Since the dawn of gaming, one genre has remained the epicenter of collect-a-thons, hopping, bopping, and anthropomorphic heroes & villains - platformers. The icons of the genre, which include Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong, Rayman, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro the Dragon, have all made waves in the sorts of games that employ side-scrolling and fully expansive 3D world exploring. Even in this current day and age ruled by multiple first-person shooters and massive open-world games, platformers still exist to provide gaming veterans and newcomers with the best parts of old-school and new-school games with character-driven adventures with a whole lot of stuff to collect. Join us as we look back on the 41 best platformer games of all time that fit the criteria of games focused on lots of jumping, collecting, fighting, and so much more.
RELATED: The 32 Best NES Games of All Time