The platforming genre's shifts in popularity have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. The genre dominated the gaming industry during the late '80s and early '90s thanks to mascot characters like Mario and Sonic before plunging in prominence when 3D platforms first started to release. However, the genre would then have another surge in popularity in line with the rise of indie gaming. Indie studios have created some of gaming's best ever side-scrolling platform experiences in the last decade and have offered them at a lower price.
Although side-scrolling platformers still aren't as popular as they once were, the quality of the games is comparable. To pay homage to one of gaming's most recognizable genres, we've ranked the best side-scrolling platformers of all time. It's worth pointing out that this list will only be looking at pure platforming experiences, so puzzle-platformers like Limbo and action-platformers like Mega Man won't be included.
8 Spelunky
Spelunky was first released in December 2008, and is one of the most influential indie games of all time. Not only did the game show how great indie gaming could be at a time when people were skeptical, but it also pioneered the recent rise of the roguelike genre.
Befitting of the roguelike genre, Spelunky is easy to pick up and play but brutally difficult, particularly in the first hour. However, players will soon start to learn enemy patterns and traps to look out for, which leads to the rewarding feeling of blitzing past levels that used to seem impossible.
7 Sonic the Hedgehog 2
It may sound hard to believe today, but there was once a time when many people genuinely believed that Sonic could dethrone Mario as the face of not just platforming, but gaming in general.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was the closest that the blue hedgehog came to toppling Nintendo's mascot. This fast-paced platformer offered wonderfully well-designed levels that were a joy to blast through.
6 Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country was released on the SNES in November 1994, and is one of the most recognizable and influential side-scrolling platformers of all time. The game offered an impressive range of 40 levels which were crammed with well-hidden secrets to find.
There have been many excellent sequels to Donkey Kong Country, such as Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Nintendo Wii and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch. However, none have been able to reach the heights of the iconic 1994 game.
5 Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy is one of the key releases in the side-scrolling platformer genre's resurgence. Team Meat's 2010 game offered a tough platforming challenge for a great price, that tantalized and dared players to try and beat it.
Super Meat Boy's challenge was far from just a gimmick, however, as it reminded players of how rewarding hard games could be at a time when AAA games were becoming easier and easier. The game also introduced a handful of features that were innovative at the time but are now common in platforming games, like instant restarts and the removal of limited lives.
4 Rayman Legends
In November 2011, Ubisoft finally decided that Rayman's days of partying with the Raving Rabbids were over, and that it was time to bring him back to his side-scrolling platformer roots with Rayman Origins. The game was a critical and commercial success, and led to the release of Rayman Legends just under two years later.
Rayman Legends kept its core gameplay very similar to Rayman Origins. However, it improved on its predecessor with better level design, more memorable boss fights, and for the simple fact that over 40 remastered Origins levels are included in the game.
3 Celeste
Celeste is one of the platforming genre's rare story-driven games. The game sees the protagonist, Madeline, try to climb the infamously dangerous Mount Celeste. Along the way, Madeline has to contend with both the dangerous mountain and her inner demons, often literally.
Completing Celeste's main story is a tricky challenge on its own, though it pales in comparison to the challenge that comes with trying to complete the game 100%. Celeste's levels have secrets scattered all over them that often require several incredibly tight jumps in a row, making it one of the hardest platformers of all time to perfect.
2 Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3 was first released in October 1988 and is widely regarded as Nintendo's first masterpiece. The title greatly improved the platforming gameplay of its predecessors with better level design, more power-ups, and more basic moves like sliding and climbing.
Unsurprisingly, Super Mario Bros. was a huge commercial success. The game significantly strengthened the Mario brand as a whole, and it was the third highest-selling NES release with 17.28 million copies sold.
1 Super Mario World
It's not often that a franchise will improve on a masterpiece, but the Mario series managed to do it with November 1990's Super Mario World on the SNES. The game was one of the last major side-scrolling platformer releases before the Nintendo 64 introduced the platforming genre to the world of 3D gaming. It was certainly a fitting way for the genre to bow out of its initial mainstream run, as the game felt like a perfect amalgamation of every platformer that came before it.
Although it's been, believe it or not, over 30 years since Super Mario World was first released, the game still holds up today as the benchmark for classic platforming gameplay.