2D platformers pulled gaming out of the slump of the 1980's and singlehandedly revived the industry. Were it not for Super Mario Bros., this website probably wouldn't exist. 2D platformers dominated the market, in fact, during the NES, SNES, and Genesis years. There were other, more experimental games, like The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox, but for the most part, when we think back on that golden age, we think of Mario, Metroid, Battletoads, and Plock.

Well, maybe not Plock.

Anyway, the 2D platformer began to lose importance during the beginning of the 3D era. The N64, PSOne, and Saturn all boasted polygonal, 3D games. Most of them were still platformers, sure, but the world was changing. Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie were the logical next step from the 2D platformers of yesteryear. On home consoles, genres expanded as the technology improved, and in fact, virtually all of the 2D platformers were eventually replaced by 3D platformers and their offshoots.

Castlevania: Symophony of the Night is one incredible exception to that rule. Released on the PSOne in 1998, Symphony proved that through wonderful art direction and ingenious level design, the 2D platformer can remain relevant in a next-gen landscape. Alas, not many other developers or publishers saw it that way. Even Nintendo largely abandoned the 2D sidescroller on the home console front. Luckily, the form was not altogether lost.

2D platformers lived on thanks to handhelds. The Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PSP all kept the genre alive, although none moreso than the GBA. The system is awash in excellent 2D platformers, from Metroid to Mario, Castlevania to Gunstar. The DS kept things alive as well, but was more reluctant to do so. Aside from the Castlevania series, straight 2D platformers are surprisingly hard to come by as more developers try to cram 3D gameplay onto the system. Even New Super Mario Bros. used polygonal models instead of hand-drawn graphics. The PSP did its part to keep 2D Mega Man games alive, as well, but for the most part, it specialized in 3D platformers like Ratchet & Clank and God of War.

It was with great surprise that I played Wario Land: Shake It, a modern, 2D, hand-drawn platformer. It is a beautiful marvel of a game. The controls are simple, but the gameplay is surprisingly deep. It returns to the old standard of linear stage progression, but each stage is packed with alternate routes and secrets galore. The real draw is the art direction. All of the characters brilliantly animated--it really does look like a cartoon. Watching Wario squirm down a pipe is so wonderful! The backgrounds are multi-layered and never repeat--each stage is ridiculously detailed but never busy. And each element looks like it was drawn by hand in Photoshop or Illustrator...and it might have been!

Wario Land: Shake It! is an old-school game with new-school sheen. It demonstrates that as technology increases, old genres can improve just as much as newer ones. Wario Land looks, in some ways, better than Super Mario Galaxy, and it's just as charming. Art direction is the key here. Wario Land probably isn't breaking the Wii, but does it have to? Considering the 2D platformer aesthetic, Wario Land: Shake It! is one of the best-looking games on the market today.

I hope that people notice Wario Land in droves so that the 2D platformer picks up steam again. It's such a wonderful genre, one that is lost on newer gamers who grew up on N64s and PSOnes. But it's what modern gaming was built on. Gamers like me cut our teeth on 2D platformers, and it makes me sad to think that they are so forgotten.

Hopefully, Wario Land is not analogous to Hatzegopteryx, a wonderful giant, the last of its kind, about to be dethroned by its competition. Rather, let's pray that 2D platformers go through an adaptive radiation and flourish, and azhdarchids will rule the skies once more.