Best Platformer Game From Each Year Of The 2000s

Highlights

Don’t underestimate platformers – they are timeless classics that have stood the test of time in the gaming industry.
Nintendo excels in platformers, with titles like Kirby 64, Jak and Daxter, and Super Mario Galaxy setting the standard.
Platforming games like LittleBigPlanet and New Super Mario Bros. Wii offer challenging gameplay and creative level design for players.

Gaming owes a lot to the platforming genre. The jolt that revived the industry in the mid-1980s is mostly thanks to Super Mario Bros., after all. Platformers were everywhere in the 1980s and 1990s, but still managed to make an impression into the new millennium as well, even as trends leaned into shooters aimed at older audiences.

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A collage of characters from some of Nintendo's hardest 2D platformers: Pit from Kid Icarus, Luigi from New Super Luigi U and Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong Country.

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Nintendo have been the Kings of Platformers for decades, but in that span, they have published some absurdly difficult entries in the genre.

Gamers should never let anybody tell them that platformers are outdated, as the games below were still some of the most celebrated titles of their respective year. Even more than ten years after the 2000s have ended, most of the games below are revered as timeless classics.

10 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2000)

Metacritic: 77

Kirby facing off against Whispy Woods in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Release: June 26, 2000
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Platforms: N64

The start of the millennium was weird for Nintendo. The PS2 came out of the gate swinging but Nintendo loyalists still had to wait a year for the GameCube. The aging console still had some gems left, however, such as Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. It is a 2D adventure with 3D graphics, but it feels so good to play and indulges in what makes Kirby games so good.

The creativity on display with the powers players can gather from enemies, along with the colorful aesthetic show that the N64 was capable of producing fun content even as the PS2 was wowing audiences.

9 Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001)

Metacritic: 90

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Released: December 4, 2001
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment

games-playstation-ps1/”>With the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Naughty Dog spent the PS1 generation making three of the system’s best platformers and a racing spin-off to rival Mario Kart. The studio left the character behind for the PS2 and crafted a new IP, Jak and Daxter.

The first game in the series is a standard 3D platformer that rises above the crowd with its refined controls, colorful characters, and difficulty. The game continues the Crash Bandicoot lineage, feeling like an evolution of the three earlier games by bringing it into a fully 3D space.

2001 was the year the Nintendo GameCube came out. However, it did not premiere with a flawless platformer like its predecessors did.

8 Super Mario Sunshine (2002)

Metacritic: 92

Super Mario Sunshine

Released: August 26, 2002
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s): Nintendo

It took a minute for Nintendo to get a true Mario platformer on the GameCube, and it did so with a small curveball. Instead of traditional 3D platforming, players were assisted by a water jet that helped them maneuver around the game’s levels.

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The water mechanics not only showed off beautiful graphics, but it was an integral part of the story. Many objectives centered around clearing paint from the level or attacking enemies using the water jets. It is one of the more polarizing mainline Mario titles, but it is still many steps above most other platformers regardless of how it compares to the other games in the series.

7 Jak 2 (2003)

Metacritic: 87

Jak 2

Released: October 14, 2003
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment

Jak 2 took the 3D platformer in a wild direction. The game became more of an open-world playground and players could now use guns, which added a new layer to the combat in addition to making it more appealing to aging gamers.

The game’s ambition is commendable and it pulls off most of what it attempts to without any glaring flaws. The protagonist also has more of a personality this time around and the story is darker than the debut entry’s lower stakes.

6 Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)

Metacritic: 91

Official screenshot of Ratchet fighting a Robot boss.

Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Released: November 2, 2004
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment

Unlike Jak and Daxter, guns were always a part of the Ratchet and Clank series. However, Up Your Arsenal added more precise aiming controls that made the series a perfect hybrid between platformer and third-person shooter.

games-playstation/”>This evolution makes Up Your Arsenal the fan favorite of the series. To this day it is still recommended to newcomers. In addition to the gameplay, the writing and characters came into their own here, further leaning into the zany humor.

5 Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005)

Metacritic: 83

Release: September 26, 2005
Developer: Sucker Punch
Platforms: PS2

The PS2 had three incredible platforming series going simultaneously and each had its own distinct character. games/”>Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves had significant stealth elements, a great juxtaposition to the increasing focus on Action and shooting that other 3D platformers were taking.

Unlike many other games, the stealth segments are not the most frustrating part of the title. In fact, it feels smooth and satisfying to sneak past guards in this title. Sucker Punch would once again use stealth in another Sony exclusive, Ghost of Tsushima.

A Sly Cooper film was announced and even got a trailer in 2017, but it seems like the project was canceled as there have been no updates since.

4 New Super Mario Bros. (2006)

Metacritic: 89

New Super Mario Bros.

Released: May 15, 2006
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s): Nintendo

As is often the case, new gimmicks and gameplay mechanics eventually have fans yearning for the good old days. Nintendo knew exactly when to hit players with an updated blast from the past with New Super Mario Bros. on the DS.

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The game takes most of its aesthetics and gameplay from the original Super Mario Bros. while adding some new tricks in its bag. This game’s stellar reception and the advent of the Nintendo Wii signaled a turning point for the company back into the public’s good graces after the GameCube’s rocky life.

3 Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Metacritic: 97

Super Mario Galaxy

Released: November 1, 2007
Developer(s): Nintendo
Publisher(s): Nintendo

The Nintendo Wii featured a new, innovative controller with motion-sensing capabilities. All the same, Super Mario came back with better platforming than ever with Super Mario Galaxy. Nintendo perfectly adapted the genre to the Wiimote and the idea of traveling through space on small planets opened up a door of countless new possibilities.

Galaxy is not a particularly hard game, but the creativity on display is awe-inspiring. The developers were so creative, they had too many ideas for one game, leading to Super Mario Galaxy 2 in 2010.

2 LittleBigPlanet (2008)

Metacritic: 95

Sackboy running over some mushrooms with a giant egg character

LittleBigPlanet

Released: October 27, 2008
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment

Media Molecule not only created a series that let players stretch their creative muscles in fascinating ways. They made a solid story mode out of it too. LittleBigPlanet’s single-player mode shows off the creative potential of the level editor while also standing on its own as a challenging platformer.

Once players are done with the levels made by the developers, they can search the thousands of levels created by players or even try making one on their own. Think of a series, person, place, or thing, and someone likely made a level of it in LittleBigPlanet.

1 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)

Metacritic: 87

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Released: November 15, 2009
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s): Nintendo

Considering New Super Mario Bros. massive success, it only made sense for the Wii to receive a console counterpart. This new set of levels is just as fun to play as the DS version. The addition of co-op also means going through the game with up to three friends.

However, players can easily distract and jump on each other’s heads, leading to a lot of frustration. The game is also surprisingly hard and is one of the hardest in the Mario Bros. canon, including both 2D and 3D games. The difficulty is exactly what many fans love about it, though.