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Platformers

Definition

Games which involve negotiating platforms as a means for progression, typically via jumping, but sometimes using ladders, ropes or other climbing tools.

Platformers can be displayed on one screen, involve scrolling upwards or sideways, or involve multi-direction exploration.  They may feature obstacles, traps or enemies, the latter of which may be slain with weapons, often guns (such games often come close to being a shoot-em-up).

History (all formats)

Platformers, generally being one of the simpler types of games, were ever-present in the early days of home computers.

Early classics: Manic Miner (1983) on the Spectrum, Chuckie Egg (1983) on most formats, Donkey Kong (1981) on the arcades.

The early console platform icons were Nintendo's Mario (who featured in Donkey Kong as a carpenter called Jumpman) and Sega's Sonic.  Mario Bros. a follow-up to Donkey Kong, was released on the Nintendo in 1983, while Sonic The Hedgehog appeared on the Sega Master System in 1991.  Both spawned a number of sequels.  Mario has been resurrected on the Wii, in the form of Super Mario Galaxy (2007), a dizzyingly inventive 3D platformer.  Sonic isn't forgotten, though, with Sonic And The Secret Rings (2007) released on the Wii.  There was a rare meeting of the two (a little like Pacino and De Niro in Heat, perhaps) with Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (2007), also on the Wii.  However, that is merely touching the surface.

Meanwhile, Taito were responsible the trio of classic platformers Bubble Bobble (1986), Rainbow Islands (1987) and Parasol Stars (1991), converted from the arcades to most computer and console formats.  Bubble Bobble comprised 100 levels set solely on one screen, which one or two players had to negotiate as small dragons called Bub and Bob, with mouth-propelled bubbles as both a weapon and a means of negotiating harder to reach areas.  Fired-upon enemies would become trapped in the bubbles which subsequently needed to be popped in order to both dispose of the baddie before they got mad and escaped, and collect a power-up or a point-scoring treat.  The 100th level required our intrepid bubble-firing heroes to defeat the end-of-game boss.

Rainbow Islands, subtitled The Story Of Bubble Bobble 2, expanded the horizons of Bubble Bobble, allowing vertical scrolling, and requiring the player to make their way up to the top of each level.  There were 7 islands (although there appear to be 3 secret islands to be discovered on some versions), each with 4 levels, and at the end of each island a boss baddie needed to be defeated.  Time limits were imposed by an increasing water level, with which connection would result in the loss of a life.  Enemies could be dispatched with a fired rainbow which, in a similar technique to Bubble Bobble, could also be used to scale platform-free heights.  A more effective option was to shatter fired rainbows above or in close proximity to enemies - this would result in the collection of gems, the colour of which depending on where the gem landed.  Collecting all 7 gems on a particular island would award an extra life to the player and collecting them in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, naturally) would unlock a secret door once the island boss was dispatched (which took a number of rainbow hits) and gift the player a large diamond.  Unfortunately, there was no simultaneous two-player feature (instead having the classical alternate play), but it is difficult to see how it would have worked.  The graphics were vividly coloured and use of rainbows in the gameplay was ingenious.  It was a superior sequel to Bubble Bobble, in spaceman's opinion.

Finally, the third in the series, the graphically superior but overall weaker Parasol Stars completed the set (that said, there was also Bubble Bobble 2, known as Bubble Symphony, in 1994 and Bubble Memories in 1995).  Predictably, given the name, one or two players utilised umbrellas to kill baddies, with or without the use of water.

Rick Dangerous (1989) (and Rick Dangerous 2 in 1990)

Chuck Rock (1991) (and Chuck Rock 2: Son Of Chuck in 1993)

Mainly Turrican II: The Final Fight (1991), sequel to Turrican (1989)

Prince Of Persia (1989) with sequels including Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time (2003) on PS2 (itself spawning sequels)

Zool (1992), an Amiga rival to Sonic The Hedgehog

RoboCod (1991), or to take its full name, James Pond 2: Codename RoboCod, the sequel, naturally, to James Pond (1990) and the prequel to James Pond 3: Operating Starfish (1993)

Present day (PS3)

LittleBigPlanet (2007), Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction (2007), Prince Of Persia (2008)

Operation_good_guys says

For me, platformers started at the Spectrum and ended at the Amiga.  I guess this relates to my age and gaming maturity. The platform genre will always bring about cute, bubbly graphics to entice the younger audience.  However, what is refreshing is the recent release of LittleBigPlanet, mentioned above.  This brought an element of depth (literally) to what can be a tedious gaming genre allowing the player to customise the character and perform funny mid-game dances.  It also allows you to play two-player with 'Matt's Friend' being the secondary player. In fact, it's more like 1.5-player.