Produced by Arkedo Games, who also created the excellent and quirky DS shooter Big Bang Mini, Jump! is a deliberate throwback to the pixelated games of the 8-bit era. In fact throwback is probably a very poor choice of word, since every part of it feels more like a well thought out homage. From the minute the main character digitises into view and the camera smoothly zooms out to display the level, it’s clear that the games blocky visuals are crisp and accomplished. Lodging it firmly in the past and bringing it into the modern arena at the same time, it’s this sort of paradox that’s enough to make your head explode.
At heart Jump! is a simple platformer where the player must negotiate each level collecting coins and grabbing the various bombs which are slowly counting down. Once all the bombs are collected the exit door is opened and the player can move on to the next challenge. Failure to collect them before their individual timers run out will results in the player loosing a life. Come into contact with any of the various pitfalls on each level such as spikes or fire and enemy bat, crab or snake and you can kiss another life goodbye. Primarily there is no way for the player to defend themselves other than the titular jumping, but various stages will provide a one shot weapon such as a knife. However these have to be used sparingly and at key parts in order to successfully complete a level.
By some clever use of level design, the trick is often locating the bombs on the scrolling level before you even start worrying about which ones have the shortest fuse. Jump!’s gameplay will instantly ignite nostalgic feelings amongst those old enough to remember as far back as Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy or Chuckie Egg. Even the music and sound effects have a chiptune theme, putting the final touches to that abundant retro charm.
If Jump! has a failing it’s the fact that there is no continue feature. While it could be argued this goes along with the truly hardcore retro game experience which expected you to start from the beginning whenever you turned the machine on, it’s something which will rankle those who’ve become used to forgiving modern conventions – especially when they’ve struggled hard to beat a level, only have to do it all over again the next time. That said there are only 30 levels in total (outside of the extra challenge modes) which means the lack of restore point isn’t a deal breaker.
A colourful and highly entertaining platformer that’s crammed with charm, Jump! is excellent value for the price. It appears that the game is the first in a series of titles from Arkedo and with this first outing, the future of their Indie Game releases is looking very bright indeed.
