People don’t really remember the PS1 for its local co-op games, but it did have a few great split-screen and couch co-op games.
A lot of things are known about the first PlayStation. As a new first-party system, it shook up the game business in a big way. Nintendo broke its agreement with Sony about making a system together, which seems to have caused Nintendo to have trouble over the next few years. Final Fantasy was one of the series that Sony got that used to only be on Nintendo.
Even though the PS1 had a rough start, the library of games kept growing. But co-op games are not something that the system is known for. There were a lot of games where players competed against each other, but it was hard to find games where players worked together. Some of these names were well-known back then, but they aren’t as well-known now. Still, co-op fans might want to check them out.
Micro Machines V3
Micro Machines V3 is a racing game made by Codemasters, a name that most people who have played racing games before will know. In the game, small toy cars race around kitchens, gardens, and workspaces that look like places in a house. The game can be played by up to four people at once and can be played on two screens at once, which makes it a popular choice for local co-op play.
Micro Machines V3 has a lot of different game types, like “Head-to-Head” and “Party Play,” where players can race and use power-ups to fight against each other. The game is known for its fast-paced gameplay, difficult courses, and creative level design. It’s a shame that many people don’t remember this title anymore.
Vigilante 8
Vigilante 8 is a 1998 game for the PlayStation 1 that lets you fight in cars. The game takes place in an alternate 1970s, when the Coyotes are trying to destroy all oil companies so that their recruiter, OMAR, can become the biggest company in the country. The Vigilantes are made to fight this evil and save the world from it.
There are many different characters in the game, each with their own cars and weapons. The game can be played by up to four people at once, and it has split-screen play so that people can fight against each other in different game modes. Like Twisted Metal, the game has a different ending for each character, which makes it more than worth the price of entry.
Bishi Bashi Special
Bishi Bashi Special is a collection of weird and unique minigames that show how strange the PlayStation could get at times. There are more than 80 minigames in the game, and each one has its own rules and obstacles. The game can be played by more than one person and is great for parties.
There are many different kinds of minigames, from rhythm games to puzzle games, and each one has its own bright art style.People like Bishi Bashi Special because it is fun to play, has fun minigames, and has strange humor. Fans who want to try out some of the strange games for the PlayStation 1 with their friends should check out this one.
Rampage World Tour
If you like the Godzilla series, you should also like the Rampage series. Even though this collection did well in the 1990s and early 2000s, it lost a bit of steam as we moved into the 21st century. Midway was in charge of putting out the first games, but Warner Bros. took over in 2009. The cult original got a bit of a second wind when Dwayne Johnson starred in a live-action remake of it in 2018.
Since Rampage: Total Destruction came out in 2006, there hasn’t been a new home release. However, there was an arcade release in 2018 that went along with the movie. People who want to play a side-scrolling action game with Kaiju monsters that destroy cities can do so with a friend on the PS1.
Warriors of Fate
During the 1990s and early 2000s, arcades and home systems had a lot of beat ’em up games. Side-scrolling beat ’em ups like Double Dragon, River City Ransom, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time are some of the most well-known and fun games ever made. It could be said that the genre isn’t as popular as it was when video games were first being made, but there have still been some great additions over the years.
Warriors of Fate did very well in arcades in both Japan and North America. Many people said it was one of the best Beat’em Ups ever made for arcades. It came out in 1996 for the PS1 and has two-player action that is strongly based on Japanese culture and imagery (thanks to the influence of Dynasty Warriors).
Re-Volt
On the PS1, there were a lot of racing games. Iconic series like Gran Turismo and Need for Speed helped build their long-running series on the PS1. Due to the large number of fast-paced games on the system, however, some really great and unique racing games fell into obscurity.
One of them, Re-Volt, was a creative and fun RC-style racing game in which players chose from a range of toy cars and raced through levels based on real-world places like museums and suburban streets. It was fun to play with friends and even had power-ups like in Mario Kart.
Chocobo’s Dungeon 2
Roguelikes are now one of the most popular types of games. Even though some of the biggest brands touched on the genre in the 1990s and 2000s, it was still a little-known idea. Chocobo’s Dungeon 2 is one example of a game that moved away from the Final Fantasy series.
North America never got the first one, but both versions mostly play the same. This Chocobo-themed dungeon version has an extra thing to enjoy: co-op play. Many roguelikes are more fun when you can play with other people.
Diablo
Diablo 3 was popular on PC, but it wasn’t a worldwide hit until it came out on platforms. That wasn’t the first time the series came to platforms, but most people don’t remember the PS1 port of the first game because it wasn’t as good at multiplayer as the PC version.
Players could only work together in pairs, and some parts of the game were also missing. Still, it was amazing to see a PC port of a big game like Diablo, even if it was missing some content. Back in the day, it would have been nice if Diablo 2 had been ported to the PS2, but at least the remaster came out on platforms.
Fighting Force
Fighting Force was a short-lived series on the PS1. There were only two games, and the second one went for the fences in a big way. The first game was a modern 3D brawler with a two-player co-op mode. The successor had only one player and was more of a third-person shooter with close-quarters fighting.
Is it important to remember either game in 2022? Most likely not, but the first one was a big hit when it came out. It can still be fun if you have a good co-op partner and turn off your brain for some mindless activity.
Future Cop: LAPD
In movies, cartoons, and video games, mechs are some of the coolest things to see. Future Cop: LAPD imagines a future where the police have mechs and strong guns to punish people who break the law.
At its core, it is a top-down shooter that is easy to understand. Find the bad guys, ruin their stuff, and move on. It also lets two people play together, which makes the fun last longer. The mechs look a lot like Star Wars’ AT-ST units, which is definitely not a coincidence.
Gauntlet Legends
Gauntlet Legends was a new take on what the original arcade game did. It wasn’t exactly a looter RPG like Diablo, but it had a similar camera view and action gameplay. Gauntlet Legends, on the other hand, could handle up to four players, which was different from Diablo on the PS1. This did require an extra accessory that looked like a boomerang.
The multitap may have looked strange and cost more than it should have, but it was a gift for people who like to play more than one game at a time. It was a great deal for this game.
Legend Of Mana
Most of the games in the Mana series have had some way to play with other people. The SNES game Secret of Mana, for example, let up to three people play together. Even though Legend of Mana could only be played by two people, that was still better than having a single-player game. Spacebar Clicker game is getting a lot of attention again because it was remastered in 2021.
Even though it was remastered, it didn’t get a lot of attention, which is why it deserves to be on this list of lost gems. The Mana series is often overshadowed by Square Enix’s other big titles, such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace may have split the series, but it still did well at the box office. It was so famous that it was turned into a lot of PS1 games, like Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles. It’s one of the better games from this time that are based on the first prequel.
The game was a co-op battle where players could play as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Plo Koon. Even though it’s not amazing, being a Jedi in a video game always feels like a treat.
Um Jammer Lammy
Um Jammer Lammy is a good way to end because its style is almost completely different from everything else. Most people forget about the followup to PaRappa the Rapper because it was a one-time-only spinoff.
Most of the songs were based on rock and pop music instead of rap. Players could bring a friend into the game for co-op, and they would have to match their rhythms. The thought of co-op was kind of like a sword with two edges. At first, it made things much harder, but with some skill, it could also make the game much more fun.
