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The Return of 2D Platformers

By supertoad

October, 1985. Grotesque creatures are popping up in lawns, houses are being haunted, kids are transforming into monsters, and in a few select households across the country a strange plumber is seen running across the televisions screen, jumping on turtles and eating giant mushrooms. The age of the 2D platformer had begun.

For over a decade the 2D platformer and its siblings ruled supreme in the gaming realm. In an age of limited graphics and memory the plaformer was king. But things couldn't last. By the mid 90s 3D technology began entering video games, and in 1996 Mario made the 3D jump. The world would never be the same.

Although graphically superior, the 3D platformer lacked the precision control that was a hallmark of good 2D platformers. Bad camera control and endless item collection plagued 3D platformers. As game sales began to rely more and more on how a game looked rather than how it played, the 2D platformer was all but abandoned, remaining only to be ridiculed in low quality handheld ports of movie games.

A couple years ago it seemed the end had come for our beloved genre. No major gaming companies would have anything to do with 2D. Even on handhelds where 2D platformers were still somewhat common the market was flooded with remakes from the NES and SNES eras. Fans such as myself could do little but rant on fan sites and forums as old timers lamenting the passing of a golden age.

And then out of nowhere Alien Hominid appeared. First drawing a following on the internet as a Flash game, Alien Hominid was released on Gamecube and Playstation 2 in 200X. Although a shooter rather than a platformer, Alien Hominid represented a genre which had also been eclipsed in the 3D age. It was a fantastic game, and it was only the beginning. In February 2006 Super Princess Peach was released in the United States as Nintendo's first 2D platformer in almost ten years. Although enjoyable, the game was easy and left fans thirsting for more platforming goodness. In June New Super Mario Bros was released, returning Mario to his 2D platforming roots.

Several more 2D platformers are on the way. This fall Mario will run and jump his way back onto Gamecube one last time with Super Paper Mario, Yoshi's Island will be released, and a couple Kirby games have been announced. Once considered a hopeless fantasy, it seems the industry has finally begun to get over the shock and aw of 3D graphics and recognize that 2D games are not archaic forerunners to the modern genres, but distinct and enjoyable experiences in their own right.
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