gaming Under-appreciated Platformers

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,297]

Platformers, a classic genre that stands the test of time, when done right. Of course people love Mario, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic, all of those are great, but sometimes other great platformers are forgotten about. What are some of these to you?

 

One that I have been reminded of recently, was Wario Land Shake It for the Wii. This game, while short, is so much fun and the art style is amazing. It really has a superb graphical style. Nintendo really needs to make more Wario games, the character has so much potential. 

 

[Blue Moon 6,336]

Rayman: Legends is probably the best platformer I've ever played, but I still don't see a whole lot of praise for it. The game itself is filled to the brim with content, and it's full of personality. The art direction is gorgeous, the animation and character designs are whimsical, the music is great (especially with the music levels), and the levels are excellently designed. 

[1Bit 1,531]

I think my main problem answering this question is I haven't played many platformers. Although, perhaps that actually raises quite a good point?

 

In modern gaming, platformer games seem to be more and more a 'Nintendo' thing (I have literally heard that phrase before) while heavyweights like the Xbox and PS4 seem to have a lot more focus on genre's such as RPG's or Shooter's which are a lot more mainstream and gain a much larger audience on their respective consoles.

 

And sadly, that means any platformers on either consoles often go under appreciated or at least, don't get enough recognition when pitted against things like Halo or Uncharted.

 

So I'd say Ori and The Blind Forest, purely because of how new it is and how its coming up against much larger titles on the Xbox which means it gets swept under the mat by a lot of gamers when it is such a beautiful and amazing game.

[Codelyy 1,281]

I'd say Spongebob battle for bikini bottom and the spongebob movie game both made by Heavy Iron Studios. I say these as they are great games and platformers that a lot of people seems to not pay attention to just because it has "Spongebob" in the name so your going to expect it to be another game just for kids... But you would be wrong.

 

I have to say that these two games are two of the best games on the gamecube and ps2 just due to how much fun they are:

[Celtore 2,769]

I'd say Spongebob battle for bikini bottom and the spongebob movie game both made by Heavy Iron Studios. I say these as they are great games and platformers that a lot of people seems to not pay attention to just because it has "Spongebob" in the name so your going to expect it to be another game just for kids... But you would be wrong.

 

I have to say that these two games are two of the best games on the gamecube and ps2 just due to how much fun they are:

 

I can vouch for battle for bikini bottom. It's honestly a fairly inspired platformer, they did a fantastic job with the levels and the world design in general. Maybe not the kelp forest, but it's still the most effort I've seen anyone put into a video game created from a TV show or movie.

 

I think a platformer that was really underappreciated was super paper mario. Don't get me wrong, I really didn't like it at the time either, but most of my criticism was on the fact that it had paper mario in the title. If you can look at it from the perspective of it being its own thing and not as the sequel of TTYD, it's actually a pretty fun game with a really cool art style. And then sticker star happened.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Celtore

[Moony the Cat 3,697]

For me its Jumping Flash for the Ps 1.

 

One of the first 3D Platform games, but sadly forgotten by most people.Its very fun to play and the main character is pretty cute.^^

 

[Megas 27,068]

Somebody already mentioned the Spongebob movie game which was surprisingly good. There's also Alice Madness Returns which is pretty fun, though it's gotten a cult following recently

[Limeblossom 482]

 

it got around 500K sales.

[takai 1,060]

Shantae. Easy. All of her games have received pretty great scores, but she's still relatively not well known. Her popularity is definitely growing thanks to the Smash Ballot though.

 

Makes me happy to see other Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom fans. That was an excellent game. Definitely my favorite Spongebob game.

[cmarston1 5,952]

Drawn to Life and Drawn to Life the Next Chapter.

I find it a shame that nobody really talks about them anymore.

[Solar Cloud 493]

Drill Dozer. This underrated gem from the GBA hardly gets talked about.

[SparklingSwirls 21,261]

Epic Mickey? I don't know if it's underrated or not, but I think it's a great game, especially if you like Disney.

 

EM2 was awful though

[Nit Pick 247]

 

Psychonauts. A very unappreciated platformer.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,297]

I'd say Spongebob battle for bikini bottom and the spongebob movie game both made by Heavy Iron Studios. I say these as they are great games and platformers that a lot of people seems to not pay attention to just because it has "Spongebob" in the name so your going to expect it to be another game just for kids... But you would be wrong.

 

I have to say that these two games are two of the best games on the gamecube and ps2 just due to how much fun they are:

Spongebob Movie game, that is an excellent choice. I would totally buy an HD remake of that one, but knowing the odds Activision would make sure that the game would be ported over by a team of rocks. 

[TheFunk 2,172]

The only underrated platformer I can really think of right now is "Croc: Legend of the Gobbos"

 

[Cash In 21,517]

Sticking with the Sponge Man theme here. One platformer I don't hear talked about very much is SuperSponge.

I played the GBA version. It was a pretty enjoyable 2D platformer and I thought it was neat for what it was. I hear there is a PS1 version, but I never owned that.

In terms of other platformers, I'd say maybe the Rayman games? But in all fairness, those have (rightfully) been getting a lot more recognition over the years, so I wouldn't call them niche or anything. :p

[Megas 27,068]

Everyone always talks about Battle For Bikini Bottom but The SpongeBob Movie was equally as good as that game 

[Sparklefan1234 161,886]

Toy Story 3 for the PlayStation 3 is one of my favorite games. 

[Clawdeen 12,110]

Easily A Hat In Time. Every time I replay this game it’s as good as the first time. Our fandom is now small and kind of non existent but we’re still persisting for the hope of some sort of sequel. We’re still here Gears. Small in numbers but still here. Feed us please. Not that Here Comes Niko wasn’t a cute and fun little game. I need more Snatcher and the Conductor in my life pls. Anyway this game is easily in my top five games of all time. After I beat all these indie games I got from the Nintendo eshop sale I’m downloading this again to replay it. This game means that much to me. 

My last mention is Gex 3. This game is a blast and I miss this franchise a lot. I read a few articles about the trilogy potentially being remastered for current platforms. I hope it happens. This game was a huge part of my childhood. 

[Lawyer Slip 1,177]

BIG TOWER TINY SQUARE THE SERIES. THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GAMES I'VE EVER PLAYED AND IT'S BETTER THAN ALL OTHER CUBE BASES GAMES. FIGHT ME MINECRAFT STANS.

[Megas 27,068]

We do not accept Mega Man 8 or Mega Man X5 slander in my household

[Lawyer Slip 1,177]

3 minutes ago, Megas said:

We do not accept Mega Man 8 or Mega Man X5 slander in my household

YES!!!!! ANOTHER NERD!!!!! LFG!!!! @Cash In I FOUND SOMEONE ELSE WHO LIKES MEGA MAN!!!!!

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,297]

2 hours ago, Lawyer Slip said:

YES!!!!! ANOTHER NERD!!!!! LFG!!!! @Cash In I FOUND SOMEONE ELSE WHO LIKES MEGA MAN!!!!!

*slowly raises paw* I love Megaman X, the original. 

On 2023-12-24 at 10:22 AM, Sparklefan1234 said:

Toy Story 3 for the PlayStation 3 is one of my favorite games. 

From what I have seen online, that game is criminally overlooked. I've not played it, BUT, I just remembered that the Xbox 360 version is backwards compatible on current Xbox consoles AND it was a Game with Gold, so I can try it out.  

On 2023-12-24 at 5:15 AM, Cash In said:

Sticking with the Sponge Man theme here. One platformer I don't hear talked about very much is SuperSponge.

I played the GBA version. It was a pretty enjoyable 2D platformer and I thought it was neat for what it was. I hear there is a PS1 version, but I never owned that.

In terms of other platformers, I'd say maybe the Rayman games? But in all fairness, those have (rightfully) been getting a lot more recognition over the years, so I wouldn't call them niche or anything. :p

The PS1 version is what I had back in the day. It has a lovely style overall, nice music too. Wouldn't mind trying out the game again.

[TechnoZ 863]

PC Oldschool Classic game from 2001. Very Classic Game back them, needs more Appreciation <3

 

[Steve Piranha 28,782]

The whole Gargoyle’s Quest trilogy