Platform
Description
Platform games (platformers) are action games in which the playfield is set up as a series of planes (floors, levels, or platforms) for the player to navigate.
Platform games often involve combat, but include additional challenges by making navigation hazardous. Often the challenges of overcoming environmental dangers surpass those posed by combat. The player character is usually required to jump over gaps and damaging areas, or to access a different platform. In many platform games the player character is very vulnerable and can die easily from falling damage, environmental traps, or enemy attacks.
Early platform games (e.g.
Donkey Kong) were confined to one screen and required the player character to climb in order to reach higher platforms. Later platformers, popularized by
Super Mario Bros., began to focus on traversing side-scrolling levels, often within an allotted time limit, fending off upcoming enemies and jumping. This style, commonly referred to as
jump-and-run, has preserved itself in many later platformers as well.
Other platform games, such as
Prince of Persia, emphasize exploration, combat, and problem-solving in addition to the usual platform challenges. Such games have become known as
cinematic platformers. This style has had a considerable influence on many 3D platformers (e.g. later
Prince of Persia games,
ICO, etc.), which incorporate extensive puzzle-solving.
 Game Title |
Game Boy Advance (2002), NES (1983), Atari 2600 (1983), Commodore 64 (1987), Atari 5200 (1983), Atari 7800 (1988), Amstrad CPC (1987), ZX Spectrum (1987), Atari 8-bit (1988), Wii (2006), PC-88 (1984) and Nintendo 3DS (2013) Mario and Luigi, the best plumbers in the world, have a real job on their hands. A host of characters... |
PC-88 (1984) Mario Bros. Special is based on, but very different from, the original arcade game. Much like the original title, the... |
DOS (1990) Mario Brothers VGA is an unofficial remake of the classic Mario Bros. game of the arcade in VGA 16 colors.You... |
Nintendo DSi (2009) Mario Clock is a Nintendo DSiWare app. It displays the time in 8-bit graphics. The user can switch between an... |
Windows (2004) Mario Forever is an unofficial remake of the famous Super Mario Bros. with some improvements and additions: better graphics, music... |
GameCube (2004) This new Mario Party has a twist. Along with the four-player party action that is expected with the board game... |
Nintendo DS (2007) Mario Party DS continues the Mario Party gameplay on the Nintendo DS. It is a multiplayer game played as a... |
Game Boy Advance (2003) This unique title combines a card game with the Game Boy Advance e-reader add-on, using the characters and game style... |
Game Boy Advance (2004) and Nintendo 3DS (2011) In the beginning video, Donkey Kong is at home channel-surfing. While flipping through channels, DK notices an ad about the... |
Nintendo DS (2006) Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis is an action/puzzle game where the object is to bring as... |
Nintendo DS (2010) Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! is the fourth game in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. A series of... |
Nintendo DSi (2009) Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! is an action/puzzle game similar to the previous game in the series. However,... |
SNES (1993) Mario & Wario is a puzzle game that utilizes the SNES Mouse. The player chooses Princess Peach (low speed), Mario... |
Genesis (1994), SNES (1995) and SEGA CD (1995) Colonel Brown, the evil owner of a toy factory, has created a substance that can turn people and animals into... |
Game Gear (1993) With the help of a mad scientist, Colonel Brown, the owner of a toy factory, has created a substance that... |
DOS (1997) A simple platform game. However, this game is ONLY playable with 2 people. There is no single player - But... |
Genesis (1995) Based on the character developed by Belgian cartoon artist Franquin, this platform features the player controlling Marsupilami, a strange animal... |
Windows (2010) Maru is a platformer by Jesse Venbrux partly based on the mechanics previously explored in his title Frozzd. It consists... |
Game Boy (1991) One day while Maru and Cori are taking a walk in Central Park, a strange thing happens. Out of nowhere... |
Genesis (1991) In the land of Coni, its inhabitants lived in harmony. At its center lies a mountain called "Peace", in which... |
SNES (1996) Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems is a side-scrolling platformer/beat 'em up based on the Infinity Gauntlet storyline... |
Amiga (1994) and Amiga CD32 (1995) One of the most console-style platformers ever seen on the Amiga, Marvin has approximately 60 levels to battle through. There... |
Game Boy Color (2000) Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen star in the portable adventure about junior detectives who can "solve any crime by dinnertime."Each mystery... |
Game Boy Color (1999) The Mask of Zorro is based on the 1998 movie of the same name. It closely follows the plot of... |
Atari 2600 (1983) WANTED: A master builder to create structures per blueprints for Spectraville. To apply, insert cartridge into Atari 2600 and power... |
