A question about double jumps

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

Where did they first appear. I was taking with a friend earlier today and we got on the subject of double jumping in games. Now the question is not how or why, but when, as in what is the earliest video game you can think of with a double jump.

And we define double jump as quite literally that, a second jump in the air that acts like another jump of the ground or some other action like a somersault or whatever that give height when still or distance when moving which is what most game jumps are like any way. To give an example the Air Hike of Devil May Cry is a double jump for the purposes of this discussion, bur Samus's 2D Space Jump/Screw Attack is not. Not to be confused with the Prime games space jump which was a double jump. And a higher jump than normal is not a double jump, it is a high jump.

Anyway while I think the earliest Double Jump I remember is from Ape Escape on PS1 and it was much more prominent on PS2 games.

Edit: I realize I may have been confusing, Triple and quad jumps count as well, by the space jump of Metroid not counting I mean intentional flight that resembles multiple jumps as a game mechanic.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I remember in Yoshi's Island (SNES) there's a quasi double jump - you jump, and the second jump button is for a kind of weird hover action that can keep you in the air long enough to reach your target. I'm sure it goes back at least to the SNES. Yeah, you can do this as Kirby's helper in Super Star. Actually you can do it indefinitely - while Kirby can fly, the second player can stay up in the air by double jumping in mid-air constantly.

 

[thedoclc]

The Space Jump power-up appeared in Metroid II on the Gameboy in 1991 and it seems entirely arbitrary to leave it off the list. So let me get this straight: 2 jumps, 3 jumps, 4 jumps, an arbitrarily large number of jumps are OK, but as soon as it can be used indefinitely no, even though it's the same mechanic?

The less-than-stellar Strider on the NES had a form of indefinite double-jump off the walls back in 1989. I'm not counting Ninja Gaiden as it uses a wall-cling and climb, but should that count, the original arcade version was a beat-em-up so it would go to the NES version from 1988. Super Mario World had a double jump based off of jumping with Yoshi, then jumping off in 1990. 1991 had a clear example in Super Ghouls and Ghosts. 1988's Blaster Master had a glitchy version of one which was not intended.

So the earliest completely inarguable example I can think of right now is Super Ghouls and Ghosts (1991), which seems late to me. It feels like I missed something obvious. I'm not counting platformer moves which were basically a form of indefinite double-jumping with a different background - like Mario swimming. However, from a pure mechanics point of view, those are pretty much just using an indefinite amount of small mid-air hops to move around while the background tells you the movement is different.

 

[The White Hunter]

I know that Sonic 3 definately has a double jump in the lightning power up and in hyper sonic.

I don't know outside of that mind I was never a nintendo child.

 

[Prime_Hunter_H01]

The Space Jump power-up appeared in Metroid II on the Gameboy in 1991 and it seems entirely arbitrary to leave it off the list. So let me get this straight: 2 jumps, 3 jumps, 4 jumps, an arbitrarily large number of jumps are OK, but as soon as it can be used indefinitely no, even though it's the same mechanic?

The reasoning for that comes from the actual conversation I had with my friend, when we were trying to find out where it came from the space jump came to mind but we both agreed it was the predecessor to double jumping and despite being technically a double jump it was more like flight. Yeah I realize I worded it wrong but that condition is basically it has to be finite within intended game mechanics.

 

[1066]

Earliest I can remember is TMNT for the NES.

 

[Inazuma1]

Earliest I can remember is TMNT for the NES.

You're wrong. TMNT has no double jump, only a variable height jump depending on how long you hold the jump button. Revenge of Shinobi from 1989 is the earliest instance of a double jump that I know of.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Considering we aren't counting Samus, the earliest I can remember is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but I know it was already implemented in other games before then even in the Castlevania series.

According to this article [http://www.giantbomb.com/double-jump/3015-1/], the first was Dragon Buster in 1984.

 

[FrozenLaughs]

Don't seem to recall ever doing it much before Super Smash Bros.

 

[Chrozi]

The first time I remember using it was Revenge of Shinobi.

 

[shteev]

Actually you can do it indefinitely - while Kirby can fly, the second player can stay up in the air by double jumping in mid-air constantly.

A lot of games let you fly by jumping in the air; Atari's Joust would be the earliest I can remember. I wonder if this jump-flying is where the origin of the double jump lies. It does seem a very strange concept when you think about it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Actually you can do it indefinitely - while Kirby can fly, the second player can stay up in the air by double jumping in mid-air constantly.

A lot of games let you fly by jumping in the air; Atari's Joust would be the earliest I can remember. I wonder if this jump-flying is where the origin of the double jump lies. It does seem a very strange concept when you think about it.

I suppose devs decided to ease platforming at first by allowing double-jumps and later on they incorporated them as part of puzzle-platforming.

OP you can actually "double jump" in Super Mario World if you jump while riding Yoshi and then Mario himself jumps off Yoshi.

 

[StriderShinryu]

As a couple of others have said, the first I can specifically remember is in Revenge of Shinobi. I consider that particularly noteworthy as well given that it wasn't even in the form of a powerup or earned ability, it was just a basic (and extremely important) ability that Musashi had.

 

[Signa]

So the earliest completely inarguable example I can think of right now is Super Ghouls and Ghosts (1991), which seems late to me.

Well, the first game I remember playing that did double jumps was the Star Wars games on the SNES. But you're right, because I played Ghouls and Ghosts later, and that definitely had double jumps. It's a shame that you couldn't change trajectory after jumping in that game.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

I remember being able to do it in the Jak and Daxter game, that's the earliest I remember

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Interesting question. It feels like double jumping's been around forever, but I can't remember any NES or early Game Boy game it was implemented into except Metroid, which you said doesn't count because it's 'infinite jump', not double.

I guess Ghouls and Ghosts on the NES and its SNES successor would be earliest, it came out long before Super Star Wars allowed Luke to do it. Strange that a character so vulnerable in every other way would be the first to have one, though in those games the second jump would more often throw you into danger because everything moves so bloody fast and you can't change directions.