Jump, run, leap: the platformer is a founding genre of video games, from pixelated 2D to 3D worlds. RomWize re-ranks the best games in the genre by its re-evaluated scores, each with its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"A relentless shower of fresh ideas. Possessing enemies with Cappy reinvents every kingdom, and the sheer density of Moons keeps you poking at corners. Mario has never controlled with this much expressive, joyful freedom."
"Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on GBC is the definitive portable version of the founding classic. The original game plus extra challenges, hidden levels and scores to beat. An absolute GBC must."
"LittleBigPlanet GOTY is the enriched version with extra DLC costumes and levels. Same Sackboy creative revolution with even more content from the start. The best way to approach the original LBP."
"Brutally demanding yet never losing sight of emotion. The pixel-perfect jumps feel flawlessly tuned, and the story about anxiety lands with real honesty. Assist options open the challenge to anyone without diluting the thrill of finally nailing a screen."
"Side-scrolling Mario back in top form. Wonder Flowers trigger gleefully unpredictable level twists, and the art direction radiates pure joy. Local co-op is chaotic in the best way, and almost nothing repeats itself."
"LittleBigPlanet is a creative revolution on PS3. Sackboy, infinite level creation and worldwide community sharing. Accessible platformer, powerful level editor, titanic player-generated content. A masterpiece."
"Direct sequel to Mario Galaxy, harder, denser, more inventive. Yoshi finally playable with complementary abilities (tongue, transformations). Fifty galaxies with ever crazier ideas, Nintendo level design at absolute peak. Secret green stars for ultimate challenge, Comet mode for speedrun. Even more orchestral musically. Considered by many superior to the first, the peak of all-time 3D platforming. Absolute must-own."
"The absolute pinnacle of 8-bit platforming. Eight thematic worlds, revolutionary costumes, infinite secrets. Nintendo at maximum creativity. The best NES game and one of the greatest games ever made."
"A high-water mark for the 2D platformer, fully realised in this definitive cut. The musical levels remain showstopping set pieces, and the hand-drawn animation is endlessly elegant. Played four-handed, it's a riot of fluid joy."
"Ubisoft Montpellier deliver a 2D platformer of stunning beauty thanks to a perfectly mastered UbiArt engine. The musical levels become a genre peak, four-player local co-op works miracles, and this is probably the best modern Rayman available on 360 without hesitation."
"Super Mario Galaxy revolutionizes 3D platforming by sending Mario into space, running on spherical planets with shifting gravity. Forty themed galaxies with constantly renewed ideas, stars to collect, Co-Star partner for second player. Sublime cosmic art direction, memorable orchestral soundtrack by Mahito Yokota. Wiimote+Nunchuk to point Star Bits. Absolute masterpiece, platforming peak."
"A more ambitious sequel that's still breathtaking. The combat gains real depth, and the animation remains stunningly fluid. A few performance hiccups linger, but the emotion and staging sweep everything away."
"Super Mario Advance 4 Super Mario Bros. 3 on GBA, Western version. SMB3 in your palm with the 90 NES levels and exclusive bonus levels. One of the best Mario ports on handheld."
"Donkey Kong Game Boy 1994, and arguably the best game on the system. The original four arcade screens explode into 100+ true puzzle-platform levels, Mario learns to swing, climb and carry. Absolutely prodigious Nintendo work. Essential on Game Boy."
"Super Mario Advance 2 Super Mario World on GBA, port of the SNES masterpiece. Yoshi, Cape and Dinosaur Land magnificently rendered. One of the best Mario games ever in your palm."
"Origins brings Rayman back to pure 2D with maniacal level design care and a magnificent Christophe Héral soundtrack. Every screen breathes inspiration, local co-op makes the adventure unforgettable, and the 360 receives here one of its finest invitations to pure platforming."
"Mario 64 invented 3D adventure gaming. Analog stick, orbital camera, painting-portal worlds full of stars and Mario's movement precision rest jaw-dropping. Thirty years on, the thing remains foundational, joyful, miraculous. Probably the most influential game in all of video-game history, without hyperbole."
"The 3D World port is flawless, and Bowser's Fury bolts on a punchy little open world that shows Mario can breathe outside corridor levels. Local co-op is still gleeful chaos, though the fixed camera betrays its age."
