Anatomy Of 2D Side-Scroller Lecturer Picks Favorites 104
Thanks to GameSpy for its column discussing some of the choicest 2D side-scrolling games of all time, as discussed in a lecture at the recent Game Developer's Conference in San Jose. Some of the "ten games from the past that have something to teach the aspiring platform game designer" listed included "Batman (1989, NES): Best wall jump ever (and game over music, he noted)", as well as "Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1988, AC/Gen/etc.): 'If your game is harder than this, you're in trouble.'", and even "Super Mario All-Stars (1993, SNES): Everything you need to know in one cart." What are your favorite 2D side-scrolling platformers of all time?
Viewtiful Joe (Score:4, Interesting)
It really is great
Quite hard but very rewarding
Lots of Cool moves
Great cutscenes
Stylish cellshaded graphics.
Best platformer on the GC, no doubt about it.
I also have a fond memory of supermarioland on the GB but it also was one of my first games so I might be biased
Blaster Master and Rocket Knight Adventures (Score:5, Interesting)
Rocket Knight Adventures was a greatly underrated Konami game for the Genesis. It had an excellent gameplay hook, the jetpack, but it also implemented many things that a modern designer would be well-heeled to abide by. For example, while taking damage enemies cannot damage you. This leads to many circumstances where you jump in with a hope and a prayer, and slice the enemy to shreds. Another example is the raw strength of the player. Everybody enjoys playing a character that mows through enemies, though not one whose power is so unlimited as to present no challenge. RKA handled this exchange very well, and to this day one of my favorite images of gaming are the hordes of pigs in underwear running from our intrepid hero.
Bionic Commando (Score:3, Interesting)
The Killing Game Show (Score:3, Interesting)
1. Presentation. Two 880K floppies, and a 3 minute FMV at the beginning (although most of that was time spent loading from disk...). This was one of the first FMVs ever to begin a credits sequence.
2. Graphics. This was available on the Atari ST and Genesis, but the platform of choice was the Amiga, which used the Copper extensively. Parallax scrolling and acid-pool effects were outstanding.
3. Gameplay. When you died, you could replay your movements through the level and take over at any point. The replay supported three different speeds.
4. Concept. You were a prisoner sent to fight your way through a deadly prison with a rising acid pool beneath you. Your legs were cut off, your flesh sand-blasted off, your head encased in a new skull and your bones coated with titanium and steel. You ran around on your hands, ferchrissakes. Twisted.
Beautiful game. Screenshots are an adventure in frustration. Try GIS, or read the developer riff on the game here:
http://www.nostalgica.nu/k/killing_game_show-th
Re:Viewtiful Joe (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a great game 'tho. Best platformer to come out in years. The thing is, production values DO count for soemthing, and VJ had that in spades.
Re:For my money (Score:1, Interesting)
The details of the game are among the best of any game ever:
1. The timer you mention is actually extended by the number of star pieces you accumulate. So if you haven't been doing your job of finding stars, you could get in trouble because you have less time to recapture Baby Mario (and the way Mario screeches, you don't really want that). After grabbing him back, if your star count is lower than 10, the timer slowly grows back to a minimum of 10, even if you have no stars, but you are forced to be careful while that timer grows, just to be on the safe side. Brilliant. And if you're going for a 100% game, you have to try not to get hit at all, or else you have to backtrack to find some stars, or create red eggs with which you can recapture two stars per egg.
2. The aiming mechanism for Yoshi's eggs can be locked, so you can prepare yourself for perfect throws during jumps. You can also position yourself for making those angular ricochet shots to hit obscured flowers and enemies.
3. Yoshi's kick-hover can keep you out of trouble, or it can force you to overestimate the ability of your jumps. Doing it over and over can trick you into thinking you might be able to maneuver out of a hopeless situation, too, which is hilarious. Again, brilliant.
I own both the SNES and GBA versions (just because playing it on the road is a killer app for me), and the GBA version is very faithful to the original, with the additional sound effects being the main difference. Highly recommended to skilled gamers, or as gifts to gamers who only think they are skilled.