Tag Archives: Two-Player

Games that two people can play simultaneously.

Cotton 2: Magical Night Dreams, Sega Saturn

The second game in the infamous Cotton series, developed by Success and released into arcades first, then converted to the Sega Saturn in 1997.

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Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru, Sega Saturn

Never officially released in English-speaking territories (but translated by fans as “Psychic Killer Taromaru“) this side-scrolling action game is one of the rarest Sega Saturn titles in existence.

Rare because publisher Time Warner Interactive only produced a very limited number of copies of the game in 1997, before pulling out of the games market altogether. So actual copies of Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru have changed hands for silly money over the decades.

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Bubble Bobble, BBC Micro

This 1989 BBC Micro conversion of Taito‘s classic arcade game, Bubble Bobble, was never commercially released. Which is a shame because it is rather excellent.

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Caliber .50, Arcade

Caliber .50 is an obscure arcade shooter from SETA Corporation, first released in 1989.

It can be played single or simultaneous two-player and is arguably better than the legendary Ikari Warriors. Caliber .50 is like Commando on steroids…

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Klax, Arcade

It says “copyright 1989” on the title screen, but Klax actually made it into arcades in June 1990Klax is a real-time puzzle game – for one or two players – with falling tiles that you must catch, then drop, into a small trough at the bottom of the screen.

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Deathsmiles, Arcade

Deathsmiles is an infamous (and much-loved) 2007 shooter from Cave – a Japanese company known for its relatively innovative and leftfield output. Cave shooters are ‘Bullet Hell’ in overdrive…

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Dark Chambers, Atari 8-bit

Dark Chambers is an overhead maze shooter in the style of Gauntlet. That said: it is actually a direct descendent of Dandy – another overhead maze game written by John Howard Palevich and also an influence on the design of Gauntlet.

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Bruce Lee, Atari 8-bit

Ron J. Fortier‘s and Kelly Day‘s classic Bruce Lee is part platform game, part beat ’em up.

In it you assume the role of Bruce, fighting his way through a number of simple puzzles. The basic aim is to collect the lanterns so that they open up new exits.

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International Karate, Atari 8-bit

International Karate was released in 1986 by System 3 Software.

It was written by Archer MacLean and was one of the first beat ’em ups – ever – to actually feel like a decent game to play and not a ridiculous slug-fest.

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Speed King 2, ZX Spectrum

A budget motorbike racing game, created by Derek Brewster in 1987 for Mastertronic.

Speed King 2 is the sequel to… well, nothing, because there’s isn’t a Speed King 1, as far as I can tell. Was there a prequel to this? If there was, I can’t find it… Maybe Brewster was trying to make a sequel to Full Throttle? Because Speed King 2 does look a bit like it. I dunno.

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