Originally released in 1998, Jazz Jackrabbit 2 was developed by Epic MegaGames, later to be known simply as Epic Games. These days, Epic is a hugely successful developer and publisher, but its beginnings were humble, creating side-scrolling adventures like this. The first game in the series, Jazz Jackrabbit, came out in 1994 and a reboot was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. At the time, many fans compared it to the Sonic games, as much of the gameplay was similar. Yet they garnered favor of their own and met moderate financial success.

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Epic Games re-released both the first and second games, now called Jazz Jackrabbit Collection and Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection, on GOG back in 2017, and they’re now making the sequel free for a limited time. The Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection includes the base game plus two expansions: The Secret Files and The Christmas Chronicles. It also includes an editor mode allowing players to flex their creative muscles and invent their own levels.

The original Jazz Jackrabbit 2 featured fairly robust online multiplayer options, a novelty for a side-scrolling platform game of its era, allowing it to stand out among even the most classic PC games. With both co-op and competitive modes, the game could host up to 32 players. These features made it into the re-release, so players can still enjoy them now.

Interestingly, despite the fact that they’re owned by Epic and would be a great addition to the extensive list of free games previously offered on the Epic store, none of the Jackrabbit games are available there. Instead, they were released on GOG which is owned by Polish developer CD Projekt. However, at the time of their re-release in 2017, the Epic Games store didn’t exist. It’s unknown exactly what the circumstances of the games’ re-release on GOG were, but it’s possible the deal precluded Epic from selling the game on their own store.

Revivals like this can only be a good thing for the gaming industry and fans. Not only do re-releases of classic games like this scratch players’ nostalgic itch, it acts like the opening of a time capsule, and it helps to preserve gaming history.

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Collection is available now for PC.

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Source: GOG