The Tuesday 10s - Best 2D Platformers of the Past Ten Years

It's been quite a while since their last appearance on SuperPhillip Central, but The Tuesday 10s are back for a new edition! This time we're checking out the best 2D platformers of the past ten years, similar to how we looked previously at the best 3D platformers of the past ten years over a year ago. Will you be surprised at some of the picks? Well, let's run and jump straight into the list so you can find out!

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (NSW, Wii U)

Let's start with the great gorilla, the massive monkey, the awesome ape--Donkey Kong! His most recent adventure from 2014, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, saw him teaming up with the rest of the Kong crew, specifically Diddy, Dixie, and new to the playable roster Cranky Kong--each with their own unique platforming abilities--and taking on the evil Snowmads who took over Kong Island. Bad for the Kongs, great for us, as we got to enjoy Retro Studios' amazing artistry and level design throughout the six world (technically seven, counting the bonus world) adventure. Whether playing solo with your choice of Kong-panion riding on DK's back, or playing with the Kongs separate from one another in local co-op, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze brought a banana slamma' to the Wii U and then eventually the Switch with added Funky Kong as a playable character.

Hollow Knight (Multi)

Caution: Your gaming and platforming skills will be put to the ultimate test with this next game. Our first Metroidvania on this list is also the most challenging of the games listed on The Tuesday 10s this time around. It's none other than Hollow Knight, an open-ended Metroid-esque adventure. Offering a punishing difficulty, vast world to explore and become lost in, exciting and brutal boss battles, plenty of side quests and secrets to uncover, and loads of longevity and replay value, Hollow Knight delivered one of the most unexpected but welcomed indie surprises of 2017. We eagerly await Silksong, wherever it may be in its development since going AWOL after being announced during a Nintendo video presentation two years ago.

Metroid Dread (NSW)

Speaking of difficult Metroid-style games, how about we give props to the originator of the sub-genre of platformers with Samus Aran's latest and arguably greatest, depending on your stance? It's Metroid Dread, released this past October exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. Samus Aran has never felt better to control in this game, offering an unrivaled since of agility, mobility, and overall movement, at least in the Metroid series. I love the way the game subtly points you and directs you around its otherwise easy-to-get-lost world with smart power-up placement and through its level design. The game is challenging, too, more so than any other Metroid game, in my opinion. Thankfully, Samus possesses her move set from Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS), including that spectacularly swift counter ability, as well as picks up several new moves to make for a fresh, awesome, and exciting Metroid game from start to finish.

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (NSW)

While the original New Super Mario Bros. U released alongside the Wii U in 2012 and a DLC platforming expansion starring Luigi called New Super Luigi U launched the summer after, the two games would receive a splendid compilation on the Nintendo Switch that only left out the Wii U GamePad-controlled challenges and asymmetrical multiplayer options. Both New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U offer the same excellent level design of the original games, and really, some of the best designed levels in 2D Mario history. Not even speaking hyperbolically here. The aesthetic and overall presentation is indeed sterile and bland, but gameplay and design-wise, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a masterclass.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps (XBS, XB1, PC, NSW)

We took a quick detour from Metroidvania-styled games for some Mario, but now let's briefly return to the sub-genre of platformer with Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The game is as breathtaking in design as it is utterly gorgeous to look at. The story is equally heartfelt and heartwarming, and the world is a joy and delight to explore. The addition of side quests didn't feel like filler to pad the length of the game; instead they felt organic and enjoyable to complete. The various locales Ori could explore were filled with impressive sights, sounds, and platforming challenges that really utilized Ori's move set in truly innovative and clever ways. And those intense escape sequences and boss battles? Phew, dear! I need to sit down just thinking about them, as they were totally tense and awesome in all the right ways. 

Rayman Legends (Multi)

Whether playing solo or in co-op, Rayman Legends is a brilliant 2D platformer, especially the Wii U original version, offering its Murfy levels being controlled by the Wii U GamePad. These Murfy levels had one player using said GamePad to move around and interact with obstacles and objects in levels via the touch screen to help the other players through them. Things could get rather dicey rather quickly if players didn't work together well! Not only did the Wii U version offer one of the best uses of the Wii U GamePad, but even on other platforms, the game was just phenomenal a platformer. Colorful, crisp graphics, terrific control and feel, creative levels, and a superb soundtrack all added up to make Rayman Legends a marvelous game.

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Multi)

The original Shovel Knight released in 2014 from Yacht Club Games. Since then, the game has become its own series of spin-offs featuring bosses from the game seeing themselves as the main characters, complete with unique move sets and more. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is a compilation of all of these adventures, including King Knight's and Plague Knight's, and the package is well worth the price of admission. The original Shovel Knight was a retro-inspired platformer with dashes of Mario, Mega Man, and even DuckTales somewhat in its gameplay and design. A masterful game if there ever was one, and the addition of even more Shovel Knight goodness via the aforementioned expansions make for a package that is absolutely irresistible. Seriously, if you "dig" platformers, you'll most likely love Shovel Knight as well, if you haven't already!

Sonic Mania (Multi)

The Sonic the Hedgehog series perseveres after decades of ups and downs in quality of the Blue Blur's games, but Sonic Mania stands (or rolls around at the speed of sound, I guess would fit better) as one of the hedgehog's greatest titles, not just in the modern era of Sonic (that's not too difficult a task) but overall as well. It rivals the Genesis games, if not simply just surpassing them in multiple areas. After SEGA's multiple failed attempts at bringing Sonic back to basics (looking at you, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, you utterly contemptible pile of vomited-up chili dog), Sonic Mania absolutely succeeded where those games failed, delivering tight controls, excellent physics that mirrored the Genesis classics well, astounding level design with multiple paths to explore, and a stellar soundtrack from Tee Lopes, like a cherry on top. Sonic Mania is the gold [ring] standard of 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Multi)

From some of the developers and designers of the original Donkey Kong Country games, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair brought so much excellence and creative ideas into its DKC-styled adventure. From the clever 3D overworld to explore--complete with environmental puzzles to solve, to the genius that was the Impossible Lair, where players built up a collection of "hits" by completing the other levels in the game, Yooka and Laylee's second outing was a fantastic one. The ability to use Tonics to alter the play experience to make the game as easy or as hard as you wanted (also rewarding a quill multiplier for doing so) made it so you could enjoy the game however you desired. The way levels had two different versions based on how they were altered in the overworld, was also a brilliant idea and implemented wonderfully, too. All in all, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was a treat to play with exceptional controls and feel, sensational levels, and well executed ideas.

Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U) 

I might get grief for this, but I will stand by my argument that Yoshi's Woolly World is a better and more enjoyable game than the original Yoshi's Island from the Super Nintendo. I know, I know. It's blasphemy for some of you out there, but consider this: not only is the game lovingly made with a wool and yarn aesthetic, even going as far as to be implemented into its level design and puzzles, but it also doesn't require you to collect everything in one go to get 100% in a level. Thank YOU, Good Feel! Not only this, but I enjoyed the levels more, the grander variety of music, and just the adventure from beginning to end, as both a player and a completionist. Yoshi's Island is a fantastic game as well, but Good Feel's magnum opus just outpaces and outshines the SNES classic by a thread.

The Tuesday 10s - Nintendo Switch Platformers

Whether 2D or 3D, Nintendo systems are generally the home to the highest number of platformers. With this in mind, the Nintendo Switch continues this trend, which makes choosing ten platformers for one "best of" list--again, whether 2D or 3D--that much more of a difficult task to do! Even when it's on an unordered list such as this, selecting ten out of the countless excellent platformers on the Switch proved to be quite the herculean task. For this edition of The Tuesday 10s, SuperPhillip Central lists just a sampling of the greatest platformers on the Nintendo Switch with only one real caveat: a limit of one game per series on this list. Otherwise, our main man Mario would hog a lot of the spots here.

Super Mario Odyssey

Speaking of, let's begin with who else but gaming's most famous mascot in one of his biggest, boldest and best platforming adventures yet with Mario and Super Mario Odyssey. I've gone into great detail multiple times in the past already about how fantastic Odyssey truly is, so bear with me as I go through the whole production again. Between Mario's marvelous and humongous move set that allows players to tackle the huge, sprawling worlds in myriad ways, and the ability to capture various enemies and objects via Mario's traveling companion Cappy, Super Mario Odyssey delivered a globetrotting adventure that shouldn't be missed. With literally hundreds of Power Moons to collect (though one can easily just find the bare minimum to make progress--perfect for those less skilled at platformers), the fun doesn't end for a long, long time.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

From one 3D platformer to the next, Spyro Reignited Trilogy encompasses not just one of Spyro's adventures, but all three of his original PlayStation platformers and puts them through the remake ringer for a remarkably done trilogy of games. The games--Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon--were lovingly restored and given a new lease on life. They've never looked or played better, offering gorgeous visuals, heightened personality and charm, and just a grander sense of wonder. 100% each game will definitely give players a run for their money--or gems in this case--as well, as these titles hide secrets well and require good sleuthing to uncover and accomplish all that they have to offer.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

We move from 3D to 2D now with a relic from the Wii U era of Nintendo consoles that saw new life breathed into it with its arrival on the Switch. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was initially bombarded with boos from a certain section of Nintendo fans for being Retro Studios' next project over a new Metroid Prime game. Those boos quickly turned to cheers when gamers finally got their hands on the game, as it is one of the finest, well crafted 2D platformers ever made. Levels are expertly designed, offering myriad set pieces, platforming challenges, and clever gimmicks, making players eager to see what's next. Secrets are smartly placed, as well, and the challenge is just right. You won't breeze through this game. Retro Studios made a magnificent game with Tropical Freeze, and it stands with the absolute best in both Rare's original trilogy and 2D platformers in general.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

A 2D platformer that shares a lot with Donkey Kong Country in its design is Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. Similar in mechanics to Rare's trilogy with how Yooka and Laylee move and handle, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is more than just Playtonic's ode to DKC. It is its own beast, and a mightily impressive one at that. Everything from the creative and ultra clever 3D world map where puzzles are solved to make progress and reach new levels, to the eponymous Impossible Lair, which can be tackled at any time in the adventure (though your chances are better the more levels you complete), Playtonic showed un-bee-lievable mastery with their game. Levels, like Donkey Kong Country, showcase one major idea or theme and both implement and build upon brilliantly. It's my hope that more players jump in on Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, especially now that the game is coming to Xbox Game Pass.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Speaking of Xbox Game Pass, we have Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a game that is available not just on that service, but also on the Nintendo Switch as well. It receives a physical retail release on Nintendo's hybrid system later this month alongside Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition. Will of the Wisps improves upon its already stellar predecessor with a meatier, more marvelous game. The addition of side quests, a town-rebuilding mechanics, combat trials, speed runs, and quality of life improvements make for a better experience overall. While I still found issue with the chase sequences still being a bit too trial and error for my tastes, other than that, I adored my time with Ori and the Will of the Wisps and can't recommend it enough--regardless of what platform you can play it on.

Hollow Knight

We go from one gorgeous Metroidvania to another with the hand-drawn, animated delight that is Hollow Knight. Despite its beauty on the outside, on the inside is one challenging game that will put players in their place if they aren't prepared. Hollow Knight can be quite difficult, for certain! What I especially appreciate about Hollow Knight is the openness of the world map. You aren't limited to a linear path that the designers want you to go on. There's multiple points and areas where you can explore, some more difficult than others, but you're essentially given a great deal of freedom. I didn't appreciate this at first because it meant that I got lost rather quickly in my first attempt at playing the game, but on my second, I found a fresh, challenging, and mysterious world to explore and an overall terrific Metroidvania to play. It's one in Hollow Knight that is a great title in its genre.

Mega Man 11

As we leap closer towards the end of our look at fantastic platformers on the Nintendo Switch, we survey a series that has a grand old history on Nintendo platformers dating back to the NES and the series' birth. I'm talking, of course, about Mega Man. For a long time there, not too long ago, Capcom pretty much stopped making Mega Man games, and it wasn't until some new collections of old games came out followed by their sales success that Capcom finally opted to create a new entry in the series. That new entry was Mega Man 11, and it boldly added a brand-new mechanic to make the Blue Bomber's latest far from just a rote sequel. The Double Gear mechanic allows Mega Man to temporarily slow down time or power up his shots as long as he has gear energy. Run out of energy, and Mega Man overheats, making him more vulnerable to damage. It's a stupendously creative and well executed mechanic that takes what was a somewhat stale series and injects it with new life. Mega Man 11 is a splendid entry in the series, and I couldn't be happier that the Blue Bomber is back.

Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition

Although our next platforming star didn't first appear on a Nintendo platform with his debut game, the limbless wonder Rayman has been a big part of Nintendo consoles and handhelds afterwards. Rayman Legends was meant to be a Wii U exclusive, but the early failure of the system sales-wise may have spooked Ubisoft in to bringing it to more platforms. Since then, Rayman Legends has sort of become the new Rayman 2--i.e. the Rayman game ported to every platform Ubisoft can possibly port to--but like Rayman 2, when Legends if this good, who can really complain? Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition arrived on the Nintendo Switch with easy-to-setup co-op thanks to the split Joy-Cons, touch or controller support for the smartly made Murfy sections, and has all of the content and fun of the original game, only now on the Switch. Sure, Rayman Legends isn't too drastically different from other platforms, but a great platformer is a great platformer, and it still remains one of the Switch's bests.

Sonic Mania Plus

This platforming mascot didn't just not debut on a Nintendo platform, he was an actual rival to both Nintendo and Mario. Sonic the Hedgehog sped onto the scene in 1991, and celebrates his 30th anniversary next year. I would personally love to see a sequel to this particular platforming pick on the Nintendo Switch, Sonic Mania and its Plus edition, for the 30th anniversary, but when has SEGA or Sonic Team ever done anything I have wanted? Rhetorical questions aside, Sonic Mania saw the return of Sonic the Hedgehog in his 2D splendor, and it rivals his best outings ever. The attention to detail to physics, to the creative level designs with multiple paths and mixture of moments of speed and slowness, all adds up to a brilliant 2D Sonic that I continue to return to, much like the classics seen on the Genesis (or Mega Drive, depending on your region).

Yoshi's Crafted World

We've gone through some difficult platformers, some super speedy platformers, but now let's slow down the pace and relax a little with Yoshi's Crafted World. That isn't to say that Yoshi's latest is some overly simple, easy, breezy game. That would be folly. Instead, what players get with Yoshi's Crafted World is a sharply designed (or should I say... "crafted"?) platformer with genius and creative level design housing an abundance of secrets, lots to uncover AND discover, a beautiful art style where everything in the world is made of crafts, and some rather tough late and post-game challenges for those who wish to take them on. It may not be everyone's cup of tea or ball of yarn, but Yoshi's Crafted World overflows with creativity, personality, and charm, making it a terrific and pleasurable platformer to play.

The "Worst" Things About SuperPhillip Central's Favorite Games V

They may be some of my favorite games released over the past few years, but that doesn't absolve them from having some of their own issues! Welcome to the fifth installment of an article series where I take a gander at the worst things about games that I really love. Some of these are big problems that hurt the overall experience while some could be categorized as nitpicks in general. Some might even be problems I have with games that supersede the more common problems other games have! Whatever the case may be, it's time to be a more discerning player, and pick out the problems I have with these five favorites of mine!

For previous installments of this article series, look no further than these four links:

Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (NSW)

We begin with a game that I absolutely adore and continue to adore--Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Since its launch on March 20th, I've yet to miss a day of playing, planning out my island, chatting with the locals, digging up fossils, shaking trees, building up my bank account, etc. With a little over two months of play now, I've amassed a list of negatives about the game, such as tools breaking, no ability to mass craft items, or the problems with sharing an island with more than one player.

That said, the thing that I consider the worst about Animal Crossing: New Horizons, at least in how it affects me as a player to the game, is the online. Between countless communication errors I faced, interference when attempting to travel to another island, to the ever-so-slow and tedious takeoff and landing procedures, hopping online can be a serious pain. This is compounded when having multiple people visit your island or you visit theirs. With up to seven other players able to visit one's island, the constant start and stop interruptions and waiting make it so I dread hopping online.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NSW)

There's no doubt in my mind that Masahiro Sakurai and company weren't joking when giving the latest Super Smash Bros. the "Ultimate" subtitle. It has almost everything a Smash fan could like for a fantastic installment--worthwhile single player content, meaty modes, all of the characters and most of the stages from past games, and plenty to see and do. While most would go after the low-hanging fruit of the game--the horrid online net code--and they would be more than within their right to do so, my pick for the worst thing about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is something far more trivial in the grand scheme of things.

While Spirits allow for more franchise representation with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it still pains me that there is an absence of trophies. Now, for most players, poor, sometimes broken net code would be much more important than the lack of trophies detailing characters and providing brief snippets of information about their pasts, but for me, online isn't something I'm really interested in. It's part of the reason I rated the game so highly two years ago, despite the lackluster online. Meanwhile, for me, trophies being gone was something that hurt my experience, even with understanding the reason for their removal and appreciating their replacement, Spirits.

Super Mario Maker 2 (NSW)

We reach the midway point of "The Worst Things About SuperPhillip Central's Favorite Games V" with Super Mario Maker 2, a game that I loved so much last year that it received runner-up for Game of the Year at the SPC Best of 2019 Awards. One of the reasons it didn't quite reach Game of the Year status was the shoddy online multiplayer, which has since been fixed. However, a far greater problem has yet to be resolved with Super Mario Maker 2.

This is the discovery of good levels. As anyone can tell you, it's nigh impossible to reliable find high quality levels within Super Mario Maker 2 itself. Instead, players have to resort to outside the game, such as Reddit and gaming forums, to discover levels that they can enjoy. There is a lot of poorly conceived, slopped-together levels created by players in the game, so searching for great ones is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, or in my case, a creative analogy in a sea of cliched ones.

What alleviated a lot of the burden in Super Mario Maker 2's predecessor, the Wii U original Mario Maker, was the Super Mario Maker Bookmark website. This allowed easy access to searching for levels, picking prospective levels you wanted to play, "bookmarking" them to play them later, and was just a godsend for discovering great levels. Once again, it is just amazingly bad in how Nintendo took yet another step backwards with regards to its online system for one of its games. The lack of a Bookmark website for Super Mario Maker 2 really hurt the online community, and it continues to do so to this day.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (PS4, XB1, NSW)

We move on from Mario to Crash Bandicoot, and between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, it's a heated contest as to which is superior. There's no question in my mind that for solo players, CTR is far better with its amazing Adventure mode, abundance of tracks, Grand Prix events, and other single player content. However, when it comes to other categories, I'd rate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe higher.

One such category is accessibility, and this is what I consider the worst part of Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it's relatively easy for a new player to pick up and play the game with its easy-to-learn drift system and optional steer assist and auto-acceleration tools. It's far more approachable than CTR, which suffers from a gulf in skills between players just starting to veteran players.

CTR features a three button press drift system that grants you a greater boost for successful and successive taps of the boost button during a drift. This can result in massive gains of speed and even more massive leads for players that achieve so-called "Sacred Fire" and its even more powerful version, "Ultra Sacred Fire", where you essentially have a tremendous amount of boost energy in reserve to help you continually boost entire laps and races if performed correctly.

There's such a disparity between new players and even somewhat competent players like myself that trying to play with friends locally found them growing bored with CTR immediately. They wanted something more fun and easier to pick up and play, which I can attest that Nitro-Fueled is not that simple for pick up and play sessions. We eventually moved on to Mario Kart after a short while, and yes, as you can imagine, my friends enjoyed themselves more. Now, that doesn't mean that Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a lesser game. After all, I've professed its greatness on SuperPhillip Central multiple times already as it is. It just has a high learning curve, which it makes it difficult to bring new players into immediately.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

Our final game today is another colorful title: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. Imagine if you will: playing through 95% of the game, enjoying yourself like mad, collecting all that there is to collect in each of the game's well designed levels, bashing baddies, exploring the wonderfully creative 3D overworld, and just making progress like crazy. And then all of a sudden the difficulty jumps to such an insane level that all that progress is stopped as if you crashed into a wall. All that momentum and fun gone. That level, my friends, is the titular Impossible Lair.

The Impossible Lair can be challenged at any time in the game. In fact, it's the first level you play, and you're meant to fail it. (Though it is, in fact, possible to clear that first time!) As you advance through the overworld of the game, discover levels, and beat said levels, you acquire Bees that you can take with you into the lair, serving as extra hits you can take. Now, this is a fiendishly difficult final challenge, and it greatly ups the difficulty level immensely compared to everything else in the game.

I can only imagine how frustrating it was for players of the latest Yooka-Laylee to find their runs through the game and subsequent enjoyment of the game stopped to a dead halt due to being unable to complete this ultimate test of platforming. Even with a full supply of Bees and the new addition of checkpoints, the Impossible Lair is tough! I don't blame players for being a bit salty for being unable to see the game through to completion, as it would make me annoyed. I know for a fact that despite multiple runs ending in abject failure, I finally persevered and felt immensely proud of myself for beating this ultimate challenge. Some players won't have the patience to continue to play this 15 minute+ level after failing again and again, and that's totally understandable. For those that do, however, they'll find a hefty sense of accomplishment for doing so--take it from me.