Your favourite 3D platformers

Mario Galaxy
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
Mario Odyssey
Marble It Up!

Oh gooseberry fool yeah how could I forget about astro bot?! Brilliant game!

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Lotus** » Wed Sep 23, 2020 4:09 pm

In no real order:

Rocket: Robot on Wheels
Super Mario 64
Banjo Kazooie
Super Mario Galaxy
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

OrangeRKN wrote:Spilling out of the Super Mario 3D All Stars chat...

Victor Mildew wrote:1. Mario Galaxy 2
2. Mario Galaxy
3. Mario odyseey
4. Mario 64
5. Jak and Daxter- the precursor legacy

Balladeer wrote:1. Odyssey
2. Galaxy 2
3. A Hat in Time
4. Galaxy 1
5. ...I think it would have to be SM64. It's not aged well at all but I can't think of any other options that I've played.

My own picks for a top 5:

1. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
2. Banjo-Kazooie
3. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
4. Grow Home
5. Super Mario Odyssey

I'm being relatively strict on my genre definitions - not counting the Jak sequels despite still having plenty of platforming and not counting the 2.5D Klonoa games. Bubbling under otherwise are the Sly games, Spyro, Mario 64 and Galaxy.

I've always believed by default that 3D platformers were one of my favourite ever genres. But now that I am forced to think up a list, I am struggling more than I thought I might to remember many non-Mario/Rare top-tiers. But I'm interested to work it out! (If anyone makes a 2D equivalent I'll be all over that too).

In terms of your definition, does Mirror's Edge count?

Or is it 3rd-person in the main?

In which case: does Tony Hawk's count?

Also also: Do folks remember Space Station Silicon Valley? That was a great game man.

P.S. I was really keen to play new Super Lucky's Tale - the style and music and design were great in the demo! But the performance was not

I was being strict in third person 3D platformers, so not counting Mirror's Edge, but it's your own list! Personally I really like Mirror's Edge but I think it's too different to try and reasonably compare against say Banjo. The difference between third and first person for me is huge (I am someone who plays Fallout and The Elder Scrolls in third person, despite them being very wonky in third person, because it affects the experience so much for me).

I can see why you'd call Tony Hawk's a platformer too, that's an interesting thought. Without thinking I'd just call it a "sports" game but that's really not a helpful genre to describe its gameplay!

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Mafro** » Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:04 pm

All the Mario games because they're the only good 3D platformers in existence.

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Tomous** » Wed Sep 23, 2020 11:35 pm

Seriously though, why aren't there more?

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Pedz** » Thu Sep 24, 2020 12:01 am

Vermilion wrote:
Tomous wrote:
Jenuall wrote:5. Sonic Adventure 2 (strawberry float the haters!)

I loved both Sonic Adventure games. I haven't gone back recently but they were just a hot mess

The first one was far superior, the central hub was neat, the levels were better designed (SA2's gem hunt levels were way too big), and i enjoyed the story a lot more.

Also, that Nights pinball table

Nah, Big levels make SA way worse. WAY.

Bluesky · PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Kriken** » Thu Sep 24, 2020 1:56 am

1. Mario Galaxy
2. Mario Galaxy 2
3. A Hat in Time
4. Mario 64
5. Mario Sunshine

Top two are fairly interchangeable for me. Currently replaying Galaxy 1 and will have to replay Galaxy 2 at some point. Haven't beaten either in a good while.

A Hat in Time is really excellent. Some low-budgetness does poke through every now and then but it's very polished for an indie game and it's very charming.

Mario Sunshine actually went down a bit in my estimation when I played through it recently. It's very fun and unique but it's much less well-rounded than the others. There's a jankyness to it that's not always appreciated. It's also a fairly small game if you cut out the padding, and there is a fair amount of repetition among the main objectives.

Can't help but love though, and I haven't played too many 3D platformers due to the lack of them or I guess lack of high quality ones.

Honourable mentions to:

-Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Prince of Persia Two Thrones. Really liked these games. Especially Sands of Time back in the day, but when I went back to it more recently I was put off by how boring the combat is.

-Spyro. Really liked these games. Kind of preferred the first game's straightforward approach. From 2 onwards it became a lot more about minigames of mixed quality, but I think of Year of the Dragon most fondly as the most polished all-round good one. Not like it has particularly good story or anything but I did like the extra attention put towards the characters and presentation.

-Rayman 2: Great Escape. Played this very recently and liked it a lot. Not enough to do everything in it though.

At last, somebody else who appreciates the gold that is A Hat in Time! Ludicrous that more people here haven’t played it IMHO.

deathofcows wrote:P.S. I was really keen to play new Super Lucky's Tale - the style and music and design were great in the demo! But the performance was not

I don’t think you’re missing too much to be honest. I got halfway through before getting distracted. It’s inoffensive in the main, but it’s a 6-7/10 at most.

Balladeer wrote:At last, somebody else who appreciates the gold that is A Hat in Time! Ludicrous that more people here haven’t played it IMHO.

I've never even heard if it before.

Vermilion wrote:
Balladeer wrote:At last, somebody else who appreciates the gold that is A Hat in Time! Ludicrous that more people here haven’t played it IMHO.

I've never even heard if it before.

The art style and animations makes it look really amature which is why ive never boug ht it

Balladeer wrote:I don’t think you’re missing too much to be honest. I got halfway through before getting distracted. It’s inoffensive in the main, but it’s a 6-7/10 at most.

Shame, didn't The Lady get you that for your birthday? You were dead excited about it.

Last edited by Balladeer on Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

Victor Mildew wrote:
Vermilion wrote:
Balladeer wrote:At last, somebody else who appreciates the gold that is A Hat in Time! Ludicrous that more people here haven’t played it IMHO.

I've never even heard if it before.

The art style and animations makes it look really amature which is why ive never boug ht it

Weird, the other less well-informed take I’ve heard recently was that it was full of posh Britishness. Neither are true! Sure, AHiT isn’t po-faced and is definitely pretty light and cute (something you could say about Banjo too), but it’s not twee. Lucky is twee; AHiT is not. It’s too well-written to be twee. It gets pretty dark in some of its set-pieces as well.

It’s hard to describe overall really - it takes hints from the Mario games, particularly Sunshine (the good bits! No pachinko here), but otherwise it’s just a fun varied game with good levels, good characters, and good writing. The camera’s not the best but anyone playing 3D All-Stars has recently experienced worse. It’s not flawless but it’s very very good - and not, it must be stressed, twee/immature.

Drumstick wrote:
Balladeer wrote:I don’t think you’re missing too much to be honest. I got halfway through before getting distracted. It’s inoffensive in the main, but it’s a 6-7/10 at most.

Shame, didn't The Lady get you that for your birthday? You were dead excited about it.

Well remembered! My parents actually, and I don’t live with them so it’s easier to be underwhelmed.

My main complaint about New Super Lucky’s Tale is that it’s twee - see above. From the golem that’s insistent on being your friend to the point of claustrophobia, to Lucky gurgling away like a ten-year-old with a new toy, to the f*cking awful gurgling from the worm people, to the general ease of the game, that really gets on my wick. Otherwise it’s not bad. Lucky is good to control, the levels have a decent variety, it’s all colourful enough, and the camera behaves itself. Play with a sick bucket next to you and you’ll have a moderately good time.

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Tsunade** » Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:42 am

My list is basically just the few 3D platformers I've played really, and the few memories I have attached to them (also where's the love for Crash in this thread?)

1 Mario Sunshine - My game arrives today. I cant wait to get back to playing this. It was the first game other than Billy Hatcher that I played on gamecube and I loved it. My brother wasn't as keen and I know theres some bad parts of it, but I loved it all the same. The Isle Delphino theme was my ringtone for a long time!

2 Crash Bandicoot Warped - love love loooooove this game to pieces. My friend lent me her PS1 when I was at secondary (we didn't own a console at this point) and my family spent hours upon hours playing this to death. We never completed it though and watching my mother play the Road Hog level was pure hilarity, as she had no clue what she was doing, even when we told her what to press! We got her to play it when the remake came out, it was brilliant.

3 Mario 64 - I briefly remember playing this on my 3ds, I enjoyed it, looking forward to playing the remake later today! Never did quite make it to the roof.

4 Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg - I would adore a remake of this, or a sequel. I dont remember much about it except for rolling eggs about, but I loved playing it. I got stuck at one point, but I was missing something really simple, I couldn't believe it when I finally did it!

5 Sonic Adventure 2 - too many hours in the Chao garden. Too many. Never did get my angel Chao in the end! The game itself was clunky in places but it was still brilliant all the same.

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. Super Mario 64
4. Jak & Daxter The Precursor Legacy
5. Super Mario Odyssey

Odyssey
B-K
DK64
Sunshine
Tooie

Sorted.

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Jenuall** » Thu Sep 24, 2020 9:03 am

Uh, it was bad enough when people were having the gall to include one Banjo game in their lists, but two of them? :dread:

Had a google around and found this site which lists 164 games that they categorise as 3D platformers: Every 3D Platformer Ever Made

I don't think it's exhaustive and the criteria they use is a bit different to OR's suggestion but it's an interest list. It does surprise me that there haven't been more of these games in the ~25 years that the genre has existed

PostRe: Your favourite 3D platformers by **Jenuall** » Thu Sep 24, 2020 9:42 am

Question for the A Hat in Time fans: what platform would you recommend getting it on?

It has been on my radar for a long time but I've never pulled the trigger. I'd probably prefer to play it on Switch but I'm sure I've heard mention that the performance is a bit wonky on the Nintendo platform?

Your favourite 3D platformers

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