Ten forgotten 90s platformers still worth your time - Gex, Ronald McDonald and Toejam & Earl
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Ten forgotten 90s platformers still worth your time

Ready for some edgy 2D platforming?

Ah, the nineties. Just ten years ago, we… wait, thirty years ago!? Yes, it has been quite a while since that edgy decade, but we can still relive the cheap thrills through the golden age of the 2D platformers. Since the genre hasn’t seen much of a resurgence lately, let’s see which 90s platformers are still worth your time.

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Which 90s platformers are still worth your time?

In this list, we will go through some forgotten platformers and ones that are a little less forgotten but still rarely celebrated as much as classics such as Super Mario World or Sonic the Hedgehog. Ready to jump, stomp on enemies,ꩲ and get rid of tℱhose bosses?

ActRaiser

A warrior on a tower about to strike
Image via MobyGames

Someone might say that it is cheating to start with this gem from 1990 and the early days of the Super Nintendo, but ActRaiser is seriously one of the most unique platforms to come from the entire decade. Square Enix put everything in one single package: a little bit of side-scrolling action, a slice of Sim City, and a god simulation a là Populous. Each time you complete one phase of the game, like a side🐈-scrolling level, you move on to the next.

The Super Nintendo had many unique 2D platformers, most of which had been forgotten (like the Japanese-only Melfand Stories) but still worth your time. However, ActRaiser stands pretty much alone for its unique game design and could be a perfect way tꦍo spend hours if you want something more from your standard 2D platformer. We would recommend sticking to the original title, if possible, since the recently released remake, ActRaiser Renaissance, is not the perfect way to revisit this unique gameplay mix.

Another World / Out of this World

Running after aliens in Another World
Image via MobyGames

Sure, I hear you; this is not what you would call a forgotten title. But in the last few years, so many games have come out that pay homage to this classic. I feel that there is no time like the present to look back and appreciate how unique Eric Chahi’s 1992 platformer still is. This is one of the first times the term “cinematic” was used to describe a videogame, and you can easily see why, from the intro to the overall gameplay.

The pacing and flow of the gameplay feel like nothing that was released before, like an interactive sequence where your task is trying to survive to the end while discovering an alien world and helping your new friend. The way that Lester discovers new technologies and tries to survive the many strange creatures and cruel mechanisms provides a newfound immersion that still feels refreshing after all these years. While the original was followed by an official sequel, Heart of the Alien, and one sort-of inspired successor in the guise of the classic action title Flashback, the original is still very much worthy🤪꧅ of your time.

Gex: Enter the Gecko

Gex fighting a giant creature
Image via MobyGames

While the Gex series started as a classic 2D platformer, this 3D outing was the moment when it became worthy of your attention. With a smorgasbord of pop cultural references delivered through the suave voice of Dana Gould, this 3D platformer is the right mix of Crystal Pepsi and pizza rolls to bring you back to the late 90s. While it doesn’t have the perfect accuracy of Super Mario 64�ꦦ� or, Gex forbid, its brilliant level design, it does make up for it with unique levels, strange enemies, and, well, nostalgia.

It is worth remembering that the camera movement in these early 3D platformers is a bit of an acquired taste nowadays. Constantly having to readjust the camera when you move, since it is relative to movement and not to the character, makes walking in a straight line slightly irritating. Unfortunately, playing it today means having to struggle with emulators, but you will still find Enter The Gecko offers plenty of nostalgic value and entertaining gamep꧅lay.

Lollipop

A little girl fighting an orc
Image via GoG

While the Commodore Amiga was never particularly known for its quality 2D platformers, albeit with perhaps a couple of exceptions such as Zool and Superfrog, Denmark was the country that gave the computer its last hurrah. Lollipop𓆉, developed by♌ Brain Bug, is a certified classic 2D sidescrolling platformer from 1994 that manages to transcend its lack of original ideas by presenting perfectly oiled gameplay.

Help a little girl traverse many fantastic levels while defeating unique enemies and feeding on sweets that give her powers. With some incredibly pretty pixel art graphics, plus a seriously tasty soundtrack that almost reaches the heights of Donkey Kong Country, this one is a perfect recommendation for the platformer connoisseur 🎃who has played almost anything. It makes things even better that the game is readily available on GOG and can be played on any modern PC machine.

Desert Demolition

Wiley coyote facing the Roadrunner
Image via Mobygames

How many times have you watched Wile E. Coyote try to catch that pesky roadrunner and want to control him so you can finally wring its neck? Or perhaps you are one of those people who thought poor Wile had it coming? Well, either way, Desert Demolition presents a platforming experience that feels exactly like an interactiv♑e Looney Tunes episode. You can play as both Beep-Beep and Wile, be the prey or the predator (or perhaps both simultaneously?), in this great but often forgotten 2D platform on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis.

Developed by the brilliant BlueSky software team (responsible for the unforgettable Vectorman series, also on the Mega Drive), this sweet but short platformer will have you either prepare traps for the roadrunner to fall into, like a real version of Home Alone or be on the run while escaping them constantly. Think of it like Sonic the Hedgehog but on crack. It is two entertaining experiences in one package, with beautiful animations and quite appropriate “interactive” soundtrack, an absolute joy to play even today.

McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure

Ronald standing on a train
Image via MobyGames

I know, I know. You saw McDonald’s, and you are already scrolling away. That is perfectly understandable. But what if I told you this clown-starring, Big Mac-smelling and corporate rear-kissing platformer was developed by Treasure, the same company responsible for the fabulous Gunstar Heroes and Sin & Punishment? Indeed, despite the corporate branding, 🐼this is a brilliant 2D platformer, an often unjustly forgotten gem on the Mega Drive.

With many beautiful ideas, level design that never fails to impress, fantastic bosses, and a clever way of recovering health (going to a shop to buy hamburgers, what else!), Treasure Land Adventure is a delightful romp through a different time. There is even a built-in Tetris minigame to collect treasure and money. Perhaps it might be a little bit easier than other games of the era, but does every game need to be soulslike hard? I don’t think so.

Ren & Stimpy – Stimpy’s Invention

Ren and Stimpy in the land of eyes
Image via MobyGames

Can you get any more 90s than recommending a game featuring Ren & Stimpy? The classic cartoon starring a psychotic chihuahua and a good-natured dimwitted cat enjoyed a brief popularity, especially before it was turned down by the network, quickly becoming forgettable. There are around 5 or 6 games featuring Ren & Stimpy released on most consoles of the time, but the one that can be most fun to rediscover today is Stimpy’s Invention.

You have to switch between the two characters using their different abilities to traverse the obstacles presented on each level, all based on episodes from the cartoon. Of course, both Ren and Stimpy come with so many fun animations and quips from the TV show that anyone looking for a good dose of 90s zaniness will walk away with their bellies full. The screenshots alone do the talking. The game is also relatively short and will last you only a few hours, not ever overstaying its welcome. This was also developed by BlueSky software. Was there anything these guys couldn’t do?

Toejam & Earl

Earl walking away from a scary guy
Image via MobyGames

Perhaps this might not be as unknown as others on this list, especially because the alien duo saw a return to form in 2019, but this does not make the original less worthy of still being played. The funky duo of Earl and Toejam crash their ship on Earth and have to recover all the pieces to finally go back to their planet. Unfortunately, those horrible humans are doing their worst to prevent that. Taking pictures, offering awful fast food, and harassing the poor aliens. This won’t do!

The original presents a sort of random-generated terrain for every level that the duo has to traverse to get the spaceship parts, with an incredible amount of crazy pickups that allow the duo to fly, rocket skate, and throw tomatoes. While the 2019 remake is, overall, slightly more balanced in its RNG mechanics, the original still works quite well and oozes 90s fun. Also, the sequel, while going in a more classic 2D sidescrolling ꦆdirection,꧃ comes highly recommended thanks to its perfect graphics and funky soundtrack.

Demon’s Crest

Firebrand in the air avoiding hands coming out of the ground
Image via MobyGames

Started as a spin-off of the ultrahard Ghost n’Goblins series, Demon’s Crest is the second title in the series and still sees you controlling Firebrand, the Red Devil from the main game, as he’s trying to rank up in the world of gargoyles. Don’t you miss spinoff games? Imagine today a game where you control a nameless zombie in the world of Dark Souls, trying to quickly rise the ranks by killing heroes, well, very slowly. Ok, back to Demon’s Crest, this is Capcom doing what it did best:﷽ an action platformer with exploration and resource gathering.

Not only do you get some strategy in your action platformer, but you are also free to tackle the levels in any order. Quality platforming gameplay, coupled with other modes, never gets boring, and the freedom of the player was quite a rare thing for its time. It doesn’t matter if you are not familiar with or even don’t really like the original Goblins series, as Demon’s Crest shows gameplay ideas that are still ✤fun today while still maintaining quite the high difficulty, of course.

Congo’s Caper

A huge dinosaur with Congo looking angry
Image via Destructoid

Is there anything worse than being forced to live as a human when you are a happy monkey living in a tree? Definitely not; that’s why Congo is out for revenge while still having to save Congette. Along with the classic 2D sidescrolling gameplay, we can swim, roll down hills and swing our trusty club to attack enemies. One hit means going back to our monkey form, but luckily, collecting rubies can give us back our form and even turn us into Super Congo, the unstoppable monkey machine.

Despite being a sequel to Joe & Mac, while for some reason abandoning the names of both characters, this plays much more smoothly, adding many new moves to Congo’s arsenal. Plus, the graphics get a real update, with so many beautiful colors, showcasing the great palette that the Super Nintendo is capable of. While Data East was never known for its attention to detail, Congo’s Caper is a delightful 2D r🐲omp and one often forgotten SNES platformer still worth your time, even mor🍌e than its original title.


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Damiano Gerli
Damiano Gerli is a gaming historian and freelance journalist, born with a faithful Commodore 64 by his side. He has been writing about games for more than twenty years with articles on gaming history published on Kotaku, PC Gamer, PcGamesN and Retro Gamer magazine. Loves playing Ace Attorney and the Like a Dragon series plus, of course, anything retro. Say hi to him on Bluesky on damiano.bsky.social and his blog //genesistemple.com.