Author: Disguise
Year: 2001
Genre: Single Player Episode
Filename: Jt1.j2l
Download: J2O
Jungle Trouble is a short episode by Disguise, commonly known as one of the most prolific tileset makers ever. He also happens to be one of the most prolific level makers ever, having made more levels than I can count, of practically every gametype, but mostly capture the flag. Jungle Trouble is interesting because it is his only major single player release.
The story of this episode is fairly simple, and is told entirely within the levels themselves. At the start there is very little information other than that your village (or whatever) is being attacked by bad guys, and something in the jungle is causing it. As you set out you quickly discover that a clan of witches is behind the trouble, and behind them is an even greater enemy (guess who).
What really sets the levels here apart from most others is the fact that they are huge. Sure, there are other examples out there of gigantic levels, some of them even bigger than the ones here. They are definitely rare though, and it's obvious why: they are quite time consuming to make. Sometimes they wind up being so big that they have to be split into multiple parts due to technical limitations. This was in fact the case with Jungle Trouble: the second and third levels (still quite large by themselves) were originally supposed to be one massive level.
This episode does have more going for it than the fact that it has big levels. Arguably, the real driving factor in these levels comes in the storyline, namely how it uses the witch enemy. This is an enemy that is rarely ever seen in other levels, and in JJ2 itself was only ever used in the shareware episode. This lack of use probably stems from how hard the enemy is to use: her attack turns the player into a frog, and she takes a massive fifty hits to kill. In order for this enemy to work, the level needs to be designed in a way that specifically acommodates the witch. Jungle Trouble manages this well. You will face several witches throughout the episode, sometimes in direct fights where the only way to proceed is by killing them, and sometimes in situations where the best course of action is to run away. 
If you do get turned into a frog, no worries. There is always a way to transform back to normal, and the levels are designed so that the relevant sections can be navigated in frog-form. In fact, there are some areas where you are required to play as a frog, as well as a section where you are transformed into a bird. The constant transformation you undergo is a defining aspect of the levels in Jungle Trouble, and with that it offers a type of gameplay you won't find in very many other levels.
As I mentioned, the levels here are quite large. Sometimes this kind of thing can be problematic, as big is not always better. Big levels can start to feel monotonous after a while. Thankfully, the levels in Jungle Trouble do not exhibit that problem. The gameplay is varied enough to keep things interesting. The constant risk of being turned into a frog is part of that, but besides that there are plenty of other challenges to get past, such as a large number of falling rocks and a section where you have to find a number of trigger crates. The levels also aren't entirely linear: in several places, the path forks, allowing you to choose where to go instead of being forced along a pre-defined path. This is both a blessing and a curse however, because in a few places it's possible to actually go the wrong way without noticing, until you arrive back at the place where the path initially diverges. A few arrow signs would have worked well here.
The levels present a modest challenge, with plenty of well-placed enemies and just enough carrots and checkpoints to keep things from being frustrating. Ammunition is pretty scarce though, so you will have to make sure to conserve it, especially if you want any chance at winning the final boss fight. Speaking of the final boss, it's actually pretty hard, with two witches helping make life difficult. You'll have to kill them if you want to kill the boss itself, and that's definitely easier said than done. Jazz has a distinct advantage here over Spaz, because his uppercut can kill witches instantaneously.
One thing these levels lack is a good amount of items. There is some food here and there, a bit of ammo, and a few carrots, but overall it's very scarce. Too many places are completely devoid of pickups: no gems or food or anything. Combined with the fact that these levels are very open, this leads to some sections feeling very plain. Items are important because they make players move around in a more dynamic way. Without them, there isn't much point in exploring a room, and jumping becomes something that is only done when necessary. The scarcity of items in Jungle Trouble also leads to the episode feeling a bit rushed, as if the tile placement was finished but the event placement wasn't. In fact, I would bet that this is the case, since it's a problem I have encountered when making my own levels.
The eyecandy can also get a bit dull at times. Usually it's of a fairly high quality, but in some areas there is hardly any. Again, this contributes to some parts of the episode feeling rushed. Eyecandy doesn't always have to be beautiful. In fact, in a lot of cases it's better for it to be designed in a way that it is not even noticed. And, there are cases where it is also a good idea to have none at all, creating a minimalist look. But when the level of eyecandy suddenly drops off for no particular reason, as it does in some parts of Jungle Trouble, the only effect is has is to make the player notice that there is something wrong. It has a rather jarring effect, not only making that particular section of the level look bad, but undermining the good parts of the level as well by allowing the player to notice the difference.
Another problem is that since all of the levels use the same tileset, it all starts to feel the same after a while. All of the levels using the same music file doesn't help either.
If you like big levels I recommend you download Jungle Trouble, and the same goes if you like levels that give you a wide variety of challenges. It's not a great episode, but it's certainly not bad either. I am therefore giving it a 3.0, which stands for "good".
Warning: JJ2 may crash if you save in these levels, due to a memory limitation that fails to handle big levels. Play through the whole thing in one go if you can; it shouldn't take that long to beat.
Good:
- The levels are very big
- Sections where you have to play as a bird or frog add variety
- Uses witch enemies, which are rarely ever seen in other levels
- Every level has the same music
- Certain areas feel a bit rushed
- Lack of pickups tends to make the levels feel empty
- Sometimes possible to go the wrong way without noticing
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