Editing Platformer (section)

====Decline of 2D====
The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as ''[[Vectorman]]'' (1995), ''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'' (1995), and ''[[Yoshi's Island|Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island]]'' (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres.<ref name="detailed cross-examination"/> The [[Sega Saturn|Saturn]], [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], and [[Nintendo 64]] nevertheless featured a number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D ''[[Rayman (video game)|Rayman]]'' was a big success on 32-bit consoles. ''[[Mega Man 8]]'' and ''[[Mega Man X4]]'' helped revitalize interest in [[Capcom]]'s [[Mega Man (character)|Mega Man character]]. ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]]'' revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later ''Castlevania'' games. ''[[Oddworld]]'' and ''[[Heart of Darkness (game)|Heart of Darkness]]'' kept the subgenre born from ''Prince of Persia'' alive.

The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing the visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/a-detailed-cross-examination-of-yesterday-and-today-s-best-selling-platform-games | title=It's a Viewtiful Day | website=[[Gamasutra]] | date=2004-08-24 | access-date=2007-01-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027033801/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1851/a_detailed_crossexamination_of_.php | archive-date=2007-10-27 | url-status=live }}</ref> The first such game was Saturn [[launch title]], ''[[Clockwork Knight]]'' (1994). The game featured levels and [[boss (video games)|boss]] characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to ''Donkey Kong Country''. Its [[Clockwork Knight 2|sequel]] improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between the foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, ''[[Pandemonium (video game)|Pandemonium]]'' and ''[[Klonoa]]'' brought the 2.5D style to the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]]. In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; ''[[Yoshi's Story]]'', ''[[Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards]]'', ''[[Goemon's Great Adventure]]'', and ''[[Mischief Makers]]''—and most met with a tepid response from critics at the time.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamerankings.com/n64/199386-yoshis-story/index.html | title=Yoshi's Story Reviews | publisher=[[GameRankings]] | access-date=2006-11-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402074207/http://www.gamerankings.com/n64/199386-yoshis-story/index.html | archive-date=2009-04-02 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamerankings.com/n64/197950-mischief-makers/index.html | title=Mischief Makers Reviews | publisher=[[GameRankings]] | access-date=2006-11-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319075644/http://www.gamerankings.com/n64/197950-mischief-makers/index.html | archive-date=2009-03-19 | url-status=live }}</ref> Despite this, ''Yoshi's Story'' sold over a million copies in the US,<ref name="US Platinum Game Chart">{{cite web | url=http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml | title=US Platinum Game Chart | publisher=The Magic Box | access-date=2007-01-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421003854/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml | archive-date=2007-04-21 | url-status=live }}</ref> and ''Mischief Makers'' rode high on the charts in the months following its release.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://sfkosmo.classicgaming.gamespy.com/treasure/games/yukeyuke/articles/backontop.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101112407/http://sfkosmo.classicgaming.gamespy.com/treasure/games/yukeyuke/articles/backontop.html | archive-date=2009-01-01 | title=N64 Back on Top | last=Johnston | first=Chris | publisher=SF Kosmo (archived from GameSpot) | date=1997-11-06 |access-date=2007-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://sfkosmo.classicgaming.gamespy.com/treasure/games/yukeyuke/articles/closegap.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525175337/http://sfkosmo.classicgaming.gamespy.com/treasure/games/yukeyuke/articles/closegap.html | archive-date=2011-05-25 | title=Sony Closes the Gap | last=Johnston | first=Chris | publisher=SF Kosmo (archived from GameSpot) | date=1997-10-02 |access-date=2007-01-23}}</ref>