Multiplayer Madness!

[Para]

I wanted to make a "master list" of the best multiplayer games per system. This isn't going to be the most professional style list but I just wanted something to reference when deciding what to play with three or more people. Every weekend I have a few buddies over for some gaming and we are running out of ideas on what to play.

I was just wondering what recommendations people have for good 3-4+ player games. Finding a good two player game isn't that hard so I am not interested in that at the moment. (Besides, I have hundreds of good two player games)

Nothing against competitive games since most 3+ players aren't co-operative but I am also very interested in co-op games since I like to play in teams and with others and there seems to be a lot less of them.

I know that there are a lot of seperate threads on what the best games multiplayer games are per system but I figured having them all in one place would be a bonus. I'll update this first post with suggestions that people have.

Keep in mind I only want good/fun games. There are a lot more multiplayer games than listed but a lot of them aren't worth playing, ie: Chef's Luv Shack.

Here is a very rough list so far:
* = controller sharing/swapping

Atari 2600
Warlords

Turbo Grafx 16
Dungeon Explorer

I don't know a lot about the Turbo Grafx but I downloaded this game on the Wii and it is really good. I wish I played this game growing up but I didn't know anyone with a Turbo Grafx and to be honest I never even heard of the system until I was a teenager. I guess it wasn't that popular in Canada.

NES
Swords and Serpents
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat
RC Pro AM II
Gauntlet 2
A Nightmare on Elmstreet
Super Spike V'Ball
Super Off Road
Caveman Games*
Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular*
Crash N' The Boys: Street Challenge*
Nekketsu Street Basket: Ganbare Dunk Heroes (Japan)
Kakutou Densetsu (Japan)

Stinger - Refer to this guide by mugenmidget on how to play Stinger with three players.
Super Dodgeball - Guide by Richard Hoelscher on how to get four players.


SNES
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Secret of Mana
Lord of the Rings(?)
NBA Jam/NBA Jam TE
Super Soccer (Japan)
WWF RAW
Micromachines
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge
Tetris 3 (Japan)

There are a lot of sports games with 1-4 players on the Super Nintendo. Not sure which ones are still worth playing besides NBA Jam. The only hockey games were pretty good but sadly I would rather play Hitz or NHL 11.
Apparently you can play with 1-4 players in Lord of the Rings when you get more party members as you progress with the storyline. I haven't made it that far into this game so I don't know if it is worth playing or even mentioning.


Genesis/Mega Drive
General Chaos
Tiny Toons ACME All-Stars
Yu Yu Hakusho Makyo Toitsusen
Dungeon Explorer (Sega CD)
Gauntlet IV

N64
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Micromachines 64
Mario Kart 64
Super Smash Bros
Mario Party
Duke Nukem 3D
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Battletanx
Starfox 64
Gaunlet Dark Legacy
Dr. Mario 64
NFL Blitz 2000
Bomberman 64
Diddy Kong Racing
Mario Golf
F-Zero X
Starwars Episode One: Pod Racer
WCW/NWO Revenge
WWF Wrestlemania 2000
WWF No Mercy
Pokemon Stadium
Road Rash 64
Turok 2
The New Tetris
Winback
Rampage 64
Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey
Snowboard Kids 2
Mario Party 3
Tamagotchi 64

PlayStation
Assault Rigs

Saturn
Saturn Bomberman


Dreamcast
Powerstone 2
Virtua Tennis
Virtual Tennis 2
Toy Commander
Ooga Booga
San Francisco Rush 2049
Beats or Rage
Armada
Bomberman Online
NFL Blitz 2000

I got most of these games from the "Best Dreamcast Multiplayer Games" article, so thank you Racketboy for posting that.


Gamecube
Super Smash Bros Melee
Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicals
Worms 3D*
Mario Kart Double Dash
Mario Party 7
NHL Hitz 2003
Donkey Konga
Donkey Konga 2
Pacman VS

Thanks to CRTGAMER, fastbill1 and Racketboy for the Pacman VS suggestion and information. I am really looking forward to getting my hands on this game. It looks promising to be a huge hit at parties.


PlayStation3
Fat Princess
Little Big Planet

I don't have that many games for PS3 or know a lot about its library since I have little to no interest in the system but there has to be more good games than this.


Xbox
Halo
Halo 2
Hunter: The Reckoning
Gaunlet: Seven Sorrows


Xbox 360
Halo 3


Wii
Wii Sports
Wii Sports Resort
New Mario Bros Wii
Super Smash Bros Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
Dokapon Kingdom
BlastWorks
Boom Blox
Tetris Party
DRiiFT Mania
Jungle Speed
Defend Your Castle
Bomberman Blast

Thanks to ejamer and GamerMON for a lot of Wii suggestions.


Multi Format Games
(These games are alivable on many consoles but I also want to know which version are the best ones, and for what reasons. Some of them have no differences.)

Bomberman - Thanks to d123456 for bringing Saturn Bomberman to my attention. This seems to be the best version of Bomberman. Personally I think Bomberman 64 and Super Bomberman 2 are great alternatives if you don't have a Saturn and ten controllers.

Alien Hominid - As far as I know there is no difference between the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube versions of this game with the exception of the European versions.

Mario Party - There are exactly four hundred Mario Party games to date and I really don't know which version could be considered the best version, if that is even possible. It could all be preference. I stopped playing them after Mario Party 3 and I can't remember if there were any actual improvements made to the games other than adding new mini games and new boards. Like many people I ripped a huge layer of skin of my hand playing Mario Party when I was younger. It was worth it because I won and time heals all wounds, except the emotional wounds inflicted on my friends and brothers for losing.
Thanks to irixith for his valuble insight on the Mario Party franchise. Apparently Mario Party 3 (N64) and Mario Party 7 (NGC) are the best versions.

Worms Armageddon - Available for Dreamcast, Playstation, N64, XBLA, so I have no idea which version is the best one.

Castle Crashers - It seems like the PS3 version is superior to the XBLA version because of the new added volleyball feature but I haven't tried it for myself or heard a lot about it so it is hard to call this one. This has been confirmed by irixith.

Rock Band/Guitar Hero - Even though Rock Band is better than Guitar Hero in every way, I know people will disagree with me for some reason and it is worth mentioning since it started the whole ordeal. Available on a lot of consoles in many forms.

Starwars Battlefront 2 - Thanks to YoshiEgg25 for reminding me about this awesome game and suggesting the Donkey Konga games. Starwars Battlefront 2 is for PS2 and Xbox.

Micro Machines - Like Bomberman, there are a lot of Micro Machines games on many consoles and I need help deciding which could be considered the best version. Personally I have had a lot of fun with Micro Machines 64 so I would automatically put that one up but there could be better versions.

Gauntlet Legends/Dark Legacy - Both games are available on many consoles and differences between games of the same version are unknown to me. Gauntlet Dark Legacy is considered an expansion on Gauntlet Legends. Adding many new characters, attacks, levels and features to the original game, I would suggest skipped Legends and going straight into Dark Legacy anyways. Dark Legacy is available on PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Xbox and Gameboy Advance. If you can't get a hold of Dark Legacy, Gauntlet Legends is definitely worth playing and it is on the Dreamcast, N64 and Playstation.

WarioWare Games
Again I am not sure which one is the best version for a party game. I have heard good things about the Gamecube version but I still haven't heard a lot of opinions.

It is hard to come up with a list for current generation consoles because most of their multiplayer is based on online multiplayer as opposed to local play. Keep in mind it is 4:30 in the morning so I expect a lot of obvious choices to slip my mind.
I don't have a multitap for PS2 or Playstation so I left those out for now. If there are any really good 3-4 player games worth picking up a multitap for I will add them though.

Let me know your favorite 3+ player games so I can add them to the list. Feel free to share personal experiences and why you like these games to help other people understand what makes them good. I have many fond memories gaming with my friends and a lot of those have a huge impact on why I prefer multiplayer gaming.

Thanks to mugenmidget for making my job harder by suggesting a lot of games.

Last Edited: Sept 24th to add a lot of games, info, give credit and fix spelling errors.

[Para]

Reserved if needed.

[d123456]

Great innitiative!
I´d also add Virtua Tennis 2 to the Dreamcast list or just put (2) behind it.
Best version of Bomberman, hahaha, that´s an easy one!
Saturn Bomberman. Why 10-player Bomberman
I once helt a 10 player Bomberman party. It was multiplayer heaven!
It is probably the best gaming experience in my life.
(That or playing SFII with my brother on the Super Famicom)
(That or playing Ridge Racer in the arcade for the first time)
We should have filmed it and youtube´d it.
This brings back memories

But we did at home on the couch relaxing with beer and chips.

inspired by this:

[CRTGAMER]

Gamecube Pacman VS

Racketboy Pacman VS Party with two monitors

[equalsign]

This really depends on your definition of fun, but I might include Gauntlet Legends on the Dreamcast. Chu Chu Rocket also needs to be on the Dreamcast list. On the Cube I'd add Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but that one is multiplatform and I don't know which is the best version. On a side note, **** Four Swords Adventures. The Wii category should definitely include Wii Sports Resort. I would add Dokapon KIngdom as well, as my friends and I have all had a ton of fun with that one. Maybe Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing too.

What's with no portables? The original Advance Wars and Daigasso! Band Bros are two of the best multiplayer games around, I think. Both of those have single cart multiplayer, too (although you still need separate systems with Band Brothers).

Edit: How could I forget the Gamecube WarioWare game?! Loads of fun. You can use and mix GC controllers and GBAs, so it's really easy to get four people playing. The Wii one should definately be on the list too.

[YoshiEgg25]

GameCube: Donkey Konga, Donkey Konga 2 (excellent party games)
Wii: Mario Kart Wii (seriously, I see that played more than any other Wii game)
Cross-platform: Star Wars Battlefront II [PS2/Xbox] (I prefer the first, but the second has four player capabilities), 007 Nightfire [GCN/PS2/Xbox/PC] (it almost feels like Goldeneye for Gen 6)

[Lokkenjawnz]

I love this idea, I'm oftentimes in a similar bind of not having enough party games to play when I have people over. I have to ask though; have you actually played Chef's Luv Shack? It's absolutely bizarre and hilarious, and almost all the minigames are old arcade game rip offs, how could that not be fun? Sure it's not the best on a technical level (goddamn load times!) But you should disregard it just because of that. Give it a try with 4 people, I think you'll dig it.

[CRTGAMER]

Mentioned earlier about use of two monitors to lan or link locally.

List of PSX link games.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Link_Cable

A golden oldie with link capability, Assault Rigs

[AwesomeMonstar]

Yo, Bomberman 64 NEEDS a mention. It's weird to say that a Bomberman game of all games was overlooked, but bomberman 64 was so different than the normal bomberman mold that it was.

Really, this game is a total blast on multiplayer. Skulls and Cats FTW

[irixith]

Mario Party - There are exactly four hundred Mario Party games to date and I really don't know which version could be considered the best version, if that is even possible. It could all be preference. I stopped playing them after Mario Party 3 and I can't remember if there were any actual improvements made to the games other than adding new mini games and new boards. Like many people I ripped a huge layer of skin of my hand playing Mario Party when I was younger. It was worth it because I won and time heals all wounds, except the emotional wounds inflicted on my friends and brothers for losing.

Castle Crashers - It seems like the PS3 version is superior to the XBLA version because of the new added volleyball feature but I haven't tried it for myself or heard a lot about it so it is hard to call this one.

Regarding Mario Party -- 3 is clearly the best of the N64 ones, even if some people prefer the controller killing mini-games from 1 better. 3 has balanced mini-games and way better boards than the other two. The secret/hidden/locked board (whatever you want to call it), is one of the best boards across the whole franchise. 4 was downright awful, 5 slightly better, 6 & 7 being the toss-up for best GameCube iteration. No, you don't need the microphone for either game, but it can be fairly amusing in multiplayer if you have one.

Mario Party 8 on the Wii is a disaster. I have a funny feeling it marked the death of the series, being reborn as the forthcoming Wii Party. I have high hopes for it, because I really do love the Mario Party franchise as a whole. The DS version is also a lot of fun if you have a bunch of people with DS's.

Regarding Castle Crashers, the PSN version is far superior. Not only the extra mode, but none of the crash bugs, save corruption or multiplayer match making issues from the 360. (Yes there was a patch for the 360, no it did not fix the issues it claimed to.) It's so much better that the 360 users deserve an update IMO, because they're the ones who funded the development of the PSN version.