Nice, all correct! :D

I'm not sure if "golden age" is the phrase I would use, as that means to me that 3D platformers have declined since then.  In some sense, I guess they have.  They certainly don't represent nearly as large a portion of the overall gaming market.  But, the quality of 3D platformers has continued to advance.  

IMO, the most important of these games, of any era, is Super Mario 64.  I think most gamers agree that it is a phenomenal game, and it certainly did a lot to solidify the genre's position going forward.  

Your point about collectables is a good one.  While we don't see games with thousands of collectables anymore, we damn sure do spend a lot of our gaming time collecting stuff.  Nearly every game has a collecting component now, which generally serve to extend their replayability.  We can trace this right back to the 32-64 bit era.  In fact, this may be one of the most overlooked advancements in gaming that came out of this period.  

I think we need a separate thread for clues/guesses. The thread is so packed with that stuff that its hard to have discussion about the games themselves.

I'll consider it for next year's event along with some other possible improvements. But since the event has already started,  I don't want to switch things around in the middle of it.

So I haven't post my hint for 45 yet. Time to fix that.

45 - It's a 2D minecraft type of game, but you can travel around in space, going to different planets, getting resources, and building your own base. There's a story mode too, so you can fight bosses as well

KilleyMC put Earthbound at 46. 46!!!

There's just no way its that low. Earthbound is top 25, for sure. Maybe somewhere around 15-20. And, I'm obviously right, cuz....reasons.

My game is the Wii U version (the one I own), but the hint was for both games so correct!

I agree with you in everything: when I talk about Golden Age I'm referring both to quantity and "popularity", not quality. Back then there were tons of great (and mediocre) 3D platformers, and some of the flagship games of each console were 3D platformers (Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Crash, Spyro, Sonic Advance in DC...). During the 128-bits era 3D platformers were still quite popular, but they started to lose its position in the podium of most popular genres, especially against action games, FPS and sandbox games, their number and "importance" started to decline (B-K missing that generation and the sale of Crash and Spyro didn't help). New 3D platformers like Ratchett and Clank and Jak and Daxter eventually focused more on action.

About Mario 64, I agree: it's probably the most important one (although in my list there's one 3D platformer over it, but just because my list is heavily based in personal importance rather than in objective measurement).

About collectibles, I agree again. Maybe there has been a shift in the design of the collectibles to make collecting less intrusive, but collecting in games was heavily influenced by this kind of games.

I figured this would be easier, don't think too complicated though.

#45: The game has been cloned like a billion times, and I probably played half of them, with a handful of alterations here and there, but the main point is always the same; incoming projectiles are bound to destroy your cities.

Hint 2: So what you do to protect them is fire missiles of your own.

Hint for 37. It is often considered the best game in a old school franchise that has been dead for ages now.