In the mid-1990s, gaming made that scary
jump into the third dimension and had no intention of looking back. For quite some
time following that leap, 2D platformers, along with many other 2D genres,
took a back seat as developers and consumers looked to the future, embracing
the possibilities of a whole new dimension. Sometimes, though, that third D is
just one D too many. We've learned in recent years that 2D platformers have
a lot to offer the modern gaming world, and many of those classics from yesteryear
still hold up beautifully today. Of course, Mario's 8- and 16-bit outings are the most iconic,
but we're graciously putting him aside for today, as we look at stellar 2D platforming experiences
that don't involve the portly plumber, or any of his long list of friends. That means that
you won’t be seeing Donkey Kong or Yoshi here, either. Which is good, because those two could
probably fill a list of great games of their own. No, instead we will put aside Mario
and Mario-adjacent heroes to shine a spotlight on the rest of 2D gaming’s best
and most brilliant, as we look at examples of the genre new and old that don’t star the
world’s most famous princess-saving tradesman. I'm Ben from TripleJump, and here are 10
Great 2D Platformers That Aren't Mario. 10. Rayman Legends Rayman is a bit of an enigma. He's been
around since 1995, has starred in both 2D and 3D adventures, and has almost fifty games
to his name. Somehow, though, he doesn't have quite the iconic status or pop-culture clout that
you might expect from such an industry mainstay. Also, no one knows what he actually is. Some
kind of limbless horse boy, is my guess. He shows up in some great games, and Rayman
Legends, originally released in 2013, is probably the best of the bunch. In the game, Rayman and
his pals Globox and Murfy have to save the ten princesses from an evil magician, who has split up
into five entities known as “Dark Teensies.” No, it doesn't make much sense to me either, but
as long as it gets the little guy jumping. Rayman Legends also allows for up to
four players to play simultaneously, so it's a great one to bring out
when you've got some pals over. You can even control various secondary
characters, including Globox, the Teensies, and a barbarian princess called Barbara.
I wonder if they could be related...? 9. Spelunky Although initially released in 2008, Spelunky
feels like it's been around since the dawn of gaming. This is mostly due to the fact that
it was heavily influenced by 1983's Spelunker, and it captures the simplicity of those early
days of platforming in general. Explore, collect, save damsel, repeat.
No emotional plot-twists here; it's just someone in a cave, looking
for treasure. Just like real spelunking! Despite the simplicity of its premise,
Spelunky is not a pure platformer. It was one of the first 2D side-scrollers to
introduce roguelike elements to the gameplay, most notably procedurally generated levels.
Expect your platforming skills to be tested by new layouts and trap locations each time
you descend into caves filled with bats, snakes, ghosts, and all that other stuff that
real-life spelunkers deal with on a daily basis. The game is tough, too, despite
its cutesy and friendly appearance. Even early levels have the potential to
quickly wipe out the unprepared. Luckily, our intrepid explorer has a limited number
of bombs, and can use these to blast his own path through the cave and monsters alike.
I'm learning so much about spelunking today! 8. Rocket Knight Adventures It could be argued that Sparkster is the
unsung hero of 16-bit mascot platformers. Despite starring in the excellent
Rocket Knight Adventurers, he seems to get less recognition nowadays
then even the likes of Bubsy. It's a shame, really. He's an opossum in a suit of armour with
a jet-pack strapped to it. What's not to love? Konami's Rocket Knight Adventures was
released in 1993 for the Sega Mega Drive. It starred the aforementioned metal-clad marsupial
as he attempted to save a peaceful kingdom from an unsettling army of steampunk pig-men. The game
is bright, bold and brimming with personality as Sparkster explores woods, mines, and castles.
Unique bosses and memorable set-pieces made for a consistently exciting experience that
was enjoyed by critics and fans alike. Incidentally, did you know that
opossums are able to play dead as a way of defending themselves against
predatory animals? Probably. But did you also know that in order to fully complete
the effect, the opossum secretes a putrid, corpse-like smell from its bottom? Try looking
at Sparkster the same way now. You're welcome. 7. Ori and the Blind Forest Ori and the Blind Forest is a 2D with Metroidvania
elements. Players guide titular forest spirit Ori, a glowing cat-bunny thing, as he acquires
the abilities and upgrades needed to unlock different areas of the world. What a
world it is, too, with level design, artistry and music that beautifully evokes that
feeling of secluded, ancient and mysterious woods. It's not all pretty glades and birdsong though.
This forest has been devastated and withered by a cataclysmic event and Ori has to put things right,
all while avoiding poisonous water, deadly plants and tainted creatures. The most dangerous and
terrifying of these creatures is Kuro, a gigantic, murderous owl that will chase Ori through
heart-racing set-pieces, intent on destruction. If you thought owls were cute, this game lets you
see things from the perspective of a field mouse. Ori and the Blind Forest sold well enough to
secure a sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. We went with the first one for this list, but the
second game is just as magical, so check that one out, too. What exactly is Ori, though? A fox?
A monkey? Some kind of albino newt? I give up. 6. Super Meat Boy 2010's Super Meat Boy is a great game that
clearly came from a deeply disturbed mind. The 'hero' of the piece is a sentient slab of
meat. You want to know what kind of meat? Well, I think some questions are best
left unanswered. His girlfriend, Bandage Girl, has been kidnapped by Dr.
Fetus. It's … got a style of its own. Also, Meat Boy leaves trails of blood on
every surface he touches. Delightful. Putting all of this … quirkiness aside,
Super Meat Boy was lavished with critical praise upon release. Definitely
one for those who like a challenge, Super Meat Boy requires pixel-perfect jumping
skills, and features such hazards as rising lava, flying projectiles, sinister enemies, and more. With its devilish trickiness and instant
restarts, Super Meat Boy will really tap into that 'just one more go' mentality. As such,
expect to lose many an evening with your little, meaty friend as you attempt those
tricky gauntlets over and over again, finally going to bed with visions
of flying meat and blood-spattered saw blades going through your head. It's a
perfectly healthy lifestyle, I assure you. 5. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Back in the 90s, Disney were scattering
top-quality 2D platformers like confetti. Whether it was a side-scrolling reimagining
of one of their blockbuster movies, or an iconic character on a jet-setting adventure, more often than not you could expect it to
be a shining example of the genre. As such, it was difficult to choose just one, so we
decided to toss all of that Disney magic and platforming goodness into a big old cauldron,
and boil it down into its purest possible form. What we're left with is the famous mouse himself
embarking on a picturesque, side-scrolling adventure. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey
Mouse saw the ultimate corporate mascot take on tricky jumps and devious bosses on the way to
save Minnie from the clutches of an evil witch. Eschewing the crushing difficulty of many
contemporary platformers, Castle of Illusion instead provides a more manageable experience,
meaning kids and adults alike have a chance of seeing the ending and squeezing out every
last drop of that lovely Disney magic. Its charming visuals and animation set
the tone for countless platformers that followed it. Sure, it may stick to that old
2D platformer formula, walk left to right, jump around a bit, stomp on cutesy
enemies. But if it works, it works, and by Walt Disney's cryogenically
frozen remains, this one works. 4. Braid Mixing in a hefty dose of puzzles, Braid is
one of those platformers that tries to make you think. Not just with its time-rewinding
brain-benders either; Braid's themes and story twists will fill your mind with thoughts…some
of them unwelcome. That's why it's such an indie darling, and is indeed viewed as one of the major
catalysts for the burgeoning indie scene today. At first glance, the platforming looks
fairly standard. Hop across gaps, bop enemies on the head, all
that lovely platformer stuff. Then player character Tim starts to
break the established laws of time, and you realise that you're no longer looking
at a simple Mario clone. These time powers lead to a large amount of interesting gameplay, from
simply rewinding time to retry mistimed jumps, to exploiting elements that react to temporal
manipulation in different and surprising ways. Also, what initially appeared to be a
basic damsel-in-distress storyline is turned on its head as the realisation slowly
dawns that our friend Tim may not be the harmless little chap that he first appears
to be. We all like to think we're the hero, but what if we're actually the villain in
someone else's story? That's enough from you, Braid; I wasn't planning on looking
inwards and reassessing myself today. 3. Limbo Dark, disturbing, ambiguous, and having absolutely
nothing to do with shimmying beneath a bar suspended by two poles, Limbo is about as far
away from the stereotypically colourful mascot platformer as you can get. Players enter a dark,
colourless world as they take on the role of a nameless boy searching for his lost sister, and
there's more going on here than meets than eye. The creepy visuals and off-putting sounds make for
an uncomfortable experience as the boy is hunted by mysterious assailants and forced to overcome
gruesome traps. Most of them are near-impossible to detect for first time players, and will result
in a sudden and sickening demise as the boy is crushed, impaled, maimed or electrocuted
in various upsetting ways. It's dark stuff, and not just because everything looks
like some kind of creepy shadow theatre. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to
arachnophobes, though. The gruelling, up-close and visceral encounter with a giant
spider might just make you lose your lunch. 2. Celeste In the real world, Mount Celeste is a mountain
on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It's a difficult hike, but it's very pretty,
surrounded by tall pines and capped with glistening snow. It is not, as far as we're
aware, littered with deadly spike traps, temples, and vast cave systems, and also
sprinkled with tasty, collectible strawberries. In 2018’s critically acclaimed Celeste,
players take control of Madeline, and are tasked with climbing a fictionalised
version of Mount Celeste, which definitely does have all of the aforementioned
features and more. Stupid real-world mountains and their lack of strawberries.
This is why I don't bother hiking, you know. In Celeste, Madeline's efforts to scale the
mountain are hampered by an antagonistic version of herself officially known as Part
of Me, although the internet has given her the far superior nickname of Badeline. Well
done, internet. Proceed despite Badeline's best efforts, and you'll be treated to
an excellent 2D platforming experience in which Madeline confronts her inner
demons of anxiety and depression. The game also features impressively tight and
satisfying gameplay, too. What else do you want, a universally lauded, inspiring and varied
soundtrack? Oh, it's got that as well... Alright, Celeste, no one likes a show-off. 1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Here he is, the blue spikey boy himself. We
tried to talk about Sonic earlier in this list, but he got away. Too fast, you see. Emblematic
to this day, Mr. The Hedgehog is the only character ever to seriously threaten Mario's
throne. Each of his mainline 2D appearances, from Sonic the Hedgehog way back in 1991, to
Sonic Mania as recently as 2017, are fast-paced, brilliantly poised platform
adventures deserving of this list. We had to choose just one, though,
and we went with Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Introducing Tails to the mix, this second
outing for the speedy woodland critter was iconic in every way, from bopping your
first badnik in the Emerald Hill Zone, to taking on Robotnik's giant egg-robot
aboard his Death Egg space station. Differentiating itself from Mario's efforts with
a spikier attitude, spectacularly varied levels, and breakneck speed, the peak 2D Sonic games
were meticulously crafted rollercoaster rides, with things sometimes getting so fast
the camera has trouble keeping up. Most of us will probably agree that
Mario has Sonic beat hands down when it comes to 3D adventures. When
it comes to the 2D games, though, the race is much tighter. We’re taking Mario
entirely out of the spotlight today, however, so Sonic has a chance to shine. And he’s
never shined brighter than he did here.
