Jumpman

Jumpman is a Platform Game by Epyx, written for the Commodore 64 in 1983.

The hero, who is indeed a man who can jump, has to collect all bombs in every stage consisting of platforms, ladders and ropes, which moves him to the next stage. Falling should be avoided, as should numerous flying bullets. In unrelated news, the main character from the original Donkey Kong games is also called Jumpman, although later versions change him to Mario.

The trick is that every single level after the first has its own unique gimmick: moving platforms, special enemies, invisible platforms, explosive feet, you name it. The result is a lot of variety in what would otherwise be a simple platformer.

The (unofficial) series consists of the following games.

• Jumpman, the original with 30 levels on the C64, which has been ported to several other systems, including eventually the Wii.
• Jumpman Junior, a sequel with 12 more levels, also on the C64.
• Another official sequel, Jumpman 2, was planned but never materialized.
• Jumpman Lives, created by Apogee for the PC, consisted of four episodes and a level editor (although unfortunately, the editor doesn't let you create level gimmicks). In a rather embarrasing move, Apogee was promptly challenged by Epyx, who still owned the rights, and had to withdraw the game. It was quietly removed from their BBS'es and catalogs, and is rather hard to find these days.
• Jumpman Zero, with 28 levels, a freeware game for the PC and PalmOS.

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The game contains the following tropes,

• All There in the Manual: Those orange squares you're collecting are actually bombs, planted by a terrorist on a moon of Jupiter. If you fail, the moon explodes. None of this is mentioned in the game.
• Fun with Acronyms: The Apogee version retconned "Jump" to "Jet-propelled Upward Motion Propulsion".
• Gimmick Level: the point of the game is that (almost) every level has its own unique gimmick.
• Guide Dang It: the levels Figurit, Figurit's Revenge, Spellbound, and all three of the Grand Puzzles are impossible to do correctly on a first playthrough, and are otherwise hard to pull off without a guidebook or an emulator's save state function. Thankfully, you can still pass them by doing them incorrectly, which only gives you less points.
• Jump the Shark. The name of a level in Jumpman Zero, which indeed features a shark.
• One-Hit-Point Wonder
• Spiritual Sequel: Hap Hazard.
• Super Drowning Skills: In most levels of Jumpman Zero, you die upon touching the water. One level is an exception and allows you to swim.