Jumping for Joy: The History of Platform Video Games: Including Every Mario and Sonic Platformer

The platformer is one of the most well-loved video game genres ever, having entertained players for over 40 years. Jumping For Joy is a celebration of everything platform games have to offer, spanning their entire history. The first part of the book is a complete guide to every platform game starring Mario, Nintendo’s mascot and the most popular video game character of all time. With nearly 80 games featured in this section, it’s the definitive history of a true gaming hero. There are always two sides to every story, though, so the second part of the book focuses on every one of the 50+ platformers starring Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario’s former rival. After this it’s the book’s main course: a huge 100-page section detailing 50 other iconic and notable platform games covering the entire history of gaming, from the days of the Atari 2600 and ZX Spectrum all the way up to the Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Whether you’re a long-time veteran of platform gaming or a newcomer who wants to learn more about one of the most entertaining genres in video games, this is the perfect book for you. And there are some bad jokes in there too, if that’s your thing. AUTHOR: Chris Scullion has been a Scottish video game journalist since 2006 and is the author of the NES, SNES and Mega Drive Encyclopedias for Pen and Sword Books / White Owl Books. Although he’s best known for his six years at the UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine, he’s also written for the likes of Computer & Video Games, Official Xbox Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine, Nintendo Life, Vice, Retro Gamer, Polygon, The Guardian and GamesMaster. Chris is currently the Features Editor at Video Games Chronicle (VGC).
100 colour illustrations