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''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 so popular that in 1998 a sequel, Jazz Jackrabbit 2 , was released.


PRODUCTION TEAM


  • Central

  • Character design &




  • Additional artwork: Joe Hitchens, Tomisa Starr & James Schmalz

  • Additional design: Robert Allen & Arjan Brussee

  • & Mark Rein



STORYLINE

3000 years after the events of Aesop 's The Tortoise And The Hare , the enmity between Tortoise s and Hare s 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 .


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 Monitor s 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).

  • 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 "" (A rabbit in the speed of light) and SONIC game is "" (A boy in the speed of sound).

    • 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.



EPISODES AND PLANETS

''Jazz Jackrabbit'' featured six episodes, each comprising three worlds and one boss level. Each world consisted of two levels and an extra 3D bonus level. Originally, the game was sold on Floppy Disk , and one could purchase the first three episodes, the final three episodes, or all six. Later, a CD version was released containing all six episodes, plus three complete new episodes, and the 1994 Christmas episode, which featured three Christmas-themed levels.

Episodes 1-3

1. Turtle Terror
  • Diamondus

  • Tubelectric

  • Medivo

    • 2. Ballistic Bunny

  • Letni

  • Technoir

  • Orbitus

    • 3. Rabbit's Revenge

  • Fanolint

  • Scraparap

  • Megairbase



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



Episodes A-C (CD version)

A. Outta Dis World
  • Exoticus

  • Industrius

  • Muckamok

    • B. Turtle Soup

  • Raneforus

  • Stonar

  • Deckstar

    • C. Wild Wabbit

  • Ceramicus

  • Deserto

  • Lagunicus



SHAREWARE RELEASES

Three promotional Shareware games were also produced.


Jazz Jackrabbit: Shareware Edition

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

  • Tubelectric

  • Medivo



Jazz Jackrabbit: Christmas Edition

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



Jazz Jackrabbit: Holiday Hare '95

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

  • Bloxonius



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 , Linux , Mac OS X , Sega Dreamcast , and there are ports for the GP2X , the GP32 and the PlayStation Portable .


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