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[Jubenhimer]

Sony Interactive Entertainment has a long history of unique and innovative platformers. From the PS One days of Crash and Spyro, alongside the birth of Ape Escape, to the PlayStation 2 triple threat of the Jak, Ratchet and Sly trilogies, to the PlayStation 3 and PSP days of Little Big Planet, LocoRoco, and Puppeteer, and the PlayStation 4 and Vita birthing Knack, Tearaway, Astro Bot series.

Between all of PlayStation's platformer greats, which has been your favorite over the years?

 

[Hudo]

Jumping Flash 1 and 2.

Honorable mention: Sly Cooper and Jak & Daxter

 

[Soodanim]

Perspective: PS1-3

Easily Ratchet if we're including it, although it's more about the shooting than the platforming.

If not, Spyro's always a good time.

I returned Jak 1 after a day, and I don't get the love for the franchise. The others I haven't played or don't deserve a mention.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Jak and Dexter for me, followed by Tearaway, Puppeteer etc.

 

[nial]

Astro Bot, Ape Escape and LocoRoco, and I have a soft spot for Knack. Jumping Flash! is another great one.
Puppeteer and Poinie's Poin aren't exactly good, but they're somewhat charming on their own.
The rest, eh...

 

[tanners]

Concord
Ok,no troll mine favorite is Astro bot

 

[yogaflame]

Astrobot the goat.

 

[Three]

LBP getting no love makes me sad. I loved playing all of those games couch-coop. They were awesome.

 

[Cakeboxer]

I choose Crash Bandicoot because it was simply an icon in the '90s and the PlayStation mascot. Among the Astrobots, only the VR game really convinced me. That was something truly new - outstanding level design, great secrets, and challenging boss fights. The Playrooms or the 2024 game are good, of course, but for me, they don't surpass the cult status and charm of Crash Bandicoot. The problem with the Astrobots, in my view, is that they lack soul and character.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

It's Astro Bot, but I voted Ape Escape because I loved the 1999 original

LittleBigPlanet deserves to be polling higher too

Sony are up there with Nintendo for platformer legacy, no other company comes close

 

[RetroGamingUK]

I choose Crash Bandicoot because it was simply an icon in the '90s and the PlayStation mascot.

It's strange how big Crash was in the late 90s only for it to die once Naughty Dog dropped it.

Crash Bandicoot 3 was excellent.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

played the OG's and yet to play Astro but from what I've seen Astro wins out and is the current apex platformer from PS.

 

[IAmRei]

if we talk about ps1 - ps2, I will choose Klonoa above all other above
but klonoa are everywhere since years ago

 

[Jubenhimer]

It's strange how big Crash was in the late 90s only for it to die once Naughty Dog dropped it.

Crash Bandicoot 3 was excellent.

It was kind of a necessity though. Crash was only part of a 3 game deal between Universal and Naughty Dog with Sony publishing. Once that whole arrangement expired, Universal took Crash and went their own way. Spyro was the same way.

Thus, Sony, Naughty Dog and Insomniac decided to move forward with new platformer franchises on the PS2 without Universal as the middle man.

 

[RetroGamingUK]

It was kind of a necessity though. Crash was only part of a 3 game deal between Universal and Naughty Dog with Sony publishing. Once that whole arrangement expired, Universal took Crash and went their own way. Spyro was the same way.

Thus, Sony, Naughty Dog and Insomniac decided to move forward with new platformer franchises on the PS2 without Universal as the middle man.

I really liked Crash 4.

It's a shame that under Microsoft the IP will be left to rot.

 

[Sintoid]

Astrobot
Locoroco (Midnight Carnival is awesome)
LBP (fuck "It doesn't have Marrrio perrfect jumppp!!!111!!")

Honor Mention to Puppeteer, it deserves A LOT of more love

 

[IFireflyl]

I voted Ratchet and Clank if we're talking a whole franchise, but if it were a singular game, I love the original Spyro the Dragon. The sequels were garbage, but the original is fire (pun intended).

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

Love literally every series listed (except Locoroco, never got into it) but the Crash trilogy is the undisputed king of PlayStation platformers. Little Big Planet is probably my most played game of all time due to the creation aspect and being heavily involved in the community at the time, I'm still friends with people I met through LBP to this day. Stuff like Puppeteer is super underrated, so good. Ape Escape was revolutionary for it's time with the way it implemented the DualShock controller. Would love to see Jak return but Astrobot is carrying the torch for the new generation and proves a 3D platformer made by PlayStation can hang with the best Nintendo has to offer.

 

[Cyborg]

I dont understand they dont make a new Jak & Daxter.

 

[Robb]

I'm a sucker for the original Crash and Spyro trilogies. Haven't played through AstroBot though, but from what I've tried of it I'm sure it'd be up there for me as well.

 

[midnightAI]

I wouldnt really class Ratchet and Clank as a platformer, there's very little platforming in it depending on which entry you choose, it's a shooter.

Still, it's either that or Astrobot, or Puppeteer, or Tearaway, or Jak and Daxter etc.

They are all pretty darn good and it's difficult to pick a favourite because they are different from one another and (mostly) on different platforms. I'd even throw Daxter on the PSP into the mix. (I treat it separately to Jak and Daxter)

Of the older platformers I think Puppeteer is probably the one I'd love to see brought back totally underrated, looks amazing and has some clever mechanics, strangely the only ones I don't really like are Spyro and Crash which are maybe two of the most popular.

edit: another platformer I really enjoyed back in the day that is never mentioned any more (maybe it just wasnt that good) is Pandemonium by Crystal Dynamics on the PS1

 

[GymWolf]

I stopped playing pure platforms during the ps2 era so It was probably crash 2-3.

Now i can only tolerate platform brawler\shooter like ratchet or knack even if they are mid af nowadays.

 

[TheDarkPhantom]

edit: another platformer I really enjoyed back in the day that is never mentioned any more (maybe it just wasnt that good) is Pandemonium by Crystal Dynamics on the PS1

Already posted in other threads but I'll do it again, expanded my list. To be clear, I want these PS1 classics with trophy support:

Vagrant Story
Xenogears
Vandal Hearts
Blood Omen
Tomba
Einhander
Parasite Eve
Pandemonium
Alundra
Lunar SSS
Suikoden I & II
Silent Hill
FF Tactics
MGS
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Dino Crisis
Legend of Dragoon

Was going to post this, loved it. I'll add:

Pandemonium
Nightmare Creatures
Azure Dreams

Just off the top of my head.

Loved Pandemonium

 

[JimmyRustler]

Voted for Spyro. I only played it with the Remakes and had an absolute blast, even more so than Astro Bot (and I loved this one as well).

 

[fastest finger]

Astro Bot.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission on PlayStation VR was game of the generation for me.

It's a shame so many people missed out on it.

 

[daninthemix]

Jumping Flash 1 and 2.

 

[Punished Miku]

1. Gravity Rush
2. Astro Bot
3. Puppeteer

I know GR is not quite a true platformer, but I counted it anyway. You still are mostly collecting gems and exploring 3D space. It's one of the only games I compare to Mario 64 in that just the basic movement and traversal is endlessly fun and entertaining.

I don't really like any of the other games on the list. I never got a chance to play Ape Escape but I've tried the others.

 

[AutomaticPrince]

Astro Bot

I've been on PlayStation since day 1, I've played all of these games and it's Astro. The graphics, mechanics/use of the dualsense, and gameplay with that old school kinda difficult at times but fair approach.

The references to other games which made me check out ones I skipped in the past and replay some old favorites. Somehow they successfully retconned (for lack of a better term) Astro to be the mascot of playstation going back to the PS1 days.

R&C second on the list for me. I like seeing the Puppeteer and LBP love though.

 

[R6Rider]

Regular Platformer is Astro Bot
Platform Shooter is Ratchet & Clank.

 

[Fake]

AstrofuckingBot

 

[Inanilmaz]

Hardest poll decision in my life. Loco Roco

 

[Bondo]

Sly Cooper then Ratchet.

 

[Sethbacca]

Uncharted is technically an action platformer right? Probably that one. I didn't become a PS fan until the PS3 so I'm sure I missed a ton of great shit in the PS1 and 2 era while I was still clinging to Nintendo.

If Uncharted doesn't count then probably Astrobot.

 

[Hypereides]

Disclaimer: I haven't played Astrobot (yet).

I'll go with the original Ape Escape. Full stop.

Worldbuilding is sublime. The premise is incredibly imaginative with a fair gameplay challenge to boot. It was originally developed to complement the dualshock and its functionality, but it managed to fully exceed expectations as a game imo.

I dont understand they dont make a new Jak & Daxter.

ND is a "big boy" studio now. Plus, the majority of the people involved in Jak & Daxter have long since moved around other studios.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Crash but I love me some Astrobot.

The original Crash games are classics and it had a lot of charm.

 

[Astray]

Ratchet and Clank for me. One of the 1st platformers I played to really deliver on story that has actual character beats.

The weapons are wildly fun too, especially when they added the strafe controls from 2 and on.

Disclaimer: I haven't played Astrobot (yet).

I'll go with the original Ape Escape. Full stop.

You really need to play Astro Bot asap, I will not elaborate, you will know why I'm saying this after you play it.

 

[Hypereides]

(...)

You really need to play Astro Bot asap, I will not elaborate, you will know why I'm saying this after you play it.

Mate, I can already tell from the footage and screens that I'll like it. You don't have to advise me on it.

 

[f~N_CH_1:3:3:3_SushiBoat]

Spyro

Honorable mention - Jumping Flash. That shit blew my brain at the time.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Sly is the only one worth a damn. Crash has some really frustrating design elements and others are just dull or simplistic. Ratchet and Clank is not really a platformer.

 

[Astray]

Mate, I can already tell from the footage and screens that I'll like it. You don't have to advise me on it.

There's a reason I quoted very specific parts of your post

 

[Holammer]

Sly Cooper trilogy gets my vote. It was the shit back in the PS2 days. All games released in rapid succession over 4 years too.

Ape Escape was fun at the time, but they controls in the series have aged horribly, feels like taking crazy pills to play them now.
Never got into Spyro in the PS1 era, but the Spyro Trilogy won me over. The games are still a masterclass in game design, except for the boss fights.
I have a soft spot for Jak & Daxter, but I did not like the early 2000's edgy emo direction they took with 2 & 3. It could have been Sony's Mario today.

 

[Lightbreak]

Astro Bot is the best PlayStation Studios game since Stellar Blade

 

[touchfuzzy]

I voted for Sly Cooper, I even liked the fourth one on PS3.

Astro Bot could overtake it but I think I need another good one to knock Sly off my top spot. LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet & Clank after that, for me.

 

[DeVeAn]

Ape Escape 2 & 3 were so good. I waiting for AE4 proper.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Ape Escape.

It's easily their best.

 

[Bernkastel]

Uncharted is also a platformer game.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Astro has 3 games and 2 free content, all of them fantastic.

Playroom/VR - super fun Party type mini games.

Astrobot Rescue Mission VR - one of my favorite games, and the one that cimented this IP.

PS5 demo - a short platformer full of charm and innovative use of the controller.

Astrobot PS5

It's hard to find such consistent quality.

 

[Artistic]

Jak and Daxter.

 

[GameyYT]

Ratchet & Clank 4Ever!

 

[diffusionx]

I have actually played a bunch of these in recent years

Spyro (the remake) > Jak & Daxter > Tearaway > Astro Bot > Crash >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> getting anally probled > Ratchet & Clank 2016