Dungeon Explorer

Sitting down at a single console as a foursome, plugging in the multitap and fighting your way together through hordes of monsters — in 1989 that sounded almost futuristic. Dungeon Explorer by Atlus and Hudson could do it, though, and even for up to five players at once, which placed it among the pioneers of console cooperative gaming.

The principle is beautifully simple and all the more addictive for it: you choose from several classes — a warrior, a wizard, an elf and others — each with its own abilities, and set off into underground labyrinths full of monsters, treasures and bosses. The game runs in real time, so it's a pure hack & slash where you bash, cast and collect whatever you can. Solo it's a decent action romp, but the real magic gets going only in a group.

It is precisely the multiplayer that makes Dungeon Explorer an old-school social experience. Five people on the screen means utter visual chaos, squabbles over potions, an accidentally taken hit from a friend, and a collective roar when a giant boss falls. It's the kind of fun you once went to a neighbor's with a whole gang for — cooperation and competition in one.

In the context of the era it was an important title, because it showed that a console didn't have to be just for one or two players. The PC Engine's multitap found here one of its best uses, and Dungeon Explorer became a kind of flagship of shared adventure on this platform, long before online co-op became a given.

Today it is a title best savored exactly the way it came about — with friends crammed around a single screen. Mechanically it may not be the deepest action RPG of its era, but in terms of party fun it has little competition from that time.

Why play: An early cooperative hack & slash for up to five players — chaotic, noisy and unforgettable party fun.