Best platformers?

[Bobinator]

[align=center:l4hjqdjt]So, hey, platformers. They're pretty great. Great enough I'd consider them my favorite genre, really! So many good games, in so many styles! So, what are your favorites?

Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island

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Honestly, I'd call this probably one of my top 10 games. Once you get past that tiny 'Baby Mario' thing, you'll find probably one of the best platformers there is. It controls well, the crayon-esque art style is an interesting look, and the level design is top notch. It never gets too frustrating, while still introducing new elements the further in you go.

Pac-Man World

Pac-Man World (PSX) - Pirate Levels

As for 3D platformers, I'm not sure if I'd quite call this the BEST, but I still found it very enjoyable. It's a lot more like Crash Bandicoot with more open level design than a Pac-Man game, but that's OK. The platforming's pretty enjoyable, and it's a good looking game for the hardware.

I might put up more, later, but let me hear yours, first![/align:l4hjqdjt]

[tomwaits]

I'm not a big fan of platformers... For 2D, the Sonic and Rayman games are ok. For 3D, the Mario Galaxy games are ok.

But, I definitely prefer cross-genre hybrids. I like puzzle-platformers. (Lemmings, Braid, Closure, etc) I like arcade-platformers. (Bubble Bobble, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Strider, etc) I like adventure-platformers. (Metroid, Castlevania, Flashback, etc) Most of these don't fit the pure platformer definition though...

[Vyothric]

Best? careful there, this isn't retrogamer 

Some of my favourite platformers would be:

Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
Commander Keen 5 (PC)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Earthworm Jim (Mega CD)
Jazz Jackrabbit (PC)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Super Mario World (SNES)
The Terminator (Mega CD)
Wolfchild (Mega CD)

Among many others. But not Yoshi's Island. I actually got it recently and I'm quite far into it, but just find it a bit annoying. Baby Mario crying is enough to ruin it for me - makes me want to switch it off everytime I hear it. Not liking it anywhere near as much as SMW 1.

[Bobinator]

I'm not a big fan of platformers... For 2D, the Sonic and Rayman games are ok. For 3D, the Mario Galaxy games are ok.

But, I definitely prefer cross-genre hybrids. I like puzzle-platformers. (Lemmings, Braid, Closure, etc) I like arcade-platformers. (Bubble Bobble, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Strider, etc) I like adventure-platformers. (Metroid, Castlevania, Flashback, etc) Most of these don't fit the pure platformer definition though...

You know, I would say that Lemmings isn't actually a platformer, but...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwpkCeG-Ir8

This is, without any hyperbole, probably one of the best looking 2D games ever. Games like Rayman Origins look great, sure, but this? This is all pixel art.

[Vyothric]

I played that game last year. I liked it. Found it pretty difficult though.

[TL]

I could probably count the platformers I enjoy on both hands. I am not a fan of the genre at all.

That said I do enjoy all the Bubble Bobble games and I also love Snow Bros, Rodland and Wonderboy 3 on the Mega Drive.

I do get some enjoyment out of fast ones like Sonic or Zool but soon end up getting frustrated.

[Bobinator]

Bah, Zool can sit in the trash can of history with Awesome Possum and Bubsy the Bobcat for all I care. See, if you play a lot of those Sonic clones that came out for the Amiga, you'll notice something: They make you run around and collect things before the exit opens. Which, as you probably know, isn't something that you actually do in Sonic, with the exception of 3D Blast.

If we're talking good Sonic-style games, though...

Jazz Jackrabbit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7xI4fKbllo
Still Sonic with guns, still awesome, still go play it.

Rocket Knight Adventures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IubgO2bbYak
So what happens when you mix Contra 3 with Sonic? Well, you get something like this, and since it's 90's Konami we're discussing here, you get something incredible. You play as an opposum equipped with a sword and a rocket back, which you can use to blast through the air, off of walls, and through enemies. The rocket mechanic is neat, but where this game really shines is the level design. Much like Contra 3, you're constantly being rushed through new situations, and there's a lot of really great boss fights. The music, typical of Konami, is excellent.

Aero the Acrobat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPZat-1H5xM
OK, I'm going to admit, this game isn't nearly as original as Rocket Knight Adventures when it comes to the whole 'mascot platformer' thing, but I still found this enjoyable. It doesn't really go as fast as Sonic, which may or may not be a good thing for you. One word of warning: This game can get pretty difficult, so if you ever find yourself getting frustrated, you might want to try its easier sequel instead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSfrgQN8xSk

Let me just go ahead and say that this game has probably some of the best art you'll find on the SNES.

[Shadowrunner]

I got my start in gaming with 2600 games but I think the first game that really hooked me was the original SMB on the NES. After that and through the rest of the 8 and 16 bit years platformers were definitely my favorite genre. Now that I'm older I just don't have the patience for this style of game and I prefer the hybrid platformers like Tom said. I love stuff like Trine, Shadow Complex and Castlevania. Of the old platformers though Sonic is my favorite for sure.

[Minerals]

My personal faves over the years would be:

Sonic 2 - Megadrive
Magic Pockets - ST
Super Mario World - Snes
Rayman - Jaguar
Sonic Adventure - Dreamcast
Soinc Adventure 2 - Dreamcast
Super Mario 64 - N64

[Katzkatz]

My favourites are

Arcade platformers :-

Bubble Bobble(loved that on the Spectrum)
Rainbow Islands(great on the Amiga)
Parasol Stars
Harlequin


Arcade/adventure platformers:-

Myth
Gods
First Samurai

[Vyothric]

Aero the Acrobat

I played Aero the Acrobat 2 last year. Quite liked it. Had some really good music too.

[Mire Mare]

Impossible Mission on the c64 and the subsequent remake on the DS. Along similar lines, Soulless also on c64. It takes some of the IM gameplay and is for me one of the best c64 games.

I really enjoyed SMW back in the 90s but I didn't enjoy revisiting it for some reason.

I still like a play on Manic Miner and JSW but for nostalgia more than believing they're the best, or two of, platformers.

[Bobinator]

Impossible Mission on the c64 and the subsequent remake on the DS. Along similar lines, Soulless also on c64. It takes some of the IM gameplay and is for me one of the best c64 games.

I really enjoyed SMW back in the 90s but I didn't enjoy revisiting it for some reason.

I still like a play on Manic Miner and JSW but for nostalgia more than believing they're the best, or two of, platformers.

How is Impossible Mission 2025? That's one game I never hear anybody talk about, like everybody just kind of quietly pretended it never existed. It didn't LOOK that bad for a reboot/sequel, although I never played it myself.

As for Manic Miner and such... I've never been big on the whole 'single screen platformer' thing that British computers had a million of. Call me spoiled by the likes of Super Mario World, but I figured they were all made by programmers that got a perverse delight out of watching you suffer. Jet Set Willy, for me, is like playing Donkey Kong, only the difficulty's been cranked up by 100, you never get any hammers, and you have no real idea where you're supposed to go.

[TL]

A little known fact is that Electrocop for the Atari Lynx was originally called Impossible Mission 3, the title was only changed just before release when Epyx felt that the game had become too far removed from the previous 2 games. Many of the gameplay elements are actually very similar like hacking the computers, avoiding the droids and going to multiple floors but there is no platforming in it at all. Still a highly impressive game for the machine though.

Skip to 3:50

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXoSyyMFYvk

[onthinice]

Bonk is might favorite with Pac Land right behind. I agree about Super Mario 2. It has enough changes to make it playable.