I wanted to make a thread like this for a while now. I gotta come to admit that these kind of games are probably my favorite sub genre of 2D platforming games. I really love Spelunker and Pitfall II, I love the abstract visuals to them and the open exploration that they require. I want to make a thread not just for recommendations but just to talk about some of the memories of these kind of games. I love Spelunker so much and can finish it pretty easily now, Pitfall II is no different especially the Atari 5200 port with the second quest. Others that I like are Montezuma's Revenge though I'm not great at it and don't get me started on Montezuma's Return for GBC, that's probably the best game on the system. Highly recommended. I like Castlequest and Goonies for NES too even despite CQ getting so much hate. I have just downloaded Derek Yu's Spelunky for PC but have to get some time to try it. I wish I could download the new Spelunker Remake for PSN but I don't have the system.

What are some other recommendations for any system.

Also why does it seem that this sub genre is so universally panned by the general gaming populace aside from classic gamers like us? Is it due to the difficulty and the lack of patience to get into the game? Really bums me that these don't get more recommendation.