A platformer (also called a platform game , and sometimes a jump 'n' run game ) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels with uneven terrain and suspended platforms of varying height that require jumping and climbing to traverse. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay, such as swinging from vines or grappling hooks, jumping off walls, gliding through the air, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines.
157-766: Ristar is a 1995 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis . The game stars an anthropomorphic cartoon star who uses his hands and long, stretchable arms to both move and fight enemies. Reception for the game was generally positive, but the game's initial release was overshadowed due to the imminent ending of the Genesis's lifecycle and the succession of the Sega Saturn and other fifth generation video game consoles . While never receiving any sequels, Sega has re-released Ristar several times digitally and on Sega-themed compilations, including
314-407: A Game & Watch port and sequel were later produced. Like the first game, it is an early example of the platform genre. There are four stages of this game and don't give you a score like the original Donkey Kong game does. Mario Bros. is the first game to feature "Mario" in the title and to feature Luigi . The objective of Mario Bros is to defeat all of the enemies in each phase . Each phase
471-469: A life . Locating and grabbing a Ristar figure grants Ristar an extra life, while finding traditional star figures replenish his health; a yellow star replenishes one star, while a blue star restores all four. Much like other games from the same timeframe, the game's story varied between the Japanese language release and its English language counterpart. In all versions of the game, the events take place in
628-600: A real-time strategy battle system and following Bowser's underlings as they search for their leader. In 2005, Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS introduced their younger selves: Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Toadsworth the younger, Baby Peach and Baby Bowser. In 2009, Bowser's Inside Story also for the DS introduced Mario, Luigi and the others inside of Bowser's body. In 2018, Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey for
785-608: 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
942-452: 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,
1099-545: A 1994 Electronic Gaming Monthly interview, Sega marketing staff Lisa Best and Terry Tang claimed Ristar was not designed by the same Sonic programming team, although much of the game's staff would later go on to create Nights into Dreams for the Saturn, the next game to be officially credited to Sonic Team . This, along with Ristar's inclusion in a number of Sonic themed compilations and re-releases in subsequent years, would lead game journalists to retroactively label
1256-401: 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
1413-413: 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. Mario (franchise) Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Japanese video game company Nintendo , which produces and publishes its installments. Starring
1570-425: A 74 rating: "...if you like Sonic games, you will like this" but that "...it's not as good as Sonic either". GamePro likewise remarked that Ristar feels "sluggish" in comparison to Sonic, and criticized that Ristar has few animations compared to other platformer stars and that the game's low difficulty makes it suitable only for beginning gamers. Despite this, they gave the game an overall recommendation based on
1727-462: 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
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#17327905843861884-464: A bonus stage, which involve getting through an obstacle course within a given time limit. Completing the level in a particularly fast time will earn a continue, and after the game is completed, special codes are awarded depending on how many were completed. Ristar's health is shown through an icon based health system consisting of four stars in the upper-right corner of the screen. Taking damage removes one star, and losing all stars causes Ristar to lose
2041-481: 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 ,
2198-525: 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
2355-411: A far off galaxy, where an evil space pirate, Kaiser Greedy, has used mind control to make the planets' leaders obey him. In the Japanese version, the inhabitants of Planet Neer (Flora in the international version) pray for a hero before Greedy's mind control minion, Riho, snatches the planet elder. The desperate prayers reach the mother of shooting stars, Oruto. She awakens one of her children, Ristar, with
2512-549: A few seconds, flight ceases, and he drops to the ground back into his normal state, though this can be extended by bouncing off walls and ceilings during flight. Every level ends with a special "Star Handle", which is used to launch Ristar through the end of the level. Bonus points are awarded based on Ristar's altitude when flying offscreen, similar to how levels are ended in Super Mario Bros. Additionally, every level also contains one hidden handle that sends Ristar to
2669-450: 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
2826-623: A game developer, I would love to see it happen. At the time of the original, I was thinking of a sequel. It got as far as a character design for that sequel, but it didn't happen for various reasons. But since fans have a say in such matters, your input is greatly appreciated. While Ristar has never received any sequels, it has received further attention in later years through re-releases in several Sonic and Sega-themed compilations, including Sonic Mega Collection , Sega Genesis Collection , Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and Sega Forever . It has also been released for digital download for
2983-642: A game that's every bit as much fun to play today as it was almost 15 years ago when it was first released". 1UP.com referred to the game as "excellent" and referred to it as the "most entertaining" of the four non- Sonic games in Sonic Mega Collection . AllGame echoed the sentiment, referring to it as "being as good if not better than any of the included Sonic games in Sonic Mega Collection and as "an overlooked gem" as part of Sega Genesis Collection ". Entertainment Weekly
3140-609: 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
3297-465: A limited number of badges at a time. There have been five Paper Mario games released for home consoles and one game on 3DS. As the series has progressed, each new game has introduced new elements to keep the gameplay fresh such as a new story, new partners, and new gameplay mechanics. In 2004, The Thousand-Year Door for the GameCube introduced the ability of Mario turning into and folding up into
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#17327905843863454-472: A mascot to rival Nintendo's Mario . One proposed character had long rabbit-like ears which could extend and pick up objects, but this was discarded as too complex The team moved on to animals that could roll into a ball, and settled on Sonic the Hedgehog . Some years later, Sega developed another prototype, Feel, with a character that used its arms to pick things up instead of ears, which became Ristar. In
3611-641: A mechanism that allows the player to go off-screen to the left and appear on the right, and vice versa. The game has since reappeared in various forms, including as a minigame in Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Super Mario Advance series, and reimagined as Mario Clash . Nintendo has released several Mario and Donkey Kong LCD video games for the Game & Watch line . Eleven were released between 1982 and 1995. Nintendo also licensed
3768-441: A mere clone. Citing the excellent stage design, "slick transparencies, original bosses, and great music", he deemed it "one of the best platform games to date". Despite this, he gave it only three out of five stars. Famitsu scored the game a 29 out of 40. Ristar received considerably more positive reviews over a decade later upon being re-released digitally and as part of Sonic and Sega themed game compilations. IGN gave
3925-685: A new gameplay mechanic of "punch balls", small balls which Mario and Luigi can kick into enemies to stun them, instead of hitting them from below, as in the original. Hudson Soft was originally responsible for the Mario Party series until Mario Party DS in 2007, but as of March 2012, this has been taken over by NDcube since Hudson has become a part of Konami . Many of Hudson's employees now work for NDcube. Three games were planned for development by Philips Interactive Media for use on its CD-i machine: Super Mario's Wacky Worlds , Hotel Mario , and Mario Takes America . Only Hotel Mario
4082-631: 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
4239-531: A paper airplane and/or a paper boat to interact with the overworld. In 2007, Super Paper Mario deviated into the 2D action RPG genre and introduced the ability to "flip" into a 3D perspective in which the level rotates to reveal a hidden z-axis , placing Mario in a 3D environment. In 2012, Sticker Star for the Nintendo 3DS introduced the use of stickers in both the environment and in turn-based battles. They can be found and peeled off from various areas in
4396-671: A port titled New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch in January 2019. Super Mario Bros. -styled gameplay is further offered by the level creator game Super Mario Maker , released on Wii U in 2015. A sequel, Super Mario Maker 2 , was released on Nintendo Switch in June 2019. In June 2023, Nintendo announced Super Mario Bros. Wonder , the first 2D Mario game (excluding rereleases, level creators, and mobile games) in 11 years. It released October 20, 2023. In 2016,
4553-441: 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
4710-470: 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
4867-406: 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
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5024-417: A speed boost, Koopa Troopa Shells to be thrown at opponents, and banana peels that can be laid on the track as hazards. There have been six Mario Kart games released for home consoles, one enhanced port, three portable games, one game for smartphones, and four Namco codeveloped arcade spin-off games, for a total of fifteen. As the series has progressed, each new game has introduced new elements to keep
5181-670: 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
5338-473: 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
5495-481: Is a crossover with Ubisoft's Rabbids franchise and features both single-player and cooperative multiplayer gameplay. The game's story sees players controlling Mario, his friends, and a group of Rabbids dressed as them, dealing with the aftermath of a sudden invasion by a group of Rabbids, who have accidentally misused a powerful invention that has brought chaos to the Mushroom Kingdom. Shigeru Miyamoto
5652-575: Is a multiplayer party game featuring Mario series characters in which four human- or computer-controlled characters compete in a board game interspersed with minigames . There have been numerous sports games in the Mario franchise. The first appearances of Mario in tennis games were as a referee in Tennis for the NES and Game Boy. These games did not use the Mario branding and only featured Mario in
5809-456: Is a puzzle game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i in 1994. The primary characters of the game are Mario and Luigi , who must find Princess Peach by going through seven Koopa Hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple stages, and the objective is to close all doors on each stage. The game has been criticized as one of
5966-472: Is a canceled video game planned for the CD-i, developed by NovaLogic , which attempted to duplicate the gameplay of Super Mario World . Though the game sprites are based on those in Super Mario World , the level design is based on Earth locations rather than Dinosaur Land. Due to the limitations of the CD-i, several features could not be included in the game, such as large numbers of sprites on
6123-407: Is a series of platforms with four pipes at each corner of the screen, and an object called a "POW" block in the center. The mechanics of Mario Bros. involve only running and jumping. Unlike future Mario titles, players cannot jump on enemies until they are flipped over; this can be accomplished by jumping under the platform they are on or by using the "POW" block. Both sides of every phase feature
6280-428: Is a video game released in 1984 for the Japanese computers NEC PC-6001mk II, NEC PC-6601 , NEC PC-8801 , FM-7 and Sharp X1 . It is a remake of the original Mario Bros. , with new stages, mechanics and gameplay. Punch Ball Mario Bros. is a video game released in 1984 for the Japanese computers NEC PC-6001mkII, NEC PC-6601, NEC PC-8801, FM-7 and Sharp X1. It is similar to the original Mario Bros. but featured
6437-414: Is an early example of the platform genre. In addition to presenting the goal of saving Pauline, the game gives the player a score . Points are awarded for finishing screens; leaping over obstacles; destroying objects with a hammer power-up ; collecting items such as hats, parasols , and purses (presumably belonging to Pauline); and completing other tasks. The game was surprisingly successful. "Jumpman"
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6594-488: 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
6751-419: Is floating in a particular level. In 1994, Sega was originally pitching Ristar to be the successor of Sonic the Hedgehog . However, the game never received massive exposure or sales, mainly due to being released just three months prior to the Sega Saturn , Sega's successor to the Genesis, overshadowing it. Reviews for the game were generally favorable. Sega Magazine gave the game an 87% rating, praising
6908-474: 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
7065-485: Is one of gaming's most successful and renowned franchises, with many of its games, in particular within the Super Mario subseries, considered some of the greatest video games ever made . It is the best-selling video game franchise of all time , with more than 830 million copies of games sold, including more than 430 million for the Super Mario games alone. Mario is also Nintendo's flagship franchise. After
7222-465: 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
7379-454: Is the first American TV series based on the Mario NES games. It was broadcast in syndication from September 4 to December 1, 1989. Based on Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 . The show was produced by DIC Entertainment and was distributed for syndicated television by Viacom Enterprises (full rights have since reverted to DiC through Nintendo ). King Koopa's Kool Kartoons
7536-422: Is up to Ristar to rescue his father as well. The Japanese version of the game ends with Greedy and two of his underlings, Inonis and Uranim, stranded on a deserted planet, with a picture of Ristar appearing in the space, while Greedy simply stares at it. The ending scene in the international version shows Ristar being reunited with his father once again. In the early 1990s, Sega asked its development teams to create
7693-555: The Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward. The flagship Mario subseries is the Super Mario series of platform games starting with 1985's Super Mario Bros. , which mostly follows Mario's adventures in
7850-626: 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
8007-683: 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
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#17327905843868164-448: The Mario NES games. It aired on NBC from September 8 to December 1, 1990. Based on the Super Mario Bros. 3 video game, the cartoon shows Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and Toad fighting against Bowser and his Koopalings , who went by different names on the show (Hip, Hop, Kooky, Kootie Pie, Big Mouth, Cheatsy, and Bully). Like the previous Mario cartoon series, the animation was done by Sei Young Animation Co. Ltd, however this show
8321-530: 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
8478-694: 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
8635-614: The Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series. Paper Mario is a spin-off series of RPG video games developed by Intelligent Systems and produced by Nintendo Software Planning & Development. The first game in the series, Paper Mario , was launched in 2000 on the Nintendo 64 to critical and commercial success. In the Paper Mario series, the player controls Mario in a mixture of 3D environments and 2D characters who look as if they are made of paper. Mario can jump and use his hammer to overcome physical obstacles placed in
8792-506: The Sega Forever line of releases for mobile devices . The character has additionally received various cameos in other Sega properties as well. A Game Gear game, Ristar , was also released, with different level design and gameplay mechanics. Ristar is a 2D sidescrolling platform game , similar to games in the Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, but focusing less on jumping and speed, and more on
8949-762: The Virtual Console and Steam . In 2021, it was released on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack . The game was also included on the North American and European edition of the Sega Genesis Mini 2 , released on October 27, 2022. Ristar, as a character, has only made a few minor cameo appearances outside of his two original games in 1995. In Sega's two Shenmue games for the Dreamcast , Shenmue and Shenmue II ,
9106-623: The Wii U . It is a spin-off of the Super Mario series which builds upon the isometric minigames starring Captain Toad from Super Mario 3D World . Enhanced ports were released for Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch on July 13, 2018, including additional bonus levels themed around Super Mario Odyssey , but excluding the Super Mario 3D World bonus levels from the Wii U version. The Nintendo Switch port has sold over 1 million copies, making it one of
9263-568: The best-selling games on the system. A free update for the Nintendo Switch version was released on February 13, 2019, adding co-op multiplayer where another player controls a new purple Toad with white spots in the regular chapters alongside Toad/Toadette, and Toadette in the DLC Special Episode . The first role-playing game in the Mario franchise was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars . It has since expanded to
9420-537: 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
9577-532: The 3DS introduced a remake of the original game with added graphics, an improved map allowing players to place pinpoints, and an additional mode called Bowser Jr.'s Journey . In 2013, Dream Team for the 3DS introduced Dreamy Luigi, where Luigi sleeps in the Dream World in celebrating the Year of Luigi . In 2015, Paper Jam also for the 3DS also included Paper Mario as a playable character when Luigi knocks over
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#17327905843869734-468: 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
9891-648: The GameCube, Mario Golf: Advance Tour for the Game Boy Advance and Mario Golf: World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo released Mario Golf: Super Rush for the Nintendo Switch in summer of 2021. Mario and Luigi were team captains in Baseball for the Game Boy. Mario Superstar Baseball was released for the GameCube and Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii. The game of football
10048-444: The Hedgehog . But when you actually sit back and start playing it, you'll discover that this is a much slower, strategic game. There is a big puzzle element here, which should make it stand out from the hundreds of other platformers in the market". Sega Power made a number of similar points, comparing the gameplay to a mix "between Sonic and Dynamite Headdy ", but criticized its short length and lack of originality, and only gave it
10205-476: 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
10362-463: The Nintendo 3DS featured optional stereoscopic graphics and introduced hang gliding and submersible karts, an alternate first-person perspective, and kart customization. In 2014, Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U introduced anti-gravity racing, ATVs , uploading highlights to YouTube via Mario Kart TV, up to four local players in Grand Prix races, and downloadable content and is the first in
10519-486: The Nintendo Switch. The first use of Mario's likeness in a golf game was that the golfer in Golf for NES and Game Boy featured a mustached man resembling Mario. Later, NES Open Tournament Golf was released. It featured Mario and Luigi as the golfers, with Princess Toadstool and Princess Daisy as their caddies. Mario Golf was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. It was followed by Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour for
10676-469: 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 ,
10833-802: The United States in 1993 under the title Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as part of the Super Mario All-Stars title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , a console that also features iterations of the game known as Super Mario World . While Super Mario Land and two sequels were the Game Boy installments in the series, the Game Boy Advance did not receive any original entries, only remakes . Super Mario 64 debuted as
10990-467: The Virtual Console version an eight out of ten, praising the game's graphics, music and gameplay, and closed with saying "platformer fans would do well to give this one a look". GameSpot praised the Virtual Console release as well, especially its graphics, stating: "Visually, the developers made the best of the system's limited color palette and employed every graphical trick they could to make
11147-455: 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
11304-529: 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
11461-415: 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
11618-413: The best of the system in regards to graphics, animation, and gameplay, writing: " Ristar proves that taking a radical approach to play control in a platformer can sometimes really pay off in the end. Not only did Sonic Team create a game that easily differentiates itself from their Sonic the Hedgehog series, they've also come up with some of the most unique game play ideas to come out of the 16-bit era and
11775-725: The book containing him. In 2024, a new entry in the series titled Brothership was announced during a Nintendo Direct in June of 2024, around nine years after the release of Paper Jam . In 1998, the Hudson game Mario Party was released for the Nintendo 64. Following this, nine numbered sequels have since been released, making for ten numbered titles, along with three unnumbered main series titles: Mario Party DS (2007) , Super Mario Party (2018) , and Mario Party Superstars (2021) . The series also has four spins-offs that differ in gameplay, including Mario Party Advance , Island Tour , Star Rush , and The Top 100 . Mario Party
11932-523: The capacity of a cameo. He then appeared in Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy. After this, Camelot Software Planning released Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. They would subsequently develop other games in this series: Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube and Wii, Power Tour for the Game Boy Advance, Mario Tennis Open for the Nintendo 3DS, Ultra Smash for the Wii U, and Aces for
12089-415: The changes were very minor edits in effort to appeal to western audiences, such as minor graphical changes to make Ristar and other character's faces look more serious, renaming levels to names more descriptive of their looks, and adding a few non-interactive scenes to show more continuity in the game, such as a skiing sequence before the snow themed level, or putting on anti-gravity shoes to explain why Ristar
12246-577: The character after Segale as a joke because Segale was so reclusive that none of the employees had ever met him. James repeated this account in 2018. Mario next appeared in Donkey Kong Jr. as the game's antagonist. Players control Donkey Kong Jr. as he climbs vines and collects keys to save his kidnapped father from Mario. The game was later ported to several platforms including the Famicom/NES and several Atari home consoles. Additionally,
12403-543: The characters from Sonic the Hedgehog in the sports game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games , developed by Sega as the crossover series. A follow-up, Olympic Winter Games , was released in 2009 and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games was released between November 2011 ( Wii ) and February 2012 ( Nintendo 3DS ). On November 15, 2013, a third sequel called Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
12560-485: The colorful visuals and cleverly designed gameplay. Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s team of five reviewers gave it a 7.6 out of 10, with Mike Weigand summarizing: "An excellent new character, Ristar requires more technique than the typical run-and-jump action titles". A reviewer for Next Generation , while noting that Ristar borrowed heavily from Dynamite Headdy , contended that the player character has more than enough originality and versatility to go beyond being
12717-449: The commercial failure of Radar Scope , Nintendo's company president, Hiroshi Yamauchi , referred to designer Shigeru Miyamoto to create an arcade game to save the company. Miyamoto came up with the idea of a game in which the playable character has to make his way through an obstacle course consisting of sloped platforms, ladders and rolling barrels. Miyamoto named the game Donkey Kong , and its main protagonist "Jumpman". Donkey Kong
12874-458: 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
13031-421: 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
13188-419: 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
13345-514: The environment, such as knocking trees over. Additionally, his elastic arms can merely be used for grabbing and/or throwing objects as well. Beyond attacking, Ristar's arms are also used as a method of projecting him through levels. Many pole-like structures are present to swing Ristar from one side to another, across gaps or to ascend or descend platforms vertically. Ristar is also able to grab on to enemies and objects in mid-air and swing on them. Additionally, "Star Handles" are placed in levels, where
13502-596: The fictional world of the Mushroom Kingdom and typically rely on Mario's jumping ability to allow him to progress through levels . The franchise has spawned over 200 games of various genres and several subseries, including Mario Kart , Mario Party , Mario Tennis , Mario Golf , Mario vs. Donkey Kong , Paper Mario , and Mario & Luigi ; several characters introduced in the Mario franchise, such as Donkey Kong , Wario , and Yoshi , sparked successful franchises of their own. The Mario series
13659-431: The field, similarly to Tetris . The player manipulates the capsules as they fall so that they are aligned with viruses of matching colors, which removes them from playing field. The player progresses through the game by eliminating all the viruses on the screen in each level . There have been 4 Dr. Mario games released for home consoles, two portable games and one mobile game, for a total of seven original titles. As
13816-521: 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
13973-522: The first game in the series to be released on the Nintendo Switch , and was released in 2017. In 2006, a sub-series with retro gameplay called New Super Mario Bros. was inaugurated on the Nintendo DS, featuring the mechanics of the Super Mario Bros. games. It continued on the Wii as New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009), on the 3DS as New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2012) and on the Wii U as New Super Mario Bros. U (2012) and New Super Luigi U (2013) ((stylized as New Super Luigi Bros U )), with
14130-485: 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
14287-570: The form of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass , which added 48 courses and 8 additional racers during the span of spring 2022 until the end of 2023. The contents of this DLC were based heavily on courses and content found in Tour , which the pack received backlash for. Possibly the most popular spin-off series in the franchise, the Mario Kart series began in 1992 and is currently
14444-470: 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
14601-422: The game as being developed by Sonic Team. A number of small changes were made in localizing the version released for English-speaking countries. The story was altered slightly; in the Japanese version, a star mother, Oruto, summons Ristar's help, where in the international version, Oruto is omitted completely, and Ristar's father, a "legendary hero", is referenced instead. The boss of the ice themed level, Itamor,
14758-403: The game look snazzy. Ristar and his enemies have a good variety of animations, but what you'll probably notice the most are the colorful, multilayered backgrounds that constantly flaunt animated details in the form of moving clouds, falling debris, and rampaging creatures that have a habit of hurling things at you from a distance". Nintendo Life scored it at 9/10 and referred to the game as one of
14915-403: The game's non-player characters (NPCs), who will often offer clues or detail the next event in the storyline. As in other RPGs, the player can find or purchase items from NPCs to help in and outside of combat. Badges can be obtained that yield bonuses ranging from added moves to gradual health restoration during combat; each consumes a set number of Badge Points (BP), meaning Mario can only equip
15072-404: The game's overworld . Additionally, the player accumulates partners as they advance into different locations, who each have a specialized skill required for progression in the game. These characters assist Mario in the game's turn-based battles. Damage inflicted to the player reduces the amount of HP . Attacks in the game are similar to those in traditional RPGs, although the player can influence
15229-518: The gameplay fresh such as new courses, new items, and new playable characters. In 1996 and 1997, Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64 introduced 4-player racing and 3D graphics . In 2001, Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance introduced the ability to unlock retro tracks from previous installments. In 2003, Double Dash for the Nintendo GameCube introduced cooperative LAN multiplayer and two-player karts with one player driving and
15386-498: 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
15543-497: The gameplay, graphics, and music, but complaining that the game lacked some originality and borrowed a lot from other platforming games at the time, such as Sonic the Hedgehog , Dynamite Headdy , and Earthworm Jim . Sega Pro praised it for both its similarities and differences from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, stating "if you judged games purely by their visual looks, then you'd be forgiven for thinking that this WAS Sonic
15700-487: The games. Most were released in the late 1980s to early 1990s, and have since become obscure. The series launched three films. The anime Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! was released in 1986. The 1993 live action film Super Mario Bros. lost a large amount of money at the box office and was widely considered to be a failure . In contrast, the 2023 animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke box office records. Saturday Supercade
15857-457: 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
16014-413: 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"
16171-454: The high demand for him to be in the game. He also made an appearance as a flagman in the sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed , in 2012. In 2012, Ristar was cited by GameSpot as one of the examples of lost video games from the 1990s that deserved to return. Platform game The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established
16328-639: The launch title for the Nintendo 64 console in 1996 . Super Mario Sunshine was the series' entry for the GameCube , and Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel continued the franchise for the Wii . Super Mario 3D Land was the series' flagship title for Nintendo 3DS . The Wii U saw the release of Super Mario 3D World in November 2013. A rerelease titled Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury released February 2021. Super Mario Odyssey would be
16485-454: 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
16642-451: 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,
16799-489: 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
16956-405: 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
17113-814: The most successful and longest-running kart racing series, having sold over 150,000,000 copies worldwide. In the early 1990s, many educational games have been released in the Mario series, with one example being Mario Teaches Typing . Few of these games were platformers; most sought to teach skills such as typing, mathematics or history. They are officially licensed but not officially recognized by Nintendo. The games were developed independently by Software Toolworks , Interplay Entertainment and Brainstorm. Nine educational games were released from 1991 to 1996. This section covers games developed by other companies without significant Nintendo involvement. Hudson Soft released two games based on Mario Bros. and another similar to Super Mario Bros. Mario Bros. Special
17270-534: 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
17427-466: The other player on the back of the vehicle throwing out hazards. In 2005, Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS introduced dual-screen play and online multiplayer via Wi-Fi . In 2008, Mario Kart Wii introduced motion controls , 12-player racing, motorbikes , and playable Mii characters, as well as three new items: the POW Block, Mega Mushroom, and Thunder Cloud. In 2011, Mario Kart 7 for
17584-464: The overworld, and can be purchased or received from non-playable characters . In 2015, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam also released for the 3DS, in which all the Paper Mario world enters the real one. In 2016, Color Splash for the Wii U was announced that introduced the use of colors in both the environment and in turn-based battles, just like in Sticker Star . In 2020, The Origami King
17741-408: 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
17898-416: 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
18055-561: 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
18212-449: The player can choose to spend money to purchase a randomly selected collectible ' Gachapons ' (capsule toys) from a machine; one of the possibilities in both games is a Ristar figurine. He also briefly appeared in the introductory video of the 2001 Japan-only Dreamcast game Segagaga . Ristar did not make any more appearances until 2010, where he makes a cameo appearance in a downloadable track for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing due to
18369-405: 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
18526-405: The player must have Ristar grab and use momentum to swing him around in a 360 degrees circle . Letting go launches him off in a given direction, dependent on the time of release. If enough momentum is gained, sparkles appear behind Ristar and he performs a move called the "Meteor Strike", which makes him invincible and able to defeat any enemy upon touching them. When enough momentum is lost, usually
18683-993: 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
18840-466: The power of a move when attacking or defending by timing a button-press accurately or performing some other action command as required. Mario and his partners have a finite capacity to perform special moves, with each of these consuming a particular number of flower points (FP) when performed. Such statistics can be increased by earning Star Points ( experience points ) in combat to level up . Progression through Paper Mario depends upon interaction with
18997-405: The release of six LCD games for Nelsonic 's Game Watch line between 1989 and 1994. Many remakes of Game & Watch games have changed the protagonist from a generic Mr. Game & Watch character to Mario. In 2020, a rerelease of Super Mario Bros. in the form of a Game & Watch titled Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. was released for the game's 35th anniversary . Mario then became
19154-602: The return of Donkey Kong , Pauline , and the former's rivalry with Mario . The sub-series introduces the Mario-like toys known as Mini-Marios, who later replace Mario as the sole playable characters in all future installments starting with Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis onward. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a 2014 action puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for
19311-429: The screen, and many visual effects. The nature of the pointing device controller provides difficult controls for Mario, as the game has the default controls of running and jumping. Mario Takes America was proposed about Mario's trip to Hollywood to make his own movie. The game's concept initially impressed Philips, but was canceled due to the company being unsatisfied with the game's development progress. Hotel Mario
19468-482: The series has progressed, each new game has introduced new elements to keep the gameplay fresh such as new game modes. In 2001, Dr. Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 introduced new game modes such as a Story mode, Score Attack and Marathon , Wario as a playable character and four-player multiplayer. After a seven-year hiatus, in 2008, Dr. Mario Express for the Nintendo DSi 's DSiWare service re-introduced
19625-484: The series to boast HD graphics . In 2017, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch was released as an enhanced port of the Wii U version, featuring an improved battle mode and several new characters. In September 2019, Mario Kart Tour launched for mobile devices, and it received mixed reception due to the simplified controls and heavy emphasis on loot boxes and microtransactions. Beginning in 2022, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe received downloadable content of its own in
19782-400: The series to the portable gaming market. Also in 2008, Dr. Mario Online Rx for the Wii 's WiiWare service introduced online multiplayer to the series. In 2013, Dr. Luigi for the Wii U 's Nintendo eShop introduced Luigi as the playable character as well as an Operation L game mode in which all capsules assume the shape of the letter "L". A mobile game titled Dr. Mario World
19939-548: The series, Dr. Mario , was launched in 1990 on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy to critical and commercial success. In the Dr. Mario series, the player character Mario , who assumes the role of a doctor, is tasked with eradicating deadly viruses. The player's objective is to destroy the viruses populating the on-screen playing field by using falling colored capsules that are dropped into
20096-554: The series, Super Mario Kart , was launched in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to critical and commercial success. In the Mario Kart series, players compete in go-kart races , controlling one of a selection of characters from the Mario franchise. One of the features of the series is the use of various power-up items obtained by driving into item boxes laid out on the course. These power-ups include Super Mushrooms to give players
20253-488: The sole purpose of granting the wishes of the innocent people. He must stop Greedy and the brainwashed leaders of each world to restore peace to the Valdi System. In the international version, Oruto is omitted altogether. Instead, Ristar has a father, the legendary hero, who is a shooting star that protects the constellation of Valjee. Rather than Oruto awakening Ristar, the legendary hero was kidnapped by Greedy, and it
20410-498: The star of his own side scrolling platform game in 1985 , titled Super Mario Bros. , which was the pack-in game included with the Nintendo Entertainment System console. It was also later sold in a package with Duck Hunt . In Japan, a game titled Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in 1986 , but a different game with the same name was released internationally in 1988 , followed by Super Mario Bros. 3 later that same year. The Japanese version would subsequently be released in
20567-466: The team behind New Super Mario Bros. released Super Mario Run , Nintendo's first real smartphone game and one of the few instances a Mario game was developed for non-Nintendo hardware. Dr. Mario (stylized as D℞. Mario ) is a series of arcade-style action puzzle video game originally developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, and later developed by Arika and produced by Nintendo Software Planning & Development . The first in
20724-489: 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
20881-431: The titular Italian plumber Mario , it is primarily a video game franchise but has extended to other forms of media, including television series , comic books, a 1993 feature film , a 2023 animated film , and theme park attractions . The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros. even though Mario made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong and had already been featured in several games of
21038-540: 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
21195-510: The use of Ristar's stretchable arms, which can reach in 8 different main directions. The player must maneuver Ristar through the level to its end, while avoiding damage from obstacles and enemies. Ristar's extendable arms are used as the main means of attacking enemies; through extending his arms, grabbing the enemy, and pulling himself towards them into a " headbutt " motion to defeat them. The same motion also allows for opening treasure chests containing various items, or striking different parts of
21352-437: 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
21509-455: 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
21666-428: 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
21823-399: The worst Mario -centered games, mainly because of its cutscenes and simple gameplay. On E3 2017, Ubisoft officially announced that they were making a game based on the Mario and Rabbids franchises. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Milan (Ubisoft's Italian studio division) for the Nintendo Switch. The game
21980-413: 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
22137-488: Was a live action children's television show broadcast in Southern California during the holiday season of 1989–90. The show starred King Koopa (also known as Bowser ), the main antagonist of the Mario series. The 30-minute program was originally broadcast during the after-school afternoon timeslots on Los Angeles-based KTTV Fox 11 . The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 is the second TV series based on
22294-505: 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
22451-468: Was an animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions . It ran for two seasons on CBS , beginning in 1983. Each episode comprised several shorter segments featuring video game characters from the Golden Age of Arcade Games . Donkey Kong , Mario and Pauline (from the Donkey Kong arcade game) were featured in the show. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
22608-585: Was announced on the Switch with the use of origami . The Mario & Luigi spin-off series, developed by AlphaDream , was formed exclusively throughout handheld consoles. The series began with the release of Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. In 2017, Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions for the Nintendo 3DS introduced a remake of the original game with added graphics, an improved map allowing players to place pinpoints, and an additional mode called Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser , featuring
22765-430: Was called " Mario " in certain promotional materials for the game's release overseas; his namesake was Mario Segale , the landlord of Nintendo of America (NOA)'s office/warehouse, who, according to one version of events, barged in on a meeting to demand an overdue rent payment. This story is contradicted by former NOA warehouse manager Don James , who stated in 2012 that he and then-NOA president Minoru Arakawa named
22922-515: Was changed from a large cat robot to an ice monster type robot. In the game, Ristar must grab hot dishes of food, and throw it in Itamor's mouth. In Japan, it was considered clever to use "hot food" to defeat a cat, due to a Japanese cultural reference regarding a "cat-tongue" not liking hot food. In English-speaking regions, that reference is non-existent, so it was changed to a "cold ice monster" being defeated by being melted by "hot food". The rest of
23079-473: 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 ,
23236-479: Was initially impressed by the prototype of the game, that was presented to him by creative director Davide Soliani in 2014, which later caused Nintendo to greenlight the game for a Nintendo Switch release. It was released in Europe and North America on August 29, 2017, and was met with generally favorable reception from critics, who praised its gameplay, depth, and graphics. A sequel, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope ,
23393-545: Was introduced in one of the minigames in Mario Party 4 as "GOOOOOOOAL!!". The Mario Strikers series ( Mario Football in Europe) made its debut for the GameCube with Super Mario Strikers in 2005, developed by Next Level Games . Mario Strikers Charged was released for the Wii in 2007. Mario Strikers: Battle League was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2022. In 2008, Mario and his friends appeared alongside
23550-466: Was less positive in their review, giving it a B− review score due to the perceived redundancy and recycling of ideas from the Sonic series. In a retrospective piece by Levi Buchanan of IGN , he praised the graphics and gameplay as being great for the aging Sega Genesis, but also asserted that the platform hurt the game's ability to succeed with sales and visibility: " Ristar never stood a chance. The game
23707-616: Was released exclusively on the Wii U , with a fourth sequel, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and arcade in 2016. A fifth sequel, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 , was released on Nintendo Switch in November 2019, with an arcade version of the game releasing in 2020. Mario Kart is a series of go-kart -style racing video games primarily developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development. The first in
23864-464: Was released in 2019, but was permanently discontinued in July of 2021. This series is a collection of nonogram logic puzzles involving a grid with numbers for every row and column, which refer to the amount of marked squares within the grid. The games features Mario as an archaeologist who chisels away to form images on the grid. Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a sub-series of the Mario and Donkey Kong series, based on puzzle video games , making
24021-461: Was released in early 1995, just as the videogame world was moving on to the next generation of hardware . Sega was concentrating on the impending release of the Saturn and Sonic was still a monster success. And so Ristar was put to pasture". In 2017, Gamesradar ranked Ristar 41st on their "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time." In a 2006 interview, Ristar designer Akira Nishino said: Will Ristar come back? Probably not. Of course, as
24178-502: Was released on October 28, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch. Electronic Arts (creator of games such as FIFA, Battlefield, Apex Legends and many other games) developed and released NBA Street V3 and SSX on Tour in 2005, both of which included Mario, Luigi, and Peach as playable characters in the GameCube versions. Square Enix released Itadaki Street DS & Wii including many characters from Mario games. The Mario franchise includes many comics, manga and TV series based on
24335-424: Was released; Super Mario's Wacky Worlds and Mario Takes America were eventually canceled. Philips was given permission to use Nintendo characters in CD-i games due to their taking part in developing an unreleased add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Hotel Mario did not gain much success, with Nintendo never acknowledging it as part of the Mario series. Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
24492-418: 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
24649-540: 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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