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102-567: Flicky is a platform game developed by Sega and released as an arcade video game in May 1984. It was licensed to Bally Midway for distribution in the United States. In Flicky , the player controls the eponymous blue bird and must gather all the small birds called Chirps in each round and bring them safely to the exit. There are cat and lizard enemies which can disperse the Chirps and kill

204-608: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like

306-452: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,

408-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for

510-409: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. SG-1000 The SG-1000 is a home video game console manufactured by Sega . It was Sega's first entry into the home video game hardware business. Developed in response to a downturn in arcades starting in 1982,

612-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on

714-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,

816-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured

918-971: A compilation bundled with the Wondermega hybrid console in 1992. Wondermega Collection will be included as part of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 mini console in Japan, releasing in October 2022. The Genesis version was compiled into Game no Kanzume Vol. 1 (1994), a Sega CD compilation in Japan which featured CD quality remixes of the original soundtrack. The Genesis port was also featured in Sonic Mega Collection (2002), Sega Genesis Collection (2006), Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009), Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection (2010), and even Genesis-based plug and play devices. The arcade version has been released in Japan on

1020-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of

1122-564: A game so crappy, so laughably-simple and pathetic sounding as this can prove to be more addictive, more challenging and more long-lasting than virtually any other Mega Drive game, but it's true." In 2017, Gamesradar ranked Flicky 42nd on their "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time." Numerous Sega video game compilations feature Flicky . A CD-enhanced version of the Genesis port was featured in Wondermega Collection ,

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1224-609: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled

1326-456: A net. The spark to develop Flicky came from Sega's desire to exceed Namco 's Mappy (1983) which had become very popular in Japanese arcades. Sega game designer Yoji Ishii's boss wanted him to design a similar "dot eater" game but better. Flicky was developed over the course of one year and was designed by Yoji Ishii in collaboration with artist Yoshiki Kawasaki. The game evolved from

1428-631: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing

1530-637: A popular song in a Japanese variety show, Kawasaki gave the game an urban theme and bird characters. The game was originally titled "Busty", then "Flippy", before finally settling on "Flicky". Flicky was first ported to the SG-1000 in Japan, and then later to other Japanese home consoles. In 1991, Flicky was released in North America and Europe on the Sega Genesis . The character has made cameo appearances in other Sega games, most notably within

1632-509: A prominent Japanese software company. Nakayama was then installed as CEO of the new Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Following the buyout, Sega released another console, the SG-1000 II , on July 31, 1984 at ¥15,000. It is sometimes referred to as the "SG-1000 Mark II". The SG-1000 II replaced the hardwired joystick with two detachable joypads. Sato disliked the original cartridges, saying they looked like "small black tombstones" when inserted in

1734-441: A quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along

1836-511: A recall on Famicom units necessitated by a faulty circuit, the SG-1000 sold 160,000 units in 1983, far exceeding Sega's projection of 50,000. Former Sega consumer hardware development head Hideki Sato stated that because Sega had not predicted the SG-1000 would sell so well, the company became more enamored with developing video game consoles. Despite this, the three launch games, all of which were ported from Sega's VIC dual-arcade board , lacked

1938-470: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of

2040-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but

2142-500: A simple game that Kawasaki first envisioned where the player would catch dots in a maze. He took inspiration from a popular song about sparrows on power lines from a 1970s Japanese variety show, Migoro! Tabegoro! Waraigoro! , and so made the main character a sparrow and the platforms and walls wires. However, he found the power line theme boring, and thus changed the background to an apartment building after taking inspiration from one outside his office window. Kawasaki felt that anyone who

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2244-670: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside

2346-533: Is a Texas Instruments TMS9918A , capable of displaying up to 15 colors, and its sound processor is a Texas Instruments SN76489 . The system includes 8  kbit (1  KB ) of RAM . The controller is hardwired to the system in the original model, and detachable in the SG-1000 II. Video and audio output are supplied through an RF switch . Power is supplied through a 9 V DC connector connected to an AC adapter . Several peripherals exist for

2448-495: Is a mother to them. The Chirps follow Flicky in a chain until they are collected at the exit. Bonus points are awarded for bringing multiple Chirps back in a single chain. There are 48 total stages. Each stage takes place on a single wraparound screen that scrolls horizontally with Flicky always in the center. After all the stages are completed, the game loops infinitely on an increased difficulty mode. Collected Chirps will disperse if their chain comes in contact with an enemy. Some of

2550-480: Is around children has experienced the emotion of wanting to keep children safe from the outside and returning them safe to their home. From this, the team wanted to imbue a message to "protect the children" with the game, and according to Kawasaki, "it's that emotion that drives Flicky ". Kawasaki used a poorly calibrated graphics tablet to draw all the game graphics. The Chirps were originally ambiguous dots that would disappear when collected. Kawasaki changed this so

2652-488: Is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill the player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give

2754-474: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for

2856-465: Is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in

2958-738: The Sega Ages : Memorial Collection Vol. 1 (1996) for the Sega Saturn , and the Sega Memorial Selection (1998) for Windows . Flicky has also been ported to mobile devices. The first port was in 2001 for the Sega Ages line in Japan. In March 2003, a similar variant appeared on the Sonic Cafe service, again exclusive to Japan. In 2007, the Sonic Cafe port was upgraded with better graphics and ported to North America for

3060-574: The Sonic the Hedgehog series and is featured most prominently in Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island (1996), the game mechanics of which were inspired by Flicky . Flicky has continued to have minor cameo appearances in other Sega titles, including Shenmue (1999), Gunstar Super Heroes (2005), and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007). Platform game The genre started with

3162-424: The Sonic the Hedgehog series. Flicky is a platform game in which the player takes control of a flightless blue bird named Flicky. With only the ability to run side-to-side and jump, the player must collect all the small, yellow birds called "Chirps" and take them to the exit to clear each round. According to game artist Yoshiki Kawasaki, Flicky is just a friend to the Chirps although some players may think she

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3264-626: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won

3366-683: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using

3468-530: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave

3570-631: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on

3672-537: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies

3774-599: The 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established a template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while the Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding

3876-468: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed

3978-424: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave

4080-506: The Japanese version of the Master System. In the early 1980s, Sega Enterprises, Inc. , then a subsidiary of Gulf and Western Industries , was one of the top five arcade game manufacturers active in the United States, as company revenues rose to $ 214 million. A downturn in the arcade business starting in 1982 seriously hurt the company, leading Gulf and Western to sell its North American arcade manufacturing organization and

4182-664: The Japanese version, the SG-1000 was released in Australia through John Sands Electronics and in New Zealand by Grandstand Leisure . The console also saw a release in Italy and Spain, but was not released in the larger video game markets of the United States, United Kingdom, or Germany. Despite this, an unauthorized clone system known as the Telegames Personal Arcade was produced and made available in

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4284-865: The Othello Multivision, as well as 29 Sega My Card releases that required the Card Catcher add-on. There were also 26 educational and programming cartridges for the SC-3000 that could only be played on the SG-1000 with the SK-1100 keyboard peripheral. Titles for the system include Flicky , Congo Bongo , Sega-Galaga , and Girl's Garden , the first video game programmed by Sonic the Hedgehog developer Yuji Naka . The library included licensed titles, such as Golgo 13 . Packaging and game manuals came with both Japanese and English text until 1984, when manuals were switched to Japanese only and

4386-465: The SC-3000 both support a library of 51 ROM cartridge games and 29 Sega My Card games. A third iteration of the console, the Mark III, was released in 1985. It provided an improved custom video display processor over previous iterations and served as the basis for the Master System in 1986, Sega's first internationally released console. All SG-1000 games are fully compatible with the Mark III and

4488-569: The SC-3000, including the SR-1000 cassette deck , the SP-400 4-color plotter printer , and the SF-7000 expansion device which adds a floppy disk drive and additional memory. Sega's software library for the SG-1000 and SC-3000 consists of 51 game cartridges, which includes both licensed titles from Sega and also the titles released for the licensed console from Tsukuda Original Co., Ltd. called

4590-697: The SG-1000 series. Available at ¥13,800 at its time of release, the SK-1100 keyboard connects through the expansion slot and is compatible with all models. Multiple controllers were created, including the SJ-200 joystick attached to the SG-1000, and the SJ-150 joypad, made for use with the SG-1000 II. A racing wheel known as the SH-400 was made for use with games such as Monaco GP . The C-1000 Card Catcher, sold at ¥1,000, allows players to play Sega My Card titles. Additional accessories existed solely for use with

4692-520: The SG-1000 was created on the advice of Hayao Nakayama , president of Sega's Japanese arm, and was released on July 15, 1983, the same day that Nintendo released the Family Computer in Japan. It also had a limited release in Australia and New Zealand. The SG-1000 was released in several forms, including the SC-3000 computer and the redesigned SG-1000 II released in 1984. The SG-1000 and

4794-429: The SG-1000. The Famicom had more advanced hardware, allowing it to perform smoother scrolling and more colorful sprites, and Nintendo boosted its games library by courting third-party developers , whereas Sega was less than eager to collaborate with the same companies they were competing with in arcades. The SG-1000 was also coming up against game consoles from companies including Tomy and Bandai . This would result in

4896-471: The Sega Mobile service. The Genesis port was released on Steam in 2010. The Flicky character has made cameo appearances in several other Sega arcade games, effectively becoming a mascot for Sega's early arcade years. In Teddy Boy Blues (1985), she appears as a shooting target among other Sega mascots such as Pengo . In the puzzle game Bloxeed , she can be used as a special weapon to drop blocks on

4998-469: The United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,

5100-479: The United States and Taiwan, and is able to play SG-1000 and ColecoVision games. An additional release of the SG-1000 in Taiwan was done by Aaronix. The console enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Taiwan before the market was taken over by cheaper Famicom clones . Due in part to the SG-1000's steadier stream of releases (21 SG-1000 games by the end of 1983, as compared to only 9 Famicom games), and in part to

5202-455: The Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became a common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in

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5304-529: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than

5406-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and

5508-624: The chirps wear sunglasses; these chirps behave more unpredictably when dispersed. There are two enemy types in the standard rounds, house cats called Tigers and green iguanas called Iggys. These enemies can be simply avoided but can also be defeated with throwable items available on some levels. These items include telephones, flower pots, cups, and bottles. Flicky can pick up an item by walking into it, and throw it by jumping. Sometimes diamonds may appear, which cannot be thrown but rather provide bonus points. There are also bonus rounds in which Flicky attempts to catch as many falling Chirps as possible in

5610-549: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as

5712-460: The console, and later remarked that his proudest achievement of the SG-1000 era was replacing them with the "cheerier", pocket-sized Sega My Cards. Sega also employed popular owarai comedy duo Tunnels to provide celebrity endorsement for the console. Japanese company created the Othello Multivision, based around the SC-3000 and SG-1000 hardware. By 1984, the Famicom's success began to outpace

5814-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic

5916-448: The development of Sega's home console business." Hideki Sato reflected positively on the innovations in the development of the SG-1000, but admitted that the console had limitations because of how new the market was and that Sega was inexperienced in developing for a video game console at the time. According to Sato, "The problem was, while we knew how to make arcade games, we didn’t really know anything about console development. In fact,

6018-448: The dots trailed the player, then increased their size to 8x8 pixels to make way for a more interesting design. The size was just large enough for a simple chick design. To add difficulty to the game, some Chirps were programmed to behave more unpredictably when touched by an enemy. These Chirps were given sunglasses and deemed the "bad" Chirps. When game testing began, the team had created 100 levels but only four background designs, and there

6120-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet

6222-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control

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6324-541: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at

6426-470: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement

6528-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer

6630-457: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in

6732-413: The genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games"

6834-483: The graphics were changed. This version was later ported to several other home platforms in Japan including the MSX , Sharp X1 , Fujitsu FM-7 and NEC PC-8801 . In 1991, Flicky was ported to the Sega Genesis and released in both North America and Europe. In Japan, this port was only released through Sega Meganet . In July 1984, Game Machine listed Flicky as being the second most popular table arcade unit in Japan during that period. The Genesis port of Flicky

6936-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired

7038-415: The licensing rights for its arcade games to Bally Manufacturing . The company retained Sega's North American R&D operation, as well as its Japanese subsidiary, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. With its arcade business in decline, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. president Hayao Nakayama advocated that the company leverage its hardware expertise to move into the home console market in Japan, which was in its infancy at

7140-451: The main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in the genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms,

7242-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for

7344-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by

7446-401: The name recognition of Famicom launch games Donkey Kong , Donkey Kong Jr. , and Popeye . Shortly after launch, Gulf and Western began to divest itself of its non-core businesses after the death of company founder Charles Bluhdorn , so Nakayama and former Sega CEO David Rosen arranged a management buyout of the Japanese subsidiary in 1984 with financial backing from CSK Corporation ,

7548-534: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured

7650-479: The platform from popular off-the-shelf components. The SG-1000 was first released in Japan on July 15, 1983, at ¥ 15,000. It was released on the same day as Nintendo launched the Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan. It was released simultaneously with the SC-3000 , as well as the upgraded SC-3000H . Though Sega themselves only released the SG-1000 in Japan, rebranded versions were released in several other markets worldwide. In November that same year as

7752-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as

7854-416: The play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling a named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between

7956-506: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released

8058-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control

8160-399: The player, but Flicky can use items on the playing field to protect herself and the Chirps from danger. The idea for Flicky came from Sega senior leadership, who wanted to exceed the success of Namco 's Mappy (1983). Yoji Ishii and Yoshiki Kawasaki developed Flicky at Sega over one year. Originally, the game simply had the player catch ambiguous dots in a maze. Taking inspiration from

8262-1048: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced

8364-507: The playing field. She is also playable in SDI (1987) with the use of a cheat code . Flicky has a minor cameo appearance in Flash Point , where she will wish the player good luck before each round, and in the racing game Super Monaco GP (1989), where she appears on the racetrack banners and the game over screen. Flicky has also become an entire species and reoccurring minor character in

8466-538: The release of the Sega Mark III in Japan in 1985, which later became the Master System worldwide. The last cartridge released was Portrait of Loretta on February 18, 1987. In 2006, the GameTap subscription gaming service added an emulator of the SG-1000, and several playable titles. The SG-1000 is powered by an 8-bit Zilog Z80 central processing unit running at 3.58  MHz . Its video processor

8568-418: The same month as Nintendo's world-changing Famicom, which had killer apps like Donkey Kong and could run circles around Sega's hardware." Of its legacy, Kohler said, "Few have heard of it, even fewer have played it, and the games weren't that great anyway." By contrast, Luke Plunkett of Kotaku recognized that "while all this makes it sound like the SG-1000 was a bit of a misfire, it was still important in

8670-549: The simple yet engaging gameplay. Computer and Video Games described Flicky as a guilty pleasure and discussed its cute appearance in positive light. Reviewers from Electronic Gaming Monthly concluded that the game was aimed for children based on the game's cuteness aesthetic, and provided lower scores accordingly. Critics from both Computer and Video Games and Mean Machines wrote that employees in their offices were disappearing into their game room to play Flicky . Julian from Mean Machines wrote: "It's crazy, I know, that

8772-475: The size of the cartridge box was reduced. Hideki Sato stated that Sega lacked adequate staff to develop games for the console at the time. SC-3000/SG-1000 games were continued to be produced after the launch of the Mark III in 1985. The last two SC-3000/SG-1000 cartridge games were The Castle in 1986 and Loretta no Shōzō: Sherlock Holmes in 1987. The final Sega My Card game for the SC-3000/SG-1000

8874-489: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on

8976-487: The time. Nakayama received permission to proceed. The first model to be developed was the SC-3000 , a computer with a built-in keyboard, but when Sega learned of Nintendo's plans to release a games-only console, they began developing the SG-1000 alongside the SC-3000. The "SG" in the console's name is an abbreviation for "Sega Game", and the console is also sometimes referred to as the "Mark I". To keep costs down while ensuring sufficient longevity, Sega opted to create

9078-540: The top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of

9180-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for

9282-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between

9384-428: The way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping

9486-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than

9588-519: Was The Black Onyx , also in 1987. The SG-1000 console series (including the Mark III) sold over 1.4 million units in Japan as of 1988 , with the original SG-1000 model having sold 400,000 units in Japan. The SC-3000 home computer model sold 120,000 units in Japan during 1983. The SG-1000 made little impact on the video game industry, but has been recognized for being Sega's first video game console. Retro Gamer writer Damien McFerran said it

9690-505: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept

9792-400: Was an "abject failure", but called it and the SG-1000 II "the Japanese forefathers of the Master System". Writing for Wired , Chris Kohler criticized the poor response of the controller's joystick and the lack of an RCA output. He said the release timing hurt its success; "[al]though its graphics were of better quality than most consoles on the market, it had the bad luck to be released in

9894-468: Was barely any space left in the game. Kawasaki was able to change the colors of the backgrounds to create more variety. After testing, Iggy was added to the game. Flicky was originally titled "Busty", but an American Sega branch asked the team to change it because of the term's slang usage in English. The game was then titled "Flippy" but this was changed shortly before release. In 2002, Ishii stated this

9996-456: Was because of trademark issues in the United States, but in 2018 said it was because "Flippy" was too similar to "Mappy". Flicky was released in arcades in May 1984. Flicky was ported to the SG-1000 console. The port only retains 40 of the arcade levels, with some of them restructured, and does not feature the Iggy enemy. In addition, the behavior of the Chirps is slightly modified and some of

10098-532: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,

10200-425: Was reviewed by multiple Western publications, most of which found the game to have highly addictive and enjoyable gameplay while criticizing it for having poor graphics and sound. Reviewers noted poor initial impressions based on appearance and sound, finding the sprites to be simple, the colors garish, and the music repetitive. However, when they began to play the game, they found that the simple appearance complemented

10302-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in

10404-540: Was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite

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