Well, long time since I’ve been here… Heh. 
I apologize if this is the wrong forum to post this, but here goes:
Alright, so here’s what’s on my plate.
I would like to make a 2.5D Platformer in the spirit of New Super Mario Bros on the Nintendo DS/Wii. If you don’t know what that game looks like, then let me get you a screenshot - I do apologize if this breaks the forum layout and you have to scroll:
Let me explain what I’m looking for. As you can see in the screenshot, Mario, Luigi, and the two mushroom dudes (Mario’s the guy in the red shirt with blue overalls, Luigi is the one in the green and blue overalls, etc, the other dudes are the mushroom dudes) along with the brown Goomba (round object thing) and walking turtle are all 3D models. The rest of the level, as in, the ground is all 2D titles. So basically, what I’m getting at is that I intend to make a game like this, using 3D models for objects, while the ground is 2D. Hence, 2.5D.
I have been looking at a product called 2D Toolkit and other various packages on the Asset Store, but I am not sure which one I would/should choose. I know there’s a 2.5D tutorial in the Unity tutorial section, but that uses 3D objects for ground and such, achieving a 2D effect using 3D objects - not what I’m after, as using everything in 3D causes a lot of strain on the target PCs if make a 3D-heavy level.
I was wondering if anyone would be able to suggest me a toolkit. I am looking for a toolkit that is tile-based, basically meaning I set up a “bank” or “set” of titles, which I then choose and click on a grid to “paint” them on the level (I saw something on the store that allowed this…), which is in my editor. I am used to environments like Multimedia Fusion and Game Maker, which are sprite-based game designers.
I hope you understand my query and I look forward to your answers.
Cheers,
Coburn64.
The background is using either a 3D model for the hills or is using a shader that moves based on what the camera is targeting (the players). The setup is like this.