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[Labombadog]

I disagree. While the art and 2D graphics are jaw dropping I find the actual gameplay and level design to be pretty generic and definitely not up to par compared to the Mario games. I respect why people like it. I just personally don't enjoy it.

 

[thecosmicfly]

Would love for Ancel to return for one more 2D Rayman to round out a trilogy.

 

[Elixist]

a fun thing about these games as well (at least on pc) is playing them with an arcade stick.
shit is satisfying yo, those microswitches...

TF is fantastic. but its missing complete overall package for me. imo some of the art is off, some of the music, too many stages fall apart, secret rooms get old as fuck really fast. loved the bosses, controls, feel, water is amazing, loved the difficulty ramp up.

DKC returns is dope. i need to finish my playthru on 3ds. the 30 fps kinda sucks. wanted to playthru on Dolphin with arcade stick, but cant get it to work as an emulated wii mote for some reason.

NSMBU is good, the bah bah is nearly a deal breaker, and the art is boring. but ive been workin my way thru it.

Shovel Knight is great, need to finish it sometime, i just got bored not sure why really. def in the discussion.

Meat Boy is top notch as well, plays awesome with stick too, but its almost like its own genre to me. masochistic platformer as opposed to an adventure style one.

 

[ghibli99]

They're both wonderful games, but I think they overstay their welcome. I could never replay them because of how long each game took me to initially 100%.

 

[SummitAve]

My gf isn't the best at games so this is one of the few platformers we can play together because Mario and Donkey King are too punishing with their restarts and life systems.

 

[yyr]

I'm sure a load of people will be along soon saying you're wrong, and it's Ori that is the benchmark.

But I agree with you, the Rayman's are amazing platformers.

As someone who loves both Rayman Legends and Ori, I would argue that they're not in the same genre and can't be compared.

 

[low-G]

Broforce is the benchmark (but on PC, not the bad console experience). So much physics, emergent gameplay, nice visual style.

 

[visiblemode]

There's definitely an argument to be made for it. I adore these games.

 

[Elixist]

My gf isn't the best at games so this is one of the few platformers we can play together because Mario and Donkey King are too punishing with their restarts and life systems.

thats definetely part of the reason for me loving these so much too. i played thru with my niece alot of the way and she loves them. we would try to find the funnest slides and dink about smacking each other with charged smacks etc. the timers on the marios are lame, cant believe they put a clock in 3d world as well.

 

[Realeza]

Tropical Freeze is better than both.

 

[MrBadger]

I do love both, but I feel like Origins gets a bit repetitive and bland at times and Legends suffers a lot from its troubled development, where you can tell the designers kept changing their mind on what they wanted it to be, with the end result being lots of ideas shoved together which don't feel like a coherent whole.

I would love a third Ubi-art Rayman with a more focused direction because these games are fantastic. As for best current-gen 2D platformer, I'd say it's Tropical Freeze.

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

Super Meat Boy is better than both Rayman and Mario if you ask. An incredible platformer with PERFECT controls, fiendish level design and bags of humour to boot.

There's a stack of excellent platformers, but none get near it.

 

[Brumfieldhm]

Legends Is brilliant, and really, I felt it was the only fun use of the wii u gamepad that has come out.....

But I think the actual platforming is a little floaty and doesn't feel as smooth as Super Mario for example......but the pacing, art, graphics, characters, music....Everything else is impeccable. ... I actually REALLY wish Nintendo would look at this series to consider what needs to happen in future 2D platformers.

 

[jblank83]

Controls are abit slippery/imprecise and the overall platforming feels loose compared to the 2D Marios, but I really really really like Globox.

Exactly how I feel. Games like Super Meat Boy, retros DKCs, and, yes, NSMB have better gameplay.

Rayman is visually gorgeous though. It set a standard in terms of art design for 2d games.

 

[schwabdizzle]

Origins was Amazing, Legends was a huge step backwards.

 

[jg4xchamp]

This I agree with. SMB hasn't been topped in terms of bite-sized, challenging platforming levels. Maybe only the N series can compare in that regard.

Super Meat Boy is definitely GOAT Tier. Love me some Meat Boy.

 

[Majukun]

origins was a decent-to-good platform er, it's legends that elevated the series tenfold.. I was genuinely impressed

 

[WooHooAlex]

Legends was just okay, but Origins is a masterpiece IMO.

 

[Voysa Reezun]

I agree wholeheartedly. Legends is actually not optimal on consoles where motion controls were used for the Murfy levels, IMO. It plays much better on PS4 than on WiiU or Vita.

However, besides that, these games did the obstacle course-style of gameplay as well as any other game while offering a bit of exploration for secret areas and rooms that I think complements the game nicely. I also believe that the music levels in Legends are the best rhythm game of the last five or six years.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

Not a derail, but 2D wise, Cuphead and Sonic Mania looks aces for 2017

My inner Sonic fanboy agrees. One of my most hyped games of the year. God it fucking sucks that Sega already used up the name Sonic 4. This one actually deserves it.

More somewhat controversial talk. Although probably not that controversial. Sonic 3&K is the best 16 bit platformer.

 

[vanDoughnut]

Yeah I love Legends. The music levels are really distinct and fun, generally had a blast with it.

 

[Mr.Fletcher]

My inner Sonic fanboy agrees. One of my most hyped games of the year. God it fucking sucks that Sega already used up the name Sonic 4. This one actually deserves it.

More somewhat controversial talk. Although probably not that controversial. Sonic 3&K is the best 16 bit platformer.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is stellar. As a package it's difficult to top. Diverse locations, incredible music, excellent level design, great story moments.... and did I mention the music?

And by the way, the music is awesome.

I'd play it over any 2D Mario.

 

[LordOcidax]

Great games, but Tropical Freeze is in another league.

 

[Kinsei]

My inner Sonic fanboy agrees. One of my most hyped games of the year. God it fucking sucks that Sega already used up the name Sonic 4. This one actually deserves it.

More somewhat controversial talk. Although probably not that controversial. Sonic 3&K is the best 16 bit platformer.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is definitely among the best the 16 bit era has to offer when it comes to 2D platformers. I personally prefer DKC2 but S3&K is an incredibly close second.

Sadly I disagree when it comes to Sonic Mania. It looks far too much like Sonic CD (a mediocre game IMO) for me to be truly excited.

 

[Grettir_the_Swole]

uh oh, OP has made a fatal GAF mistake! By starting the conversation with "*thing A* is the best!" instead of "*Thing A* is so good!", the thread will now be about "no, actually *thing B, C, D, etc* are the best" instead of "agree OP, *Thing A* is quite good!"

Talk to your kids about how to properly make GAF threads that could lead to fruitful discussions.

Before its too late.

PHILISTINE. Take your milquetoast pragmatism and go be wise somewhere else. This is the Internet, nothing can or will be heard unless it's voiced in a manner of extremes.

 

[Soul Lab]

Tropical Freeze ist the best. period

 

[psyfi]

Ehh, not with those physics. I think DKC:TF is my fave, and NSMBU would be up there if it didn't have such a soulless art style.

Also, I've been saying for years that I want a 2D Metroid with an art style as detailed as Rayman Origins.

 

[Mezoly]

They are my favorite 2D platformers and the only ones that I could stomach to finish. Incredible rush and momentum.

 

[To Far Away Times]

The Rayman games are kinda floaty and have weird momentum.

DKC:TF and espescially Yoshi's Wooly World are really great modern 2D platformers.

 

[Roo]

I love both Rayman games to bits but I'd say New Super Mario Bros. U is a better benchmark for the genre.

The only bad side of NSMBU is the fact that it is using the same lame, safe, boring, generic and lifeless artstyle from a game that came out over 10 years ago.

In the artstyle and music department, both Rayman games shit all over NSMBU.
In the most pure sense of 2D platformers, there's really no contest. Mario U is easily the winner.

 

[Maximo]

uh oh, OP has made a fatal GAF mistake! By starting the conversation with "*thing A* is the best!" instead of "*Thing A* is so good!", the thread will now be about "no, actually *thing B, C, D, etc* are the best" instead of "agree OP, *Thing A* is quite good!"

Talk to your kids about how to properly make GAF threads that could lead to fruitful discussions.

Before its too late.

Great games but Tropical Freeze was better.

Like fucking clockwork.

 

[eXistor]

I like the games overall (Legends was just okay though), but they are no benchmarks to me. I personally dislike how almost every level feels like a reskin of the last. Mario (and other better platformers alike) manage to feel different with every level, even if they look graphically similar. Rayman Origins and Legends always felt really cheap in that regard. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the general flow of the game. With NSMB you can play it in a variety of ways, whereas I feel you can only play Rayman in the way it was intended, or die (and retry) trying.

Not knocking the games, they're good fun and are gorgeous to look at, but I don't hold them in any kind of special regard, not when there are a multitude of better plaformers to choose from.

 

[ALLseeingEYE]

... 2D Mario is still great from a gameplay perspective, but these games feel to me how Mario games used to feel when they were more experimental from one release to the next. The 2D Rayman games have heart and soul and explode with creative energy.

This is exactly how I feel.

It's not that Super Mario Bros U isn't a very good game, it's brilliant in many ways. It's just that it feels safe, visually uninspired, and somewhat lacking in creativity.

I would love to see a new 2D Mario Bros, but I want Nintendo to add some spark. I want to see them use a somewhat different, or at least somewhat creative new art style, and in turn, add some creative gameplay elements and features.

Rayman was doing it right, both Origins and Legends were amazing games, and bursting with love and creativity, beyond what I would have expected. I especially loved the music synchronization in stages.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I think it's a benchmark for fantastic art. Not so sure about the gameplay aspect. I think SMB is my favorite 2D platform of maybe the past decade.

 

[ryechu]

The new Rayman games have a lower but more stylish skill floor. This allows more people to feel cool and enjoy the level design without as much effort on their part. This can lead to a sense that the game lacks as much depth, freedom, or momentum compared to games such as dkc or Mario. There is no chaos in jumping and no thrill commiting to a certain trajectory. You are expected to follow a pinpoint path and for the most part doing so is relatively easy. It is somewhat similar to an auto runner in that sense

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

They're certainly very pretty to look at.

From a gameplay standpoint, they're just OK.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Legends disappointed me so much. Less content compared to Origins, a lower level of challenge, and the Murfy levels were a drag.

Origins is easily top 5 2D platformer, though.

 

[GiantEnemyGoomba]

From what I played they're extremely well made and creative games with gorgeous art, but Super Meat Boy, Tropical Freeze, and NSMBU+NSLU are definitely the modern benchmarks for tight controls and amazing level design for me.