Ever read Edwin A. Abbott’s Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions? In it, the protagonist is a two-dimensional square (known as A Square) who enters the worlds of one-dimensional and three-dimensional beings.
“I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space.”
We privileged creatures of the third dimension have marvelled at the world of 2D ever since its heyday in the 1980’s and early 90’s where the side-scrolling platformer was king. Body-shaming an Italian plumber by forcing him to eat magic mushrooms so he would no longer be short on his quest to save a princess from a turtle seemed like the pinnacle of gaming for generations of players.
As consoles became more sophisticated with the arrival of the fifth generation and the likes of the Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn, the side-scroller seemed antiquated and purely nostalgic. Have you even seen the graphics of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, man? Exactly.
Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Banjo Kazooie and even ol’ Mario himself with his own much-loved N64 classic put to bed the notion of old school platformers ever being relevant again. Right?
Well, maybe. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t good (and even many great) ones still out there. Not least of all with the release of Metroid: Samus Returns for Nintendo 3DS this past week, the much-anticipated remake of Gameboy’s Metroid II. After the brilliant first-person Metroid Prime series for Gamecube and Nintendo Wii, Metroid: Samus Returns sees the galactic bounty hunter go back to her side-scrolling origins. And it’s not just Samus Aran who is back in Flatland, with Sonic Mania and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap both joining her too over the past year.
Here are a few of Set The Tape‘s other favourite modern 2D platformers.
Mighty No. 9
Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, OS X, Linux, Android, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS
Few platformers of the golden era brought as much joy and inextinguishable rage as Capcom’s Mega Man series. Following Keiji Inafune’s departure from Capcom, the former artist and illustrator on the NES and SNES Mega Man games founded the video game developer Level-5 Comcept in 2010. Three years later and Mighty No. 9 was Kickstarted, reaching its target in under two days; and another three years later, the much delayed platform adventure finally landed on stockist’s shelves.
It is not particularly innovative in terms of gameplay or design – in fact it pretty much takes chunks wholesale from the Mega Man ethos – and it is frustrating as hell in the way that only platformers are sometimes allowed to be, but the learning curve is not so steep as to become infuriating and unplayable. Its biggest issue is that it isn’t Mega Man, which is hardly fair. Cartoony graphics, amusing dialogue and a pick-up-and-play style means this game is most fun when played in chunks.
Super Mario Maker
Platform: Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
If Mighty No. 9 was happy to bathe in the nostalgia-tub, then Super Mario Maker threw it and its bath water out together by letting go of the reigns and handing creative control over to its audience in perhaps the most innovate new platformer since the original Super Mario Bros. The modern side-scrolling Mario platformers have consistently knocked it out of the park, but this is another level entirely.
Players are encouraged to create and share their own custom level designs using basic and unlockable blocks from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U. Simple to learn and great fun to play, whether designing levels for your own amusement, or witnessing the truly astonishing feats of creativity available for you to explore out there, this is a game like no other.
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
Platform: Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Microsoft Windows, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Time to dust off that 3DS XL, close that still-running Pokemon game and get on the eShop to download the third entry in WayForward Technologies’s platform series. You play as a half-genie who uses her hair to attack, but is forced to join forces with arch-nemesis Risky Boots to save Sequin Land from the Ammo Barron and evil Pirate Master.
Like titles such as sandbox game Terraria and classic Super Metroid on the SNES (also available on the SNES Classic Mini released later this month), Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse also rewards exploration. The more you do in this relatively short but entertaining game, the more you will get out of it. The fourth instalment in the series, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, is also out now on multiple platforms, including Nintendo Switch.
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Platform: Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
Sometimes, you just want to play a lovely platformer where the peril is mild at best. When Rayman Legends is getting you down because of those bloody green gits and their stupid stilt-walking friends, don’t worry. Yoshi has you covered.
The story takes place on a knitted island filled with Yarn Yoshis with levels that are virtually impossible to die in. Spending time in the woolly world is a pleasure. Developed by Good-Feel, the gorgeous aesthetics are a perfect harmoniser and it is highly recommended as a single console co-op game. This is the very embodiment of a cosy comfort game.
Shovel Knight
Platform: Amazon Fire TV, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Another Kickstarted indie game to make this list is the American developer Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight. Questing in this fantasy world, the protagonist’s weapon of choice is the humble multi-purpose shovel, used to thwack enemies, dig up hidden gems and pogo to safety.
The 8-bit pixellated graphics of Shovel Knight belie the sheer craftsmanship in storytelling through gameplay that emboldens this unheralded success beyond another nostalgia-baiting trap. If you find the game a little too easy to begin with, don’t worry. It gets much tougher; and if you beat it, you can unlock a whole new level of pain you didn’t realise existed.
Do you agree with this list, or did we miss out your favourite modern 2D platform game? Leave a comment in the box below!