Jumping Flash!

Video games have been around for a relatively short time when you consider the grand scheme of things. They are certainly one of the newer media formats and their time as a respected medium has been incredibly short. However, they have also made major strides in their 50–60-year lifespan. There have been a lot of revolutionary titles that have pushed the limits of what games can achieve. Typically, those games receive the recognition they deserve as landmarks in the industry's growth. Sometimes though, even games that made huge technological strides can slip through the cracks.

Just because a game is technologically impressive for its time doesn't make it good, and sometimes these revolutionary titles are forgotten because they are simply not fun to play. However, that wasn't the case for our subject this week. I will never forget the first time I experienced Jumping Flash!, one of the playable demos on the notable PlayStation Picks CD. I've talked a little bit about this disc before, but I've mostly covered games that just had video previews (Twisted Metal and Warhawk). But Jumping Flash! had a fully fleshed out, playable level and it was like nothing I had ever seen on a console before. The only games I had ever seen do a first person perspective and look this good were PC titles, mainly Doom and Wolfenstein. It wasn't quite a launch title, but Jumping Flash! was released about two weeks after the PS1 in North America and I don't know if any early PS1 game showed off the console's power quite like this one did. Tekken, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden were all impressive in their own right, but I'm not sure they brought the complete package like this one did.

 Of course, I've also talked before about how just because a game was ahead of its time doesn't mean its good. Fortunately, that wasn't the case here at all. Jumping Flash was, and still is, an exceptional game and one of the better titles in a strong PS1 library despite being an early release. The game puts you in the shoes of Robbit the robotic rabbit, an agent of Crater Planet's Universal City Hall. Crater planet is in the throes of a massive crisis, the likes of which it has never experienced before. The nefarious Dr. Aloha is using a giant machine to capture pieces of the planet. Why is he doing this? So he can turn them into floating resorts and charge people exorbitant fees to visit them. It's up to Robbit to stop the not so good doctor and his legion of MuuMuus (yes, I'm serious) and save the world. It's not exactly the deepest story I've ever heard, but it was more than I was expecting. There aren't too many cutscenes here, but the ones there are pretty solid. Remember, this was an extremely early PS1 game, just having the cutscenes was so far beyond what most console gamers were used to.

I can't express enough how impressive Jumping Flash! looked for its time. It was a little bit blocky and lacking in some textures, but so was every game of the era. Remember, this was an early PS1 game we are talking about here and it was truly a display of the power of the new generation consoles. It wasn't just how it looked in a vacuum, it was how smoothly it ran as well. It wasn't slow or plodding like a lot of early 3D first person games were. Again, it may not be 60 frames per second or whatever people talk about now, but it was about as good as anyone could have done on brand new hardware. It certainly help that the art style was so unique. I've heard people reference Jumping Flash! as an inspiration for the coming wave of 3D platformers, but at the end of the day I would class it has a first person shooter. Usually, that would mean dark atmospheres, disturbing enemies and buckets of blood. But Jumping Flash! was about as opposite of that aesthetic as one could get. It's bright and colorful, filled with goofy enemies and saccharin backgrounds that really made it stand out. The sound is similarly peppy and really fits the family friendly vibe the game was going for. It was both intriguing for older gamers, who were used to more gory and dark offerings from this genre, and appropriate for younger ones, as it was very likely a gateway into the genre for many.

While it was visually impressive, I think it's the gameplay that really set Jumping Flash! apart from its contemporaries. Usually, early games on new consoles are very rough around the edges and feature less than optimal gameplay. That was especially true of early 5th generation games as the industry made the jump to the third dimension. While there was some of that here, Jumping Flash! was surprisingly tight for an early game on a new system featuring new technology. You move around in first person, shooting enemies and jumping on platforms. Some levels are designed like straight FPS stages while others will have you jumping around. I've heard some people credit this game as one that started the 3D platforming revolution and I'm not sure I agree with that, but the jumping elements are definitely prevalent here and they are surprisingly well done. It was doubly surprising because of the first person perspective, where jumping is normally a major hassle because you can't see where you are going to land. Jumping Flash's solution? Your character looks down at the peak of his jump and you can see exactly where your shadow is. It's a surprisingly simple solution that works well. Overall, the hit detection is solid, sometimes I felt like I was getting hit out of nowhere but that was fairly rare. There are definitely quirks, but it's surprisingly well done for an early 5th gen game.

The level design is a little more compact than most FPS titles, but it makes up for it with its verticality and additional objectives. Each level tasks you with finding three jet pods before heading to the exit. Some of these are straight up FPS levels in claustrophobic, hallway-based environments. But most will have you jumping around platforms in wide open areas with more focus on exploration. You have a time limit, but it's fairly substantial and I only ever came close to running it out once or twice. Most of the jumps are pretty safe, it's more a matter of doing them fast enough, but there are occasional times where you can fall to your doom. It's always interesting to look at gameplay elements in these transitional era games, especially those that came out during the late 4th or early 5th gen. You have three lives and it's game over, lose them all and you go back to the beginning. Of course, if you have a this newfangled device called a "memory card," you can save your progress, making the lives kind of moot. You get points for defeating enemies and picking up jet pods, but what to the points really do for you? Part of why I love this era of gaming is because it still feels like the frontier days, but also like things were starting to become more established. It led to some really weird stuff, and I was all for it.

Each level consists of three stages, two normal levels with a boss at the end. The bosses are fairly unique and do a really great job at providing variety in gameplay. They are a little bit simple, at least until you fight the transforming cube boss, but still fun. You have a total of 18 levels, with environments like grasslands, the desert, winterland and carnival land (which was where the PlayStation Picks demo level came from). Again, I really like how upbeat and peppy these environments are, it was so refreshing and different in the genre. Robbit comes equipped with standard lasers, but he can also find powerups like cherry bombs, rockets and roman candles. There are also plenty of hidden areas to find and secrets to discover, though the reward for doing so is somewhat minimal. I think it could have used a few more levels, but that's always a good problem to have.

While it was extremely strong for an almost-launch title, Jumping Flash! is not without its flaws. I kind of like the graphical style, but it's extremely blocky even compared to its contemporaries. If you told me this was an N64 game and I didn't know any better, I probably would have believed you. The jumping does take some time to get used to and the timing on the double jumps is a little strange. Even without it, Robbit jumps extremely high, every press of the X button results in a giant moon jump and that threw me off. I can't fault them too hard for it as the reason for it makes sense. But it's still kind of weird. Hit detection is a little strange, sometimes I felt like I should have been hitting enemies and I wasn't. On the flip side, enemies hit me when I felt like they shouldn't have. At least this isn't a problem with the platforming, which would have made it a serious issue. The HUD as a whole is extremely busy, I don't mind it but I think it could be a problem for some. A lot of these are minor issues, but they are issues nonetheless. The controls aren't really the best, but they aren't bad and I was able to adapt to them fairly quickly.

Even with all that, Jumping Flash! was an outstanding game that did a great job of showing off the power of the new PlayStation. It was one of the earlies offerings on the PS1 that just couldn't have been done on a previous generation console. By now, I'm a hardened veteran of many console launches, I've seen the highs, lows and everything in between. But the PlayStation was the first really big console launch I ever experienced, the NES was my first console and I had loved my SNES for the two years I had it, but I was either not born or very young when those first dropped. Seeing a game like this was really mind blowing for those of us who broke in to gaming with the 3rd and 4th generation consoles. A lot of early PS1 and Saturn titles were visually impressive, but not all of them played particularly well. Jumping Flash! was a rare example of an early gen title that mixed exceptional new visuals with outstanding gameplay. It's a great, fun experience that wasn't too difficult, but also not too easy, and it's still worth checking out today. It's yet another series I would love to see come back.

9.25/10