Looking for retro multiplayer games for a group or 2 players? Here are of some of my favorite Multi-Player games for the retro home consoles. This is not a complete list. Please send me some suggestions!
Nintendo Entertainment System – 2 Players
- Mario Brothers: This is a co-op 2 player masterpiece and the predecessor to Super Mario Brothers. Its the arcade port of the same name. Its so good It’s been remastered as part of a few different games. The few I know about are Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES) and Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance).
- Ice Climber: 2 Player Co-op This is part of the back box games.
- Bubble Bobble: Excellent classic 2 player co-op.
- Bubble Bobble 2: 2 player co-op. There is an arcade version you can get of this game. There is even a modern switch bubble bobble too.
- Balloon Fight: 2 Player Co-op. This game is a black box game and very unique. It may take a little research to learn how to play.
- Contra: 2 player co-op! One of my childhood favorites. Here is a link to the hacks.
- Super C: Super contra 2 player co-op
- Dr. Mario: This is a 2 Player VS game. Its a lot of fun you probably know this game. What you may not know is that there are a few great hacks of this game. Dr. Luigi which is a GFX hack and Dr. Garfield which adds a very well done Garfield theme to the whole game. The hacks can be found on Romhacking.net. There is also a SNES version.
- Double Dragon: 2 Player co-op but this game has a VS mode.
- Double Dragon II: The Revenge
- Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
- Life Force
- Gradius II (Vic Viper and Lord British modes)
- Jackal
- Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
- Mickey’s Safari in Letterland
- Mickey’s Adventures in Numberland
- Ice Climber
- Gauntlet
- Gauntlet II
- Gun.Smoke
- Ikari Warriors
- Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
- Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue
- R.C. Pro-Am II
- Spy vs. Spy
Nintendo Entertainment System – 3+ Players
- Bomberman 2: This game is 2 or 3 players and is an absolute crowd favorite. If your new to Bomberman then start here. This Bomberman game may lack many of the features, items, moves, and boards as the later titles but it doesn’t need to have them for hours of fun.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street: Its crazy seeing all 4 characters on the screen at the same time. I haven’t played this one much.
Super Nintendo 2+ Players
- Battle Tetris Gaiden: This is technically a Super Famicom game. (Which is the Super Nintendo that was released only in Japan) Its a hidden gem and one of my top favorite games on the SNES platform. Its basically Battle Tetris but you play as different characters with different abilities. Its without a doubt my favorite Tetris game and everyone I’ve known that has given it a chance loves this game. There is a fully translated English patch for this game on Romhacking.net
- Super Mario Kart: Of course. I know you know this game…. but! Did you know there are countless complete overhauled Rom hacks that feature new Courses, Caricature’s, GFX even for Battle mode? Its still being actively hacked all the time. You can see here.
Gameboy Advance
Super Mario Advance: This is the first title in the Super Mario Advance series and great 2 player game here is the remastered Mario Brothers they updated the Graphix, Controls and board. If you really like the originals on the NES then you should give this a try.