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Most responsive, satisfying 2d platformer controls?

Noobcraft said:
Ori and the Blind Forest, especially once you get all the abilities.
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This. You're in total control and it simply feels like there is nothing you can't do. I love how fast the death sequence is and how fast you're back in the game once you die too, the frustration during some of the insane sections would be game-breaking with longer waiting.
 
People already said the better games, but I am going to add Prinny Can I Really be the Hero for the PSP, which I have been replaying recently.

It controls weird because there is no momentum, but the controls are always responsive. If you died, it's your fault in 95% of the cases.

You have 1000 lives to finish the game and each level changes depending on the hour of the game. Levels get much harder at night, for example.
 
NinjamicWZ said:
Stealth Inc/Bastard

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I still have to play 2, but that one's an interconnected world. 1 was straight up chambers of death. Trying to beat your time and hold control on the leader board was a game of perfect precision and execution, deftly responsive, with not a damn fault to be found.
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Stealth Inc was so satisfying. Can't wait to get stuck into the sequel (currently in queue in my PS+ Vita backlog).

Another hidden PS+ gem is Kick and Fennick http://jaywalkersinteractive.com/kick-fennick/
A platformer in which you can't jump, which feels really unnatural at first. You instead you have a gun that propels you with its recoil, which turns out to be really fun and satisfying. Definitely worth sticking through the first lot of levels until you upgrade you gun more and more.
 
Mario World, Rayman Legends, Symphony of the Night and Freedom Planet.

I'm sure there are others but those come easiest to mind right now.
 
I agree with the Guacamelee recommendations. The navigation and the fighting controls are quite crisp in that game, and you can animation / move cancel certain things to make them even more responsive.
 
I've played most of what was mentioned in this thread, none of them comes close to Super Meat Boy imo. That game is 2D perfection when it comes to controls.
 
Super Mario World and Megaman X are the ones that spring to mind for me, combining precision with speed and control.

More recently, Shovel Knight and Guacamelee, although I do have a soft spot for Super Meat Boy too.
 
impact said:
Barf

Analog stick platforming is instantly terrible. Super Meat Boy is king, but recently Ori and the Blind Forest is really tight mechanically.
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This was what I thought my first 10 minutes playing the game, but I found that the analog stick is necessary for you to be able to run at full speed while aiming in 8 directions. Great game, btw, and yes, the platforming/combat feels amazing- certainly best in the series in terms of the feel.
 
No game has given me the same feel of mastery as Spelunky. How many hours I've sank into the Vita version I'll never know.

Honorable mentions to Super Meat Boy, Tropical Freeze, Guacamelee, Shovel Knight, Rogue Legacy and Ori.
 
Ori and the Blind Forest is underrepresented in this thread. I think it has the most responsive and satisfying movement in any Metroidvania.
 
Alo81 said:
What? Why?
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I dunno, I just always use the dpad on every 2D game ever since I started playing games. Most games give you the option these days but the ones that don't (Strider, LittleBigPlanet come to mind) are just an instant PS button, close application to me.

The only time analog stick is ok in a 2D platformer is if you're using a 360 controller imo
 
NutJobJim said:
In fact I've never really played any 2D platformers until recently.

Played (and loved) Rayman Legends then tried to play NSMB U and found that Rayman simply controls so much better.
With Rayman I always feel in total control where as Mario is slipping all over the place and I constantly feel like I'm battling against him and the controls

Modern 2D Rayman is way superior compares to modern 2D Mario IMO.

DKTF is also great and a little more challenging than Rayman.
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Funilly enough, I think exactly the opposite...

I used to hate Rayman, and I enjoyed the last two ones more than previous entries, but I still find those unsatisfying.

When I played the first reboot, among other things, the fact that you have only a low jump and a high jump, e.g., bothered me. I understand that it makes chest levels far easier, nearly as a music game, but I'm still not sold on the idea. Besides, good luck guessing the hitboxes of some platforms...

To a lesser extend, I'm not overly fan of DKTF for similar reasons.


I'm still a dead-fan of 2D mario, and while Rayman and DK have fantastic graphics, more basic tiles allows you a clear reading on where you can land and where you can't.
 
nbnt said:
I've played most of what was mentioned in this thread, none of them comes close to Super Meat Boy imo. That game is 2D perfection when it comes to controls.
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Honestly this. I couldn't play N+ after playing SMB because I thought the controls felt too floaty after it. SMB ruined a lot of 2D platformers for me.
 
not psycho said:
I'm very picky on controls. I know I enjoyed Rayman Origins and Valdis Story less than I should have, because while I liked the controls, I didn't love them.

Super Meat Boy, Spelunky, and Volgarr are my controls soulmates.
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I'm with you on that. Rayman games always felt a bit too loose for me to really enjoy them past the fantastic visuals. And I understand it's what they wanted to achieve, but I too prefer tighter controls.
You should check Shovel Knight if you haven't played it already: it's really close to Volgarr.

OP, another game you might want to check is They Bleed Pixels. It's not as precise as SMB and can feel a bit unfair at times, but there are some cool ideas in there and the later levels are incredibly hardcore.
 
Lork said:
N is this close to pure perfection, but unfortunately it falls apart when dealing with curved surfaces, which they insist on plastering all over the later levels. I wonder if they've improved on that at all in the new one.
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yes, we actually added a bit of input buffering and smoothed the collision so that curved surfaces are no longer horribly glitchy ;)

(one of many very small but important fine-tuning adjustments we made to the simulator)
 
Ori is great. After playing that, trying to get through Rayman seemed so shit. I still think Rayman is a good game overall, but controls are among the worst among platformers.
 
Momentum vs Full Control accomplish two different things and you can't have a "best" unless you start breaking it up into "Best of this type of 2D Controls"

Example: Sonic 4 gave you the ability to stop your in-air momentum instantly, which in Castlevania 4 is a good thing, but in Sonic 4 it just feels shitty because Sonic gameplay is best when you're flinging yourself around using physics.
 
Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. Wii U have perfect controls, each in their own way. The other NSMB-games too, for that matter.
 
Not sure what it is about them, but the new DKC games are the only major platformers that I really didn't care for the controls. Thought it was just the motion stuff but I didn't like TF's controls either.

It's not a traditional platformer (though it is a 2D Metroidvania), but I love dashing off of walls in Aquaria.

Some of my favorite platformers for controls are Mario games, the N series, and Dustforce.
 
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