The platformer genre has been a cornerstone of gaming for decades. Mascot characters like Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, and, in particular, Mario are some of gaming's most iconic characters and ones that helped push gaming into the mainstream and make it the enormous entertainment industry that it is today.

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Despite the genre's importance in gaming history and the array of legendary characters, the genre hasn't always been a roaring success. The sixth generation of home consoles was particularly tough, as the PlayStation 2 and Xbox focused more on action-packed shooters and adventures. The GameCube churned out a handful of excellent platformers, though the console struggled to compete with Sony's second console. Thankfully for platforming fans, the genre made a welcome comeback in the 2010s, thanks to the rise of indie gaming.

During the platformer genre's low point, and even at some of its most profitable times, there have been a few excellent games that fell through the cracks of public attention and struggled to sell. However, their quality eventually shone through, earning them cult classic status.

5 Psychonauts

psychonauts landscape cover art

Psychonauts was a big hit with critics upon release, exemplified by its 88 Metascore, though it still struggled to perform commercially. Double Fine Productions' platformer was incredibly unique when it was released in 2005, both for its creative story and abundance of gameplay mechanics other than running a jumping, something that was uncommon in the genre at the time.

The game puts players in the shoes of Raz, a psychic who has run away from home to join a summer camp for fellow psychic children. As the game progresses, players gain psychic abilities that give the gameplay tremendous variety and partner well with the creative level designs. Along with the innovative gameplay, Psychonauts is also revered for its dialogue, which is some of the funniest of its era.

4 Conker's Bad Fur Day

Conker drunk in Conker's Bad Fur Day

From one of the platforming genre's funniest ever releases to another, Conker's Bad Fur Day was developed by the legendary British studio Rare and was first released on Nintendo 64 in March 2001.

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The game initially appears to be another wholesome platformer, a style of game that was extremely popular in the late '90s and early 2000s. However, it sooner becomes clear that Conker's Bad Fur Day isn't trying to be the next Super Mario or Sonic The Hedgehog, as the game is filled with adult humor that would have shocked a few parents and children who didn't think to look at the game's age rating.

The game's contrast between adult humor and cartoony visuals was ahead of its time, though it evidently didn't connect with enough people in 2001 to be a commercial hit.

3 Crash Twinsanity

Crash Bandicoot on a beach

In 2004, Traveller's Tales took the iconic platforming franchise Crash Bandicoot in a bold new direction. This was likely due to the underwhelming critical and commercial reception of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, which was criticized for being too similar to Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Crash Twinsanity ditched the series' trademark corridor style level design in favor of more open stages, let players control a handful of characters with different playstyles, and centered the story and numerous gameplay sections around the concept of Crash and Cortex being forced to work together.

The game was ambitious, and the open stages had huge potential. However, the developers ran into time constraints, which meant that Twinsanity was released unfinished. Unfortunately, the game doesn't hide its short development time well, as it's riddled with glitches, only around five hours in length, and lacks polish in the final third. Interestingly, the short development time was largely due to the team originally working on a game called Crash Bandicoot Evolution, which was deemed too similar to Ratchet & Clank and had to be scrapped and replaced with Twinsanity.

Despite Crash Twinsanity's issues, the game's huge potential does shine through in places, particularly with the excellent open-level designs and hidden gems that are often great fun to find.

2 Kao The Kangaroo: Round 2

Kao standing on snow

Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 was first released in Poland in 2003 before making its way to Europe and North America in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Unfortunately for Tate Interactive's game, the platformer genre was struggling to perform commercially on non-Nintendo consoles in the mid-2000s, with audiences preferring action and adventure games like Call of Duty, Resident Evil, and God of War.

Despite this, Kao The Kangaroo: Round 2 is cherished among platformer fans, as although it doesn't add much new to the genre, it's an enjoyable collectathon that doesn't stretch itself too far and doesn't overstay its welcome. The 3D platformer franchise was recently rebooted in May 2022, with another game in the series that keeps it simple and offers classic collectathon fun.

1 Wallace & Gromit In Project Zoo

Gromit bouncing balls on a large coin

When most people think of Wallace & Gromit's video game ventures, they tend to picture Telltale Games' Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures. It's not hard to see why, as the episodic adventure game wonderfully captures the humor of the iconic claymation franchise.

However, the graphic adventure isn't the only quality game to come out of the British film series, as - somewhat surprisingly - inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit have also starred in a genuinely excellent 3D platformer. Not many people were asking for a Wallace & Gromit platformer, which is likely why it flew under the radar, though word of its surprise quality got around the platformer community, and it has since become a respected cult classic.

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