Best Platformer Games on the Genesis

The platformer games worth playing on the Sega Genesis start with Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania Bloodlines, Earthworm Jim.

The Genesis and Platformer Games

Faster, louder and more attitude than its rival, and the arcade machine you could have at home. Sega's console is where the beat-em-up and the run-and-gun peaked.

Platformer Games are a solid rather than a defining part of this library — worth knowing, but not the reason anybody owns the machine.

Filtering to platformer means you want the movement itself to be the pleasure. It is the right filter when the thing you liked was getting from one place to another.

The Platformer Games Worth Playing

  1. 1. Sonic the Hedgehog

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  2. 2. Castlevania Bloodlines

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  3. 3. Earthworm Jim

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  4. 4. Aladdin

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  5. 5. The Lion King

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  6. 6. Ristar

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  7. 7. Vectorman

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

What Makes a Good Platformer Game

A game you can judge in ten seconds. Platformers live or die on the jump, and a good one feels right before anything else happens.

Weight. Platformers rarely carry a story you will think about afterwards, and the collectible-led ones can become checklists if you let them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best platformer game on the Genesis?

Sonic the Hedgehog is the usual first answer, and there are 7 in the library we cover.

Was the Genesis good at platformer games?

It is a solid rather than a defining part of the library.

What separates a good platformer from a bad one?

Whether the move set is complete early. The great ones give you everything in the first level and spend the rest asking better questions of it; the weak ones drip-feed abilities to disguise thin level design.

2D or 3D?

Different games. 2D platformers are about precision on a single screen; 3D ones are about reading space and camera. Each pick below says which it is.

How is this list put together?

From the games this site covers on the Sega Genesis, matched against hand-mapped gameplay categories rather than a storefront's genre tag. A page only exists where there are at least four, which is why some console and genre combinations have no page at all.

Platformer Games on Other Consoles

More From the Genesis

Or browse the whole Sega Genesis library.