14 Video Games That Prove Local Multiplayer Is The Best

11. Streets Of Rage 2

If you were a Sega kid in the 90s and owned a Mega Drive, chances are you spent a hell of a lot of time playing through Streets Of Rage 2 with a friend or sibling (and fighting over who got to be Axel). Who knew that cleaning up goon-riddled streets could be such fun? The second instalment is definitely the peak of the much-loved side-scrolling beat 'em up series, comfortably being superior to the first in every way while being nowhere near as weirdly disappointing as the third. It looked better, played smoother and they finally got rid of the stupid power-up that caused a police car to pull up and fire an RPG at your location; killing every enemy on screen and somehow leaving you and your buddy intact. Instead, you could do special moves that did a lot of damage, but took away some of your health. Much better! The game's hard-as-nails Mania difficulty is guaranteed to put strain on any friendship, especially if you decide to tackle it without increasing the number of lives you start off with. Even when it causes shouting matches and frustration, Streets Of Rage 2 is still a joy to play because of Yuzo Koshiro's amazing soundtrack. To our ears it remains to be one of the best gaming soundtracks ever, even 22 years later.