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A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of
action video games An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform g ...
in which the core objective is to move the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels that consist of uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require
jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and ...
and
climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...
to traverse. Other
acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...
maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, air dashing, gliding through the air, being shot from
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...
s, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines. Games where jumping is automated completely, such as 3D games in ''
The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releas ...
'' series, fall outside of the genre. The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game, ''
Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "clim ...
'', which includes ladders, but not jumping. ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong and his clan of other apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of platform games—originally s ...
'', released in 1981, established a template for what were initially called "climbing games." ''Donkey Kong'' inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as '' Miner 2049er'' (1982). During the peak of platform games' popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, platform games were estimated to consist of between a quarter and a third of all console games, but have since been supplanted by first-person shooters. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in popularity, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998; however, the genre still exists in the commercial environment, with a number of games selling in the millions of units.


Concepts

A platform game requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms, to reach a goal, while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along the way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective. Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo's ''
Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar. Through the various areas of the game world, player may be able to collect items and powerups that can come in handy for different situations, and give the main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty, that may also be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy in order to progress. Usually the level order is pre-determined, but some games also allow players to navigate freely throughout the game world, or may feature different paths to take at certain points. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are another common element in the genre. A more modern variant of platform games (generally 3D scrolling), called "runners", have the main character always moving forward at high speed while the player must direct it properly to not make it fall or crash against obstacles, and manage to reach checkpoints on time. Due to the relative simplicity of the controls, this kind of game works well on mobile devices and has become popular in recent years.


Naming

Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established title in the genre, ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong and his clan of other apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of platform games—originally s ...
'' (1981).
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he i ...
originally called ''Donkey Kong'' a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to ''Donkey Kong'' and later games in the genre, such as '' Super Mario Bros.'' (1985). ''Donkey Kong'' spawned a number of other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games" was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book ''Video Invaders'' and 1983 magazines ''
Electronic Games An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...
'' (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and ''TV Gamer'' (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed ''
Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "clim ...
'' (1980), ''Donkey Kong'', and ''
Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous ri ...
'' (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 ''
Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...
'' review of the Apple II game ''Beer Run'', the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes '' Apple Panic'' and ''Donkey Kong''." That label was also used by ''Video Games Player'' magazine in 1983 when it named the
Coleco Coleco Industries, Inc. was an American company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as The Connecticut Leather Company. It was a successful toy company in the 1980s, mass-producing versions of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and its video game consol ...
port of ''Donkey Kong'' "Ladder Game of the Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as ''Super Mario Bros.'', ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformer ...
'', and '' Bubsy''. It was also applied more generally to
side-scrolling video game '' A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller), is a game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graphi ...
s, including run-and-gun shooters such as '' Gunstar Heroes''. ''Platform game'' became a standard term in the late 1980s, popularized by its usage in the United Kingdom press. By 1989, British magazines were using the term "platform" games to refer to the genre; examples include referring to the "''
Super Mario (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...
'' mould" (such as '' Kato-chan & Ken-chan'') as platform games, or calling '' Strider'' a "platform and ladders" game.


History


Single-screen movement

Platform games originated in the early 1980s. Most early examples of platform games were confined to a static playing field, generally viewed in profile, and were based on climbing mechanics between platforms rather than jumping. ''
Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "clim ...
'', a 1980 arcade release by Universal, is sometimes credited as the first platform game. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu's '' Crazy Climber'', in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game ''Hard Hat'' has a similar concept. ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong and his clan of other apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of platform games—originally s ...
'', an arcade game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981, was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platform game. It introduced
Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the '' Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his c ...
under the name Jumpman. ''Donkey Kong'' was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...
, and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in the video game industry internationally. The following year, ''Donkey Kong'' received a sequel, '' Donkey Kong Jr.'' and later '' Mario Bros.'', a platform game with two-player
cooperative play A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
. It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative platformers such as '' Fairyland Story'' and ''
Bubble Bobble is a 1986 platform arcade game developed and published by Taito. It was distributed in the United States by Romstar, and in Europe by Electrocoin. Players control Bub and Bob, two dragons that set out to save their girlfriends from a world known ...
''. Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged that did not use
scrolling In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the tex ...
graphics, but had levels that span several connected screens. David Crane's '' Pitfall!'' for the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...
, with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. '' Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle'' was released on the
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...
that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. ''
Manic Miner ''Manic Miner'' is a platform video game originally written for the ZX Spectrum by Matthew Smith and released by Bug-Byte in 1983 (later re-released by Software Projects). It is the first game in the Miner Willy series and among the early ti ...
'' (1983) and its sequel '' Jet Set Willy'' (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers. '' Wanted: Monty Mole'' won the first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from ''Crash'' magazine. Later that same year,
Epyx Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before r ...
released '' Impossible Mission'', and
Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...
released ''
Montezuma's Revenge Travelers' diarrhea (TD) is a stomach and intestinal infection. TD is defined as the passage of unformed stool (one or more by some definitions, three or more by others) while traveling. It may be accompanied by abdominal cramps, nausea, fever, ...
'', which further expanded on the exploration aspect.


Scrolling movement

The first platform game to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. '' Jump Bug'' is a platform-shooter game developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong and his clan of other apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of platform games—originally s ...
''. Players control a bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. ''Jump Bug'' offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms and levels that scrolled horizontally and, in one section, vertically. Irem's 1982 arcade game '' Moon Patrol'' combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later,
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It ...
released '' Jungle King'', a side-scrolling action game with
parallax scrolling Parallax scrolling is a technique in computer graphics where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene of distance. The technique grew out of the multiplane camera tec ...
and some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as ''Jungle Hunt'' because of similarities to
Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
. The 1982 Apple II game '' Track Attack'' includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a
stick figure A stick figure, also known as a stickman, is a very simple drawing of a person or an animal, composed of a few lines, curves, and dots. On a stick figure, the head is most often represented by a circle, which can be either a solid color or som ...
, but the acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as ''Prince of Persia'' would feature. '' B.C.'s Quest For Tires'' was released by Sierra On-Line in 1983 on the
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...
and several home computers. The game has large, side-scrolling levels and simple platform gameplay in which players jump over oncoming pitfalls and obstacles, much like '' Moon Patrol''. The same year, a scrolling platform game appeared on the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers called ''Snokie''. It added uneven terrain and an emphasis on precision jumping. Based on the
Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a ...
rather than the maze game, Namco's 1984 '' Pac-Land'' is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade platformer with walking, running, jumping, springboards,
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chos ...
s, and a series of unique levels.
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game, maze action game, action video game developed and released by Namco for Arcade game, arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its l ...
creator
Toru Iwatani is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game ''Pac-Man'' (1980). Early life Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. Whil ...
described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani,
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he i ...
described ''Pac-Land'' as an influence on the development of '' Super Mario Bros.''. Nintendo's '' Super Mario Bros.'', released for the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
in 1985, became the archetype for many platform games. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
. Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platform games as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the 8-bit console generation. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their ''
Alex Kidd is a platform video game series developed by Sega, and starring the titular Alex Kidd. Games The franchise includes seven titles. * '' Alex Kidd in Miracle World'' - 1986, Master System * '' Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars'' - 1986, Arcade, 198 ...
'' series, which started in 1986 on the
Master System The is an 8-bit History of video game consoles (third generation), third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of ...
with '' Alex Kidd in Miracle World''. It had horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chos ...
s and vehicles. Another Sega platformer series that began that same year is '' Wonder Boy''. The original ''Wonder Boy'' in 1986 was inspired more by ''Pac-Land'' than ''Super Mario Bros.'', with skateboarding segments that gave the game a greater sense of speed than other platform games at the time,The Legend of Wonder Boy
, IGN, November 14, 2008 while its sequel, ''
Wonder Boy in Monster Land ''Wonder Boy in Monster Land'', known by its original arcade release as , is an platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega in Japanese arcades in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of other ...
'' added action-adventure and role-playing elements. ''Wonder Boy'' in turn inspired games such as '' Adventure Island'', ''Dynastic Hero'', '' Popful Mail'', and ''
Shantae ''Shantae'' is a series of platform games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games were created from this character by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of ...
''. Scrolling platform games went portable in the late 1980s with games such as ''
Super Mario Land ''Super Mario Land'' is a 1989 side-scrolling platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch game for its Game Boy handheld game console. It is the first ''Mario'' platform game to have been released for a handheld cons ...
'', and the genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same te ...
and
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
systems. One of the first platform games to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement is in a
vector game A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
called '' Major Havoc'', which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster-based platform games to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1984's'' Legend of Kage''. In 1985,
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . ...
released an open world platform-adventure game, '' Brain Breaker''. Reprinted from The following year saw the release of a more successful open-world platform-adventure, Nintendo's '' Metroid'', which was critically acclaimed for having a balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon's '' Super Pitfall'', was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released '' Esper Boukentai'', a sequel to '' Psychic 5'' that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on the platform-action game, '' Valis'', which contained
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
-style
cut scene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s. In 1987,
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' ...
's ''
Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'' introduced
non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...
level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like ''Super Mario Bros.'' and open-world games like ''Metroid''.
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites '' Total Film'', ''SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Comput ...
credits the "level select" feature of ''Mega Man'' as the basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest-heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was ''
Bionic Commando ''Bionic Commando'' is a video game franchise consisting of an original arcade game released in 1987 and several later versions and sequels. Background The original Japanese arcade game and its Famicom counterpart (''Hitler's Resurrection'' ...
'', a multidirectional-scrolling platform-action game which introduced a
grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and ho ...
mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of platform games, including '' Earthworm Jim'' and ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
''.


Second-generation side-scrollers

By the time the
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
and
TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, though ...
launched, platform games were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released '' Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle'', which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released '' Strider'' in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...
partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was '' Shadow Dancer'', which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed the player around and aid in battle. In 1990,
Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo ...
released '' Bonk's Adventure'', with a protagonist positioned as NEC's mascot. The following year, Takeru's '' Cocoron'', a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated ''
Super Mario World ''Super Mario World,'' known in Japan as is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and A ...
''. The following year, Nintendo released the console as the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
in North America, along with ''Super Mario World'', while Sega released ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformer ...
'' for the
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
. ''Sonic'' showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as a teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic became a new model for mascots, particularly for his perceived attitude, which characterized him as a rebel. This attitude soon became popular as companies attempted to duplicate Sonic's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platform games for computers appeared alongside the new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...
was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware. The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like '' Shadow of the Beast'' and '' Turrican'' showed that computer platform games could rival their console contemporaries. ''
Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games ...
'', originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured a high quality of animation. The 1988
shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...
game ''
The Adventures of Captain Comic ''The Adventures of Captain Comic'' is a platform game written by Michael Denio for MS-DOS compatible operating systems and released as shareware in 1988. It was one of the first side-scrolling games for IBM PC compatibles reminiscent of games fo ...
'' was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles. It inspired '' Commander Keen'', released by
id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...
in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers on the PC, including ''
Duke Nukem ''Duke Nukem'' is a video game series named for its main character, Duke Nukem. Created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. (now 3D Realms) as a series of video games for personal computers, the series expanded to games released for various co ...
'', '' Duke Nukem II'', ''
Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure ''Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure: Forbidden Planet'' is a video game programmed by Todd Replogle and published by Apogee Software. It is a two-dimensional side-scrolling platform game. The game was released in mid March 1992 for MS-DOS compatible syst ...
'', and '' Dark Ages'' all by Apogee Software. These fueled a brief burst of episodic platform games where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase.


Decline of 2D

The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as '' Vectorman'' (1995), '' Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995), and '' Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
,
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
, and
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
nevertheless featured a number of successful 2D platform games. The 2D '' Rayman'' was a big success on 32-bit consoles. ''
Mega Man 8 ''Mega Man 8'' is an action-platform video game developed and released by Capcom in 1996. It was directed by Hayato Kaji and produced by Keiji Inafune, both of whom had previously worked on the series as artists. It is the eighth installment ...
'' and '' Mega Man X4'' helped revitalize interest in
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' ...
's Mega Man character. '' Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later ''Castlevania'' games. ''
Oddworld ''Oddworld'' is a video game series and fictional universe, created by developers Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. The series has been released on various platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Game Boy, ...
'' and ''
Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...
'' kept the subgenre born from ''Prince of Persia'' alive. The difficulties of adapting platform gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing the visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was the
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
launch title This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...
, '' Clockwork Knight'' (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to ''Donkey Kong Country''. Its
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...
improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between the foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, ''
Pandemonium Pandæmonium, Pandemonium or Pandamonium may refer to: Literature * Pandæmonium (''Paradise Lost''), capital of Hell in John Milton's epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' * ''Pandaemonium'' (history book), a book by Humphrey Jennings, published posthum ...
'' and ''
Klonoa ''Klonoa'' is a platform video game series created by Namco in 1997. It stars Klonoa, an anthropomorphic creature who explores dream worlds. The series includes two main games: '' Klonoa: Door to Phantomile'' (1997) for the PlayStation and '' Klo ...
'' brought the 2.5D style to the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
. In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; '' Yoshi's Story'', '' Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'', '' Goemon's Great Adventure'', and '' Mischief Makers''—and most met with a tepid response from critics at the time. Despite this, ''Yoshi's Story'' sold over a million copies in the US, and ''Mischief Makers'' rode high on the charts in the months following its release.


Third dimension

The term ''3D platformer'' usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of '' isometric platformers'', while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on a 2D plane are called ''
2.5D 2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a third dimension in a space that otherwis ...
'', as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. One of the first platformers with 3D graphics was Sega's '' Congo Bongo'' in 1983. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was
Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...
's platform game ''
Antarctic Adventure is a video game developed by Konami in 1983 for the MSX, and later for video game consoles, such as NES and ColecoVision. The player takes the role of an Antarctic penguin, racing to various research stations owned by different countries in Antar ...
'', where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for the
MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...
computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade version, NES, and
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...
. 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer ''Antarctic Adventure'' called '' Penguin Adventure'', which was designed by
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer, director, producer and writer. He is regarded as an auteur of video games. He developed a strong passion for action/adventure cinema and literature during his childhood and adolescence. In 1986, he was hired ...
. It included more
action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform ...
elements, a greater variety of levels,
RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...
elements such as upgrading equipment, and
multiple endings A narrative typically ends in one set way, but certain kinds of narrative allow for multiple endings. Comics * '' The Death-Ray'' by Daniel Clowes. * ''Cliff Hanger''. Literature * The ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' series. * ''Fighting Fanta ...
. In early 1987,
Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
released ''
3-D WorldRunner ''The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner'' (shortened to ''3-D WorldRunner'' on the North American box art), originally released in Japan as , is a 1987 third-person rail shooter platform video game developed and published by Square for the Family Compute ...
'', designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and
Nasir Gebelli Nasir Gebelli ( fa, ناصر جبلی, also Nasser Gebelli, born 1957) is an Iranian-American programmer and video game designer usually credited in his games as simply Nasir. Gebelli wrote Apple II games for Sirius Software, created his own com ...
. Using a forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person
rail shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
''
Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but techni ...
''."Hironobu Sakaguchi: The Man Behind the Fantasies". ''Next Generation Magazine'', vol 50. ''3-D WorldRunner'' was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games. Square released its sequel, '' JJ'', later that year. The earliest example of a true 3D platform game is a French computer game called '' Alpha Waves'', created by
Christophe de Dinechin Christophe de Dinechin is a French computer scientist, with contributions in video games, programming languages and operating systems. Programming languages Dinechin contributed to C++, notably a high-performance exception handling implementat ...
and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST,
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...
, and IBM PC compatibles. '' Bug!'', a
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
game that was released in 1995, offered a more conservative approach to true 3D platforming. It allowed players to move in all directions, but it did not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player could move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were
pre-rendered Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typi ...
sprites, much like the earlier '' Clockwork Knight''. The game played very similarly to 2D platformers, but it was considered a true 3D title, and let players walk up walls and on ceilings. It has a sequel called ''Bug Too!''. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer '' Flashback''. Entitled '' Fade to Black'', it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platform game series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet the criteria of a platform game, and was billed as an action adventure. It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by '' Wolfenstein 3D'', in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sony adopted an existing project by developers
Naughty Dog Naughty Dog, LLC (formerly JAM Software, Inc.) is an American First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acqu ...
: '' Crash Bandicoot''. Crash remained Sony's unofficial mascot for the next several years before switching to multi-platform releases in the following console generation. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute, with bringing Sonic the Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled ''
Sonic Xtreme ''Sonic X-treme'' was a platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute from 1994 until its cancellation in 1996. It was planned as the first fully 3D ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game, taking Sonic into the 3D era of video games, and the fir ...
'', was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of ''Bug!''. Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, and the game never made it to market.


True 3D

In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave the player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control the virtual camera, it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the
X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM, and lacks a hard drive. The final model was released in 1993 with ...
computer called ''
Geograph Seal is a First-person (video games), first-person Mecha#In video games, mecha Platform game, platform-First-person shooter, shooter video game developed and published by Japan Studio#Company overview, Exact exclusively for the Sharp X68000 in Japan o ...
'', which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West.Travis Fahs
Geograph Seal (X68000)
, ''The Next Level'', November 25, 2006 The following year, Exact released their follow-up to ''Geograph Seal''. An early title for Sony's new
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
console, '' Jumping Flash!'', released in April 1995, kept the gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
said ''Jumping Flash'' was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platform game in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
''. Another early 3D platformer was '' Floating Runner'', developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of ''Super Mario 64''. ''Floating Runner'' used D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released '' Super Mario 64'', which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that hadn't been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in ''Super Mario 64'', the levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure. Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make platform games in 3D, but ''Super Mario 64'' inspired a shift in design. Later 3D platformers like '' Banjo-Kazooie'', '' Spyro the Dragon'', and ''
Donkey Kong 64 ''Donkey Kong 64'' is a 1999 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the first 3D game in the ''Donkey Kong'' series. As the gorilla Donkey Kong, the player explores themed levels to collect items a ...
'' borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of the more linear 3D platformers like '' Tork: Prehistoric Punk'' and '' Wario World'' used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like ''Super Mario 64'' and ''Banjo Kazooie'' used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by the player. In the 1990s,
RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...
s,
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
s, and more complex
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
s captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
'' became one of the bestselling series on the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
, along with
Insomniac Games Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Burbank, California and a studio of PlayStation Studios. It was founded in 1994 by Ted Price as Xtreme Software, and was renamed Insomniac Games a year later. The company is mo ...
' ''
Spyro ''Spyro'' is a series of platform games which features the main protagonist Spyro, a dragon. Since the series' introduction in 1998 with the PlayStation game '' Spyro the Dragon'', there have been numerous sequels and a reboot trilogy. Origin ...
'' and
Naughty Dog Naughty Dog, LLC (formerly JAM Software, Inc.) is an American First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acqu ...
's '' Crash Bandicoot'', one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like ''Super Mario 64'', ''Banjo-Kazooie'', and ''Donkey Kong 64''. On
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
and Mac, Pangea Software's ''
Bugdom ''Bugdom'' is a 1999 platform video game originally created by Pangea Software for Mac OS 9. It was included with the iMac DV 2000 and later iBook models. The Microsoft Windows version, released in 2000, was developed by Hoplite Research and ...
'' series and
BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...
's '' MDK2'' proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare's '' Conker's Bad Fur Day'',
Crystal Dynamics Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California and part of Embracer Group. The studio developed the ''Gex'', '' Legacy of Kain'', and ''Tomb Raider'' series. Founded in 1992 by Madeline Canepa, Judy ...
's '' Gex: Deep Cover Gecko'' and '' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'', and Shiny Entertainment's ''
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
''. In 1998, Sega produced a 3D Sonic game, ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma in ...
'', for its
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
console. It used a hub structure like ''Super Mario 64'', but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented.


Into the 21st century

Nintendo launched its
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the W ...
console without a platform game. However, it released '' Super Mario Sunshine'' in 2002, the second 3D ''Mario'' platformer. Other notable 3D platformers trickled out during this generation. '' Maximo'' was a spiritual heir to the '' Ghosts'n Goblins'' series, '' Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg'' offered Yuji Naka's take on a ''Mario 64''-influenced platformer, Argonaut Software returned with a new platformer named ''
Malice Malice may refer to: Law * Malice (law), a legal term describing the intent to harm Entertainment Film and literature * ''Malice'' (1926 film), a 1926 German silent film directed by Manfred Noa * ''Malice'' (1993 film), a 1993 film starring Al ...
'', games such as '' Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair'' and '' Pitfall: The Lost Expedition'' were attempts to modernise classic video games of the 1980s using the 3D platformer genre, ''
Psychonauts ''Psychonauts'' is a 2005 platform video game developed by Double Fine Productions. The game was initially published by Majesco Entertainment and THQ for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2. In 2011, Double Fine acquired the rights f ...
'' became a critical darling based on its imaginative levels and colorful characters, and several franchises that debuted during the sixth generation of consoles such as ''
Tak Tak or TAK may refer to: Places * Dağdöşü or Tak, Azerbaijan, a village * Taq, Iran or Tak, a village * Tak province, Thailand ** Tak, Thailand, capital of the province Entertainment *'' Total Annihilation: Kingdoms'' or ''TA:K'' * Tak, ...
'', ''
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger ''Ty the Tasmanian Tiger'' is a 2002 3D platforming game developed by Krome Studios and published by EA Games for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox systems. The game was remastered in HD for Microsoft Windows and was made available through ...
'', '' Ape Escape'' and '' Sly Cooper'' each developed a cult following. In Europe specifically, the '' Kao the Kangaroo'' and '' Hugo'' series achieved popularity and sold well. '' Rayman''s popularity continued, though the franchise's third game was not as well received as the first two. '' Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee'' brought the popular ''Oddworld'' franchise into the third dimension, but future sequels to this game did not opt for the 3D platform genre.
Naughty Dog Naughty Dog, LLC (formerly JAM Software, Inc.) is an American First-party developer, first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California, Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acqu ...
moved on from ''Crash Bandicoot'' to '' Jak and Daxter'', a series that became less about traditional platforming with each sequel. A hybrid platformer/shooter game from
Insomniac Games Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Burbank, California and a studio of PlayStation Studios. It was founded in 1994 by Ted Price as Xtreme Software, and was renamed Insomniac Games a year later. The company is mo ...
called '' Ratchet & Clank'' further pushed the genre away from such gameplay, as did Universal Interactive Studios' rebooted ''
Spyro ''Spyro'' is a series of platform games which features the main protagonist Spyro, a dragon. Since the series' introduction in 1998 with the PlayStation game '' Spyro the Dragon'', there have been numerous sequels and a reboot trilogy. Origin ...
'' trilogy and Microsoft's attempt to create a mascot for the Xbox in '' Blinx: The Time Sweeper''. Ironically, Microsoft later found more success with their 2003 take on the genre, '' Voodoo Vince''. In 2008, Crackpot Entertainment released '' Insecticide''. Crackpot, composed of former developers from
LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...
, for the first time combined influences from the
point and click Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and c ...
genre LucasArts had been known for on titles such as ''
Grim Fandango ''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on Rendering (computer graphics), ...
'' with a platformer. The platformer remained a vital genre, but it never regained its old popularity. Part of the reason for the platformer's decline in the 2000s was a lack of innovation compared to other genres. Platformers were either aimed at younger players or designed to avoid the platform label. In 1998, platform games had a 15% share of the market, and an even higher share in their prime. Four years later that figure had dropped to 2%. Even the acclaimed ''
Psychonauts ''Psychonauts'' is a 2005 platform video game developed by Double Fine Productions. The game was initially published by Majesco Entertainment and THQ for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2. In 2011, Double Fine acquired the rights f ...
'' saw modest sales at first, leading publisher Majesco Entertainment to withdraw from high-budget console games, though its sales in Europe were respectable.Life After Shelf Death
, ''The Escapist'', November 13, 2007


Recent developments

In the seventh generation of consoles, despite the genre having a smaller presence in the gaming market, some platform games found success. In 2007 ''
Super Mario Galaxy is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D game in the ''Super Mario'' series. As Mario, the player embarks on a quest to rescue Princess Peach, save the universe from Bowser, and collect ...
'' and '' Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction'' were received well by both critics and fans. ''Super Mario Galaxy'' was awarded the Best Game of 2007 by high-profile gaming websites like
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, IGN, and
GameTrailers ''GameTrailers'' (''GT'') was an American video gaming website created by Geoffrey R. Grotz and Brandon Jones in 2002. The website specialized in multimedia content, including trailers and gameplay footage of upcoming and recently released v ...
. At that point, according to
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
, it was the most critically acclaimed game of all time. In 2008, '' LittleBigPlanet'' paired traditional 2D-platformer gameplay with physics simulation and user created content, earning it strong sales and good reviews.
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...
released '' Mirror's Edge'', which coupled platform gameplay with a first-person perspective, although they did not market the game as a platformer because of the association of the label with games made for kids. '' Sonic Unleashed'' featured stages with both 2D and 3D platform gameplay, a formula used later in ''
Sonic Colors (known as ''Sonic Colours'' in the PAL region) is a 2010 platform game published by Sega. It follows Sonic's quest to stop his nemesis Doctor Eggman from enslaving an alien race and taking over the world. The gameplay is similar to prior ''Son ...
'' and '' Sonic Generations''. Moreover, two '' Crash Bandicoot'' platform games were released in 2007 and 2008. The popularity of 2D platformers rose in the 2010s. Nintendo revived the genre. ''
New Super Mario Bros. is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was first released in May 2006 in North America and Japan, and in PAL regions on June 2006. It is the first installment in the ''New Super Mario Bros.'' su ...
'' was released in 2006 and sold 30 million copies worldwide, making it the
best-selling game for the Nintendo DS This is a list of video games for the Nintendo DS video game console that have sold or shipped at least one million copies. The best-selling game on the Nintendo DS is '' New Super Mario Bros.'' First released in North America on May 15, 2006, ...
and the fourth best-selling non-bundled video game of all time. ''Super Mario Galaxy'' eventually sold over eight million units, while ''
Super Paper Mario is a 2007 action role-playing game (RPG) developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third installment in the ''Paper Mario'' series and the first Mario (franchise), Mario game to be released on the Wii. T ...
'', ''
Super Mario 64 DS ''Super Mario 64 DS'' is a 2004 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was a launch game for the DS. ''Super Mario 64 DS'' is a remake of the 1996 Nintendo 64 game ''Super Mario 64,'' with new graphics, charact ...
'', '' Sonic Rush'', '' Yoshi's Island DS'', '' Kirby Super Star Ultra'', and '' Kirby: Squeak Squad'' also sold well. After the success of ''New Super Mario Bros.'', there was a spate of 2D platform games. These ranged from revivals like '' Bionic Commando: Rearmed'', ''
Contra ReBirth is a 2D run and gun video game developed by M2 and published by Konami for WiiWare. It is the twelfth original installment in the ''Contra'' series. It was released in Japan on May 12, 2009, PAL regions on September 4, 2009, and North America ...
'', '' Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and'' ''
Rayman Origins ''Rayman Origins'' is a 2011 platform game, platform video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Rayman'' series and the first main installment since ''Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc'' (2003). The game was ...
'' to original titles like ''
Splosion Man ''Splosion Man'' is a 2.5D action platform video game developed by Twisted Pixel Games for the Xbox 360, available through the Xbox Live Arcade digital download service. It was released on July 22, 2009 as part of the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. ...
'' and ''
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure ''Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure'' is a Nintendo DS action-adventure puzzle video game developed by EA Tiburon. It involves a British adventurer, the eponymous Henry Hatsworth, who is on a mission to find the "Golden Suit", a garb that a ...
''. '' Wario Land: The Shake Dimension'', released in 2008, was a 2D platformer with a rich visual style. Later games like ''
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin ''limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europ ...
'', '' Super Meat Boy'', ''
Braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
'', '' A Boy and His Blob'', and The Behemoth's '' BattleBlock Theater'' also used 2D graphics. ''
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. A follow-up to ''New Super Mario Bros.'', it was first released in Australia, North America, and Europe in November 2009, followed by Japan a month later. ...
'' is especially notable because unlike most 2D platformers in the twenty-first century, it came out for a non-portable console and was not restricted to a
content delivery network A content delivery network, or content distribution network (CDN), is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers. The goal is to provide high availability and performance by distributing the service spatially r ...
. A year after the success of ''New Super Mario Bros. Wii'', Nintendo released more 2D platformers in their classic franchises: '' Donkey Kong Country Returns'' and '' Kirby's Return to Dream Land''. In 2012, they released two more 2D platformers: '' New Super Mario Bros. 2'' for the 3DS and '' New Super Mario Bros. U'' for the
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Th ...
. Nintendo also experimented with 3D platform games that had gameplay elements from 2D platform games, leading to ''
Super Mario 3D Land is a platform video game in the ''Super Mario'' series developed and published by Nintendo for their Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It was released worldwide in November 2011, beginning in Japan. It was the first ''Mario'' game to be r ...
'' (2011) for the 3DS and ''
Super Mario 3D World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2013. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the ''Super Mario'' series and the sequel to ''Super Mario 3D Land'' (2011) for the Nintendo 3DS. Players control Ma ...
'' (2013) for the Wii U, the latter having cooperative multiplayer. Both were critical and commercial successes. Besides Nintendo's games,
indie games An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
in the late 2000s and the 2010s helped grow the platform-game market. Indie platform games had a stronger focus on story and innovation. In 2009, independent developer Frozenbyte released '' Trine'', a
2.5D 2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) perspective refers to gameplay or movement in a video game or virtual reality environment that is restricted to a two-dimensional (2D) plane with little to no access to a third dimension in a space that otherwis ...
platform game that mixed traditional elements with modern physics puzzles. The game sold more than 1.1 million copies, and a sequel, '' Trine 2'', came out in 2011. The year 2017 saw the release of several 3D platformers, leading the media to speculate about a revival of the genre. These included '' Yooka-Laylee'' and ''
A Hat in Time ''A Hat in Time'' is a platform game developed by Danish game studio Gears for Breakfast and published by Humble Bundle. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which doubled its fundraising goals ...
'', both crowdfunded on the website
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...
. ''
Super Mario Odyssey is a 2017 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. An entry in the ''Super Mario'' series, it follows Mario and his new ally Cappy—a sentient hat that allows Mario to control other characters and objects— ...
'', which returned the series to the open-ended gameplay of ''Super Mario 64'', became one of the best-selling and best-reviewed games in the franchise's history. ''
Super Lucky's Tale ''Super Lucky's Tale'' is a 3D platform game developed by Playful Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One. It is the sequel to ''Lucky's Tale'', a virtual reality 3D platformer for the Oculus Rift. The game w ...
'' and an HD remaster of '' Voodoo Vince'' came out for Microsoft Windows and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
. '' Snake Pass'' was called a "puzzle-platformer without a jump button." The ''
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy ''Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy'' is a 2017 platform game developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision. It is a compilation of remasters of the first three games in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' series: ''Crash Bandicoot'' (1996), '' ...
'' for PlayStation 4 sold over 2.5 million copies in three months, despite some critics noting it was harder than the original games. The next few years saw more remakes of 3D platformers: '' Spyro Reignited Trilogy'', '' SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated'' (2020), and a remake of 1998's '' MediEvil'' for PS4. In the ninth generation of consoles, the platform game remains important. '' Astro Bot Rescue Mission'' (2018), a PlayStation VR game, was followed by '' Astro's Playroom'' (2020), which came pre-installed on every PlayStation 5. '' Sackboy: A Big Adventure'' (2020), developed by Sumo Digital, was a PlayStation 5 launch title. '' Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time'' (2020) was released to critical praise. ''
Bowser's Fury ''Bowser's Fury'' is a 2021 platform game bundled in with the Nintendo Switch release of ''Super Mario 3D World'', titled ''Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury''. The player controls Mario through Lake Lapcat to complete challenges and collect ...
'' (2021), a short campaign added to the Switch port of ''
Super Mario 3D World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2013. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the ''Super Mario'' series and the sequel to ''Super Mario 3D Land'' (2011) for the Nintendo 3DS. Players control Ma ...
'', bridged the gap between the gameplay of ''3D World'' and that of ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
''. '' Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart'' (2021) was one of the first
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North A ...
-exclusive games made by Insomniac. On August 25, 2021, the Kickstarter-funded ''
Psychonauts 2 ''Psychonauts 2'' is a platform game developed by Double Fine and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was announced at The Game Awards 2015 ceremony, and released on August 25, 2021 for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/ ...
'' was released to critical acclaim.


Subgenres

This list some definable platform games in the following types, but there are also many vaguely defined subgenres games that have not been listed. These game categories are the prototypes genre that recognized by different platform styles.


Puzzle-platform game

Puzzle platformers are characterized by their use of a platform game structure to drive a game whose challenge is derived primarily from puzzles.
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . ...
's 1983 release '' Door Door'' and Sega's 1985 release '' Doki Doki Penguin Land'' (for the SG-1000) are perhaps the first examples, though the genre is diverse, and classifications can vary. ''Doki Doki Penguin Land'' allowed players to run and jump in typical platform fashion, but they could also destroy blocks, and were tasked with guiding an egg to the bottom of the level without letting it break. '' The Lost Vikings'' (1993) was a popular game in this genre. It has three characters players can switch between, each with different abilities. All three characters are needed to complete the level goals. This subgenre has a strong presence on handheld systems. '' Wario Land 2'' moved the Wario series into the puzzle-platform genre by eliminating the element of death and adding temporary injuries, such as being squashed or lit on fire, and specialized powers. '' Wario Land 3'' continued this tradition, while '' Wario Land 4'' was more of a mix of puzzle and traditional platform elements. The Game Boy update of ''Donkey Kong'' was also successful and saw a sequel on Game Boy Advance: '' Mario vs. Donkey Kong''. '' Klonoa: Empire of Dreams'', the first handheld title in its series, is also a puzzle-platform game. Through independent game development, this genre has experienced a revival since 2014. ''Braid'' uses time manipulation for its puzzles, and '' And Yet It Moves'' uses
frame of reference In physics and astronomy, a frame of reference (or reference frame) is an abstract coordinate system whose origin, orientation, and scale are specified by a set of reference points― geometric points whose position is identified both mathem ...
rotation. In contrast to these side-scrollers, '' Narbacular Drop'' and its successor, '' Portal'', are first-person games that use portals to solve puzzles in 3D. Since the release of ''Portal'', there have been more puzzle-platform games which use a first-person camera, including ''Purity'' and '' Tag: The Power of Paint''. In 2014, Nintendo released '' Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker'' which uses compact level design and camera rotation in order to reach the goal and find secrets and collectibles. Despite lacking jump ability,
Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...
still navigates the environment via unique movement mechanics.


Run-and-gun platform game

The run-and-gun platform genre was popularised by
Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...
's '' Contra''. Among the most popular games in this style are '' Gunstar Heroes'' and ''
Metal Slug is a Japanese run and gun video game series originally created by Nazca Corporation before merging with SNK in 1996 after the completion of the first game in the series. Spin-off games include a third-person shooter to commemorate the 10th a ...
''. Side-scrolling run-and-gun games marry platform games with
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
s, with less tricky platforming and more shooting. These games are sometimes called platform shooters. The genre has arcade roots, so these games are generally linear and difficult. There are games which have a lot of shooting but do not fall in this subgenre. ''
Mega Man ''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'', '' Metroid'', ''
Ghosts 'n Goblins ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'', known in Japan as , is a run-and-gun platform video game series created by Tokuro Fujiwara and developed by Capcom. The first entry in the series was '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'', released in arcades on July 7, 1985. The se ...
'', '' Vectorman'', '' Jazz Jackrabbit'', '' Earthworm Jim'', and '' Turrican'' are all platformers with shooting, but unlike ''Contra'' or ''Metal Slug'', platforming, as well as exploring and back-tracking, figures prominently. Run-and-gun games are generally pure, and while they may have vehicular sequences or other shifts in style, they have shooting throughout.


Cinematic platform game

Cinematic platformers are a small but distinct subgenre of platform games, usually distinguished by their relative realism compared to traditional platformers. These games focus on fluid, lifelike movements, without the unnatural physics found in nearly all other platform games. To achieve this realism, many cinematic platformers, beginning with ''
Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games ...
'', have employed
rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, animators projected photographed live-action movie images onto a glass panel and traced ...
techniques to animate their characters based on video footage of live actors performing the same stunts. Jumping abilities are typically roughly within the confines of an athletic human's capacity. To expand vertical exploration, many cinematic platformers feature the ability to grab onto ledges, or make extensive use of elevator platforms. As these games tend to feature vulnerable characters who may die as the result of a single enemy attack or by falling a relatively short distance, they almost never have limited lives or continues. Challenge is derived from
trial and error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan ( ...
problem solving, forcing the player to find the right way to overcome a particular obstacle. ''
Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games ...
'' was the first cinematic platformer and perhaps the most influential. '' Impossible Mission'' pioneered many of the defining elements of cinematic platformers and is an important precursor to this genre. Other games in the genre include '' Flashback'' (and its 2013 remake), '' Another World'', ''
Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...
'', the first two ''
Oddworld ''Oddworld'' is a video game series and fictional universe, created by developers Oddworld Inhabitants under the direction of Lorne Lanning. The series has been released on various platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, PlayStation 3, Game Boy, ...
'' games, ''
Blackthorne ''Blackthorne'' (released as ''Blackhawk'' in some European countries) is a cinematic platform game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released for the Super NES and MS-DOS in 1994. The cover art for the SNES version was drawn by Jim ...
'', '' Bermuda Syndrome'', '' Generations Lost'', ''
Heart of the Alien ''Heart of the Alien'' is a cinematic platform game developed by Interplay Entertainment and Virgin Interactive and was released by Virgin Interactive in 1994 for the Sega CD exclusively in North America. It is a sequel to '' Another World'' ...
'', '' Weird Dreams'', ''
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin ''limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europ ...
'', '' Inside'', '' onEscapee'', '' Deadlight'', and '' The Way''.


Comical action game

Games in the genre are most commonly called "comical action games" (CAGs) in Japan. The original arcade '' Mario Bros.'' is generally recognized as the originator of this genre, though ''
Bubble Bobble is a 1986 platform arcade game developed and published by Taito. It was distributed in the United States by Romstar, and in Europe by Electrocoin. Players control Bub and Bob, two dragons that set out to save their girlfriends from a world known ...
'' is also highly influential. These games are characterized by single screen, non-scrolling levels and often contain cooperative two-player action. A level is cleared when all enemies on the screen have been defeated, and vanquished foes usually drop score bonuses in the form of fruit or other items. CAGs are almost exclusively developed in Japan and are either arcade games, or sequels to arcade games, though they are also a common genre among amateur ''doujinshi'' games. Other examples include ''
Don Doko Don is a platform arcade game developed and released by Taito in 1989. In the game, the player(s) control two lumberjacks, Bob and Jim, with the objective being to clear the screen of all the enemies. Bob and Jim use their mallets to stun the enemies ...
'', '' Snow Bros.'' and '' Nightmare in the Dark''.


Isometric platform game

Isometric platformers present a three-dimensional environment using two-dimensional graphics in
isometric projection Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings. It is an axonometric projection in which the three coordinate axes appear equally foreshortened and ...
. The use of isometric graphics was popularized by Sega's arcade
isometric shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charact ...
''
Zaxxon is an isometric shooter arcade game, developed and released by Sega in 1982, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses. Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki is also credited for having worked on the d ...
'' (1981), which Sega followed with the arcade isometric platformer '' Congo Bongo'', released in February 1983. Another early isometric platformer, the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...
game '' Ant Attack'', was later released in November 1983. '' Knight Lore'', an isometric sequel to ''
Sabre Wulf ''Sabre Wulf'' is an action-adventure game released by British video game developer Ultimate Play the Game for the ZX Spectrum home computer in 1984. The player navigates the pith-helmeted Sabreman through a 2D jungle maze while collectin ...
'', helped to establish the conventions of early isometric platformers. This formula was repeated in later games like '' Head Over Heels'' and '' Monster Max''. These games were generally heavily focused on exploring indoor environments, usually a series of small rooms connected by doors, and have distinct adventure and puzzle elements. Japanese developers blended this gameplay style with that of Japanese
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
s like ''
The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releas ...
'' to create games like '' Land Stalker'' and ''
Light Crusader is an action-adventure game developed by Treasure and published by Sega for their Sega Genesis console in 1995. The game was included in the ''Sega Genesis Classics'' collections on Steam and other platforms in 2011. It was also included on the ...
''. This influence later traveled to Europe with Adeline Software's sprawling epic '' Little Big Adventure'', which blended RPG,
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...
, and isometric platforming elements. Before consoles were able to display true polygonal 3D graphics, the ¾ isometric perspective was used to move some popular 2D platformers into three-dimensional gameplay. '' Spot Goes To Hollywood'' was a sequel to the popular '' Cool Spot'', and '' Sonic 3D Blast'' was Sonic's outing into the isometric subgenre.


Platform-adventure game

Many games fuse platform game fundamentals with elements of
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
s, such as ''
The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releas ...
'', or with elements of RPGs. Typically these elements include the ability to explore an area freely, with access to new areas granted by either gaining new abilities or using inventory items. Many 2D games in the '' Metroid'' and ''
Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...
'' franchises are among the most popular games of this sort, and so games that take this type of approach are often labeled as "
Metroidvania Metroidvania is a sub-genre of platform video games focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. The term is a portmanteau of the names of the video game series '' Metroid'' and '' Castlevania'', with games in ...
" games. '' Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' popularized this approach in the ''Castlevania'' series. Other examples of such games include
Hollow Knight ''Hollow Knight'' is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by Indie game, independent developer Team Cherry. In the game, the player controls the Knight, a nameless Insectoids in science fiction, insectoid warrior, who explores ...
, both games in the ''Ori'' series (
Ori and the Blind Forest ''Ori and the Blind Forest'' is a platform-adventure Metroidvania video game developed by Moon Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. The game was released for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows in March 2015, and for Nintendo Switch in Septemb ...
and Ori and the Will of the Wisps), '' Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap'', '' Tails Adventure'', ''
Cave Story ''Cave Story'', originally released as is a 2004 Metroidvania platform-adventure game for Microsoft Windows. It was developed over five years by Japanese independent developer Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya in his free time. ''Cave Story'' features 2 ...
'', '' Mega Man ZX'', '' Shadow Complex,'' DuckTales: Remastered. Early examples of free-roaming, side-scrolling, 2D platform-adventures in the vein of "Metroidvania" include Nintendo's ''Metroid'' in 1986 and
Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...
's ''Castlevania'' games: '' Vampire Killer'' in 1986 and '' Simon's Quest'' in 1987,Jeremy Parish
Metroidvania Chronicles II: Simon's Quest
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
, June 28, 2006 '' The Goonies II'' in 1987 again by Konami, as well as
Enix was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the ''Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . ...
's sci-fi
Sharp X1 The , sometimes called the Sharp X1 or CZ-800C, is a series of home computers released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It is based on a Zilog Z80 CPU. The RGB display monitor for the X1 had a television tuner, and a computer screen ...
computer game '' Brain Breaker'' in 1985, Pony Canyon's '' Super Pitfall'' in 1986, System Sacom's '' Euphory'' in 1987, Bothtec's ''The Scheme'' in 1988, and several '' Dragon Slayer'' action RPGs by
Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their ''Ys (series), Ys'', ''The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails (series), Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. Th ...
such as the 1985 release ''
Xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...
'' and 1987 releases ''
Faxanadu is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The name was licensed by computer game developer Nihon Falcom ("Falcom") and was developed and released in Japan by Hudson Soft for the ...
'' and '' Legacy of the Wizard''.


Auto-runner games are platform games where the player-character is nearly always moving in one constant direction through the level, with less focus on tricky jumping but more on quick reflexes as obstacles appear on screen. The subcategory of endless runner games have levels that effectively go on forever, typically through
procedural generation In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In ...
. Auto-runner games have found success on mobile platforms, because they are well-suited to the small set of controls these games require, often limited to a single screen tap for jumping. Game designer Scott Rogers named side-scrolling shooters like '' Scramble'' (1981) and '' Moon Patrol'' (1982) and chase-style gameplay in platform games like ''
Disney's Aladdin ''Aladdin'' is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. It began with the 1992 American animated feature of the same name, which was based on the tale of the same name, and was directed by Ron Clements and Joh ...
'' (1994 8-bit version) and '' Crash Bandicoot'' (1996) as forerunners of the genre.''Swipe This!: The Guide to Great Touchscreen Game Design'' by Scott Rogers, Wiley and Sons, 2012 '' B.C.'s Quest for Tires'' (1983) has elements of runner games, keeping the jumping of ''Moon Patrol'', but replacing the vehicle with a cartoon character. In February 2003, Gamevil published ''Nom'' for mobile phones in Korea. The game's designer Sin Bong-gu, stated that he wanted to create a game that was only possible on mobile phones, therefore he made the player character walk up walls and ceilings, requiring players to turn around their mobile phones while playing. To compensate for this complication, he limited the game's controls to a single button and let the character run automatically and indefinitely, "like the people in modern society, who must always look forward and keep running". While the concept thus was long known in Korea, journalists credit ''
Canabalt ''Canabalt'' is an endless runner designed by Adam Saltsman for the Experimental Gameplay Project in 2009. The 2D side-scrolling video game was originally written for Adobe Flash, then ported to iOS, Android, PlayStation Portable, and Ouya. An a ...
'' (2009) as "the title that single-handedly invented the smartphone-friendly single-button running genre" and spawned a wave of clones. '' Fotonica'' (2011), a one-button endless runner viewed from the first person, that was described as a "hybrid of ''Canabalt''s running, '' Mirror's Edge''s perspective (and hands) and '' Rez''s visual style". ''
Temple Run ''Temple Run'' is a 3D endless running video game developed and published by Imangi Studios. The player controls an explorer who has obtained an ancient relic and runs from demonic monkey-like creatures chasing him. The game was initially rele ...
'' (2011) and its successor '' Temple Run 2'' are popular endless running games. The latter became the world's fastest-spreading mobile game in January 2013, with 50 million installations within thirteen days.


See also

* List of platform game series


References


External links


Platform games
at
MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
*
The evolution of gaming: computers, consoles, and arcade
from
Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sc ...

Puzzle Platform Games

Best Action PC Games

Benefits of Playing Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platform Game Video game genres Video game terminology Articles containing video clips Games and sports introduced in 1980