Perfect Co-Op Games That Were Forgotten

Games like Gears of War, It Takes Two, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder are celebrated for letting players team up and play together. For many gamers, cooperative play is the most enjoyable way to experience a game. As time goes on, older titles inevitably fade from memory, but these co-op experiences stand out.

Often, great co-op games get overlooked – sometimes because of technical limitations, and other times simply because they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. It’s important to remember that no game is truly flawless. The following games offered genuinely fun experiences for two or more players and deserve another look, regardless of whether they’re perfect or not.

Champions Of Norrath: Realms Of EverQuest

A Dark Alliance Rival

Co-Op Options: Four Local/Online

Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest is a beloved PlayStation 2 game that’s been popular since 2004. It’s an action role-playing game played from a top-down perspective, similar to the Diablo series, where you create a character and choose a class before setting out on an adventure.

This game features a lot of loot and fairly simple quests, making it more enjoyable with a friend. Having someone to help fight enemies is useful, and you can also easily trade equipment with each other, whether you’re playing with one friend or a whole group.

Darksiders Genesis

The Horsemen Ride On

Co-Op Options: Two Local/Online

Darksiders Genesis is a different take on the Darksiders series, viewed from above. It features two playable characters, War and Strife, both powerful Horsemen of the Apocalypse. War excels in close combat, while Strife is a ranged fighter with guns. Players can choose to play as either character on their own, but combining their skills offers more strategic options.

When playing with a friend, the best strategy was for one person to focus on close-combat attacks and absorb damage, while the other stayed at a distance, providing support and avoiding direct hits.

Dragon Quest Heroes 2

An Homage To An RPG Juggernaut

Co-Op Options: Two-Four Online

Dragon Quest Heroes 2 was a significant step up from the first game. It featured more developed characters and smoother gameplay that felt truer to the classic Dragon Quest experience, but with a faster pace and more action. Players can choose to play as both new and returning heroes from throughout the Dragon Quest series—like Torneko from Dragon Quest 4—to keep the gameplay fresh while exploring the expansive environments.

The game lets two players team up to complete the story missions together, which can speed things up since there are a lot of levels with different objectives – something fans of the Musou series will be familiar with. It’s not that the missions are hard, but having a partner can often cut the completion time in half. There’s also a separate four-player online mode with its own set of missions.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes Of Time

An Echo No One Can Hear

Co-Op Options: Four Online (Crossplay Between DS And Wii)

Many fans fondly remember Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles as a beloved game originally released on the GameCube, and it’s still accessible thanks to a 2020 remaster. However, its sequel, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, hasn’t been updated since its release on the DS and Wii in 2009.

In this game, you’ll create a character and team up with other players for cooperative missions. Together, you’ll search for crystal shards to save the world. While you can play solo, dungeons are much easier with friends, as the AI companions aren’t very helpful. Though combat is manageable on your own, playing with others lets you solve puzzles quickly and discover secret shortcuts only accessible with a team.

Full Metal Furies

Born To Be Wild

Co-Op Options: Four Local/Online

Full Metal Furies is a fresh take on the classic beat ‘em up genre. Players control four unique female characters, each with their own class that improves through leveling up and unlocking new weapons and abilities as they battle enemies. The game is designed for cooperative play, offering a significant advantage when all four characters fight together – even more so than in traditional brawler games.

Triss protects the team with a shield, Alex provides powerful close-range attacks with a hammer, Erin uses a pistol and deploys gadgets, and Meg excels at long-distance sniping. Even pairing a close-combat character with a ranged one helps in co-op, but playing with all four characters really takes the game to the next level.

Goof Troop

We Always Stick Together

Co-Op Options: Two Local

Goof Troop is a puzzle game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) developed by Capcom and based on the popular cartoon. Players choose to play as either Goofy or his son, Max, who find themselves stranded on a pirate island. The gameplay revolves around solving puzzles using gadgets, while also dealing with enemies and uncovering the island’s secrets.

Fighting enemies on your own is usually manageable, but puzzles can be tricky. Having a friend play with you can really help, because two people working together can solve puzzles more quickly and efficiently.

Killzone: Liberation

Cover-Based Tactics

Co-Op Options: Two Local (Ad Hoc)

Unlike the original Killzone games which are first-person shooters, Killzone: Liberation offers a top-down perspective with cover-based gameplay. Originally created for the PSP, it’s now available to play on the PS5.

In the original PSP version, players could team up with a friend by connecting two consoles for cooperative missions. The game’s enemies were challenging, so using cover was crucial, and having a teammate meant you could defeat enemies faster and more accurately without constantly worrying about losing. Sadly, this team-up feature isn’t available in the PS5 version.

The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North

The Other Fellowship

Co-Op Options: Two Local/Three Online

While you can play The Lord of the Rings: War in the North solo, it’s much better with friends. The AI for your companions isn’t very dependable, making single-player a bit unbalanced. The game itself is set in the world of The Lord of the Rings and tells the story of a different group of heroes fighting alongside Aragorn, Frodo, and the rest of the fellowship.

You can choose to play as one of three characters: Eradan, a sneaky ranged fighter; Farin, a natural warrior; or Andriel, a powerful mage. Some parts of the game are very difficult to beat on your own, and you might experience frustrating losses. Having even one teammate can make a big difference, particularly later on in the spooky haunted forest. The strongest team setup includes Andriel, plus either Farin or Eradan as a second player – though a third teammate is even better if you can find one.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One

And One For All

Co-Op Options: Four Local/Online

In Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, you can choose to play as Ratchet, Clank, Captain Qwark, or even Doctor Nefarious! The game features the classic Ratchet & Clank gameplay, but with a unique overhead perspective, and focuses on an unlikely team-up between heroes and villains. It’s a fairly accessible action platformer, so players who enjoy the series and prefer to play solo should be able to complete it without too much trouble.

However, this game often throws a lot of enemies at you, making it quite challenging to play solo. Boss fights are especially tough on your own. Plus, it’s more enjoyable to play with a full group of four characters to experience all their unique conversations and interactions.

Resident Evil Outbreak

Ahead Of Its Time

Co-Op Options: Four Online

Resident Evil Outbreak was a PlayStation 2 game set between Resident Evil 2 and 3. It followed a group of people trying to survive in Raccoon City, and each character had special skills or items that made them different. For example, Kevin, a character who started with a gun, seemed like a good choice, but players quickly realized how much they needed help from others.

Take David, a skilled handyman who can build and repair weapons, and Alyssa, a reporter who’s good at picking locks, as just two examples of characters. In a really challenging zombie survival game where resources are scarce, surviving on your own is incredibly difficult. Resident Evil Outbreak and its sequel had the potential to be even more popular if they’d been released on a more powerful system with online play, something the PlayStation 2 couldn’t fully deliver at the time.

2026-01-17 02:38