Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

The level design here is spectacular, with gameplay elements that are unique to this level pack. Some of it does get a bit repetitive, but it never gets boring. It’s too bad this pack is unfinished, which is why I’m not giving it a 10. If this had a proper story and a bit more polish to the levels, it would probably be the best jj2 episode ever.

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.

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.

Well, I just had to see why does this level have 10010 downloads. The beautiful eyecandy and 18 levels approve this to some point, but the levels are for playing, not for watching.

Here it goes:

Gameplay: 7.5
Traps, tons of enemies, puzzles… in fact, every level is a big puzzle. There is not much fighting, but you will die many times. You need to save a lot, but you can’t. Still, a lot of effort is put into it and that’s nice. Every tile in every single level is used cleverly. There isn’t any waste in space (unlike the official levels), and it makes the level look nice and finished. However, you’ll get bored very quickly.

Difficulty: 5.0
Easy is Hard, Medium is Hard+, and Hard is Hard++. I think that I’m going to need to buy a new J key because of all those cheats. I play JJ2 for fun, not for frustration. Need I say more?

Originality: 10.0
I think I only saw one other level that original. New enemies, scrolling credits… Just the idea of exploring lost temples and pyramids is, well, original.

Tileset: 9.5
The tilesets are great, customized for the level. This is an example when the tileset is made for the level, not level for the tileset. However, there are only three tilesets used (including the credits tileset) and one more tileset would fulfill the pack.

Eyecandy: 10.0
One word: EXCELLENT. Layers are used properly and I appreciate that.

Satisfication: 3.0
Ok, the boringness seals the deal. The pack is worth playing, but a little bit of difference between the levels would be nice.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.5+5+10+9.5+10+3/6=7.5

Download recommendation: Yes. It’s worth a try (a download). You have to see how do you like the pack yourselves.

Cool, orignal, fun,… but… a bit hard.

(Unsupported rating (8) removal. ~Violet)

This rocks! I finished the game with saving. I am now making a continuing of this.

This episode is MARVELLOUS! (I follow the crowd) I advice all users to make Tomb Raider related Jazz Jackrabbit adventures. I am now making a continuing named Campaign Mysteries, hoping noone forgets that marvellous game named Tomb Raider.

I finished Campaign Mysteries. I hope someone likes it. Campaign Mysteries sucks compared to the original TR/JJR game Tomb Rabbit. 150 versus 9800.

Errr… Rating? Ofcourse!

Graphics:
Good. They make it look like a real Tomb Raider level. They’re very various and spotted.
B

Difficult:
Heavy.
One moment… If Tomb Rabbit is great BECAUSE FRUSTRATING, WHY ARE MY EASIER EPISODE BAD FOR THE SAME REASON? Anyways, this is challenging and fun. It is nice, like a real TR level. This makes the level even longer. Good.
B

Lenght:
Perfect. It’s almost 2 hours. I never stop having fun. I have made my Campaign Mysteries 2 hours long too.
AA

Original Stuff:
Boo. Something like a vehicle or a dialog with people or something else would make it better.
C

Sound:
Great. You added realistic sounds to custom objects.
A

Music Placement:
Great. They’re placed well. They make the levels fun.
A

Objects:
Good. There are food and gems. But there are few guns. In the Tomb Raider games there were plenty of guns. They just had to be found.
B

Rating: 8.5.
DR: Yes.

I love this pack so much I’m going to download it again! ;)

Any news on TR2 yet? I went on the site and it said last updated 2004.

I have decided to have a go at reviewing this level. I’m not gonna review all the levels one by one because that’s gonna take HOURS. So here goes.

TOMB RABBIT REVIEW:

This has got to one of the BEST, no… THE BEST level pack I have ever played on JJ2!

STORY: Jazz/Spaz/Lori have entered a Tomb to search for an Artifact called the Croaking Gem (I think it’s called that.) A VERY ORIGINAL story. This is just like what would happen in Tomb Raider. This is not one of those ‘stop Devan from doing evil stuff’ packs. 10/10

EYECANDY: What can I say? The eyecandy is just MAGNIFICENT! The backgrounds and foregrounds look FANTASTIC! The tileset is used really well. I could find NO BUGS in the Tileset or in any of the foregrounds and backgrounds. 10/10

GAMEPLAY: 18 REALLY LONG AND HARD levels can be found in this pack. It plays just like the Tomb Raider games. First level took me 40 MINUTES to finish. There are LOTS of HARD puzzles to do in this pack. Listing them all here would take ages. My favourite one was the Maze in one of the levels. It took me about 1-2 HOURS to finally complete the Maze. The whole pack took me nearly a WHOLE DAY to finish! This is difficult even on Easy! 10/10

PICKUPS: Pickups are placed really well in this pack. 1UPs and Carrots are very well hidden. It’s just like finding Secrets in Tomb Raider. 10/10

ENEMIES/OBSTACLES: The enemies are placed very well. There are not too many or too less. There are lots of obstacles to get through in this pack. It took AGES for me to get through ALL of them. 10/10

MUSIC: The music used in this pack goes well with ALL the levels. I love it. 10/10

TOTAL = 60/60 (10.0)

DOWNLOAD RECOMMENDATION?

Darn right I recommend this! Download this IMMEDIATELY! Whether you’re a fan of Tomb Raider or not, you MUST download this now!

SUMMARY: An excellent level pack which plays just like the Tomb Raider games. Also uses excellent Tilesets.

BTW, this is my first ever 10 rating for a level pack.

Can’t wait for TR2!!

WOW! OMG, 9000 downloads now!! Could this be the first pack to reach the 10,000 mark?

RATING TOMB RABBIT

Rating Obstacles X2
The levels are very hard with lots of puzzles and enemies. Soooooooo good. Could you learn me how I can create puzzles?
Rating: 10,0

Rating Eyecandy: X2
Foreground 7½
Path-decoration 8,2
Background 9,4
Rating: 8,4

Rating Placements: X1
Good! Not too much, not too less
Rating: 10,0

Rating Length: X2
Ooohh, dear! 18 long levels with lots of puzzles. Soooo much. Soooo good. Very good.
Rating: 8,9

Rating Story X1
Good story, but please… type the story next time in the Level Description.
Rating: 8,2

Bonus:
A half point bonus for the puzzles!

Final Rating: 9,6
Download recommendation: YES!

…. I think this is a …. FUCKING GOOD PAK!!!
This RLZ, i dont say more!
(Unsupported rating (10) removal. ~Violet)

The music was good, and the levels were all puzzles, which is fine if you like playing puzzle games, but I like some fighting in my games. The end was disaponting. But still the tileset was very good I liked it alot, and all in all is was good

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????THIS LEVEL PACK REALLY COOL AND SUPERR!!!10 10 10 =)
(Really unsupported rating removal. ~Violet)

i cant even use this. can someone tell me how?

What a good level pack! Possibly the best ever created, though i still think there can be better single player level packs created, even though there were so many people working on this one.

Why is the rating high?
Because the eyecandy is brilliant, there are a lot of good tilesets in this pack and the layout of the temples and the storyline and how it gets progressively harder AND how theres such a variety of different challenges in it, including even puzzles – its very good.

Why is the rating not 10?
Some parts are impossible to do without losing a heart, and some times the gameplay can be a bit samey – plus there are too many secrets for my liking, and a whole bunch of them skip way too many challenges – that are really cool!

If you havent downloaded this already, download it NOW – you must, its the best pack ive seen customly made.

Oh my god. This is good!!!!!!!!
(Unsupported rating (10) removal. ~Violet)

Very fun lvl and very long too! :D Good eyecandy and originiality(because there are no library lvls apart from this one, AFAIK). There are no cool effects, but the lvl is filled with secrets. It’s also pretty easy no matter the difficulty, but its length will make up for that. Great lvl. I want to give it something higher than an 8 but it’s just one lvl. :-(

Download recommendation and ++the library tileset, which should be expanded! :-D

I liked that a lot. Great puzzles.
Music is hmm…. great.
Eyecandy rocks!!!
Mummy bunny is very good enemy.
(I tried use that but it’s not easy.
Download recommendation from me.

It’s very good Kejero Nothing From You Are Bad

Thats Really
And Thats Also By Disguise He Is The Best Tilset Maker Ever Here Is My Top 3
From Best Tileset Makers

1. Disguise
2. Agama
3. BlurredD
(Unsupported rating (9.5) removal. Please stop posting your top three list everywhere, by the way, as it really has nothing to do with your reviews. Especially when I’m not sure you even downloaded the level. When reviewing, try to make it so a reasonable audience could look at your review and think “Yes, this level deserves a 9.5” based on what you say about it. ~Violet)

Very GOOOD

My Episodes And Levels Are Nothing
From That From You!

ALL Levels Are very Cool
Tomb Rabbit Are THE BEST EPISODE EVER MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Unsupported rating removal. Please explain what makes this so good – what specific features stood out? Were there any flaws at all? What type of user would you suggest should download this? Original rating 10.0. ~Violet)