The top 25 run & gun platformers of all time
From thecrankyhermit
See GUTCH for information on this genre and its place on the genre hierarchy.
The top 5:
1: Mega Man 2 (1988) NES
2: Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy! (1991) PC
3: Contra (1987) Arcade, NES
4: Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992) SNES
5: Mega Man 3 (1990) NES
The rest, in alphabetical order:
Abuse (1995) PC
Bio Menace (1993) PC
Bionic Commando (1988) NES
Commander Keen: Aliens Ate My Baby Sitter! (1991) PC
Contra Hard Corps (1994) Genesis
Darkwing Duck (1992) NES
Duke Nukem (1991) PC
Duke Nukem II (1993) PC
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project (2002) PC
Earthworm Jim (1994) Genesis, SNES
Ghosts 'N Goblins (1985) Arcade
Gunstar Heroes (1993) Genesis
Hocus Pocus (1994) PC
Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (1998) PC
Mega Man (1987) NES
Mega Man X (1993) SNES
Metal Slug (1996) Neo-Geo
Metal Slug 3 (2000) Neo-Geo
Revenge of Shinobi (1989) Genesis
VectorMan (1995) Genesis