Jumpman Junior

The Good
With the Coleco version released you did not need a $500 computer to play it on. The concept was simple. The levels got progressively harder. Even when you completed each different level and came back to the first they did get slightly harder. And by the time you were good enough to play the game and get to a maximum difficulty it was still challenging to go for a high score. The custom speed level per player was a great feature for kids and spouses that needed things to be a little slower.

The Bad
There is nothing about this game I did not like when I bought it brand new when it was released. And over 20 years later there is still nothing I can find wrong with it.

The Bottom Line
Mario may have started the platform game but Jumpman defined it. Jumpman Junior was created to fit in the smaller confines of a cartridge. As usual the storyline in the manual offers a bit of creative license. You must maneuver your jumpman on each level disarming every bomb to move to the next level. Ladders, girders, and ropes that move you up or down are the basic elements making up each stage. More often than not when you touch a bomb to disarm it another element changes. Like girders rearrange themselves, or obstacles appear right where you were going to move. Sometimes the ladders or girders themselves are moving. And did I mention the random bullets coming at you from all sides of the screen that lock on to your position as soon as they cross your plane. This is one of my all time favorite games and I am proud to say I played for 4 hours once just to roll the score over.

The Good
Jumpman Junior is the sequel to Jumpman, and it is designed for 1-4 players, just like the previous game. The object of Jump Jr. is the same as the previous game: Jump all over a level in such a way that you can defuse the bombs and complete the level. Note that by "such a way", I mean take caution in most levels as defusing a bomb can cause part of a ladder or platform to disappear, so you need to analyze the level and work out the easiest way to finish it without getting stuck.

Jump Jr. remains close to the previous game as possible. You still have one or two white bullets that chase you when they come across your line. However, there are new enemies that you must face, including fire, hellstones, and moving walls. When you complete a level, bonus points of 25 points are given for each remaining Jumpmen that you have, and this bonus is increased after each level completed. Finally, you can adjust the speed of Jumpman before the start of the game by entering a number between 1 to 8, 1 being the fastest and 8 being the slowest. To get a good laugh, you can play the game at the fastest speed and see how quickly you die.

This game is slightly more difficult than its predecessor. As I said earlier, parts of a ladder or platform in some levels will disappear when you go and defuse a bomb. Furthermore, something in a level will change, which may make it impossible to reach a bomb and defuse it. For these reasons, you cannot just wander from left to right, dealing with every bomb that gets in your way. You need to defuse them in a specific order that you do not know about yet. It takes a bit of trial-and-error too see what order, so I suggest that you put on your thinking cap.

Both the graphics and sound are in line with the previous game. You still have that "ticking" sound when Jumpman walks his way from Point A to Point B. You still have that same old jumping sound, and that infamous "death march" theme when you are about to lose a life.

The Bad
Real puzzle solvers may be disappointed that Jump Jr. has only a dozen levels to complete. It has 12, compared to 30 in the previous game, and unlike Jumpman, you cannot select a difficulty level that allows you to play more levels, but the increase on difficulty makes up for it somehow.

The Bottom Line
You know, what Jumpman and Jump Jr. are missing is a level editor, where you can make and play your own custom levels if you have completed one of the games. If you have completed Jump Jr. already, are pissed off at the number of levels in the game, and have yet to play the first game, then I suggest that you do so.

Rating: ***