Platformer Hidden Gems

[MattJay]

What are some of your favorite underrated platformers?

Here's my quick list:

Darkwing Duck
-It's Mega Man with a Darkwing Duck skin. Need I say more?
Sonic Pocket Adventure
-One of the more popular NGPC titles, SPA is like Sonic 2 remixed. It takes the less fun parts of Sonic 2 and makes them better, then takes the more fun parts and makes THEM better. It even improves most of the boss battles plus adds a save feature.
Drill Dozer
-Made by the creators of Pokemon, Drill Dozer is a fantastic platformer that utilizes new and unique play mechanics based around riding around in a little drill mech. Unfortunately it got buried after being released later than the DS.
Pulseman
-Also from Game Freak, the makers of Pokemon, Pulseman controls unlike any other platformer of its time. Building up a static charge while running allows you to use powers like bolts of electricity and flying as a ball of static. It's like an adorable version of InFamous.
Trip World
-The Game Boy spiritual sequel to...
Mr. Gimmick
-...one of the most unique NES platformers in its library.
Rocket Knight Adventures
-The only good thing to come out of the mid 90's mascot craze.
A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
-It's intelligently designed, beautiful, and has a HUG BUTTON.
Dynamite Heady
-Controlling more like a run n' gun with platformer elements, Dynamite Headdy is a wonderful, yet sometimes forgotten, entry into Treasure's Sega Genesis library.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
-Beautiful game that uses speed in a really interesting way.
Disney games
-Too many to list, but here's a few:
[*]World of Illusion
[*]The Magical Quest series
[*]Mickey No Tokyo Disneyland Dibouken
[*]Land of Illusion
[*]Castle of Illusion
[*]Quackshot
[*]Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers

What are some of yours?

[Snatch1414]

Dunno how obscure these really are but without question I'd say Kid Chameleon and also I liked Cool Spot.

[MattJay]

Dunno how obscure these really are but without question I'd say Kid Chameleon and also I liked Cool Spot.

I'd definitely count both of those. Kid Chameleon is pretty popular with Genesis kids. But outside people who didn't own a SNES on which to play Super Mario World, it's pretty obscure.

And it's really tough to get people to believe how good Cool Spot is. Plus I think it was the first game Tommy Talarico worked on.

Good adds!

[dogman91]

Claw.

Claw! It is my avatar. One of my favorite games... it's a very over-looked PC side-scroller with great dialogue, level design, boss fights, abilities, awesome music and etc. etc. I used to design my own levels back in the day with the level editor...

The story revolves a cat pirate going up against the "dog" authorities in an attempt to steal the "nine gems of the amulet", kind of like Pirates of the Caribbean with cats/dogs. Disney animators apparently helped with the cut scenes, btw.

Random gameplay video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5utkpJtbYf0

It's apparently abandonware, so please feel free to try it out. This game does not get the attention it deserves, unlike other "gems" I've seen covered on all over the internet. Relevant link: http://www.kapitanpazur.piasta.pl/en/index.html (hint: scroll down in the news section).

It's more like an action-platformer than a pure platformer, but oh man is it a great game.

[noiseredux]

Nightmare on Elm Street (NES) is one of my favorite games of all time.

[BoringSupreez]

Is this going to become an article for the front page?

Games I think qualify as hidden gems are:
Commander Keen episodes 4-6
Pacman World 2
Rayman
Rayman 3
the entire Sly series
Conker's Bad Fur Day (or Live and Reloaded)
Psychonauts
Yoshi's Island DS

I realize many of these games are well known to us and may once have been popular, but they have been largely forgotten by the mainstream today. Commander Keen was never super popular, and the fact that it's ancient now doesn't help it any, the Pacman World series is over, Rayman and Rayman 3 are passed over in favor of Rayman 2 and Raving Rabbids, the Sly series has never been a big deal, Conker, despite getting plenty of fame, hasn't actually been played by that many people, Psychonauts looked too weird for most people to bother with, and Yoshi's Island DS, for some strange reason, just wasn't that popular despite being a Nintendo game.

I second Rocket Knight Adventures and Drill Dozer.

[Croooow!]

Joe & Mac on SNES for me.

[samsonlonghair]

Back in September when Racketboy was soliciting nominations for Genesis hidden gems, I nominated this platformer:

I have to nominate Marvel Land (a.k.a. Talmit's Adventure) for a hidden gem. Like all good platformers, Marvel Land starts out easy and quickly gets hard. Each of the four worlds has six or seven areas plus a boss level. Only the most skilled gamer can beat all thirty levels without using the warps. Only then can one defeat the final boss: The Mole King!

This is not your typical Mario clone; The level design, the character design, and the powerups all stand out. The whole game takes place in a colorful amusement park. Some levels are on roller coasters, on ferris wheels, or on swinging pirate ship rides. The enemies are colorful and original; my favorites are the carnivorous hamburger, the home-run-hitting grasshopper, and the pirate with the boomerang hat. The character designers didn't slouch on Prince Talmit's design either. The main character is a half-dragon with lots of whimsy. His facial expression changes when he encounters an enemy. Prince Tamlit has a dragon tail and little dragon ears. Talmit's dragon nature factors into the powerup system as well. The Dragon Wings greatly increase Talmit's jump height and allow him to fly a fair distance through the area. Prince Talmit's Spirit Tail is my favorite powerup from any platformer. With this unique power Talmit can attack enemies in 360 degrees, but the player must use the attack wisely. Each time Talmit kills an enemy with his spirit tail, he looses one spirit of his own.

Ultimately, Marvel Land is one of the best platformers on the Genesis and sorely overlooked. I urge you to include Marvel Land in your hidden gems article, Racketboy.

I was pleased that part of what I wrote made it to the front page (albeit uncredited). Please excuse the egotism of quoting myself. I only do this because it's relevant to this thread.

Psychonauts
...
I second Rocket Knight Adventures and Drill Dozer.

I'm going to second Psychonauts; that's an effing brilliant game. I'll third Drill Dozer; I'm playing it right now. I can't third RKA; it is a great platformer, but hardly hidden. This game was super popular and remains that way.

Nightmare on Elm Street (NES) is one of my favorite games of all time.

Nightmare on Elm Street seems more like an action platformer in the vein of Castlevainia (no pun intended) than a true platformer.

Dunno how obscure these really are but without question I'd say Kid Chameleon and also I liked Cool Spot.

I'd definitely count both of those. Kid Chameleon is pretty popular with Genesis kids. But outside people who didn't own a SNES on which to play Super Mario World, it's pretty obscure.

After hearing how great Kid Chameleon is for many years, I finally bought a copy and found it pretty disappointing. It just doesn't hold up today. If you want a classic Genesis platformer, try Decap Attack.

[MattJay]

Decap Attack and Psychonauts are excellent choices. I need to try out CLAW and Nightmare on Elm Street.

[noiseredux]

Nightmare on Elm Street seems more like an action platformer in the vein of Castlevainia (no pun intended) than a true platformer.

"true" platformer?

And what was the pun?