Top Ten: Platforming Game Mechanics

Sam counts down the top ten most influential mechanics in the genre.

By Sam Stewart. Posted 11/19/2013 12:00 Comment on this     ShareThis

6. Cape Feather

Notable games: Super Mario World

Flying is a mechanic that has been done to death ever since it was implemented, which wasn’t long after the creation of the genre itself. It’s as if as soon as people got used to being held down by the gravity they wanted to defy it, leading to items like the Super Leaf and mechanics like Kirby’s float. Some offer limited flight and others unlimited, and both these types are uninteresting to me. The one that truly sticks out to me is Super Mario World’s Cape Feather. At first it appears to be a variation of the Super Leaf– run to take flight, eventually run out of juice and fall. But there is much more to it once you learn the timing to keep yourself afloat indefinitely. It is a lot of fun to bob across the skies, and then come down on your foes like a hawk if you wish. Sure it does make any open air level really easy, but it does require some skill to keep Mario flying smoothly. Combined with Mario’s spin jump you are allowed to delay your vertical movement slightly, allowing you to dip and rise one time in a jump. This seems like a minor detail, but allows for all kinds of cool experimentation with the level design.

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