I told myself "oh man if this is just Jumping Flash 1 but better, it's a sure 4.5 star for me!"
Well... it's weird. More than anything, i consider this game to be just Jumping Flash+.

The levels are clearly different, larger and more challenging than the original but the overall structure of the game seems the same. Six worlds, Bonuses on the first levels per world, enclosed levels, conveyor belts and fans, you know, all the gimmicks from the 1st. The stage themes are really interesting too, moving from generic mario level theme stuff like Desert World, Water World, Space World... To a feudal japan themed world, another one set in a factory, another in a theme park, and such. All of which are trapped akin to ships in a bottle by some Kabuki Ballerina guy. Also, you are now rescuing the enemy of the first game and his helper floating pod things called Muu Muus, which is pretty wholesome.
Other than that there are also a few new powerups, bosses that are somewhat harder (although honestly none as good as Shadow Robbit from the 1st game) and a slew of extra levels and the super mode after beating the game, as well as collecting Medals which are basically the game's Achievements for doing certain stuff, although i felt some of these were a bit too easy to get.

Sooo yeah, it's Jumping Flash! 2 for sure. There are no flaws or negative changes worth taking stars away for but also no big improvements or new mechanics worth giving them either. The only thing that really made me consider giving it a slightly lower score was lacking the novelty factor of the 1994 original, but eh, i think this score is more fair. Now i wanna tackle 'Robbit Mon Dieu!'

More Jumping Flash!
It is more or less the same as the first one but with a jump gauge that helped a little and more challenging stages especially in Worlds 5 and 6.
There were a couple of bosses that felt lazy especially the first and third ones, but the other fights were pretty good.
I just hoped the sequel would do something more instead of just being more or less the same game, but I enjoyed my time.
This game really needs another sequel.

I dunno if it's because I played this back-to-back with the first one, and just got fatigued, but I didn't care for it. The level design is more expansive, and definitely makes for a greater challenge, but I found that it only amped up the frustration-level, and not the enjoyment-level. It turns out, Jumping Flash 1 is fun at least partially (in my opinion) because it's easy!

The theming isn't as sharp, the music isn't as good, and the story... is incredibly stupid. I know it's a kid's game, so whatever--it's still decently fun! There's just 0 improvement on the first's gameplay, and slight regressions in almost every other facet. (Also: the Doom wannabe levels in both games are funkillers).

(A sequel to Jumping Flash! , which I reviewed here)

I don't know what to be more surprised by: that a 3D game released in early 1995 1996 had such good camera work, or that said camera work didn't go on to define the genre and spawn numerous copycats! Having a traditional FPS-style camera view that then flips downwards to aim at the ground whenever you double or triple jump is absolute genius; it allows for fair precision platforming elements in an early 3D game, and is also a really smooth way of giving the player their bearings in a large 3D space.

I guess what works against Jumping Flash! Jumping Flash 2 is that it feels very much like a proof-of-concept rather than a fully fleshed out game. The camerawork is brilliant, but the poor draw distance and less-than-helpful radar system turn the collectathon levels into a bit of a chore. Very often I would find myself wandering aimlessly around looking for the final jetpack muu to progress to the exit; and while it would eventually reveal itself on my minimap once the timer got too low, the time spent in the interim didn't feel that interesting thanks to the level design.

I feel like Jumping Flash!'s Jumping Flash 2's levels suffer, on a very micro scale, from what people complain about in open-world games nowadays. As sprawling and open-ended as they are, they would obviously lack the kind of carefully-curated thrills that a more linear experience would bring, but there's not enough going on in them to make up for it. In other words, the stages feel large but otherwise empty; not helped by a majority of enemies that simply frolic around and fart in your general direction.

Mind you, I find it impossible to dislike Jumping Flash Jumping Flash 2 - it's a cute, pleasant, comfortable experience with a game engine that perhaps would be better suited to a game with more high-voltage pacing. If anyone knows of other games with a similar engine to this, let me know! But its lack of many new things to say (the final boss is pretty much a reskin of the previous game's final boss!) and the fact that it doubles down on the same weaknesses present in the first game means that it wastes most of its sizable potential.

With this being a sequel that released only one year after the first one, it makes sense it's basically just more of the same. That's not a bad thing because Jumping Flash! was fun, however the wow factor the first one had with it being one of the first 3D platformers goes away here, especially since Mario 64 came out two months after this and was something completely different. That's not to say everything in the game is the exact same.

There's now a jump meter that let's the player know how high they are into their jump and makes triple jumps easier to perform. There's now voice acting in the levels itself whenever you collect items. It's alright, it kinda makes the levels less atmospheric compared to the first one but it's cheesy fun. The cutscenes are also more abundant and definitely more entertaining so that was cool.

I think I do like the first one a bit more because the OST also wasn't as good in this one and it's just not as impactful since it's basically more of the same besides some additions. Either way though, just like the first one it's a fun time!

Also, this may be the last game I play this year. Probably not as I'd like to fit one more game in, but if this is it, it ended on a good note at least

Este é um clássico que tenho muito carinho e toda vez que volto a jogar me surpreendo com o quão interessante ele ainda é. Um jogo de plataforma em primeira pessoa muito antes de controles com dois analógicos se tornarem o padrão. E tal qual muitos jogos de plataforma, o pulo ainda é a sua principal arma aqui.

É um jogo bem curto, mas com o detalhe de que novos modos são liberados após terminar a campanha normal. O modo Extra traz fases com layouts diferentes, maior dificuldade nos bosses e o verdadeiro final do jogo, mas o destaque vai pro modo Super, que oferece novas habilidades para Robbit e torna o jogo bem mais ágil e divertido de controlar.

Se esteticamente ele carrega aquele visual rudimentar comum aos primeiros anos do PS1 (apesar do design dos personagens ser nada menos que excelente), a trilha sonora dele é muito charmosa, com cada fase tendo um tema muito único.

Com o tanto de foco que a Sony tem dado recentemente pra VR, não consigo deixar de pensar na possibilidade de ressuscitarem essa franquia, sinto que há algum potencial aí... Até lá, espero que pelo menos JF 2 saia para a geração atual, com troféus e tudo mais, assim como o primeiro (que pretendo jogar eventualmente).