How did this pack go so thoroughly under the radar?!
No longer.
MSM jack rabbit’s Final Flashback pack is good. Not perfect, but nice nonetheless. Many people have requested Jazz 1 remakes, but few attempts are worth playing.
This one is, despite a plethora of fallacies.
For the sake of convenience, I will evaluate each level individually, then summarize the whole thing.
“Stoned Jungle*
Pros: This level does a great job of varying its own structure, moving seamlessly from one style of eyecandy to another. The flow was excellent, the events were well placed, and it was a blast to play.
Cons: The events were well placed, but there were a lot of them. Also a lot of goodie items. While the trigger crate segment had some cool animations, it WAS a little gimmicky.
Great Escape
Pros: Built in the style of a concrete metropolis, GE takes the Pezrock tileset and uses it in a completely new way. Run your way through the city, break into high rises and steal treasure and enjoy the well-executed level.
Cons: I did have a few concerns here. Many of the trees weren’t one-way, so I got hung up on them. Likewise, it was a little difficult to find the route. Some paths were blocked by Blast’Em Blocks hidden too carefully. The TSF cats could’ve been replaced by the 1.23 dogs, making this a standard Jazz2-friendly game.
Crystal Caves
Pros: It was a good long level, but not too long. Execution was good, and I made it through alright. The ostrich and lizard were turned into pseudo-baddies, which was done quite cleverly.
Cons: Ahh, yes. I did have some issues with the Crysilis levels. The excessive gold and silver was very hard on my eyes. While the ostrich and lizard were clever, they more often than not got in the way, which was frustrating. It was monotonous to an extent.
The Lost Rabbit
Pros: Much like the first level, it was decently well executed and innovative.
Cons: It was too bad that I found more to criticize than to praise in Crysilis. The ostriches in the foreground, while clever, were visually unappealing. This level was very gimmicky, and difficult to play. That being said, it could’ve been worse.
Chase the Ace
Pros: Once I made it to the ship, this level was pretty fun. It’s huge, it’s challenging, and it’s cool.
Cons: The airboard part. It was SO frustrating! A tip for the future: Don’t make invisible warp mazes. They just don’t work. There was too much to shoot at here, and it got old fast. The boss was interesting once I figured it out, but until then, it was annoying.
Revenge of the Ace
Pros: It’s a lot like the first one. Big ship, lots to do. Pretty fun.
Cons: You start off the level in the mouth of a Plesiasaurus spaceship. Then you run down its throat, and get pulled through the ship.
Okaaaay.
There was an absurd amount of stuff to shoot at, and things get frustrating. Eyecandy was allright, but not very original.
Fight With Ace
Pros: I love levels where people use custom boss events. If they’re done right (and it was here), they can be pretty fun. Plenty of ammo is provided, so that’s no issue.
Cons: There were way too many Countdown Blast’Em Blocks. I had to spend an eternity shooting through row after row after row just to get to the boss. Then I had to figure out how to activate the boss. Once I did it was fun, but getting there was nightmarish. It would’ve been very nice to see a save point before the boss.
Golden Ball
Pros: A requisite bonus level is, of course, required in any good Jazz 1 remake. Here it is right here.
Cons: Once again, the eyesore eyecandy of Crysilis returns. This reminded me more of a normal stage than a bonus level, and there were so many baddies and pitfalls that it wasn’t pleasant at all.
OVERALL SUMMARY:
I was astonished at the cleanness of the pack. There were very few bugs to speak of, and in the earlier levels at least, I could get around pretty well. Music was pretty good too.
However, Crysilis and Battleships tanked for me, and I had a hard time coming up with positive feedback for them. Fortunately, the common rookie mistakes I was expecting to find seemed for the most part absent (like tileset bugs, inaccessable spots, things like that). Good job on that.
It’s time I wrapped this review up, so I’ll say this in conclusion: It was a good pack, but needs a lot of work. You’ll get it right, MSM. Just keep crackin’. DL rec, because despite its shortcomings, FF was still a good pack.