"Jazz Jackrabbit 3" is a third-person shooter with platforming and adventure game elements. The mouse is used to aim and shoot, while the keyboard moves Jazz around the world. Jazz can fire his weapon, or charge up a more powerful shot. Jazz's arsenal can be expanded using coins collected to purchase new weapons and combine them with Elemental "Dream Cells" to create various weapon effects. In the alpha, only Fire and Ice Dream Cells can be acquired, and usable with two guns (the standard Blaster and the Gizmo Gun). When Jazz moves around in a level, he leaves a trail of footprints on the ground.