Platformers are one of the oldest genres in gaming. From their humble beginnings in the original Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, they’ve grown in scope, approach and feel. In this exclusive Old School Gamer Magazine list, we share some of our picks for must-play platformers that don’t quite fit in the Nintendo and Sega-run galaxy. 
Rayman: Ubi Sofo’s beautiful platformer series is entrenched with the Nintendo camp now, but most of us remember playing his first adventure on the original Sony PlayStation.
Crash Bandicoot: This is a given. While he’s all the rage now thanks to a remastered collection and some other new titles in the franchise. 10 years ago, he may not have made the list because he kind of disappeared. Fans of the original games in the series know better though. Crash is the man.
Bonk’s Adventure: The importance of speed and jumping make this TG-16 Classic one of the most unique platformers of its era. Although it took gameplay elements from the classics before it, Bonk’s attitude made him stand out from the crowd.
Super Meat Boy: One of the most influential independent video games of all time, Meat Boy’s adventures are what you’d get from Super Mario Bros if he was a beef product.
Little Big Planet: Perhaps Sony’s most underrated franchise, the adventures of Sack Boy are some of the most enjoyable on any of their consoles and are absolutely rooted in classic platform gameplay.
Patrick Hickey, Jr., is the founder and editor-in-chief of ReviewFix.com and a lecturer of English and journalism at Kingsborough Community College, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the past decade, his video game coverage has been featured in national ad campaigns by top publishers the likes of Nintendo, Deep Silver, Disney and EA Sports. His book series, "The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult and Classic Game Developers," from McFarland and Company, has earned praise from Forbes, Huffington Post, The New York Daily News and MSG Networks. He is also a former editor at NBC and National Video Games Writer at the late-Examiner.com
