Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

mikeejimbo, it’s not that. We encourage you to post your opinions. But some people rate levels so highly, it borderlines to biasism, which isn’t exactly allowed here. Not to mention that ruins the idea of reviews:

“I make a good (actually crappy) level in only two minutes, and people rate it 9! I’m so good :p”

When rating, don’t start with 10, start with 1 and build it up! The higher you rate it, the more suspicious it gets and the more likely it gets deleted, unless you explain it thoroughly! Ok, I’m done for now. You may delete it :p

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Yet again, a JJ1 midi. Guys, how about something other than midi’‘s? Heh, only kidding. Nothing wrong with midi’s, aside from the fact you can’t use them in JJ2 (I can’t say that enough :P) and the fact they can be annoying… O well, review time again.

Melody
For those who only have JJ2, this is JJ1 Diamondus, not the JJ2 one. The original melody is an active one, perfect since Diamondus is the first planet of the first episode in JJ1. In this midi, the melody is completely there, nothing’s off. Nice job.

Instruments
The instruments used may vary from driver to driver. AcId, you may wanna practice picking instruments a little more, or at least pick some louder ones. The ones chosen (Flutes, drums, and the like) make the otherwise active song a rather tame one (quite a feat, but not one I appreciate :p). I know, most midi’s sound rather tame compared to the original songs, but still, given the Tubelectric midi by MaliceX and Stevne Picken, a midi can sound just like the original, if composed right.

Verdict
Like AcId said, a half decent midi, but that’s it. Next time, I’d like to hear the instruments in the background a little more, that would make it a little more active. Mildly recommended, due to the tameness.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Midi’s are becoming the rage it seems. Midi’s everywhere! I guess I’m gonna review this to get it over with… I’m sure nobody will come after me ;p

Melody
Ok, how am I gonna say this? Melody’s complete, but one thing totally ruins the usefullness of this midi: the tempo is irregular. Lemme expand on that: the tempo of the different parts are out of whack: one part speeds up while another slows down. Result: a song that doesn’t know when to speed up or to slow down. Also, some parts come a tick too soon or late. Tip: Next time, pick a higher rate so there’s more room for more notes in a single second.

Instruments
(Just a quick reminder, I’m using the GS wavetable) That’s the only good thing about this song. Having the classic piano playing in the background (kinda like the original Crysilis, and yes, it’s spelled without an “h”) is a great touch, but the rest of them are fairly standard instruments, except for the tuba.

Verdict
Good idea, badly executed. Mainly the irregular tempo makes this song’s rating drop dramatically. I’d recommend if it didn’t have that problem. For now, it’s worth a lousy 5. If the tempo problem’s fixed: a 6.5 to a 7.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

[edit: tempo problems are for the most part fixed, but some parts still sound off tempo: they either come a split-second too soon or too late. Their individual tempo are mostly regular tho. Given the tracker tried to fix, I’ll raise the rating a notch. Original rating: 5][This review has been edited by JelZe]

Ok, here’s a set of… 17 midi’s! Of course there are a couple of doubles with different instruments. Just for your pleasure I’ll note down the songs made into midi’s and the amount:

- World Complete: 2 midi’s (a GM and XG version, whatever those may be)
- Candion: 2 midi’s (same thing as above)
- Exoticus/HH94 bonus stage: 2 midi’s (ditto)
- Pezrock: 1 midi
- Medivo: 7 midi’s (different versions of the seperate midi’s. Be warned tho, in GS one instrument may get stuck during the whole song in some of them)
- Tubelectric: 3 midi’s (different versions yet again)

TaZaR, did you download them from www.vgmusic.com? That’s where you can find the very same midi’s.

They don’t sound bad in the Microsoft GS Wavetable, some sound even good (Tubelectric rules!). If you’re gonna using them somehow, be aware that some have other midi drivers and therefore some midi’s will sound absolutely horrible in them.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

P.S. The authors are: MaliceX, Steven Picken and Steven Blom. Info from www.vgmusic.com

Guys, keep in mind that the higher the rating, the more likely it will be mistrusted. I’m listening to this as I’m writing this, and surely this isn’t a 9.5, tho it comes close. If you wanna be a good reviewer, don’t suck up to the author (that goes double for Danyel ;p). Even a 7 will make him create more things ;) Also, I wouldn’t advice reviewing if you don’t have both original songs for reference ;p

Crossing Tubelectric with an icy feeling has been done before. Some of you may remember “Winder Thunderland”, which was just parts of Tubelectric with new X-masy (is that a word?) samples. This remix falls under another category tho.

melody
The danger of mixing two songs together is that the whole will sound choatic if done wrong. This remix is only half choatic. It’s basicly Ice Cap Zone mixed with loose parts of Tubelectric (not the whole song, there’s parts missing). The intro may sound empty, but that’s a trait of big ice cold enviroments. As the song continues, you’ll hear Ice Cap (faintly), but you’ll mainly hear the Tubelectric part because it’s so loud. The Ice Cap part has been lengthened by repetition, but unfortunately, part of the original melody is lost. I would have liked to hear that song complete and put forward more, since the tracker intended it as the main component of this remix.

Samples
I can’t name the samples, but I can say they’ve been chosen well for Ice Cap. Tubelectric on the other hand is so-so.

JJ2 compatibility
What’s this you ask? Well, for your information, there are some modules that JJ2 can’t play, or can’t play correctly even tho they have the right extensions, due to its (old) music engine. This remix suffers from this. When you want to use it in JJ2 you’ll get a “Input past end of file” error, and JJ2 will shut down. I’ve seen other modules which cause the same type of error. Tip: If you want to make it JJ2 compatible, test it in JJ2 too and not only in ModPlug or a similar player.

Verdict
A pretty interesting remix to say the least. It’s not prefect, but pretty good. It’s too bad the Ice Cap part is so vague, too much into the background. But it’s still enjoyable for the Sonic/Jazz fans out there. Download recommended if you don’t mind a listen-only remix.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Heh, yet another Jazz 1 midi, this time of the boss music. As always with midi’s you can’t play them in JJ2! You need Media Player or something similar to play them.
And midi’s sound different on each player, depending on the midi driver you’re using (I’m using the Microsoft GS Wavetable)

Anyway, this midi is very true to the original, tempo, melody and beat are all preserved. It’s useless for a level, but it still provides listening pleasure. Next time I’d like to hear some echoes and louder instruments.

Verdict? Download recommended, especially if you love the music of Jazz 1, but don’t have the .s3m versions.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Ah, the Hidden Palace Zone. One of the levels that was cut out of the Sonic 2 Beta. Of all the Sonic games I know, Sonic 2 for the Genesis/Mega Drive had been changed the most radical since it’s beta stage: 3 zones were cut (Wood Zone, Hidden Palace Zone and Genocide City Zone), some others got name changes (Neo Green Hill Zone -> Aquatic Ruin Zone), while another was completely rebuilt (Casino Night Zone). Anyway, of all zones cut, HPZ was the most complete, so the most likely one to be converted. Ok, enough of the story, let the rating begin.

Conversion Completeness
Unfortunatly, HPZ was never released in Sonic 2 (tho it got a little reference in Sonic & Knuckles), but screenshots of the beta were released, so I guess I have to resort to them from memory… Every tile I’ve seen seen the screenshots seem to be there, even part of the background I didn’t know about (lower most part). It even has the animations, and a lot tiles for them, due to the background waterfalls. Even the “Master Emerald” is there (Take note that the big green emerald that looks like the Master Emerald was used to cover the sucker tubes, and not to turn into “Super Sonic” or something. Just to let you know ;p) Speaking of Sucker Tubes, they are two tiles wide, so be carefull when using them. I’m amazed about the size of the set, even tho it may not be complete (it’s a beta!)…

Masking
Masking is almost perfect, no crooked lines whatsoever. Be carefull with the half-pipe type tiles tho: the worst disavantage of Jazz is that he can’t run up walls like Sonic can. Also, I have a complaint about the steepness of the green platform. Normally, I’d avoid angles above 45 degrees, that one is almost 70! A better choice would have been to make the mask stairlike, the green extensions are perfect for that. Those two thing (half-pipes and very steep hill) aren’t completely useless, since Jazz can run on them so some extent. Still, he’s no Sonic, so use them with caution.

Extras
I can be really short in this category: no extras like poles, destructible blocks, etc. The sucker tubes were part of the original, hence them being mentioned in the first section. I can understand the author didn’t want to make it too big, but still… the TSF set size limit is 4096 AFAIK. It would have been nice to put at least a Sonic/Tails/Robotnik sign in it, or some enemies just for the show.

Example level
I’m not gonna rate the level, but it’s worth mentioning it’s a remake of the Act 1 beta level. It’s pretty close tho, from what I’ve seen in the screenshots. I just wish the author would have chosen better music: I’d have preferred having Song #3 (the original HPZ music, now for 2P Mystic Cavern Zone) or #10 in the Sound test(lost music, sounds appropriate for HPZ) and even if he didn’t have them J1 Crysilis would have made a good substitute. Still, example levels are only ment to show off the tileset, which it does well.

Verdict
Pretty good conversion of the Sonic 2 Hidden Palace Zone, it’s a shame it’s not as usefull to JJ2 like it is to Sonic 2. With some improvising on the half-pipes you can make a fine level with this. Recommended, if it had more extras I would have given it a higher rating.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Ok, just let me clear this up: Robert Allen wrote the music for JJ1, Alexander Brandon wrote it for JJ2. First came Robert, then Alex. :p

Whoever thinks this is the very first midi of Jazz Jackrabbit to be released, guess again. www.vgmusic.com has a couple of Jazz midis in the DOS and Windows section (of HH94 bonus, Tubelectric, Medivo and Pezrox). See for yourself :p

Now, a general note about midis: how it sounds like depends on the midi driver you’re using. Each midi driver has its own set of instruments. Change driver = change instruments played in the midi (I’m using Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth).

The midi itself doesn’t sound to bad, tho I’ve heard better. The main problem with this song is that the instrument just… stop in an instant, as in beep. Having them fade out at some places would have been a better choice. Also, the instuments chosen don’t exactly fit the choatic nature of Tubelectric. The melody is intact however, as well as the tempo.

Verdict:
A faithfull adaption of Tubelectric, it’s just a shame it didn’t have better sounding instruments. However it’s a nice try and deserves recognition, considering you don’t see Jazz midi’s all around the web.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

P.S. If there’s anything I can’t stand it’s “I’ll review it later”. What’s the point in saying that? If you’re gonna review it later, then don’t post a review at all!
P.P.S. To all the newbies out there, JJ2 can not play midi’s in-game. You need something like MediaPlayer if you want to hear it.[This review has been edited by JelZe]

Ehm, guys? Quit sucking up to him already! Don’t mind me, but I just think you’re overrating them just a little bit :D. Time for me to do something about it.

BlurrED has becoming famous his palette edits of offical JJ2 sets. First Castle (with added sky and rain) to Psych. This time he’s taken on Diamondus, everybody’s favourite tileset, because it is just so easy to use (and therefor overused to a golden crisp)! For this review, I’ll point out the differences and things added in each set. Ready? Here we go :P

1 sudnomaiD
Nothing more than Diamondus 1 spelled backwards. This is probably the weirdest thing ever done to a tileset: turning it upsidedown. As mentioned before, this has been done before (EvilMike if I’M not mistaking). Overall it just looks weird. There’s a downside to this however: the Diamondus Pole event virtually becomes useless here. Masking is ok.

2 sudnomaiD
Night version, enough said.

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Diamond Dust 01
The main attraction of the pack. BlurrED wasn’t kidding when he said the palette edit was pretty lazy: the most significant change is the blue ground turning to a copper color! The rest just changed shades or not at all (unlikely :P). Of course he put in some extra tiles (which you can find in the flipped sets as well): a waterfall, JJ1 style and sized down background walls. While that may look nice, there’s hardly any interaction possible with the rest of the tiles. At best you can use the downsized wall tiles in layer 4, but that’s it. You’d have to use layer 5 to 8 for the waterfalls and walls, which is a shame. The order of the water tiles is hard to figure out. Masking is fine tho, no problems.

Diamondus Dust 01F
Upsidedown version, similar to 1 sudnomaiD. Same palette, same extras, same story.

Diamondus Dust 02
I consider this the night version of Diamond Dust, here’s where more changes come looking. Everything’s pretty dark (with the exception of the gems in the ground, which makes a nice contrast). The ground is a very dark blue-grey, while the grass and leaves are a dirty greenish-brown. The rest turned to a darker shade of their original colors.

Diamondus Dust 02F
Just for the heck of it: upsidedown version of Diamond Dust 02.

Example levels
In a shamefull move, BlurrED modified Offical CTF levels (Diamondus Warzone flag bug fix, obvious choice). Thing is, the level is flipped for the flipped sets. Pretty weird experience.

BlurrED did make 2 example levels, but only the battle level, StarLight Falls, show what you really can do with the modifications. But why only Diamond Dust 02?

Verdict:
Pretty good conversions, but I doubt anyone would wanna use them, since Diamondus is so overused. Recommended for the conversion collector :P

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Here I am again, with the review of the second part. This time, rather than reviewing the pack as a whole, I will check the individual for problems and other things, since they may have .psm related problems.

- Song0.s3m (Diamondus): Nothing wrong with this song, sound just like the original.
- Song1.s3m (Sluggion): Same here, although one sample is still missing (0:53 – 1:01). One would expect it to be inplemented by now, but I guess only the JJ1 music engine can find and play it.
- Song2.s3m (Technoir): No problems. ‘nuff said :p
- Song3.s3m (Tubelectric): ditto
- Song4.s3m (Turtemple): ditto
- Song5.s3m (Nippius): ditto

Verdict:
They all sound just like the old .s3m files, and that’s where the problems lay. The only thing that makes them different is the built-in name instead of the auto-name. If you already have all JJ1 music files, this may not be worth your time unless the auto-name thing bothers you. If you don’t have them, they make good substitutes.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

sigh Do I have to do everything myself? :p Or I just have way too much free time on my hands…

To be honest, I have no words for this remix. For a first track it’s pretty impressive. It sounds pretty decent, it shows the tracker has potential. He didn’t go overboard trying to make it the best, instead he stayed level. The track has a steady tempo, like 1, 2, 1, 2. I’m not an expert on instruments, but they seem too … mellow for a tough bunny like Jazz. That’s forgivable for a first try, as long as he’s prepared to improve on it. The nicest thing is the added tune in the “silent” area (0:57 to 1:06), which is actually a part of the menu song, not made up. The melody is completely preservedOne thing bothered me tho: the very long file name. I had to shorten it because it screwed up the file selection window in my player. Names like “JJ-menurm” would have worked better.

Verdict:
A good remix, but it could use some minor improvements on the instruments and the steady tempo. But since it’s the tracker’s first try, it’s understandable he wanted to stay level, so I won’t hold points back for that. Recommended download, with the reservation of the long file name.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3[This review has been edited by JelZe]

Just to make things clear: they’re not remixes, but conversions, straight from .psm format (more on that later). The only difference is that those have a title built in now, not just some auto-title (like Song5 for Song5.s3m) The only advantage you’ll get is in the Module Players (ModPlug, WinAmp, I use XMPlay myself).

Now, I can already tell you this: these conversions kept all qualities of the original .psm files. As in, sometimes a sample is being played wrong (mostly zigzag samples sounding like waves going up and down, you know what I mean), due to the fact current players don’t have proper .psm support (.psm is old!), even though they have been converted to s3m.

To make a long story short: downloading these would be like downloading the original .psm format without the necessary modifcations to make them sound decent. As far as I know, ModPlug is the only player with .psm support built in, even tho it’s not perfect: samples played wrong, sometimes skipping and speeding; those are the common problems with .psm, and I expect them to turn up in the next sets. no rating yet.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

The reason Violet (an admin, so beware) has been editing those reviews is because they don’t meet certain review conditions. Saying something like “I love these levels, this deserves a 10!” is completely stupid, because that 10 is unsupported, as in the review doesn’t give proper reasoning. It’s also dishonest. For the sake of this pack I will review it properly, so pay close attention ;p

Let me get this straight: I don’t need to review the levels in JCS (which is bogus, the levels need to be played in JJ2!). Speaking of packs, this review will take a smal look at each level first, then a final rating will be given.

Project Hillmen

This level uses the Green Hill Zone tileset, converted by Ice Wolf and “Sweet Dreams” by Elwood. The layout is rather basic, just big platforms hanging in the air. Yes, there are some routes, which is good. The ammo (no goodies, except for the fast fires) are packed together in big clusters of the same type, spread apart. Now for the bad stuff: there is no layer 8. Which means layer 8 has been left empty, which is a big no-no. It causes a very weird glitch on occasion. Another bad thing is the level being a tad too big and doesn’t have outstanding eye candy. Taking everything in account, it’s worth a 6.5 if you do something about layer 8.

Project Muckamuk Sea

This level can’t be found on the level list, but the mean thing is, the first level doesn’t lead to this level. Points will be subtracted for that. Anyway, this level uses Haze’s Muckamo conversion. Basicly, everything mention in Project Hillmen can be applied here, with a few differences. The lay-out is better (more routes). A nice feature is the what I call “Warp goo”. If you fall down to the bottom the level, you’ll be warped back on top. The eye candy only exists out of those bamboo like trees, big and smal and a mountain background. The music, “Cosmic Compressor” remixed by Plasma, fits this level nicely. Overall a 7.

Project Desert Cave

This level usesthe JJ1 Crysilis conversion by Onag and “Dream Land” by Dreamsection. This is the smallest one out of the bunch, still everything said above applies here. This level has a lot of dead ends, but they’re restricted to the borders. You can just run around in circles if you like :p But that’s where the good things end. The outstanding eye candy is restricted to one part of the level, the rest is just molten/melted (you pick one) crystal with a very dark brown sky (with a sparkling star, smal but nice touch). Ammo is a bit better, clusters with two kinds. The music… nah, I would have chosen another one. Rating: 6

Verdict:

Not that outstanding, but it’s a nice try. Too bad the levels aren’t linked together (from what I could tell, correct me if I’m wrong) and that layer 8 thing in Project Hillmen. Mildly recommended, but only because I like the Muckamo level (which I’d host most often). Rating: (6.5 + 7 + 6) / 3 = 6.5

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Ok, yet another conversion, this time Stonar by labratkid. Lemme see… this is the third conversion (at least) of this planet, with CelL being the latest. I’ll just take a look and pin point the good and bad things. Just a warning, my review will be very strict, to cut down the weed of overratedness (and is it just me, or do most copy my ideas on review subjects?) ;p

First Impression:

Well, at first glance, the tileset seems… I dunno, empty? Stonar is the JJ1 planet with the most solid colors and the least gradients, that explains part of the emptiness. There’s also a lot of empty spaces, a real shame.

Conversion Completeness:

As far as I can tell, this is largely based on the Stonar image file in JCS. There’s nothing missing, at least nothing important. If I must mention some it’s a certain backgound wall tile, the one at the beginning of one. Should you need one, you can use part of a window. And the water animation isn’t noticable, even though it’s there in the set. And the skeleton didn’t have grass on areas with the total black background, at least I think it didn’t. And the bridge was also on the inside, not just on the outside.
That’s enough for now until Violet corrects me ;p

Added stuff:

Labratkid should take the effort of putting in more extras. All I’ve seen are vines, destructible blocks (normal and stomp blocks) with a seperate “fall apart” animation, and a hat on one of the skeletons. Pretty scarce compared to NOKA’s and Violet’s conversions. Labratkid could have used the extra space and time for more stuff. As mentioned in the description, there’s a standard 3D background, which didn’t work, got fixed, messed up, got fixed again, messed up again… I’m missing a step here. Yes, He could have somebody fix it, but noooo… In my book, that’s laziness, which will cost points.

Masking:

Everything is pretty smooth, and yes, even here I have a complaint. In this case, the masking of the grassy (or mossy) tiles: the mask is a bit on the high side, making Jazz look like he floats over the grass instead of running over it. The signs are masked too, like in JJ1. Some prefer it unmasked, puritains prefer it masked. I like them either way. Invisible tiles? They’re in the too ;p

Palette editing:

In this section I’ll discuss the effects of the palette on poles, pinball events and other stuff. In this set, the only freaky colors you’ll see are in the 3d Background (both 8 and 16 bit) and using the water level event (only in 8-bit). As for the poles and pinball: the carrotus pole keeps its colors, the jungle one turned white/grey, the Psych one is green. Pinball, the flippers are blackish, and the 500 Bump is grey (I only mention the most radical changes here).

Final Verdict:

Not the greatest conversion, this one can be improved a lot by fixing the textured background, adding extras and most of all: get rid of the empty spaces in the set. If I must be strict: a 6.7 Surprising? You should know how such smal flaws can add up and affect your rating. ;p

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Yet another conversion by NOKA, and it’s Turtemple as promised. Yes, I was one of the beta testers, but that doesn’t mean I can’t review it :p

First impression:

NOKA has made a habit out of making different versions of one JJ1 conversion. While the idea is fine with me, I’m still worried about the execution of it. This time there are 4 versions, each with it’s own set of colors. Because the versions only differ in color and not in content, I’ll just review the standard set and compare it to the rest of them.

Conversion Completeness:

Needless to say, everything is there. Like Violet may know (with his Nippius conversion) some JJ1 sets are heavily animated, tho some of them are really well hidden, and it takes an eagle’s to spot them. The “lava” background, for lack of a better word, is the only major animation from Turtemple, but there’s also animation in the bricks around it. Yes, they’re in there too, no worry :p As for the rest: boulders, smal flowers, cacti (or cactusses), the DoofusGuard statues, clouds, mountains…they’re all there. Nothing missing, in short. :)

Added Extras:

Another trademark by most converters, each conversion must have a complete arsenal of extras. We all know NOKA (and Violet for that matter) never misses a thing, so I’ll be short:

Destructive Blocks:
- Weapon Blocks, all kinds: Check
- Trigger Blocks: Check
- Count-down blocks, 4 3 2 1: Check
- Speed Blocks, blank: Check
- Stomp Blocks, !: Check
Poles, H and V: Check
Vines: Check
Hooks: Check
Sucker Tube: Check (I couldn’t find it at first, silly me :P)
Conveyor Belt: N/A
3D Textured Background: Check

That’s just the usuall stuff (and yes, that was my inventory list for the beta ^.;). But NOKA went further and added bones and palm trees! And lets not forget a sun ;) O yeah, forgot to mention: NOKA also placed a Jungle Pole Stomp in the set.

Masking:

Let me tell you this first: when I was testing the set the masking needed work, badly. Fortunately NOKA took care of it and the problems with the masks are kept to a minimum. But there’s always a downside: the V-poles. When using them, do not put a V-Pole event on the pole in the wall. The wall tiles only cover roughly half a tile, so you get stuck when you place that event. On the other hand, if you don’t place one, you’ll just fall through the poles (Poles are always unmasked). Decisions, decisions… In general, the mask has some smal holes here and there, but they’re so smal, that Jazz can’t get stuck.

Turtemple 2:

As said before, the 4 versions only differ in colors. In this case, Turtemple has a more yellowish tone, so it looks like a more sandy type of enviroment. What also helps is that the “lava” wall now looks more like orange sand. When changing colors in a palette, there’s a big change of screwing up the colors of enemies, some events (like springs) and of course Jazz and Spaz. Luckily the colors for them aren’t way off, just to a lighter shade. This is by far my favourite version out of the bunch.

Turtemple Heaven:

This is where the palette editing has gone wrong a bit. It has the same colors as Turtemple 2, only with orange ground and a water wall instead of lava. What I’m saying is this: the red has been switched for blue. And that’s where the problem is: that red is located the standard part of the palette, where the characters and the major events get their color designation. When you use this set, Jazz will have a blue head band, and Spaz will be entirely bleu! I’d imagine that red springs will turn blue… In short: everything that’s supposed to be red, is blue.

Turtemple Wild:

This takes palette editing to a new level :p Really weird: everything orange is green, yellow is orange, and green is blue. Luckily the event colors are mostly intact, except for Spaz who has a greenish belly now.

Verdict:

This is a conversion you should definitely get. Not only is it the first Turtmple conversion ever, but it’s done by NOKA too. The 3 other versions are an added bonus, don’t be afraid to use them, unless you don’t want weird colors that are off. Highly recommended with one reservation: that V-pole masking problem that may get players stuck.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Ok, 2 have reviewed the set , now it’s my turn. It will be a thorough review, pointing out details missed so badly by others.

And it starts off well: the first ones didn’t see it’s TSF only A reviewer should both have 1.23 and TSF.. rant rant rant (I should start making an article ;p)

Basic Stuff:

Let’s see… ground blocks are there, two kinds: snowy and normal blocks. There’s background for layer 8 in the form of solid blue sky with yellow stars. I don’t see any wall tiles. The necessary stuff is there, but a good tileset needs a lot more.

Event tiles:

A tileset without extras like vines or poles makes a dull level. Fortunately this set isn’t without extras: I see vines, a sign and a destructible block: a weapon block for the bubble blaster. That’s all :s

Eye candy:

This set has eye candy too, but’s just as rare as the event blocks. I see some rocks, presents, some grass, smal tree and even a snow man. There’s background eye candy too: a mountain top, but a bit lonesome and on the short side. And there’s something that looks like a cloud? It’s light blueish shade, an unlikely color for clouds. I would have preferred white. Water’s there too, but it may give the impression you’re not really in it. And let’s not forget the animation for layer 8… Yep, I’m done :P

Colors:

I can only guess this tileset is either made in Paint (if so, get a better program, like Paint Shop), or the author is a beginner. Either way, the colors are all solid, no gradient whatsoever (different shades of the same color put next to each other, looks very good). The colors are at a rather dark shade (is it my monitor?), they could use a little more lighting.

Masks:

The author already knows the main principle on masking: the snowman, presents and smal trees are removed from the mask, among some background tiles, and that’s all he did. The masks aren’t smoothened out where necessary, or adapted. Which brings me to the vine mentioned earlier. Vines do not work properly unless the mask has a certain shape. Result? a vine that doesn’t work.

Verdict:

Nice first try, but seriously: this tileset could use a lot of improving. The set itself is smal, doesn’t have enough extras to make it appealing to use, and it’s TSF only. I’m sorry, no recommendation from me. If I were you, Stud, I suggest looking at the site about creating tilesets by Disguise. A 4 from me.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Ok, this is interesting “very lazy eye candy” I said it before: lazyness is a sin. If it really has no eye candy, then I’m afraid it won’t look good for your level…

Ok, this starts off well: the level has no start positions! Upon closer inspection the level has nor Jazz or Spaz, nor MP Start positions. Single Player doesn’t need start position, but unfortunately MultiPlayer does (Please, test the levels in MP too, it’s what they’re mostly designed for!). That’s why it gives a Fatal Application Error when run in MP. Please fix it as soon as possible, or else no rating ;p

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Almost every time Dx reviews a level, I review the same level. Why? Just feeling like giving constructive criticism to a new author, unlike Dx ;p

First Impressions:

The title says it all folks: a simple battle with a simple tileset. While that wouldn’t sound like a good level, somehow the simplicity of the tileset used is it’s charm. Eye candy isn’t that important.

Layout:

Everything is kept simple, even the layout. The level is divided into two parts, each having smal platforms in the sky. That would sound like lazyness, but the author tried making it Spaz biased. Jazz can move around freely, I couldn’t detect any areas where Spaz has a real advantage. OK, Spaz has a double jump in mid-air, that may be the feature that’s focussed on most: easy get-away. The platforms are too high for Jazz in one jump, but not for Spaz.

Tileset use and eye candy:

Because the tileset is so simple, one would expect no eyecandy possibilities. The level has a cliché, but effective type of decoration: the checker board motive. There are areas with only solid colors, but a different one used in each area. Given the set’s simplicity, it’s decent. I recommend playing with 3D background on, it turns the bright (almost blinding) yellow sky to blue. Interesting how he did that tho :P

Ammo, food, stuff that’s good:

No food, but lots of ammo, very close to eachother. Of course there are coins around, so there’s a coin warp (20 coins). Where is it you ask? Right on top below the green ceiling spring, but it’s invisible. The bonus may not be worth it: 12 seekers, nothing else. I’d expect at least a powerup, but the seekers aren’t anywhere else in the level, so it’s kind of a bonus, don’t you think? Nothing else that’s special.

Miscellaneous Stuff:

I could only find one “bug”, but it affects you only in Single Player: the bonus room has an Exit Signpost event. When you shoot that event, the level is cleared, and you go to the next one, much like in JJ1. Also in Single Player, when you use the coin warp, the coins turn into gems. That doesn’t go for Multiplayer, the coins remain coins. That’s all :P

Verdict:

This level definitely earns its name. It’s simple, but Spaz biased (what’s with Spaz anyway?), so Jazz is at a somewhat disadvantage when chasing possible roasts. Some may like it, some may hate it. The level is directed to Spaz-only players, so I’ll just recommend it to them for now. The rating? The layout’s decent, nothing to complain about the ammo, the coin warp would stand out if visible (and riun the charm)… I’ll just give it a 6 for the effort. Keep on trying :)

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Sheesh, I’m becoming Aiko at this rate. O well, every level needs a good thorough review, right? Not the kind of the two before me (who are probably biased)

First impressions:

When I first ran this level, one thing came to mind: roomy. This level has corridors of at least 4 tiles high. Another thing was emptyness: no noticable eye candy (except for the background), hardly any ammo and goodies. This is a good start…

Layout:

Like I said before, this level is roomy ,and big. The corridors are like at least 4 high and the platforms are thick. You’re able to run around freely however, I noticed only one real dead end, near the bottom. A good battle level, in my opinion at least, is compact. In the layout department, this level scores medium.

Tileset use:

This level uses the metallic “Wasteland” tileset by Blade, which is included in the zip. I failed to see any outstanding eye candy on layer 4 (the only layer shown in low detail where eye candy is the most important), layer 2 and 5 (tho layer 5 is well done). However, da man tried experimenting with 3D background on layer 7 (3D isn’t restricted to layer 8 :p). Layer 8 is filled with the standard tiles, layer 7 has the (translucent) Textured Background. This form isn’t recommended, but it’s fun to see he has the guts to toy with them. It’s just too bad he didn’t use the set to it’s full potential.

Ammo, candy, stuff that’s good:

When I say “big battle level”, one thing comes to mind: emptyness. The clusters of goodies are far apart from eachother and are smal: 3 by 2 (ammo with one coin). Furthermore, there are some on the slopes, other are just… there. There are two powerups: a seeker powerup at the dead end, and a blaater powerup in the bonus room (20 coins). In a big level, spread out goodies are inevitable. That’s the reason why compact ones are much better.

Miscellaneous:

This level uses a custom music file “demo.mod” by Necros, which is also included. Songs by him are always good, but there’s also the matter of “fitting”. In that matter, it succeeds well. The next level setting is set to itself, which is recommended for stand-alone levels.

Verdict:

Another decent but big level, no big bugs I could find. If the level was smaller and had more goodies, it would have gotten a higher rating. For now, I’ll settle for a 6.5.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3[This review has been edited by JelZe]

If this keeps up I may start attacking Dx due to his bad reviews… All he’s been doing is pointing out things with no explaination… This level deserves higher than a 1, period.

First impressions:

First of all (that goes especially for you, Dx) there are two kinds of warps in racing levels: normal warps, and warps with SetLap = 1, which I’ll refer to as lap warps. Each race should only have one lap warp and there is one, I’ll get to that in a minute.

That aside, one thing immediatly comes to mind when completing a lap: this race level is short, you can complete a lap in under 10 seconds if your an experienced player. The obstacles are standard, but that’s not the biggest feature of this level: it’s deception, you can go the “wrong way”.

Layout:

Nothing special to say about the lay-out. It’s decent, but really straight-forward: it basically goes from left to right. I mentioned “deception” as the greatest feature of this level, but that only goes to a very smal extent: there are roads away from the main route, but they come to a dead end (with a warp) rather quickly. I’d personally like to see those dead end warps removed. and speaking of dead ends, I found a big bug at the part with the vine and the exit sign: if you head to the left you’ll fall… endlessly, no warps to catch you. It’s to easy to avoid, but it’s still quite disturbing. Also, the swinging vines hang one tile or two too low: you can see Jazz or Spaz go through the platform.

Gameplay:

Spazie tried to make it a little bit different making these little off-roads, all with goodies to make you take them. He even went this far of making a “fake exit”. It’s an intersting idea (I dunno if it’s old), but it’s poorly done. It has potential tho, and it’s worth experimenting with.

Tileset use and Eye candy:

The eye candy’s decent, but standard. I’m guessing spazie took this right from an official level, which is acceptable. However, there are some tile bugs, but they’re very minor, and focussed in the trees and the bamboo. It gives the level a somewhat newbish look which is OK in his case.

Ammo, candy, stuff that’s good:

You’ll only see one major pickup in this level, and an effective one in races: ice. Since they’re off the main road they may be worth picking up if you’re in the lead. I wouldn’t advice it, since the level is so short. You also see a few bananas, but they’re mere decorative: a sugar rush won’t help you in races.

Verdict:

Unlike Dx claims, this is by no means a total disaster. It’s no masterpiece either, but it’s worth trying at least once. It’s short (therefor fast and somewhat fun), has interesting ideas…but it suffers from flaws a lot. A 5 for the effort. Next time, make your levels longer and interesting, it’ll do good on your ratings.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

[edit: it seems I overlooked the missing next level setting, which is totally unacceptable, especially for such a smal level. Half a point has been subtracted]

[edit: now the author is fixing the bugs… Next time, have a tester first point out the bugs before you upload levels. Saves us a lot of editing ;p][This review has been edited by JelZe]