Rayman 2: The Great Escape

It took a few years, but someone other than Nintendo and Rareware finally managed to bring a 3D platformer to the N64 with impressive controls and a camera that behaves itself. Both are big reasons Rayman 2 is as good as it is.

I admire the game for not going down the typical collectathon route; rather, it plays more like a 2D platformer on a 3D plane. Environments are relatively tight and concise in design, fostering refreshingly focused gameplay through short, sharp levels. That said, the game can in places feel ever so slightly caught between a 2D and 3D scope and I would've liked to see the tighter 2D-esque design principles doubled down on.

I have to dock half a star for the painfully frequent on-rails sections. Think the Super Mario 64 bumslide but with obnoxiously-placed one-hit-kill obstacles. Infuriating.