(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (Originally I was going to make this article into a YouTube video, but I don't have the time. I wrote this entirely myself with additional opinions added by two friends so the article was more fair and balanced. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it).

Platform games always struck me as the quintessential video game. Some have gone down in history as some of the greatest games of all time, and others have been completely ignored. Recently however with games like LittleBig Planet and New Super Mario Bros. Wii the platform game has grown in popularity again, and with releases such as Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Sonic The Hedgehog 4 it's not likely to slow any time soon. Platform games have been going for 30 years now.

I decided it was time to pay tribute to these great games. Since 1980 there have been literally hundreds of platform games, both 2D and 3D so I've decided to make a top 20. This was going well until I realised 2D and 3D games are far too different to be judged on the same scale, as such I have created a Top 20 each for 2D and 3D platform games... unfortunately I quickly realised that even a top 20 was too restrictive for 2D platformers, after all with it being the genre I played the most I can real off so many decent titles that before I knew what was going on I had a top 50. I've managed to whittle it down to a top 30 just so we're not here all night though. Before we go into the list though I'd like to discuss the genre a little. Naturally there are rules when making such lists and I came up with a few I felt would make judging these game more fair and help highlight the greatest games.

Rule One - Only one game per franchise.

No-one wants to hear a list that consists of Sonic, Mario, Sonic, Mario, Maybe Some Donkey Kong, and then yet more bloody Mario. Let's keep this to only one game per franchise, it will make it fairer and more varied especially as, with platformers, games in the same franchise are usually extremely similar.

Rule Two - It must be a platform game as I define it. “A game where you control a character in third person perspective in which the primary gameplay feature and goal is to get from point A to point B by moving around a varied landscape by jumping, swinging or otherwise manoeuvring across platforms in a smooth scrolling environment, and in which enemies may be included as an obstacle where they are quickly dispatched in a fast and fluid manner”

This definition would not allow beat em up games such as Streets Of Rage or Battletoads, as the enemies are the primary gameplay aspect and are not dispatched quickly, but we all knew that already. It's the genre known as 'run and gun' that people are wondering about, games such as Contra or Gunstar Heroes. I personally claim these games don't count as the primary gameplay is the shooting with the platforming serving as an obstacle between you and your target, not the other way around, I consider some of these games to be closer to a side scroller shooter than a platformer. Some people may disagree with my definition, but then it is a gray area. The second problem however, I have a top 30 without the 'run and gun' games... imagine my list if I included them, it'd never end.

Rule Three - The game should be considered based on today's standards, not nostalgia and should be relevant to a modern gamer in 2010.

No-one wants a list of games with the original Super Mario Bros. at number 1 just because it was the first memorable platformer the reviewer played. This isn't a good enough reason, if Super Mario Bros. wants the number 1 spot it needs to earn it. As such all games in this list where played within the last few weeks and judged as though they where newly released. Also if the game is not available on a modern handheld (ie. Nintendo DS, PSP, Android/iOS Phones) or modern console (ie. Xbox 360, Wii or PS3) by either being a new release, downloadable re-release or through backwards compatibility then it is marked down for lack of modern relevance. Sure, the game could be fantastic, but platform games rarely give more than 5 hours of gameplay, maybe 10 for some of the newer ones, and as a result few people will be prepared to hunt for a classic console to play only one or two games. A great game is only great if people are reasonably able to play it. Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and the Wii Virtual Console are thus very welcome additions, and I will judge these versions where possible as well as the originals. Some people take the stance that they judge the original game on the original hardware with the time of release in mind. I don't. Nostalgia only goes so far, and todays generation of gamers don't have nostalgia for the game of the late 80's and early 90's, so they need a more impartial view.

PS: I realise you can easily play any 8-bit or 16-bit game on a PC, Modded PSP, Xperia Play, Dingoo, GP2X Caanoo, GP2X Wiz or Pandora by using emulation software, however I want to avoid this where possible as most emulation software is buggy, plays at incorrect speed or with poor framerates. The only console that does it well is the Pandora which has a limited release and is rather expensive (however, it's worth the price I feel). Some games like Mega Man: The Wily Wars and Zool 2 are so rare, without emulation most people will never play them so I would never outright say no to emulation, but the best rule of thumb to use is simply this. If you can still legitimately buy it for a current gen console or handheld, even if it's just as a downloadable game on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network or the Wii Virtual Console, then don't emulate. The official copies will play better anyway. If you can get the original game and hardware for a reasonable price, do so, you'll appreciate the game more and it'll play better. If however you cannot legitimately get the game as it's never been released in your country, or the game is so old it has become a collectors item and costs a rediculous amount to get, then go ahead an emulate... no-one will really care and at the very least, if a sequel or reboot come out, you'll be more inclined to buy that, just keep my name out of the confession.

Well, those are the rules. There's one last thing I want to mention before we go on to the top 30 list...

Difficulty. While this is not so much a rule as a statement it's something that should probably be addressed. A lot of gamers, particularly in my generation throw games up that they consider great, not because they're actually great, but because they're difficult. Now I'm not against the idea of difficult games, hell, I welcome them as I've been gaming a long time now so it's nice to have a decent challenge, but some games take it too far and forget a game is about having fun, not about proving you've got a big dick... not every game has to be hard, and a game being hard doesn't instantly make it good, conversely a game being easy doesn't instantly make it bad. However, and this is important, a decent, but hard game will be frustrating for a more novice gamer, and a decent but easy game will be boring for the hardcore gamer. For this reason, I'm giving each game a rating out of 5, not for how good they are, but how difficult they are. The harder a game the higher the rating, and I'll admit now, although I've been gaming for over 20 years, I'm not exactly a master, so don't assume that you're only a real gamer if you play the harder games. Play the ones that better suit your skill level. There's no shame in admitting you're not good at video games, it's just a hobby. You don't need to be a premier league footballer to enjoy a kickabout in the park do you? So, try a few games, find the level that's right for you and enjoy them, after all, games are supposed to be fun and if you're not having fun because you're playing games that are too hard just so you can show off, you're not cool, you're just acting like a pretentious prick. Anyway, enough of my ranting... on to the list.

Now let's see if I can figure out how to use this multipage feature.

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[multipage=Numbers 30-26 ]

NUMBER 30

It's ironic that the first game on my list is one from almost 20 years ago when I've been saying how the games need to be relevant to modern gamers, but still we cannot deny how good this game is. Lucky Dime Caper for the Sega Master System is often a forgotten gem for multiple reasons. First the Master System was a rather poor seller over in the United States and secondly, the Disney games on the NES overshadowed it. Much like the Mickey Mouse game Castle Of Illusion that came before it, this game is a rather easy but is an extremely fun little platformer that will take about an hour to complete on average. Sure it's short but games where back then, saving games was a new concept and the idea of a game lasting longer than a couple of hours was strange so games where often designed to be completed in a single sitting, and this actually gives the game a great charm as you can start it and finish in between doing other things and feel a sense of fulfillment from it. In the game your job is to guide Donald Duck through various locations to find the Lucky Dimes that Uncle Scrooge gave you and your three nephews, which is good enough for an 8-bit platformers story really, we're not playing for the story are we? The game is bright and colourful, something sorely missing from modern games, the controls are responsive and the gameplay is nicely fulfilling. All in all it may be easy but it's fun, and that's what this is all about after all isn't it. The biggest problem with this game is that it's difficult to get hold of as it's not available on any modern consoles, you'll need a Master System or the Power Base Converter to get it to play on the Mega Drive, but if you happen to have the console this is a platformer I highly recommend and a good place to start off our list.

The Lucky Dime Caper - Originally Released 1990 for Sega Master System
Playable On - Sega Master System Exclusive.
Difficulty Rating - 1, Suitable for Casual Gamers, A decent game for platforming beginners.


NUMBER 29

Did you ever play the under water levels on Super Mario Bros. 3 and think. “If they made this into a full game with a little more control it'd be pretty damn good”. Well that's what Legendary Starfy for the Nintendo DS is. With more control over your movement you can get a real feel for underwater platforming and in many ways it's quite reminiscent of the Kirby series which makes sense as it's made by the same company. The game takes place both in water and out, although the water levels are clearly the focus for it, I feel the game takes advantage of the differences in and out of water very well, giving it a nice variety. This game is quite clearly a game aimed at the younger audience though, but with platform games that's OK. Rarely will a game be bad because it's too childish in my books, but then I'm a confident guy who's not afraid to play needlessly cute games in public, I'm sure the average 15 year old lad in school may be less inclined to play this in public as it is rather cutesy, (but then guys played Kirby, a game where you control a pink puff-ball when I was in school so who knows). All in all this is well worth your time and a fantastic exclusive for the DS. It's a little too easy for me but it's a game well suited to playing on the bus or train, and unlike a lot of easy platformers, this one is not especially short, taking maybe 3-4 hours to play though, which for a 2D platformer is pretty good. The Legendary Starfy is our number 29.

The Legendary Starfy - Originally Released 2009 for Nintendo DS
Playable On - Nintendo DS Exclusive.
Difficulty Rating - 1, Suitable for Casual Gamers, A decent game for platforming beginners.


NUMBER 28

In a time when Sonic and Mario where at the top of their game, everyone wanted a mascot. Amiga, creators of the oft-forgotten Commodore games consoles computer hybrid, the 8-bit Commodore 64 and the 32-bit CD console aptly named the CD32, created one such mascot who eventually became the official mascot of the Atari Jaguar. That mascot is Zool. Now, the original game for Zool was ported to pretty much every system of the time as Amiga couldn't afford the exclusive rights to the game. It was on the Atari ST, Acorn Home Computer, Amiga CD32, Mega Drive, SNES and even ported to DOS for PC. It was a standard but fairly well made side scrolling platformer for the time in 1992, nothing ground breaking but it didn't need to be. A year later though the Amiga CD32 got the sequel as one of it's final games before being discontinued and before long, it was ported to the Atari Jaguar who bought exclusive rights to it. During the early 5th generation of video games consoles, the best competition for graphics was the SNES and Sega CD. Released a year before people could be wowed by the SNES's Donkey Kong Country, Zool 2 had the best graphics and smoothest gameplay of any side scrolling platformer on the market, it's just a pity it was released for only the CD32 and Jaguar as combined those consoles, particularly with the release of the Sega Saturn, 3DO and Playstation a year later, made up only a 3% share of the video games market. This makes Zool 2 a gem few people have experienced because, as of yet, it has not been re-released for any other system. For this reason however I couldn't rate it any higher than this. Zool 2 is a worthwhile entry and could deserve a slightly higher placing if it was rereleased. Hopefully it'll see a port onto the Wii Virtual Console or Xbox Live Arcade soon as it's not exactly easy to find today, and a whole bunch of gamers still have yet to play it.

Zool 2 - Originally Released 1993 for Amiga CD32
Playable On - Atari Jaguar, Amiga CD32
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.


NUMBER 27

This list is for 2D platformers only so there's no Crash Bandicoot or Spyro The Dragon or pretty much any other post-1995 franchises for that matter. So considering that, the fact that this game barely made our list here shows just how high the competition is. Mega Man is a long running Nintendo series, well loved by it's fans. As of today it's had more platform games than any other franchise ever, yes, even more than Sonic or Mario. This makes picking the best of the Mega Man games exceptionally hard. All in all, the Mega Man games all follow a similar style and it comes down largely to your own personal preference for level design. With this decision however I decided to somewhat break my one per franchise rule by considering the Mega Man and Mega Man X series differently. With a different art style and different feel to the controls this feels justified but I'm sure someone will call foul. Still it was the X series that is taking the number 27 spot. Now when it comes to judging these, I consider the Mega Man Zero series and Mega Man ZX series to be the same franchise as the Mega Man X series because the follow the same formula and are set in the same setting. They have the same level of humour and unlike the Classic Mega Man series are not purposely tongue-and-cheek about themselves. This gives me a lot of games to choose from. Honestly though, if you own a Nintendo DS or GBA, you owe it to yourself to buy the entire Zero series for GBA and the two ZX for Nintendo DS because they're all extremely good. My personal favourite is Mega Man Zero 3 however the best of these series was Mega Man X which honestly got it right from the beginning. It's the first of the series, but in all honesty any of the Mega Man X games could have had this position because they simply copied the formula of the first with different level design and when it all comes down to it, the original had the better levels. Building on the great foundation of the original series, and with updated graphics on the SNES the X series of Mega Man games made the bosses more epic and the series a little more grown up taking a slightly more series approach but without removing too much of the charm as so many games do when they try to appeal to the older gamers. The best part is however is that, unlike me, you don't need to choose which Mega Man game you prefer, a re-release containing all of the series, Mega Man X to X6, discounting the latter two X7 and X8 which honestly I consider the weaker of the series anyway, called the Mega Man X collection was released for Gamecube, which is compatible with that Nintendo Wii you have gathering dust. So go out and buy it, you won't regret it as all six of those games are classics and it will cost considerably less than it would buying them all for the Wii Virtual Console anyway so this time a disc is a better option. Mega Man X is a well deserved number 27, and with the Mega Man X collection disc now being often a cheap buy as it's a last gen disc, one of the best value for money games on this list as you'll be getting it, and 5 sequels... you can't beat that.

Mega Man X - Originally Released 1994 for Nintendo SNES
Playable On - Nintendo SNES, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii
Difficulty Rating - 4, Suitable for Experienced Retro-Gamers, Will require multiple attempts to complete for the average gamer.


NUMBER 26

There where a small few games that in the 1990's became the pirates big target for a quick cash in game. These game where Mario, Sonic and Mega Man. So long as you copied one of those three you where sure to sell games, and while game like the Giana Sisters where called on it, one series was not. Tiny Toon Adventures for the NES was a blatant copy of the Mario style of gameplay and Tiny Toon Adventures for the Mega Drive was a blatant copy of the Sonic style of gameplay, the thing is... they where good. Tiny Toon Adventures: Busters Hidden Treasure was the full title of the Mega Drive game (or Genesis if you're in the United State). In this game you controlled Buster Bunny and you ran around collecting carrots and trying to reach the end of the game. Now, while the speed, rolling hill levels and carrot collecting gives a very Sonic feel the game was different enough to not feel like a cheap copy and it certainly controlled well. With added little things like animal power ups and a wall jump to make it a little bit different this game actually managed to shine and was genuinely enjoyable. With a few tricky sections the difficulty was generally decent enough and the length was actually rather good for a game of it's time, taking a good 3 hours to complete. All in all, although this game took a great many pointers from the blue blur, it's quite capable of standing up on it's on and deserves the number 26 position... unfortunately you'll need a Mega Drive to play it as it's yet to get a port onto any other system.

Tiny Toon Adventures: Busters Hidden Treasure - Originally Released 1993 for Sega Mega Drive.
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.

[multipage=Numbers 25-21 ]

NUMBER 25

This game is one that honestly, I doubt anyone listening to this will have played when it came out. Why? Because the console cost $600 and the game itself cost $150 on release in USA, and in other countries the prices where fairly similar. Considering you could get a Sega Genesis and 3 games for $200 at the time, no-one in their right mind would have bought this monstrosity, especially not a platformer fan. Those of you who know your video game history have undoubtedly figured out I'm talking about the Neo-Geo, SNK's one and only console. This console is one of the few I've never owned, and this game is one I only played very rarely at a friends house. I was lucky enough to have a friend as a kid who's parents had more money than sense. They bought him a Neo-Geo and he had five games for it. Personally I never saw the attraction of a console with more than half it's library of games being fighting games, (especially as both Killer Instinct and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo where on SNES), but one game, Blues Journey was very uncharacteristic for the console. A game in which you walk around in a garden themed game, throwing leaves and other plant based projectiles and collecting flowers as currency. It sounds so girly but honestly, it was fun, and one thing it did that few other platformers did was co-operative play. This game is still fun today however unlike back in the 90's now it'll cost you less than $10 on the Wii Virtual Console. It's something different, it's not like Mario or Sonic because unlike most games of the time, it wasn't trying to copy them. It feels different, fresh and new, and for that it deserves it's space in our list, representing the Neo-Geo, the only platform game ever released for the console, Blues Journey is our number 25.

Blues Journey - Originally Released 1990 for SNK Neo-Geo
Playable On - SNK Neo-Geo, Wii Virtual Console
Difficulty Rating - 4, Suitable for Experienced Retro-Gamers, Will require multiple attempts to complete for the average gamer.


NUMBER 24

A strange game up next on our list, an exclusive Game Boy Advance game based around a pink haired girl in a large mech who destroys walls. Drill Dozer sounds like something from the heart of Japan. Strange coloured hair, ridiculously chirpy petite teen girls, large mechs and wanton destruction. What makes this game interesting is it's concept. It has the same basic feel of a Mega Man game, with basic platforming controls but the addition of drills that can break walls and deflect bullets controlled with the shoulder buttons. The music is very similar to the pokemon games, and as such it's quite mood setting. The game feels like it belongs on the Game Boy Advance, and with the Game Boy Advance cable you can connect it to your Gamecube or Wii and play it on the big screen if you so wish. This game is one of the best original platformer the Game Boy Advance has produced and it's a joy to play something different from the console games. So many GBA games where little more than console ports and bad ones at that, where as this game sports clear graphics and strong gameplay, and unlike games such as the Sonic Advance series, the graphics don't blend and pixalate so for people like me who are prone to headaches, this game is a great portable choice. Drill Dozer is a deserving game for our number 24 position.

Drill Dozer - Originally Released 2005 for Nintendo GBA
Playable On - Nintendo GBA Exclusive.
Difficulty Rating - 2, Suitable for Inexperienced Gamers, Will feel enjoyable for most gamers, challenging for beginners.


NUMBER 23

There is one game series that is well known for being one of the hardest series in the history of gaming. Whether this claim is correct or not is a matter of personal opinion but pretty much every gamer can agree that the Ninja Gaiden series, both the original three side-scrolling platformers on NES and the newer 3D action games on the Xbox and Xbox 360, are designed with the hardcore gamer in mind. For many people these games are simply too hard, and while that's very true for the first game I feel, the later games improved on the series and allowed the creation of true classics. Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3 for the NES are great games and in my personal opinion the second in the best, because although the third has more features, the removal of the unlimited continues makes it too daunting for all but the most hardcore of gamers and it honestly becomes just plain frustrating them. But this is not the game I think belongs on this list. Although Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword Of Chaos to give it it's full title is a close second, and certainly the one to get if you have a Wii as it's on the Wii Virtual Console but game that I feel is the best in the series (when it comes to the 2D games at least), is the little known fourth game in the series. It was an official Tecmo game as well, so anyone who says it was a rip-off, they're wrong (and probably a Nintendo fanboy who can't bare to see me praising the Master System, mwahaha). Titled simply Ninja Gaiden for the Sega Master System it is understandably rather unknown, especially in the United States and Japan as it hasn't been released on any other platforms to date, and was only released in Europe, Australia and Brazil. Still it has all the best parts from Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3, unlimited continues, all the power ups you could want, the difficulty is still at the same level, the level designs are very strong. The graphics in my opinion are much better. Sure the backgrounds are somewhat less detailed but that's a very good move. 8-bit graphics give me a headache and I prefer simple backgrounds and more defined character sprites with less flickering, which is exactly what we get here. The colours are more vibrant, the character sprites are smoother and the entire game plays with much less of a glitchy feel to it that was common place in the 8-bit era. This game may be great and come hightly recommended, but it's also hard, even experienced gamers will have difficulty with this. If you have difficulty completing a Difficulty Rating 3 game, this game is not for you, it will just piss you off. I have yet to complete it myself and I find anything below Difficulty Rating 4 to be a breeze and have completed Ninja Gaiden 2 on the NES. So yeah, expect a grueling challenge, but then, that's just the way we like it isn't it gamers? So, there we have it, the fourth game in the series, Ninja Gaiden for the Master System takes the number 23 slot.

Ninja Gaiden (4) - Originally Released 1992 for Sega Master System
Playable On - Sega Master System Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 5+, Suitable for Hardcore Gamers ONLY, This game is purposely designed to be punishingly difficult, most people cannot complete it and some gamers will find it unfair and frustrating.


NUMBER 22

When the mascot wars of the early 90's was in full swing, despite Sonic being clearly the winner granting SEGA a 55% market share over the gaming industry by 1992 with the Mega Drive (or Genesis to the Americans out there), dethroning Nintendo who previously had an 80% market share with the NES. Still even with such a victory SEGA envisioned Sonic loosing his appeal and began working on other mascots, the most notable being Ristar. His debut on the Mega Drive was lack-lustre at best and he wasn't well received by people who found the grabbing mechanics a little unintuitive. In response to this, another attempt was made, and although most claim this game was only released in Japan, I distinctly remember getting it as a kid here in the UK, perhaps the UK releases and Mainland European releases for the Mega Drive where different because even Wikipedia claims this was a Japan only release. The game I'm talking about is Pulseman. With it now being available worldwide via the Wii Virtual Console (something that soon enough be sick of me talking about trust me, my bitter-sweet praise for the Wii is only just starting), there's now no excuse for no playing this game. Meant as a successor to Sonic, Pulseman was a creature capable of turning into pure electricity, giving him the ability to move like a spark of lightning across the level, or enter conductive wires and travel fast from one area to another previously unreachable area. This variety of movement made this a game with innovative platforming that no other game has to this date. There was still the standard running, jumping, killing bad guys but this was not all the game had to offer. The speed of Sonic was still there, but with new ideas this is a fresh and interesting game deserving of more consideration than it got on release, sure it's not as iconic as the blue blur which is likely why it didn't take over from him, but it's a fantastic game and as such Pulseman is well deserving of our number 22 spot.

Pulseman - Originally Released 1994 for Sega Mega Drive
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive, Wii Virtual Console
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.


NUMBER 21

It's not secret that the 8-bit and 16-bit eras gave us some great platformers, but so far we've not had a single game from the NES. This however is about to change. Capcom created some of the greatest platformers in the late 80's and early 90's and one of those platformers was Chip 'n Dale for the NES. A great example of a pick up and play platformer. With ten levels, some of which are skippable, and a consistent but low end difficulty curve, this game is not especially challenging, but as with many 8-bit games, some where designed to be ridiculously difficult, like Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden, others however where designed for kids aged 8-13 and they needed to be fun. This means that as Chip 'n Dale was the latter you can expect to finish it on your first try as even an inexperienced gamer, and if you're new to the genre this is a good place to start. The art style however makes this game special. You feel like you're 6 inches tall navigating the world, walking around on kitchen surfaces and ceiling fans. It's a nice change of scenery compared to the average platformer game. There is however bad news... and I swear I didn't mean to do this. Chip 'n Dale is an NES exclusive, it's not been put on the Wii Virtual Console and probably will never be. Why? Because Disney owns the rights, and it would be to expensive for Nintendo or Capcom to licence the game unless they could guarantee decent sales. Which means you'll need an NES to play our number 21 game, and this list was made by someone who considered whether the game could be played on a modern console as an important judging criteria. It seems all the best NES and Master System games are remaining on their respective consoles though.

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers - Originally Released 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Playable On - Nintendo Entertainment System Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 1, Suitable for Casual Gamers, A decent game for platforming beginners.


[multipage=Numbers 20-16 ]

NUMBER 20

Whenever someone says Sega, the first thing that most people think of is Sonic, after all that's what mascots are for. But before the blue blur Sega had another, Alex Kidd. His first game was for the Sega Master System, an under appreciated console that, although gaining decent sales in Europe, bombed in the USA gaining only a 12% market share worldwide most of that being in UK and France. As I've hopefully got across by now though, the Master System had some great 2D Platformers though, and Alex Kidd was in one of the more memorable. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a true gem of the 80's and one of the best games available for Sega's early console, with it's re-release on, you guessed it, the Wii Virtual Console, millions of gamers are getting a chance to see the true rival to Mario in action. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was innovative, with different levels, some horizontal scrolling, some vertical scrolling. It contained some RPG elements with the item collection, and a variety of vehicles to keep the game fresh. Sure, it's considered bloody sacrilegious to speak out against Nintendo's Mario, but where Super Mario Bros. was constant running, jumping, breaking bricks with head all the way though, Alex Kidd changed things up with a bike, helicopter and speed-boat level, a concept Nintendo would barefacedly rip off in Super Mario Land for the Game Boy a little over a year later. Alex Kidd was far from perfect, some of the areas where unfairly difficult especially if you chose the wrong path in the castle level, such as these evil spikes which I personally consider impossible to get past, and the difficulty in general was much higher than similar games of the time, often requiring planned smashing of bricks to move across instant death traps, where a wrong move could destroy your platform leaving you no way to proceed, and many of the jumps needed almost needed to be pixel perfect so practice was key. In many ways this is what people like about the game though, it doesn't hold your hand, but it's not so hard that you can't pick up and play it. Alex Kidd in Miracle World is a true classic, and well deserving of the number 20 slot, if only his sequels didn't suck so badly...

Alex Kidd In Miracle World - Originally Released 1986 for Sega Master System
Playable On - Sega Master System, Wii Virtual Console.
Difficulty Rating - 4, Suitable for Experienced Retro-Gamers, Will require multiple attempts to complete for the average gamer.


NUMBER 19

One franchise that, as a child, I didn't bother with much was the Kirby franchise. As a young boy the idea of running around as a pink chunk of bubblegum in a cheery little pixie world didn't much appeal to me. This was a bad thing in retrospect as Kirby games are actually quite well made platformers. With tight controls and a wide variety of abilities they are a pleasure to play. The most memorable and best Kirby game is surely Kirby Superstar for the SNES. Colourful and playful the game is nothing short of a delightful little masterpiece. With moves clearly inspired from other video games, if made into a cutesy form, the game is a constant stream of nostalgia for the older gamer and a constant stream of new and interesting abilities for the new players to keep the game fresh and interesting. This game boasts 8 games in one on the box, which is wrong as there's actually 9, 7 of which are platform games (the other two are little mini games). All very short maybe 30-45 mins long each to complete, but this makes the game even more delightful to play as you can comfortably play through one of the games in a lunch break. The game has been re-release on the Nintendo DS with a few tweeks, which I've yet to play called Kirby Superstar Ultra and considering the way the game is built this is a fantastic title for any DS owner, and with a release of the original on the Wii Virtual Console this is a must have for any platformer fan assuming you can bare the cutesy nature of the game, which playing it back, I feel makes the game special in it's own way. Kirby games got it all right. Easy platformer for the beginner with hidden depth for the more skilled player and a feeling of fun when playing that although only bite-sized feels very fulfilling. Kirby Superstar is our number 19 and I'm shocked Kirby of all franchises couldn't get higher than that....

Kirby Superstar - Originally Released 1995 for the Nintendo SNES
Playable On - Nintendo SNES, Nintendo DS, Wii Virtual Console
Difficulty Rating - 1, Suitable for Casual Gamers, A decent game for platforming beginners.


NUMBER 18

Our number 18 slot is something that honestly I wanted to put higher but I found that while it combined elements from games I love, the game itself still lacked enough zing to push it any higher in the list. Still it's made the list and it's done it by being bloody amazing, as all these games on this list are. Demon's Crest for the SNES is a fantastic blend of game styles. It's got the atmosphere of a Castlevania game, the non-linear set up of a Metroid game and the mechanics of a Mega Man game, and on top of that, it's made by the king of platformer creators, Capcom so you know it'll be high quality. The game just makes you feel powerful which is a great thing for a game to do. So many of these platformers are about navigating terrain with you're cute animal mascot, but navigating ruins, castles etc. with a gargoyle demon creature fighting demonic dragons, that's just cool, and while the animal mascot craze of the platformers may have introduced many people to the genre it's the gothic games like this that make the genre seem adult enough to endure the test of time. The atmosphere from this game is something different and it's something that can appeal to the older gamer. Sure we all liked Mario and Sonic, but we wanted something a little more, well cool. That's when games like Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden jumped out of the water to give us a smack in the chops. You want something cool, well... BRING IT ON! You needed to be good at these games in order to actually progress and Demon's Crest is no different unfortunately the game is rather short and the RPG elements allow you to bypass some of the difficulty because you can buy potions that will instantly heal your health when used, and as you can carry five of them, you'll have little chance of dying if you're careful. There are no lives in this game however, instead it's simply an unlimited continue system with only one life which works, but again lowers the difficulty somewhat, but even still this game will challenge most gamers. It's no Ninja Gaiden, but it requires some finesse, especially the hovering controls. All in all this game has a clear Capcom feel with the changing forms, while giving a hit of Castlevania with the music and aesthetic and honestly, that makes it fantastic in my book.

Demon's Crest - Originally Released 1994 for Nintendo SNES
Playable On - Nintendo SNES Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 5, Suitable for Hardcore Gamers, Will prove a decent challenge for even experienced gamers, requires true skill and practice to complete.


NUMBER 17

I specifically wanted to pick games for this list that you could play on your Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 with the new classic game download options each of the consoles have so naturally I follow suit with yet another game that is available on one, unt precisely von, console which has been out of production for more than a decade. This game however is, just like the last, brilliant as it needs to be here because as much as I feel a game needs to stay relevant to modern gaming, we cannot deny that a game is amazing simply because you can't play it on the most recent hardware. Especially when emulators exist, I mean, especially when the game could be re-released at any time. All joking aside, this game could very well see a re-release to Xbox Live Arcade or the Playstation Network very soon as it's just had a sequel released. I am naturally talking about Rocket Knight Adventures, and it's sequel Rocket Knight. Now, while I'm all for making new games, the sequel in my opinion is missing just a little something. Sure it's great, but it's just not quite as good as the original I think... but it's close and certainly worth a look for those who can't play the original. The original was for the Sega Mega Drive but somehow never really got the attention it deserved. This is a game that delivered beautifully. It had that unique flare with the backpack controls and an amazing amount of variety in level design, especially when you take into account the side-scroller shooter levels. It all feels comfortable and familiar without feeling as though we've been here before. The game has rich colours and character design and although I personally feel the sprites where slightly oversized, all in all it fits together surprisingly well. This combined with a fantastic soundtrack makes Rocket Knight Adventures a game well worth any platform gamers time. The only bad thing is it's Mega Drive exclusive, so if you don't have the console sitting there you have no other (legitimate) way of playing this game which sucks, however as I speak, the sequel Rocket Knight which came out for all three modern consoles has just been released, so maybe with this revival the game could find its way to the downloadable services. If you can't find a way to play this game, the alternative is Rocket Knight, which is actually pretty damn good, although I personally don't much like the new 2.5d look the series is going for. I personally would say get the new game anyway as it's fantastic, but compared to the original, it's the original that just jumps out a little bit ahead to claim our number 17 spot.

Rocket Knight Adventure - Originally Released 1993 for Sega Mega Drive
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.


NUMBER 16

Disney and Capcom are always good signs when it comes to video game. Or at least they where back in the day, nowadays Disney has dropped the ball a little but still there are plenty of great Disney games out there, and one of the most fun is Aladdin. Naturally some people at this point are thinking the Sega game, but stop right there, that one wasn't made by Capcom. I'm talking about the SNES game. So what makes me rate the SNES game higher than the Mega Drive game. Well simple, while both of them are decent, the Mega Drive game was dull, colour wise, a little too difficult and lacked the flow of the SNES game which has some of the best platforming of any game, it's all jumping and swinging greatness in which killing enemies is actually not done at all, you just stun them with an apple or jump on them and escape. It's not about combat it's about acrobatics which fit's the theme and character so much better, after all, Aladdin ran away from the swordsmen in the film, he didn't fight them. This game has some intense gameplay too. The flying carpet levels give it some interesting change of scenery and while the difficulty isn't monumental, it's certainly enough to provide a challenge and with a difficulty curve that feels extremely natural. Capcom made some great games such as the Street Fighter and the Resident Evil series but their platformers are my personal favourites, especially their Disney licensed games which are amongst the best in the genre. This game however like Chip 'n Dale has unfortunately the same fate. It is a Disney game which means the licence for a re-release on Wii Virtual Console doesn't exist and as such the game is not easy to get unless you own a SNES or a Game Boy Advance. The game was ported in 2004 to the GBA with an addition level to sweeten the deal, however all the Aladdin music was replaced with original tracks due to licensing issues, and considering this is Aladdin which (like all Disney Capcom games) had an incredible soundtrack, whether it's worth missing out of that soundtrack for one more level is debatable. Still the original is what I'm judging, and for that, the number 16 slot is very apt.

Aladdin - Originally Released 1993 for Nintendo SNES
Playable On - Nintendo SNES, Nintendo GBA
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.

[multipage=Numbers 15-11 ]

NUMBER 15

This game was originally in my top 5 and stayed there for most of the planning of this list. It was only on further reflection and the fact that this game is not available on anything past the original 16-bit consoles (unless you use an emulator obviously but I would never condone that for the many games in this list you cannot play on modern consoles), for which it was a multi-platform release for pretty much everything out at the time, that I finally relented. I know, another retro title you need a retro console to play, I promise, I did try to find decent ones with ports on modern consoles but the video games companies are stupid and would rather make Barbies Horse Adventure backwards compatible on the Xbox 360, (yes that one actually is while Voodoo Vince isn't, go figure). This game however is one of my personal favourites so I knew this would make my list, but it's a choice few people will agree with. In fact many people would claim that this is a bad game because of the controls, but I personally loved this game and it is still my most re-played Mega Drive game of all time. Whenever I feel the need to blow off some steam and have some mindless platforming I break out our number 15 game, The Addams Family on Mega Drive. One complaint I will agree with is that the game does have you die a lot, and there are some areas of the game that are extremely fiddly for which the slippy controls don't at all help, however even with that, extra lives are very easy to get so it's unlikely you'll run out if you're careful and have experience with platform games. There is however a secret passage that is one of the best known secrets of any Mega Drive game, Pugsley's Den, where you can get a large stockpile of lives meaning that even if you play carelessly your lives will likely last you for the entire game without you needing to use a single continue, which lowers the difficulty somewhat I feel. Now as for the controls, the biggest complaint are the slippy movements, which make it somewhat difficult to move around the levels without sliding into hazards. I personally have little difficulty and actually prefer the slippy controls to those of the average platformer, but then I'm one of those strange people who found the original NES Castlevania games to be really poor due to control, specifically the jumping where it felt like you fall too quickly after jumping, and often lost all forward momentum after a jump, making it extremely difficult to judge a jump. It's almost as though gravity itself is inconsistent in that game. That said I'm clearly in the minority, because everyone else considers Castlevania to be one of the greatest series of all time. I like them, but I'm not convinced there as good as people say. As for The Addams Family I found the controls very fluid and often I found myself in a constant state of movement throughout an entire level and it all felt very natural. This is a game where you have to find your rhythm, but once you have it, it can be some of the most enjoyable platforming you'll experience and it comes with some of the best music on a game of it's time. One thing I will say is this... the Nintendo version of this game is rather poor. The artwork is lacking, the sound is chintzy, and the hit detection is a little off, so if you play this, go for the Mega Drive version. SEGA did a much better job. Perhaps it'll see a re-release at some point, we can hope. Addams Family takes the number 15 slot and I promise you, more easily accessible games are on the way...

The Addams Family - Originally Released 1992 multi-platform
Playable On - Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo SNES, Amiga 500 Computer, Atari ST Computer
Difficulty Rating - 4, Suitable for Experienced Retro-Gamers, Will require multiple attempts to complete for the average gamer.


NUMBER 14

Anyone born in the early to mid 80's remembers the cartoons that became oh so popular in the 90's. Those shows like 'Ren & Stimpy' or 'Rocko's Modern Life' that perpetuated the idea that random disjointed crap is funny, and yes in those cartoons it really was, but so may people missed the point and started to just equate random with cool. Now everyone has to be unique and crazy. Check the average idiots MySpace or Facebook page and they all go on about how they're a “little bit mad” or “slighty crazy” or they're “so random”. This is one of the fads that piss me off about my generation, you're not random, crazy, insane, mad, unique or even somewhat different. You're normal, in fact, you're a rather pathetic little sheep if you think being random and crazy makes you unique and that you can be random and crazy based solely on the fact that you say you are... my god I hate people.
Our number 14 game, Earthworm Jim for the Sega CD is however rather good which is strange for the “weird for the sake of weird” games that existed at the time. Earthworm Jim, managed to be amusing while still being a competent gaming experience. The game is considered by many to be a classic. The controls where excellent, the level design original and the gameplay top notch with the racing levels on the rocket giving us a welcome change of pace from the shooting and jumping of the standard levels. Occasionally the levels became a little unintuitive, tricky platforming sections, overly powerful enemies, and a somewhat excessive level of difficulty towards the end made this game a mixed bag, but overall the things that prevented this game from being a masterpiece, far from ruin it, and it's still fun to play even now so much so that I consider it one of the best of it's genre. Sure I talk about it as though it's flawed but honestly it's not it's just that it's difficult and the humour masks the difficulty by giving you insanely easy pieces such as the goldfish for a boss. The humour within this game is very well written if somewhat juvenile, but hell at least it's not Ren & Stimpy or Boogerman, two mediocre “let's be weird and gross” platformers for the Mega Drive that insisted on including as many bodily functions and or random disjointed crap as possibly in order to appeal to kids to stupid to realise that something isn't just funny because it's weird. The humour in Earthworm Jim however fits and it certainly doesn't stop it from being a memorable inclusion into the genre, in fact I'd claim it enhances it. This game also sports some of the best music of the time thanks to the CD quality of the Sega CD. The best bit however is that it's also now available for the Wii Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade with one of the best improvements ever, no load times, the only flaw of the early CD games, and the XBLA version has been converted into High Definition and in widescreen so you have no excuse people. This is a must have for platforming fans who can handle the over the top surreal humour. Sure it's cringe-worthy now, but in the 90's we thought this was funny or even cool... my god we where ****ing morons weren't we. Earthworm Jim is number 14 for this list.

Earthworm Jim - Originally Released 1994 multi-platform
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo SNES, Sega CD, Nintendo GBA, Apple iPhone, PC, Wii Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, Android Phones
Difficulty Rating - 4, Suitable for Experienced Retro-Gamers, Will require multiple attempts to complete for the average gamer.


NUMBER 13

Who says all video games based off of films have to suck? This is proof you can do them right if you try. Our number 13 game, The Lion King released for the Mega Drive and SNES, for which the Mega Drive is the superior version I think, but only marginally, was a fun, colourful, simple, yet satisfying game that stayed really rather true to the storyline of the film, allowing you to play all the major scenes of the game as levels. The music was fitting and well done and the controls felt solid. Even the small things in this game and a lot of atmosphere, such as the fact that your claws come out after you pounce on an enemy in much the same way as they do when a kitten pounces. This made me grow very attached to this game. It's a guilty pleasure and a fond memory but it did have it's faults. Not all games of the time had save functions, and Lion King was no different, but usually you could expect to see a password system (which I believe was added to a later version of the game), Lion King, as you've probably guessed had no such system. This means you have to finish the game in one sitting, which was a test of endurance. As a kid I distinctly remember leaving the game on overnight while paused and carrying on where I left off the next day on more than one occasion, much to the annoyance of my parents. The other common complaint is that the difficulty is rather too high. I personally revelled in the challenge. I was 9 years old when this game came out, and after a good 4 years of platforming, I was a master of the genre even at that age (although not as scarily good at the people who do speed-runs for these games, yikes). Sure I still died on Super Mario Bros. occasionally, and felt a sense of achievement when I completed a Sonic game, which is something I can do now without loosing a single life, in fact, if I put my mind to it, I could probably do it without even getting hit once, but my point is, I'm not a master even if I am rather good. Anyway, back to Lion King. It was nice to have the challenge of a game that was intentionally difficult not just badly designed, the levels felt fair and the game progressed in a way that drew me in. The controls especially had mechanics such as the ability to hang from ledges, and such well controlled jumping that this game made me feel in control. A true gem I think and one that deserves credit as one of the few Disney games not by Capcom that truly shines, unfortunately it's again not on any of the modern consoles so it's time to hunt down a Mega Drive or SNES console.

The Lion King - Originally Released 1994 multi-platform
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo SNES
Difficulty Rating - 4, Suitable for Experienced Retro-Gamers, Will require multiple attempts to complete for the average gamer.


NUMBER 12

Now that we're more than half way into this list, it's getting serious. There are few platformers that so perfectly encapsulate the very concept that is the platformer than Kid Chameleon for the Mega Drive. With the feel of the 90's and some design elements reminiscent of a Mario game but with a more dystopian look and a much smoother scrolling Kid Chameleon plays beautifully and with a power-up method similar to that of the Kirby games, only easier to follow and more intuitive power wise, this game combined many of the best elements of the games that came before it. The music was traditionally 90's gaming music and set the seen well, the level design was scarily complex at times, requiring real thought, and the somewhat none-linear progression where you could, depending on how you left the previous levels skip levels or play entirely different levels to progress. The aesthetic was a little confusing at times, and the level progression didn't always make obvious sense giving the game a “rat trapped in a maze” feel. One critique this game often receives is that it was tooth grindingly difficult, and indeed it was. It wasn't designed for new-comers to the genre though, go back to Mario if you want that. It was designed to offer a true challenge and the feeling of accomplishment you get when you successfully bypass all obstacles and complete all the challenges it sets before you rewarding you with titles if you complete the level without being hit, without attacking an enemy, within a specific time, taking the shortest possible route etc. This is a game for gamers and for that I like it, but then, oddly enough my dad, who is anything but a gamer and has still never got passed the fourth level on this game also likes it... but then there's always someone who likes to mess with any analysis I make just to be awkward. Many people accused Kid Chameleon of being a Mario clone when it first came out, which is an unfair claim. Sure it's taken some design pointers from Mario but it's play-style is vastly different. In any Mario game you can generally keep moving to the right and chances are you will have little problem getting to the end of the level. There are obstacles along the way but it's almost always as simple as “go right”, which more difficult obstacles as you go. Trying that in Kid Chameleon will get you killed extremely quickly on many levels, or have you lost and frustrated in many others, but with the time limit carefree exploration is hardly possible either, you need to balance the two, explore but quickly and efficiently. This game has a little bit of everything and a unique art style, I thoroughly recommend it to anyone wanting a challenge and as with many of the games in this list, the Wii has come to the rescue as this game is also available on the Wii Virtual Console so you have no excuses. Kid Chameleon takes out number 7 slot.

Kid Chameleon - Originally Released 1992 for Sega Mega Drive
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive, Wii Virtual Console
Difficulty Rating - 5, Suitable for Hardcore Gamers, Will prove a decent challenge for even experienced gamers, requires true skill and practice to complete.


NUMBER 11

It's probably not escaped the notice of anyone following this list that there has been a lot of Nintendo here, there's some Sega, but by enlarge this list is Nintendo's baby and I'm not happy about it. Luckily, one game wants to mess up our happy little Nintendo worship by being pointedly not available for any Nintendo console but available for everything else at the time of release, and irritatingly it's one of the best 2D platformers ever made otherwise it wouldn't be on this list and playing this on the Wii with the Classic Controller would have rocked. Gex for the 3DO is an innovative and unique platformer allowing you to play in ways you've never played before. Taking you into a universe made up of the media industry, Gex, a gecko who can walk on walls and even ceilings is our mascot in this case. Gex was also released on a few other consoles including the Playstation and the Sega Saturn which is my personal favourite as I feel the sound is better. As I've said, people will rarely want to go and get an old console for one game, however as both the PS2 and PS3 are backwards compatible this is a game well worth picking up for the PSOne and it's recently been released on the Playstation Network which means you can play it on the PS3 or PSP without owning a physical copy which is fantastic. Gex biggest innovation was allowing the character to walk on all surfaces, which sounds simple at first but it added so much to the game that as a platformer it completely changed the way the game could be played. This new mechanic coupled with a game that had some funny humour and some really thematic levels makes this game truly special. This game is different and in an industry that prides itself on ripping people off, and within a genre where that happens more-so than any other, this game deserves it's dues, it's just a pity it didn't keep the sticking to any surface mechanic for the 3D sequels, but that's for another video I think. Gex takes our number 11 slot.

Gex - Originally Released 1994 for Panasonic 3DO
Playable On - Panasonic 3DO, Sony PSOne, Sony PS2, Sega Saturn, PC, Playstation Network
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.

[multipage=Numbers 10-6 ]

NUMBER 10

Way back at number 27 I said I was going to break my rule somewhat by considering Mega Man X and Mega Man separate franchises. I'm sure some will call foul, especially considering I had a go at one kid on YouTube a while back because he claimed Mario World and Mario Land where different franchises, which they're NOT! The thing is I have my reason. Mega Man X series had different physics, a different look and felt like a different game to me, where as the 8-bit Mega Man series feels distinctly different in this respect. Maybe it's just me, but I feel that this distinction is justified. But without further ado, lets continue. The 8-bit Mega Man series was one I never played as a kid. They where far too hard and the jump physics are exactly what I hate and spoke about during the discussion on The Addams Family earlier in this list. When you jump in Mega Man it feels like you lose momentum too fast, you drop like an anchor and often I feel like the jumps are simply too far to make but because I'm used to other games and this can make these games so frustrating. Eventually I went back to this series and realised three important things. First of all, I still don't like the jumping, but then few people like change so I suppose that's to be expected. Second, I will eventually get used to the games physics and be able to actually do it. And third, this series is bloody hard, there's no training zone, easy first level or introductory area and it's designed to be a game you'll need to try multiple times. Completing different bosses in a different order will give me a radically different game and naturally doing them in a certain order is easier than another order... and you're expected to figure this order out for yourself so don't expect this to be a game you complete on the first, second or even fifth time unless you're an experienced platform gamer. It's only now of couse I realise I haven't even said which Mega Man game gets the number 10 spot, and that's because really any of them could. The first game was good, but I feel flawed in some areas. Now most people praise two and three as the best games, and while I agree Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 are good games I'm not so sure. Mega Man 4 I personally liked, but others felt this was the turning point. Five and Six where a little poor on the level design, and Seven and Eight where experimental at best and really rather crap. It wasn't until the recent revival of retro gaming that Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 came into existence and honestly it could be either depending on taste, but for me, it's Mega Man 9. The level design is creative and impressive. The bosses are the right level of daft and corny. The powers are inventive and useful throughout the game, not just on the bosses and the soundtrack is one of the more memorable. Some of my friends claim Mega Man 2, 3 or 10 are better. Personally I think Mega Man 4 is the second best individual game and feel Capcom got it right most of all with Mega Man 9, with the best part being it's easily avaliable so you can play it without much of an issue, unlike the game I really wanted to put here. So that's our number 10 slot, and now we're truly at the cream of the genre, expect only the best games from this point on. This is where it's stops being about the best platformers and starts being some of the best video games of all time, any game from this point on could easily be considered the best video game of all time by many people. I doubt you'd here many complaints from these choices, more likely is understanding nods and respect for their fellow gamers tastes as these 10 games are simply that good, starting with our number 10 slot, Mega Man 9.

Mega Man 9 - Originally Released 2008 multi-platform
Playable On - Nintendo Wii, Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade
Difficulty Rating - 5, Suitable for Hardcore Gamers, Will prove a decent challenge for even experienced gamers, requires true skill and practice to complete.


Before we go on to our number 9 slot, I want to add the first of our 'near misses'. Mega Man: The Wily Wars. I remember playing Mega Man: The Wily Wars on the Mega Drive and it was an incredible game. Running slightly slower than the original 8-bit games, it felt more intuitive for me. Mega Man: The Wily Wars is a compilation of the first three Mega Man games remade for the Sega Mega Drive. These three games contain some of the best levels in the series and general consensus is that Mega Man 2 is the best game in the series, closely followed by Mega Man 3, so I doubt there will be many people who disagree that this compilation is incredible. With a new 16-bit gloss of paint the game looks great but the additional content is where it truly shines. Wily Tower is a section that unlocks after you've completed the original three games, you can use any combination of weapons and items from all three of the original games to play through this extra section, which is entirely new exclusive levels, which are again incredible in design as some of the best level designs in the Mega Man franchise. The Wily Wars didn't just improve the graphic and add in extra content though, I feel it improved the gameplay also as certain obsticles such as the platforms on cut-mans stage now have an indication showing when they'll fall... that you can actually see. It's little changes like this that make the game better, and that was but one example. Mega Man: The Wily Wars is clearly incredible, so why is it rated below Mega Man 9, given only 'near miss' status? Well, there is a problem. Mega Man: The Wily Wars was a PAL only game which was never released in USA. If fact it was release in only three countries, Japan, UK and Australia, and even here in the UK it's rarer than a talking leopard wearing a monacle. Not even mainland Europe got this game, they had to import a UK copy. If you're extremly lucky it'll pop up on e-Bay once a month for about £200 which is an absurd amount of money for even a game as great as this. Worse still is that this game is notoriously difficult to emulate, with most emulators having difficulty with it's save functions meaning Wily Tower can only be reached by using hacked save-states in most emulators, although improvements to emulators are made regularly and there are people trying to get a fully compatible set up for this game. All in all, if you can get this game, it will prove to be the greatest Mega Man experience you'll ever play... unfortunately the chances are most people watching now will never see it. Imagine how pissed I am that I traded in my copy, along with many Mega Drive games in order to get some new games for my Sega Saturn in 1997. Yeah, it still stings today, we can only hope this sees a Wii Virtual Console release soon.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars - Originally Released 1994 for Sega Mega Drive
Playable On - Sega Mega Drive Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 5, Suitable for Hardcore Gamers, Will prove a decent challenge for even experienced gamers, requires true skill and practice to complete.


NUMBER 9

This game is one of the grand-daddies of platforming. It is iconic and what immediately comes to mind for many people when you hear the phrase “platform game”. Duck Tales for the NES is considered on of the best classics on the console and possibly Capcoms greatest platformer of all time. This may seem like nostalgia talking but it's actually not, well it probably is for some people, but seriously, this game is amazing and all things considered is one of the most popular and fondly remembered platformers of all time for a reason. Sure the game is really rather easy, and sure it's actually really rather short too, but honestly it's fun and that's what video games are all about. It's no secret that in this list the games with difficulty ratings of 4 and 5 are showing up towards the latter half of the list, but sometimes we don't want a challenge, we just want a little bit of hop and bop fun and Duck Tales gives us exactly that. With only 5 levels this game will take an experienced gamer less than an hour to complete and won't stretch much beyond that for even the casual gamer who with a little effort can expect to finish this game on the first or maybe second attempt depending on individual ham-handedness. In many ways though this game is like a cool shower on a summer afternoon, quick and refreshing, it can be used as a little pastime when you have that spare hour or two before dinner. It's that game, the one you turn to when you've nothing to do for a little bit, and that's what makes it great. In a hobby where a game with less than 20 hours of gameplay is considered short, 15 minute cut-scenes and overly complex storylines are common place, and games are frequently difficult enough that they require a high skill level, making this a hobby requiring some dedication, a game like this is rare. Everyone needs to chill out for a bit occasionally. Your average movie buff may love the epic movies and blockbusters that make him think or draw on his emotions but every so often, even if it's only once in a blue moon, he'll feel the need for an episode of Tom and Jerry or Looney Toons, just to cleanse the pallet. Duck Tales is the perfect pallet cleanser. It has perfect controls making you feel very much in control of Scrooge McDuck as you plow your way through the level, collecting money and cake. The attacks work well, allowing you to use the golf-club swing and the more oft-used pogo-stick attack, but cleverly taking it away for one level in the snow so it doesn't make the less useful golf-club swing feel useless. The level designs are clever and invite exploration as special items are hidden throughout the game rhat increase your score which adds to the re-playability. Sure this game is easy but it's the way we like it, the thing is it's not too easy. There's enough of a challenge that the average gamer will probably take a hit or two and may even loose a life but will reliably finish the game with little difficulty. The only person who may have problems is the hardcore gamer, who may find themselves breezing through without taking a single hit. All in all though, Duck Tales is an example of the genre at it's younger years when it was fit and healthy and ready to take on the world. It's just a pity you'll need an NES to play this title, and because of my rule about games staying relevant to the modern gamer this is the only game in the top 10 that doesn't have a release on a modern console, yet. This game deserves it's place here though, it's so famous in gamer circles it's more well known than the TV show, and some gamers recognise the theme tune to the level “The Moon” as an iconic 8-bit gaming track without ever having played the game. This game feels like a game that coasted it's way in here on nostalgia and retro charm alone, but I can assure you it didn't, you see, I didn't own an NES as a child. I had a Master System, SNES, Mega Drive and played on earlier consoles such as the SG-1000, Commodore 64 and Atari 2600 but I never played an NES as a kid. In fact, the first time I played this game was September 22nd 2010. As a retro gamer that grew up on the likes of Mickey Mouse's Castle Of Illusion, Alex Kidd, Sonic The Hedgehog and The Lucky Dime Caper, this captured all my childhood memories but without the rose tint, it was an new game for me, and although it felt like something I'd played before I can say honestly it is a great game that deserves recognition not because it's well remembered, but because it's the most fun I've ever had with an NES and that's no lie. Capcoms best ever platformer.... well almost.

Duck Tales - Originally Released 1990 for Nintendo Entertainment System
Playable On - Nintendo Entertainment System
Difficulty Rating - 2, Suitable for Inexperienced Gamers, Will feel enjoyable for most gamers, challenging for beginners.


NUMBER 8

Yep, that's right I said almost. Capcom made one more platformer which was better still. Better than all the Mega Man games, better than Chip 'n Dale and even Duck Tales. Also, that's right, we're counting down the top 10 games and all three of the games counted so far have been Capcom games. Capcom is a ****ing diamond when it comes to platformers and have more entries in this list than any other developer by far. As I'm sure someone must have noticed, Disney has also made a large number of entries in this list. Donald Duck in Lucky Dime Caper, Chip 'n Dale, Aladdin, The Lion King and Duck Tales are all Disney owned games, and while it's really annoying that Disney games are good because it often means they won't get released on modern consoles due to licencing this game at least made it to a GBA re-release, so if you have a Nintendo DS, (which you should have as it has amazing games) and wasn't suckered into buying the DSi and trading away your GBA port for a crappy camera, or better still, like me still have the most comfortable handheld ever, the Game Boy Advance SP, you can still enjoy this game happily. (PS: Backwards compatible Nintendo DS counts as modern console OK, so no complaining, I tried to make them relevant, I really did). So... what's missing. A Disney-Capcom made game that hasn't already been discussed. There are plenty of Disney-Capcom games we haven't included, and while good games they are not top 30 games. Games such as The Little Mermaid and Darkwing Duck on the NES and then there where games like Beauty and the Beast on the SNES and The Jungle Book on the Master System which where good, but they're not made by Capcom. Well obviously by now the clear Disney franchise that's missing is Mickey Mouse, and wow has Mickey had a surprising amount of decent games. Twice already I've mentioned Castle Of Illusion in this list, and seriously I love that game so much, I mean the Master System game here. The Mega Drive game also called Castle Of Illusion was also amazing, but I personally prefer the Master System game. Castle Of Illusion, both iterations, where so good that there where sequels Land Of Illusion and World Of Illusion where made for the Mega Drive, a few years later Legend Of Illusion came out for the Master System, but by then the console was all but dead everywhere but Brazil. Naturally while these games where absolutely gold, they are not the game I chose for the number 8 spot especially as, while all these Mickey Mouse games are absolute gold, and well worth a place in this list, the more astute amongst you are probably aware they where all made by Sega, therefore can't be the Capcom game I'm talking about. Hell, even the amazing Mickey Mania released on SNES and Sega CD wasn't made by Capcom, and thus despite being fantastic can't be my choice for number 8. No, I'm talking about the Magical Quest series.

Capcom made some fantastic platformers, but none felt so incredible to me, so atmospheric, so easy to control and so well balanced as the Magical Quest series. Some people claim these games are too linear but personally I like that. Sometimes you don't want to think about where you're going in a platformer, you want to play almost reactionary, going from one end to another and tackling obstacles as they show. Other critiques have claimed that the bosses where too long, but as a child of Sonic, I was conditioned to accept that bosses took eight hits, after all, that's how many Robotnik always took, so this never felt true for me. The boss fights in other games actually always tended to feel too short for me. So, now that we know which series it is, which game is it specifically. Well honestly it makes little difference as they're all amazing but if I must choose I would say the first Magical Quest, although Magical Quest 3 is a very close second, because out of all the costumes and level designs, it's the fireman costume that was the most fun to use in my opinion, and yes, that's what clinched it for me. Again, Capcom used a formula we're all too familiar with. It's the same formula used by Mega Man, and the same basic concept used by the Kirby franchise. The ability to have interchangable weapons or abilities. In this case in the form of costumes. This worked really well, with constumes like the firefighter and mountain climber feeling very different and interesting to play and all being utilised quite well. While some abilities where a little fiddly at time, they where never too difficult to use and everything had a clear purpose and reason to exist, that said many of the levels could be played using whatever costume you prefered, or even no costume at all, giving the player just enough freedom to make this game that little be more endearing. Honestly, all three of the Magical Quest games are worth getting, but again you'll be needing to go for the GBA versions and unfortunately this is the most modern port we're likely to see of them so I say pick them up while you can, you won't regret them. If you've got a Nintendo Gamecube, it may be worth getting the Gameboy Player add on so you can play these games on the big screen. We've gone though loads of Disney and Capcom games but finally it's Disney's Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse that takes the number 8 spot on this list. If there's another game that makes you feel more like a kid than this one, I'd love to see it.

Disney's Magical Quest: Starring Mickey Mouse - Originally Released 1992 for Nintendo SNES
Playable On - Nintendo SNES, Nintendo GBA
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.


Well, I've mentioned it enough times, we all knew it would get a 'near miss', didn't we. Castle Of Illusion for the Master System. This is a game that I will happily state didn't make the list because, well... it's nostalgia that makes me love it. This game has so much charm and greatness behind it, and I feel it's got something more to it than even the Mega Drive version which is in fact an entirely different game as it has completely different level designs. Castle Of Illusion is one of those games that simply makes me smile. It's simple and short, in many ways it shares a lot in common with The Lucky Dime Caper but the controls feel just that little bit tighter, the level designs seem that little bit more memorable and the themes just that touch cuter and touching. For a kid playing this it was fun in every possible way, fighting massive bars of chocolate, old withered trees and books that fire bouncy plasticine letters at you. It is wholesome entertainment at it finest and really the only reason it didn't beat out Magical Quest is polish. The Magical Quest game had more time and budget to give it that extra depth with the costumes. The second nail in the coffin is, as with most Disney games, a re-release is unlikely and as such this game is not avaliable on any modern consoles, so unless you're prepared to use an emulator you'll need a working Master System and copy of the original game to play it. This isn't a big issue in UK where the Master System was somewhat successful but in USA it's like gold dust. If you're gaming in good ol' America realising the NES basically killed Sega's chances over there may be a sad stinging fact if you ever want to get some of these classics, but such is the way of the world.

Castle Of Illusion - Originally Released 1988 for Sega Master System
Playable On - Sega Master System Exclusive.
Difficulty Rating - 2, Suitable for Inexperienced Gamers, Will feel enjoyable for most gamers, challenging for beginners.


NUMBER 7

The 16-bit to 32-bit era of gaming (basically from 1991 to 1998.) was filled with different games consoles. While everyone is aware of the Mega Drive and SNES and probably owned at least one of them, many other consoles came an went such as the Neo-Geo, the 3DO, the Amiga CD32, the Sega CD, the Mega 32X, the Atari Jaguar, the Philips CD-i and in the later years the Sega Saturn, Playstation and finally (almost 2 years after the Sega Saturn and Playstation) the N64. One console that is rarely given any love, especially here in the UK though is the TurboGrafx-16 especially as the console never actually saw an official UK release, getting only a limited release in France via a small company called Telegames. In short the 3DO and the Philips CD-i sold better than the TurboGrafx-16 in UK because we had to import the ****ing thing. This console is so obscure in this country I didn't even know it existed until 3 years ago but it did and it was pretty damn cool. A console out since 1987 it hung on in 3rd place in the console wars for a very long time, releasing the TurboGrafx-CD add on in order to release higher end games, although it wasn't very well utilised. NEC finally gave in when Sony joined the picture with the Playstation, knocking the NEC console down to 4th place, and discontinued it's console in 1995. The TurboGrafx-16 though was a really good console, and no listing of platform games would be complete without it's own personal mascot, Bonk. Bonk's Adventure was a game based around a little cave man with a massive head that had to literally bonk his way though the world using his head as a weapon. The game has some of the smoothest controls I've ever felt in a video game, and that's impressive but the theme, the graphics and the gameplay was beyond just the standard platformer. The second game improved on a few things, but really it was the third game that perfected the Bonk experience. The additional power-ups that allow Bonk to become really small or grow to enormous size... hey, doesn't that sound familiar, so it looks like Mario is not happy ripping off Alex Kidd, he'll have to steal ideas from Bonk too. That's right, kick the obscure mascots Mario, no-one will notice. Well I'm calling you out bitch! Anyway, concept stealing aside, this made the game much more immersive by giving the player more options. As with all Bonk games, the running, jumping, meat power ups, and bonking all make a return. You can climb using your teeth and the air spinning can keep you effectively flying if done right, although not quite so brokenly fast as the first game. Bonk 3 is pure entertainment, and despite the foolishness of putting the game you're ripping off out in public Nintendo made this game is available on the Wii Virtual Console just in time for us to see where the new ideas for New Super Mario Bros. on the DS came from, and it's also available on the Playstation Network for those trying to stay plumber free, which is difficult with a dealer on every corner, I know. A game well deserving of praise, go and buy it. Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure takes the number 7 slot and here in the UK it's long overdue some attention, as is the whole series and the console it rode in on.

Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure - Originally Released 1993 for NEC TurboGrafx-16
Playable On - NEC TurboGrafx-16, Wii Virtual Console, Playstation Network
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.


NUMBER 6

I will freely admit I am one of those gamers who hated and for the most part still hates the Wii. It is everything I should hate in a games console. I, like many gamers, want to sit on my sofa with a big packet of Cheetos and a bottle of Coka-Cola pressing buttons to make the games work. Occasionally I'm happy with the controls requiring a certain level of finesse to pull off certain moves, reach certain areas or otherwise complete certain challenges. It makes it all the better when there's some challenge. The Wii however was designed entirely to piss me off. For a start, the system is largely designed to be played standing up, especially with the sports games it has, which is great if it's in a pub being played as a party game, but not so good in the home where I don't really have the room. Secondly, as an overweight, asthmatic, lazy, bum gamer that iconofies the standard gamer I can say quite comfortably that swinging my arm about feels like too much effort. So with that a Wii game, and I don't mean a Virtual Console game, an actual Wii game has made the list to my immense shock. Wario Land: Shake It is at number 6, a game that, baring the “shake it” mechanic, which is used sparingly, could be played comfortably on an SNES if it had the graphics for it and for that I commend it. The first thing apparent about this game is the graphics. Beautifully hand drawn graphics on an entirely 2D game with decent animation and a fantastic play speed. Wario, in my opinion, is the best Mario character and this game shows what can be done when they inject a little personality into the character. The bashing, jumping and running all feels fresh and crisp and the level design is refreshingly liner and very enjoyable. This is one of the true gems of the Wii and a pleasure to behold. Well deserving of the number 6 slot, and as a cry out to Nintendo, make more of these because Mario isn't all that interesting. Wario however, he's cool, and just what the franchise needs to stay alive. The only issue I have with this game is the shaking gimmick. This game is one of the best 2D platformers I've played in a long time, but it would have played so much better with the Classic Controller Pro. It wouldn't have taken much to have put some gyroscopic thing in that controller so we could shake it and have the same effect, or even have the option to make the “shake it” mechanic a button press instead but Nintendo didn't bother and this game suffers because holding the WiiMote sideways to use it as a standard controller is really uncomfortable. Luckily there are attachable grips that you can get which you can insert the WiiMote into to make it easier to use as a controller, but all it all, it's more expense and fiddling for something that could have been done with the Classic Controller Pro by making us waggle the right analogue stick in place of the “shake it” mechanic, but that would have been fun, which is not what Nintendo where going for because apparently no-one at Nintendo understands decent video game controls as well as I do, which on reflection is extremely depressing. Still, all this said, Wario Land: Shake It. is still one of the greatest platformers ever made, only missing out on being in the top five because the competition is simply too fierce. Wario Land: Shake It takes our number 6 spot and further shows the superiority of the Wii much to my displeasure.

Wario Land: Shake It! - Originally Released 2008 for Nintendo Wii
Playable On - Nintendo Wii Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.


The Mario spin-off franchises is rife with gold and Wario Land: Shake It! is only the start of such. Obviously there are other Wario games out there and anyone with a Gameboy Advance (which in this list is second only to the Nintendo Wii for shear awesomeness) then the previous Wario game Wario Land 4 is well worth a buy as it's a fantastic playful game that will keep you going for a couple of hours, but the true near miss is in a franchise that really kinda goes unnoticed. The Donkey Kong franchise. Now, I'm not talking about the Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong Land series, which are a different franchise entirely. I'm talking about the Mario VS Donkey Kong franchise as it's come to be know. Mario VS Donkey Kong is a fantastic game, again, another Gameboy Advance game, and it will keep you playing for hours as will it's sequel Mario VS Donkey Kong 2 for the GBA as well, but the true gem, the game that is a real 'near miss' is the original, simply called Donkey Kong for the original Gam Boy. This gives you a reason to own a Gameboy Advance SP over the Nintendo DS as it's not compatible with the DS line. Alternatively, a GameCube and a Gameboy Player is another alternative as these are games you don't want to miss. What the Wario Land games and Mario VS Donkey Kong games share is the fantastic mix of puzzle game and platform game. They make for thilling stop and start gameplay and make the best “on the move” gaming, which is probably why they're so prevelent on the GBA. All in all though, the puzzle design for the original in the series, Donkey Kong for Game Boy, stands out as truly unique. So why was this not on the list? Well we already have a Wario game. Can we justify another Mario spin-off franchise without breaking the one per franchise rule? Maybe, but I don't want to feel I'm pushing this into the list unfairly, especially as it is, unfortunately, not avaliable or compatible with any modern console. I suppose we count this as the representative of the Mario franchise... but I think I'd possibly get crucified if I did that.

Donkey Kong - Originally Released 1994 for Nintendo Game Boy
Playable On - Game Boy Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.

Apparently, this forum limits you to 10,000 words per post, so you'll need to visit my website for the top 5 at You must login or register to view this content.

Wow, there is A LOT of information here, it's a bit of a tl;dr and could use a little more color or pictures to keep other people interested in reading the whole thing :p , but I'm so happy to see a new member who's actually takes time on his threads. :y:

are these completely your views?

I read them all and have to say you put a lot effort in to this:love:

I've been planning on making this list a while now, I discussed it with a couple of friends at the pub last night and they read over my list and gave me some opinions because I wanted a bit of outside imput before I posted the article itself, but yeah, this is mainly my opinion although my friend Rob had some input on some of the details.

---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:07 PM ----------



I did originally have pictures in it but it exceeded the forums word limit so I took them out... I'm not expecting this to be a topic for everyone as it is very long, but it should make for an entertaining read I hope for people who have nothing to do. Hopefully it's not too long winded.

If you have any pointers on how I can improve my writing techniques to make it easier to read I've love to hear them.

Yeah, I get the feeling most people are intimidated by the amount of text as I've not really had much feedback on this. As it took me rather a long time to write hopefully people won't mind if I give this a bump back to the first page to get a little more feedback on it while I prepare some stuff over the next day or so...

I've decided you're right, this thread is too long, people won't likely read it, so I've decided to record it for YouTube after all and post the videos up on the forum when they're done. It'll take me a day or two to make the videos. I'm just going to record myself reading the article (may change a few words if it doesn't sound as good spoken) and put my voice over gameplay footage. I'm going to be collecting gameplay footage online (I just don't have time to record gameplay from 40-50 games myself. Perhaps a more sensory way of portraying this article will gather more interest from people.

Originally posted by TornadoCreator

Yeah, I get the feeling most people are intimidated by the amount of text as I've not really had much feedback on this. As it took me rather a long time to write hopefully people won't mind if I give this a bump back to the first page to get a little more feedback on it while I prepare some stuff over the next day or so...

I've decided you're right, this thread is too long, people won't likely read it, so I've decided to record it for YouTube after all and post the videos up on the forum when they're done. It'll take me a day or two to make the videos. I'm just going to record myself reading the article (may change a few words if it doesn't sound as good spoken) and put my voice over gameplay footage. I'm going to be collecting gameplay footage online (I just don't have time to record gameplay from 40-50 games myself. Perhaps a more sensory way of portraying this article will gather more interest from people.

That sounds like a good way to do it, but if you are looking primarily for the feedback of NGU users then you probably want to make it shorter and more "elementary" lol. Although making it into a youtube video would be very enjoyable to watch, there are twice the active users in General Discussion than General Videos on this site and you would receive more feedback probably by narrowing it down to the top 5 and maybe making it look like this. (SPOILER BELOW)

EXAMPLE:


NUMBER 6:

Donkey Kong - Originally Released 1994 for Nintendo Game Boy
Playable On - Game Boy Exclusive
Difficulty Rating - 3, Suitable for Standard Gamers, Will give your average gamer a decent challenge.

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Now, I'm not talking about the Donkey Kong Country or Donkey Kong Land series, which are a different franchise entirely. I'm talking about the Mario VS Donkey Kong franchise as it's come to be know. Mario VS Donkey Kong is a fantastic game, again, another Gameboy Advance game, and it will keep you playing for hours as will it's sequel Mario VS Donkey Kong 2 for the GBA as well, but the true gem, the game that is a real 'near miss' is the original, simply called Donkey Kong for the original Gam Boy. This gives you a reason to own a Gameboy Advance SP over the Nintendo DS as it's not compatible with the DS line. Alternatively, a GameCube and a Gameboy Player is another alternative as these are games you don't want to miss. What the Wario Land games and Mario VS Donkey Kong games share is the fantastic mix of puzzle game and platform game. They make for thilling stop and start gameplay and make the best “on the move” gaming, which is probably why they're so prevelent on the GBA. All in all though, the puzzle design for the original in the series, Donkey Kong for Game Boy, stands out as truly unique. So why was this not on the list? Well we already have a Wario game. Can we justify another Mario spin-off franchise without breaking the one per franchise rule? Maybe, but I don't want to feel I'm pushing this into the list unfairly, especially as it is, unfortunately, not avaliable or compatible with any modern console. I suppose we count this as the representative of the Mario franchise... but I think I'd possibly get crucified if I did that.

I hope I'm not coming off as an asshole , just trying to help you out.

Yeah, I'm planning on making it into a 3 part series of videos so it should be easier to swallow that way, but it'll take me a while to make them. I'm hoping to finish the first this week and the other two during the next week.

holy text bro omg

This reminds me. Portal ****ing 2. It has crossplatforming so people on PS3 can play with people on PC. Vice versa.