1990s Platformer games

26 Platformer classics first released 1990 to 1999, in release order, and 48 games looking back to them.

Games looking back to them

• Commander Genius: Engine that runs all classic Commander Keen episodes.
• Omnispeak: Reimplementation of the Keen Galaxy engine, hosted on the author's own site.
• Gunlord: Turrican-style run-and-gun originally released on Neo Geo and Dreamcast; Gunlord X followed on Switch and PS4.
• Hurrican: Freeware Turrican-style game, later open sourced.
• T4 Funeral: Turrican fan sequel.
• Valfaris: Heavy-metal 16-bit style action platformer.
• Gods Deluxe: Remake of the Bitmap Brothers platformer.
• Freedom Planet: Started as Sonic fan game; Kickstarted original platformer.
• Freedom Planet 2: Sequel to the Sonic-styled Freedom Planet.
• Green Hill Paradise Act 2: Final Mix: 3D reimagining of Green Hill built with the Sonic GDK; praised by Sega.
• Knuckles' Emerald Hunt (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): Turns Sonic 2's zones into Sonic Adventure-style emerald hunts for Knuckles, with extra levels, Tikal as a playable character and a race-for-the-emeralds versus mode.
• Metal Sonic Hyperdrive (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): Fan game starring Metal Sonic, rebuilt by Tails, with new levels and music.
• Metal Sonic Rebooted (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): A heavily rebuilt Sonic 2 starring Metal Sonic, with new art, level layouts, mechanics and music.
• Sonic 2 Delta (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): Restores the zones cut from Sonic 2 during development as playable levels and adds Knuckles from Sonic & Knuckles.
• Sonic 2 Heroes (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): Sonic 2 played as a Sonic Heroes-style team of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles at once, with three-player co-op through the Team Player multi-tap.
• Sonic 2 Retro Remix (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): Turns Sonic 2 into an exploration-driven adventure where progress comes from Mario-style missions: emerald hunts, boss battles, speed runs and score attacks.
• Sonic 3 A.I.R. (Angel Island Revisited): Widescreen fan remaster of Sonic 3 & Knuckles with remastered music and modding; needs the original ROM.
• Sonic 3 Complete (Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM hack): Combines Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles into one cartridge with restored prototype music, palettes and many options, made to run on real hardware.
• Sonic Boom (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): A heavy rework of Sonic 2 with new zones, art and music, a standout of the Sonic Hacking Contest.
• Sonic Chrono Adventure: Open-world 2D Sonic fan game with time travel, last of the LakeFeperd trilogy.
• Sonic Classic Heroes (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): Merges Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 into one game with a Sonic Heroes-style team of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles switching leader on the fly.
• Sonic ERaZor (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): A long-running Sonic 1 conversion with a bizarre story, explosive set pieces and absurd challenge stages; the 2024 Seventh Public Release added Casual and Frantic modes.
• Sonic Gaiden (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): An early Sonic 1 conversion with new levels and a choice of Sonic or Mighty the Armadillo, each with their own ending.
• Sonic Galactic: 32-bit style 2D Sonic fan game with new zones and characters; demos released.
• Sonic Omens: Episodic 3D Sonic fan game in the Adventure style.
• Sonic Robo Blast 2: Open-source 3D Sonic fan game on a modified Doom Legacy engine, in development since 1998.
• Sonic Sunventure (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): A time-travel adventure of nine new acts of exploration and speed, built inside Sonic 1.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Lost Worlds (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): Rebuilds the zones cut from Sonic 2, some finished from prototype data and others recreated from magazine shots and developer interviews.
• Sonic the Hedgehog Megamix (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): Rebuilds Sonic 1 with new zones, Sonic 3-style abilities and Mighty and Shadow as playable characters; one of the most famous Sonic hacks ever made.
• Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit: 16-bit style reimagining of the Game Gear Sonic Triple Trouble.
• Sonic Utopia: Open 3D tech demo channeling the Sonic CD intro.
• Sonic: After the Sequel: Fan game set between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3, with a celebrated soundtrack.
• Sonic: Before the Sequel: Fan game set between Sonic 1 and 2, first of a trilogy.
• Sonic: Hellfire Saga (Sonic 3 & Knuckles ROM hack): A gothic Sonic adventure mixing Castlevania and Ghosts 'n Goblins themes, with an original story, new zones and heavy focus on boss fights.
• Sonic: Project Revenge (Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM hack): New level designs and art, reworked Sonic and Tails sprites and original music, all inside Sonic 2.
• Sonic: Scorched Quest (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): A new adventure set after Sonic CD, with new zones and art as Sonic chases Eggman and the mysterious Flame Emeralds across South Island.
• Sonitroid (Sonic the Hedgehog ROM hack): Turns Sonic 1 into a Metroid-style exploration game through Brinstar, Kraid's lair and Tourian, with Morph Ball and Spindash upgrades.
• Spark the Electric Jester: Fast platformer by a former Sonic fan-game developer.
• SRB2Kart: Kart racer built on the SRB2 engine with 16-player online races.
• Streets of Rage 2: Robotnik Wars (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow brawl through a city taken over by Eggman's robots in a Sonic-themed Streets of Rage 2.
• Cosmore: Reconstruction of Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure source on the author's site.
• Nova the Squirrel: NES platformer with ability copying and puzzles.
• Kaze and the Wild Masks: Brazilian platformer in the Donkey Kong Country mold.
• Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair: 2.5D platformer in the Donkey Kong Country mold by ex-Rare staff.
• OpenJazz: Free Jazz Jackrabbit engine on the author's own site.
• R.E.L.I.V.E.: Reverse-engineered engine for the first two Oddworld games.
• A Hat in Time: Kickstarted 3D collectathon platformer.
• Yooka-Laylee: Kickstarted 3D collectathon by former Rare developers.

The classics

• Castle of Illusion (1990)
• Commander Keen (1990)
• Gargoyle's Quest (1990)
• James Pond (1990)
• Turrican (1990)
• Gods (1991)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
• Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure (1992)
• Jill of the Jungle (1992)
• Kirby (1992)
• Zool (1992)
• Disney's Aladdin (1993)
• Rocket Knight Adventures (1993)
• Donkey Kong Country (1994)
• Earthworm Jim (1994)
• Jazz Jackrabbit (1994)
• Wario Land (1994)
• Gex (1995)
• Rayman (1995)
• Vectorman (1995)
• Crash Bandicoot (1996)
• Klonoa (1997)
• Oddworld (1997)
• Banjo-Kazooie (1998)
• Spyro the Dragon (1998)
• Ape Escape (1999)