let’s travel back to a simpler time in
gaming history and bring a friend
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’ll
be counting down our picks for the top
10 multiplayer nes games for this list
we’re looking at the best titles ever
released for the NES console that were
best enjoyed in simultaneous play
between two or more friends that means
we’re excluding multiplayer games that
were primarily turn-based such as Super
Mario Brothers 3 even though it has a
fun battle mode that isn’t enough to
earn at a spot on this list number 10
life force a sequel to Konami’s popular
1985 forced scrolling shooter Gradius
this game was originally released on
arcade under the title salamander it was
later ported to the NES and given me
arguably more appealing North American
title of life force wild Gradius was
praised for its forward-thinking powerup
system and satisfying gameplay
lightforce pushed the boundaries of the
game even further he was one of the
first shooters to switch between
horizontal and vertically oriented
levels it also introduced multiplayer to
the Gradius franchise a feature that
added greater depth in strategy flying
through an alien body can be daunting
but it’s a little easier with a buddy
number 9 Battletoads for Battletoads
forever thought of as the poor man’s
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hey at
least they can take comfort in the fact
that they’re more respected than the
biker mice from mars street sharks and
the dreaded sigh Bors
while this 1991 beat’em up game may have
been designed to cash in on the
popularity of the turtles it proved
itself to be a franchise worthy of
winning six Nintendo Power Awards the
year of its release single-player was
tough but multiplayer was punishingly
difficult thankfully it was also
insanely addictive and the level of
variety wacky plotline and unique game
mechanics was more than enough to hold
the attention of two people number 8
blades of Steel between this and life
force konami had a great year in 1988
retro sports games are generally loved
or hated as the technical limitations of
the time often resulted in boring poorly
designed games thankfully for every 10
terrible sports titles there is a gem
like this one
it actually won the 1988 Nintendo Power
award for the best player vs. player
game blades of Steel felt fast-paced
compared to the competition and much
like contemporary hockey video games it
embraced the fact that fighting is
albeit unofficially an essential part of
the sport I mean the fighting mode felt
a lot like Rock’em Sock’em robot
switches are not to love
number 7 Spy vs spy originally released
in 1984 for the Atari 8-bit and the
Commodore 64 this game was good enough
that people were still more than happy
to buy it when it was released about
four years later for the NES it was a
split screen versa title based on the
popular Mad Magazine comic strip in
which players had to search an embassy
collect items and escape the building
before their competitors players could
fight each other or leave traps for
their enemies throughout the many rooms
it was crucially important to remember
where you left your traps though as they
did not distinguish between friend or
foe
number six Bomberman to the Bomberman
concept is so simple yet incredibly
compelling you’re on a grid with
destructible blocks you’re equipped with
bombs you use said bombs to blow up
everything and everyone you come across
but be careful not to blow yourself up
however what the original Bomberman
lacked was a competitive battle mode so
naturally when Bomberman 2 was released
in North America for the NES it included
not only a two-player versus mode but
also a three player battle mode for NES
owners with the four score NES multi-tab
accessory the goal of multiplayer was
clean and simple fun blow up your
friend’s number 5 Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles to the arcade game as its title
suggests this game was a part of the
incredibly fun beat’em up arcade version
allowing for players to enjoy the turtle
rocking foot soldier smashing Street
skating action at home
the NES port extended existing levels
and added to entirely new ones complete
with corresponding bosses providing
hours of fun two players switching
between four Turtles against the minions
of the shredder in the comfort of their
own home life did not get any better in
1990 number four chip chip chip chip &
Dale Rescue Rangers yeah this was one
seriously good-looking NES game
published by Capcom it felt like a
pretty standard sized scrolling
platformer in which players could pick
up and throw objects in the environment
to kill enemies but Capcom nailed the
Disney aesthetic in translating the game
to the NES making it one of the nicer
looking titles to grace the console in
true Capcom style they also provided
tight controls satisfying an addictive
gameplay and a bug-free experience while
it may have not been overly challenging
it was the perfect co-op game to bridge
age gaps simple enough for kids but more
than enough fun for adults number three
bubble bubble the 80s were a more
forgiving time when it came to naming
videogames but don’t judge this game by
its title it is multiplayer action
platforming at its best having been
turned into Bubble dragons two brothers
fight to save their kidnapped
girlfriends by fighting through caves of
monsters creative and colorful the game
consisted of blowing bubbles to trap
enemies then bursting them to destroy
the enemies within levels were limited
to the edge of the screen making it easy
to get cornered and overwhelmed
coordination between the players then
was crucial to survival also there were
multiple endings that depended on you
completing the game as a team
number two double dragon tube The
Revenge purists maintained that the
Double Dragon titles are best played as
our Kaede games but anyone who’s played
Double Dragon 2 on the NES will tell you
that it’s as good as support as you
could ask for when the original Double
Dragon made the jump to the NES it was
reduced to a single player game which
stripped away much of what made it such
a fun standout title for the sequel
porting to the NES still resulted in
significant changes but two-player co-op
was preserved finally giving NES gamers
the true double dragon experience co-op
beat them up action and its very finest
before we unveil our top pick here a few
honorable mentions
number one Kandra forget specifying any
yes many argue that contra is one of the
best multiplayer games ever few titles
on the NES can rival it as an action
shooter and no other title on the
console comes anywhere close in terms of
a two-player experience while contra
masters can burn through the game in
under 15 minutes beginners should
definitely take advantage of the famous
30 lives Konami code single hit deaths
paired with an endless barrage of
bullets makes for a very steep learning
curve
the difficulty is extreme but with great
level design diverse power-ups and an
incredible potential for coordinated
co-op strategies were still addicted 25
years later
do you agree with our list in your
opinion what’s the best NES game to
break out when you’ve got company over
for more top tens to share with a friend
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com
gaming history and bring a friend
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’ll
be counting down our picks for the top
10 multiplayer nes games for this list
we’re looking at the best titles ever
released for the NES console that were
best enjoyed in simultaneous play
between two or more friends that means
we’re excluding multiplayer games that
were primarily turn-based such as Super
Mario Brothers 3 even though it has a
fun battle mode that isn’t enough to
earn at a spot on this list number 10
life force a sequel to Konami’s popular
1985 forced scrolling shooter Gradius
this game was originally released on
arcade under the title salamander it was
later ported to the NES and given me
arguably more appealing North American
title of life force wild Gradius was
praised for its forward-thinking powerup
system and satisfying gameplay
lightforce pushed the boundaries of the
game even further he was one of the
first shooters to switch between
horizontal and vertically oriented
levels it also introduced multiplayer to
the Gradius franchise a feature that
added greater depth in strategy flying
through an alien body can be daunting
but it’s a little easier with a buddy
number 9 Battletoads for Battletoads
forever thought of as the poor man’s
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hey at
least they can take comfort in the fact
that they’re more respected than the
biker mice from mars street sharks and
the dreaded sigh Bors
while this 1991 beat’em up game may have
been designed to cash in on the
popularity of the turtles it proved
itself to be a franchise worthy of
winning six Nintendo Power Awards the
year of its release single-player was
tough but multiplayer was punishingly
difficult thankfully it was also
insanely addictive and the level of
variety wacky plotline and unique game
mechanics was more than enough to hold
the attention of two people number 8
blades of Steel between this and life
force konami had a great year in 1988
retro sports games are generally loved
or hated as the technical limitations of
the time often resulted in boring poorly
designed games thankfully for every 10
terrible sports titles there is a gem
like this one
it actually won the 1988 Nintendo Power
award for the best player vs. player
game blades of Steel felt fast-paced
compared to the competition and much
like contemporary hockey video games it
embraced the fact that fighting is
albeit unofficially an essential part of
the sport I mean the fighting mode felt
a lot like Rock’em Sock’em robot
switches are not to love
number 7 Spy vs spy originally released
in 1984 for the Atari 8-bit and the
Commodore 64 this game was good enough
that people were still more than happy
to buy it when it was released about
four years later for the NES it was a
split screen versa title based on the
popular Mad Magazine comic strip in
which players had to search an embassy
collect items and escape the building
before their competitors players could
fight each other or leave traps for
their enemies throughout the many rooms
it was crucially important to remember
where you left your traps though as they
did not distinguish between friend or
foe
number six Bomberman to the Bomberman
concept is so simple yet incredibly
compelling you’re on a grid with
destructible blocks you’re equipped with
bombs you use said bombs to blow up
everything and everyone you come across
but be careful not to blow yourself up
however what the original Bomberman
lacked was a competitive battle mode so
naturally when Bomberman 2 was released
in North America for the NES it included
not only a two-player versus mode but
also a three player battle mode for NES
owners with the four score NES multi-tab
accessory the goal of multiplayer was
clean and simple fun blow up your
friend’s number 5 Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles to the arcade game as its title
suggests this game was a part of the
incredibly fun beat’em up arcade version
allowing for players to enjoy the turtle
rocking foot soldier smashing Street
skating action at home
the NES port extended existing levels
and added to entirely new ones complete
with corresponding bosses providing
hours of fun two players switching
between four Turtles against the minions
of the shredder in the comfort of their
own home life did not get any better in
1990 number four chip chip chip chip &
Dale Rescue Rangers yeah this was one
seriously good-looking NES game
published by Capcom it felt like a
pretty standard sized scrolling
platformer in which players could pick
up and throw objects in the environment
to kill enemies but Capcom nailed the
Disney aesthetic in translating the game
to the NES making it one of the nicer
looking titles to grace the console in
true Capcom style they also provided
tight controls satisfying an addictive
gameplay and a bug-free experience while
it may have not been overly challenging
it was the perfect co-op game to bridge
age gaps simple enough for kids but more
than enough fun for adults number three
bubble bubble the 80s were a more
forgiving time when it came to naming
videogames but don’t judge this game by
its title it is multiplayer action
platforming at its best having been
turned into Bubble dragons two brothers
fight to save their kidnapped
girlfriends by fighting through caves of
monsters creative and colorful the game
consisted of blowing bubbles to trap
enemies then bursting them to destroy
the enemies within levels were limited
to the edge of the screen making it easy
to get cornered and overwhelmed
coordination between the players then
was crucial to survival also there were
multiple endings that depended on you
completing the game as a team
number two double dragon tube The
Revenge purists maintained that the
Double Dragon titles are best played as
our Kaede games but anyone who’s played
Double Dragon 2 on the NES will tell you
that it’s as good as support as you
could ask for when the original Double
Dragon made the jump to the NES it was
reduced to a single player game which
stripped away much of what made it such
a fun standout title for the sequel
porting to the NES still resulted in
significant changes but two-player co-op
was preserved finally giving NES gamers
the true double dragon experience co-op
beat them up action and its very finest
before we unveil our top pick here a few
honorable mentions
number one Kandra forget specifying any
yes many argue that contra is one of the
best multiplayer games ever few titles
on the NES can rival it as an action
shooter and no other title on the
console comes anywhere close in terms of
a two-player experience while contra
masters can burn through the game in
under 15 minutes beginners should
definitely take advantage of the famous
30 lives Konami code single hit deaths
paired with an endless barrage of
bullets makes for a very steep learning
curve
the difficulty is extreme but with great
level design diverse power-ups and an
incredible potential for coordinated
co-op strategies were still addicted 25
years later
do you agree with our list in your
opinion what’s the best NES game to
break out when you’ve got company over
for more top tens to share with a friend
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com
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