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 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."
"A race of miniature radio-controlled cars that turns kitchens and living rooms into circuits strewn with traps and offensive power-ups. The competition blends precise driving with timely dirty tricks, each pickup able to revive the last-placed or topple the leader. Cheerful and accessible, it suits four-player games where you laugh as much at the spins as at well-aimed paybacks."
"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."
"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."
"An arcade racer where brushing danger fills your boost and spectacular pileups are part of the show, fought over in split-screen. The competition bets on risk: who'll dare hold the opponent's lane at full speed to scrape a few seconds? Direct and heady, it turns every crash into a laugh and every tight finish into trash talk, perfect for quick challenges among friends."
"A pillar of console shooting, whose campaign plays out four-player in co-op and whose competitive arenas defined the genre for a whole generation. The competition rests on power-weapon control, mastered jumps and team communication, readable and deep at once. Local split-screen backs up an online with uncertain servers, making evenings a joyful blend of mutual aid and rivalry."
"Football played from behind the wheel of bouncing rocket cars, where every goal owes as much to skill as to team coordination. Locally for up to four, the competition turns instantly tasty: feints, aerial clears and pinpoint passes blur together in a frenzied ballet. The bulk of the game lives online, to enjoy while the infrastructure holds, but the concept itself lends itself wonderfully to couch duels."
"A two-in-one set pairing a sharp racing simulation with a style-packed urban skating romp, to vary the fun in multiplayer. On the circuit, the competition rewards precision and consistency in split-screen; on the streets, it's a sense of tagging and grinding that rules. This double offer unites tastes and guarantees varied challenges, from millimeter time duels to a fun, colorful ride."
