Board 8 > *~~SephG ranks the classic 2D console platformers~~*

(+) Yeah! (+)

I really would love to do the great run-and-gun games (Contra, Gunstar Heroes, Metal Slug, etc.). But those are best played in co-op and the wife would rather die than help me ;_;
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Classic RPGs it is then

Excited to get your take on Might and Magic vs Ultima
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Hint for #8: I once saw it ranked in some magazine as the greatest video game of all time
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so that should rule out smb2, s3&k, and dkc, at the very least
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I can see a magazine heralding DCK1 as the GOAT. Sure, something like SMB3, SMW and DKC2 would too but I bet they've been listed as such more than once.
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I'm going to use my momentum to guess that (sadly), Yoshi's Island takes its leave here.
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Gonna go with SMW here

he didn't say that it has been called GOAT -only- once ever, just that he saw it once described as such
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Fun fact - for the GBA version of DKC3 they brought in David Wise and redid the music.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

Classic 2D platformers without any Mega Man games?

Mega Man is an action platformer

But like, mario shoots fireballs at flowers that shoot back. And he had to dodge falling Thwomps like mega man has to dodge falling spikes.

Not that different. Both are action platformers!!
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JonThePenguin posted...

Fun fact - for the GBA version of DKC3 they brought in David Wise and redid the music.

Oh really? How does it compare to 2?
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#8. Super Mario Bros.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/43/f4/c3/43f4c3cd400643f63e0cac465908d212.jpg

It is kind of amazing how well the original Super Mario Bros holds up. Jakyl may argue with me here, but it basically codified the most popular gaming genre for a decade and was the first of its kind in so many ways. Holding down the run button to jump over bigger gaps? Killing enemies by jumping on them? The power-up? The 1-Up? All were either invented or solidified in SMB.

Many games of this era, and trailblazing games in general, get held to lower standards and often get placed on "best ever" lists because they simply broke new ground. Hell, I see people still praising Assassin's Creed 1 because it opened the door to a new style of game--and AC1 sucks. But the praise of SMB is not unwarranted. I legitimately had a great time running through this game, trying to assess the exact point in which I passed the furthest stage I'd gotten to as a kid, and then ultimately beating a surprisingly challenging final world.

But... there is also a reason why this is the lowest Mario game on the list. The controls can feel a bit slippery at times, which leads to many annoying moments that forced me nearly break my controller. The Bowser fights are notoriously repetitive and mechanically uninteresting (I found the best strategy usually just involved kamikaze-ing into Bowser as Super Mario and running straight to the axe). And of course, the level of polish graphically and otherwise just doesn't compare to the later entries.

Despite its flaws, Super Mario Bros. remains probably the oldest game that I can still genuinely enjoy to play to this day, and its place among the greats is quite deserved.

Not good
11. Sonic the Hedgehog

Fine
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Great
9. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
8. Super Mario Bros.
7.

Excellent
6.
5.

Spectacular
4.
3.

All-timers
2.
1.
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Well yeah SMB was my other option...

I've been playing New Supe Mario Bros. Wii and I think it's a more slippery Mario game, perhaps the most. I've been dying on that game way more than usual for a Mario game and I think that's a big reason. Game's great but there's just something off in the physics.

Then again you're playing the SNES versions of SMB and those have different physics on their own.
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predictions

7. Yoshi's Island
6. DKC
5. S3&K
4. SMB2
3. DKC2
2. SMB3
1. SMW
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

JonThePenguin posted...

Fun fact - for the GBA version of DKC3 they brought in David Wise and redid the music.

Oh really? How does it compare to 2?

I have no idea, Ive never actually played that version. Or finished the SNES version, now that I think about it. <_<
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gonna just hazard yoshi's island for #7 again!
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Hint for #7: this was the first game I played when starting this journey 2 years ago
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Jakyl may argue with me here,

Uh no

SMB is the most impressive and important game in the entire history of video games

Literally every game that uses a controller for input that comes after it owes it a debt
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Also the All-Stars SMB1 has imperfect physics as compared to the original, sadly
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If you want to imagine a dark alternative history for platform games, play Pac-Land and imagine thats the common ancestor instead of SMB just because it came first

You have to hold a face button to move!
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It's DKC then
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Jakyl25 posted...

If you want to imagine a dark alternative history for platform games, play Pac-Land and imagine thats the common ancestor instead of SMB just because it came first

You have to hold a face button to move!

So basically every platformer functions like a racing game? Damn.
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Jakyl25 posted...

Also the All-Stars SMB1 has imperfect physics as compared to the original, sadly

Its visuals and music are aesthetically worse, too. Most of the rest of All-Stars improves on the original work (except SMB3 World 8) but SMB1 on there is just an inferior experience
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WazzupGenius00 posted...

Jakyl25 posted...

Also the All-Stars SMB1 has imperfect physics as compared to the original, sadly

Its visuals and music are aesthetically worse, too. Most of the rest of All-Stars improves on the original work (except SMB3 World 8) but SMB1 on there is just an inferior experience

Really? I guess it's not something I would really notice. I still enjoyed the game either way!

What about SMB3 world 8 is different?
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tag
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#7. Donkey Kong Country
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c1/Dkc_snes_boxart.jpg

Donkey Kong Country had no business being as great as it is. What essentially was just an expanded tech demo to show off the hardware capabilities and graphic prowess of the SNES became an immediate critical sensation and wound up selling 9 million copies. And you could even argue that its success is responsible for the direction Nintendo would take over the next 20 years, as it proved the value of iconic first-party mascots beyond Mario and Link to the overall brand.

My quest to beat these classic platformers all started with Donkey Kong Country. DKC set the groundwork for a truly original platformer when they could have easily just created a Mario clone and sold a million copies. The play style in many ways is faster than Sonic, and it provides a real sense of speed and challenge that will test your reaction time until your palms get sweaty. And the first game did something that Mario or Sonic could only capture for fleeting moments until that point--it created a true sense of mood that helped put the player in a sometimes Nirvana-like state while swiftly dodging obstacles and pulling off some of the hardest pure platforming seen on the SNES.

I love this game. When ranking the DKC series as a whole, I tried my hardest to not take into account personal biases that I've had for it for the past 20+ years. The series is far and away the one I am best at playing. Compared to most here, I probably suck at gaming overall. But there's just something about the way DKC plays that just clicks with me--always has. I can crush through these games without dying until the later levels, and I can impress my friends with how well I can pick up and play if we ever happen to do co-op for a few minutes. The thing that really stunned me most is that, when I made a topic here years ago about starting some of these old platformers, most people actually told me that DKC was the most difficult of these three series. I think that is objectively wrong now, but still, the fact that there is that perception makes me think that my brain is just able to handle this series better than any other. The reason why I am stating all of this is not to "brag," but I really am trying to review this game objectively, despite how well it works for me personally.

Let's get to one cold, hard truth: DKC is inferior to its sequel in literally every way. Donkey Kong himself does not play nearly as smoothly as Diddy or Dixie. The Animal Friends are vastly improved in their next iteration. The boss fights are very same-y (including an actual color palette swap for one). And the music, while containing some of the most perfect tracks ever recording for a video game (Aquatic Ambiance, et al), really didn't hit its stride until DKC2.

For all of this, DKC just barely fails to manage to break that threshold that separates this group from the next on the list--but it's still a remarkable game and a remarkable feat by the dev team at Rare.

Not good
11. Sonic the Hedgehog

Fine
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Great
9. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
8. Super Mario Bros.
7. Donkey Kong Country

Excellent
6.
5.

Spectacular
4.
3.

All-timers
2.
1.
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A note on Mario: 4 of the next 6 games in the Excellent and beyond tiers are Mario games. Not that this is a novel concept, but holy shit are the 2D Mario games fucking good. The run from SMB through Mario 64 is just otherworldly, and I don't think we'll see a series as consistently great and innovative for that amount of iterations ever again.

Hint for #6: this was, for me, the most pleasant surprise of any game on the list.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

DKC is inferior to its sequel in literally every way.

I think DKC1 starts more badass than the sequel: Jungle > Ship. There are also some unequaled areas such as the snow and the factory.
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Yeah I'm fine with smb3 with no whistles because I put that much time into the game to basically memorize most levels up to world 6 or 7.

I know I'd appreciate the sonic games more if I did that, but I didn't play them as a kid.
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DKC2 and 3 have more novel (or gimmicky) aspects to its levels, so your mileage varies based on how well you can handle them.

1 is like just pure brute force platforming.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Hint for #6: this was, for me, the most pleasant surprise of any game on the list.

Guessing Yoshi's Island; arguably my favorite Mario game, but the fact that it's guaranteed Excellent here is a win in my book
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Probably Mario 2, since nobody really talks about that game being great (even though it is).
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^^Yeah banking on Mario 2 for that same reason.
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Agree that Sonic 2 is not all that good. There's just too many levels, most of whom are either bland or just too hard (the worst being Metropolis, which to make things worse is the only one three acts long! at least the music was nice). Sonic 1 had just two great levels (Green Hill and Star Light) out of six, but Sonic 2 didn't improve quality along with quantity (great out of the first eight, Emerald Hill, Casino Night, and the first half of Hill Top). The bonus stage was also not fun, hence me not even attempting to get all seven Emeralds.
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I prefer Sonic 1 to Sonic 2. Sonic 2 is mostly all about speed. I guess that's the main appeal for most, but I like collecting rings and exploring levels, and that's more possible in 1. In 2, backtracking just kills the flow of the game to the point where it stops been fun.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

A note on Mario: 4 of the next 6 games in the Excellent and beyond tiers are Mario games. Not that this is a novel concept, but holy s*** are the 2D Mario games f***ing good. The run from SMB through Mario 64 is just otherworldly, and I don't think we'll see a series as consistently great and innovative for that amount of iterations ever again.

Honestly you could even extend it back to Mario Bros itself.
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New Super Mario Bros. games are up there too IMO.
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Sunshine breaks the combo though
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nobody remembers super mario land huh
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The Land games are part of that run.
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AxemRedRanger posted...

nobody remembers super mario land huh

Nintendo themselves excluded it <_<

No Miyamoto: doesnt count!
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I'd consider running through the SML games. My biggest deterrent is just rearranging my shelves to play it through the GameCube >_>
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Tag
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#6. Super Mario Bros. 2 (US)
https://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/b/b2/Famicom_disk_system-doki_doki_panic.jpg/250px-Famicom_disk_system-doki_doki_panic.jpg

Super Mario Bros. 2 was the one NES Mario game I had no experience with as a young kid. Mario 1 (+Duck Hunt) was the first game I ever owned, and I played Mario 3 at a neighbor's house not long after. I'd heard Mario 2 was the black sheep of the series--an anomaly that wasn't really a Mario game and something that was largely forgotten after the SNES came out. The first time I tried playing it was when I discovered emulation (probably in the late 90s), and I remember being thoroughly confused. I can't kill enemies by jumping on them? I can play as Toad and Peach? When I go to the right, I appear on the other end of the screen?! THERE IS VERTICAL PLATFORMING??

Needless to say, I never went further than the first few stages. So when I finally decided that I had to beat the game in full to get the complete breadth of these series, I assumed Mario 2 would be dead last on this list, or at least toward the very bottom. And, at first, my suspicions were confirmed. I found the gameplay to be really jarring, with some actions and items appearing to be totally pointless. But as the game went on, I started to understand the mechanics a little better. The stages were becoming more challenging and, later, downright difficult. And soon I came to an important realization: Super Mario Bros. 2 is not a traditional platformer, it is a puzzle platformer. The game does a brilliant job at slowly teaching you how to use the various objects and enemies to your advantage in order to access the new areas, and eventually stopped holding your hand. I was at times confused and frustrated, dying over and over as I tried to muscle my way through the platforming only to be killed by an unforeseen trap... but I loved every second of it.

The best of these games make you feel really fantastic once you develop a bit of mastery to the mechanics. SMB2 is different in the sense that you never really need to master the button presses, timing, or anything like that--but the awesome feeling comes from solving the puzzles, figuring out how to unlock an extra heart container in each world, and beating all of the mid-bosses and world bosses without taking too many hits. Maybe I am a complete idiot for being proud of myself for solving a children's game, but the satisfaction I received from SMB2 really isn't rivaled by any other game on the list (at least not in the same way). I was hooked.

SMB2 is certainly the "black sheep" of the group, but it's still a superb puzzle game--and once you change your expectations for what a platformer should be, it holds up mightily well against its legendary peers.

Not good
11. Sonic the Hedgehog

Fine
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Great
9. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
8. Super Mario Bros.
7. Donkey Kong Country

Excellent
6. Super Mario Bros. 2 (US)
5.

Spectacular
4.
3.

All-timers
2.
1.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

SMB2 is different in the sense that you never really need to master the button presses, timing, or anything like that

Unless Phanto is chasing you!
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Hint for #5: This game is the subject of a fierce debate with another game on the list as to which one is superior.
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Mario World or Mario 3 then.
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It's taking too long for Yoshi's Island.
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lordjers posted...

It's taking too long for Yoshi's Island.

It seems I quite enjoyed it!
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lordjers posted...

New Super Mario Bros. games are up there too IMO.

I need to play these games again without a super jaded perspective.

Probably without powerups
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My guess: Super Mario World
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