Jump Bug[a] is a 1981 scrolling shooterplatform 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] The player controls a bouncing Volkswagen-esque car in a forced scrolling world. The car can eliminate enemies by shooting them and collect money bags by landing on them. The world is divided into several separately themed areas which are seamlessly connected. Jump Bug was ported to the Arcadia 2001, Leisure Vision, and PC-98 home systems.
Jump Bug is one of the earliest forced scrolling horizontal shooters, following in the wake of Scramble and Super Cobra from earlier in 1981. It is the first game in the nascent platform game genre to include horizontal and, in one segment, vertical scrolling. It 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]
