelmaking errors, that also caused the game to crash.

2. Online play had been really half baked. Team chat not working properly, poorly thought out "netcode", laughable balance, lack of server management options. No matter what, the imbalances with weapons and characters will always reside as part of the game.

3. The large difficulty drop with nothing to compensate it. Although I disliked JJ1's resolution (I don't like not being able to see much), there was nothing done at other ways attempting to make JJ2s level design more challenging. Spam blaster, run and jump to win. Timer got removed.

4. The amount of annoying bugs in general. TSF did nothing to fix them, and generally did not add much revolutionary features, along with a rather broken character. I don't think TSF is really bad, though there wasn't enough features to make people actually buy it (and yes, I'm quite aware it wasn't released in the US).

5. Not enough unique about the game. While I don't consider this much of a flaw, Jazz Jackrabbit, for the most part, is a hodge podge of features from other games, combined into one. Some may have saw it as a total ripoff and therefore got put off by the game. I actually don't mind features from different games being put together, as long as they are executed well. I may sound like I'm contradicting, though I'm just looking at it from another perspective.

Fortunately, plus did fix/improve some of these issues, especially with server management.

However, once a person gets a bad first impression or experience, the first thing on their mind usually isn't "Did any fan fix the bugs and improve the game?", but rather move onto something else. Most people who did end up downloading plus was through their interest in the game, and a desire to see the game's potential. Oh, and the flaws of JJ2 had remained for a long time.

I made this thread because I'm sure there are fans that don't realise that JJ2 wasn't as successful as they thought, and keep hounding for a new one. Another reason a new official game may not be as successful, is because much of the fanbase has moved on, whether they lost interest in the genre or the franchise itself. I firmly believe that JCS and the fan programmers is what made JJ2 an enjoyable game, though the developers provided the framework and a fairly (though poorly programmed) smooth engine.

Originally Posted by Treylina

7. Lack of marketing?

Supposedly GOD Games spent quite a sizeable sum on promoting the game and were very pissed when they lost most of it on the sales. No surprise though, as the campaign was so shitty you could think it was a student project.

Originally Posted by Treylina

(and I'm sure there were other programs before the time that allowed it, too, though I wasn't online around the time)

Not really

I think what made JJ2 stick with me for so long is JCS and this community, front and center. I really think JJ1 was a better game, though.

Originally Posted by Stijn

Not really

Indeed, not really. Long ago there was XJJ2 which allowed server hosting/joining from a simple to use UI, including buggy co-op and race. Then Overlord released Project Controller which gave some desirable hosting setup features. But nothing that came even near what Plus allows us to do now.

About JJ2 being a financial failure, I somehow recall reading that it was a profitable game for both developers (Epic and Orange Games) yet a failure to both publishers (Project2 and GODGames). That's an entirely different thing, especially at that time on the market. Many small publishers that believed they could afford the 'risk' of publishing retail products from post-order software either became nonexistant (like Project2) or merged in with a larger company (like GODGames). Even now, nearly all game publishers are part of a large business structure rather than a squeezy little office space.

I do agree on the amount of bugs and the undeniably fast pace in which the developers moved on from the game. However, it's not uncommon for a playerbase of loyal fans to find as many workarounds and fixes as they can in order to make their favorite game survive. It's not unique to JJ2!

And I'd say the 'multiplayer unbalance' is somewhat judgmental, especially on weapons as it's easy to say Seekers and RF's are overpowered, yet it's usability depends on the map design and availability. And the mutliplayer gameplay that survived up to today mostly relies on user made content. The only official maps that kept people interested throughout the years are Battle1 (somewhat) and Capture3 (JJnet editied nowadays). Basically, any multiplayer game has spouted complaints about unbalance in some way or the other, it's all about the player's perspective here.

Many players that bought and loved the game in the past have indeed moved on. A few may seek their past interest on the internet and come across this website and Plus, but most just moved on and may never think about JJ2 ever again. For me, although I'm not an active online player, JJ2 still remains unsurpassed in quality by any other game in the genre. No other platform/action game I ever played has so much diversity and customization. I always tend to get reminded of the game and feel the urge to play it again.

JJ2 is a 2d platformer, which was going out of style already in 98, seeming most fans preferred switching to 3d.

Originally Posted by KRSplatinum

JJ2 is a 2d platformer, which was going out of style already in 98, seeming most fans preferred switching to 3d.

3D sure was the Next Big Thing in the late 90's. Ironically, nowadays 2D platformers and anything 'retro' is back to the front again and we've got dozens of indie platformers and even some big-budget titles such as Rayman Origins/Legends and the New Super Mario series.

Originally Posted by Slaz

Indeed, not really. Long ago there was XJJ2 which allowed server hosting/joining from a simple to use UI, including buggy co-op and race. Then Overlord released Project Controller which gave some desirable hosting setup features. But nothing that came even near what Plus allows us to do now.

About JJ2 being a financial failure, I somehow recall reading that it was a profitable game for both developers (Epic and Orange Games) yet a failure to both publishers (Project2 and GODGames). That's an entirely different thing, especially at that time on the market. Many small publishers that believed they could afford the 'risk' of publishing retail products from post-order software either became nonexistant (like Project2) or merged in with a larger company (like GODGames). Even now, nearly all game publishers are part of a large business structure rather than a squeezy little office space.

I do agree on the amount of bugs and the undeniably fast pace in which the developers moved on from the game. However, it's not uncommon for a playerbase of loyal fans to find as many workarounds and fixes as they can in order to make their favorite game survive. It's not unique to JJ2!

And I'd say the 'multiplayer unbalance' is somewhat judgmental, especially on weapons as it's easy to say Seekers and RF's are overpowered, yet it's usability depends on the map design and availability. And the mutliplayer gameplay that survived up to today mostly relies on user made content. The only official maps that kept people interested throughout the years are Battle1 (somewhat) and Capture3 (JJnet editied nowadays). Basically, any multiplayer game has spouted complaints about unbalance in some way or the other, it's all about the player's perspective here.

Many players that bought and loved the game in the past have indeed moved on. A few may seek their past interest on the internet and come across this website and Plus, but most just moved on and may never think about JJ2 ever again. For me, although I'm not an active online player, JJ2 still remains unsurpassed in quality by any other game in the genre. No other platform/action game I ever played has so much diversity and customization. I always tend to get reminded of the game and feel the urge to play it again.

I don't think RF is overpowered, it can push you into the wrong places if you aren't careful using it. Though its power does depend on the layout. Seekers, on the other hand, are usually always strong, reguardless of layout. They can poke players out, be used defensively if you're being chased, easy to aim, and is generally hard to avoid. It's too good at most things. Several players flocking to the seeker powerup says something about it. Because they home in, they are very versatile. I could say the same about Spaz to an extent. If double jump allows you for more advantages, and making a map results in unintended ones, that says something more than "just the map design". I mean, why would 95% of the playerbase be using him then?
Some weapons are underpowered because the powerups were bugged, and being generally mediocre (electro, pepper), though it now remains as part of the game. I actually enjoy using electro to hit players, though I think it's a little bit weak.

Imbalance doesn't ruin a game, but I find it does make it less fun. My eldest brother partly left JJ2 because of it. It's likely true that the majority of players don't care about it, since they're so used to it being that way.

Originally Posted by DoubleGJ

Supposedly GOD Games spent quite a sizeable sum on promoting the game and were very pissed when they lost most of it on the sales. No surprise though, as the campaign was so shitty you could think it was a student project.

I'm curious what the campaign was.

Originally Posted by Treylina

I'm curious what the campaign was.

I'm not an American, so I can't tell you anything for sure (LK Avalon did the publishing in my country and we DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT), but rest assured it was mostly the game box picture as a page in video game magazines or smaller ads.

Originally Posted by Slaz

XJJ2

that thing was so shortlived, jazztool was a legend in comparison

Originally Posted by DoubleGJ

that thing was so shortlived, jazztool was a legend in comparison

o_O XJJ2 was the only server tool for like 5 years

I'd also be interested in knowing what the campaign was.

I don't know about GOD Games and Project2. JJ1, as I heard, was promoted online through message boards, among computer scientists. Epic by JJ2's release had a newsletter, as well, with information on their releases.

Originally Posted by KRSplatinum

JJ1, as I heard, was promoted online through message boards, among computer scientists...

Originally Posted by Stijn

o_O XJJ2 was the only server tool for like 5 years

was it? I'm certain I barely used it with my playmates

Originally Posted by Hare

I'd also be interested in knowing what the campaign was.

I'm no American but I did came across their JJ2 promotional website in my early days on the internet. It's preserved in archive. It looks informative and well made for an online promotion at the time.

Project 2 did have a website, but it lasted so short, I never saw it in action. They did have some promotional advertising through stores. I remember seeing a live tryout PC running JJ2 in a computer store complete with a small promotional flyer. And some time ago, Master Sven posted this Yo-yo picture that amazed me even more!