[PresidentLeever]

https://platformadventure.weebly.com/

Inspired by Jeremy Parish's site and YT series in early 2019, I started to document and create a resource for the earlier history of one of my fave genres. Each game entry lists defining features relating to the genre and links to more info in the form of playthroughs and reviews. On the site you have sorting by year, platform and generations (a WIP thing, might change). There's also a page on forerunners/precursors from the period before the first Metroid, and one on outlier games (games outside of but featuring some elements associated with the genre).

I consider the '80s and early '90s pages to be about 85% done so far and am currently working on the mid-late 90s pages. I'm not sure I'll cover the '00s and beyond, I might cut it off around the late '00s to keep it focused on the earlier history of the genre which is what I was interested in documenting in the first place. But we'll see what happens and I can always come back to it later on. The site itself should explain the rest, if it doesn't then let me know.

[Badseed]

Thanks, good read. However, watch your spelling and grammar. (Sorry I have a degree in English, so these things irk me  )

[Spooniest]

Thanks, good read. However, watch your spelling and grammar. (Sorry I have a degree in English, so these things irk me  )

I didn't get my degree but was raised by someone who did study it. I could take a pass at proofing for you, Mr. President, if you like.

EDIT: Hehehehehe... I'd completely forgotten there was a game called Montezuma's Revenge... hahaha... Oh, it's inappropriate humor. I'll refrain... this time.

[PowerPanda]

Quick note, I REALLY like the term "Platform Adventure Game." I've never been a fan of the "Metroidvania" title, because I think that up until Ori and the Blind Forest, it kind of dictated theme and atmosphere in addition to mechanics. This website is a great resource, as it shows the genre didn't pop up out of nowhere with Metroid. Good work!

[PresidentLeever]

^Yeah, agreed. Besides the reasons I mention myself. Thanks for checking it out!

Thanks, good read. However, watch your spelling and grammar. (Sorry I have a degree in English, so these things irk me  )

Would you mind pointing some of these out? I'm not a native speaker (swedish) but I feel like I shouldn't be messing this up since it was an obligatory subject in school.

@Spooniest: Be my guest! Yeah that is a pretty funny title, though they don't do anything with the joke in-game.

[Badseed]

President-
I'm not trying to bust your balls, I realized you are not a native speaker by some phrasing like "I've been using Platform Adventure since the 90s". Better English would be something like " I've been playing platform adventure games since the 90s". A different example would be: "the degree to which player caused changes to the game world", there should be an "a" between "which" and "player". Anything else is mostly minor conjugation and/or spelling. Like I said a great read, keep up the good work. 

[PresidentLeever]

Right, well in the first one I'm talking about using the term "Platform Adventure" rather than playing PA games but I can make this clearer.
In the other example, I guess I can rephrase it as "When it comes to persistency, the degree to which changes to the game world caused by the player (ie "player caused changes", I thought you could say that but I guess not) are permanent can vary".

Thanks!

[Badseed]

All minor stuff brother, the intent got across loud and clear

[4lorn]

Quick note, I REALLY like the term "Platform Adventure Game." I've never been a fan of the "Metroidvania" title, because I think that up until Ori and the Blind Forest, it kind of dictated theme and atmosphere in addition to mechanics. This website is a great resource, as it shows the genre didn't pop up out of nowhere with Metroid. Good work!

Worse than that, the more you try and define Metroidvania as a genre the more things fall apart by virtue of its origin point, which was some videogame journos going gaga over the fact that just then they noticed Super Metroid and SotN had maps, character abilities geared toward exploration and power, and explorable and hub-like areas (elements which by themselves have probably been around since the ZX Spectrum era). You can't entirely rely on the design side of things either, since Super Metroid is adamant about the "less is more" design of things while SotN is baroque right down to its systems (hundreds of items and abilities to kill enemies who are largely still programmed to fight retro Belmonts).

Also: didn't mean to rain on your parade, PresidentLeever. It's a nice project, I just never liked the term because of its implications.

[PresidentLeever]

Sure, well that's partly why I made the site as well - to show earlier similar games and everything leading up to those two. But also to document similar games in-between SotN and the later resurrection of sorts around the mid '00s, as well as precursors to similar 3D games. I've only used the term MV when promoting the site and on the front page because it's popular and useful (kind of, you still see a lot of confusion about what it means).

If you look at the most vivid community based on the genre, which seems to be r/metroidvania, their definition is really just Metroid's style of sidescrolling action adventure, which isn't that far from early Zelda either. SotN's additions aren't seen as a staple except for those who are really into that style. Jeremy Parish's definition seems looser, maybe he changed his mind since then but there's a YT video where he says the 3D zeldas are basically MVs.