Well, I goofed in my write-up of the second stage of Donkey Kong Jr. — after messing around with the game a little more today while I was stuck like a veal calf on the airplane, I realized that you can in fact jump to the upper moving platform from the spring jack. It’s not very easy to do, because the timing is so weird and if you snag on the platform without actually mounting it your downward arc to the ground beneath it will count as a fall rather than a spring jump, which means it will count as a fatal action rather than something you can just shrug off. It works on both the NES version I’ve been experimenting with and with the arcade version based on some of the videos I’m double-checking against. This fact doesn’t change my overall critique of the stage — if anything, the fact that a one-pixel collision mishap can turn a safe action into a deadly one simply highlights DKJr.‘s sometimes irritating flaws — but it still merits a revision.
In other news: USgamer launches Monday, lord willing. I’m pretty excited. It’s shaped up to be exactly the kind of site I’ve always wanted to write for — the distilled essence of 1UP’s best moments minus the restrictions and limitations imposed by running on tech and design geared around being a Big Player Playing By The Rules Established By IGN and Gamespot. I could do without a site launch the first day of E3, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Or the second. Or even the third….
Will USgamer support a community in any capacity? I’ve been wandering the net looking for a gaming home since 1up ended. Monday can’t come soon enough. Did I really just write that?
Yeah, that spring thing can be done…heck, I’ve done it…but it’s one of those things that’s tricky to pull off reliably even if you know how to do it, like the wall jump in Super Metroid or perfectly timing a triple jump in 3D Mario or making your fighter’s armor explode in Fighting Vipers.
I agree that landing the spring jump is annoyingly finicky, but if they made it too easy nobody would play the long way around.
Best of luck with USgamer! Does E3 help or hinder a site launch?
Sorry for the off-topic bugging but is there any current way to register for Talking Time? Just tried registering but with the site down it seems like the final activation instructions are hidden while I await approval, I miss lurking haha.
Good luck with USGamer and E3!
I know I missed the boat on Anatomy suggestions but, thanks to playing it for the first time in nearly two decades, have you ever given thought to a series on Tomb Raider? At least the first game?
Very excited for USGamer. Good luck with E3, daddy-o