Resurrection | Jumping Flash!

By Daniel Lipscombe

Over the years, there have been many attempts at dethroning Sonic and Mario as the ultimate mascots of gaming.

Crash Bandicoot tried, with little success. Lara Croft has only made it so far, and even the little dragon Spyro had a try. It takes a lot to topple these giants of platforming history. Maybe they will never be bettered, but in my heart there has always been one other champion: the sorely forgotten Robbit the robot rabbit from Jumping Flash!

Nintendo and SEGA’s lovable characters were born in a simple age, and with equally simple design they entered the hearts and minds of gamers for their memorable appearances. They were the champions of the 16-bit era – but those days were fading; it was only a matter of time before the 32-bit era needed a new figurehead. How about a large robot rabbit that shoots lasers and fireworks from his paws, in order to prevent Baron Aloha from taking the planet as his own private holiday resort?

//Jump around
Jumping Flash! burst onto Sony’s PlayStation in 1995, bringing with it a new method of play. A platform game at its roots, the premise of Jumping Flash! was a simple one. You were tasked with exploring a map looking for lettered jet pods that spell the word EXIT. Once these were collected, you could head for the exit jump pad and fly off to the next level. Add in simple controls that were still attached to the 16-bit days, using only a few buttons, and you had a game that was easy to pick up and play.

There are many reasons as to why Robbit should have been a great icon, mainly stemming from the mechanics of the game itself. Yes, Jumping Flash! is a standard platform game, but it’s all played from first-person perspective. One of the first games to attempt such a hybrid, it really was ahead of its time. Looking through the eyes of this cyber rabbit and seeing the quirky enemies that inhabit the gaming world was a joy to me as a youngster. The creatures that guard the levels’ secrets still have a charm today – albeit a rather pixelated and jagged one.

It’s not just the first-person perspective that gave so much to this title. Previous platform games had geared towards your standard left-to-right affair, but Exact Co. gave us more. They gave us verticality. Levels would sprawl upwards as well as outwards, and Robbit could soar through the air with his triple jump. Using the unique viewpoint, he would even look downwards so you could judge your landing. This was the first time in my life that a videogame gave me a sense of freedom.

This freedom was amplified by the feeling that I was playing something unique, something new. With quintessential Japanese flavours sprinkled throughout, Jumping Flash! featured great character designs. It’s unlikely I’ll ever forget the MuuMuus – the white, asexual creatures with five limbs and palm trees on their heads. They’re the henchmen for Baron Aloha and control the bosses in each of the six worlds. At the time, this style of design seemed fresh to me. But while such an aesthetic should have been what shot Robbit to stardom, it could, in fact, have been his downfall.

//Hedge(hog)ing its bets
The jump from 2D to 3D was a big step for many gamers, and while Jumping Flash! was critically well-received it was sadly overlooked commercially. Perhaps it was too adventurous; perhaps people saw it as a desperate plea to become a pillar in the gaming world. And while the designs were different, there was a definite sense of déjà vu. A an evil scientist as a villain, who surrounded himself with weird creatures to do his bidding, jumping from one clichéd world to the next – was it all a bit too… Sonic?

Not only were you exploring worlds similar to our blue hedgehog friend – a volcano world, an Aztec world and a metropolis world – but the bonus stages were even accessed by jumping into a floating ring. Add to this that each enemy that was killed spewed coins to boost your score, and perhaps people felt they were being duped.

But beyond all the design points and the comparisons to others, Robbit was a hero. Each moment in Jumping Flash! felt like a Saturday morning cartoon. With colourful images, expansive worlds and characters that felt like predecessors to Pokémon, controlling Robbit felt like I was reaching into my TV and playing with the cartoons I loved.  Even the soundtrack, supplied by the late Takeo Miratsu, added to the hyperactive, early-morning adventure style that was so well known on television in the early nineties.

Robbit will always be dear to me for these many reasons. I recently ventured back to Jumping Flash! after downloading it on PSN. Fearful of what I might find, it was with trepidation that I picked up the controller and jumped into the TV again. It still felt as joyous as ever before. Yes, the graphics had aged, but it felt like playing with an old Thundercats toy that was covered in dust and grime from the chocolate bars of an easier time. I still felt the freedom, and it was still great fun. Robbit will always be my hero.