Spyro The Dragon, Banjo-Kazooie, or Gex 3D? (1998) Best collectathon?

[Fatal Nutritionist]

In 1998 3 different companies released games pioneering the then new sub-genre, the collect-athon. These were games that leaned toward being platformers but were closer to being sandbox style adventure games, where collecting items was the core focus of their gameplay and content, and was instrumental in being able to progress through each title spawning a lot of clones and imitators.

Which collection pioneer do you think was the best, and what did you like about it that the others lacked?

Spyro The Dragon 1 (PS1)

Banho-Kazooie (N64)

Gex 3D Enter the Gecko (PS1 & N64 & WIN95/98)

 

[Chief Malik]

Banjo has aged terribly. Spyro is much better.

 

[Mekanos]

Banjo-Kazooie is one of my all time favorite games, so that. Spyro is pretty good. Gex 2 is honestly incredibly frustrating to play, having revisited it recently. It's worse than Gex 3 in every appreciable regard.

With Banjo, I think they hit the perfect balance on the worlds being big enough to run around and explore, but dense enough that you never felt there was a lot of deadspace. Between the music, visuals, and general atmosphere built by the game, it's a simply magical experience. Some iffy control and camera issues, but overall I still find it an absolute joy every time I replay it.

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

Out of those three?
I prefer Spyro but I think Banjo is the better game.

 

[Android Sophia]

Banjo is probably the best of the three by a longshot, and my favorite of the bunch. Spyro is really good too, although I wasn't as fond of it as much as Banjo. Gex is... pretty forgettable.

 

[DeliciousSunnyD!]

Of these games, I like Spyro the Dragon the best. I think it still holds up extremely well too, much better than the others. It has a timeless quality to it in how it plays and its art. Its soundtrack is basically peerless too, and at the very top for soundtracks in games.

 

[NotLiquid]

Banjo's world design still holds up remarkably well.

 

[NuclearCake]

I honestly liked Spyro more, the movement was just more satisfying and Banjo has a problem because the series peaked with the first game and the sequel was god-awful.

Don't remember much about Gex. Need to give it another shot at some point. It's on my bucket list.

 

[Psamtik]

Banjo has the most interesting levels, by far. The movement's nothing special, but the environments and theming are.

 

[RGamer2009]

I have a soft spot for Spyro, the first "open level" game that made you question what crazy world would be in the next portal. Really stretched the imagination.

The 1st time I went outside the "intended" level area in Stone Hill I was agast, thinking "what else will I question next?"

Fantastic game

 

[mopinks]

Spyro is more fun to play than Banjo

Gex is not in this conversation

 

[NoobSauceG7]

Banjo by FAR.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Tooie sucks

 

[Alent]

Spyro, easy.

I don;t see Gex doing well in this poll.

 

[BassForever]

I'm shocked this is as close as it is, I always thought people greatly preferred the latter Spyro games while Banjo 1 is always held up by people.

 

[Sasaud]

with each passing year i'm more confident that spyro is the best 3d platformer in history.
It still plays wonderfully, super fun, almost never frustrating unlike the other platformers of that time.

 

[Het_Nkik]

I've only played the latter two but not Gex. I don't even like Banjo all that much so it wouldn't be hard for Spyro to top it if I ever get around to playing it.

 

[The Smoking Man]

Banjo was probably the most fun and interesting, so that.

Spyro was my chillout game as a kid. Gex was more if I was in the mood for something a little different, but it probably aged the worst out of all three.

 

[Rosebud]

I didn't played Banjo as a child and couldn't get into it on Rare Replay, but the Spyro remaster was amazing. Never played Gex.

 

[oreomunsta]

I might be biased when I say it's clearly, clearly Banjo

 

[Tambini]

Banjo is good until it ruins itself by having a board game quiz at the end but even without that I'd rather play Spyro. More fun and chill

 

[mopinks]

I'm shocked this is as close as it is, I always thought people greatly preferred the latter Spyro games while Banjo 1 is always held up by people.

Click to shrink...

the latter Spyro games are very similar to Banjo-Tooie in that they are frequently bogged down by a whole lot of aggravating nonsense

 

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

The googly eyes have it.

 

[Galactic Specter]

Banjo is not as fun to control as Spyro

 

[mute]

Banjo is up there with best 3D platformers ever.

 

[Lego]

Spyro the Dragon is one of the best games ever made.

 

[Byronic Hero]

Banjo-Kazooie and it's not even close. As much as I enjoyed the remakes of Spyro 1 & 2 (Never player the originals or 3) I don't ever see myself going back to them. Never played any of the Gex games, though.

Banjo on the other hand, I could break out at pretty much any time and have a blast, whether I've played it recently or not. Banjo, like Mario from 64, is just fun to run around/fly as. Not many 3D platformers have that kind of staying power in my eyes.

 

[bionic77]

Banjo is good until it ruins itself by having a board game quiz at the end but even without that I'd rather play Spyro. More fun and chill

Click to shrink...

I loved that quiz! The whole ending was so good.

I thought they pulled it off.

My answer is definitely Banjo. I didn't like the 2nd game but the first game was better than the other options in this thread.

 

[Starlatine]

the hell is gex doing there

"whos the best striker ever pelé maradona or andy carroll"

 

[Shift Breaker]

Gex is the weakest game, but it's not at all bad and gets plenty of bonus points by having the PAL version be clearly superior purely based on its voice acting.

Banjo is rad, but I've played Spyro a lot more over the years so nostalgia bias wins for me. Spyro also has Tree Tops, which is a bottom tier level to navigate until it finally clicks what to do (maybe with some external help) and getting everything provides a strange rush you don't normally get in a collectathon and jumps straight up to top tier. Can quite easily ditch Spyro's sequels though. But thankfully that's not a part of the question.

the hell is gex doing there

"whos the best striker ever pelé maradona or andy carroll"

Click to shrink...

Yeah, man, agreed. The fuck has Maradona ever done?

 

[MikeMyers]

Yeah, man, agreed. The fuck has Maradona ever done?

Click to shrink...

Played handball with the guy from the Walkers Crisps ad.

 

[Dolobill]

Banjo but Spyro is still pretty fun.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

gex sucks

Banjo cool

Spyro not bad

 

[BasilZero]

I've never played Spyro (I should since I got the collection now) but Banjo Kazooie for me.

Gex was good but not as great Banjo Kazooie - loved the gameplay, difficulty and overall theme/levels.

 

[Kyrios]

Spyro no question.

 

[Seahawk64]

Banjo by far.

 

[.exe]

The camera in Gex is too fucked up to even consider the game seriously.
Spyro is inoffensive but also kind of boring.
Banjo has too much stuff to collect.

I don't really like any of these.

 

[Suede]

I think I played Gex most back in the day. I recently played the Spyro remasters and got the platinums for all of them. Had a great time, had only played some of the 1st back in the day. Banjo I played the 360 version first. I think maybe Banjo would be my choice, even though it isn't as nostalgic as Gex or Spyro for me.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Spyro.

I'm shocked this is as close as it is, I always thought people greatly preferred the latter Spyro games while Banjo 1 is always held up by people.

Click to shrink...

Reignited Spyro kinda puts all the Spyro trilogy onto a level playing field, and when Spyro 1 controls just as well as the other two games, it's kinda clearly the best one if you're looking for a focused platformer.

 

[HelloItsPulse]

Banjo isn't fun to play nowadays unless you are used to that archaic control scheme, and outside of maybe some super hardcore platformer fans from the 90s and some Scott The Woz fans spouting the same meme every chance they get, nobody cares about Gex.

The original Spyro games are some of the greatest games ever made.

 

[LossAversion]

The entire Spyro trilogy is flawless. I replay all of them every couple of years. Some of the most chill games ever made. Just the right amount of stuff to collect without becoming overwhelming or frustrating. The music and the overall vibes are timeless.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

my issue with Spyro is he controls weird. He just feels like he glides along the ground. Feels like he's actually static in place and the world moves around him instead of him being the one moving around the world. It's weird. Banjo controls so much better. Same with m64.

 

[Dolce]

Spyro is a game I want to like but actually playing it and the levels just annoys me. Don't really like Banjo. I prefer the original Gex.

 

[PolskiGamer17]

Spyro has the Steward Copeland soundtrack.
So Spyro wins

 

[Fatal Nutritionist]

the hell is gex doing there

"whos the best striker ever pelé maradona or andy carroll"

Click to shrink...

it was one of the pioneers of collecthathons, and was a huge well reviewed release that sold tons too.

Of course, whether it still holds up today in 2022 is a different question. Most would say no, and the poll seems to reflect that opinion here so far too. but it's doing better than I thought it would.

 

[Perzeval]

98 was the year of the dragon

 

[hydrophilic attack]

gex enter the gecko is the GOAT 3d platformer

 

[russbus64]

Banjo is the GOAT. With my avatar choice it really isn't a surprise.

I totally understand and respect anyone that selects Spyro 1. It's great but I'd prefer the remake to the PS1 original.

I definitely don't understand the Gex votes.

 

[mute]

The entire Spyro trilogy is flawless. I replay all of them every couple of years. Some of the most chill games ever made. Just the right amount of stuff to collect without becoming overwhelming or frustrating. The music and the overall vibes are timeless.

Click to shrink...

If Banjo sequels can't bring the first game down then Spyro sequels can't bring the first game up.

 

[Symphony]

I mean it has to go to Banjo, Gex was never good and Spyro 1 has aged like milk compared to 2 and 3 because of the flawed controls and lacking level design - at best the stages are simple and lifeless and at worst they're actively annoying to play (Treetops anyone?). The bosses are pretty pathetic too.