Favorite traditional 2D platformers?

[Gunstar Green]

The Master System exclusive sequel World of Illusion is even better and possibly the best platformer on the console.

I believe World of Illusion is a Genesis game, not a Master System Game. Do you mean Legend of Illusion or Land of Illusion?

I meant Land of Illusion, thanks for the catch.

Legend is kind of a letdown.

Which also aren't Master System exclusive, so I am not sure what they are talking about. Wish I had the Sms versions instead of the Game Gear versions.

I was close enough.

Getting back on topic, Pac-land was a 2D platformer way ahead of its time. I believe it predates Super Mario Bros.

Indeed it does. It's also arguably the inspiration for the original Wonder Boy.

[samsonlonghair]

You're Welcome, Gunstar.

By the way, here's a little more info on that early platformer I mentioned:

Pac-Land was released by Namco in 1984. That's the year before Super Mario Bros. This early platformer was way ahead of its time. The running and jumping mechanics are spot-on. The graphics include touches of isometric perspective and even paralax scrolling. Not too shabby for its time, eh?

I feel like this game is often overlooked in the history of platformers. Some folks seem to think that the genre just emerged, fully formed, straight out of Shigeru Miyamoto's brain.

[Ziggy]

^ I've been meaning to give Pac Land a try for years now, but keep forgetting. Hopefully this post will remind me when I get home from work.

[Gamerforlife]

Sonic & Knuckles
DKC 1 & 2 (Never played 3 and hate the DKC Returns series)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Doki Doki Panic)
Super Mario Bros. 3
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Aladdin (Genesis and SNES)
Animaniacs (SNES)
Puppeteer
Super Mario Land
Castle of Illusion remake (Better than Ducktales Remastered and it even came with the original)
HELL YEAH! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[TEKTORO]

The Klonoa games have this genre on lock.

Hey technically 2.5D dood, but yeah Besty for sure. How about a nom for SkullMonkeys?

[Xeogred]

How about the GBA Klonoa? That and Wario Land 4 always stand out to me on the Wii U shop, been curious about them.

[Xeogred]

Bump if some newer folks have some input!

[Anapan]

I played fairly far through Klonoa on GBA years ago. It loses some of the charm, and gets repetitive due to the strictly 2D backgrounds being reused to save cart space, but it's still very solidly built.
I play a lot of the Kirby games with my nephew and niece. Every installment is really well crafted.
My weakness is Metroidvanias, so traditional take the back seat usually.

[samsonlonghair]

WarioLand 4 is a little bit more experimental and a little less traditional than the earlier games in the series. WarioLand 4 is more like a Puzzle platformer with a time limit. You have to go from the level entrance, find the hidden key, then race back to the entrance (sometimes along a different path) before the time limit expires. Don't get me wrong. WarioLand 4 is an excellent platformer; it's just not a strictly traditional platformer.

You want a great 2D platformer for GBA? Try Drilldozer. It's an original I.P. made by gamefreaks (the Pokemon folks) with a neat rumble pack built into the cartridge. Powerups come by way of gears. As you may expect, you need a higher gear power to break through certain types of blocks. The spritework is fantastic - as good as the best spritework on SNES. Boss battles are fun, albeit easy, like any traditional platformer.

Highly recommended.

[Balasubbie]

Castle of Illusion remake (Better than Ducktales Remastered and it even came with the original)

Never touched the original and went into this relatively blind. Enjoyed the short run-time of it, but the fact, even after you die, it locks its final boss behind an unskippable cut-scene went ways to burning up some of my goodwill for the title. Such a little thing, but the extent to which it disrupts the flow left me thinking more of how irritating its conclusion was than how much I'd enjoyed the previous 3-4 hours of funsies.