25 Most Successful Two-Player Nintendo Games, Ranked

Whether cooperative or competitive, some of the best Nintendo games were made for two.

Most Successful Two-Player Nintendo Games, Ranked

Video games. For those who love them, they aren’t just a fun way to pass the time, they’re a way of life and represent a common culture — especially for those of us who grew up on the classic Nintendo (NES) and Super Nintendo (SNES) systems. What was so great about those platforms was that they had several titles that allowed you and a friend to not only play together but to play at the same time. In other words, for every game like “Super Mario Bros. 3” that had you and your pal take turns as Mario and Luigi, there were several others where simultaneous play-action — either cooperatively or competitively — was the name of the game.

Let’s take a look back at the 25 top-selling, two-player games for both the NES and SNES. And because Nintendo is notoriously cagey about its sales figures, we’ve ranked them according to not just economic success but also a few other criteria of our own choosing.

25. Tengen’s Tetris (NES)

Year released: 1989

Developer: Atari Games

Publisher: Atari Games

Bottom Line: Tengen’s Tetris

The story behind “Tengen’s Tetris” is legendary, not only because it allowed two gamers to go head to head in arranging those nonstop falling blocks but also because the game, developed and released by Atari, has had a rather complicated legal story.

While Atari had the rights to the arcade version, they went ahead with a home-based version for the NES for which they didn't have full permission. The title was yanked from the shelves, and the 100,000 made are now a rare collector’s item. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s “official” one-player version sold 8 million. Oops.

24. Bubble Bobble (NES)

Year released: 1988

Developer: Taito

Publisher: Taito

Bottom Line: Bubble Bobble

It’s hard to say precisely what kind of creatures Bubby and Bobby are, but whatever they might be, their method of attack was to vomit up large soap bubbles to encapsulate their enemies. Pretty cool, right?

The two-player cooperative “Bubble Bobble” saw the fraternal critters fighting back against hordes of enemy creatures in their quest to rescue their girlfriends from someone called Baron Von Blubba. Buddy, you better believe the bype — er, hype.

23. Super Double Dragon (SNES)

Year released: 1992

Developer: Techns Japan

Publisher: Techns Japan

Bottom Line: Super Double Dragon

Billy and Jimmy Lee still had some unfinished business when the Super Nintendo console came to the home market in the early-’90s, and thus the twins were back to kick some serious backside. “Super Double Dragon” was basically an updated “Double Dragon II: The Revenge” for the NES, but this time seriously souped up.

In addition to their usual punches and flying kicks, now the Lees could use nunchucks and bo staffs to dispatch those baddies, too.

22. Ikari Warriors (NES)

Year released: 1987

Developer: SNK

Publisher: Tradewest

Bottom Line: Ikari Warriors

The tales of pairs of friends dropping a ton of quarters at the arcade trying to “clear” the two-player cooperative game “Ikari Warriors” are legendary. Not only was the game fun, but it was also incredibly hard, requiring quite a lot of pizza money to nuke all of the ill-meaning aliens.

“Ikari” came to the regular NES in 1987 and kept the two-player cooperative mode that had made the arcade version so much fun. And yes, we’re aware that the main characters bear an uncanny resemblance to Rambo! It was the 1980s, after all.

21. Jackal (NES)

Year released: 1988

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Bottom Line: Jackal

What’s more fun than being a supersoldier? How’s about being a supersoldier in charge of a super tank? That was the premise behind “Jackal,” which allowed two players to roll their vehicles of doom through a landscape of destruction — and thus making dispatching bad guys to kingdom come way more fun.

As mentioned, Nintendo is notoriously hush-hush about the sales figures of many of its titles, but if you have a spare $3,000 laying around, you can buy one of the original cartridges here.

20. Baseball (NES)

Year released: 1985

Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Baseball

Sure, the graphics look rather unsophisticated by our Switch-era standards, but this was the mid-’80s kids. As is well known, baseball is not just a staple of American culture, it’s also extremely popular in Japan, where Nintendo’s “Baseball” was developed for the home console market.

And because MLB apparently hadn’t yet caught on to the lucrative business of officially licensing their team names and players to video games, NES “Baseball” players control some rather generic teams and 8-bit sluggers.

19. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES)

Year released: 1990

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Ultra Games

Bottom Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game

Remember roller rinks? Many of them used to have a small video game arcade, where up to four people at a time could control Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michaelangelo as they sought to rescue April O’Neil from that metal-festooned goon called the Shredder.

Ultra Games imported the four-player arcade game to the NES in 1990, but this time, only two players could get their turtle power on at the same time. The graphics may not have been as snazzy as in the arcade, but there were far worse ways to spend hours of time at home.

18. Super Mario Kart (SNES)

Year released: 1992

Developer: Nintendo E&D

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Super Mario Kart

Mario and Luigi have battled Bowser and his minions for decades in various incarnations, so in 1992, the good folks at Nintendo decided, hey, maybe they should race one another, too.

Thus was born “Super Mario Kart” in which dueling players could drive the plumber brothers, Peach, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and even meanie old Bowser around a cartoony racetrack, replete with turtle shells, bombs and various other fun callbacks to all things Mario games.

17. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)

Year released: 1991

Developer: Tecmo

Publisher: Tecmo

Bottom Line: Tecmo Super Bowl

Remember earlier when we spoke about Nintendo’s generic baseball game called, uh, “Baseball”? Perhaps seeing the folly of their earlier ways, Nintendo officially licensed the likenesses of several NFL greats for “Tecmo Bowl,” which allowed you and a “friend” to try to beat the opposing squad into submission.

NFL players who showed up in “Tecmo Bowl” included Randall Cunningham, Bernie Kosar and Jim Kelly. If the game is revived in 2022, surely Tom Brady, the GOAT, will be included!

16. Soccer (NES)

Year released: 1985

Developer: Intelligent Systems

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Soccer

Once again, no points for the originality of this, uh, soccer game from 1985, which came out at the dawn of Nintendo’s entry into the home console market (spoiler alert, they did just fine). Two players get to kick the dotted ball around the pitch, and you were able to choose which nation you wanted to represent. Such possibilities included the United States, Japan, Spain, France and, from a time warp, West Germany.

There were several other soccer games on the market at the time, but Nintendo’s “Soccer” was touted by gamer mags as among the best.

15. Mario Bros. (NES)

Year released: 1986

Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Mario Bros.

Fun fact: Mario was originally called “Jump Man” in his original Japanese iteration before given that epic mustache and Italian plumber backstory when he came stateside. In this original player-versus-player game, Mario and Luigi worked “together” against throngs of koopas, lobsters and other nasties.

The thing is, you could also steal your co-player’s power-ups and knock them down — which may not have sent the right message to siblings playing this game at home back then.

14. Tennis (NES)

Year released: 1985

Developer: Nintendo EAD

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Tennis

Who knew that the laws of physics could be bent so much that a tennis ball struck by the racket of a digital player would cross the net so lugubriously to the player at the other end of the court? Hey, it was early in the 8-bit market, and Nintendo’s home gaming skills were still in their infancy.

But home-based players could pretend they were Bobby Riggs or John McEnroe — never mind both of their respective baggage — as they battled one another for dominance of the digital court.

13. Battletoads (NES)

Year released: 1991

Developer: Rare

Publisher: Tradewest

Bottom Line: Battletoads

“Battletoads” was kind of like an attempt to capture the magic of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because, ya know, try the same formula out but with different animals. Ergo, our amphibious heroes Rash and Zitz — thanks to you and a friend — together pummeled their way through dangers aplenty on their mission to save their pals Pimple and Princess Angelica.

“Battletoads” wasn’t as big of a hit as the turtle crew, and thus there haven’t been as many sequels. Oh, and the game was crazy difficult, even with two of you playing side by side.

12. Volleyball (NES)

Year released: 1987

Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Volleyball

Based on an arcade game of the same name, “Volleyball” served up some sports-related fun when it came home to the NES in 1987. While the graphics and sound effects were a bit crude, Nintendo was out to prove that not only could it fashion games with whimsical plumbers and magical wizards, but that it also knew what it was doing to capture the attention of gamers who were into intramurals.

You could play teams from America, the Soviet Union, Japan and even Tunisia.

11. Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers (NES)

Year released: 1990

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Bottom Line: Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers

Who here remembers the Disney Afternoon? That was a two-hour block of cartoons that included such classics as “DuckTales,” “Darkwing Duck” and, of course, “Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers,” which saw the rodent pair solving cases rather than getting up to their usual mischief.

When the time came to bring their fun to the classic NES, two players were able to simultaneously roll as the fearless gumshoes, who were often helped out during the game by pals Monterey Jack and Gadget as Chip and Dale tangled with Fat Cat.

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)

Year released: 1992

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Bottom Line: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Nintendo had a field day with “TMNT: The Arcade Game” for the home console market, so naturally, when the SNES was up and running, it was time for our favorite Renaissance-themed reptiles to kick some 16-bit butt. The turtles’ nemesis Shredder was back (yet again), and this time he used a time portal thingamajig to run around in the distant past and future causing havoc.

No problem, as Turtle Power knows no limits in any age, so you and a partner could collectively chase after the Shred-Head. There was also a battle mode in which you could play against one another as well.

9. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES)

Year released: 1992

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Bottom Line: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior

Often imitated yet never equalled (despite many attempts over the years), “Street Fighter II” remains the original “versus” arcade game, and the title went absolutely gangbusters on the home console market. Nintendo imported Blanka, M. Bison, Sagat, Guile and the rest of the gang for the SNES console, where two players could duel to the death time and time again.

Oh, and the less said about the movie adaptation starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, the better.

8. Ice Hockey (NES)

Year released: 1988

Developer: Nintendo R&D 4, Nintendo R&D 2

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Ice Hockey

Let’s get this said upfront: Hockey can be a rather violent game, with high-sticking often leading to slashed-open foreheads and dislodged teeth — and that’s before the refs allowtwo players to duke it out on the ice to settle things like “sportsmen.”

Things were much calmer with Nintendo’s “Ice Hockey,” in which two players could compete to get the puck into the opponent’s net. “Ice Hockey” kept things pretty PG-rated, unlike the previous year’s “Blades of Steel,” wherein you were actually encouraged to fight.

7. Pro Wrestling (NES)

Year released: 1987

Developer: Nintendo R&D3

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Pro Wrestling

Before Nintendo licensed performers from the WWF/WWE, they basically had to make up some wrestlers of their own. Thus came “Pro Wrestling,” which took the over-the-top nature of the “sport” to the next level thanks to Starman and his gravity-defying cartwheel kick, or the Amazon’s chewing on an opponent’s face whenever he felt like it.

“Pro Wrestling” was a real button-masher, which had you frantically hitting the A and B buttons trying to get your character to do his patented move and thus win bragging rights over your sibling using controller 2.

6. Mortal Kombat II (SNES)

Year released: 1994

Developer: Midway

Publisher: Midway

Bottom Line: Game: Mortal Kombat II

For those gamers who felt that “Street Fighter II” just wasn’t bloody enough, there was “Mortal Kombat,” which turned the violence factor up to 11. Midway, the company behind the megahit fighting competition, also had some great marketing plans, screaming that “Mortal Kombat” and “Mortal Kombat II” would hit the home market on “Mortal Monday” and “Mortal Friday,” respectively.

Thus it was off the races for part II — but sadly, the violence was turned way down on the Nintendo console for some reason. Boo!

5. NBA Jam (SNES)

Year released: 1994

Developer: Midway, Iguana Entertainment

Publisher: Midway, Acclaim Entertainment

Bottom Line: NBA Jam

Recall earlier that we discussed how Nintendo might have been a bit slow with licensing the likenesses of professional athletes? By 1994, they’d clearly gotten the message, as Reggie Lewis, Scottie Pippen, Mark Price, James Worthy and Patrick Ewing were among the famous NBA faces who came out to “Jam” in the arcade and on the home version for SNES.

Much as in the arcade, the at-home players matched up in the hoops of successfully “dunking” on their opponent. It was so successful that it sold more than 4 million cartridges within the first year, making it the second best-selling video game of 1994 (after “Donkey Kong Country,” up next).

4. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Year released: 1994

Developer: Rare

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Donkey Kong Country

What an evolution Donkey Kong has had over the years. When we first saw him, Mario had to rescue his ladyfriend from the dyspeptic gorilla, but as the years passed, Donkey Kong became a hero of sorts all his own.

In “Donkey Kong Country” for the SNES, the great ape was joined by his nephew Diddy Kong — player 2’s avatar — as the monkey-brained duo sought to recover their precious banana crop from baddies known as the Kremlings.

3. Dr. Mario (NES)

Year released: 1990

Developer: Nintendo R&D1

Publisher: Nintendo

Bottom Line: Dr. Mario

It’s a little-known fact that Mario studied at, and graduated from, the Mushroom Institute of Medical Technology, and thus he earned that “doctor” in his title, thank you very much. And in 1990, the good doctor was out to rid a beaker full of nasty little germs, and it was up to you, the player, to line up the “pills” with the correct virus color to shoo them away.

In player-versus-player action, the more fierce combinations you made, the more extra blocks you could drop in your opponent’s bowl. Never question the good doctor! In fact, it was such a success that more than 10 million game cartridges were sold across all platforms.

2. Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES)

Year released: 1988

Developer: Techns Japan

Publisher: Techns Japan

Bottom Line: Double Dragon II: The Revenge

There were two-player Nintendo games, and then there was “Double Dragon II,” which saw twins Billy and Jimmy Lee putting their differences aside to team up and fight the Black Shadow Warriors, who killed the woman they both loved, Marian.

“DDII” introduced several totally cool new moves for the brothers, including the cyclone spin kick, the hyper knee kick and the super uppercut. Plus, our wonder twins could also toss hand grenades and dynamite at their enemies. All in a day’s work for these brothers.

1. Contra/Super Contra (NES)

Year released: 1987, 1988

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

Bottom Line: Contra/Super Contra

We’re cheating a bit and combining these two games because why not?! “Contra” and “Super C” may be the most amazing cooperative playing games ever made, and even though these two titles came out just a year apart, they were different enough to make them both very unique and endlessly replayable. You and a friend controlled warriors Bill and Lance as they stomped out all manner of infestations by slimy aliens. You had to cooperate and “share” the superweapons, such as the spreader gun, so you were learning valuable life lessons along the way (or whatever you needed to tell yourself).

And if you want to prove your cool cred at the next comic book convention, shout out the Konami code at the top of your lungs.