Gameplay
The gameplay in Jumping Flash! is noted as being nearly identical to Geograph Seal, an earlier game by the same developer released in 1994 for the Sharp X68000. The game is presented in a first-person perspective, and the player can freely walk in three-dimensional space and rotate the camera in any direction. The user interface resembles that of viewing through Robbit's eyes. The top part of the screen shows the time remaining, the player's score, and Kumagoro, Robbit's sidekick who offers the player warnings and hints. The top left shows firework items, while the top right contains the radar, showing the location of various objects including enemies, power-ups, Jet Pods, and enemy projectiles. The bottom is filled out with a health meter on the sides with the number of lives in the center of it.
The core of the gameplay is centered around the player's ability to make Robbit jump. Robbit can jump up to three times, once off of a surface and twice in mid-air, allowing him to reach extreme heights. Unlike other platform games which continue to face horizontally when the player jumps, Jumping Flash! tilts the camera downwards when a double-jump or triple-jump is performed to allow the player to see Robbit's shadow and easily plan a landing spot. Jumping-chains can be performed using enemies and some projectiles.
The player has the ability to shoot a low-powered beam where a target indictor is centered in the middle of the screen. In addition, the player can find and use special items for Robbit in the form of fireworks to do massive damage to enemies, which include cherry bombs, rockets, Roman candles, and twisters.
Other power-ups scattered across each world come in the form of picture frames representing carrots to extend Robbit's health, extra lives, Time-Outs that stop the clock and freeze all the level's dynamics for a few seconds, hourglasses that extend the player's time, and Power Pills that make Robbit invincible for a short amount of time. Coins worth points can also be picked up by destroying enemies. The enemies are often of animal-like creatures such as kiwis and penguins, but also robots and plants. Most have simple actions such as wandering around aimlessly, shooting or throwing projectiles out randomly. A few, however, have more intelligence such as the bomb-forming beetles or missile-shooting pigs.
Jumping Flash! is composed of 6 worlds with 3 levels each, totaling 18 main levels, of which there are 7 boss levels and an extra 6 bonus stages available. In the main levels, the objective of the first two levels of each world is to collect 4 Jet Pods with the letters "E", "X", "I", and "T" on them. After collecting them, landing on the "EXIT Pad" is all that remains in finishing the level. The third level in each world is a boss fight. The level designs vary, from Egypt-style desert to a roller coaster-filled theme park. While most of the levels are large outdoor excursions, two of the game's levels are enclosed within a narrow interior and are somewhat maze-like. The hidden bonus levels feature various 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. Upon completing the 18 main levels, the levels can be played again with objects rearranged and a more difficult setup.
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