Topic: What style of platformer do you like best?

[tendoboy1984]

2D sidescroller:  Everything is in 2D and flat (hand-drawn or pixel graphics), characters only move left-to-right, no sense of depth.

EXAMPLES: Super Mario Bros. 3, Mega Man 2, Mega Man X, Sonic 2, etc.
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3D sidescroller: Characters and backgrounds are in 3D (polygonal graphics), characters only move left-to-right, some sense of depth.

EXAMPLES: DKC Returns, Kirby Returns to Dreamland, Kirby 64, etc.
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3D exploration: Everything is in 3D (polygonal graphics), characters can move freely in all directions, true sense of depth.

EXAMPLES: Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Sonic Adventure, etc.
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Isometric perspective: Can be either 2D (sprites) or 3D (polygons). Characters move in a psuedo-3D world where the camera is set in a fixed diagonal perspective.

[Oblivion]

What about isometric platformers?

[tendoboy1984]

What about isometric platformers?

Oh yeah, like Sonic 3D Blast?

[Oblivion]

That or Scurge: Hive.

[Spak-Spang]

Where is the 2D explorer game?

[ejamer]

That or Scurge: Hive.

Scourge: Hive was a great game. I wish I still owned a copy to play through on my GBA Micro.

[Oblivion]

It really needs a sequel.

[Squalid Pumpkin]

Where is the 2D explorer game?

My personal favorite. As noted HERE, my favorite kind of platformer (and genre in general) is that of the Metroidvania.

As for why:

My all-time favorite genre is the Metroidvania genre. I love the purity of sidescrolling, but I also like to explore and don't prefer being timed or on a lives system. Thus, having a non-linear, interconnected map is perfect. I also like feeling like my character is improved over the course of the game, a need which is most certainly validated when I return to a previous locale and find that the enemies fall like bowling pins! I love clever level design, and setting up a map that must be traversed in certain patterns definitely requires this. I really dig an immersing story that seems integrated with the gameplay, and most Metroidvanias are seamless in this way. Hubs with non-player characters are fun as well, since I'm perfectly content screwing around and interacting with other characters.[/quote

[Pixelated Pixies]

I voted for 2D Platformer, but truth be told I think that's probably because there's been so few good 3D platformers. There's obviously Mario, Banjo and others such as Rayman and Prince of Persia, but it's a genre that hasn't seen enough attention in recent years. I've enjoyed 2D platformers more because there's been so many good ones, but I think at this point I might actually be more excited for a new 3D platformer. Although I didn't play the original I'll be interested to see how Epic Mickey 2 turns out.