Picked this one up as a PS1 Classic on my PS3 a few months ago when Sony announced they were shutting the store down. Always heard good things about it (it's a series that Sony seems especially proud that they published), but never got around to trying it. As it turns out, Sony also ported the game to PS4/PS5 as a PS Classic, so I also got that version.
Jumping Flash! is a PS1 1st Person Platformer, and if just hearing that phrase makes you instinctively convulse considering just how bad First Person Platforming was back then, I hear you but this is the rare exception. I had a blast with this one. It's also one of the more surprisingly "happy" games I've played in a while.
The game's setup is as dumb as it is simple (and presumably spelled out in the manual, because I had to go online to find out what the plot was. The cutscenes do not in any way tell you): a mad scientist has stolen chunks of planets to form his own resort, so you (a robot bunny) have set out to kick his ass.
The game's broken up into 6 sets of 3 levels, with the last level of each set being a boss fight (aside from the last set, where the last 2 levels are boss fights). In the normal levels, you explore a relatively small area looking for carrot-shaped "jet pods". Once you collect all 4, you run to the exit and you're done. The levels are timed, and you get point bonuses if you collect the pods in the right E-X-I-T order, but for the most part that is it. Along the way, you can blast or jump enemies Mario-style, as well as collect special weapon power-ups that are extremely necessary for the boss fights. There's even 1 power-up that turns the screen all rainbow flashy as you become an invulnerable killing machine for a few seconds, very Mario Power Star-y.
The platforming in this game is so similar to what we'd later see in Metroid Prime I would be very surprised if folks at Retro hadn't been studying this game while they were prototyping their most famous one. Your character has a triple-jump, and much like MP as soon as you do that first double-jump the screen angles down to let you see where you're going to land (including a helpful shadow). Combined with that 3rd jump, this gives you an exceptional degree of control and confidence over your jumping once you get used to the controls, even with just a Dpad to work with.
Where I think the game substantially falters is with the boss fights. In general, they're pretty bad bullet sponges, able to take you out in a handful of hits while it takes you the better part of several minutes to whittle down their health. And they don't have the downside of a very slow turn speed when you try to dodge or jump past them. These are pretty much what you save your special weapons for, and even they will usually only take out 1/3 - 2/5 of the boss' health bar.
Overall, I quite enjoyed that one. I miss the days when Sony would put out games like this.
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