Difficulty:

Very Easy

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Worth playing"

Jumping Flash! is a special case for the Playstation. For one, its one of the first titles to take advantage of 3D platforming while mixing in a bit of FPS action. Also, the blatant absurdity of the story is strangely compelling enough to warrant to full playthrough. With so much going for a classic (yet under-the-radar) game, its difficult to imagine how little this title is remembered.

In a nutshell, the story is about Robbit, the robotic laser-shooting bunny that hops ridiculously high and is trying to save the planet from an evil scientist name Baron Aloha. Indeed, story is not Jumping Flash!'s forte but the addictive gameplay easily makes up for most of the narrative shortcomings.

The game progresses through Super Mario Bros-style levels (i.e. World 1-1, 1-2, etc.) consisting of two normal levels and one boss. The objective for the normal levels is picking up four pods and then proceeding to the exit as to progress to the next level. Although a method of progression such as this may feel a bit too easy, collecting the pods seems to have some strange addictive effect.

Gameplay is fairly simple for anyone who has played a platforming and/or first person shooter game before: There's a button to hop, a button to shoot, and a button to fire special weapons. With such a simplified control system its easy for nearly anyone to pick up and play, regardless of who the player might be. The only issue with the controls is how stiff the turning feels (albeit using a directional pad to move usually yields such a result) and, consequently, the difficulty in properly maneuvering while in mid-jump. Admittedly, getting the hang of Robbit's strange jumping habits takes a small bit of time but its nothing that about 2-3 minutes of practice can't fix.

In all, Jumping Flash! is an excellent title that's worth a look. If finding a hard copy is not a priority, its available on the Playstation Store for a modest $7. With a low price tag and gameplay that's strangely addictive, Jumping Flash! is easy to recommend to anyone.