JCS Awards 2018 - January 26th 2019
Source: JCF
The JCS awards have returned, and there’s a real variety of levels to choose from this time across multiple categories! Cast your votes here to give recognition to your favourite uploads last year!
Jazz Jackrabbit has found a new job - January 17th 2019
Source: https://twitter.com/RerezTV/status/1085788398537760768
After almost 21 years since that our green hero Jazz Jackrabbit has saved the ring from Devan’s dirty hands (Yes, I am totally rejecting the GBA storyline here). Jazz has finally started a new business.
He’s now into speedy distribution and mega services in Pennsylvania USA…. well at least according to @RerezTV (Shane Luis)‘s tweet.
Not that we can find any information about this. The website jackrabbitworks.com doesn’t work and Google doesn’t give any result. But still funny non-the-less….
Gamer.NL reviews Jazz Jackrabbit 2 - January 14th 2019
Source: https://gamer.nl/artikelen/achtergrond/reload-jazz-jackrabbit-2/
Gamer.nl Dutch’s largest gaming website has made a review about Jazz Jackrabbit 2 in their reload series. Reload is a series of reviews from games from the past, think about games such as Sonic the Hegdehog, Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros 3. But this time it was our green rabbit in the spotlight.
Their review is pretty straight forward, it reflects back on the game’s development. They also point out that the game is timeless and still works as it is. Plus they praise the community about building new levels etc.
You can read everything here in Dutch here at Gamer.NL.
Happy holidays! - December 3rd 2018
Snow is falling in the backgrounds of J2O, JJ1, and JJ2+, carolers are out in the streets without their safety goggles, and candles are being lit at sunset around the world. The J2O staff wishes you all a spectacular holiday season and a happy new year. Enjoy the last bits of 2018!
And an especially happy holiday wish to Holiday Hare 98, which turns twenty years old on December 10th!
PurpleJazz is planning a JJ2 Christmas Party from 20th to 23rd December; check out the JCF thread for further information!
Jill of the Jungle released as freeware - November 2nd 2018
Source: GOG.com
Before Jazz, Epic MegaGames had a different platformer hero: Jill of the Jungle. She was the star of three episodes released from 1992 to 1993, and later reappeared as a table in Epic Pinball and in one of Jazz 1’s episode selection pictures… then nothing more. With the demise of the Epic Classics webstore in 2012, it became impossible to obtain the latter two (non-shareware) episodes of Jill legally.
Until today, when GOG.com has not only rereleased the complete trilogy, but made it permanently freeware for the first time ever. Is your Epic collection complete??
(Another Epic game, Xargon, was built from Jill’s engine/gameplay with significantly upgraded graphics, but Xargon was declared freeware over ten years ago.)
Quirky Combo Battle jam contest - October 25th 2018
Source: JCF Thread
Have you been itching for an excuse to make a JJ2 level? Maybe Treylina can help you out with 2-Week Jazz JAM #1: Quirky combo battle. Entrants have two weeks (less than that now) to make a battle level (or two, or three) using multiple tilesets. There is no prize for winning, but you can click through for more details and rules.
Or if you’re more interested in single player level design, there is talk of making a Holiday Hare ’18 community level pack as a sequel to last year’s HH17. Nothing concrete has so far emerged in terms of planning, but you can join in the discussion in this JCF thread.
Jazz Jackrabbit 2 - 20th Anniversary Tribute Album released - August 29th 2018
Source: so this one page on bandcamp
Last week a group of Hungarian music artists teased us with their 20th year anniversary album and promised to release it very soon.
"Bun and Gun" fangame released - August 24th 2018
Source: JCF thread
JCS has always provided us with such so much easy-to-use power that there’s never been much of a drive to create fangames for Jazz Jackrabbit, and the introduction of AngelScript, like such earlier additions as Karrot Shire, have only served to further solidify the place of Jazz Jackrabbit gameplay experimentation as firmly inside of Jazz 2 (and very occasionally Jazz 1) itself. The only Jazz fangame to be finished and reach any level of prominence was et’s Jazz Ski Rabbit in 2001, which justified its standalone executable status by mostly eschewing platformer gameplay.
And yet, not so with Bun & Gun, a “a high-speed run-and-gun platformer where you play as Bun E. Bazooka in an attempt to save the Jade Kingdom from the vile clutches of the surprisingly-vampiric turtle Shelltopias Turtatory Von Turtula.” Created by happygreenfrog for the Demake game jam, Bun & Gun stays carefully on the friendly side of copyright laws while recreating most of Jazz 1’s shareware episode (Diamondus/Tubelectric/Medivo, with their full array of weapons and enemies included) within an even smaller resolution and a four-color palette. Download today!
JJ2 20th Anniversary Album teaser - August 21st 2018
Source: Bandcamp
Did you forget that 2018 is the 20th anniversary of Jazz 2? Well, Hungary didn’t! In just over a week, a team of musicians from Hungary (including community member tazar) will release a free Jazz 2 tribute album of nine different remixes on Bandcamp:
It’s been 20 years since Jazz, the green jackrabbit has returned with his sidekicks to take blastin’ revenge on the evil turtle Devan Shell and his nasty minions. Since then, Jazz Jackrabbit 2’s popularity has been on the rise and its legacy has not just been kept alive up to this day but enriched by its fan community.
To celebrate the two-decade anniversary of this shiny gem of classic platformer gaming, a musical tribute album has been arranged by various Hungarian artists. This collection is an expression of appreciation towards Jazz Jackrabbit 2 and its creators, especially Alexander Brandon, the composer of the game’s remarkable soundtrack.
You can listen to previews of the tunes right now, along with some nifty JJ2-styled animation.
Egypt wins 2018 National Tournament - August 14th 2018
Source: JJ.net news post
This weekend marked the finals of 2018’s National Tournament, the semi-annual JJ2 tournament for national teams hosted by jazzjackrabbit.net.
This year’s finals were a real thriller – both teams went the distance and it took 7 (seven!) rounds for Egypt and The Netherlands to decide which of them Would be The Star of this National tournament. In the end, Egypt came up on top, delegating The Netherlands to the second place, just in front of Serbia which placed third.
Take a look at the announcement on jazzjackrabbit.net for the full results and more details!
Additionally, JJ.net has announced a level making contest in preparation for the upcoming ladder season. If you want to see your own level played online, this is an excellent opportunity.