Four controllers, one couch, a night that gets out of hand: four-player gaming is a religion. This Top 50 gathers the best retro titles of the multitap era — party games, races, sports and group brawls. RomWize ranks them by its re-evaluated scores and specifies each one's versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"A dazzling kart race where anti-gravity and acrobatic tracks elevate four-player split-screen clashes. The fun swings between sleek driving and item chaos: a well-placed shell upends the order at the last corner, for joy and for fury alike. The infamous blue shell can frustrate, but it's also what triggers the laughter and the irresistible "let's run one more"."
"Loot pillaging and unhinged gunplay marry here in four-player co-op where everyone cultivates their class and a wild arsenal. Mutual aid dominates, but the race for legendary guns breeds a teasing one-upmanship full of twists. Playable two-player in local split-screen, it suits express sessions as well as long campaigns, always with savage humor."
"On the starting line, friendships shatter: mastering the drift boost makes all the difference and feeds a fierce, white-knuckle rivalry. The local competition for up to four chains overtakes, payback and shouting with every shell thrown. The skill gap and occasionally punishing rubber-banding can frustrate, but one quick rematch is enough to rekindle the fire and the trash talk."
"Four-player cooperative survival against hordes of the infected, where communication isn't a luxury but a survival requirement. Mutual aid is total: picking each other up, calling out dangers and moving as a group is the difference between triumph and a hilarious rout. A versus mode pits survivors against infected on top of that to spice things up. Playable locally, its shared intensity and tension remain unmatched."
"A frenzied kart race for up to four in split-screen, where shells, bananas and boosts turn every corner into a plot twist. The competition tips into joyful chaos: the leader trembles to the line and the last-placed can scoop it all with a decisive item. The era's online mode is no longer guaranteed, but local multiplayer remains a trigger for shouts, trash talk and endless rematches."
"Miniature toy battles that turn the house into a battlefield where four pilots clash above the furniture. Childlike chaos dominates: planes, tanks and racers trade salvos across familiar rooms mischievously repurposed. Messy and hilarious, it favors fun over rigor, and the improbable duels skimming the carpet generate guaranteed fits of laughter."
"Four-player cooperative survival against hordes of the infected, where communication isn't a luxury but a survival requirement. Mutual aid is total: picking each other up, calling out dangers and moving as a group is the difference between triumph and a hilarious rout. A versus mode pits survivors against infected on top of that to spice things up. Playable locally, its shared intensity and tension remain unmatched."
"A benchmark for multiplayer shooting, whose split-screen arenas brim with bots, modes and offbeat characters for frenzied clashes. The competition is snappy and readable, carried by clever level design where controlling weapons and chokepoints rules. Generous and hilarious, it weds fierce versus with a co-op campaign, and its map editor endlessly extends evenings among friends."
"A benchmark first-person arena shooter, ultra-fast, where mastering jumps and controlling weapons decides everything in a duel. The competition is demanding and heady: dodging, landing rail shots and controlling the map call for honed reflexes. The original online multiplayer is no longer guaranteed, but local versus keeps all its nervy, addictive purity."
"Four-player cooperative survival against hordes of the infected, where communication isn't a luxury but a survival requirement. Mutual aid is total: picking each other up, calling out dangers and moving as a group is the difference between triumph and a hilarious rout. A versus mode pits survivors against infected on top of that to spice things up. Playable locally, its shared intensity and tension remain unmatched."
"A first-person shooter with an inventive arsenal, whose multiplayer modes bet on crowded firefights and a strong collective sense. The competition rewards mastery of exotic weapons and team coordination, while a co-op strand reinforces camaraderie. Lacking split-screen for online and reliant on uncertain servers, it nonetheless keeps a strong identity and a snappy shooting joy."
"A race where traffic becomes a weapon: you ram innocent cars to hurl them at your rivals, in a calculated chaos of rare glee. The competition blends driving, aggression and opportunism, every well-felt takedown setting off shouts around the screen. Brutal and readable, it turns the slightest race into a hilarious score-settling you replay at once for the rematch."
"An eternal benchmark of four-player kart racing, where prankish items, shortcuts and tight corners turn every race into an unpredictable battle. The fun springs from joyful chaos and twists of fate that flip a standing in a flash, for better or worse. The blue shell and rubber-banding can frustrate, but the urge for revenge and the laughter pull everyone right back in."
"A charm-packed kart racer where you zip across land, sea and air with bananas and missiles, up to four on one screen. The competition blends driving and item management in a good-natured vibe that defuses frustration. The battle mode and varied tracks endlessly renew the urge to clash, and last-second overtakes make the whole couch roar."
"A loot-driven hack-and-slash built for four-player co-op, playable locally on one screen, which makes it a precious rarity in the genre. Mutual aid guides the dungeons, but the hunt for legendary items fuels a joyful one-upmanship where everyone compares finds. Readable, generous and cathartic, it restarts with the family for sessions where you progress together without ever drowning in complexity."
"Car combat in labyrinthine arenas where you hunt your opponent with missiles, mines and unhinged special weapons. The split-screen competition is gleeful chaos: setting ambushes, grabbing the right power-up and surviving the melee ramps up the adrenaline. Brutal and snappy, it turns every duel into a hilarious score-settling you restart at once for the rematch."
"A nighttime city race where you customize flashy machines to challenge the streets of a city given over to speed, several in split-screen. The competition blends aggressive driving, clever shortcuts and showing off, where finding the right line through traffic sorts out the drivers. Stylish and snappy, it turns every crossing into a prestige duel where you rib each other over the slightest error and the rematch beckons at once."
