Jumpin' Flash (JF) is an action-type game, not unlike Mario Brothers or
Sonic in basic concept, but vastly different in graphics.  The basic goal
is to collect the four jet pods (giant carrots) that are hidden around
each world and then go to the exit space.  Unlike the two-dimensional
games mentioned above, JF is perfectly three-dimensional.  You don't move
from right to left, or up & down.  You go anywhere you want in the game's
very cleverly-designed worlds, so the order you pick up the carrots in is
entirely up to you.  And rather than seeing your character on the screen,
you see the world from the viewpoint of your character.  The worlds are
made up of combinations of buildings, bridges and other items with plenty
of different places to hop around to and get lost in.  In many ways, the
general feel is like that of Doom or Marathon or one of those other 3D
maze-type games but with the vertical dimension added as well.

The game's most unique point is how the player moves.  While you can
simply press the direction keys and walk around, to accomplish anything,
you have to jump.  Jumping is divided into three heights.  One press is a
little hop.  Two presses (not in rapid succession, but with the second one
coming near the apogee of the first jump) gets you up there.  The triple
jump really launches you skyward, but the timing of the third press is
more critical than that of the second one.  On a double or triple jump,
the viewpoint automatically shifts (smooth scrolling) from straight ahead
to straight down.  You then use your own shadow as a guide to your landing
point.  You can move while in the air.  Once your feet touch anything
during a jump, you can start all over again, i.e. double-jump to the top
of something, then triple-jump from there, etc.  It's possible to achieve
heights which allow you to see the entire world you are currently in laid
out below you.  Some of the levels are maze-type, however, with little
jumping action.

The graphics are what we have come to expect from the PS -- near perfect. 
The sense of depth and of falling while looking down at the top of the
higher jumps is so good that I find myself half-standing up in my chair
and bracing myself for impact when coming down.

There are six worlds of three rounds each.  The first two are standard
levels, and the third round is a boss character.  Use of the data card
allows you to save to the beginning of the highest uncompleted world so
you don't have to start all over.  There is also a time attack mode which
records the fastest three completion times for each of the rounds.

Like Mario or Sonic, there are baddies wandering around getting in your
way.  They are all very cute -- little penguins sliding on their bellys to
ram you, formations of pelicans bombing you from on high... all well
done.  However, it is not necessary to kill them to complete the round
(you have built-in guns).  Often you can just walk around whatever is in
your way.  Killing them usually produces an item of some kind (fireworks
to shoot at bad guys, etc.) but I seldom use these items during game play
and can still advance just fine.  Sometimes I'll do target practice for
fun.  You can look in any direction by pressing the R1 key and then the
direction keys.  Even very, very distant targets can be hit and destroyed
with careful aim.

The player dies and has to start over in a given round if he takes too
much damage, falls off the end of the world, or time runs out.

I'm not much of an action-gamer myself (anymore).  Being 30 yrs. old, I
find that my eye-hand coordination is not just what it used to be (I loved
playing Robotron -- anybody remember that one? -- I could go for 20, 30
minutes on a single quarter...).  As such, games like Sonic on the Mega
Drive/Genesis are very frustrating for me on the upper levels.  Frankly,
Jumpin' Flash is quite easy.  I've only once run out of time before
completing a round, and only once or twice been killed by one of the
bosses before I figured them out.  If the game has a major fault, this may
be it.  They should have added a difficulty-level adjustment which makes
the baddies more aggressive, shortens the time limit, or whatever.  A
serious shooting/action gamer aged 10-20 will probably have no trouble
"clearing" the game on the first try.  And with only 12 worlds and 6 boss
rounds, they may find things ending long before they are bored with it. 
The game will probably be enjoyed most by younger gamers or over-the-hill
ones like myself who can't or don't want to keep up with the fast pace of
some of the other action games.

Still, I find it quite a bit of fun and actually relaxing rather than
frustrating.  Once I complete the game (I'm still working on world 5 of 6)
I'll probabaly go back and try the time attack mode.  And the graphics are
fun to watch.  It was worth my 5,800 yen.

-- 
Scott T. Hards
"Live from Tokyo..."