Topic: SNES platform game character ratings

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Mega Man X (Mega Man X)
The.  Ultimate.  Character.  When I set out to review X I knew he'd get high marks but not like this.  Take everything I just said about Mega Man and add not just improved jumping and maneuverability but super jumping and maneuverability.  X can, let's see, climb walls or land on a pin, jump to the other side of the screen, unleash highly varied massive attacks, use an incredible array of tools, withstand tons of damage, and even add more upgrades and add ons as if everything else wasn't enough.  I'm not even counting things like his ride armor or water walking ability.  It makes me wonder just how badly other characters would get killed in his game.  There's not a platformer that couldn't handle X.

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Zero (Mega Man X3)
Zero doesn't quite live up to X.  Maybe it's his size.  Also he lacks the weapon/tool arsenal X gets, but of course that changes in later games.  With the small exception of lacking X's perfect maneuverability Zero is top of the line.  He's incredibly fast and will go where you want him.  He can dish out tons of damage and more or less crush whatevers bothering him.  His defense is as high as you'd expect from a machine but unfortunately his versatility lags at normal.  Zero is awesome and there's not a game I'd be worried taking him into.  All other characters named “Zero” need to take notes.

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Zenki (Kishin Douji Zenki Rettou Raiden)
This version of Zenki is considerably better then the Zenki from the previous Zenki game.  First of all his offense is outstanding.  A three part combo for his normal attack, a screen height upper cut, and an energy fist/ball all come ammo free.  He's not very fast but he's a tank defense wise and that makes up for it.  Unfortunately he also lacks versatility so he's kind of a brick.  When in a pinch though I never had trouble clearing the screen or wiping out bosses.  Like Saul or The Master he'd export well into platformers that focused less on jumping and climbing.  Other wise...
BTW this game would be a breeze to map.

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Hairy Jr. (Pitfall the Mayan Adventure)
My love of this game may cloud my judgment.  Hairy Jr. is a significant upgrade over his dad.  Hairy Jr. is fast and maneuverable.  His jumping could be better but he gets where he needs to go and his defense is good.  His offense is nicely varied with ammo free attacks, to charged shots, to full screen blasts.  His versatility lives up to the Pitfall legacy too since he can zip line, bungee, and hook swing.  Hairy Jr. would do well in a lot of platform games due to his speed with attacks and with his footwork.

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Jack O'Neil (Stargate)
Jack is much tougher then he looks.  He's a great jumper who goes where you want quickly and accurately.  His offense is good because he can shoot in all directions and his machine gun creates a continuous path of fire.  Weapon upgrades wear off though.  He's not very versatile but he can take a lot of damage.  One very nice thing about Jack is he usually has no landing recoil so he can be very swift.  Combine that with his attack and you've got one dangerous character.  Jack would make a great export, maybe even to the harder games.

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Sky (Sky Blazer)
One of the few characters that can walk, or crawl at least, up walls, sky is one tough cookie.  Only his jumping is average, all other stats are above.  Using the  weapons as tools bit Sky's attack potential and versatility are huge.  Combining his tricks with great maneuverability and his wall crawling makes him a deft platformer.  High defense helps with this too and I don't think a lot of characters would have an easy time in his game.  I think, to spite the fact that Sky seems average at first, he would do well in the toughest games.

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Reiko Mikami (Ghost Sweeper Mikami)
Another power house here Mikami's great strength is her speed.  Her attack is fast, damaging, and versatile.  It also mildly acts as a tool and is quite defensive.  Mikami isn’t much of a jumper but she can take a decent amount of damage.  She's not hugely versatile either but like I said her weapon makes up for that.  Her great maneuverability is what makes her already powerful attack perfect.  In other games Mikami might seem somewhat heavy but overall I think she'd do well in most.

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Putty (Putty Squad)
A more agile Kirby knock off Putty is fast and absolutely versatile.  Putty's offense grows as you collect stars and it can be augmented by absorbing items and some enemies.  This of course adds abilities.  Putty can fly for a short time at the cost of health, has a high defense, and can stretch around walls or floors.  Other then Ardy Putty is the only character I know with a total invincibility move, as long as he's holding still.  And unlike Ardy Putty's can be held indefinitely.  Some problems are Putty's lacking great maneuverability and his vulnerability to combos, but other then that he's one great character.  I'd take him into a lot of games just to see what I could get away with.
BTW this game would be a breeze to map.

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That's all the game's I done so far.  I'll post more as I play through them.

[Peardian]

This makes me realize just how many platformer games out there that I have never/barely heard of before.

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And there's a ton to go.  I'm doing them 10 at a crack now and I might still be going this time next year.  I wouldn't say there are a lot of bad platformers on the SNES but maybe a lot of questionable ones.  I've only found myself hating a few so far and it's usually due to bad design elements instead of anything else.

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Animal Buddies (Kirby's Dream Land 3)
Of course all of these guys get their versatility maxed out being partnered with Kirby.  Without him it would probably be different but you can't use them any other way so.  Coo and Pitch get the highest marks for jumping since they can fly, and the only average level jumpers are ChuChu and Kine, not counting ChuChu's hot air balloon ability.  Everybody is maneuverability, even ChuChu, although I did have a little trouble controlling Coo in air at speed.  Everybody has great offense, but I think Nago has the best since a lot of his attacks are wide and fast.  As for defense, Kirby's defense is Kirby's defense and is doesn't change from buddy to buddy.  Some seem to be a little more evasive then others but everybody's high maneuverability makes that moot.  For me Rick was Mr. jumping accuracy, Nago was the damage dealer, ChuChu was the odd ball, Coo was Mr. evasion, Kine was the battering ram, and Pitch was the creative solution.  How would they do in any other game with Kirby?  Just fine.  Without him?  Heaven only knows.

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Arthur (Super Ghouls and Ghosts)
Arghhh!  Why do people love this guy, he sucks so much.  I don't know what's worse, his dying in less then three hits or his total lack of maneuverability.  Like Iria once Arthur jumps into the air he's going where he's going and you can't change it.  Of course he does have a double jump so he can get good distance and height, but it's kind of like whacking an airborne brick with a stick.  His defense is terrible.  Two hits max, that's the end, put any of the Kongs in armor, same effect.  Now his offense is good.  A variety of fast attacks that can do decent damage in many directions.  They can be powered up too and a few can act as tools, which brings me to versatility.  And unfortunately since all cool techs are lost with a hit versatility is wrapped around defense and possible versatility is no versatility at all.  How would Arthur do in another game?  I think he would hit the same funny wall the Kongs would and do fine in a lot of games where the monsters have generally predictable behavior.  In other words you'd probably be equally surprised by what difficult challenges he could overcome and what simple ones would crush him.

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Hero (First Samurai)
He'd be a tank if he wasn't vulnerable to combos.  Seriously he's got a lot of HP and doesn't take a lot of damage from hits but leave him in a damage zone and it'll all be over in seconds.  His attack, going from sword slashing to punches and kicks from too much damage, has a good range that repeats at high speed and his secondary weapons work much like those in Castlevania.  His versatility is annoyingly item based but even without them he can climb and punch through certain walls.  While his maneuverability is good his jumping is great and he'll often surprise by reaching ledges you thought he couldn't with ease.  In other games the first samurai would have to rely on the wall of defensive damage he can create in front of himself to get around since he's not fast at all.  I think he'd do well in most games as long as enemy aggression levels don't spike.

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Gomez Addams (The Addams Family)
Gomez is a perfect example of how a character might poorly import from another game.  Not because he's a bad character though, but because he's a good one.  Gomez is a good jumper and his maneuverability is about average, even if he does skid slightly.  His offense is good too and he can collect weapons, lost if hit, to extend it.  His Defense starts out very poor but that too can be upgraded.  He can swim, duck, climb, and use tools, making his versatility about average.  To spite his aptitude Gomez struggles somewhat in his game and this brings me back to my first comment.  Difficulty from game to game can swing wildly, like in this game.  Monsters can behave unpredictably, challenges might require out of the blue solutions, and decent characters with decent moves might not be enough.  Playing through this game you get a sense of how fast difficulty can really slide and it makes you wonder about characters you thought were strong before.
BTW this game would be a breeze to map.