NialIf Knack failed to whet your appetite for a platformer, here are 8 great platformers from the past you shouldn’t hesitate to check out.
Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
Featuring Gex. A suave, wise-cracking gecko voiced by Danny John-Jules of Red Dwarf fame in the PAL release and his human partner agent Xtra played by former Baywatch actress Marliece Andrada. Agent Xtra has been kidnapped the arch-nemesis of Gex. Rez. The gameplay consists of collecting TV remotes to jump into different TV channels. Levels which all have a unique theme. From Christmas to Ancient Egypt to a detective channel. Exploring the levels often resulted in finding funny jokes or easter eggs to popular culture. Some levels even parodying TV and Film. The soundtrack was remarkably fun and catchy to boot.
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Rayman. Often a forgotten series in Ubisoft’s closet. Rayman 2 was a revolution in terms of 3D platforming and thoroughly deserves a place in this list. The gameplay is near flawless and the story is exceptional. Robot Pirates are destroying and oppressing the land, capturing critters and lums and it’s trusted to Rayman to free the world of evil by finding the four special masks to bring back the God Polokus.
Crash Bandicoot
Who isn’t familiar with Crash Bandicoot? An icon from the original Playstation era. finding and jumping on boxes to obtain wumpa fruits and clearing often tricky levels covered with planted attacking enemies, inventive boss fights and bonus levels aplenty. The Hog Wild level I remember in particular as being very funny and addictive.
Spyro 3 : Year Of The Dragon
Another icon from the original Playstation era. Developed by Insomniac games who shared a close friendship with Naughty Dog during the time. A crash demo and Spyro demo appearing on each IP respectively. Spyro attemps to recover stolen dragon eggs from a thief that entered the dragon world and took them while the dragons were asleep. The game features various worlds of different orientated cultures and fantasy. If you enjoy collecting things, then this is the game for you. As well as dragon eggs there are plenty of gems to bag. Mini games such as skateboarding and speedway races. And a host of new characters each with different abilities to control on specific levels.
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Still as wonderful as it was 12 years ago. Sonic was the pinnacle of Sega Megadrive. A highly memorable and catchy soundtrack. Colourful aesthetics. Exhilarating speed through levels jumping on and rolling through enemies. Great boss fights that get harder with every level. With even a two player option to so the other play can play as tails and beat you to the level exit or help you get past that difficult boss fight. Only Sonic could give you the feeling of genuine panic when the timer is introduced to how long Sonic can hold his breath in the underwater sections and face the prospect of drowning.
Sly Cooper
A comic book-stylised raccoon thief, the latest descendant in a line of master thieves who have passed down their expert techniques from generation to generation and his trusty friends. Originally developed by Sucker Punch and later handed to Sanzaru Games with the more recent installments. The game handles stealth and platforming with an appeasing cel-shaded appearance.
Conkers: Bad Fur Day
A heavy-drinking red squirrel’s adventure through a bizarre world of characters and toilet humour. You may be fooled into thinking this is a kids game but it was marketing for adults and it’s justified. Bad language is a staple and there’s plenty of toilet gags to leave you in hysterics. A thoroughly British game and completely unique. I mean come on, a singing poo? Fantastic.
Little Big Planet
Also comes under the Play/Create/Share genre which it essentially created but is certainly a platformer and a brilliant one. A full campaign to enjoy and collect tools and materials to add to your inventory. You can design your own levels using the wide selection of tools and materials you have obtained and upload it to the community for others to play. You can also play levels other people have created and play them with online buddies. You can basically make any game you want, what’s not to like?