This is going to be a tough call. There are some amazing platformers out there and many people have strong opinions on their favorites. Some of the greatest games of all-time are platformers and for this week’s Nerd Wars!, we’d like to take a little time to give this genre some well deserved attention.
What's Your Tag? 
I feel blasphemous for saying it, but I was a bigger fan of Sonic than Mario, and that’s because I started gaming around the time the Genesis was having it’s war with Nintendo.
Then again, now that I think about it, it’s hard to compare the two because it seems like Sonic was an attempt to reach an older audience.
There was definitely more of a learning curve with Sonic. Mario was designed to be really accessible to all and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a great game. Honestly this is a tough call. Mario is the name of platforming, but I always felt games like Kirby and Donkey Kong Country added a lot more to the platforming experience.
Gotta be cliche and go with Mario. (Although that last Donkey Kong Country for the Wii was insanely good and beats any of the recent Mario sidescrollers.)
I totally agree. The last Donkey Kong was amazing. Such a classic and retro experience.
I voted for Mario because there’s a lot going on those games, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Kirby. I was pleasantly surprised to see they were neck and neck at the time of my vote!
Kirby has always been one of my all-time favorites. He was the inspiration for games like Megaman. The concept of adaptive powers was so unique and groundbreaking.
Im going to have to vote for Mario, but a close second is Kirby only because i played more Mario games than Kirby.
I’m jumping on the Mario bandwagon…still play and enjoy the games after all these years. (Now, if you had put the Megaman or Metroid franchises into the mix, it would have been a tougher call.)
We thought about putting Megaman and Metroid on the list, but we feel they fall more into the action/adventure/shooter category.
Nice poll, hard choice for me. Nostalgia pushes me towards Mario, but recently I have been a bit more than a little disappointed with the plumber. And then there’s Donkey Kong, who’s classic games still hold up and latest outing is simply fantastic, nailing both the nostalgia and modern facets. But I do have to consider Rayman, I mean, Rayman Legends, what a hell of a game! In the end though, DK wins my vote.
Mario is classic. He defined the platforming genre. Super Mario World is easily one of the greatest games ever made, but I always felt that Donkey Kong Country added so much more to the genre. It’s a tough call for sure.
I adore Kirby. Still sitting on my hands waiting for the 20th Anniversary Collection to be released in PAL regions…