Jumping Flash!

A 3d platformer BEFORE Mario, you say?

Yup! A 3D platformer that predates Mario 64 by a whole year! One of two, actually. Alpha Waves (1990) was the first, and it's even more obscure than Jumping Flash. But today, we're here to talk about the second 3D platformer of all time!

So, what's Jumping Flash?

By all means, Jumping Flash is a true 3d platformer. You can move in 360 degrees and jumping onto platforms (and of course, collecting stuff) but it certainly doesn't look like one at first glance. Remember, the ps1 controller originally just had a D-Pad, so this game does use tank controls-wait! don't run! Pleeeeeeeease it's actually really fun.

still here? Ok, thanks.

As I was saying, it uses tank controls. when Rabbot (rabbit robot) is on the ground, it looks left and right with the d-pad, but in the air, it moves its position on the xy axis. The jumps in this game also work a little different than usual. You get a double jump (sometimes a triple? I'm not sure what triggered these but i swear sometimes I felt like I had a triple jump), with the first jump keeping you looking forward and the second, taller jump moving your view downwards so you can see your shadow and position yourself better. As someone who kind of hates first person games, I thought this constant looking down would be nauseating, but it suprisingly wasn't for me.

The goal of the game is to find and collect four carrots in each level (called jetpods) and reach the exit before time runs out. It feels very arcade-y, with hp boosts, 'mario star' style power-ups, and bombs being little collectibles that'll get announced when you grab them.

I guess this game is also technically an fps? There are enemies to shoot and you have boss fights, but Jumping Flash is definitely more of a platformer than a shooter. Combat was clearly an afterthought, and I think that's a good thing.

The game has six worlds, each divided up into two levels and one boss fight (except the 6th, which has two bosses). You can beat the game in probably two hours or so.

Things I liked

I'm a huge huge fan of early 3D graphics, so this scratched just the right spot for me. Worlds feel huge (though you can navigate them quite quickly; rabbot has a very large jump in turn) and the theming of each world is unique, with recongnizable features even with the super-low poly objects. The theme park one was a standout for me. I also really enjoyed the music, especially the little jingle that plays when you finish a level. The game was short and sweet too, opting for an arcade style game where the player was probably meant to replay levels for a higher score.

Things I didn't like

The enemies in this game were weird. Generally I'd say that's a good thing, except they weren't really animated at all. Sometimes they'd shamble around but they didn't seem intelligent and it was hard to dodge their bullets sometimes. I'd read before that the first Spyro game was considered massively innovative for its enemy animation, and now that I see what came before it, I totally get why this was such a big deal. I also didn't care for enemies in general. They'd respawn once you walked away from them and I usually had to spam the shoot button for a few seconds too long to actually kill them. In a similar vein, boss fights also kinda blew. At least I could shred their health with bombs i'd collected from previous levels.

Verdict

If you have the playstation gamepass or you're savvy enough with emulators, I totally recommend checking out Jumping Flash! It's a neat little oddity and very historically important, if often overlooked entry to the genre of 3D platforming. Probably wouldn't wanna pay the ten bucks for it if I wasn't already paying for the premium subscription though.

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