GOTY 2012 - Best Platformer

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Best Platformer
In my opinion platformers were great when they weren't so forgiving, when there wasn't save states, you could get game over screens, etc.  In fact, all 5 of the top ones on this list follow that mold.  There are two honorable mentions that don't, and that I believe are likely two of the better platformers since save states were introduced.

Honorable Mention:
Sonic Generations (Xbox 360) - This game breathed some life back into the dying hedgehog series.  With beautiful graphics and tight controls, this game could have been great.  A lackluster story and annoying subcharacters along with a very forgiving life system (try try try again until you beat it) really wasn't quite for me.

Honorable Mention:
Super Meat Boy (Xbox 360) - This game was fun, and had glimpses of greatness.  However, it suffers from the same fate as Sonic Generations because of the same forgiving life system.  What ever happened to the "Game Over" screen???

#5 - Ice Climber (NES)
This is a great game, and should be higher on the list, except I've already played it for a different system (E-Reader).  Had this been the first time I played it it probably would be higher.  Very fun and very challenging, along with a great 2 person mode which can be either co-op or competitive depending on if you want to help your fellow player or destroy them :)

#4 - Pitfall (Atari 2600)
This is a great early platformer.  Nothing much to say here except very fun, but it does lack depth which is because it's on the atari, so I can't really fault it.

#3 - Shinobi (Master System)
This game really surprised me.  I got a bunch of master system games in a lot and this one stuck out.  It has tight controls and makes you feel super cool because you're a ninja.

#2 - Super Mario Bros (NES)
This game easily could have been first.  But I'm judging this based strictly on a platforming perspective, and not what it's done for the industry and what it eventually transformed into.  As a platformer, it was very fun and surprised me greatly being a sonic fanboy growing up.  This game never gets tiring.

#1 - Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis)
You can ask me any day of the week and I'll tell you this game is lower on my top 100 games of all time than at least 2 of the other games that didn't beat it on this list.  But you can't deny this is a great platformer.  The only reason it's that low on my top 100 is because of the replay value.  There are no secrets or hidden items or nothing aside from extra lives.  But what this game does have is humor, great controls, and an opposum with a jet pack.  What else could you want?