Awful 16-bit Platformers

[nakamura]

Yeah I did love the arcade Joe and Mac but been a long time since I have played it. We used to have it in our local convenience store, it had a wicked arcade room out the back!

[SonicTheHedgehog]

To dismiss Plok as generic is to overlook the humour, the unusual control method and its original ideas.

No way do i think those things you mentioned save Plok or make it a good game. The reason im dismissing Plok as ONLY generic and not as very poor or terrible is BECAUSE of the humour (which i thought was mostly totally pointless and not funny at all), the controls which i didn't have a problem with at all and the original ideas which i.m.o didn't enhance the gameplay or enjoyment of the game all that much. If it wasn't for those things it would be way worse than it already is. If you enjoyed it of your own accord then fair enough and remember it is just my opinion after all.

The 1 awful 16-bit platformer that come to mind for me as the name suggests is IZNOGOUD. it really is no good!

[Liamh1982]

^ Wasn't Iznogoud only on the PS1 though?
Such an awful 16-bit platformer it wasn't even on a 16-bit system!

[jimmyjimjim]

Magic Pockets on the Amiga was well received at the time. Tried it out not long ago and thought it was terrible! I also loved Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 but could never warm to Sonic 3.

[SonicTheHedgehog]

^ Wasn't Iznogoud only on the PS1 though?
Such an awful 16-bit platformer it wasn't even on a 16-bit system!

Im fairly sure i saw it advertised back in the day on 16 & even 8 bit machines but my memory on that one is a little fuzzy.

[snowkatt]

^ Wasn't Iznogoud only on the PS1 though?
Such an awful 16-bit platformer it wasn't even on a 16-bit system!

Im fairly sure i saw it advertised back in the day on 16 & even 8 bit machines but my memory on that one is a little fuzzy.

tis pc and ps 1 only

[theantmeister]

Oscar was dog turd. It was one of only 3 games I had when I got an Amiga CD32 and still I only played it once.

The SNES was host to some proper naff platformers... Home Alone, Family Dog, Wizard of Oz, Home improvement, Chuck Rock.

What? No way, Chuck Rock was awesome!

Zool was absolutely awful. As was Superfrog. They both suffered from too fast movement and too floaty controls. Zool had the most appalling art too. censored candy canes and censored. Yuck!

[Antiriad2097]

Zool had the most appalling art too. censored candy canes and censored. Yuck!

It was sponsored by Chupa Chups.

[theantmeister]

Zool had the most appalling art too. censored candy canes and censored. Yuck!

It was sponsored by Chupa Chups.

I forgot about that!

[shiftytigger]

It may not be a popular view, but I think Earthworm Jim is pretty awful. It's one of many cartoon-style platformers where the drawing and animation seems to have been far more important that any sort of gameplay. The scenery is all drawn in a loose cartoon style with an overlay of sharp but completely invisible platform 'edges' to stand on and fall off, without really ever knowing what's safe and what isn't. You're forever guessing where you can go next or how far you can move before you fall - the SNES equivalent of Jack and the Beanstalk on the Spectrum.

This - I just never got the love. oh and its jusst not funny.

[stvd]

It's one of many cartoon-style platformers where the drawing and animation seems to have been far more important that any sort of gameplay.

This is my view of almost every Disney game.

[shiftytigger]

I agree to a certain degree , more so with the later games (though if i remember a few of the later Disney games like Jungle book were done by Shiny anyway which concurs with the EJ comment - style over substance).

I wouldnt agree with 'earlier' disney games like Castle of Illusion though , as despite being easy , it was still a graphical showcase and relatively pleasing to play , if a bit sedate. Quackshot too was a great looker even if i dont like it. Though dont even get into Talespin.

I found later Disney stuff like Lion King , Pinocchio and Jungle Book followed Earthworm Jim for looking nice but suffering from ill defined platforms and over elaborate character animations.

[JazzFunk]

All Euro-style platformers at the time were sh!t, plus they took their cue from the Sonic games rather than the Mario games so you had these big, vast empty boring levels full of crap to collect, all of it boring. Super Mario World was the place to be, what a game, can't believe you had bollocks on Amiga like The Blues Brothers, I really hated 90s Amiga platformers, so soulless and under-designed by comparison, insultingly so.

Even Great Giana Sisters, it was cack (I know it came out in 1988, btw).

[stvd]

I wouldnt agree with 'earlier' disney games like Castle of Illusion though

Agreed.

later Disney stuff like Lion King , Pinocchio and Jungle Book

Yep, these and also Aladdin.

[joefish]

later Disney stuff like Lion King , Pinocchio and Jungle Book

Yep, these and also Aladdin.

I think someone, somewhere, genuinely believed they were channeling Jordan Mechner rather than knocking out another piece of kiddie-fodder merchandising with all the substance of a pair of plushie Timon slippers.