2-D Heaven

Man, I love 2-D games. I'm so pleased to see that they're not dead, nor even close. Just after discovering Aquaria, a beautiful representative of the 2-D Party (which, in turn, I found because its graphics are made by the guy who made another 2-D game called Eternal Daughter, which I tried because someone called it the "spiritual sequel to Cave Story," that most splendid of 2-D platformers), I stumbled upon two little gems called Knytt and Within a Deep Forest made mostly by this guy named Nifflas. Both are clever and creative and engaging and yet simple to play.

I miss the 2D games. I remember after the N64 came out every platformer instantly jumped on the 3D bandwagon. It was quite a shock. And they still havn't universly perfected the camera angles. Staring at the inside of a wall used to frustrate the heck out of me.
Aquaria looks awesome though, Ican't wait to check that one out.

Knytt Stories, the sequel to Knytt (includes a level editor!) should be releasing sometime this month, next at the latest. I wouldn't call Eternal Daughter the "spiritual sequel" to Cave Story, though... it's not anywhere near good enough or similar in feel to be called that. It's just another exploration platformer, albeit a pretty decent one.

Have you tried Lyle in Cube Sector, A Game with a Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures (silly name, excellent game), Poyo, Spud's Quest or Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns? All are great games that shoud provide quite a bit of entertainment value.