Led by mascot characters like Mario and Sonic, platformers have always had a knack for drawing players in with their bright colors and wholesome scenery and keeping players engaged with tight controls and brilliantly designed stages that test their reflexes and timing.
Throughout the years, there have been a plethora of fantastic platforming games that have often emphasized the fun side of gaming. Of the thousands of platforming levels that have been created, a handful has stood out as being iconic for either their historical value, sheer quality, or both.
7 World 1-1 (Super Mario Bros.)
World 1-1 is the first level of Super Mario Bros, which was the first Super Mario game. That sentence alone should be enough of an explanation as to why World 1-1 is one of the platforming genre's most iconic stages.
Super Mario Bros. was originally released in Japan in September 1985 before arriving in North America a few weeks later. The game was released just two years after the gaming industry crash, which had destroyed many people's hopes that home console gaming could be a success at the time.
Super Mario Bros' sky-high quality was fundamentally important in rebuilding people's faith in home console gaming. World 1-1 did a fantastic job of immediately capturing its audience's attention and showing that games like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial were a thing of the past.
6 Green Hill Zone (Sonic The Hedgehog)
Following the success of Super Mario Bros, it was only a matter of time before other mascot characters emerged to try and replicate the franchise's success. Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog may not have been the first game to try and challenge Nintendo's flagship franchise, though it was certainly the most effective at the time.
Green Hill Zone is Sonic The Hedgehog's first level and does an excellent job of introducing players to the game's fast-paced platforming style and complex level design that offers multiple routes for the blue hedgehog to traverse.
5 Bob-omb Battlefield (Super Mario 64)
Given how important the Super Mario series has been to the platforming genre and gaming as a whole, it's hard to only include one of the series' levels.
Super Mario 64 was released in June 1996 as a Nintendo 64 launch title and was the first 3D game in the series. Given the exciting implementation of 3D, the marketing for the game wrote itself, and Nintendo's development team could have been excused for struggling to execute the 3D platforming style on their first attempt. However, the studio took to 3D platforming like a duck to water and created a game that is still considered one of the genre's best releases to this day.
Bob-omb Battlefield is the game's first level, and it perfectly encapsulates Super Mario 64's quintessential style of open level design that many other games have tried to replicate since.
4 Braid's Final Level
Throughout the late 80s and 90s, the platforming genre was at the top of the gaming industry, with 2D and then 3D mascot platformers filling store shelves. Unfortunately, this reign of prominence didn't last forever, as the PlayStation 2 allowed developers to create more realistic games, leading to a rise in action and adventure titles. The platforming genre would struggle to find a place in the gaming industry until the late 2000s when indie studios helped bring the genre back at a reduced cost.
2008's Braid was one of the key indie releases that brought the genre roaring back, with its unique time manipulation mechanics that made it an instant hit for puzzle-platforming fans. Initially, the game's goal seems to be a typical platforming quest of saving a princess, though observant players will soon notice ominous signs in book entries and puzzle pieces that all may not be as it seems. Everything comes to a head in the final level, where players find the princess and appear to be trying to save her as she runs towards the protagonist. However, time will reverse when players reach the end of the stage, and they will see that the princess is actually running away from them.
The level sparked intrigue and conversation among players, which was hugely influential in bringing the platforming genre back into the gaming industry's attention.
3 Boulders (Crash Bandicoot)
Boulders is the fourth level in the original Crash Bandicoot game, which was released exclusively on PlayStation 1 in September 1996. The level flips the script on players by literally flipping the stage around, forcing players to run towards the camera instead of away from it. The reason for this change soon becomes clear as a huge boulder comes crashing down and chases the bandicoot through the stage, reminiscent of the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The iconic level was recently redesigned in a way that few saw coming, with a playable version of the stage appearing in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
2 Road To Nowhere (Crash Bandicoot)
Crash Bandicoot may not be as iconic as Mario, and the series' original release does struggle to hold up today in its original form, but it's hard to deny that the game has featured two of platforming's most iconic stages.
Road To Nowhere is infamous for its difficulty, as traversing the broken bridge requires near-perfect jump timing, which is tougher than it looks, given the game's awkward depth perception at times. Road To Nowhere is far from the toughest platforming stage of all time, but it stops many players in their tracks for being a significant difficulty spike at a fairly early point in the game.
The level is also well-remembered for the unique design of the sky-high bridge, with the ominous presence of Cortex's castle looming in the background, subtly reminding players of why Crash is putting himself through this grueling challenge.
1 Level 1 (Donkey Kong)
The first level of Donkey Kong may not compare to the intricate stages of games like Super Mario Odyssey today, though it still deserves a place on this list for its historical relevance. The 1981 arcade game is considered by many to be the first true platforming release, and it also introduced players to a pair of characters who would become two of the most recognizable faces in all of entertainment, Mario and Donkey Kong.
The first level sets the tone for the rest of the game, with Mario having to climb ladders while avoiding barrels in an attempt to save Pauline from Donkey Kong.