-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
GAF, I want to play through some lesser known platformers for NES/SNES/Genesis.
- Thread starter beanman25
- Start date
I'm going to go ahead and treat "obscure" as pretty much meaning "not Mario, Sonic, Castlevania, or Mega Man", since that's usually how posters react to the term! And that's fine.
Look for Shatterhand, with this goober-ass cover:
Pretty great NES-only (Famicom version has a lame TV license attached to it and by all accounts is dull in comparison) action platformer with a lot of punching combos and remote robot control. One of the best-looking games of its kind on the platform, too.
Look for Shatterhand, with this goober-ass cover:
Pretty great NES-only (Famicom version has a lame TV license attached to it and by all accounts is dull in comparison) action platformer with a lot of punching combos and remote robot control. One of the best-looking games of its kind on the platform, too.
atomic moth
Member
Dynamite Headdy on Genesis.
Xmen Mutant Apocalypse on SNES
Run Saber on SNES
Xmen Mutant Apocalypse on SNES
Run Saber on SNES
Dino City is a pretty obscure SNES platformer and not half bad! Here's a video.
Congo's Caper is another random SNES game.
I loved Dinosaurs as a kid so I got to play a lot of obscure SNES Dinosaur platformers!
Congo's Caper is another random SNES game.
I loved Dinosaurs as a kid so I got to play a lot of obscure SNES Dinosaur platformers!
Muffdraul
Member
Two of the first games I got for my Sega Genesis:
Both were absolutely shameless marketing for 7-Up and McDonalds respectively, but in my memories they were surprisingly well designed and very fun. I could be wrong. It was 20 years ago and I was basically just getting back into games after like a 7 year hiatus (i.e. stopped gaming during most of high school and college.) Back then, when I was in the mood for a new game I'd just go to Toys R Us and check out what they had running on the playable demo kiosk. If I thought it was fun, I bought it.
Both were absolutely shameless marketing for 7-Up and McDonalds respectively, but in my memories they were surprisingly well designed and very fun. I could be wrong. It was 20 years ago and I was basically just getting back into games after like a 7 year hiatus (i.e. stopped gaming during most of high school and college.) Back then, when I was in the mood for a new game I'd just go to Toys R Us and check out what they had running on the playable demo kiosk. If I thought it was fun, I bought it.
Other quick suggestions:
On NES, Street Fighter 2010 gets some shit in some circles due to its very slightly unconventional controls, but ignore that. It's great. Here's a thread I made a few months ago of me being pumped after beating it. Batman and Journey to Silius are among the best on the platform, too.
On Genesis, Revenge of Shinobi really shouldn't be obscure, but I'm listing it just in case you haven't played this. It's a masterpiece. El Viento isn't great, but it's solid and very unique. Shadow Dancer is easily the least-discussed Shinobi game on the platform, and it really isn't as great as the other two, but still very good if you can get into the arcade Shinobi/Rolling Thunder games.
On SNES, Cybernator is an absolute must-play. Excellent mech-themed platformer. Weighty controls that involve a lot of sliding around and managing jump jets with fuel. Memorable and tough stages. There's ActRaiser, as mentioned, and ActRaiser II is good as well if you aren't heartbroken at the removal of the strategy aspects.
On NES, Street Fighter 2010 gets some shit in some circles due to its very slightly unconventional controls, but ignore that. It's great. Here's a thread I made a few months ago of me being pumped after beating it. Batman and Journey to Silius are among the best on the platform, too.
On Genesis, Revenge of Shinobi really shouldn't be obscure, but I'm listing it just in case you haven't played this. It's a masterpiece. El Viento isn't great, but it's solid and very unique. Shadow Dancer is easily the least-discussed Shinobi game on the platform, and it really isn't as great as the other two, but still very good if you can get into the arcade Shinobi/Rolling Thunder games.
On SNES, Cybernator is an absolute must-play. Excellent mech-themed platformer. Weighty controls that involve a lot of sliding around and managing jump jets with fuel. Memorable and tough stages. There's ActRaiser, as mentioned, and ActRaiser II is good as well if you aren't heartbroken at the removal of the strategy aspects.
I'm not sure if it's "obscure" but I somehow missed this game during the 16bit generation, so I always like to at least mention it in threads like these.
Rocket Knight Adventures for the Sega Genesis
The sequels "Sparkster" are also pretty good too, but I'd personally rate "Rocket Knight Adventures" the best.
It should also be noted that the Sega version, and the SNES version of "Sparkster" are 2 completely different games, so the series had 3 different games during the 16-bit generation.
Rocket Knight Adventures for the Sega Genesis
The sequels "Sparkster" are also pretty good too, but I'd personally rate "Rocket Knight Adventures" the best.
It should also be noted that the Sega version, and the SNES version of "Sparkster" are 2 completely different games, so the series had 3 different games during the 16-bit generation.
The unofficial sequel Metal Warriors is a masterpiece. Better than Cybernator and very very beautiful. It is one of the most expensive games on eBay now but is worth getting. Just don't confuse it with Metal Marines or worse, Metal Combat.
DerpButter
Member
had no idea NES could animate/control this smoothly
I dabbled in it a little bit after beating Cybernator and couldn't get into it. Levels seemed super bland in comparison, and the visuals were a bit of a step down, too. I should revisit it and see if it improves, though, since I didn't play much.
MushroomSamba
Member
Monster World IV for the Genesis. Charming sprites, fun action, interesting levels, parallax, etc.
Two of the first games I got for my Sega Genesis:
Both were absolutely shameless marketing for 7-Up and McDonalds respectively, but in my memories they were surprisingly well designed and very fun. I could be wrong. It was 20 years ago and I was basically just getting back into games after like a 7 year hiatus (i.e. stopped gaming during most of high school and college.) Back then, when I was in the mood for a new game I'd just go to Toys R Us and check out what they had running on the playable demo kiosk. If I thought it was fun, I bought it.
Christ, I think I've met my exact double. Those two were exactly what I was going to put down.
Like the hat?
Banned
Road Runner's Death Valley Rally and the Tiny Toons SNES games were pretty fun.
SturokBGD
Member
How about Kabuki Quantum Fighter...? Looks and plays a bit like the NES Batman game except it's not stupid hard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SopEVWVkGkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SopEVWVkGkg
Sunsoft made some brilliant platformers for the NES:
- Blaster Master - both side-scrolling (with a car that can jump) and top-down (controlling a little guy). Very challenging and fun.
- Ufouria - somewhat similar to Metroid in that you navigate a huge world, and get access to previously unreachable places by getting upgrades. You have several characters that you choose between with the push of a button, and they all have very different abilities.
-Batman. My favourite Batman-game, and I have played most. Hard, cool, gritty action-platformer. One of the first games, perhaps the first, to feature wall-jumping.
- Journey to Silius - hard as nails action-platformer in the vein of Contra.
- Mr. Gimmick. You probably won't be able to find this, since it was only released in Japan and Scandinavia. My favourite of the four. It's a super-cute but super-hard platformer with tons of cool touches and secrets. You control a little guy who can create stars out of nothing, and then throw them. The stars bounce around the place, and you can jump on them and ride them until they disappear. They also kill some enemies. You have to become an expert on star-riding to advance through the levels. It's all very unique and fun.
All these games have amazing music in common. Sunsoft's sound technology on the NES was just great.
- Blaster Master - both side-scrolling (with a car that can jump) and top-down (controlling a little guy). Very challenging and fun.
- Ufouria - somewhat similar to Metroid in that you navigate a huge world, and get access to previously unreachable places by getting upgrades. You have several characters that you choose between with the push of a button, and they all have very different abilities.
-Batman. My favourite Batman-game, and I have played most. Hard, cool, gritty action-platformer. One of the first games, perhaps the first, to feature wall-jumping.
- Journey to Silius - hard as nails action-platformer in the vein of Contra.
- Mr. Gimmick. You probably won't be able to find this, since it was only released in Japan and Scandinavia. My favourite of the four. It's a super-cute but super-hard platformer with tons of cool touches and secrets. You control a little guy who can create stars out of nothing, and then throw them. The stars bounce around the place, and you can jump on them and ride them until they disappear. They also kill some enemies. You have to become an expert on star-riding to advance through the levels. It's all very unique and fun.
All these games have amazing music in common. Sunsoft's sound technology on the NES was just great.
I also enjoyed M.C. Kids/McDonald Land for the NES. It's a really weird platformer with gravity-flipping mechanics. A little similar to Super Mario Bros. 2 since you can pick up and throw blocks and stuff. It seemed too strange for me, so I didn't play it much until I sat down and just plowed through it one day. A fun experience, but you have to find a lot of hidden thingamajigs to complete the game, and many of them are hidden extremely well. One of the weirdest but best "advertisement-games".
UncleSporky
Member
Me too, holy crap! I have really fond memories of those. Super fun platformers. Inexplicably so.
Also came to recommend Shatterhand, find a way to play it. Very polished for a NES game.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Ardy lightfoot
Some great suggestions in here. Little Samson (NES), Actraiser (SNES), Shatterhand (NES), and Sparkster (SNES) and/or Rocket Knight (Genesis) are all musts.
Here's some of my favorites:
Kabuku: Quantum Figher (NES)
Run Saber (SNES)
Power Blade (NES)
Shadow Dancer (Genesis)
Bio Force Ape (NES rom only)
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu (NES)
Moon Crystal (NES translated rom)
Metal Warriors (SNES)
Metal Storm (NES)
Hagane (SNES)
Do-Re-Mi Fantasy (Super Famicom no English required)
Here's some of my favorites:
Kabuku: Quantum Figher (NES)
Run Saber (SNES)
Power Blade (NES)
Shadow Dancer (Genesis)
Bio Force Ape (NES rom only)
Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu (NES)
Moon Crystal (NES translated rom)
Metal Warriors (SNES)
Metal Storm (NES)
Hagane (SNES)
Do-Re-Mi Fantasy (Super Famicom no English required)
InfectedZero
Member
I'm going to go ahead and treat "obscure" as pretty much meaning "not Mario, Sonic, Castlevania, or Mega Man", since that's usually how posters react to the term! And that's fine.
Look for Shatterhand, with this goober-ass cover:
Pretty great NES-only (Famicom version has a lame TV license attached to it and by all accounts is dull in comparison) action platformer with a lot of punching combos and remote robot control. One of the best-looking games of its kind on the platform, too.
This game is really awesome. Last level is ridiculous. Also read the story its fucking awesome.
Muffdraul
Member
I love you guys! *group hug*
BTW I was just reading their wiki articles, and it turns out both were programmed by Dave Perry. So I guess it shouldn't be all that surprising that they were good.
walking fiend
Member
Another vote for Tiny Toon; though I played it on Sega
Max Knight
Member
Aero the Acro-Bat for SNES and Genesis.
akidnamededdy
Banned
I have fond memories of this one, though I found it a little aggravating when I returned to it years later. Still worth a look. It also had a sequel, Aero the Acrobat 2, and a spinoff, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel.
Lazy Man's Wallpaper
Member
Second the recommendations for Kabuki, very good game.
dark_prinny
Banned
Cerebral Assassin
Member
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Plok!
It's a fun platformer with an amazing soundtrack(for it's time at least, it was hard to believe that the SNES could sound like that), & it beat Rayman to the flying punch by years.
It's a fun platformer with an amazing soundtrack(for it's time at least, it was hard to believe that the SNES could sound like that), & it beat Rayman to the flying punch by years.
HYDE
Member
I'm going to go ahead and treat "obscure" as pretty much meaning "not Mario, Sonic, Castlevania, or Mega Man", since that's usually how posters react to the term! And that's fine.
Look for Shatterhand, with this goober-ass cover:
Both of these games were developed by Natsume...(Shatterhand was just published by Jaleco).
Shadow of the Ninja:
Also Natsume developed this for Tecmo...
And Tecmo loved Natsume's Shadow of the Ninja soo much, that they all but copied it's play style in Ninja Gaiden 3:
Shadow Hog
Member
Rolo to the Rescue is pretty good, if you don't mind the lack of saving (and jump being on B for some reason).
I really liked Asterix and the Great Rescue as a kid, although it was hard as shit. Internet reviews aren't so favorable.
Also really liked Goofy's Hysterical History Tour - this one's not quite so hard, but isn't a cakewalk, either.
All Genesis, btw.
I really liked Asterix and the Great Rescue as a kid, although it was hard as shit. Internet reviews aren't so favorable.
Also really liked Goofy's Hysterical History Tour - this one's not quite so hard, but isn't a cakewalk, either.
All Genesis, btw.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
The action-platformer series Turrican is highly underrated, I think. The lovechild of Contra and Metroid, Mega Turrican(Genesis) and Super Turrican(SNES) are highly entertaining mix of fast-paced action with large highly-detailed levels to traverse and explore.
There's also an NES original, Turrican, but that was pretty damn hard for me.
There's also an NES original, Turrican, but that was pretty damn hard for me.