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Since the first post of the poll was woefully incomplete and didn't really represent everything it should as a result, I decided to just repost this completely. The following changes have been made:
-Added blatant misses that fit into the category - most were added with a moderator edit, but I threw a few others in too.
-Decided to break the buck a bit and throw in a half dozen or so puzzle/RPG-based ones near the bottom as a bonus.
-Revoting/changing votes is allowed.
A moderate may feel free to delete the old thread if they want.
Again, the criterion to vote is liked (and played enough of that you can be confident you liked it). Vote for all that apply!
I will also repeat my thoughts for the ones I have COMPLETELY played (this is direct copy-paste from the old thread):
Keen 4-6: Way better than the first three Keen's. The first three always
frustrated me (and thus I didn't finish them) in that ANY hit kills you
and you cannot save in a level. In 4-6 you can save anywhere in a level
which IMO is a necessity if you can't afford even a single hit. Of
course the games themselves are good (this is ID Software, no less!).
Duke
Nukem II: Sometimes the difficulty oscilated rather wildly from level
to level and a few are frustrating, but this is a true PC platformer
with no signs of being a console wanna-be at all. Each level sticks to
one of many themes present in the game, but there are plenty of
different themes. One of my favorites.
Jazz Jackrabbit: Lots and
lots of levels (including the holiday ones!) and inspired by Sonic but I
never considered it a straight ripoff. The change in scenario every two
levels was enough to prevent repetition for me. Very fast paced, has
some hints of a console wanna-be but I feel Epic did very good with
this. I think I played Jazz 2 at some point, but don't remember it as
well.
Hocus Pocus: Always liked this a lot, even if I'm not sure
why. It is extremely cartoonish, that's for sure. Another game where the
graphical theme changes every two levels. Underrated IMO, as I don't
see mention of it very often at all.
Jill of the Junge, Part 3 -
Jill Saves the Prince: It somehow is a lot more popular than the next
one I will list, but I don't know why. I think it is significantly
inferior. I don't like how if you die, you just respawn with unlimited
lives, you lose no progress in terms of what you have
killed/accomplished, and you can save within a level to boot. That just
wipes out the challenge element. And there was one super-annoying levels
that was like 100% concentrated with making one good jump after
another, which was long to boot.
Xargon: Made by the creators of
Jill, this is my personal candidate for the all-time most overlooked PC
platformer. I always loved it. The music is really, really good, and
Epic fixed what took the challenge out of Jill, yet rarely going too far
and making it frustrating (a few times are understandable). It's a
whole trilogy with probably at least 40 levels in varying themes. The
emerald system is a great touch too. It's a game I have few complaints
with, it has always been one of my favorite PC platformers, I have
always wondered why it was never more popular, and what's more? It's now
officially FREE! Get it here: http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Xargon.html
Cosmo's
Cosmic Adventure Episode 1: Only played the first episode to date. I
remember it as nothing special, but still delivers the goods well
enough.
And finally I'm going to mention one more: Duke Nukem I shareware (Episode 1): Very primitive with sound, etc. but I recall it being fun nonetheless and it's not a console wanna-be by any means! I do now have the other two episodes (haven't played them yet).
-Added blatant misses that fit into the category - most were added with a moderator edit, but I threw a few others in too.
-Decided to break the buck a bit and throw in a half dozen or so puzzle/RPG-based ones near the bottom as a bonus.
-Revoting/changing votes is allowed.
A moderate may feel free to delete the old thread if they want.
Again, the criterion to vote is liked (and played enough of that you can be confident you liked it). Vote for all that apply!
I will also repeat my thoughts for the ones I have COMPLETELY played (this is direct copy-paste from the old thread):
Keen 4-6: Way better than the first three Keen's. The first three always
frustrated me (and thus I didn't finish them) in that ANY hit kills you
and you cannot save in a level. In 4-6 you can save anywhere in a level
which IMO is a necessity if you can't afford even a single hit. Of
course the games themselves are good (this is ID Software, no less!).
Duke
Nukem II: Sometimes the difficulty oscilated rather wildly from level
to level and a few are frustrating, but this is a true PC platformer
with no signs of being a console wanna-be at all. Each level sticks to
one of many themes present in the game, but there are plenty of
different themes. One of my favorites.
Jazz Jackrabbit: Lots and
lots of levels (including the holiday ones!) and inspired by Sonic but I
never considered it a straight ripoff. The change in scenario every two
levels was enough to prevent repetition for me. Very fast paced, has
some hints of a console wanna-be but I feel Epic did very good with
this. I think I played Jazz 2 at some point, but don't remember it as
well.
Hocus Pocus: Always liked this a lot, even if I'm not sure
why. It is extremely cartoonish, that's for sure. Another game where the
graphical theme changes every two levels. Underrated IMO, as I don't
see mention of it very often at all.
Jill of the Junge, Part 3 -
Jill Saves the Prince: It somehow is a lot more popular than the next
one I will list, but I don't know why. I think it is significantly
inferior. I don't like how if you die, you just respawn with unlimited
lives, you lose no progress in terms of what you have
killed/accomplished, and you can save within a level to boot. That just
wipes out the challenge element. And there was one super-annoying levels
that was like 100% concentrated with making one good jump after
another, which was long to boot.
Xargon: Made by the creators of
Jill, this is my personal candidate for the all-time most overlooked PC
platformer. I always loved it. The music is really, really good, and
Epic fixed what took the challenge out of Jill, yet rarely going too far
and making it frustrating (a few times are understandable). It's a
whole trilogy with probably at least 40 levels in varying themes. The
emerald system is a great touch too. It's a game I have few complaints
with, it has always been one of my favorite PC platformers, I have
always wondered why it was never more popular, and what's more? It's now
officially FREE! Get it here: http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Xargon.html
Cosmo's
Cosmic Adventure Episode 1: Only played the first episode to date. I
remember it as nothing special, but still delivers the goods well
enough.
And finally I'm going to mention one more: Duke Nukem I shareware (Episode 1): Very primitive with sound, etc. but I recall it being fun nonetheless and it's not a console wanna-be by any means! I do now have the other two episodes (haven't played them yet).
