Top 10 Best 3D Platformer Games of All Time
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Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mario 64 was great. It was nostalgic. But I like this better. Best 3D Mario game. I will probably forever think that Mario World is the best Mario game, and the best game in general.
The soundtrack is phenomenal, and so are the level gimmicks!
So beautiful... so much content... and most of all... fun!
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Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie improved a lot from Mario 64. It feels less slippery, has better characters, better flying mechanics (by far), more vibrant level designs, and more of an adventure feel since you aren't forced back into the hub world after collecting Jiggies, unlike with collecting stars in Mario 64.
Also, I'd say Banjo-Kazooie holds up better after all these years. In my opinion, it's the best-aged 3D platformer of the fifth gaming generation by a landslide. Mario 64 is great and revolutionary, but Banjo-Kazooie is an improvement on the formula.
By far, my number one favorite game, of all genres, of all time (with Banjo-Tooie and The Last of Us in second and third place). I received this game on the N64 for my eleventh birthday in August of 1998, fell in love with it then, and still adore it to this day.
I just absolutely love this game. From the well-written and funny dialogue, amazing graphics for its time (it's honestly still a gorgeous game), memorable characters, well-designed worlds, solid gameplay, and memorable and beautiful music. The N64 game was amazing, and the Xbox 360 port made it perfect. There is so much to love here. Highly recommended!
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Super Mario 64
Great, memorable music, good graphics for the time, and levels designed to be replayable. These are like small open worlds that you can just run around in with the amazing movement mechanics that feel great. The atmosphere is incredibly fun, and the controls are amazing with any controller.
The movement systems all link together beautifully to create some of the best speed runs of any game. They're easy to get a grip on but take time to master. The only problem with it is that it was the first of its kind, so it didn't invent too many new level mechanics, unlike something like Mario Galaxy.
Wow. Very sad that this is at 15. Super Mario 64 is my favorite 3D platformer of all time. It's also my favorite video game ever. This was and still is amazing, even this many years later.
Technically, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is 3D platforming at its absolute finest, but even that spawned from other games that came after the creation of this glorious game.
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Super Mario Galaxy
This is Super Mario Galaxy, the best Mario game ever!
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Crash Bandicoot: Warped
This was one of the first games I played. Honestly, it is still unmatched. I played through Super Mario 64, and that was good. But this, this was really good.
It's so good because, like original Mario games, it's just levels, only in 3D. Plus, the enemies, environments, cartoonish insanity, and magnificent, fun levels all made it such a great and awesome game.
So many people grew up with this amazing game and character! Sure, Mario64 deserves the top spot for practically revolutionizing video games in general, but it was Crash who perfected it and improved it in many ways. Crash and Mario are both legends!
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Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Without a doubt, the best 3D platformer I've ever played. It has beautiful presentation, and every world you visit is absolutely wonderful. The soundtrack is amazing, and there is so much variety in the gameplay.
There are even new playable characters, and they are all just as fun to play as Spyro. The bosses are great, and there are a ton of collectibles to keep you playing the game for several hours. Such a fantastic game.
Perfect from top to bottom, Spyro: Year of the Dragon is utterly magnificent in every single way, with perfectly balanced gameplay, an enormous amount of mission variety, and creative, unforgettable levels. Even if it's pretty dated-looking, the cutscenes continue to be incredibly charming.
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Conker's Bad Fur Day
The only game on this list that features a segment that involves collecting pacifist bees to tickle a particularly large-breasted sunflower so that you can distract her and bounce on her breasts to collect a wodge of cash.
Rare's best game and one of my favorite games of all time.
Funniest 3D platformer ever made.
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SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
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Super Mario Sunshine
Why is stupid Galaxy above this masterpiece?
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Banjo-Tooie
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Super Mario Odyssey
Pretty shocking to see it so far away from the top ten.
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Kirby and the Forgotten Land
What is Kirby and the Forgotten Land doing all the way down here? The music alone qualifies it for the top 5!
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Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
No other game in the world could ever match the badassery provided in Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Everything in this game is flawless: the story is great, controls are tight, weapons have a ton of variety and make the gameplay intense, and even the game's online multiplayer is phenomenal (it's still being played to this day!). Mario and Jak are good, but this is kick-ass!
Epic Weapons. Epic universe. Epic Experience Upgrade system. Everything about this game is epic.
There are tons of activities, whether participating in arena battles to gain extra bolts and experience or exploring planets looking for some titanium bolts. Areas become accessible with gadgets obtained later on. The story is hilarious at every cutscene, and Good ol' Captain Qwark is here too, as well as the Plumber.
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Super Mario 3D Land
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Sonic Adventure 2
The closest 3D Sonic game that comes close to being great compared to all the other 3D Sonic games released after it.
The Sonic and Shadow stages are the best stages (mostly) in SA2, while the Tails and Eggman and Knuckles and Rouge stages are good as well (again, mostly).
Also, let's not forget that SA2 has very memorable music. Overall, SA2 is the closest 3D Sonic game that is actually great in comparison to future 3D installments in the franchise. This is all I have to say. Goodbye.
Sonic Heroes? Best 3D Sonic platformer? Rubbish. This game is a lot more fun.
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Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
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Rayman 2: The Great Escape
To my memory, at least, this was the first platformer I had ever played; I started with the subpar PS1 port but didn't know any better back then so I loved it. Then I got Rayman Revolution and man, that was a step up. I've loved Rayman ever since. The less said about the Rabbids, the better. I thought Minions were bad.
This has to be higher up. Good controls, good music, good atmosphere, and the goods keep on coming.
Great game. Sadly, it doesn't seem like it had many (if any) good ports...
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Psychonauts
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Donkey Kong 64
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Sonic Adventure
So many childhood memories! It was an extremely cringy game, even as a kid, but I think its vibrant environments and presentation deserve some credit.
One of the best Sonic Games out there. It has awesome level design, good handle physics, a good story, and just awesome music. Yes, Big and Amy are no good, but they are short, so this is not as much of a problem.
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Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
This game has one advantage over every other entry in this list, no load times! Plus it has phenomenal controls and tons of collectibles in a large open world to explore with your own wits.
Favorite video game of all time. Beautiful open world and great controls. Not too much of a challenge but extremely fun, with exotic characters.
My all-time favorite game with likable characters, named my dog after Daxter.
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Pac-Man World 2
Excellent, relatively unknown. Where it really shines is the level design and themes.
This is so much fun! Why is it not on here yet?
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Jumping Flash!
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Spyro the Dragon
My favorite game of all time. The music, the level design, and the characters all create such an amazing atmosphere for adventure.
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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
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Mega Man X7
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Jumping Flash! 2
