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The 41 Best Platformer Games of All Time

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Nintendo / Sega

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

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Nintendo

1. ‘Super Mario Bros.’

Available on: NES, Arcade, SNES, Game Boy Color, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $29.95

2. ‘Super Mario Bros. 3'

Available on: NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $52.10

3. ‘Super Mario World’

Available on: SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, Price Varies

4. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’

Available on: Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam, iOS, Android

Buy Now, $39.88

5. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’

Available on: Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $39.88

6. ‘Sonic & Knuckles’

Available on: Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $39.88

7. ‘Donkey Kong Country’

Available on: SNES, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $49.91

8. ‘Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest’

Available on: SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $55.28

9. ‘Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!’

Available on: SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $77.19

10. ‘Earthworm Jim’

Available on: Master System, Sega Genesis, SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega CD, Game Boy Advance, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $67.93

11. ‘Earthworm Jim 2’

Available on: Sega Genesis, SNES, Sega CD, PS1, Game Boy Advance, PC - Steam

12. ‘Sonic CD’

Available on: Sega CD, PS2, GameCube, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $39.88

13. ‘Kirby Super Star’

Available on: SNES, Wii, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $119.91

14. ‘Super Mario 64’

Available on: N64, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $121.99

15. ‘Banjo-Kazooie’

Available on: N64, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Buy Now, $17

16. ‘Banjo-Tooie’

Available on: N64, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Buy Now, $17

17. ‘Donkey Kong 64’

Available on: N64

Buy Now, $69.99

18. ‘Sonic Adventure 2: Battle’

Available on: GameCube, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $85.91

19. ‘Conker: Live & Reloaded’

Available on: Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Buy Now, $74.91

20. ‘Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando’

Available on: PS3, PS2

Buy Now, $91

21. ‘Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal’

Available on: PS3, PS2

Buy Now, $91

22. ‘Super Mario Galaxy’

Available on: Wii, Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $121.99

23. ‘Super Mario Galaxy 2’

Available on: Wii

Buy Now, $50.74

24. ‘Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy’

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $29.99

25. ‘Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time’

Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $35.95

26. ‘Spyro Reignited Trilogy’

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $28.95

27. ‘Celeste’

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Download Now, $19.88

28. ‘Rayman Origins’

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $51.45

29. ‘Rayman Legends’

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $27.99

30. ‘Shovel Knight’

Available on: PS3, Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $31.99

31. ‘Super Mario Odyssey’

Available on: Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $51.85

32. ‘LittleBigPlanet’

Available on: PS3

Buy Now, $25.57

33. ‘LittleBigPlanet 2’

Available on: PS3

Buy Now, $23.74

34. ‘Ori and the Blind Forest’

Available on: Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $29.33

35. ‘Ori and the Will of the Wisps’

Available on: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $29.33

36. ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’

Available on: Wii, Nintendo 3DS

Buy Now, $36.95

37. ‘Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze’

Available on: Nintendo Switch, Wii U

Buy Now, $59.99

38. ‘Sonic Mania Plus’

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $25.99

39. ‘Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series’

Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC - Steam

Buy Now, $33.37

40. ‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land’

Available on: Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $49.78

41. 'Super Mario Bros. Wonder'

Available on: Nintendo Switch

Buy Now, $49
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