Sonic Jump

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Sonic Jump
Sonic Jump iOS.PNG
iOS/Android logo
Developer(s) Sonic Team (original)
AirPlay (original)
Hardlight (remake)
Publisher(s) Sega
Series Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s) J2ME, iOS, Android
ReleaseOriginal
Remake
  • USA: December 21, 2012 (Android) [6]
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Sonic Jump [lower-alpha 1] is a 2005 vertical platform game developed by AirPlay and Sonic Team, and published by Sega for the digital distribution service Sonic Cafe, initially only available in Japan for mobile phones before being ported to iOS and Android and released in other regions in 2007. Unlike other games in the series, Sonic Jump doesn't involve running from left to right, but instead, Sonic automatically jumps up the screen, with the player needing to tilt the phone to move him from left to right. The original game's graphical style is based on the Sonic Advance series, which had ended shortly before Jump's release.

Contents

Sonic Jump received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the overall presentation but felt the gameplay was dull. In 2012, the game was remade by Hardlight and also released for iOS and Android devices (later retitled Sonic Jump Pro), featuring updated graphics and new gameplay features, [7] [8] the remake received generally positive reviews for its extended length, being frequently compared favorably with Doodle Jump (2009). It was also a success, with the remake being downloaded nearly 9 million times by March 2013. Sega would later publish two sequels, both unrelated to each other, Sonic Jump 2 (2008) and Sonic Jump Fever (2014).

Gameplay

Sonic jumping up Green Hill Zone (original version). Sonic Jump J2ME gameplay.png
Sonic jumping up Green Hill Zone (original version).

While games in the Sonic the Hedgehog series commonly involve running from side to side, Sonic Jump involves no running, but rather, Sonic jumping through the stages vertically to get to the top of the stage. [9] The player controls Sonic by tilting the device left or right. Sonic jumps automatically, though a "double jump" move can be used upon tapping the touchscreen. [10] Rings are collected throughout the stages, and protect Sonic from damage. In the original version, finishing an act with 50 or more rings would reward the player with a shard of a Chaos Emerald. In the remake, accumulated rings can be used to purchase further content in the game, such as items, upgrades, or additional playable characters. Players can "level up" by achieving certain objectives in each stage; increasing the player's level will allow access to new content for purchase. [11]

The game contains two play modes; "Story Mode", which has preset stages with an end goal, and "Arcade Mode", which has randomly created stages that go on endlessly, with the purpose being to make it as far as possible through the stage.

Development and release

The original Sonic Jump was developed by AirPlay and Sonic Team. [12] Most of the graphics were taken from the Sonic Advance series, which had concluded shortly before the game's release, while the zone themes were taken from the Sega Genesis games. [13] The original version of Sonic Jump was released in Japan on February 21, 2005, for the Sonic Cafe digital distribution service; [14] in April 2007, the game was released internationally for iOS and Android devices as part of the Sega Mobile service, [13] [15] as well as for the T-Mobile Sidekick phone. [16] Sega published the game in all regions.

The new version of the game was first teased by Sega on October 5, 2012. [16] It was then announced and released less than two weeks later on iOS on October 18, 2012, [17] and for Android on December 21, 2012. [18] A short adaptation of Jump was published in issue 5 of the Sonic Super Digest magazine by Archie Comics to coincide with the release of the remake. [19] On March 21, 2018, Sonic Jump was made available for playing on Facebook. [20]

The game's first update, containing the "Blue Sky Zone" of twelve new stages, a new playable character (Amy Rose) was released on November 26, 2012. [21] This update also included a new "Global Challenge" mode, which pools in all player's gameplay height results, with the end goal being able to match the equivalent distance of Earth to the Moon. Completing the global challenge would unlock another character, Blaze the Cat. Another update was released on December 19, 2012, adding Rouge the Bat and Silver the Hedgehog as playable characters, and replaced the sixth stage from each zone with a Boss Act. [22]

Reception

2005 version

The 2005 version of Sonic Jump received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the game's presentation but criticized the overall gameplay. IGN gave the game a 5 out of 10 score, stating the game was "not engaging and "dull" and that "controls seemed sluggish and occasionally inaccurate". [13] Stuart Dredge of Pocket Gamer thought the concept was an "interesting idea", but felt that the controls and high difficulty wouldn't be ideal for newer players. [26]

2012 version

The 2012 version received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic, scoring 77/100. [24] On iOS, the game hit over 8.8 million downloads (including free downloads) [27] in North America and Europe after five months, as of July 2013. [7] [28] [29]

Pocket Gamer gave the game an 8 out of 10, praising it for being a "...tough, entertaining vertical platformer that has enough references and stylistic tweaks to make it stand out from the crowd". [10] Slide to Play gave the game a 4 out of 4 "Must Play" rating, especially praising the value in the game's free updates, stating: "Twelve new stages and a new playable character adds up to a meaty chunk of content, and we're glad to see this excellent game get continued love from the developers. They even say advertise another forthcoming update in the game, and we're looking forward to playing that as well. Sonic Jump remains a great buy." [30] IGN gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, praising the game's "quality presentation and solid challenge" and that "the difficulty ramps up at a surprisingly fast pace...like the cutesy climbing equivalent of Super Meat Boy ", but criticized Sega's approach to buying unlockables, saying that it takes too long to unlock by gameplay alone, and that buying one's way through the game destroys the competitive aspect of the leaderboards. [25] The game has also received many comparisons to the game Doodle Jump . [10] [25] [31]

Legacy

A sequel to the original version titled Sonic Jump 2 released on May 20, 2008, for then-current mobile devices. [32]

Hardlight later developed Sonic Jump Fever , a sequel to the HD version that adds new features including minigames; it released on July 10, 2014, to mixed reviews. [33] [34] [35] Sonic Jump Fever was downloaded 28.3 million times, but only generated US$600,000 in profits. [36] As of November 7, 2016, the game is no longer available for download, possibly due to the lackluster sales performance.

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: ソニックジャンプ, Hepburn: Sonikku Janpu

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References

  1. ↑ Official Japanese Sonic Cafe page Archived May 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (Japanese; down) from 28 March 2005.
  2. ↑ Sega Networks: "かんたん操作の爽快ジャンプ・アクション 『ソニックジャンプ』 iOSにて配信開始" Archived 2020-02-21 at the Wayback Machine (October 18, 2012)
  3. ↑ Official Sega Twitter (16 October 2012) Archived 18 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine : "Sonic Jump will be available globally on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch on 18th October for $1.99, AUD$1.99, £1.49, €1.59"
  4. ↑ "slide to Play: Sonic Jump Review (October 19, 2012)". Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ "IGN: App Store Update: October 18". 18 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  6. ↑ "Andoird Community: Sega launches Sonic Jump on Google Play Store (December 21, 2012)". 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on December 30, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Kubba, Sinan (July 11, 2013). "Sonic's still a big winner on mobile". Joystiq . Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Sonic Jump™ on the App Store". App Store . Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ Fahey, Mike (May 22, 2006). "There's No Running in the Next Mobile Sonic the Hedgehog Game". Kotaku . Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Slater, Harry (October 5, 2012). "Sonic Jump review - iPad reviews". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  11. ↑ Podolsky, Andrew (October 17, 2012). "Big Game Night: Sonic Jump, Sir Death, and More at Slide To Play". Slide To Play. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  12. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (October 16, 2012). "'Sonic Jump' sends Sonic the Hedgehog vertical on iOS on October 18th". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Buchanan, Levi (August 24, 2006). "Sonic Jump". IGN . Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Sonic Jump". Sonic Team . Sega. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  15. ↑ Visser, Miranda (November 3, 2012). "Sonic Jump (iOS) Review". Gaming Illustrated. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Fletcher, JC (October 5, 2012). "Mysterious 'Sonic Jump' coming to mobile devices". Joystiq . Archived from the original on October 29, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  17. ↑ Nelson, Jared (October 16, 2012). "Sega Releasing 'Sonic Jump' This Week". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  18. ↑ Abent, Eric (December 21, 2012). "Sega launches Sonic Jump on Google Play Store". Android Community. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  19. ↑ Flynn, Ian (November 13, 2013). "Sonic Jump". Sonic Super Digest. Archie Comics. pp. 1–5. ASIN   B00KDMVN56.
  20. ↑ Sonic The Hedgehog (March 21, 2018). "Now you can play Sonic Jump for free here on Facebook!". Facebook . Meta. Archived from the original on August 20, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Sonic Jump Gets a High Flier Update". Sega. November 26, 2012. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012.
  22. ↑ Gil, Andrea (December 19, 2012). "Sonic Jump gets a new update". TSSZ News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Sonic Jump for iOS (iPhone/iPad)". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  24. 1 2 "Sonic Jump for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom Inc. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  25. 1 2 3 Davis, Justin (October 19, 2012). "Sonic Jump Review". IGN . Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  26. 1 2 Dredge, Stuart (April 20, 2007). "Sonic Jump". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  27. ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (December 20, 2012). "For one day only Sonic Jump for iOS is FREE!". Facebook . Meta . Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Delivering Quality Games to Even More Customers". Annual Report 2013. Sega Sammy Holdings. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  29. ↑ Oliver, Tristan (July 12, 2013). "Sonic Dash Hits 20 Million Downloads". TSSZ News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  30. ↑ Reed, Chris (October 19, 2012). "Sonic Jump Review". Slide To Play. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  31. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (October 17, 2012). "'Sonic Jump' sends Sonic the Hedgehog vertical on iOS on October 18th". Polygon . Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  32. ↑ Roush, George (May 20, 2008). "Sonic Jump 2 Review". IGN . Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  33. ↑ Fahmy, Albaraa (June 10, 2014). "Sonic Jump Fever coming to iOS, Android". Digital Spy . Hearst Magazines UK. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  34. ↑ Mitchell, Richard (July 10, 2014). "Sonic Jump Fever has spread to iOS and Google Play". Engadget . Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Sonic Jump Fever for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  36. ↑ Forde, Matthew (July 13, 2020). "Sonic Dash has generated more revenue than the last five Sonic games combined". Pocket Gamer . Steel Media. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
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