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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.

Prince of Persia dosnesamigaamstrad-cpcgenesisgame-boy-color

Prince of Persia is a fantasy cinematic 2D platformer originally developed and published by Brøderbund and designed by Jordan Mechner. It was initially released in 1989 for the Apple II.

Year: 1990 Genre: Platformer

apple 2 original game cinematic middle east platformer puzzle platformer

Superfrog amiga

Superfrog is a platformer created for the Amiga by Team 17 and released initially in 1993. One year later the game was ported to MS-DOS. With a lot of colors and nice animations, the game is totally violence free.

Year: 1993 Genre: Platformer

amiga original game cartoon hop and bop jumper platformer side-scrolling

Rainbow Islands amiga

Rainbow Islands is the sequel to Bubble Bobble and was developed and published by Taito in 1987 for arcades only. It would remain a coin-op until 1990 when it was ported to the Amiga, Commodore 64, and other home platforms.

Year: 1990 Genre: Platformer

arcade coin-op conversion fantasy jumper platformer vertical-scrolling

Tomb Raider dos

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive in 1996 for PC, Sega Saturn, and PlayStation. Eidos Interactive, formerly known ...

Year: 1996 Genre: Action

3d action-adventure ancient egypt archaeology platformer south america

Bubble and Squeak amigagenesis

Bubble and Squeak is a platformer created by Audiogenic Software for Amiga computers and Amiga CD32 and released in 1994. The game was also ported to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, with some small differences.

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

aga amiga original game cartoon jumper multi-directional platformer

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse nes

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is the third chapter in the Castlevania series created by Konami. The horror platformer was released in December 1989 for the NES. The game is set ...

Year: 1989 Genre: Platformer

action-adventure horror metroidvania nes original game platformer side-scrolling

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

Mega Man 2 nes

Mega Man 2, known in Japan as Rockman 2, is an action platformer created by Capcom in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the second title in the Mega Man series a...

Year: 1988 Genre: Platformer

anime nes original game platform-shooter platformer science fiction

Zool amiga

Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension is a fast-moving platformer originally produced for the Amiga in 1992 by Gremlin Graphics. The game, designed to be a competitor to Sonic the Hedgehog, supported the AGA chipset with 256 colors.

Year: 1992 Genre: Platformer

advergames aga amiga cd32 amiga original game cartoon ninja platform-shooter platformer side-scrolling

Another World amigados

Another World, also known as Out of This World, is a cinematic platformer action-adventure designed by Éric Chahi for Delphine Software. It was released in 1991 initially for Amig...

Year: 1991 Genre: Action

action-adventure amiga original game cinematic platformer puzzle platformer science fiction

Earthworm Jim genesis

Earthworm Jim is a 2D shooter/platformer created by Shiny Entertainment originally for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and published in 1994. The game design and the creation of the ch...

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

comedy genesis original game hand-drawn animations platform-shooter platformer run and gun side-scrolling

Earthworm Jim 2 genesis

Earthworm Jim 2 for the Mega Drive is an action-platformer developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Playmates Interactive in 1995. Serving as a sequel to the highly acclai...

Year: 1995 Genre: Platformer

cartoon comedy genesis original game hand-drawn animations platformer run and gun science fiction side-scrolling

Rainbow Islands Extra genesis

Rainbow Islands Extra is a vertical-scrolling arcade created by Taito in 1990. Rainbow Islands, also known as Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2, is a sequel to Taito's hit title Bubble Bobble.

Year: 1990 Genre: Arcade

2d arcade coin-op conversion fantasy jumper platformer vertical-scrolling

Disney's Aladdin amigagenesisgame-boy-color

Disney's Aladdin, one of the most successful ports from a movie to a videogame, is a 2D side-scrolling platformer developed by Virgin Games. It is based on the 1992 Disney motion picture.

Year: 1994 Genre: Platformer

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