The Nintendo 64 was nicknamed “The Fun Machine”, it had 4 controller ports in the front which was rare at the time, but it was done on purpose to show that its main selling point was its awesome library of Multiplayer games.
Be it in split-screen like in Golden Eye or Mario Kart, or with everyone together taking the whole TV screen like in Mario Party, Smash Bros, WWF No Mercy, and lots of other classics.
4-Player multiplayer on the N64 became the defacto gaming experience for parties and those Friday nights with pizza, soda, and a great multiplayer title with your pals, are the fondest memories we all have of the late ’90s.
The Nintendo GameCube continued the 4 player local multiplayer tradition of its predecessor and gave us new experiences by being able to connect a GameBoy Advanced to the console. This extended the experience by giving each player something to look at that the others couldn’t see.
And if 4 players were not enough for you, how about connecting up to 4 systems together in LAN to have 16 players in total.
Now we’re all used to playing online with friends, but back in the 2000s, we did things a little differently. Here is a look at all the great local multiplayer we had in the 128-Bits era. This is
All 4-Player GameCube Games (Alphabetical Order)
NOTE: This list contains games with any mode that has 4 Player simultaneous local multiplayer action.
1080° Avalanche
Race along with your friends to the bottom of the mountain while grinding along rails on the way and performing air tricks. But when you hear the Avalanche alarm, just focus on surviving and reaching the goal fast.
Army Men: Sarge’s War
This plastic toy soldiers 3rd Person Shooter features split-screen DeathMatch, as well as Capture the Flag, and a mode where the objective is to capture enemy territory, in teams or each player solo.
Beach Spikers: Virtua Beach Volleyball
Originally an Arcade Game developed by Sega, this port of the Beach Volleyball game lets you play in the sand with beautiful female athletes, with two players on each side of the court. Serve, volley, and spike!
Beyblade V-Force: Super Tournament Battle
4 Spinning Tops in an Arena bump into each other until only one is left standing. It has Anime fanfare, power-ups, and fantastic creatures thrown in to make things a little more interesting and amusing for kids.
Bomberman Generation & Bomberman Jetters
The Bomberman 4-Player Battle Mode has been great since the Super Nintendo days. These titles have more of the same addictive gameplay.
Drop down black metal bombs that explode in 4 directions, pick up power-ups to be able to throw them with your hand and kick them to your opponents, and increase their power and amount of explosives you can place on the floor at the same time by picking up items.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds
Based on the popular late 90’s TV series, this is a Beat ’em Up about slaying vampires and other paranormal dark beings.
Buffy and her friends can fight against each other or several undead enemies in multiplayer. It features many characters from the show, Halloween-inspired enemies, and maps to play on.
Cel Damage
A wacky cartoony vehicular combat game with funny cars and characters, where you can blast your enemies with machine guns, rockets, and giant baseball bats. There’s an arena demolition derby mode, as well as racing to pass checkpoints in split-screen multiplayer.
Conflict: Desert Storm & Conflict: Desert Storm II – Back to Baghdad
3rd Person tactical shooters that feature a 4-Player Co-Op campaign. Players take on the role of a soldier class with specialties such as demolitions, sniper rifles, machine guns, and assault rifles, and use their unique skills to accomplish the missions.
Crash Nitro Kart & Crash Tag Team Racing
Race or battle with Crash Bandicoot and friends in these follow-ups of the legendary Crash Team Racing for the original PlayStation.
While these sequels weren’t developed by Naughty Dog, and critics don’t consider them as good as original series entries, they’re solid and entertaining kart racing games to play among friends in split-screen and feature the style of humor of the franchise.
Custom Robo
This series was exclusive for Japan on N64 and GBA, and this was the first release in America. It’s about customizable toy robot battles, and in multiplayer you can have 4 custom robots blast each other with lasers and missiles.
Def Jam Vendetta
A fighting/wrestling game featuring hip-hop artists from Def Jam Records. 4 players can duke it out in the ring in elimination bouts or Tag Team matches. It has basically the same gameplay as WWF No Mercy on N64, being made by the same company, but it has artists such as DMX and Method Mad instead of SuperStars like The Rock and Stone Cold.
Def Jam: Fight for NY
The sequel takes things in a more realistic and hardcore approach. Now it’s based on Mixed Martial Arts and most fights can end with a Knock Out instead of a 3-count fall. And instead of a ring you’re in underground fighting clubs. Still great fun with friends.
Disney Sports: Football, Basketball, and Soccer
These 3 generic sports titles aimed at kids feature characters from the House of Mouse. They’re simple and to the point, with colorful graphics, nice animation, and funny voices from the cartoons. They also release a Disney Sports Skateboarding, but that one only had a 2-Player mode.
Digimon Rumble Arena 2
A fighting game similar in gameplay style to Super Smash Bros. where you can play as the cute virtual pet monsters from the Anime.
Digimon World 4
This is a Hack and Slash game where you and 3 friends can go on an Adventure and slay other digital monsters with swords and axes.
Disney’s Party
Similar to the Mario Party series (it was developed by the same company, Hudson) but with Mickey and friends in minigames. Maybe not be as fun as the titles with Nintendo characters, but good fun for the younger audience.
Donkey Konga 1 & 2
These are rhythm games where you play using special controllers in the shape of bongos drums and clapping in sync with the tracks appearing on the screen. It contains covers of popular songs and also classic music from Nintendo Games like Mario, Pokemon, and The Legend of Zelda.
Drome Racers
A Lego racing game featuring futuristic toy cars with huge wheels in Rally-like tracks. This is the 3rd game in the Lego Racing game series and it features 4-Player races, as well as a battle mode for only 2 players simultaneously.
ESPN MLS ExtraTime 2002
Developed by Konami, of International SuperStar Soccer fame, this game of Major League Soccer has the same gameplay as ISS Pro Evolution, and it’s an excellent alternative to the FIFA titles by EA.
F-Zero GX
This is one of the greatest futuristic Arcade racers available, with huge sci-fi tracks where you can achieve speeds of over 2000 km/h.
There’s also a little combat aspect in the gameplay since you can bump into your opponent’s sides to throw them off the ledge and spin around at crazy speeds to damage their shields or make them miss a ramp jump.
In options, disable the bot that saves you from falling to your doom for a more hardcore experience.
F1 2002
The official game of Formula One, it has the excitement of the highest class of international racing. Great graphics, audio, and tight control make this a fun game of the racing genre, both in single-player mode or in multiplayer races.
FIFA Soccer 2002-2007
The official soccer simulation game of the International Football Association doesn’t change much gameplay-wise from one year to the next, but each entry has updated teams and players.
World Cup versions of FIFA came out in the years 2002 and 2006 respectively, which feature the stadiums where the tournaments took place.
FIFA Street 1 & 2
This spin-off has an Arcade style gameplay of 4-on-4 soccer played on the streets in improvised courts. Here the focus is on performing tricks and juggling the ball with style instead of trying to simulate the professional sport. Great fun even with casual players that aren’t that much into soccer.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
An action RPG where up to 4-players travel the world fighting monsters and solving puzzles. To play in multiplayer mode, each player needs a GameBoy Advanced connected to the GameCube via the GBA Link Cable, and each will have personal information displayed on their screen.
Freedom Fighters
A tactical 3rd person shooter where teams of insurgents want to free New York City from Soviet invaders. It has multiplayer split-screen modes of capturing the flag in the middle of a map, capturing bunkers scattered on the level, or battles among players.
Freestyle Street Soccer
Like FIFA Street but with dirty gameplay, since you control members of gangs that actually push, punch and kick their opponents.
It has a very fast pace compared to sports games with a more realistic approach, and can be enjoyed for the fights and urban dance moves the players can pull off.
Frogger’s Adventures: The Rescue & Frogger: Ancient Shadow
Hop and dodge in these modern platformer adventures. These game feature minigames where up to 4 players can join and enjoy the Frogger fun.
Gauntlet Dark Legacy
A hack and slash Arcade game where up to 4 players battle lots of enemies and gather treasures inside dark dungeons.
Geist
In this game’s story mode, you are a spirit that takes on a human or animal host to advance in the underground research facility where they detached your soul from your original body.
In multiplayer, there are 3 modes but basically, each player is a spirit that takes on a body and must kill the others’ possessed bodies.
Gladius
You take control of a team of Gladiators and fight against opposing teams. You can play with your friends in Co-Op where one player controls the moves on the world map and you all fight once engaged in battles or play in versus mode where each one tries to defeat the other, just like gladiators did in the coliseum back in the times of ancient Rome.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
A 3D Fighting Game featuring the giant nuclear lizard and other gargantuan monsters from its movies. It’s kinda like a wrestling game, with teams and free for all matches. It reminds me of King of Monsters for the Neo-Geo
Gotcha Force
A Fighting game and 3rd Person Shooter hybrid where you control Gotcha toys, developed by Capcom, with split-screen combat for 4 players.
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
The lovable Farming RPG Simulator features 4-Player minigames like counting animals in a corral, plowing the land, horse racing, mining, and fishing. The power of the Gamecube opened up a world of new opportunities for features and ideas, making this one of the best Harvest Moon games in the franchise.
Hot Wheels: World Race
A racing game featuring the famous toy cars based on the TV series of the same name. You can perform air tricks and stunts to gain a turbo boost and achieve super speed on the crazy tracks.
Hot Wheels: Velocity X
A vehicular combat game with a more serious and darker tone compared to other titles based on the toy car line. It has multiplayer modes for drag racing and battles.
Hunter: The Reckoning
A Hack and Slash where you and 3 other players can complete missions that involve slaying vampires and other creatures of the night.
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire
The first James Bond game for the GameCube, which was released for PS2 a few months before. It’s a First Person Shooter with split-screen multiplayer mode that is reminiscent of GoldenEye for N64, but this one is not as addictive as Rare’s beloved classic.
James Bond 007: Nightfire
More of the same. Another original FPS adventure of 007, not based on any particular film, with team or solo deathmatch, capture the flag, a mode where you have to activate satellites, and more.
James Bond 007: From Russia with Love
A 3rd Person Shooter based on the 1963 film about the famous secret agent. It has several multiplayer modes, like the classic DeathMatch and more.
Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death
A brutal and hardcore FPS based on the character from the comic 2000 AD. It has the option to battle your friends and include up to 12 bots in the matches. The campaign can be played in Co-Op.
Kirby Air Ride
A strange racing game featuring Nintendo’s pink fluff ball where you only press the A button. Besides the regular races in big tracks with a 3rd person view behind the character, which can be played in split-screen, there are mini races with a top view where all players on screen drive in the style of RC Pro-Am.
Legends of Wrestling I & II
The greatest performers to ever step foot in the square circle are in these games. Here you can play as the biggest stars of the past from promotions like WWF, WCW, ECW, NWA, AWA, WCCW, and more.
The gameplay isn’t as good as the official WWE games that were coming out at the time, but a good nostalgia fest for fans of classic wrestling.
Madden NFL 2002-2006
Each year the GameCube got the American Football game everyone wanted. What’s there to say about this one? EA Sports brings quality every year.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Nintendo’s famous Kart racer with Mario and friends, this time lets you control 2 characters in the same vehicle, one driving and the other throwing shells at rivals.
Besides 4-Player split-screen for races and battles, it also features LAN play, so 4 GameCubes can be connected for player matches!
Mario Party 4-7
The friendship destroyer returns!
Steal stars and win even if you lose all minigames to make your high school buddies never talk to you again. Great fun for 4-Players, or even 8 players in Mario Party 7, with 2 users sharing the same controller for the minigames.
Mario Power Tennis
A great arcade-style Tennis game with fantasy elements from the Mushroom Kingdom. Each character has a special shot and there are modes where you can use items.
It features Doubles, so 4 players can play a match, with 2 on each side of the court.
Mario Superstar Baseball
If you don’t like the official MLB games, check out the more casual approach to “The King of Sports” featuring characters from the Mario Universe.
Mary-Kate and Ashley: Sweet 16 – Licensed to Drive
Is kinda like Mario Party, a board game aimed at young girls featuring the famous twins, with simple minigames to keep your daughter and 3 other kids entertained.
While 4-player is always great, this title did make our list of the worst Nintendo GameCube games. You have been forewarned.
Medal of Honor: Frontline / European Assault / Rising Sun
FPS that takes place during WWII. Each of them has split-screen multiplayer with different game types. Rising Sun has a 2-Player Co-Op for the Campaign.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
A 3rd person shooter where a robot must defeat an army of other mechanical villains. It has split-screen multiplayer with the expected modes such as DeathMatch and King of the Hill.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The sequel of the excellent First Person Adventure featuring Samus Aran. It has a versus mode where 4 players can join the fray.
Monopoly Party!
Monopoly on the GameCube. But here everyone throws the dice and moves at the same time, making the game more dynamic, since you don’t have to wait for your turn.
Make the other 3 players go bankrupt!
Muppets Party Cruise
A board game with minigames featuring Kermit The Frog and friends. It has funny voice acting and the sense of humor you see in their movies.
Mystic Heroes
A Hack and Slash game where heroes can use weapon attacks and magic. It has Co-Op multiplayer for story mode and a versus mode to fight each other in split-screen.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2
A Fighting game based on the Anime, it has a multiplayer mode where players can run around a 3D arena. Great fun in 4-Player mode, but not so much in 1 vs 1 matches.
NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona / NASCAR Thunder 2003
Racing game simulators of stock car racing that feature real-life professional drivers and raceways. You and 3 friends can compete in split screen races.
NBA 2K2 and 2K3
The 2K sports series by Sega were great additions to the Dreamcast library, and once they became 3rd party developers for Nintendo, they brought over what became the best basketball titles on the system.
NBA Courtside 2002
The 3rd game in the NBA Courtside series featuring Kobe Bryant. The motion capture for the players was praised by critics at the time, and you can choose to play in a realistic way or arcade style. So you have both options if you invite over a casual player that liked NBA Jam or a fan of the sport that wants a simulation.
NBA Live 2003-2006
The EA Sports take on professional basketball. While not as well received by critics as Sega’s NBA 2K games, they are solid games for fans of the sport.
NBA Street Vol. 2
An Arcade style game of 3-on-3 “streetball” featuring professional players and legends of the court, with urban music and settings, super-fast gameplay, and flashy special moves.
NBA Street V3
A sequel that features more options, and you can unlock Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach to play with them.
NCAA Football 2004-2005
Like EA’s Madden NFL series but featuring college football players.
NCAA College Basketball 2K3
Like Sega’s NBA 2K games but with college basketball players.
NFL 2K3
Many players prefer Sega’s take on the sport to the football games developed by EA. This is a great alternative to the Madden titles, and many critics call it the best NFL game on the console.
NFL Blitz 2002, 2003, and Pro
Midway’s take on the sport is much more arcade-like compared to what Sega and EA Sports have been doing. If want to pull off wrestling moves against the other team’s players, this is the game for you and your pals.
NFL Street 1 & 2
The Arcade cartoony experience of the NFL by EA Sports. The fields are surrounded by walls, you have 7 players on each team, and they can all beat each other in an all-out brawl. Great fun even with gamers that don’t like American football.
NHL 2002-2006
The Hockey games by EA Sports. If you’re a fan of the sport you and 3 friends can have fun sliding over ice and hitting the puck.
NHL 2K3
Sega’s take on professional Hockey. Considered the best game of the sport on the GameCube.
NHL Hitz 2002, 2003, Pro
The wacky take on the sport for gamers that want a more arcade-style where rules don’t really matter. You can play with cartoony characters and have fun even if you don’t watch hockey on TV and have never played it in real life.
Nickelodeon Party Blast
Party game featuring characters from Sponge Bob, Rugrats, Rocket Power, Jimmy Neutron, and more Nicktoons, with minigames based on their shows.
Nicktoons Unite!
A 3D adventure game where 4 players can take control of the main characters from Jimmy Neutron, The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom and SpongeBob SquarePants.
One Piece: Pirates’ Carnival
A board game with minigames based on the ongoing Anime that seems like it’s never going to finish.
Pac-Man Fever
A Party Game featuring characters owned by Namco like Heihachi Mishima from Tekken and Astaroth from Soulcalibur in super deformed (chibi) style.
Pac-Man Vs.
The classic maze game with the twist that one player plays as Pac-Man and controls it with a GameBoy Advanced connected to the GameCube and can see the whole maze on the GBA screen, and the human-controlled ghosts see each other on TV but can only see a tiny space around them.
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
Phantasy Star Online was an RPG where teams of 4 players could go into adventure over the internet on the Dreamcast, which later got an updated Ver. 2 edition.
On the GameCube, Sega ported it as Episode I, and included a sequel in the same disc, both featuring local split-screen multiplayer so a team can get into the action without the need to be online.
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus
PSO Plus was an update that included extra quests, challengers, and items that were distributed exclusively online.
Pokemon Colosseum & Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Pokemon Battles where you and 3 other players with their GBA systems connected to the GameCube can play with their pocket monsters captured on Pokemon Ruby or Sapphire.
Rally Championship
A generic rally racing game with split-screen multiplayer.
Rampage: Total Destruction
Destroy the city alone or with 3 other giant monsters in this reimaging of the classic arcade adventure with references to King Kong and Godzilla.
Ratatouille
A generic 3D platformer based on the Disney movie. It features a Rat Race mode where 4 players can compete against each other.
Rave Master
A bland arena 3D fighting game based on the Anime. It has a versus mode for up to 4 players.
Rayman Arena
A spin-off of the Rayman games where in multiplayer you can compete in on-foot races and battles.
Red Faction II
A futuristic FPS where you lead a revolution, the first game in the series was praised for its engine that had destructible walls, so you can use explosives to open your way through the levels, and the same gameplay is here.
It has split screen multiplayer with Deathmatch and what you expect from games of the genre.
RedCard 2003
An average soccer game released by Midway. That was a welcome alternative to the FIFA titles for soccer fans.
Road Trip: The Arcade Edition
A Racing game where you control upgradable toy cars and can equip them with weapons such as shotguns.
Roadkill
A vehicular combat game for those that wished we had a Twisted Metal on Nintendo’s 4 player console.
Room Zoom
Another toy car racing game with tracks that stretch through rooms in a house.
Sega Soccer Slam
A super cartoony take on the sport of soccer with crazy characters where teams of 3 field players and a goalie attempt to score the most.
Serious Sam: Next Encounter
Serious Sam: The First and The Second Encounter are First Person Shooters where dozens and dozens of alien enemies can be on screen at the same time. This is a spin-off with a versus multiplayer mode that launched before the official Serious Sam 2.
Shrek 2
An action adventure that follows the plot of the movie, where Shrek and 3 of his friends travel through the world-beating enemies and overcoming challenges with their unique abilities.
Shrek Superslam
A 3D arena fighting game featuring characters from the movies.
Shrek Super Party
A collection of minigames with the green ogre and friends. Characters have giant heads and tiny bodies.
Smuggler’s Run: Warzones
A driving game developed by Rockstar where you smuggle cargo in huge desert levels. It has split-screen multiplayer mode where you can crash and destroy your rivals.
Sonic Gems Collection
It features a few of Sega’s less popular classic games, not included in the previously released Sega Mega Collection, like Saturn’s Sonic R on-foot racing game that can be played in 4-player split-screen.
Sonic Riders
A racing game where you ride high-speed hoverboards. It has multiplayer race and battle modes.
Speed Kings
An arcade motorcycle racing game released by Acclaim. Not a bad game, but not a very good one.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
It’s like Mario Party but with the yellow burger-flipping sea creature and friends from the animated show.
Star Fox: Assault
Fox McCloud’s adventure on the GameCube now features on foot 3rd Person shooter scenes besides the Arwing Ship and Landmaster Tank sections.
In multiplayer you can battle each other in different modes.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A vehicular combat game where you can drive an arrangement of different ships from the franchise.
Super Mario Strikers
Nintendo’s take on soccer is actually pretty hardcore since the court is surrounded by an electrified wall and you can tackle opponents to steal the ball. Super fun!
Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2
You control monkeys trapped inside a ball and have to reach the goal in suspended maze-like tracks. It features Co-Op for the levels and minigames.
Super Monkey Ball Adventure
Is a more traditional 3D platformer that takes place on big maps. It has several minigames that 4 players can enjoy.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
The 2nd entry in Nintendo’s super popular multiplayer fighting game where you push opponents off of the platform. Iconic Heroes from its main franchises clash in this awesome title.
Surf’s Up
A surfing game based on the movie of the same name about a surfing penguin. In multiplayer you have to perform tricks and collect items.
Tales of Symphonia
A great action fantasy RPG where 4 players can fight in battles.
Teen Titans
A 3D beat ’em up based on the Cartoon Network animated show that aired in 2003. It can be played in 4-Player Co-Op or versus battles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1, 2 & 3
Konami once again got the license of TMNT to bring us 3 arcade-style beat ’em ups where you can 3 friends can pick Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello.
Tetris Worlds
It’s Tetris but with fancy 3D graphics and 4-Player local multiplayer.
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Nickelodeon sure was fond of pitting its characters in 3D arena fighting games, here’s another one with the kids that cheated death.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
This is an awesome Zelda adventure where you connect 4 GBA systems to the console and each can see their character on their own screen. You must cooperate to save the kingdom through clever puzzles and great battles.
The Simpsons: Hit & Run
People say it’s like GTA but with America’s favorite yellow family. It has racing minigames for 4-Players.
TimeSplitters: 2 & Future Perfect
First-Person Shooters where you travel through time, developed by Ex-Rare’s employees that worked on GoldenEye and Perfect Dark.
You can play missions in Co-Op or the classic DeathMatch and Capture the Flag modes.
Tom & Jerry: War of the Whiskers
A 3D fighting game that features the slapstick comedy of the classic animated
cartoons.
TransWorld Surf: Next Wave
Take on the waves your friends in this realistic take on the sport.
Tube Slider
A futuristic racing game a la F-Zero, where you drive at high speeds inside huge tubes.
Turok: Evolution
The 4th game in Acclaim’s Turok: Dinosaur Hunter First Person Shooter series. More multiplayer fun to have here, just like like the N64 titles.
Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs New Generation
A wrestling game based on the Anime series. Much more over the top than the WWE games on the console.
Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble
Similar in Gameplay to Smash Bros., here you can have free for all battles with 4 characters on screen, or cooperate in the main adventure mode, which is a mix between beat ’em up and platformer.
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!
A collection of miscellaneous and strange minigames featuring Mario’s rival.
Wave Race: Blue Storm
A great jet ski racing game for the system, and the sequel to the N64 classic.
WTA Tour Tennis
A realistic Tennis game featuring female professional players.
WWE Wrestlemania X8, XIX, Day of Reckoning 1 & 2
The games featuring the SuperStars of World Wrestling Entertainment, have basically the same gameplay in every entry… But Day of Reckoning 2 has a stamina bar that makes you exhausted when depleted and takes away the Arcade fun.
Day of Reckoning 1 is the best in the bunch in my opinion.
X-Men Legends 1 & 2
3D Beat ’em Up games featuring Mutant Heroes from the Comic Book series.
XGIII: Extreme G Racing & XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association
Both are futuristic bike racing games where you can blast each other with rockets and lasers.
XIII
A First Person Shooter with a cel-shaded visual style. It has the multiplayer modes you’d expect from an FPS of the time.
Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury
A fighting game based on the Anime. It features 1 vs 1 fights, as well as mini-games meant for 4 Players.
Zapper: One Wicked Cricket
A top-view puzzle platformer is similar in gameplay to “Frogger”. It has multiplayer missions.
Whew. Thats it. I hope this list of 4-player games comes in handy for 4 friends looking to play some retro couch multiplayer games or to end their relationships.
