Genres within Genres #1 - 2D Platformers

Different genres of 2D platformers

I'm just going to jump into this right now; different genres have different styles and different genres of platforming.

Platformer types

1. Mario platformers; they're designed around your mobility with your movement being at the core of the gameplay with ducking, diving, crouching, jumping, wall jumping, etc. A jump heavy platformer.

2. Jump King; a game designed around making mastery of your charge jump mechanic the core element and adding a ton of depth to one single gameplay aspect, making the game about mastery over one difficult mechanic under different environmental conditions.

3. Megaman; a balance focus on jumping and shooting with a design focused around run N gun gameplay mixed with some platforming, taking a more balance approach.

4. The game I want to make; a mix between Mario and Megaman; heavily in depth Mario movement mixed with Megaman gameplay.

5. Smash Bros; (I'm counting the story modes) these style of platformers you can use your ability to combo to reach certain parts of the level to get to the end. They're often times used for fighting enemies but just as much can be used for platforming with the execution of moves being used together, not every character having this luxury but still a balance between fighting game elements and platforming.

6. Metroid; you slowly gain more movement based abilities with juggling between them and or getting a permanent upgrade to certain actions like jumping. The movement abilities don't synergize in the same way sadly but are still fun none of the less. The reason they don't synergize because often times the level design is cramp and or confusing unless you're keep tracking of what leads to where and when to get to x or y location along with having a lot of back tracking.

Metroid games focus on Smart level design that pulls you from place to place.

7. Kirby; Kirby platformers are less about the platforming and more about the abilities; sometimes having platforming challenges but they're more of side problems and side paths while being combat focused; I find it funny that the genre of platforming with the most combat focus elements is a game where you're playing a cute pink creature.

8. Rogue-like platformers; just putting this here instead of a specific game because there are too many of them to go through, they all roughly play the same, die, gain better upgrades for next run, sometimes encounter new gear that changes up the way you play with the level design being random and having random gear with more in general level design because the game can't account for what you'll be coming in with and movement abilities between multiple characters let alone one are kept the same.

9. Roguevania; the Roguevania route where you'd want to die on purpose to get to the alternate route as fast as possible thanks to your permanent upgrade, the new upgrades spice up how you play the same paths over and over; honestly I like this system because the level design does account for your new upgrades and changes how the game feels to play with the same levels causing issues in x or y way being changed thanks to your ability to go down a new path if you so desired, it's a breath of fresh air.

10. Super Meat Boy; a platformer game only focused on platforming not counting boss fights and encouraging you to get from point A to point B as fast as possible along with single but in depth systems with wall jumping, wall sliding, jumping and sprinting all working off of each other with levels being big, sometimes vertical big, sometimes horizontal big and sometimes both; even having alternate paths for speedrunners to take.

Note to self; will be adding more in the future

Why not add 3D platformers here?

3D platformers have a wealth of different styles and systems that make them different, not always having the same systems as 2D platformers barring some of the core elements.

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