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Best platformer games on GamesNostalgia

Platform games, or platformers, a simple concept of moving your character through a side-view environment, became a hit with Donkey Kong in 1981.

Since then, many cult franchises have originated from platformers. Mega Man is one of the Japanese platformer classics that kickstarted its own franchise. Not only it looked great at that time, but it also offered freedom in choosing the level order.

Other games were more narrative-focused. Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia became a hit (although not immediately) due to its cinematic animations but also due to its setting. A warrior in the middle east who fights through dungeons to save a princess is a classic story, after all. This genre also includes some iconic arcades such as Bubble Bobble and The New Zealand Story, as well as the Atari legend Pitfall!.

In the '90s, Disney released some fantastic platformers based on its movies, starting from Disney's Aladdin movie and Disney's Hercules. We should also not forget some Amiga legendary titles like Superfrog and Another World.

With 3D graphics and environments, platformers became less popular, but games like Claw and Rayman show that this concept is not only for 16-bit or 8-bit computers.

This section mainly lists "pure" platformers, where shooting is not required, or it's a secondary mechanic. If you like these games, you should also check platform-shooter.

Disney's Tarzan windows

Disney's Tarzan (also known as Tarzan Action Game) is a platformer created by Eurocom Developments and published by Disney in 1999. Released for PlayStation and Windows, later, it was also ported to Nintendo 64.

Year: 1999 Genre: Platformer

2.5d cartoon disney jungle licensed movies platformer side-scrolling

Mario Forever windows

Mario Forever is a freeware clone/unofficial remake of the famous Super Mario Bros. It was created by Buziol Games, and it was released for Windows only in 2004. After many request...

Year: 2004 Genre: Platformer

clone enhanced remakes freeware platformer side-scrolling super mario clone

The Lion King dosamigagenesis

The Lion King is the video game adaptation of the Disney movie with the same title and was developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1994. ...

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

aga basher cartoon disney genesis original game hand-drawn animations hop and bop movies platformer

Disney's Aladdin amigagenesisgame-boy-color

Disney's Aladdin, one of the most successful port from a movie to videogame, is a 2D side scrolling platformer developed by Virgin Games based on the Disney 1992 motion picture. Graphics and animation were created by Disney itself.

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

aga cartoon disney fairy tale genesis original game hand-drawn animations middle east movies platformer side-scrolling

Ghosts 'N Goblins Remake windows

Ghosts 'n Goblins Remake is a freeware clone of the 1985 popular side-scrolling platforming game developed by Capcom for arcades..

Year: 2004 Genre: Arcade

arcade clone dark fantasy enhanced remakes freeware horror platformer side-scrolling sword and sorcery

Mario & Luigi dos

Mario & Luigi is a simple but very nice clone of Super Mario Bros developed by Mike Wiering in 1994. Controls are very simple: Ctrl to Run, Alt to Jump, Space to Fire, Left and Right arrows to walk.

Year: 2001 Genre: Platformer

clone freeware platformer super mario clone

Claw windows

Claw is a 2D platformer developed and published by Monolith Productions as a PC exclusive in 1997. Despite the fanmade adaptations and the repeated attempts to continue the story officially, it did not receive any sequel.

Year: 1997 Genre: Platformer

2d cartoon multiplayer pirates platformer side-scrolling

Disney's The Jungle Book dosgenesis

Disney's The Jungle Book is a platformer created by Virgin Interactive (aka Virgin Games) based on the 1967 Disney animated film. The team behind Aladdin (including David Bishop an...

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

2d cartoon disney genesis original game hand-drawn animations jungle movies platformer

Bubble Bobble amiga

Bubble Bobble is one of the most famous arcades ever created and a personal favorite of GamesNostalgia. This 2D cartoon action platformer designed by Fukio Mitsuji (aka MTJ) was released by Taito initially in 1986.

Year: 1987 Genre: Platformer

2 players arcade clear screen co-op coin-op conversion platformer

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow & The Flame dosgenesis

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame is the sequel to the original Prince of Persia, developed and published by Broderbund Software it was released in 1993. This seque...

Year: 1993 Genre: Platformer

cinematic fantasy middle east platformer puzzle platformer

Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle dos

Commander Keen 4: Secret of the Oracle is the fourth game in the Commander Keen series and the first in the second series "Goodbye, Galaxy". Developed by idSoftware, it was released in 1991 for MS-DOS.

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

2d platformer science fiction

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure windowsgenesis

Pitfall: the Mayan Adventure is a side-scrolling action platformer. It's the forth game in the Pitfall series. It was developed by Activision in partnership with Redline games and published by Activision in 1994.

Year: 1995 Genre: Platformer

genesis original game hand-drawn animations jungle platformer side-scrolling

Commander Keen: Aliens Ate My Babysitter! dos

Commander Keen: Aliens Ate My Babysitter! is the final episode of the famous series of side-scrolling platformers created by id Software. The game, published in 1991 by FormGen, wa...

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

2d platformer science fiction side-scrolling

Commander Keen dos

Commander Keen 1: Marooned on Mars is the first in the franchise of side scrollers of the same name, developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software in 1990 for DOS. There are 5 entries into the series.

Year: 1990 Genre: Platformer

2d platformer science fiction side-scrolling