Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Online

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]

How about this: “training” levels like these are often considered junk on J2O and will be deleted in a couple of days.

Ok, just to make things clear: the tileset Wartorn is created by Toxic Bunny. Just a reminder.

First impressions:

This is a level clearly ment for the Multiplayer. The “Sumospaz” idea is a very old one: push or shoot your opponent from the platfrom before he pushes you off. Spaz (and Lori for that matter) has one advantage here: his sidekick. The author put in a “sucker tube randomizer”, bringing to one of the many arenas (with a difficulty level, weee). The author clearly warned you may get stuck in there (press <- or -> while you’re in there to get unstuck). And getting a coin along the way is mandatory: if you lose you can start over by using a coin hidden in your “cell”. Otherwise: Game Over.

Tileset use:

The tileset has been used to its absolute minimum. So no eye candy whatsoever. The author mainly focussed on the concept of Sumospaz.

Gameplay:

As explained above, it’s a very old concept. However, the author claims this level to be Spaz only (by BlurrED). As far as I’ve noticed this is for (Splitscreen) Co-op mode: you’re not supposed to kill, just push him off the platform. The loser goes to a coin warp, to a standard level exit.

Bugs:

Only two I could find (tileset bugs don’t count): the stuck bugs in the randomizer (mentioned in the level, nice warning), and a faulty next level setting (“Sumojazz2.j2l”). It’s a smal level :p

Verdict:

The author tried to be refreshing with his ideas, it’s just a shame the two bugs take the most fun out of the level. It’s also directed to a very smal audience as far as I know. My advice: only download it you’re a fan of “Pushing your opponent of the platform”.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Ho boy, Tubelectric yet again! Tubelectric will always be my favorite planet, so expect me to be a little stricter with the ratings. As I go over Violet’s review (such a party pooper), I’m guessing I’ll have to watch out for bugs in the set, and I’ll have to give NOKA tips on testing. Just the guy I am.

Conversion Completeness:

Everything seems to be there…even that weird pole thing at the end of level 2 (the only place it can be found :p) Yellow platfroms, animated ones, sucker tubes (Tubelectric’s main feature, aside from electric mayhem), even the reactors. Yes, Tubelectric is heavily animated, especially inthe blue radioactive area (those who are epileptic may want to avoid that). On a side note, like in Violet’s Megairbase, the walls in layer 4 seems totally black. Maybe it’s my monitor, but in JJ1 I could definitely see texture in the walls. Maybe a little lighter shade next time? Hang on, I see something missing: wires in the blue area. Yes, there were there in JJ1.

Added Extras:

Yet again, everything of relevance is there, even a conveyor belt. Sucker tubes don’t count ;p And that’s where the most complaints come in. In the example level you can see that the colors of the Textured Background have gone a bit weird in 8-bit (I guess NOKA tested it in 16-bit, it works just fine there with more colors). Also, the turrets are added, but the shots don’t move smoothly. He added wall turrets as a smal extra, that partially makes up for it. Both the electric barrier and the turret have two frames of animation each, just a reminder. Heh, even the giant red gem is there. How cute. :)
One final thing is the usuall “Now approaching” thing, this time directly taken from a screenshot, not rendered in 3D. I’m having mixed thoughts on that, one one hand it’s cool he tried that, on the other hand it isn’t doesn’t look that impressive and well done.

Masking:

Problems in the masking, I just had to see it to believe it. The platfroms themselves may be smooth and all, except for the standing yellow ones, the rest isn’t: the turrets, glowing spheres, they have round masks, something I hate. A better option is making them diagonal.

Night version:

Made with Tube Electric Night in mind. A simple palette edit, with purple bricks, grey walls, and this time the texture really shows, which brings me to a disappointing fact. The wall turrets I mentioned earlier are nothing more than ground turrets flipped 90 degrees, along the wall! Very bad. The neon green Textured Background is just plain weird, and way to light, but at least it works correctly in 8-bit…

Verdict:

I hate to say it, but this conversion by NOKA is lacking the NOKA quality we know and love (after two of them already o.o). It suffers from enough flaws to make my rating go down dramatically. I can’t blame him for not testing, he pulled it off twice already. Third time’s the charm as they say, right? Since Tubelectric seems to be NOKA favorite planet I can understand he hasted into converting it. By the by, has anyone counted the tiles in this set? Space is a scarce thing, in Tubelectric especially, since it has so many animation. With the 1024 tile limit of 1.23 I can understand NOKA decided to leave out some frames.

Sorry for getting sentimental, I’ll stop :p I’ll be kind and give him a 7.7, and that’s my unbiased rating! I’ll send him the tips in a PM.

- JelZe GoldRabbit

Ok… this I gotta see: three conversions in one. No wonder Violet hasn’t uploaded anything in ages (and the fact he’s an admin now)

Ok, three tilesets in one zip = three seperate reviews = one long review. I’ll start with Megairbae, then Lagunicus and lest best Orbitus.

Mega Airbase

(Note: yet again, Violet used the wrong music file for the example: Song10.s3m is Crysilis, Song16.s3m is Megairbase. Does he even test the music?)

Conversion Completeness:

As always, Violet didn’t miss a tile of Megairbase. He even managed to find that blue block that was only in the boss level. And much to my surprise he put in the rare animations: those thin lighted platfroms, and that square block like thingie? Good job.

Masks:

Smooooooooooth. Need I say more? Ok, only one smal hidden message. Need I say even more?

Added Extras:

No conversion is complete without added extras, and they’re present, as always with Violet: destructible block, sucker tubes, arrow shaped poles, vines, the usual stuff. Violet also added a new background (enlarged version of the original, and it shows: very pixelated), those big missles (in the background of the example), JJ1 signs and even that Devan boss tank. That’s all :)

Lagunicus

Conversion Completeness:

As always, nothing missing. I should remind you that Lagunicus has two sets of colors: the light ones for the surface and the dark one for underwater.

Masking:

No bumps, no problems. One smal message announcement an upcoming episode.

Added extras:

You can guess what extras are put in, so I’m not gonna bother putting them all in. They’re both in a light colored version, and a dark one (except for the standard Textured background) so it’s your pick :P The water gradient isn’t working at 100% (I’d say 90 to 95), but big worries: the color don’t go hay-wire :P

Orbitus

Conversion Completeness:

As always, nothing missing, even the many aminations are there. Orbitus has two different layer 4 walls: horizontal and vertical and each relevant tile has both :P

Masking:

Not again… Ok, no bumps, just smooth. One message: it seems this conversion is made for BlurrED as prize for a contest. :)

Added Extras:

I’m starting to regret this…Ok, the usuall extras are there, even a new textured background and an enemy: a static Beholder (cyclops thingie). Take in that BlurrED sprite, and pole standards, and I’m done phew. And don’t worry about those bouncy walls: Violet found a way to make them work in JJ2. Just read the readme.

Verdict (finally!):

These are conversions you must have. These planets had the least chance of getting converted (Lagunicus and Megairbase being the least appealing and Orbitus being too hard with all the animations). One thing tho: I suggest you all read the readme. Violet put in some extra info about what works in the set and what doesn’t (like poles and snow). Definitely recommended for the JJ1 tileset collector.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

P.S. Just to let you know: of all 30 planets of JJ1 (9 × 3 + 3 = 30) Turtemple has not been converted at all, or at least at an adequate level. Who will be the first to convert it? ;)[This review has been edited by JelZe]

Yay, another remix, of Technoir, yet again… why always Technoir? I hope to see something else next time, like Tubelectric (brownie points) ;p

Ok, here’s the structure: I’m gonna discuss one aspect of this remix at a time (so I don’t get sidetracked from it all), all good points, and bad. After that a rating and whether or not I’m gonna recommend it, with some advice towards the TIMM team (I hope they read it)

Melody:

Every part, except for one, of the Technoir song is still in there, in the same order. However, a trademark of the TIMM team comes to show: endless repeats of the parts of the song. I don’t mind one repeat or two, but in this remix there are simply too many, to make the song last longer, I assume. Length isn’t everything, the content is what matters most. Endless repeats show “emptiness”, not to mention they can get rather dull, no matter what samples are used (I’ll get to that in a minute). In the last part of the remix, two part are played at once, very bad idea. That aside, there’s a part in there (I’m guessing the replacement for the last part) that’s new to me, but’s just an extention to help the song flow better. And let me tell you one thing: the tempo is a bit too slow for my taste.

Samples:

A lot of different samples are used throughout this remix, and different ones show up as the song progresses in its endless repeats. The samples are well chosen (nice of you to keep that voice like thing in), ranging from explosions, to that “U ready for this? Yeah, thought so” from the JJ2 Theme. The samples really help you get you into a war-like enviroment, but unfortunately the remix’s strength comes from the samples alone.
Note: if you don’t have repeat on, you’ll hear “Brough to by T-I-M-M”, another trademark, one I like more :p

Verdict:

Well, this remix definitely superior to the last one JSZ JAZZ made. It’s just a shame they both suffer from endless repeats of part of the original melody. The samples chosen partially make up for that. What can I say, it’s a mixed bag. Just a 6 for the effort. Sorry :)

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

P.S. no I didn’t forget about the tips I promised TIMM. They’re not really tips, they’re just things I wanna hear in a remix, and I’m sure others are with me :)

1. Stick as close to the original song as possible. Don’t just repeat parts of it endlessly, it can make the remix dull, no matter what samples you use. Add parts if you feel needed, just don’t butcher it :p The best remix for that is still the Orbitus remix.

2. Choose samples that fit the theme. This remix scores great in that department, the Orbitus remix too.

3. Keep in that “Brought to you by T-I-M-M” ;p

P.P.S. Only songs that are part of a level pack, or remixes of the music used in JJ games are allowed on the site, and only the remixes can be reviewed. Just making that clear.[This review has been edited by JelZe]

I just had to open my allready too big mouth… O well, makes for more diversity in remakes, right? :p

Ok, we have here yet another Battle remake, this time of battle 2. I won’t complain this time tho, since Dx is obviously trying to make himself loved, and I grant that to anyone. Since this is a remake, I will only focus on the changes made to this level.

Layout:
Roughly prefectly intact. I did notice an area that seemed more open than in Battle 2, that’s probably just me. However: you all may remember that smal drop with red springs on walls. Well, the top left one is missing: there are two springs on the left, and three on the right wall. Smal flaw, it still costs points.

Tileset use and eye candy:

If you’re playing on low detail, you’re missing out. Pretty much everything is focussed on layer 5 to 7. It mainly exists out of leaves, the area with the many springs however has a rather big tree with the springs on the branches. Pretty interesting idea. I just wish there were more things to see eye candy-wise, like a real background (at least layer 7), but just a little bit, otherwise the level would be “clogged”.

Ammo, Food, stuff that’s good.

Everything has been carried over from battle 2, nothing to add here.

Miscellaneous:

With a Jungle tileset like Swamps by Agama, it’s pretty obvious Tubelectric Remix doesn’t fit. Instead Dx used “Water Level” (music of the second beach level), which fits quite nicely, it’s a jungle swamp afterall. The next level is a little badly chosen imo: to battle 3. It would have been more fitting if it was set to itself. Yet again, no big deal, it’s serves its purpose.

Verdict:

Another brave attempt by Dx. It’s not perfect, but it’s no disaster either. As with all remakes of this kind, only recommended for those who love the official battles, but hate the tilesets used and want to see something different. If I have to rate it: a 6 for the effort.

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

NOKA, check your private messages ;) By the by, Ceramicus has already been converted by CelL, but he only did the basic stuff.

sob Ok, next time, I won’t review until it’s been converted to 1.23 Then I won’t have to edit my reviews anymore…

First impressions:

NOKA should make a habit out of starting the examples with the lay-out of the level it’s based on :P Of course it starts with the JJ1 Type intro (Now approaching… NOKA, keep that in ;)) As I further got into the level, I noticed everything was there, including some extras: vines, hooks, that sorta thing. What surprised me most was that NOKA went through the trouble of creating not only a non-standard 3D background, but a mountain background with pots too! Those are very welcome additions to Ceramicus, as they make it more appealing to use.

Conversion Completeness:

Ceramicus has to be the planet with the least amount of tiles (Tho Fanolint and Lagunicus aren’t that far behind it). That makes it quite easy to get all the tiles. And he did get everything, and more: he outfitted them all with 3 different backgrounds: none, the standard one and the green background. Good job :)
I forgot to mention: the original Ceramicus didn’t have slopes aside from from those “trees” He was kind enough to put those slopes in :)

Added extras:
Of course the usual addons are there: vines, poles, destructible blocks, trigger block (even the empty one), sucker tubes (magic perhaps?), non-standard 3D background, JJ1 type sky and the biggest treat of all: a mountain background with pots! Further things are the animations for that background, a red star and a moon, that “Now approaching…” thing (NOKA, make that your trademark ;p) and the JJ1 HUD! On a side note: my guess is that NOKA used a 3D renderer for the background and the planet sphere. Just guessing :p

Masking:

When I check the masking, I always check for smoothness (no bumps, you hear?). Luckily, this set has no such bumps. One warning tho: the new slopes are uneven on the edges, whatever you do, for long slopes, repeat the mid-section. Of course there’s a hidden mask message, this time telling you about his plans. Read it, at least I did :P

Night version:

The night version is basicly the same as the normal one, only with a different palette (duh). My only complaint is that this time, the background is dark enough, but the foreground is a tad too light. (with his Diamondus conversion it was the other way around). Not a big problem, since the sky helps determine the atmosphere more than the foreground :)

Verdict:

Yet another wonderfull conversion by NOKA. Not only has he converted the planet with the least amount of tiles (least appealing to convert, even less to build with it), he added enough extras to make it very appealing to build with. He has certainly earned my respect, and can’t wait to see more of his work soon :) NOKA is well on his way to rival Violet, better watch out ;p

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

Ok, why hasn’t any onereviewed this yet? Too lazy, or is this just too hard? O well…

I may sound biased like this: even without looking at the level, I strongly recommend downloading this. Why? It’s a Golden Oldie of the Jazz 2 City era, it’s a history lesson for the newbies and a piece of history for the “oldies” (that includes me ;p) Now, on to the review. since it’s two levels, I’ll be brief :P

Castle Falkenstein

This level’s a challenge. Using the castle 1 set (and Tubelectric music, which somehow somewhat fits the nature of this level), this level will drive the impatient to insanity :p This isn’t a straight forward level at all, lemme warn ya. Your first “mission” is to find all 20 coins to enter the bonus warp. Easier said than done, with the traps around: spring, spiked pits and hidden enemies. Even worse: you’ll have to backtrack once you find the trigger crate to the last coins. The second part is more of a doozy: find a way down the bridge and to the exit (Hint: try shooting). That part more filled with bonusses for willing :P

Nothing to complain about: eye candy is good, lay-out great… A reason for concern is that room with the last coins mentioned earlier. That is room is accessible, via triggers (part 1) or the one way bridge (part 2). And here’s the problem: when you lose a life, all triggers, goodies, etc. are reset Should you get into that room, there’s no way you can get out once you’ve entered part 2. Shamefull, and it could have easily been avoided by removing that one-way bridge.

Overall, short but challenging, and makes finishing the level worth it.

Rating: 7 (-.5 for that room)

Falkenstein’s Dungeon

More of same thing :p No looking for coins tho: Just find your way to the end of the level. Of course this level has a boss: the SchwartzenGuard with an added challenge: spiked pits :P

Of course no level is pefect: faulty next level setting when played in TSF (labrat2.j2l). I’ll let this one slide tho, since when this level was made the players were “young and foolish” :p

Rating: 6

Verdict:
A blast from the past, which everyone should see. This level is old, but still fun :)

Final rating (J2O): (7 + 6) / 2 + .5 (brownie points :P) = 7
Final rating (J2C): two stars

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

Due to circumstances beyond my control I have to rewrite an entire review. ;.;

See, this tileset was TSF only (and Cazz, 1.23 sets work with TSF too!) but since it’s rebuilt in 1.23, allowing me to view it in its full glory… sob

Conversion Completeness:
Simply put: everything is there, every tile and animation you can find in JJ1 Diamondus. Even the Katana returns (One Must Fall 2097 cameo :p)

Added Extras:
A lot, as said in my previous review. I’ll just name the extra things you can find: JJ2 Diamondus arrows (no JJ2 mushroom, Flash), poles (both H and V-poles work, only vines and hooks need masks to work), destructable blocks (all types), sucker tubes, JJ2 style 3D background (which works in 8-bit, ditto for the JJ1-type sky), two JJ1 Jazz sprites, a poster with Devil Devan, a monitor with Noka on it and a Turtlette, Letni style banner (which reads: Violet CLM rules, Noka sucks. Vanity is ruling ;p), and a JJ1 style planet intro (Now approaching…) Phew
And there’s a evening and night version too (like Holidaius ^., tho the night version is a bit too light) O, I seem to have missed an invisible masked block. O well :)

Masking:
Nothing wrong with the masking, even tho the signs aren’t masked unlike in JJ1 (who says they have to be, they’re just in the way anyway :p) And hidden messages in the masking is a fad nowadays: first Wisey, Violet and some others, and now him. It’s basicly a story about how rolled into Jazz Jackrabbit. :)

Verdict:
Violet, watch out! Noka has made a stunning first impression with this tileset conversion. Even though things didn’t start well (the set being TSF thing), he took the effort to convert it to 1.23, which scores very high with me. A definite download recommendation!

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

Here I am again (Gee, I’m starting to look like Aiko…)

One thing (this is becoming a standard in my reviews, I always have something to comment about): this is a JJ2 TSF level, with a converted JJ1 tileset. Please edit the info accordingly.

First impression:
The level type unknown, but my first guess would be a SP level. Unfortunately, a tileset is included, but not the right one. Dx, what kind of tileset did you use? The conversion Violet made, or a conversion from scratch? Because I can’t seem to play it…

- JelZe GoldRabbit

Review time again! :D

Before I start I want to point out one thing to all the new level makers out there: there are two versions of JJ2, 1.23 and 1.24 (also known as TSF, The Secret Files) These two are not 100% compatible. In short: levels made with TSF, no matter what tileset used, can not be played in 1.23. Remember that.
Also note that if you want a good rating, make levels with the 1.23 version: TSF has been released in Europe only, so the Americans are missing out.

Enough ranting, on to the actual review.

First impressions:

A long fun level with some challenges. The author says he made it in only two days. It’s quite surprising that level doesn’t look like a hastely crafted thingamajig, but more like a level carefully created in like… 2 weeks to a month (that’s a recommended period for average level makers). Unfortunately the apperance of the level suffers somewhat due to the 2 days period.

Flow:
Not as linear as you may expect, given the time spent: it’s only linear at the beginning of the level, which goes from the left all the way to the right. A long drop thereafter and the linearity is gone. From there the path goes Zigzag :p I even saw a crossroad near the end of level (cut off by trigger blocks, good job!) As mentioned earlier, the level is designed to Spaz’ advantages, but not to the point where Jazz can’t finish the level.

Challenges:
This is were the most care went into: the puzzles and challenges. Right at the beginning’you’re treated to one, tho a rather lame one: “get to the other side of a bramble pit via the vines. The author was so nice to actually block the other side so you’ll have to run through the brambles. Good thing there was a carrot hidden at the end, so no harm done (?) Following is a collapsing floor and a “Roller Coaster” Maze (meaning a system of poles and springs). Quite fun, but the long way suffers from halts caused by bad tiles and spring placement. Those things are always hard to make, so it’s no biggie. Next is a “find the crate at the other side of another bramble pit à la Easter, followed by a “frog lane”. The frog lane is quite challenging as the objective is get to the bottom via the zigzag platfroms with springs. At end you’ll have to fight a boss. Although he doesn’t appear! My guess is he used the Tweedle boss, which does not work in JJ2. Quite a shame, as you can’t properly finish the level without having to cheat. Overall, with some adjustments, it’s pretty good.

Tileset use:
Pretty basic, but not too bad. Carrotus is known for having tile bugs that can’t be helped, but can be hidden. What really makes me worry is the background layer down at the very bottom of the level: a big green line from the castle can be seen. A major bug, which I hope to see fixed in an update of the level.

Ammo, Food, stuff that’s good:
A level is no good without goodies, and luckily this level has them. They’re spread out all over the level, you won’t see a section without goodies. At some places you even have work for goodies (at the challenges mentioned above). One complaint: what good are coins if there isn’t a coin warp? Answer: none. Although there are coins, I can’t see a coin warp anywhere. Either the animation isn’t working (Showamin = 1 only works for 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 coins), or the author simply forgot to put one in. Either way. nothing that can’t be quickly fixed.

Enemies, goons and other beings that want rabbit stew for dinner:
The usual Carrotus enemies make an apperance: lizards, (tuff) turtles, bats, mosquitos and even smal dragons. aan interesting thing to note is that the dragons can only be found in the “find the crate” sector, places on ccarrot stomps with a low ceiling. You gguessed it: there is where they can get annoying for Jazz, but not for Spaz aand Lori (sidekick ;)). Nothing else out of the usual.

Verdict:
A pretty good level, given the 2 day period. It’s just a shame the level suffers from flaws that add up (glitched Tweedle boss, no coin warp, bugged background, “Roller Coaster” halts). I can’t give it a rating because it’s “unfinished” to me. Untill the flaws (at least the Tweedle boss one and the coin wrap )are fixed, no rating from me.

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

Why? Why always Battle 1? Why not battle 2 or 3, or one of the CTf levels? Tell me!!!

Since this is yet another battle 1 remake, I’ll just discuss the changes made to this level.

Tileset:
This version uses Kaven’s Carrotus 1 edit Thermal K1 (I still don’t know how the got the name), which is just Carrotus with a reddish palette, some lava, added wooden platforms and “fire flowers” (no, not the ones you find in the Mario games, but plants with fire in the cantre).

Lay-out:
Perfectly intact, except for the large drop at the left-most area: A tree at the bottom is in the way.

Eye Candy:
Pretty basic, just like the Official Battle 1: some plants, carrots and turnips scattered around, lava walls, and lava as background. It’s a shame the lava bg moves at the same speed at layer 4. Also, the tileset hasn’t been used to it’s full extent, but that’s a personal thing. One thing tho: avoid having to use layers 5 to 7 to add eye candy to layer 4. I personally hold a grudge to that, since some people (including me) play online in low detail (which removes layers 1,2,5,6 and 7). Thankfully, there aren’t any tile bugs in low detail.

Ammo, goodies, stuff that’s good:
Once again, everything in Battle 1 is carried over to this version, except for the bubble shield, which is understandable. Everyone hates shield users (at least in my time :p). Instead of the shield, you’ll find a RF-Powerup (very good alternative)

Music:
What music, it just isn’t there!

Miscellaneous:
One thing I like to comment about is the next level setting: it’s set to the Official Battle 2 level (the Tubelectric one), which is disappointing. I would have liked it if it were set to itself, or at least made a remake of every battle in cycle…

Verdict:
A pretty decent remake of Battle 1. Only recommended for the “Battle 1 remake collectors” (I dunno if there are any) or for those who wanna see a different battle 1.

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

dx dc, if you discovered something “unusuall”, like strange bosses or new MCE’s, either discuss it in the JCF or write an article about it. This type of “demonstration level” is considered junk and will be deleted in a couple of days…

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Yet again, a battle level with the o-so overused MEZ01 tileset. Of all the tilesets put together, MEZ01 is probably used the most. And for good reason.

This level shows little to no effort to use the so simple tileset to it’s full potential. out of the many tiles, only the blue glass pipes (yes, it’s glass, people) and the with/grey marble blocks(yes, it’s marble, got it from the master himself), and some more but to a less extent. As you can see it coming: little to no eye candy, except for the stars in the background.
And the level isn’t “medium-sized” at all: 100×100 tiles (normal battle levels are about 60×60). Because the level is so big, everything is spread out: you really have to jump high to get somewhere if you don’t want to stick at the bottom. So the flow isn’t that good, lightly said, not to mention it’s Lori-unfriendly, sicne she can’t increase her jumping height.
Everything is spread out in the level, and the ammo is no exception. Basic 2 by 2 to 3 by 3 clusters of the same ammo. There are powerups too, not worth mentioning.

Verdict:
Well, it’s big, everything (if any) is spread out… I’m sorry I just can’t give a good grade for this, due to the size and the flow of the level. No download recommend from me. Next time, make the levels smaller, the platfroms thinner and fill it up with ammo.

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

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way… (hey, have to make an intro somehow :p)

Yes, I know it’s too early to be christmas, sue the author… But anyway, what we have here is a 3-level pack, Xmas themed. I won’t rate each level individually, but I will give a summary of what each level has to offer

Level 1: Christmas Day
Simple and lousy name, but it works. All three levels have names like that, but I’ll overlook that. The level itself is pretty linear and short. Nothing to complain about eye candy wise. It did bother me that there were only two enemies in this level: cats and birds, in clusters. Secrets are there too, not that hard to find. Ammo and goodies can drown you in this level, simply very much of those. :p

Overall, a fun level, to an extent. With a level like this, things can only get better :)

Level 2: Christmas Evening
Better than the first one, the linearity is taken out somewhat. New enemies: turtles and lizards. In this level, you’ll have to work some to get to secrets. What surprised me are the spring systems (i.e. sections with multiple spring following a specific route.), that work really well. The author’s been paying attention with that :) Kudos.

Level 3: Christmas Night
This level has its ups-and-downs, literally. The linearity is still there, but barely noticable. Here you really have to get to work to even advance (at least on the first part). Same thing with the other levels, need I say more? O, it uses the JJ1 Candion music btw

Verdict:
Pretty decent, could use some improvement. That doesn’t mean it’s not fun. If you’re looking for a quick way to pass some time, this is good pack to play once or twice.

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Here’s some info:

1.23 levels are comptiable with TSF (1.24)
TSF levels are not compatible with 1.23, due to the many differences TSF has. Do the math :p

Great, now I’m forced to review this…

One warning first: the zip extracts the level into a new folder called “BattleLab”. Next time, Luuk, add the levels into the zip one at a time.

Well, at first sight, this level looks good. No messed up tiles, incomplete platforms…only the background is a little….lemme put it this way: it’s floating :p The animations are ok, but the conveyor is slow (TIP: if you right-click on the animated tile in JCS, you can set the speed of the animation, up to 70 fps). It’s a 7 worth graphic-wise
The lay-out is a little… (here I go again) OK, basicly, the level is divided in 2 parts. The top part is very narrow and has the most features of the level: 1 sucker system, 1 conveyor belt, and lots of hooks. The bottom part is very open, which I find better. I can’t really give it a grade…Another 7, just because I’m so nice :P
Now come the goodies. Imo it has quite a lot for such a smal level. The readme mentioned 3 power-ups and 3 carrots. (1 or 2 power-ups is recommended) The power-ups are easy to find and to reach, and so are the carrots, with one exception: the one in the top right corner, with the series of hooks. Gwet my drift? Ammo-wise, it’s ok.
What else is there? O yes, as mentioned earlier, the zip file extracts to a new folder. Well, here’s another problem: a faulty next level setting: “.j2l” Filling in nothing doesn’t start the level over, JJ2 isn’t smart enough for that :p

Verdict:

A pretty basic level, worth checking out. But since the author forgot the next level setting, level has a floating background, the coveyor belt animation is slow, and the level is extracted to a new folder, I’m forced to withhold the rating. When the author has corrected those mistakes, I’ll give him the full praise.

[edit: everything fixed, rating applied]

P.S. I didn’t say set it to 70, but at least higher than than the standard 10. Something along the lines of 20 will do. Asking people to beat-test will help you too.

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

Hehe, my turn to review :p

First, I’d like to mention something about the contents of the Zip-file: not only does it contain the tileset and example, but also the original’s BMP-files (good for previews, people should make a habit of that), a logo, and something I can’t identify :p It’s a .css file in any case (Anyone?)

Ok, now the tileset itself. Somehow, it reminds of Diamondus in JJ1. Yes, the grass/forest (?) theme returns once more :p The graphics are basic imo, no gradients except on the edges. The animations (color animation again, I love those :p) are really nicely done, especially on the waterfalls. Eye candy is there: trees, the mentioned waterfall, signs… That alone can give you a moderate rating. What brings the rating up a notch is that sucker tubes are included, and vines, hooks (there’s a seperate hook event, remember that, Flash ;)), poles… What’s really surprising is that the colors don’t screw up in 8-bit mode when you use the water level event. Kudos for that, Flash :) And of course he didn’t forget hidden massages in the mask :p

Verdict:
While the graphics look simple at best, this set actually has a lot to offer. and content is more important than graphics alone. The graphics are worth a 7 at best, but because of the set’s content (hooks, vines, etc.) the rating raises to an 8 I know, I’m cheap XD. One more thing: the example level shows everything you need to know, but has a faulty next level setting. It’s still an example level, so I won’t withdraw points for that. Good work Flash, keep it up!

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

First this:

Cooba, this is classified as a Jazz remix, which is allowed. Keep it in mind people, read the rules for god’s sake! :p

And Bjarni, Jazz 2 version 1.23 can play modules of other formats than .j2b You can always use Modplug (recommended due to repeat option) or Winamp to play those files

Ok, enough ranting, time for a review!

Tubelectric in Xmas style, this I gotta see (read: hear :p). Red with green? Since Tubelectric is my favourite music, I’ll be very strict, or just the opposite :p

It doesn’t sound bad, not bad at all. It’s somewhat downplayed, soothing music the the necessary samples you always hear in those christmas songs :p Nothing to it if you ask me. Of course, how could I forget the repeat option of ModPlug (I always have that thing on :p). Even on repeat it doesn’t sound ehm… broken :p The only thing I found disappointing is that it’s not “complete”: I found some sample missing from the orignal and it doesn’t always follow the original. That doesn’t hurt the remix that much tho, it still sounds good.

Verdict:
Since this is the first Tubelectric remix and the new author seems experience in tracking, i’ll rate this mildly: a 7. I’m looking forward to new stuff from him already :p

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

Wee, first review! :D

gets buried in rotten veggies

Ok, ok… Enough with the cliché, time for a review update:

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Considering this is made in MS Paint (yes, the infamous program which a reputation of having made bright, limited colored sets), the colors are actually nicely done, which scores extra points in my book. Unfortunately, that’s all there is. The tileset itself is pretty basic, as mentioned in earlier reviews, with just ground, blocks, and some signs. No background, eye candy, nothing to increase the appeal of a level, aside from a bone in the ground, but that’s it: nothing. The example level only shows you how you can use the set and some facts about it.

On an interesting note, I’ve read the readme (as always, reviewers should make a habit of that, there is a point to making them. Heck, even the name of the zip file says you should read it) and it was all about how he got inspiration, how he loved 24… And it says he can draw well, he even drew mangas (Japanese comics for the unknowing). I believe that if he had the proper tools, he could become like Agama, but that’s just me :p

Verdict:
Back to the set. Overall, the rating is on a borderline, just because of the good colors in Paint (I’m a sucker for those, I know). The only thing I can do is suggest these things: get a free copy of Paint Shop Pro somewhere, it works much better than Paint. Secondly, take a good look at tilesets of others (I suggest Agama, Disguise and Blade), especially at the eye candy they put in. I can only give it a 5, because I’m nice :)

- JelZe GoldRabbit =:3

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Update: Sonictth is well underway it seems, he added (color) animations and water blocks (normally animated) in this set (color animation mean that the colors in the animation keep switching hue or brightness, something Jazz 1 used a lot, because it’s easy to do :P). Tho the additions are not revolutionary, they’re ok (Remember, this is in MS Paint ;P) and Sonictth deserves points for trying. He also updated the example level with the new animations, a “Boulder Coaster” (one thing: Jazz has trouble running up slopes steeper than 45 degrees, keep that in mind), and some new music (Sweet Dreams by Elwood, I’m starting to look like Aiko! o.o).

Updated Verdict:
Pretty Ok, but misses some stuff (Like destructive blocks, and in a Jungle set, vines must be in it! What’s a Jungle without vines? :P). The new rating from me: 6 One more thing: work on your english as well as on your set ;)

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