Topic: The 3D platformer

[Abnormal Freak]

Is it dead? Has no one cared for it since the N64 days have passed? The only recent games of note that come to mind are the Mario Galaxy and Mario 3D series. What other good, if any, 3D platformers have come out in recent years? Or am I just too spoiled by the original Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day to appreciate much else and I've subconsciously avoided the genre?

I miss all that cutesy mascot crap and collecting things, although Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64 did take collecting to an absurd level to the point of no longer being fun.

[shelverton.]

Uuh, this topic makes me sad. Cause this is a genre that I love more than anything else, I think. I played a bit of Mario 3D World on my friend's WiiU and it was awesome, but I still feel like this genre peaked with the Galaxy games. If I ever had to bring two games to a deserted island, Galaxy 1 & 2 would be a definite option. They are the fucking PROOF that Nintendo can do stuff that nobody else can. I love them to death. Sadly, I don't love the WiiU.

I refuse to believe that the 3D platformer is dead. I expect something cool announced at E3 this year, and our best bet is Nintendo. I hope it's 3D Land 2.

Does Tearaway count, btw? That was good.

[Abnormal Freak]

Not familiar with Tearaway. I'm sure there are things that have gone unnoticed by me, but I really do feel like there just aren't any 3D platformer games coming out. There's been a huge resurgence of sidescrolling platformers, indie and otherwise, but the 3D, more open variety? Nada. I'm with you; it's one of my favorite genres.

Super Mario Galaxy is definitely one of the high points of the genre. My heart is still with Banjo-Kazooie and in some ways Super Mario 64 because it was pretty much the first, but Galaxy 1 really opened my eyes to a new world and pushed the genre to its limits.

The sequel I didn't get as much enjoyment from, but Super Mario 3D Land really took my breath away in a different way, being a cross between the 3D platformer and exploring aspects with the linear level structures of the 2D sidescroller games. 3D World is special too, but not as much as the 3DS game.

I was just getting all bummed out last night how there don't seem to be any 3D platformers coming out anymore. The odd Mario game is a blessing, but where are all the other developers and franchises? I never got into many of the Sony-exclusive ones like Jak and Spyro, but I still loved that there were all these games and mascots running around. Now it seems like there's nothing and nobody cares.

[RichterB]

The 3D genre in general was more diverse in the N64/PS1 days, IMO. Right next to Mario 64 you had stuff like Hybrid Heaven, Winback: Covert Operations, Castlevania 64/Legacy of Darkness, Mission Impossible 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and Bomberman 64 just to name a few off the top of my head. Many of those were way ahead of their time, or unique even by today's standards.

But anyway, Glover, Bomberman Hero, and the Chameleon Twist games should be noted from the old days as experimental 3D platformers with a lot of charm, even if rough around the edges.

These days, I've heard and seen some images/videos of various projects that former Banjo Kazooie developers have been working on. Some of it looks promising, but none of it has made it to a major console that I know of.

Shin'en released "Jett Rocket" for WiiWare in 2010. I played a demo. It has the basics of the N64 3D Platformer days in it. Something seemed to be missing, but it might be one of the closer things in recent years. Oh, and the new Pac-Man Ghostly Adventure games (2013 and 2014) look like they have a ton of great ideas in this genre, but also seem too unpolished to be consistently enjoyable.

Fun fact...I only just last year beat DK64 with [Edit: 101%] completion. I have to say, after walking away from it for years, and also not having a lot of games like it come out, it really is a fantastic game. Some games from those days basically gave you more to do than you could accomplish. I also recently unlocked and completed the bonus world in Bomberman Hero (not easy to do), only to find out beating that unlocked a new side-quest and an entirely remixed quest from the beginning of the game! And Banjo Tooie...I still haven't beaten that one. Something was off about that entry in its spirit, beyond the crazy amount of collectables. It felt almost self-destructive in terms of its story and environments.

The Mario Galaxy  games are amazing, but their format inherently has a little less focus than Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie in level design, which makes them seem a little less substantial in some terms.

Anyway, I'd love to see some more 3D platformers.

[Abnormal Freak]

Did DK64 go up to 105%? Some reason thought it was 103. I started a replay of it a few years ago, been meaning to get back into it. Easily the best part of the game for me is Fungi Forest, which I recently learned was originally going to be in Banjo-Kazooie but I think was removed/unfinished for cartridge space or time reasons. Makes sense since it looks, feels, and sounds very B-K–esque. Those gigantic tomatoes, man. Can't wait to experience that again.

It's definitely a much better game than Banjo-Tooie even if its size and collect-a-thon is a bit much; B-T was that times two, just way too big for its own good. Never beat it, gonna try to finish the 360 version one of these days.

Apparently there's a developer called Playtonic consisting of ex-Rare staff who are making a new platformer. I think they're funding the majority of the game themselves but used or are planning to use Kickstarter or some site to raise funds for additional features. I think they'd like to release it on a Nintendo console but have said it's entirely up to demand whether they do so; the game will pretty much be available on whatever platform is feasible as of right now (to my knowledge).

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/02/meet_playtonic_a_studio_of_ex-rare_staff_that_wants_to_work_with_nintendo

[RichterB]

Oops, that was a typo on DK64. I meant to type 101% (201/200 Gold Bananas, and all other collectables accounted for.) If it goes beyond 101%, I don't know about it. In the end, I actually ended up liking a majority of the worlds for one reason or another (every one of them has some standout element). The trick is to take the game in short bites or chunks. Powering through it is NOT fun. The abundance of uneven mini-games is probably the biggest shortcoming. Fungi Forest was the most "Banjo-Kazooie-ish" level, yes, and it was indeed cut from BK from what I've read in the past. That being said, it was also one of the most demanding levels because it added even more variation toward how you needed to collect everything. That might be the world that took me the longest to beat. I have to say that Creepy Castle is a ton of fun, and Castlevania-esque, too. There are some surprises throughout these worlds beyond what they appear to be on the surface when you explore them with every character. One of these beyond-the-surface things that's well known are the 3D mine cart rides, which are especially impressive by any standard.

Have you played Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge for GBA? It is a great game, and arguably a better follow-up to BK than Tooie.

Anyway, I was referring to that Playtonic game as one of the "successor" games that's been talked about. But I was also referring to "A Hat in Time," which has the composer for Banjo Kazooie working on it, and it's been in the news longer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Hat_in_Time & https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonaskaerlev/a-hat-in-time-3d-collect-a-thon-platformer (I actually had thought there were more BK personnel on it, but it seems it might just be the composer.)

[darkmanx_429]

I own and love Jumping Flash 1 & 2.

[Bloodreign]

If I ever decide to play any 3D platformers, it will be the Klonoa titles. Hoping to find the PS2 sequel locally sometime, but the PS1 version I'll have to get online and the Japanese import version due to price.

[Ratty]

If I ever decide to play any 3D platformers, it will be the Klonoa titles. Hoping to find the PS2 sequel locally sometime, but the PS1 version I'll have to get online and the Japanese import version due to price.

Eh Klonoa isn't what I'd call a true 3D platformer though, at least the first one (not played the second) it's 2.5D. Also wow looked on ebay just now and it seems like prices have tripled since I bought my copy of the first Klonoa 4 or 5 years ago. I think my copy was under $50, only used copy I see on ebay now is over $150, new copies 2 or 3 times that. Guess it's probably the most valuable game I own now.

[Abnormal Freak]

I just bought the first Klonoa for less than a buck on PSN. Good enough for me, haven't played it yet.

But yeah, heard those were 2.5D sidescrollers, not the same.

[St.Tweeter]

They'll come back into vogue in another 10 years.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

The closest to "3D Platforming" as you Freak define it...
...would be, perhaps, Sly Cooper games on PS3.

The old days of the 3D platformer have gone stagnant, in my opinion.  Many of the item-mcguffin-hunting elements have been adapted by other titles (see the "Assassin's Creed" games for stuff like hunting in the map for secret objectives, such as feathers/almanac pages/etc, or the Arkham games for Riddler trophies).  There are very few objective-based platformers unless you scrolled back maybe to the PS2 era.

[Ratty]

The closest to "3D Platforming" as you Freak define it...
...would be, perhaps, Sly Cooper games on PS3.

The old days of the 3D platformer have gone stagnant, in my opinion.  Many of the item-mcguffin-hunting elements have been adapted by other titles (see the "Assassin's Creed" games for stuff like hunting in the map for secret objectives, such as feathers/almanac pages/etc, or the Arkham games for Riddler trophies).  There are very few objective-based platformers unless you scrolled back maybe to the PS2 era.

The Sly Cooper trilogy (which was remastered and collected on the PS3) are still some of the most fun I've had gaming. I've yet to get a PS3 to play Sly 4, though it was developed by a different studio so I'm cautious about getting my hopes up.

[RichterB]

While the big news is Yooka-Laylee, Jett Rocket also just got  a sequel for 3DS:

Jett Rocket 1: http://jett-rocket.shinen.com/wii/

Jett Rocket 2: http://jett-rocket.shinen.com/2/

[X]

looks to be quite a bit in there! I think I'll wait till it's out on cartridge as my 3DS memory is lacing space.