Best games
Best Platformer games of 1988
The 9 best Platformer games released in 1988, ranked from 2,727 critic and player ratings.
The best Platformer game of 1988 is Super Mario Bros. 3, with a critic score of 89/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1988.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 2,727 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 9
01
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3, the third entry in the Super Mario Bros. series and Super Mario franchise, sees Mario or Luigi navigate a nonlinear world map containing platforming levels and optional minigames and challenges. The game features more diverse movement options and new items alongside more complex level designs and boss battles.
89
/100
02
Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt
A compilation of Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt featured a lightgun shooting game while Super Mario Bros. is a well-known platformer.
85
/100
03
Blaster Master (1988)
You've fallen down a hidden manhole into a world of creatures so terrifying they'd scare the rats away. You can panic and perish, or blast your way through an endless maze of tunnels, searching for the secret passages to your escape. And that's the easy part. Because the Masters of the Caverns lay waiting - prehistoric creatures so powerful, so gigantic, they literally fill your screen! So load your arsenal and get ready for Blaster Master.
85
/100
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3, the third entry in the Super Mario Bros. series and Super Mario franchise, sees Mario or Luigi navigate a nonlinear world map containing platforming levels and optional minigames and challenges. The game features more diverse movement options and new items alongside more complex level designs and boss battles.
89
/100
02
Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt
A compilation of Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt featured a lightgun shooting game while Super Mario Bros. is a well-known platformer.
85
/100
03
Blaster Master (1988)
You've fallen down a hidden manhole into a world of creatures so terrifying they'd scare the rats away. You can panic and perish, or blast your way through an endless maze of tunnels, searching for the secret passages to your escape. And that's the easy part. Because the Masters of the Caverns lay waiting - prehistoric creatures so powerful, so gigantic, they literally fill your screen! So load your arsenal and get ready for Blaster Master.
85
/100
04
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Action! The stage is set for conspiracy, mystery and evil in America. Come with Ninja Ryu as he takes you on his fateful journey. Tecmo's unique cinema display system develops the story stage by stage. You piece together the puzzle, while watching the movie-like graphics. Decide what action to take. Use the secret sword and items collected during the action scenes to fight your way to the goal!
79
/100
05
Contra
Contra is the NES port of the homonymous 1987 arcade game. It is a run and gun action game developed and published by Konami. The NES port was originally released in North America, and it lacks the cutscenes and other details present in the Japanese version which was released a week later.
79
/100
06
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, 2D platformer and sequel to Super Mario Bros. (1985), features 4 selectable characters (Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad) as they navigate the dream world of Subcon to defeat the evil toad king Wart. Super Mario Bros. 2 features different ways interacting with enemies and the world, including an object carrying mechanic and more intricate level designs.
77
/100
07
Ninja Gaiden
Experience the original adventure of Ryu Hayabusa, the shadow warrior, in this acclaimed and challenging action-platformer from the NES era!
76
/100
08
Super Contra (1988)
Super Contra is a Run and Gun-style action game produced by Konami, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is the sequel to the original Contra and the second game in the Contra series released for the arcades. Like in the original game, the game centers on soldiers Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, who are once again assigned to protect the Earth from an army of alien invaders. The game features standard side-scrolling stages, as well as all new overhead stages in lieu of the original game's "3D" stages.
61
/100
09
Altered Beast
Altered Beast is a 1988 beat 'em up video game developed by Team Shinobi and published by Sega for arcades. Set in Ancient Greece, the game follows a Roman centurion who is resurrected by the Olympian god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. By collecting three power-ups in a level, the player character can transform into one of five mythical beasts. In the original arcade, the end credits are interspersed with images of actors in costumes for the different characters and monsters of the game, implying the whole game was a film production.
45
/100
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Action! The stage is set for conspiracy, mystery and evil in America. Come with Ninja Ryu as he takes you on his fateful journey. Tecmo's unique cinema display system develops the story stage by stage. You piece together the puzzle, while watching the movie-like graphics. Decide what action to take. Use the secret sword and items collected during the action scenes to fight your way to the goal!
79
/100
05
Contra
Contra is the NES port of the homonymous 1987 arcade game. It is a run and gun action game developed and published by Konami. The NES port was originally released in North America, and it lacks the cutscenes and other details present in the Japanese version which was released a week later.
79
/100
06
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, 2D platformer and sequel to Super Mario Bros. (1985), features 4 selectable characters (Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad) as they navigate the dream world of Subcon to defeat the evil toad king Wart. Super Mario Bros. 2 features different ways interacting with enemies and the world, including an object carrying mechanic and more intricate level designs.
77
/100
07
Ninja Gaiden
Experience the original adventure of Ryu Hayabusa, the shadow warrior, in this acclaimed and challenging action-platformer from the NES era!
76
/100
08
Super Contra (1988)
Super Contra is a Run and Gun-style action game produced by Konami, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is the sequel to the original Contra and the second game in the Contra series released for the arcades. Like in the original game, the game centers on soldiers Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, who are once again assigned to protect the Earth from an army of alien invaders. The game features standard side-scrolling stages, as well as all new overhead stages in lieu of the original game's "3D" stages.
61
/100
09
Altered Beast
Altered Beast is a 1988 beat 'em up video game developed by Team Shinobi and published by Sega for arcades. Set in Ancient Greece, the game follows a Roman centurion who is resurrected by the Olympian god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from Neff, the demonic ruler of the underworld. By collecting three power-ups in a level, the player character can transform into one of five mythical beasts. In the original arcade, the end credits are interspersed with images of actors in costumes for the different characters and monsters of the game, implying the whole game was a film production.
45
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Platformer game of 1988?
Super Mario Bros. 3 currently tops the ranking with a score of 89/100 across 1,686 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.