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Your favorite (non-Mario) 3D platformer
- Thread starter Unknownlight
- Start date
The first Jak & Daxter is soo good. Replayed it when the PS3 remaster came out and that game aged really well. Of the Crash trilogy I prefer the second game, they nailed the sweet spot for challenge in that game. Mirror's Edge also seems more special as time goes on.
I had no nostalgia for the Spyro games but recently played the first two and enjoyed them, first one in particular. It feels like such a chill game for a lack of a better term: just find all the dragons, collect all the gems, next level. The 'bosses' are just regular enemies that take a few more hits. It's so simple but that's the charm, the sequel just added more stuff to do but it's not the better game imo.
I really need to play the Ape Escapde games, but looks like only the second is on PS4.
I had no nostalgia for the Spyro games but recently played the first two and enjoyed them, first one in particular. It feels like such a chill game for a lack of a better term: just find all the dragons, collect all the gems, next level. The 'bosses' are just regular enemies that take a few more hits. It's so simple but that's the charm, the sequel just added more stuff to do but it's not the better game imo.
I really need to play the Ape Escapde games, but looks like only the second is on PS4.
I think it only makes sense that Super Mario is so dominant in the genre.The IP is fully owned by Nintendo, a multi-billion dollar console manufacturer with time and resources to spare, and is only worked on by world-class developers with guidance from both the original creator and the other veterans that helped develop some of the series' best games. It also helps that Nintendo has cultivated an audience that actually wants colorful character-action platforming games.
This just isn't the case with a lot of the other big/beloved platforming IPs. They were/are screwed over in a lot of ways.
Crash Bandicoot ended up staying with Universal Interactive Studios due to the housekeeping deal that Jason and Andy took. Universal Interactive being an impatient, clueless, and greedy publisher stripped away the pioneering IP's quality and identity by bouncing it around from random studio to random studio and giving the games incredibly strict and short development cycles. Only now has the IP been put back on the right track with N. Sane, Nitro-Fueled, the mobile game, and Crash 4, but I imagine we would've gotten stuff like this a lot sooner if Sony had just bough the IP from Universal in 1999. Spyro was the basically the same situation btw.
Sonic the Hedgehog was hurt by the loss of Hirokazu Yasuhara, Sonic being a lot less popular in Japan, SoJ letting Sonic Team revel in their worst indulgences with Sonic Adventure, and the death of SEGA as a console manufacturer.
The Rayman IP has managed to remain consistently great thanks to being wholly owned by Ubisoft and having its original creator around. But the problem there is that we basically don't get any Rayman games if Michel Ancel is too busy or has no motivation to make one.
Rare has become an entirely different studio since the 90s and have expressed that they have very little interest in developing a new Banjo-Kazooie game. MS also has little motivation to resurrect the IP because the Xbox audience isn't asking for it.
And Naughty Dog has also become an entirely different studio following the departure of Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin and has also stated that they have no interest in making another Jak & Daxter (or any kind of cartoony platformer for that matter). Sony also has little motivation to resurrect the series because the post-PS2 PlayStation audience isn't really asking for it.
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It's a tough split between Banjo Kazooie and Jak 1, with Astro Bot and Psychonauts close behind.
But I wanna give a shout out to a lovely little game, that most people have forgotten that I loved back in the 2000's which deserves a bit of love in a thread like this.
Kya Dark Lineage. A super fun game that was extremely technically proficient in a similar way to Jak 1. Also bonus points for some decent representation with the main character. Check it out if you can.
But I wanna give a shout out to a lovely little game, that most people have forgotten that I loved back in the 2000's which deserves a bit of love in a thread like this.
Kya Dark Lineage. A super fun game that was extremely technically proficient in a similar way to Jak 1. Also bonus points for some decent representation with the main character. Check it out if you can.
Controversial opinion time, I don't particularly care for any 3D Mario in the first place nor do I go for many of the games that followed it's lead.
The very first Tomb Raider has my vote. I like it's challenging approach to platforming and the first game is before they added way too much shooting to the mix. I also love Psychonauts but that's more for the writing and adventure game aspects rather than the platforming that initially had me abandon the game before it gets good with the Milkman level.
The very first Tomb Raider has my vote. I like it's challenging approach to platforming and the first game is before they added way too much shooting to the mix. I also love Psychonauts but that's more for the writing and adventure game aspects rather than the platforming that initially had me abandon the game before it gets good with the Milkman level.
Spyro, Sly and Prince of Persia SOT are top tier for me.
Portal counts for me even with the heavy emphasis of puzzles.
Portal counts for me even with the heavy emphasis of puzzles.
This thread makes me a little sad, because the lack of variety makes it so clear that the 3D plarformer's popularity was really short lived. I know they're not completely gone, but I sure would like to see more of them these days.
Psychonauts for me. The creativity and variety of levels was great, the game mechanics maybe weren't the most polished but nevertheless worked well and was fun to play.. it was also really refreshing to play something in the genre with actually likeable characters and good writing.
Characters like Sonic just become awful after the gave him voice..
If we count 2.5D too I'll give a shoutout to Klonoa.
Characters like Sonic just become awful after the gave him voice..
If we count 2.5D too I'll give a shoutout to Klonoa.
I've always had some weird feelings about Portal being considered a platformer, and yet I totally get it. It's not a shooter, it therefore can't be a First Person Shooter. But for example, Half Life 1. It features platforming, does it having guns and also fitting under the label FPS make it not a platformer? I feel like Portal and games of it's ilk demand their own genre listing. I realize I'm the girl who came in here joking about DKC being a "3D" platformer, but I do this less because I find actual meaning in calling it such and more just using it as an exercise to question some of these labels in general.
you shoot portals
from your portal gun
its a fps with puzzle elements/focus
Yeah, I meant 3D platformers. I'd rather play at least Pac Man World 2, Jak and Daxter, the Crash trilogy, and Sly 2 than any Mario games.
I mean, to each their own lol.
Putting Pac-Man World 2 over Galaxy is quite the opinion though.
I remember enjoying Spyro as a kid. Gonna start the trilogy soon. I loved DK64 too but never tried Banjo Kazooie. I've been playing Yooka-Laylee lately. Poi was also a decent little 64-inspired platformer.
A Hat in Time on Switch though...what a mess. I had high hopes for it too.
A Hat in Time on Switch though...what a mess. I had high hopes for it too.
This one is really overlooked. Super Mario 64 fans should try it.
I prefer Pac Man World 2 over Galaxy and the other Mario games for a lot of reasons. But yeah, this is my opinion.
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OP
OP
Darn, the 3D platformer genre is exactly as small as I feared.
Shout-outs to you guys for naming games that I didn't know about.
The best 3D-platformer that (almost) nobody played:
Shout-outs to you guys for naming games that I didn't know about.
Banjo and Ratchet & Clank. I always thought Crash, Ape Escape, Spyro and Croc were awful in comparison to 3D Mario (although admittedly I only played the demos from PS Magazine).
It's a very difficult comparison tbh because Nintendo have one of their top internal teams making 3D Mario games with a massive budget vs much smaller teams / budgets of the games I mentioned above outside of maybe Crash but even then ND were in no way what they're today in the 90's. It would be like ND making a modern open level 3D Crash with a budget of $50 million. I'm sure that would be phenomenal and a real competitor to Mario Odyssey in terms of level design and art direction but it will unfortunately never happen. That would probably be great for ND employees mental health after creating the horrors of TLOU II.
It's a very difficult comparison tbh because Nintendo have one of their top internal teams making 3D Mario games with a massive budget vs much smaller teams / budgets of the games I mentioned above outside of maybe Crash but even then ND were in no way what they're today in the 90's. It would be like ND making a modern open level 3D Crash with a budget of $50 million. I'm sure that would be phenomenal and a real competitor to Mario Odyssey in terms of level design and art direction but it will unfortunately never happen. That would probably be great for ND employees mental health after creating the horrors of TLOU II.
Recent ones, Super Lucky's Tale is quite good and greatly overlooked.
Astro Bot is one of the bests ever... Damn shame even on VR people ignored it.
Astro Bot is one of the bests ever... Damn shame even on VR people ignored it.
I have a very broad definition of what makes a "platformer". Does Katamary Damacy count?
If not, gotta go with this:
Jet Set Radio Future
If not, gotta go with this:
Jet Set Radio Future
OP
OP
I am super pleased that at least one other person mentioned SRB2. 🙂
Spyro for being so chill and atmospheric. And that's inclusive of Mario. Not a fan of the 3D Mario games at all.
Wow I'm honestly impressed that TR and Vexx got mentioned this quickly. BK is my absolute favourite but these are all fantastic platformers for their own reasons. Sly 1 is up there too.
I also played some Croc again recently and its still remarkably solid.
Banjo-Kazooie, Rayman 2, Crash Bandicoot 2 and Ape Escape. But if I had to choose one, Banjo-Kazooie
By the way, I've veen replaying Jak & Daxter for the first time in quite a lot of years and I'm a bit disappointed, the jumping feels a bit too heavy for me, it seems you can barely reach anything without double jumping and the worlds are smaller than I remembered and not that interesting. And I loved this game as a kid
By the way, I've veen replaying Jak & Daxter for the first time in quite a lot of years and I'm a bit disappointed, the jumping feels a bit too heavy for me, it seems you can barely reach anything without double jumping and the worlds are smaller than I remembered and not that interesting. And I loved this game as a kid
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Yes, but it has 3D backgrounds
so Ha, technicality....it is a 3D game.
