Genre of the Month (JAN 2024 TR) - Plentiful Platformers

[Ziggy]

Together Retro - January 2024 - Plentiful Platformers



The platformer genre has dominated for pretty much the entire history of video games. Even with the shift into 3D, the platformer genre evolved into 3D platformers (Mario 64, Banjo, etc). And yet, as fun as the 3D platformer can be, there's still something special about the 2D platformer. That is why game developers came full circle and started making 2D side scrolling platformers again.



One of the neat things about platformers is that they can be combined with so many other genres. The baseline platformer is all about running and jumping as the core gameplay mechanics. There's the classic hop 'n bop, like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog. Then there's run and gun, like Contra and Metal Slug. There's hack 'n slash like Castlevania or The Legendary Axe. There's the so-called cinematic platformer, which would include games like Another World (AKA Out of this World) and Flashback. As already mentioned, there are 3D platformers such as Mario and Banjo.



So let's talk about all things platformers this month! What are some of your favorites? What would you like to play this month?

[Raging Justice]

A lot of my earliest gaming memories involve platformers so I love the genre. At this point in my life it might even be my favorite genre. I think it's one of the most accessible genres, everyone loves Mario and everyone loves Sonic (when the games are actually good). Hop n bop, or mascot platformers, whatever you choose to call them tend to be fun for everyone. These are games that appeal to all genders, ages, etc. and can usually be enjoyed with family. They're also the best games to play when you just want something to put you in a good mood. Mario and Sonic has finally broken the curse of bad video game movies too in the past few years, and were successful enough to remind us all of how big of an influence the platform genre has. These two giants of the genre are now making big bucks in Hollywood. I have issues with the Mario movie, but I LOVE the two Sonic movies though



I have to express my love for the Sly Cooper series, hoping it makes a come back one day, and the Ratchet and Clank series. Even though they have a lot of shooter gunplay there is still a heavy platformer element to the Ratchet and Clank series. I think the R and C games are maybe the biggest names in the genre currently, behind Mario and Sonic. Too bad the movie was a flop though.

In recent years, we gotten some other great games of this ilk that I think deserve recognition. Astro Bot Rescue Mission is fantastic, and I would recommend it to people regardless of whether or not they care about VR gaming. It's just a great platform game, and it could potentially convert you to VR. Rescue Mission is in my opinion a magical experience that you will remember for years. Its follow up Astro's Playroom on the PS 5 is slightly less impressive but still an excellent game too and doesn't require VR equipment to play. Astro's Playroom is also like a celebration of the Playstation brand with so many references to its entire history. I think that makes it a very special game. Honestly, Astro should be the Playstation mascot. You'd think he was if you played Astro's Playroom. Team Asobi is a development studio to keep an eye on in the future. Their games are special and for me personally, they are Sony's best first party studio but also the one you never hear about.



I think New Super Lucky's Tale is a great game too. It's a fun platformer with diverse levels and really charming and funny characters. I would tell anyone who plays it to actually take the time to talk to the NPCs and more than once too. There is a lot of great dialog there that a lot of players miss out on. What I also love is that this game does both 3d and 2d platforming really well.

And if we go all the way back to 2013, Puppeteer is an amazing game full of surprises. Like Astro Bot Rescue Mission it's kind of a magical game and truly one of a kind. You never know what to expect from level to level and it's so full of great secrets and easter eggs to find. It even has a light Mega Man element to it. Your character has different, interchangeable heads (cause he's a puppet) and sometimes coming to a boss fight with the right head equipped can dramatically change how the fight plays out. There's a narrator and a sidekick character who provide lots of commentary throughout the game to keep things interesting, and the whole game plays out like a stage play. The new princess Peach game coming out on the Switch this year has drawn comparisons to Puppeteer, so I think it's relevant to talk about now.



When it comes to metroidvanias, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will always be on top for me. Symphony of the Night is STILL getting people's attention to this day. A Sega Genesis version is being worked on and I just saw a thread here about an upgraded version of the Saturn port. Bloodstained Ritual of the Moon is noteworthy as the unofficial continuation of the metroid style Castlevania games, even though the Switch port was a bit of a mess. That game was excellent and it spawned two great classic, linear style, Castlevania games in Curse of the Moon and Curse of the Moon 2. The second one gets really damn hard though with some long ass levels.

Infernax is a must play too for people who were disappointed with Castlevania II on the NES. It takes that game's formula and does it exceptionally well. It's got a little bit of Zelda II influence too I think.



I really love that Castlevania has successfully transitioned into multimedia with two animated shows on Netflix. The first series is excellent, with amazing animations and absolutely mind blowing action sequences. I hear the new series is great too.




The indie scene has pumped out so many good metroidvanias in recent years. Inti Creates has really made a name for themselves and I plan on playing their latest, Yohane the Parhelion Blaze, as soon as my Switch copy arrives. Some other greats ones that I love are the Guacamelee games which are such a perfect fusion of platformer and beat 'em up, Dust an Elysian Tail which has charming characters and amazing visuals and music all from a one man dev team, and Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth which is a really nice budget sized Symphony of the Night clone for fans of the Lodoss War anime or books.

I love the ninja style hack n slash, or action platformers (again, whatever you want to call them) like Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi, and we have some great modern takes on those. I think the best is The Messenger and everyone needs to play that game. It is truly special. It's a great evolution of the NES Ninja Gaiden games. The platforming is deeper and more fun, and it has a world full of great characters and lore that the studio carried over into a successful turn based RPG called Sea of Stars.



I also love the Mega Man X series and wonder if those games will ever get resurrected. I think everyone who loves those games should check out Smelter, a great fusion of Mega Man X gameplay with Actraiser's RTS elements. It's especially worth checking out if you like the melee focused gameplay of Zero in the Mega Man X games. It also has a weird but compelling story featuring Adam and Eve of biblical fame.



Oh, and Kaze and the Wild Masks is a great game for fans of the Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES. I loved the first two DKC games on the SNES, never played the third one though



I could go on and on about platformers, it's a great genre with TONS of games.

[Note]

Hey Ziggy, thanks for organizing! I always enjoy reading through others' experiences or takes on the topics presented in Together Retro.

Regarding platformers, some favorites that I played through the past few years were Rayman Origins (360), Kirby's Adventure (NES), Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (GEN), and Ratchet & Clank (PS2).

Out of this list, Rayman Origins was the biggest sleeper hit for me. I ended up playing it as a TR game in January 2021 with not much expectation, and ended up being hooked and really enjoying it. The game was challenging but I didn't find the difficulty to be cheap and the controls felt precise. Also, the levels had a lot of variety, and the visual style was unique.

A few other platformers I would like to check out and beat this year is Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (PS2), Sly Cooper (PS2), and Kirby's Dream Land 2 (GB). Also, I'd like to revisit some of the remakes on Super Mario All-stars and Donkey Kong Country 3. DKC3 is a game I've played a bit of, but never finished! After finishing DKC2 in 2023, I think it's only right I finish up the last game in the trilogy.

Looking forward to reading about others favorites and recommendations!

[Raging Justice]

Do a lot of people view run n gun games as platformers? I never did, simply due to the fact that most of the challenge of those games doesn't really come from the platforming. It's the twitch based, moment to moment action. Like I have never played a Contra or Metal Slug game that had really complex platforming in them, something I consider key to the genre. I do spend a lot of time dodging incoming rockets, bullets, etc, etc. in those games though, while also trying to blast every thing that moves. That is the true run n gun experience to me. It's not about platforming.

On the subject of cinematic platformers, I saw a wikipedia article cite Tomb Raider as the first one in 3d. I never viewed TR as a cinematic platformer so that is interesting. Tomb raider was always primarily a puzzle game to me, but there is no denying that it had a lot of challenging platforming that frustrated some. I always had an easy time because a lot of the platforming was easy once you understand how to handle Lara's movements in that game. They are releasing remasters of the original trilogy soon on the Switch, so it's a good time to appreciate old Tomb Raider again. They should really re-release TR: Anniversary as well

For me, the Oddworld games are primarily my favorite cinematic platformers.

I think it's also fun to talk about the many animation heavy platformers that came out in the 16-bit era, like Aladdin, the Jungle Book, Earthworm Jim, Cool Spot, Comic Zone, Mickey Mania, and The Adventures of Batman and Robin on the SNES. For a while, there was a great emphasis on fluid animation in a lot of games of that era, even something like Vectorman comes to mind. I have great memories of those many games, many of them felt like interactive cartoons. This feels like a precursor to the cell shading we'd first see in Jet Grind Radio that gave that game a cartoon-like look. Then things kind of come full circle with the Sly Cooper games, also using cel shaded to make a trilogy of games that looked like interactive cartoons.

[Stark]

I'm down! I already started a Castlevania run last year, and I am currently playing Symphony of the Night. It's deserving of it's vaunted reputation but another one that I recently played through that would be great for y'all to check out if you haven't is Rondo of Blood for the PCEngine CD. I played through a translation ROM and the pixel graphics and controls are sublime and Symphony of the Night is the sequel. Check it out!

[Note]

I've just started to explore the TurboGrafx-16 and TurboGrafx CD library the past year or so, and Rondo of Blood is high on my list to sit down and play through. I grabbed an ISO of the translated version and checked it out a bit, and was very impressed. Some really great stuff on the TG/PCE at that time!

[prfsnl_gmr]

Rondo of Blood is a god-tier action platform. I’ve played through both the TG-16 version and the underrated PSP remake a few times. I’m glad everyone’s enjoying it! The wonky SNES port - Dracula X - is also really good, even if it’s a bit too hard and not nearly as good as the TG-16 original. I recommend that too if you’re a Castlevania fan.

I also can’t recommend the Bloodstained series highlyly enough if you’re a Castlevania fan. I played through all of them last year, and I LOVED them. The Curse of the Moon games are both outstanding classic-vania clones, and despite some performance issues on the Switch, Ritual of the Night is an amazing metroidvania.

As mentioned above, Infernax is another amazing Castlevania-inspired action platformer. It plays a bit more like Castlevania II (or Zelda II…or Wonder Boy in Monster World). The high levels of gore and violence may be a turn off for some, but the gameplay, branching paths, and secrets are rock solid.

Any other good modern action platformers for Castlevania fans?

[Ziggy]

Lots of great comments! I've been sick the last few days and I'm playing catch up on everything. I'd like to reply to more comments, but here's a few for now...

DKC3 is a game I've played a bit of, but never finished! After finishing DKC2 in 2023, I think it's only right I finish up the last game in the trilogy.

DKC3 is severely underrated, and often overly criticized. It's like the main complaint is that it isn't DKC2. But here's the thing: If DKC 1 or 2 never existed, and Rare just made some quirky platformer (like they totally would) in the middle of the SNES life, than this would have been a much more highly regarded game. But instead, it gets unfairly compared to DKC2. I say unfairly, because DKC2 is pretty much a *perfect* game. I admire DKC3 for switching things up and trying to be different, rather than riding the coat tails of DKC2. It may be a tad harder, which is often a complaint, but that's still no reason to hate on it.

Long story short: DKC3 is a top-tier SNES platformer. Absolutely worth playing!

Do a lot of people view run n gun games as platformers?

I think for most people (myself included) the platformer is mostly the hop 'n bop stuff like Mario, Sonic, Donkey Kong, etc. But run 'n gun is technically a sub genre of the platformer, because the fundamental aspects of it (running and jumper) are still at the core of the gameplay. But I think games like Contra and Metal Slug are so fantastic that it's almost disrespectful to call it a sub genre. Run 'n gun games are so awesome that the genre stands on its own. Like how no one refers to Frasier as that spin-off of Cheers. And yet Joey is that failed spin-off of Friends that no one knows about.

That said... What genre is Mega Man? Wikipedia lists it as platformer. But isn't it sorta a run 'n gun? But that doesn't seem right either.

I'm down! I already started a Castlevania run last year, and I am currently playing Symphony of the Night. It's deserving of it's vaunted reputation but another one that I recently played through that would be great for y'all to check out if you haven't is Rondo of Blood for the PCEngine CD. I played through a translation ROM and the pixel graphics and controls are sublime and Symphony of the Night is the sequel. Check it out!

I was hesitant to mention Metroidvania because it's such a well defined sub genre that it became a genre of it's own. Much like run 'n guns.

That said, yeah, Symphony of the Night is an amazing game. Definitely one of my all time favorites.

Rondo of Blood is a top-tier hack 'n slash platformer. And miles ahead of any other platformer on the TG16.

I've just started to explore the TurboGrafx-16 and TurboGrafx CD library the past year or so, and Rondo of Blood is high on my list to sit down and play through. I grabbed an ISO of the translated version and checked it out a bit, and was very impressed. Some really great stuff on the TG/PCE at that time!

Yes, the TG16/PCE is a very underrated console. Legendary Axe and it's sequel are noteworthy hack 'n slash platformers, speaking about Castlevania. Rondo of Blood is just on another level, but the Legendary Axe games are great when compared to ordinary games (Rondo being extraordinary).

The wonky SNES port - Dracula X - is also really good, even if it’s a bit too hard and not nearly as good as the TG-16 original.

Glad to see that game getting some love. It's in the shadow of the "real" Dracula X, for sure. And I can't help but feel like it could have been a lot better if they spent time to polish it a little. But as it is, it's not a terrible game at all. It's grown on me more and more over the years.

Any other good modern action platformers for Castlevania fans?

You mean, that aren't Metroidvania? There's a ton of those. But yeah, I'd like to learn of other traditional style Castlevania-like games.

[Raging Justice]

There's a LOT of platforming in Mega Man games so no I don't consider them run n guns. They don't require anywhere near the twitch based reflexes as a run n gun. You'll never see the screen filled with projectiles and explosions everywhere in a Mega Man game. That kind of intense action that run n guns have doesn't exist in Mega Man titles. Mega Man games are first and foremost about the platforming.

I'm kind of stickler about genres and it pisses people off sometimes so I have to try and remember to be respectful of differing opinions. In my mind though, genres are clearly defined. For example, I firmly believe that Zelda games are NOT rpgs and 2d fighters and beat 'em ups are SEPERATE genres, and I have pissed people off in the past with those view points. I don't care though, it's what I believe.

Metroidvania isn't a real genre either. They're just platformers with interconnected worlds that encourage exploring and back tracking. The vania part shouldn't even exist because Metroid did it first. They're not metroidvania games. They're just metroid clones.

People hate facts though. They just want to believe what they want to believe.

[Limewater]

Metroidvania isn't a real genre either. They're just platformers with interconnected worlds that encourage exploring and back tracking. The vania part shouldn't even exist because Metroid did it first. They're not metroidvania games. They're just metroid clones.

People hate facts though. They just want to believe what they want to believe.

Metroid isn't even the first game to fit that description. Side-view platforming adventure games with interconnected worlds and backtracking existed for at least a couple of years before Metroid's release.

Maybe we should be calling all of them "Below the Root clones." I'm not even sure Below the Root is the first. It's just the earliest I've ever heard of. It's been on my "to play" list for over 20 years. Maybe I'll finally get around to it this year.