Jumping Flash!

Jumping Flash! is presented in a first-person perspective. The player assumes the role of Robbit, a robotic rabbit, and can freely move Robbit in three-dimensional space and can rotate the camera in any direction. The top part of the screen shows the remaining time, the player's score, and a character named Kumagoro—Robbit's sidekick artificial intelligence who offers the player warnings and hints. The top left corner of the screen shows the collected power-ups; the top right corner contains the radar showing the locations of objects including enemies, power-ups, jet pods and enemy projectiles. The bottom shows a health meter on the sides and the number of remaining lives in the centre. The player starts the game with three lives; a new life is granted once one million points are earned. The core of the gameplay is focused on the player's ability to make Robbit jump. Robbit can jump up to three times in mid-air, which allows him to reach extreme heights. Unlike other platform games that continue to face horizontally when the player jumps, in Jumping Flash! the camera tilts downwards when a double-jump The game is composed of six worlds with three levels each, The objective of the main levels in each world is to collect four jet pods. Each final level of a world consists of a boss fight. The level designs vary from snow-capped mountains to carnivals. While most of the levels are large, outdoor excursions, two are enclosed within a narrow interior. The game features hidden bonus levels, which are triggered when secret entrances are found. Bonus levels consist of blocks with balloons in them; popping the balloons yields either coins or power-ups. A time attack mode is available for any level the player has completed. == Plot ==

The game begins on Crater Planet and revolves around the story of an insane astrophysicist, Baron Aloha. Planning to make a large profit from his evil ingenuity, Aloha removes giant pieces of land from the planet using machines to turn them into private resorts. Aloha removes and hides the twelve jet pods that propel each world. Witnessing the destruction, the residents of Crater Planet call for help, and in response the Universal City Hall dispatches one of their agents, a mechanical rabbit named Robbit. Robbit is ordered to explore each world to retrieve the jet pods, stop Aloha, and save Crater Planet from destruction. At the end of the game, Aloha flees to his home, Little Muu, and vows revenge on Robbit. Throughout the game, Aloha surrounds himself with creatures called MuuMuus that appear as small, white, five-limbed creatures with miniature palm trees on their heads. Many of the game's full motion videos feature the MuuMuus in an izakaya tavern, recounting their defeat at the hands of Robbit. == Development and release ==

Jumping Flash! was developed by Japanese developers Exact and Ultra. After seeing Geograph Seal and realising the potential in their game design, Sony's director of entertainment in Japan, Koji Tada, paired Exact with Ultra to develop a new game for the upcoming PlayStation console. Tada replaced Hiroyuki Saegusa as director of the game, although he had kept all key Exact staff to work on the project. The game was first revealed in early 1994 under the provisional title "Spring Man" as a technology demonstration for the upcoming PlayStation console. allowing players to carefully line up their landings. Jumping Flash! was considered the first game of the platform genre to be developed with full 3D computer graphics. The music for Jumping Flash! was composed by Japanese video games and anime music composer Takeo Miratsu. Many of the tracks, along with tracks from Jumping Flash! 2, were included on the Jumping Flash! 2 Original Soundtrack album, which Miratsu also composed. == Reception ==

The game received generally positive reviews upon release. Critics mainly praised its unique innovation, advanced graphics, gameplay and clean textures. "Major Mike" of GamePro said that despite the game appearing "strange", it had action, strategy, and some humour. Next Generation said that "[many] of the boundaries have been redefined in a big way", contrasting it with side-scrolling platformers with a first-person perspective and explorable 3D environments. They called it "simply superb" and gave it a "Revolutionary" five-star rating. Official UK PlayStation Magazine wrote that "To suggest that Jumping Flash is innovative is a criminal understatement: there's never been anything like this game in terms of sheer brain-popping wow factor." Game Revolution called the graphics "mind blowing" and the game itself "totally unique", but criticised the overall length and ease of play. IGNs 1996 review similarly disapproved the difficulty, stating that despite the small worlds and easy difficulty, it is "a great, genre-pushing game", also saying it is an essential for all PlayStation owners. Retrospective In 1996, Next Generation listed it as number 86 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", saying it had created the genre of 3D platforming. They particularly praised "the vertigo inducing sense of height as Robbit leaps from platform to platform". In a 2007 review, Greg Miller of IGN condemned the graphics as "dated", having "jagged edges" and "muddled" colours, and said every aspect of the game is "weak" and that it had not stood "the test of time". In a retrospective review, Andrew Yoon of Engadget praised the gameplay and innovation, saying the "grainy" and "antiquated" graphics did no harm to the vibrant atmosphere of the game. Maddy Thorson, the creator of the indie video game TowerFall, praised the game, saying "something about the sensation of leaping through 3D space captured my childhood imagination". 1UP.com cited its first-person platforming as a precursor to ''Mirror's Edge, despite suggesting that the jumping remained "woefully out of place" in the platform genre. In 2007, Matt Casamassina of IGN ranked Jumping Flash!'' as the third-most underrated video game of all time. After release, co-developer Ultra renamed themselves "Muu Muu", after the creatures featured in the game. == Legacy ==

Due to its popularity, Sony produced two sequels to Jumping Flash!, including one spin-off. A direct sequel, Jumping Flash! 2—also developed by Exact—was released worldwide for the PlayStation the following year; it continued the story of Robbit and the subsequent rise and fall of Baron Aloha. The game received positive reviews upon release, with critics particularly praising its updated features. Robbit Mon Dieu was released in Japan for the PlayStation in 1999. It was met with mixed reviews. Exact merged into Sony Computer Entertainment in 2000. A loose spin-off utilising the PocketStation titled Pocket MuuMuu was released in 1999, making it the most recent game in the series to be released. The original Jumping Flash! was re-released through the PlayStation Store in 2007 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, in 2012 for PlayStation Vita, and in 2022 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. In recent years, Sony has referenced the series with Robbit appearing as a collectible in PlayStation Stars—a loyalty program on PlayStation Network—and as a cameo in Astro Bot. == References ==