[Chyron8472]

Well, it would be an obvious mention to recommend the other 3D Mario games. I have both Mario Galaxy games and they're both very good. Although Mario Galaxy 2 is harder, and it has stars in more locations per World rather than recycling the same stars between Mario and Luigi like Mario Galaxy 1 does.

I did get Mario Sunshine at one point in the past, and returned it after a couple of days because the FLUDD water cannon made the gameplay different enough from Mario 64 that I was disappointed at the time. However, I have since watched NintendoCapriSun's Let's Play of Mario Sunshine, and it seems like it would be really very fun.

Umm... I'm not really sure about other recently developed 3D platformers. I own the first Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper games for PS2 and they're pretty fun. I say so because there are Jak & Daxter and Sly Cooper HD Collections out for PS3.

I don't bring up Ratchet & Clank because you said you're not looking for games with the gun aspect (though R&C is still very cartoony-platformy besides this). Also, the R&C Collection for PS3 is reportedly very buggy, unlike the other mentioned collections.


If you'd consider older games such as from the N64/PS1 era, Rayman 2 is reportedly very good and has seen a number of ports to newer consoles, including various handhelds. Also Banjo-Kazooie is currently available on XBLA.


Also, though it's not really what you're asking about since it's not 3D, when I was looking into 3D platformers, I ran across Rayman Origins. It is 2D, but it's available on a bunch of systems, including PC. I watched the IGN review of it, and when they say it gives Mario games a run for their money, I can see why they'd say so just from the footage.