PS2 Platformers

[sir doris]

Hi,
I want to get a platform game as I haven't got any on the PS2, If you could only have one which would it be?

I was thinking R&C2 or Jak3? But are any of the previous ones better? Or something else maybe?

It's actually for my girlfriend as it's her fav type of game and she's quite good at them, but the cuter the better i guess

She has mentioned the Sonic Mega Collection Plus (think she saw it on TV advert) is it any good?

Also any recommendations for the GBA? She already has Yoshi's Island and loves it.

Thanks

 

[cthellis42]

Sly Cooper 1&2
Jak 1-3
Ratchet & Clank 1-3

Offhand, those are the platformers I've enjoyed most this generation on any system, and though you might have more enjoyment with the latter numbers in the series, I actually suggest picking them up in order just "because." I like seeing the games evolve over time. (Plus, they're cheaper that way. )

From there you can branch out into the others (especially if you want the cute emphasis), but I think from a quality standpoint those games are all in the bullseye.

 

[sir doris]

I've not heard of Sly Cooper - only thing i've found similar is Sly Racoon 2: Band of Thieves, is this the same thing?

 

[Farid]

On the PS2, I'd recomend you R&C3 (Actually, all the R&C are excellent, you can do wrong if you pick one), Ape Escape 2, Sly Cooper 1/2 (Sly Racoon in Europe), Rayman Revolution/3, Jak and Daxter, Klonoa 2, One Piece: Round the Land.

On GBA, check all the Marios, they're all solid, you can also check Klonoa, Klonoa G2, Mickey magical Quest, any Crach bandicoot, Kirby, Sonic 1/2/3. You should also give Crazy Chase a chance, it's not exactly a platformer, but it's fun.

 

[Farid]

I've not heard of Sly Cooper - only thing i've found similar is Sly Racoon 2: Band of Thieves, is this the same thing?

Yes, Sly Racoon = Sly Cooper.

 

[Npl]

It would be either Jak 3 or Jak 2. Jak 3 has better and more fluid Gameplay, but is shorter. Jak 2 has a good story, some DAMN hard Spots and the traveling through town gets annoying after a while.

Other good Platformers are "Maximo vs Army of Zin", Sly 2 and of course the R & C Series.

 

[V3]

I would recommend Klonoa for PS2.

There is also a new Klonoa for GBA, different from PS2 version, but its also really good, mechanics are different but objectives are similar to Yoshi, in a way you had to figure out how to get all the necessary items to get perfect score.

As an oddball, I would also recommend Shinobi.

 

[oi]

Jak and Daxter. No silly guns or other lame stuff like in Jak2/3 and R&C 1-3

 

[Phil]

^^ I'd get all of them personally, but you have a point: I still often find myself going back to the original Jak & Daxter which is just.... hmm.... magical in a sense. Immersive... special. No guns, just a simple platformer that is really perfect IMO (except for its length). Perfect framerate, beautiful level design, simple gameplay...... beautiful game, really.

Between part 2 and 3 - I'd definately go for part 3 as a newcomer. Although shorter, it's much more varied and has different gameplay aspects that are all fun and never get tiring. On top of that, they kept the best things of part 2.......

 

[gleemax]

Jak/R&C/Sly are all great recommendations. If I had to choose one game: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. My only complaint is that it's short, but the gameplay is solid. I've probably played it a half dozen times. I have yet to play Sly 2. The demo was disappointing to me (not because it was bad, but because it was so different from Sly 1), but I'll probably pick it up after the price drops. The focus is on platforming with some stealth elements (think MGS-lite with a cartoony raccoon).

R&C3 is easily the best of the series. You could skip the first two games without being too lost, since the story is mostly for fun. R&C3 is the only game mentioned with online play (if that matters). There's been increasing emphasis from R&C1-3 on the weapons (which are great, especially in R&C3). R&C3 is more of an action game with platformer elements than a platformer with action elements.

I haven't played Jak 3, but IMO J&D and Jak II should be played in order. Jak II has a reputation for being hard, but it's not that bad. The main problem with Jak II is that the difficulty spikes at weird parts of the game. The hardest parts of Jak II are hard compared to the rest of it, but not hard compared to other video games (like Shinobi or Maximo). Jak II has a strong emphasis on the story, which I enjoyed a great deal. The graphics in the Jak series are better than Sly/R&C (IMO).

You can't go wrong with any of those titles. I also enjoyed I-Ninja. But it cost me like $8, so I wasn't expecting much.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I wouldn't even call Jak3 a platformer any more.
I haven't finished the game yet (I think I'm somewhere in the middle of the game) but so far there has been little platforming in that game, it's been mostly shooting, racing, racing and shooting, "skate"boarding, tim based racing/collecting/shooting.... even the parts whare you are on foot aren't very platformy, but more third-person shooty.

It's a good game though, but if you're looking for a platformer I'd recommend the first Jak, which is great even by todays standards.
Ratchet & Clank 1 and 2 are also very good, I haven't played the 3rd but I guess it has a bit more shooting around than the previous games, while it still has stronger platforming element than Jak3. And R&C3 has that Captain Quark game inside the game that is pure old school platforming

So, if you rather want a new game, I'd recommend R&C3.
But these series (J&D, R&C) are best played so that you start from the first game, especially Jak which has a sort of plot that spans through the series.

 

[passerby]

the cuter the better

All the titles mentioned are good picks. But for that particular requirement, I'll say either Klonoa or Ape Escape.

 

[Deepak]

Is J&D better than Jak3?

 

[rabidrabbit]

As a platform game it is. Technically it isn't.
I enjoyed Jak & Daxter more than I did 2 and 3. It was more relaxed game, especially 3 has too much just running or driving and shooting.
Jak 2 and 3 feel more "flat" to me.

 

[cthellis42]

J&D certainly feels more like a classic platformer than the latter Jaks. Which is one reason I prefer Sly over the rest--there isn't as much genre confusion. There's more focus on the classic platformer stylings, and adds its own well-rounded style and uniqueness.

 

[London Geezer]

Guess it all comes down to persoanl preferences. I LOVED Jak2 (Havent played 3 yet but it's more of the same basically). They're very different games.

 

[rabidrabbit]

Jak 2 still had a fair share of platforming, but Jak 3 seems to have forgotten it in favour of variations of 3rd person corridor shooting.

Jak 3 has been a slight disappointment thus far (I'm not that far into the game, maybe a bit over halfway).

 

[Npl]

If "Plattform Game" means jumping on free floating Plattforms, collecting Stars, eating mushrooms and jumping on other`s Heads to turn them into Coins.... then noone of the above is a Plattform Game.

I guess Plattforming means a emphasis on jumping (in a way of climbing of course) and collecting (sometimes hard to reach) stuff. In Jak 3 you have for example to climb up a Montain-Temple, with little to no enemies if I remember right. Sure its a mix of multiple genres.
Ratchet and Clank would be a better example for a non-platformer: theres really nothing else than shooting enemies, cant remember I had to do anything else than concentrate on killing.

 

[cthellis42]

It also tends to put the emphasis on defeating monsters up close and personal (or through the use of the environment) rather than carrying an arsenal with you to blow them away from a distance. It doesn't not have to mean "a clone of Mario," but I tend to think that for most people the longer-range and more combat-heavy a game is, the more you're borrowing from the 3rd-person action genre.

 

[VNZ]

As a platform game it is. Technically it isn't. .

Well, J&D is the only game in the series that can keep a consistent framerate which surely makes it the technical winner over here. Better art direction than the quite apalling sequels helps, too.