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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.

Blackthorne snesdos

Blackthorne is a cinematic action-platformer developed by Blizzard Entertainment and originally released in 1994 for the SNES. The same year, the game was released for MS-DOS. The SEGA 32X and Macintosh versions arrived later.

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

cinematic platformer fantasy platformer snes original game

Disney's Toy Story snesgenesis

Disney's Toy Story is a side-scrolling platformer developed by Traveller's Tales and released in 1995 for SNES and Genesis. The game is based on Pixar's groundbreaking animated film.

Year: 1995 Genre: Platformer

cartoon disney licensed movies platform-adventure platformer side-scrolling

Nobby the Aardvark commodore-64amiga

Nobby the Aardvark is a platform adventure game developed by Genesis Software and published by Thalamus in 1993 for the Commodore 64. The game was designed by Dave Clarke and Jonat...

Year: 1992 Genre: Platformer

c64 original game cartoon hop and bop platformer

Bruce Lee atari-8-bitcommodore-64

Bruce Lee is a platform beat-em-up developed for Atari 8-bit and published in 1984 by Datasoft. The game created by Ron Fortier (with graphics by Kelly Day) became one of the most memorable and innovative action games of the mid-80s.

Year: 1984 Genre: Brawler

atari 8-bit original brawler flip-screen martial arts ninja platformer progressive beat-em-up

Pinkie amiga

Pinkie is a platform game developed by Millennium Interactive and designed by Scott Williams for the Amiga in 1994. The game features a pink elephant protagonist navigating through...

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

amiga original game cartoon platformer puzzle platformer

Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure pc-engine

Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure is a platform game developed by Red Company and Atlus for the PC Engine and released in 1993. The game features the distinctive anime-style caveman cha...

Year: 1993 Genre: Platformer

anime caveman hop and bop pc engine original platformer prehistoric side-scrolling turbografx-16

Wonder Boy in Monster World genesis

Wonder Boy in Monster World is an action-adventure platformer developed by Westone and released in 1991 by Sega for the Genesis/Mega Drive. This fourth entry in the Wonder Boy seri...

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

anime genesis original game hack and slash metroidvania platform-adventure platformer rpg elements side-scrolling

Rayman 2 game-boy-color

Rayman 2: The Great Escape is an adventure platformer developed by Ubi Studios UK and released in 2001 by Ubisoft for Game Boy Color. This portable adaptation of Michel Ancel's cel...

Year: 2001 Genre: Platformer

2d action-adventure cartoon comedy game boy original game hop and bop platformer side-scrolling

Odyssey amiga

Odyssey is a side-scrolling platform adventure game developed by Unconscious Minds and published by Audiogenic Software in 1993. It was released exclusively for the Amiga. The game...

Year: 1995 Genre: Platformer

amiga original game fantasy metroidvania platformer puzzle platformer side-scrolling

Asterix and the Power of the Gods genesis

Asterix and the Power of the Gods is a side-scrolling action-platformer developed by Core Design and published by Sega in 1991. The game was released exclusively for the Genesis/Mega Drive.

Year: 1995 Genre: Platformer

cartoon classical antiquity comics genesis original game platform-adventure platformer side-scrolling

Bart vs the World nesamigasega-master-system

The Simpsons: Bart vs the World is a 1991 platformer developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim, originally for the NES. It followed the commercial success of Bart vs the ...

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

arcade cartoon flip-screen jumper licensed platform-adventure platformer tv series

Disney's The Little Mermaid nes

Disney's The Little Mermaid for the NES is a side-scrolling action game loosely based on the 1989 animated film. It was developed by Capcom and released in 1990. At the time, Capco...

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

cartoon disney licensed movies nes original game platform-adventure platformer side-scrolling

Bart vs the Space Mutants amigagenesisnes

The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants was released in 1991 for the NES, developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim. It was the first video game based on The Simpsons, an...

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

cartoon licensed mutants platform-adventure platformer tv series

Wibble World Giddy: Wibble Mania! amiga

Wibble World Giddy: Wibble Mania! is a charmingly chaotic freeware platform adventure released for the Amiga by Phil Ruston in the mid-90s. As the first entry in the cult Giddy ser...

Year: 1993 Genre: Platformer

amiga original game clone freeware platform-adventure platformer public domain puzzle platformer