ShareThis
5. Wall Jumps
Notable games: Super Mario 64, Super Metroid, New Super Mario Bros.
Wall jumping is just fun, plain and simple. Seeing your character snap to the wall, the sound of the kick as they push off, for some reason this action is endlessly satisfying to me as a gamer. Although it has become a staple of more recent platformers like Rayman Origins and the New Super Mario Bros. games, the wall jumps I remember best are the very difficult timing specific jumps from Super Metroid and Super Mario 64 that I practiced for hours. Mastery of this technique gave you an all new weapon with which to approach old challenges. Who needs the Grappling Hook when a perfectly timed wall jump on the opposite ledge works just as well? Who needs to spawn the staircase in the Boo House when a wall jump works just as well? Even more recent games where the wall jump is a required still allow for some inventive platforming, such as a level in Super Mario 3D Land that can be completed in six seconds thanks to one precise wall jump.
