Jazz Jackrabbit is a science-fiction platformer game inspired by the story The Tortoise And The Hare. The first two games were computer titles, while a GameBoy Advance reboot was released in 2002.

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The titular Jazz Jackrabbit is a green anthropomorphic hare that fights with Devan Shell, his nemesis. Devan attempted conquering planets and suppressed any native confrontation. Jazz Jackrabbit never became as popular as bigger franchises like Sonic The Hedgehog, but it saw re-releases in 2017 and a Jazz Jackrabbit Easter egg appeared in Fortnite.

10 Jazz Jackrabbit Was Inspired By Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog blue feature

Jazz Jackrabbit's creation was inspired by Sonic The Hedgehog. Players found similarities between Jazz Jackrabbit and Sonic The Hedgehog since both protagonists were anthropomorphic animals. Jazz differed from Sonic by being a green rabbit, while Sonic was a blue hedgehog. Jazz's life force also depended on being replenished by picking up carrots, while Sonic's life relied on whether he had rings when hit by an enemy. Jazz's main mode of attacking others was with a gun and Sonic jumped on them. Both games featured similar platformer styles of gameplay, engaging bosses, and a compelling main hero.

9 The First Game Was Released In 1994

Jazz Jackrabbit cover

The first Jazz Jackrabbit game was released in 1994 on MS-DOS. The game was divided into six episodes. Each episode contained three planets, and each planet had two levels. Some planets also had additional secret levels for players to discover. To pass the final level of every episode and move on to a new one, players must defeat a challenging bossJazz Jackrabbit never became as popular as Sonic, but it gained a good reception thanks to its fast-paced gameplay and advanced graphics compared to similar games.

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 cover

The sequel, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, was released in 1998. The player could still play as Jazz, but they could also play as a secondary character named Spaz. A third playable character, Lori, was added in later expansions and became fairly popular thanks to her characterization & her unique ability to dash through enemies.

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The sequel also introduced a multiplayer mode with a variety of gameplay. The game's Split Screen mode supported up to four players, while the online version supported up to thirty-two players at once. The five types of gameplay included in multiplayer mode were Capture The Flag, Battle, Treasure Hunt, Race, and Cooperative. The added characters and multiplayer mode made the sequel more popular than the first game.

7 Two Bonus Packs For The Second Game Were Initially Exclusive To Europe

Jazz Jackrabbit Christmas Chronicles gameplay

Two bonus packs were developed for Jazz Jackrabbit 2 called The Secret Files and Christmas Chronicles. Unfortunately for American fans, these packs were exclusive to European players when they were initially released. This changed later on when the game was re-released on GOG.com. The Secret Files included levels featuring a haunted house, an Easter-themed level, and a full city level. The Christmas Chronicles featured many battles in a snowy environment, new enemies to fight, and a mode called the Jazz Creation Station where players could create their levels.

6 A Third Game Was Cancelled Mid-Production

Jazz Jackrabbit Gameplay

A third game, Jazz Jackrabbit 3, was being developed for the PC and PlayStation 2. If the game was completed and released, it would also be the series' first 3D game, instead of being 2D like the first two installments. Unfortunately for Epic Games, they could not find a publisher for the game. Epic Games eventually canceled the game in 2000 mid-production. The characters Spaz and Lori were also supposed to return in Jazz Jackrabbit 3, but the alpha version of the game featured only Jazz as a playable character.

5 A Reboot Was Released With Several Changes

Jazz Jacrabbit 2002 Reboot Gameplay and cover

The third game may have been canceled, but a reboot was released in 2002. This reboot was titled the same as the first game and was created for the Gameboy Advance.

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There were several changes made to the reboot compared to the past two games, including altering Jazz's appearance so he looked more like Han Solo from Star Wars and Devan Shell's name being changed to Dark Shell. The rebooted game also brought back the multiplayer modes featured in the second game, to the joy of players.

4 An Animated Series Based On The Game Was Considered

Jazz Jackrabbit gameplay level

Epic Games once considered creating an animated series based on Jazz Jackrabbit. Though Epic Games never formally announced their plans for an animated series, they filed a trademark registration for the name "Jazz Jackrabbit" on March 28, 1997. The application contained descriptions including "entertainment like animated TV series." However, an animated series never came to fruition. It is currently unknown if an animated series for Jazz Jackrabbit will ever be produced, but players hope that it will come to fruition someday.

3 The First Two Games Were Re-Released In 2017

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 gameplay

In 2017, the first two Jazz Jackrabbit games were re-released on GOG.com. Unlike the original Jazz Jackrabbit 2, the GOG release included game modes and adjustments added by the game's fan community. The GOG release of Jackrabbit 2 also included The Secret Files and Christmas Chronicles, which were previously exclusive to the initial European release.

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The re-released versions of both games are available to play on both Windows and Mac. These versions are not remastered versions of the original games, but players were happy to have new opportunities to revisit some classics.

2 An Easter Egg Appeared In Fortnite

Jazz Jackrabbit Easter Egg Fortnite

A Jazz Jackrabbit-related Easter Egg appeared in Fortnite. During gameplay, players have the opportunity to find a poster featuring the titular protagonist hanging on the wall. On the poster, Jazz held a gun and wore his signature bandanna as featured in the first two games instead of having his reboot appearance. Players familiar with Jazz Jackrabbit were happy to find this Easter Egg and hope that a related skin will be made available one day. Though there are no official Fortnite skins made in the style of Jazz Jackrabbit, some fans have tried creating their own versions.

1 Epic Games Had Plans To Turn Jazz Jackrabbit Into A Franchise

Jazz Jackrabbit The Secret Files gameplay

Epic Games had plans to turn Jazz Jackrabbit into a full franchise, even considering an animated series. Unfortunately for the series' fans, this never came to fruition other than the reboot released in 2002 and the first two games being re-released in 2017. The canceled third game also did not help Epic Games' chances of creating a full franchise, despite releasing a reboot in its place. Players speculate that plans for a franchise were dropped since Epic Games have not announced any new releases in the series since the reboot.

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