EvilMike's Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Blog: BlurredD

Author: BlurredD
Year: 2003
Genre: Single Player Episode
Filename: UD-Intro.j2l
Download: J2O

Jazz Unleashed Demo is a short episode by BlurredD, who is well known for being the creator of the JJ2+ patch, as well being the creator of a large number of multiplayer levels he has made over the years. He has even a few tilesets. His levels are known for being highly polished, and tend to feature some very creative ideas. This happens to be his only released single player pack.

This episode is not for the faint of heart. It may only be a somewhat obscure, short demo of five episodes from an unfinished (and probably never to be finished) episode. It is also, however, unarguably one of the most difficult JJ2 episodes ever, featuring some of the cleverest, most diabolical, and perhaps mean-spirited level design I have seen. Personally, this is the hardest episode I have ever played. It goes from fairly easy in the first level, to basically impossible in the fifth one, with everything in between being "just" extremely hard. I recommend you play this episode only if you have played a fair amount of JJ2 single player, and find most stuff to be rather easy.

It is not possible to exaggerate how hard this episode is. There are no carrots in the levels, so the only way to get them is if they are dropped by enemies. Checkpoints are common, but not common enough. There are no extra lives unless you play on easy mode. The number of enemies is not overwhelming, but they are placed in the most creatively evil ways possible. And to top it all off, bottomless pits are everywhere. (It's also worth mentioning that this episode is the first one to use instant-death pits extensively, though this is a common feature now.) Easy mode could be accurately relabeled as "extremely hard". Medium mode ought to become "soul-crushingly difficult". And as for hard mode, I'm too afraid to even think about it. Save often if you want to retain your sanity (F5 and F6 are the hotkeys), and expect to get game over several times. This is the only episode I know of where it's hard to win even if you use cheat codes to make yourself invincible.

Difficulty is not the only thing that this episode has, however. Practically nothing in Jazz Unleashed Demo is mundane; the entire thing is packed with challenges and puzzles which cannot be found anywhere else. In fact, nearly every screen features something unique, and every level has its own distinct feel. This level of originality and variation is unparalleled, and it gives the levels a very professional and polished feel which usually can't be found elsewhere. At least, that applies to the first four levels. The fifth is a different story... more on that later.

When playing this episode, I couldn't help but think of the NES game Battletoads. There is a real similarity here: Battletoads is a game that is known both for its extremely brutal difficulty, and for its tendency to have a different sort of gameplay in each level; it was totally groundbreaking despite the fact that virtually nobody could beat it. These days it's a bit easier, with the advent of emulators and savestates, but back in the early 90's none of that was available. The game was hard, and that was at a time when games were a lot harder than they are now. It's worth mentioning that it also had very good graphics for the time. Jazz Unleashed Demo has a similar level of difficulty, and like Battletoads, it is also is characterized by its varied gameplay and good eyecandy. Suffice to say, I enjoy both, and also enjoy the feeling that comes with finally beating the damn thing. On the other hand, many people have the opposite opinion, and prefer to give up in frustration than play through until the end.

If I were reviewing just the first four levels of this pack, I'd give it a perfect score without hesitation. The first level is easy and simple, but fun, and is designed in a way reminiscent of old platformers. The second level takes place on a train, and while the level design itself is limited and cramped, the theme of the level makes it fun. It is the only decent (released) level that I know of which is set on a moving train, and it manages to convey the idea rather convincingly, even though the tileset was never designed for that. The third level is where things become really unique, and it is probably the most famous level of Jazz Unleashed Demo. In it, you ride a floating rock to the other side of the level, and have to avoid all manner of obstacles along the way. It's an extremely hard level, since you have such a small space to stand on (not to mention the fact that it's moving), but at the time it was the only level of its kind, and is still quite fun - and still better than whatever shameless ripoffs have been made since. As for the fourth level, it's not as good as the other three, but still memorable: the start is particularly unique, since it forces you to run through a large cavern without running out of time. The time limit is very short, which makes for a frustrating experience when you run out a few tiles from the end, but again, this level was the first of its kind, and still the best. The rest of the level is more generic and not as interesting, but it's really the first few moments that defines it. The only complaint I have with that level is that it has an annoying block pushing puzzle that requires an obscure trick to solve.

So far so good, right? Well, unfortunately, there is one more level after that, and it is absolutely horrible. I said if I were reviewing the first four levels, I would give this pack a perfect score. Well, the opposite is true of the fifth level: if I were to review it on its own, I would give it the lowest score possible. It's that bad. The problem? The creator of this level himself has never beaten the fifth level. It is not impossible, but it requires such a superhuman level of skill that it might as well be. The lack of checkpoints and carrots doesn't help, but what really sets it apart from the rest is the fact that you can't save the game. The difficulty of the other levels is offset a bit by the save feature. Here, you have no such safety net.

No one has ever beaten this level without cheating. And no one ever will. In my book, that means it is unplayable. And if something is unplayable, it deserves a big fat 0. Or maybe a 0.5, since the scale I use here doesn't really go below "half a carrot". But maybe I'll make an exception in this case. It's that annoying!

However, not all is lost. Because Jazz Unleashed Demo has no story, and is really just a series of unconnected levels, you really don't lose out on anything if you decide not to play the final level. You can just skip it. You won't lose out on any plot, or even a little "congratulations" message at the end. I characterise this as an "episode", but the term only fits loosely. This could just as easily be a pack of five standalone levels: the only thing that really makes it an episode is that it is, technically, a demo for a larger project (which presumably has/had a storyline). Therefore, the terrible fifth level does not harm the other levels as much as it would in a normal episode, because it is not strongly connected to them.

I think I can safely say that Jazz Unleashed Demo is still one of the best JJ2 episodes ever, in spite of how it ends. Still, it's not good enough to get a perfect score. You can play the first four levels and quit. You can even pretend the fifth level doesn't exist (and I recommend you try). But one day, you'll want to see just how bad it really is, and you'll play it. And then you'll hate yourself for not listening to my advice. Due to this, I can't give this episode a perfect 5: a thing as awful as its last level is impossible to ignore completely.

And don't say I didn't warn you!

Good: