I'd like to begin this review by saying that I have no nostalgia or bias for this game series. I was around 23 when this game first came out, finishing up my last year of college. I was walking by my local Gamestop when I saw something truly remarkable catch my eye. It was a fat bear in a tie standing next to a smaller, but equally fat bear in a bow tie. From that moment, my life was forever changed.

This game saved my life.
I'll merely touch up on the final scene, which is possibly the most well-executed, emotionally-charged moment in any piece of literature ever. It begins with the titular character, Yogi Bear, walking into his apartment and then he gets shot and it's funny.

Setting this to completed since I beat the base game.

A genuinely really well-designed, but extremely challenging game. The best comparison I can think of would be to Getting Over It, but whereas with that game, getting a handle of the mechanics feels clunky and a lot of the time a player (especially a beginner) isn't given the mechanical information they need to satisfyingly learn the aforementioned mechanics, Jump King is much simpler and "cleaner" in comparison. There is essentially only one real gameplay mechanic (that of course being the titular "jumping"), but your hurdles are clearly telegraphed at basically every turn, and it still manages to be difficult without feeling bullshit or unearned. I never found myself wanting to drop the game, I never felt like I COULDN'T overcome an obstacle, I just needed to shift perspective and try again from a different mental angle. There are also some neat little gimmicks towards the end of the game, that spice up the challenge without making it any more frustrating or tedious to progress.

The game also boasts genuinely fantastic sprite art, with some downright gorgeous backgrounds and locations.

In all, Jump King is an aesthetically pleasing, mechanically sound trial of a video game. Equal parts difficult and fair.

Also the woman is hot.