The Rise of the Traditional 3-D Platformer Collectathon Genre

[K.Rool Addict 718]

I am so damn happy to see after over a decade of neglect, my all time favorite genre of videogames is once again being brought to the limelight. Yooka-Laylee is already out (I have not gotten it yet tho >.<) and many people seem to have "mixed" opinions about it. Let's forget about the Wii U cancelation and Jontron termination drama for a sec and concentrate on the actual game itself. Many reviewers have been giving it quite low scores; with the top reasons being:

"the worlds are too big and the game forces you to explore it without any convenient means of fast travel"

"the focus of the game is on collecting McGuffins instead of platforming"

^Thankfully, for me, those are two factors which make me want to play it all the more! I hate games that take away the need to spend long amounts of time traversing the open worlds. For reference, Wind Waker's sailing mechanic was one of my favorite things in videogaming, but everyone else seems to hate it. These people would say "Oh the DS game Phantom Hourglass made the sailing so much better". Then ofc, I tried out the game in question and my reaction was something along the lines of "WTF, they NEUTERED the freaking sailing!"

Anyway, back to the genre this thread is about xD I'm just so happy to see these exploration-heavy, 3-D platformers making a proper return. First we had games like Insomniacs current gen platforming masterpieces: Sunset Overdrive and the Ratchet & Clank remake. The former delivered all that awesome open-world collectathon action with immaculate traversal controls which I craved, but it didn't really "feel" like a proper platformer exactly. The latter of which was good old Ratchet & Clank action with a slightly higher emphasis on exploration than the originals (which I was immensely pleasntly surprised by), but still it wasn't quite "open" enough for my tastes.

Now, we have Yooka-Laylee, which is already out,

 

A Hat in Time, which is coming out this year (on Pc only unfortunately Q.Q),

 

And Super Mario Odyssey coming this holiday! \(^o^)/

 

Do you guys think this new trend will continue into the future? The only thing that could make me happier would be if Insomniac releases a proper Spyro remake like they did with Racthet & Clank. Hell, Crash Bandicoot is getting a remake so why not Spyro too? Maybe even...*gasp* Jak & Daxter! \(^o^)/

 

Edited April 21, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[Floofie 799]

4 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

"the worlds are too big and the game forces you to explore it without any convenient means of fast travel"

"the focus of the game is on collecting McGuffins instead of platforming"

What? How are these complaints? I thought exploring big, open worlds and collecting things was the entire point of a collectathon. These quotes make me think that people who have never played a collectathon in their lives are jumping in to YL expecting a modern style of game and being surprised when they don't like it. And this is coming from someone who has also never played a collectathon in his life.

Speaking of never having played a collectathon in my life, which one do you recommend if I want to see if I like this genre?

4 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

(on Pc only unfortunately Q.Q)

knock, knock

Excuse me, sir. Do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior, Gabe Newell?

[K.Rool Addict 718]

6 hours ago, Sir Floof said:

What? How are these complaints? I thought exploring big, open worlds and collecting things was the entire point of a collectathon. These quotes make me think that people who have never played a collectathon in their lives are jumping in to YL expecting a modern style of game and being surprised when they don't like it. And this is coming from someone who has also never played a collectathon in his life.

My assumption would be they wanted more of a focus on "platforming" in their platformer. The term "collectathon" has become something akin to a condescending insult in this day and age. Like "Oh, get that primitive, garbage away from me; the videogame industry has evolved from all that subpar unnecessary padding." -.-

When a platformer is simply "get from point A to B" I find it to be downright boring. Sure, it can be fun for like a half hour, but what I crave is DEEP engaging virtual worlds that practically beg the player to explore. Platforming IS still important to me. I don't just want a game in which I walk from here to there, gallivanting about (frolicking in the fields, if you will), without any inherent difficulty to be found. Compare Super Mario Sunshine to Super Mario Galaxy; two platformers at the exact opposite spectrums. Sunshine offers insanely in-depth exploration, McGuffin collecting, ability based progression, multi-layered platforming goodness. Galaxy offers straight, linear platforming with little to do outside of "select level. have the game shoot you from planet to planet without any input from you. complete task on tiny, unsatisfying planets. get to your goal; rinse and repeat".

I'm sorry but I prefer games to have actual DEPTH and stimulating progression systems that keep you coming back ravenous for more, instead of simple platforming challenges ad nauseum. And dude, you have no idea how happy I am that Nintendo is finally returning to their polished 3-D platformer format with Super Mario Odyssey xD I was convinced they would be the last ones to put actual effort into their mainline platformers when "fans" would buy their by-the-numbers linear stuff like crazy. 

But yeah, Banjo-Kazooie WAS a collectathon. Banjo-Tooie was an even BIGGER collectathon. People looking forward to Yooka-Laylee should have known what they were getting themselves into with this type of game -.-

6 hours ago, Sir Floof said:

Speaking of never having played a collectathon in my life, which one do you recommend if I want to see if I like this genre?

Whatever you do, DON'T start with Sunshine as it will make every other collectathon seem disappointing by comparison xD I would save that for last ~.^

Good places to start would be: 

• Super Mario 64
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Spyro the Dragon (Ps1)
• Jak & Daxter
• Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (which has an excellent Steam port iirc; never tried it myself, but I've heard good things)

(Honestly, I find it hard to believe you have never played any of these games before >.>)

6 hours ago, Sir Floof said:

knock, knock

Excuse me, sir. Do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior, Gabe Newell?

Lol, I have never used Steam in my life, ever  Maybe if I got back into PC gaming I'd give a few games a try (would be dying to play Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen again but at 4k 60fps instead of the abysmal settings on ps3/xbox 360 -.-).

Problem is, I am not the type of person to merely buy a budget PC and be done with it. I need the absolute TOP of the line stuffs if I'm gonna invest any sort of money into a PC, so I'd likely be spending at least $2,000, not including the monitor/ keyboard/ mouse/ speakers (which is money I simply do not have atm lol).

For the time being, my Ps4 Pro and Xboner will have to suffice (which is why I expressed dismay at Hat in time being PC exclusive). Ofc, I also have countless other videogame systems all the way back to an Intellivision xD with thousands of games total, spanning the 10-20 systems/ handhelds I've got  (although, most of em just sit in my closet being unused Q.Q)

 

 

Edited April 22, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[Floofie 799]

16 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

When a platformer is simply "get from point A to B" I find it to be downright boring. Sure, it can be fun for like a half hour, but what I crave is DEEP engaging virtual worlds that practically beg the player to explore. Platforming IS still important to me. I don't just want a game in which I walk from here to there, gallivanting about (frolicking in the fields, if you will), without any inherent difficulty to be found. Compare Super Mario Sunshine to Super Mario Galaxy; two platformers at the exact opposite spectrums. Sunshine offers insanely in-depth exploration, McGuffin collecting, ability based progression, multi-layered platforming goodness. Galaxy offers straight, linear platforming with little to do outside of "select level. have the game shoot you from planet to planet without any input from you. complete task on tiny, unsatisfying planets. get to your goal; rinse and repeat".

I'm sorry but I prefer games to have actual DEPTH and stimulating progression systems that keep you coming back ravenous for more, instead of simple platforming challenges ad nauseum. And dude, you have no idea how happy I am that Nintendo is finally returning to their polished 3-D platformer format with Super Mario Odyssey xD I was convinced they would be the last ones to put actual effort into their mainline platformers when "fans" would buy their by-the-numbers linear stuff like crazy. 

I disagree with this. You can't just say a certain style of game is bad because you don't like it. Linear platforming games are fun in a different way: instead of the focus being on exploring and collecting things (although exploring levels is still encouraged, particularly in Mario games), the focus is on overcoming isolated challenges under a time limit. This type of gameplay is not unsatisfying, it just appeals to a different type of player than you.

 

15 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Whatever you do, DON'T start with Sunshine as it will make every other collectathon seem disappointing by comparison xD I would save that for last ~.^

Good places to start would be: 

• Super Mario 64
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Spyro the Dragon (Ps1)
• Jak & Daxter
• Ty the Tasmanian Tiger (which has an excellent Steam port iirc; never tried it myself, but I've heard good things)

(Honestly, I find it hard to believe you have never played any of these games before >.>)

I didn't know that Super Mario 64 is considered a collectathon. In that case, I have played a collectathon before, but only that one.

I'll look around and see where I can pick up Banjo-Kazooie or Jak & Daxter. I'm most interested in playing those two.

 

15 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Lol, I have never used Steam in my life, ever  Maybe if I got back into PC gaming I'd give a few games a try (would be dying to play Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen again but at 4k 60fps instead of the abysmal settings on ps3/xbox 360 -.-).

Problem is, I am not the type of person to merely buy a budget PC and be done with it. I need the absolute TOP of the line stuffs if I'm gonna invest any sort of money into a PC, so I'd likely be spending at least $2,000, not including the monitor/ keyboard/ mouse/ speakers (which is money I simply do not have atm lol).

For the time being, my Ps4 Pro and Xboner will have to suffice (which is why I expressed dismay at Hat in time being PC exclusive). Ofc, I also have countless other videogame systems all the way back to an Intellivision xD with thousands of games total, spanning the 10-20 systems/ handhelds I've got  (although, most of em just sit in my closet being unused Q.Q)

You don't need to spend $2,000 on parts for a high quality PC. The sweet spot is between $1,000 and $1,200: PCs in that price range have the most value for your money. Anything under that is a budget PC, and anything over that is (arguably) unnecessary. And if you're really sure you want the tippity top of the line stuff for your PC, spending $2,000 on parts alone is ridiculous.

[K.Rool Addict 718]

On April 22, 2017 at 9:56 PM, Sir Floof said:

You can't just say a certain style of game is bad because you don't like it. Linear platforming games are fun in a different way: instead of the focus being on exploring and collecting things (although exploring levels is still encouraged, particularly in Mario games), the focus is on overcoming isolated challenges under a time limit. This type of gameplay is not unsatisfying, it just appeals to a different type of player than you.

Well, that's basically what I was saying. It doesn't appeal to me, therefore, I view it in a negative light. The videogame industry has been oversaturated with these kind of platformers for the past 6-7 years and I find myself unable to really tolerate sitting through em most of the time. Maybe if these open ended collectathons had been as oversaturated as the traditional linear platform I would be sick of those instead lol. 

For an example, I like some first person shooters. Titles that come to mind: Fallout 3, Bioshock 2, Call of Duty Black Ops Zombie mode, hell, even Halo 5 was pretty damn good. But despite me enjoying some of these FPS's it doesn't stop me from feeling sick of the insane over-saturation on the FPS genre in modern AAA games.

Something kinda weird I thought I'd throw in here; I actually thought Super Mario 3D World (on the Wii U) was pretty decent. In other words, I thought it was significantly better than both Super Mario Galaxy 1&2. Despite 3D World being significantly MORE linear than the Galaxy games. So, it's not as if linearity automatically equates to "bad" in my mind, just depends on how developers handle it. I never expected to latch onto a freaking My Little Pony cartoon but the execution of the show was so damn good it didn't matter how bad the concept was

 

On April 22, 2017 at 9:56 PM, Sir Floof said:

I didn't know that Super Mario 64 is considered a collectathon. In that case, I have played a collectathon before, but only that one.

I'll look around and see where I can pick up Banjo-Kazooie or Jak & Daxter. I'm most interested in playing those two.

Did you enjoy SM 64? I know many people have issues with the camera/ janky controls (two issues which were greatly mollified in the direct sequel, Sunshine.

Banjo-Kazooie is a great experience. I would def recommend that one first. I HIGHLY suggest you don't use FAQs to figure out how to progress; it is so damn satisfying to figure things out on your own ~.^

 

On April 22, 2017 at 9:56 PM, Sir Floof said:

You don't need to spend $2,000 on parts for a high quality PC. The sweet spot is between $1,000 and $1,200: PCs in that price range have the most value for your money. Anything under that is a budget PC, and anything over that is (arguably) unnecessary. And if you're really sure you want the tippity top of the line stuff for your PC, spending $2,000 on parts alone is ridiculous.

I'm the type of person who would save up a load of $$$ and buy two 1080 Ti's and a i7 7700K on the spot xD It makes the experience so much more exciting to jump from half assed consoles to the absolute best stuff you can get on a whole nother platform, ya know

Like, if I was gaming on nothing but a Wii for years and then I bust out the cash to get my hands on a Ps4 Pro allowing my mind to be blown away~

4k, 60+ fps, Max settings sounds pretty damn enticing to me  Especially on my precious MMO's <3 (I miss my Elin Warrior so much Q.Q)

Edited April 24, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[Floofie 799]

18 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Well, that's basically what I was saying. It doesn't appeal to me, therefore, I view it in a negative light. The videogame industry has been oversaturated with these kind of platformers for the past 6-7 years and I find myself unable to really tolerate sitting through em most of the time. Maybe if these open ended collectathons had been as oversaturated as the traditional linear platform I would be sick of those instead lol. 

For an example, I like some first person shooters. Titles that come to mind: Fallout 3, Bioshock 2, Call of Duty Black Ops Zombie mode, hell, even Halo 5 was pretty damn good. But despite me enjoying some of these FPS's it doesn't stop me from feeling sick of the insane over-saturation on the FPS genre in modern AAA games.

Something kinda weird I thought I'd throw in here; I actually thought Super Mario 3D World (on the Wii U) was pretty decent. In other words, I thought it was significantly better than both Super Mario Galaxy 1&2. Despite 3D World being significantly MORE linear than the Galaxy games. So, it's not as if linearity automatically equates to "bad" in my mind, just depends on how developers handle it. I never expected to latch onto a freaking My Little Pony cartoon but the execution of the show was so damn good it didn't matter how bad the concept was

To me, your post came off as, "I think all linear platformers are boring and bad because I don't like them!" But if what bothers you is the over-saturation of linear platformers and not that you just hate all of them just because they're a certain genre, then that's all right.

 

17 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Did you enjoy SM 64? I know many people have issues with the camera/ janky controls (two issues which were greatly mollified in the direct sequel, Sunshine.

I did enjoy SM64! I don't remember having any issues with the controls or the camera, either.

 

20 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Banjo-Kazooie is a great experience. I would def recommend that one first. I HIGHLY suggest you don't use FAQs to figure out how to progress; it is so damn satisfying to figure things out on your own ~.^

I'll play Banjo-Kazooie first, then. Thanks for the advice!

 

21 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

I'm the type of person who would save up a load of $$$ and buy two 1080 Ti's and a i7 7700K on the spot xD It makes the experience so much more exciting to jump from half assed consoles to the absolute best stuff you can get on a whole nother platform, ya know

Like, if I was gaming on nothing but a Wii for years and then I bust out the cash to get my hands on a Ps4 Pro allowing my mind to be blown away~

4k, 60+ fps, Max settings sounds pretty damn enticing to me  Especially on my precious MMO's <3 (I miss my Elin Warrior so much Q.Q)

I get that you'd want the best of the best for your hypothetical PC, but spending that much just isn't worth it, IMO. But, it's your PC. If buying a two-thousand dollar beast of a PC would make you happy, go for it!