Jazz Jackrabbit (computer game)

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Jazz Jackrabbit title screen
Jazz Jackrabbit title screen

Jazz Jackrabbit is a platform game produced by Epic MegaGames, now known as Epic Games. It was released in 1994 for the PC.

Inspired by classic console games such as Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, and especially the fast-paced Sonic the Hedgehog, the game was the brainchild of Cliff Bleszinski and Arjan Brussee. At the time, the game's vibrant graphics and speedy gameplay were something of a novelty on the PC. Named Arcade Game of the Year by PC Format magazine, Jazz Jackrabbit was popular enough to have a sequel, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, released in 1998.

Contents

[edit] Production team

[edit] Storyline

3000 years after the events of Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare, the enmity between tortoises and hares continues. The game saw Jazz Jackrabbit, a hybrid of Bugs Bunny and Rambo, visiting a number of planets in order to rescue Eva Earlong and save Carrotus from the villainous Devan Shell, a megalomaniacal turtle.

[edit] Similarities between Jazz and Sonic the Hedgehog

Jazz Jackrabbit is very heavily influenced by Sega's mascot. The game contains many very recognizable elements from the Sonic games, including:

  • Emphasis on speed (which is less in the game's later levels).
  • Destroyable monitors that contain powerups.
  • A shield power-up that protects Jazz from harm, a shoe powerup for speed, and an invincibility powerup which engulfs Jazz in stars.
  • Sign-posts at the end of levels, with the villain's face, which, when flipped, displays the hero's face.
  • A 3-D mini-game (Also called a bonus level or a special stage), heavily borrowing aspects from Sonic CD.
  • Some levels contain tubes which Jazz can jump into to be taken quickly to another part of the level.
  • Chinese Translation is similar with Sonic. Jazz Jackrabbit is called "光速免崽子" (A rabbit in the speed of light) and SONIC game is "音速小子" (A boy in the speed of sound).
  • Differently coloured springs that launch the character towards the sky, when stepped on.
  • Similiarities between the looks of the first levels of Jazz Jackrabbit and Sonic The Hedgehog 2; Diamondus and Emerald Hill Zone.

[edit] Other references

  • One of the bosses in the CD version's levels is named "Zoonik" and is clearly a hybrid of Sonic and Zool.
  • The game's instruction manual, which includes a comic detailing the game's story, shows a character that is obviously supposed to be Sonic, saying: "Someone get my lawyers on the phone!"
  • The picture for the "gene machine " episode in the menu features Jazz and another Epic Megagames character - Jill of the Jungle (1992).
  • In the game, the name of the computer world Letni is probably a mock on Intel (Letni is Intel spelled backwards).

[edit] Episodes and planets

Jazz Jackrabbit featured six episodes, each comprising three worlds and one boss level. Each world consisted of two regular levels and a 3D bonus level. Originally, the game was sold on floppy disks, and one could purchase the first three episodes, the final three episodes, or all six at once. A special CD-ROM version was later released, which contained the six original episodes, three completely new episodes and the 1994 Christmas Edition (which was retitled "Holiday Hare").

[edit] Episodes 1-3

1. Turtle Terror

Jazz Jackrabbit on Diamondus
Jazz Jackrabbit on Diamondus
  • Diamondus
  • Tubelectric
  • Medivo

2. Ballistic Bunny

  • Letni
  • Technoir
  • Orbitus

3. Rabbit's Revenge

  • Fanolint
  • Scraparap
  • Megairbase

[edit] Episodes 4-6

4. Gene Machine

  • Turtemple
  • Nippius
  • Jungrock

5. The Chase is on

  • Marbelara
  • Sluggion
  • Dreempipes

6. The Final Clash

  • Pezrox
  • Crysilis
  • Twin Mega Battleships

[edit] Episodes A-C (CD version)

A. Outta Dis World

  • Exoticus
  • Industrius
  • Muckamok

B. Turtle Soup

  • Raneforus
  • Stonar
  • Deckstar

C. Wild Wabbit

  • Ceramicus
  • Deserto
  • Lagunicus

[edit] Shareware releases

Three promotional shareware games were also produced.

[edit] Jazz Jackrabbit: Shareware Edition

Released in 1994, the shareware edition consisted of the first episode (Turtle Terror).

  • Diamondus
  • Tubelectric
  • Medivo

[edit] Jazz Jackrabbit: Christmas Edition (retitled Holiday Hare for the CD-ROM release)

Released in 1994, the Christmas edition featured the three aforementioned Christmas-themed levels.

  • Holidaius

[edit] Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare '95

Released in 1995, this second Christmas edition had two new Christmas-themed worlds, each with two levels.

  • Candion
  • Bloxonius

[edit] Other Releases

OpenJazz is a game engine recreation of Jazz Jackrabbit created by Alister Thomson. Work was started on August 23, 2005, made public on November 28 of the same year, and had its source code released on Christmas Day. It is available for Microsoft Windows and Linux, and there are ports to the Sega Dreamcast, the GP2X, the GP32 the PlayStation Portable and windows mobile Based pocket PC/PDA devices.

JCS'94 is a Level editor for Jazz Jackrabbit. It was started more than two years before the earlier mentioned OpenJazz project. Its latest release was November 2005. The makers of JCS'94 were helpful in resolving some issues in the development of OpenJazz.

[edit] External links

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