Jump Bug

Jump Bug[lower-alpha 1] is a 1981 scrolling shooter platform game developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei Corporation.[4] It was distributed in arcades by Sega in Japan and Europe, and by Rock-Ola in North America.[1] It was the first platform game to include horizontal and, in one segment, vertical scrolling. Jump Bug was ported to the Arcadia 2001, Leisure Vision, and PC-98 home systems.

Jump Bug
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Hoei Corporation
Alpha Denshi
Publisher(s)
Platform(s)Arcade, Arcadia 2001, PC-98
Release
Genre(s)Scrolling shooter, platform
Mode(s)1-2 players, alternating
Arcade systemNamco Galaxian

The game uses a limited form of parallax scrolling, with the main scene scrolling while starry night sky is fixed and clouds move slowly, adding depth to the scenery. This was a year before Moon Patrol (1982), with its three moving layers.[5]

Gameplay

The player controls a constantly bouncing car, which resembles a Volkswagen Beetle (or "bug"), driving through a city, mountains, pyramid, and underwater. The height of the jump and speed of a fall are controlled with the joystick. The player can shoot various enemies that appear. Points are gained by collecting treasure, killing enemies, and jumping on clouds.[6] Each treasure collected adds to a meter; an extra life the first time it is filled.

The game smoothly scrolls as the player's car moves to the right, but in the pyramid segment the game also scrolls vertically in a coarser manner. Here the player is able to move in any direction, including to the left, while looking for the exit.

Reception

In Japan, Jump Bug was tied with Scramble and Space Panic as the 14th highest-grossing 1981.[7]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ジャンプバグ, Hepburn: Janpu Bagu

References
  1. "Overseas Readers Column - Hoei Grants "Jump Bug" —Rock-Ola for U.S.A. and Sega for Other Areas—" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 179. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 December 1981. p. 30.
  2. Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) (in Japanese) (First ed.). Japan: Amusement News Agency. ISBN 978-4990251215. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. "Jump Bug Advert (Japanese, new Sega coin-ops, 3rd page from left, bottom left)". Game Machine Magazine 1st. Jan. '82. Amusement Press Inc., Osaka, Japan. January 1982. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  4. "ジャンプバグ レトロゲームしま専科". Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  5. Uduslivii, Igor (26 December 2013). iPhone Game Blueprints. Packt Publishing Ltd. p. 339. ISBN 978-1-84969-027-0.
  6. Jump Bug at the Killer List of Videogames
  7. ""Donkey Kong" No.1 Of '81 — Game Machine's Survey Of "The Year's Best Three AM Machines" —" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 182. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 February 1982. p. 30.
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