What is Jumping Flash?

Jumping Flash is an early PlayStation title, released in April 1995 in Japan, roughly six months after the console was unleashed upon the masses hungry for 3D graphics. It’s a co-pro release, with EXACT and ULTRA sharing development duties and Sony Computer Entertainment footing the publisher bill – bless you, Sony.

The first thing you’ll notice about Jumping Flash as you fire up the game or a video on it is that it is a first-person platformer. Wait, what? A first-person platformer? How… how does that work? They were still figuring out how to do good third-person 3D platformers! And on an original PlayStation D-pad? Bleugh. It must be awful!

Wrong. It’s rather lovely stuff.

Jumping Flash’s graphics are bold and colourful. Abstract and surreal. It’s all thanks to their abstract nature that they manage to escape the jankiness and dated feel suffered by many of the early attempts toward photo-realism in texture-mapped PlayStation polygons. Populated by weird wildlife from top-hatted frogs and sky whales to cannons with googly eyes, not all of whom mean you immediate harm, Jumping Flash’s myriad of small worlds feel alive with lush, surreal detail.

The best comparison I can think of to describe Jumping Flash’s gameplay is that it’s an arcade 3D platformer, more akin to Taito’s arcade classic Bubble Bobble than to Core Design’s Tomb Raider. Each of its six worlds has three stages, two platforming and one boss, and all are small, short, and with an emphasis on swift traversal on a time limit. You must collect all the carrot-shaped Jetpods, dodging or blasting enemies with a variety of colourful weapons, and then hop on over to the exit.

Did I mention that you’re a rabbit-like chrome robot named Robbit?

Now, you must be thinking, oh no, experimental first-person platforming on a time limit? It must be so awkward doing it under pressure. All those wobbly polygons and there’s bound to be control issues to hamper the experience further. And when I say the controls are tank-like, you’re probably ready to dismiss it purely on that basis. After all, Croc got a bit of a bashing for its tank-control platforming and that came along two years later.

Well…

The Saving Grace

The control mechanic that allows Jumping Flash to skillfully avoid pitfalls and not transform into an awkward nightmare is the way jumping is handled. You can double jump with a double tap of the button and then on the second jump that’ll take you high into the sky, the camera will pitch down. Then, guided by your shadow and with just the right amount of downward velocity, you’ll be able to position Robbit exactly where you want them to be.

It’s a genius move on the part of the developers.

How many times in early 3D platformers have we found ourselves misjudging jumps or falling off edges trying to adjust our positioning just right? There’s none of that malarky in Jumping Flash. Traversal becomes swift, accurate, and fun. There’s a heavy emphasis on verticality in the stage designs and hoo boy, it could have gone so very wrong. Instead, it’s an absolute joy. Couple this with the short and sweet nature of the levels, catchy and hummable music, and the desire to see what surreal world Jumping Flash will throw at you next and it all adds up to an experience that doesn’t deserve to be as forgotten as it has become.

Computer Origins

These design choices are rooted in experience, namely in a game called Geograph Seal, released in March 1994 for the Sharp X68000 computer. It’s in Geograph Seal that we see the initial implementation of those design choices, from the first-person perspective and downward facing jumps to the animalistic design of the mecha that you pilot. Even the UI is pretty much the same. But it’s much more serious in tone than Jumping Flash, with none of its dreamy surrealism.

So, once you’re aware of this initial origin point, Jumping Flash feels more like a retooling of those core concepts, acutely focused on the platforming aspects rather than out-and-out action on a futuristic battlefield.

What Happened to Jumping Flash?

Jumping Flash stuck around as a series on the PlayStation for a few more years, with a direct sequel, Jumping Flash 2, in 1996, and a third and final game in the series, Robbit Mon Dieu, in 1999. Oh, and a PocketStation spinoff, Pocket MuuMuu. But since then, absolutely nothing. The first game was wildly successful, both critically and commercially, leading to the rapid greenlighting of the sequel, but Mon Dieu did not enjoy the same success. It’s a shame; it would have made a perfect fit for a PlayStation 2 launch title. But, perhaps, the rooted-in-the-arcade nature of Jumping Flash didn’t hold up against the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Medievil.

Sadly, aside from digital releases on PSN and inclusion in the ill-fated PlayStation Classic’s library of games, our friendly carrot-hunting robot rabbit faded into the mists of 32-bit history.

Jumping Flash VR?

I often wonder if Sony and Sugar & Rockets, now part of Team Asobi after several mergers and reorganizations, have ever considered bringing back Jumping Flash? Its abstract worlds would look stunning in contemporary graphics; it feels as if there is tremendous missed potential for at least a Virtual Reality reimaging of the series. Of course, it wouldn’t be for the faint of heart when it comes to falling or sufferers of vertigo, but for those able to enjoy immersing themselves in abstract, 90s cyberspace worlds and rapid traversal, I’m certain it would be an enjoyable experience.

Should you play the original Jumping Flash today? Absolutely. And don’t just hop over it and go right to 2 or Mon Dieu, either. The first Jumping Flash has plenty to offer in its own right and you’ll blitz through it in a couple of hours.

So, what are you waiting for? JUMP and GO!