OpenJazz Pocket brings the 1994 MSDOS classic to Analogue Pocket

Jazz Jackrabbit has found another machine to run on, and this one fits rather neatly in your pocket. OpenJazz Pocket brings Epic MegaGames’ 1994 MS-DOS platformer to Analogue Pocket through openfpgaOS, using the open-source OpenJazz engine rather than recreating a full DOS PC inside the handheld. It’s an interesting route. Analogue Pocket is best associated with cartridge systems and FPGA hardware cores, yet OpenJazz Pocket takes a different approach. The project runs a native adaptation of OpenJazz and asks players to provide their own Jazz Jackrabbit game files. No original commercial data comes with the release.

OpenJazz Pocket takes the direct route

OpenJazz has been around for years as an open-source reimplementation of the Jazz Jackrabbit engine. It allows original game data to run on modern hardware without relying on the original DOS executable. OpenJazz Pocket adapts this engine for Analogue’s openfpgaOS environment.

So this isn’t a DOS core followed by a copy of Jazz Jackrabbit booting inside it. The engine itself runs on Pocket, reads the original assets and handles the game from there. It’s a more focused solution, built around one game rather than an entire PC platform.

Players still need legitimate Jazz Jackrabbit data files. An original installation can supply them, as can a compatible commercial release. The old shareware version works too, giving owners of those files another option for testing the port.

Getting Jazz running takes a little setup

Installation needs an Analogue Pocket running firmware 2.2 or newer, openFPGA access and an SD card. Once OpenJazz Pocket is copied onto the card, the original Jazz Jackrabbit files need converting into a single jazz.iso image. The release includes a mkjazz.sh script for this job.

Place the resulting image in the correct OpenJazz assets folder, put the executable where openfpgaOS expects it, and the game can be launched from Pocket’s openFPGA menu.

It’s more hands-on than dropping a ROM into a folder. Still, anyone used to setting up openFPGA software should find the process familiar enough. The separation between engine and game data matters here. OpenJazz Pocket provides the code needed to run Jazz Jackrabbit, not Epic’s original artwork, levels, music or other commercial files.

Performance sits around 30 to 35fps

The release runs standard stages and Jazz Jackrabbit’s pseudo-3D bonus levels at roughly 30 to 35 frames per second. Pocket output is fixed at 320 by 288 pixels and fills the screen. The original DOS game used a 320 by 200 presentation, so menus, cinematics and a few other screens can have different proportions on the handheld.

For actual play, OpenJazz handles the conversion rather than trying to imitate an original VGA PC display down to every display characteristic. There are a couple of limitations in this first release. Analogue Pocket’s system save states aren’t supported, and neither is its sleep feature. Jazz Jackrabbit’s own save system works, so progress can still be stored using the game’s regular save slots. In other words, save before switching off.

Jazz Jackrabbit was Epic’s speedy answer to console platformers

Jazz Jackrabbit arrived for MS-DOS in 1994, published by Epic MegaGames years before the company shortened its name to Epic Games. Created by a team including designer Cliff Bleszinski and programmer Arjan Brussee, Jazz mixed fast scrolling with shooting, platforming and large, colourful stages. Its green rabbit hero races across a string of planets chasing Devan Shell, a turtle villain who has kidnapped Princess Eva Earlong.

The setup wasn’t complicated. The pace was the selling point. PC platform games of the period often struggled to match the smooth scrolling associated with 16-bit consoles. Jazz Jackrabbit pushed hard in this direction, combining quick movement with weapons, ammunition pickups, collectible items and stages built around keeping the player moving.

Its bonus sections switched to a pseudo-3D viewpoint, giving the game another technical trick beyond its side-scrolling stages. Jazz became one of Epic MegaGames’ better recognised PC releases from the period. Shareware distribution played a large part in its reach, letting players try a substantial portion before buying the commercial package.

A sequel followed in 1998. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 moved the series onto Windows, introduced Lori and Spaz as playable characters alongside Jazz, expanded multiplayer support and gave the art and animation a major upgrade.

A different kind of Analogue Pocket release

OpenJazz Pocket won’t turn Analogue Pocket into a general-purpose DOS handheld. It isn’t trying to. Instead, it gives Jazz Jackrabbit its own route onto the machine through an established open-source engine, complete with playable stages, bonus sections and working in-game saves.

There are limitations, particularly the lack of Pocket save states and sleep support, plus the fixed 320 by 288 output. For a first public release, though, the main pieces are already in place. And yes, Jazz is running on another handheld now.

Spread the love