Otaku World

Jumping Flash

Sony

Platform ReviewedSony Playstation
Genre3D First-Person Platform Game
Number of Players1
Multiplayer ValueNone
LengthShort to Moderate
DifficultyLow to Moderate
Skills RequiredHand-Eye Coordination, Spatial Orientation, 3 Dimensional Thinking
Interface DevicesPlaystation Joypad
Interface DesignExcellent
ProgrammingSuperlative
Game Design and PlayabilityFantastic
Type Of FunRun, Jump (very, very high!), shoot, collect, and search
Replay ValueModerate
Overall ValueVery High
QualityVery High
The BestAbsolute Fun. Jumping 700 feet off the ground and landing on a frog's head. Colorful worlds, enemies and music. Diverse landscapes filled with fun things to play on. Happy and joyful throughout.
The WorstAll that 700 foot leaping is not for the faint stomached. If you fear heights, forget this game. Although beautiful, the polygon worlds lack extremely extensive texture mapping.
How much would I be willing to pay for this 65 Bucks

Description:

Jumping Flash is a three dimensional, first-person Sonic or Mario genre platform game. Imagine Doom played in a really cute environment, where the focus was not shooting, but leaping to the top of skyscrapers and blimps, then jumping down to crush hapless critters - all the while searching for mechanical carrots. Add a whimsical and fun soundtrack, an encouraging robotic sidekick, and tough Boss Fights, and you grasp Jumping Flash.

Story:

Evil Baron Aloha, a rogue Astrophysicist who frightens children and plots world domination, has stolen huge chunks of the Peaceful Planet to carry away as his own private pleasure resort. Only Robbit, the super robotic rabbit mech can bust Aloha's bubble. Robbit, Jump and Go!

Review:

Now THIS is what I would have done with a 3D engine instead of Doom. Not to knock Doom, I battle the minions of Hell on a weekly basis, it's just that Jumping Flash is just a wonderful game. In Jumping Flash, three dimensionality is not just a clever viewpoint, three dimensional space is intrinsic to gameplay. In Jumping Flash, the player must cope with truly tridimensional environments, blimps, floating platforms, dizzying heights, frightening distances, and win through a barrage of cute but deadly hazards. Leaping like, well, a nuclear rabbit to the top of skyscrapers, riding rollercoasters and titanic Ferris wheels, paddling through underwater caverns, and falling into infinite voids are all in a days work in Jumping Flash. Damn, but this is an extremely fun and happy game!

On the bad side of this bunny, the game IS a tad short, with only 18 levels. The levels are huge and very diverse, but in a game this good, I want the fun to go on forever. I also expect a bit more texture mapping than Jumping Flash possesses, and I fear that the American release of this Japanese game has cut some of the fun cinema scenes between levels. Nevertheless, Jumping Flash is one of the best games out for the Playstation, and in my opinion, a Must Buy. Jumping Flash is original, truly uses three dimentional space, and if you do not puke from the dizzy leaping, will enthrall and entertain. Very Recommended

Reviewed by Jennifer Diane Reitz, Dec. 26 1995

Jennifer Diane Reitz is a Game Designer and Computer Artist, and one of the founders of Happy Puppy. She is the creator of numerous games and software products, including Boppin' , Shark Chums, Elsewhere, and many others. She has worked for such companies as Activision, Sculptured Software, Epyx, SRI, and Electronic Arts, and founded Accursed Toys. She has been active in the computer gaming industry since it's earliest days. She considers games to be works of artistic merit and achievement, and views computer entertainment as the most important media of our era.