The video game industry endlessly pushes itself forward in groundbreaking ways. It’s truly incredible to consider how much gets accomplished in each new gaming industry and the levels of technology and immersion that are now commonplace. Certain gaming genres are evergreen staples of the medium and platformer adventures are one of gaming’s more popular areas.
As far as the industry has come, there’s still lots of nostalgia that’s reserved for certain older gaming classics. The experience of first playing the Nintendo 64’s launch title, Super Mario 64, still resonates with a certain generation of gamers as a turning point. Some still consider Super Mario 64 to be the peak of 3D platformers, but there are some other titles out there that are just as satisfying.
10 Banjo-Kazooie Is The Height Of The Nintendo 64’s 3D Platforming
The Nintendo 64 was a breakthrough console in terms of the platforming genre’s ability to evolve from 2D sidescrolling experiences to considerably more in-depth 3D adventures. Super Mario 64 established an incredibly high benchmark, but its arrival during the console’s infancy meant that many games were able to build upon its strong foundation. Banjo-Kazooie continues the strong relationship between Rare and Nintendo that thrived on the Super Nintendo.
Rare is responsible for some of the Nintendo 64’s greatest triumphs and the biggest 3D platformers on the console. Later games like Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64 suffer from excess, but Banjo-Kazooie achieves the perfect balance with sublime controls.
9 The Spyro Reignited Trilogy Resurrects A Flawed Classic
The mid-90s were an essential period for Sony’s PlayStation to build its legacy in the 3D platforming department. The Sega Saturn struggled during this gaming era and so the original PlayStation could thrive through new mascots like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot.
The original trilogy of Spyro games came out between 1998 and 2000 on the first PlayStation and while they’re impressive, they’re in many ways products of their times. The recent Spyro Reignited Trilogy beautifully translates these fulfilling platformers into the modern gaming generation and improves upon the games’ original shortcomings in the process.
8 Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time Is A Brilliant Return To The Basics
The trilogy of Crash Bandicoot titles for the original PlayStation helped put the 32-bit console on the map. Building upon the success of the remastered Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, returns to the platforming series' basics and the games have never been stronger.
Franchises that attempt to return to their glory days can feel disingenuous, but Crash Bandicoot 4 is a rare example of a new sequel that effortlessly captures the energy of the original, but still updates the formula and creates a platformer that's accessible to newcomers and also deeply challenging for more punishing platformer completionists.
7 Psychonauts 2 Combines Satisfying Platforming With Smart Storytelling
Tim Schafer is a deeply ambitious game designer who initially cut his teeth back on sprawling PC adventure games. Psychonauts helped push the platforming genre forward both in terms of gameplay and its high-minded examination of psychology and the subconscious when it came out in 2005, but its sequel didn't materialize until more than 15 years later.
The original Psychonauts still holds up, but 2021's Psychonauts 2 is bigger and better in every regard. It expands upon the original game's ideas in such fulfilling ways and it's such an inventive platformer.
6 Jet Set Radio Future Is A Delirious Assault To The Senses
The Jet Set Radio series remains a stylistic high that the gaming industry has struggled to recapture decades later. The original game, Jet Grind Radio, was one of Sega Dreamcast’s most celebrated games, and the Xbox successor, Jet Set Radio Future, is equally passionate and creative.
Typical platforming staples are reinvented through fast-paced graffiti antics in a corrupt future dystopian take on society. Jet Set Radio Future features huge urban worlds to zip through and artistically attack. It’s an outstanding mix of visual aesthetics, music, and intuitive gameplay.
5 A Hat In Time Adds Choice And Freedom To The Platformer Formula
It's becoming increasingly difficult to develop platforming titles that feel like throwback love letters to bygone eras, yet ones that are still able to build upon these traditional archetypes and do something new with them. A Hat in Time came out in 2017, but it perfectly creates the feeling of 3D platformers from two decades back.
A Hat in Time is such a triumph because of the level of ownership that it gives the player on how the story plays out. There are a surprising amount of options that result in contrasting gameplay experiences that genuinely promote repeated playthroughs.
4 Kirby And The Forgotten Land Builds Upon Kirby’s Successful Structure
Nintendo frequently leans on Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda as its flagship franchises, but Kirby has turned out more than 30 games in as many years, and it continues to reinvent itself in rewarding ways. Kirby is especially malleable when it comes to drastic artistic and gameplay overhauls.
The Kirby games have perfected their streamlined take on the platforming genre, but the Nintendo Switch’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land features more of an open-world experience and humongous environments for the pink protagonist to navigate. The game’s scope, in addition to Kirby’s fun, new transformations, makes it a standout in the series.
3 Yooka-Laylee Is A Passionate Throwback To 90s Platformers That’s Deeply Genuine
Playtonic Games is a game studio that's made up of a lot of veteran game designers from the old guard at Rare, so it perhaps shouldn't come as a huge surprise that their platforming gem, Yooka-Laylee, is a passionate love letter to platformers from the late 90s, like Banjo-Kazooie.
Yooka-Laylee embraces the comparisons to its N64 counterpart, but it never feels pandering. The result is a very successful, modern platforming hit. Admittedly, Yooka-Laylee's sequel may be an even better game, but it's slightly simplified with its 2D sidescroller slant.
2 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Gives The Inventive Platformer Series A Next-Gen Makeover
Insomniac Games has done impressive things with the Ratchet & Clank property, which meshes the platforming and third-person shooter genres. There are more than 15 titles in the broader franchise, the majority of which are of a very high quality, but 2021's Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is proof that this series is far from finished.
Rift Apart takes full advantage of the PlayStation 5's advanced architecture, which allows many old gameplay mechanics to feel fresh. It's platforming that plays out on a grandiose scale and feels like a thrilling science-fiction movie brought to life.
1 Super Mario Galaxy Perfectly Evolves Mario’s Platforming Arsenal
Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise has been at the forefront of the platforming genre for decades. Super Mario 64 is a remarkable accomplishment, but there’s a strong case to be made for many more recent mainline entries, such as Super Mario 3D World or the Switch’s Super Mario Odyssey, to deliver superior experiences.
The Wii’s two Super Mario Galaxy games are in a class of their own and feel like proper evolutions of the franchise. The sequel is actually slightly better than its predecessor, but the two games are so alike that it makes sense to view them as one superlative platforming package.