The best platform games for mobile

It's time to take a look at the best games in a particular mobile genre again. This time we're checking out the cream of the platforming crop. Last time we looked at the best third and first person shooters on the App Store, and you can check that out at this link.

As is often the case, this was a tough list to come up with. There are hundreds of ace platformers out there, and narrowing them down to the finest took some guts. But it also means we might have had to leave your favorite off. If that's happened, then ensure you make the case for whatever game you believe should have been included in the comments at the bottom of the article.

This one deserves its place on the list because it messes about with the platform formula with great aplomb. You're falling down a well, using rocket boots to halt your descent and fight enemies. It's gorgeously old school, while still managing to be brilliantly fresh. Seriously, if you've not played this one before, rectify that immediately.

Nintendo's mascot makes it onto mobile, and, unsurprisingly, it's a bit special. There's so much to do here that even though the controls have been pared back for touchscreen you're not going to mind. Plus the sheer joy you get at seeing Mario bouncing around on your phone is going to leave you with a big smile on your face.

A super-tough gravity-flipping platformer from the dev behind Super Hexagon. It's presented like a game from the Commodore 64 era, but there are some decidedly modern ideas here as well. You need to collect the remnants of your crew after your spaceship crashes. If you're looking for a game that's ripe with challenge, this is the one for you.

Ever wanted to be a ninja? Well then you should download Shadow Blade as quickly as possible. It's a supremely polished leaping experience that's also full of sword play and various other shenanigans. It's like if Shinobi was reimagined for the mobile phone, and it's every bit as good as that sounds.

What happens when you take Rayman and make him run around on mobile? Well, what happens is two of the finest games on the App Store. Jungle Run and its sequel are, hands-down, some of the best leaping about fun you're going to have on your iPhone or iPad. The controls might be simple, but there's a level of complexity here that fans are going to adore.

A spiritual sequel to Limbo, this is another gloomy classic that wants to kill you at every opportunity. It's slightly more colorful, but no less horrible when it wants to be. There's as much sneaking, mind-controlling, and puzzling here as there is platforming, but there are few games in the world that can build tension up quite so sharply.

A brilliant game that takes the platforming genre and swirls it around in concentric circles. You're leaping around loops, trying to avoid all the obstacles the game throws at you and get to the centre of the whirls. It's challenging, it's got its own unique style, and it's a breath of fresh air in a genre that sometimes gets a little samey.

A big, bright explosion of platforming joy. This is a game that doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's all the better for that. There's a freedom here that few other games have explored, and that makes for an experience where you're constantly on your toes, excited to see what the madness is going to hurl at you next.