Co-Op International has already looked at the little-known Japanese Turbografx CD version of River City Ransom. This time we return with a River City Ransom sequel/spin-off that was never released outside of Japan. Downtown Special – Kunio-Kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou! for the Famicom (Japanese NES) looks and plays even better than River City Ransom, but it takes place in Japan. And thanks to the magic of an English translation patch, anyone with an NES emulator can fully enjoy it.

Disney's latest animated feature Wreck-It Ralph is chock full of videogame references, some more obscure than others. For instance, the final boss of Altered Beast makes a brief cameo in his rhino form. That gives us the perfect excuse to look at an obscure Japanese port of the game in our latest installment of Co-Op International. This month we look at Altered Beast (called Juuoki in Japan) for the PC Engine, an 8-bit system known as the Turbografx-16 in the west.

Our previous Co-Op International looked at the Japanese versions of Double Dragon II. This month we follow up with River City Ransom. Think the GameBoy Advance version is the best? No way! Read on to discover the River City Ransom that never left Japan but does feature awesome co-op.

In honor of Double Dragon: Neon's recent release on XBLA and PSN, this month's Co-Op International looks at a couple of classic Double Dragon games that never made it out of Japan. Both are ports of Double Dragon II: The Revenge and share a few things in common, but otherwise they could hardly be more different.

Another month, another co-op Japanese shoot-em-up goes under the magnifying glass. The first Radirgy game made it to the American Wii, but its sequel is import-only. Can indie developer MileStone compete with the likes of shmup gods CAVE? Read on to find out!

PlayStation Vita owners will be getting a version of Earth Defense Force 2017 for their shiny portable console this fall.  A version of the game, which is being called Earth Defense Force 3 Portable is being released in Japan this September and is being published by D3 Publisher.  While the Xbox 360 version of the game only featured two player local co-op, the PlayStation Vita version will feature four player co-op play via AD-HOC wireless or online.

This month's co-op import is not a shmup, nor is it region-locked! Virtual-On Force belongs to SEGA's classic robot battling series. But is Transformers G1-awesome or Michael Bay Transformers-banal? Read on to find out!

This month's Co-Op International column takes aim at Espgaluda II Black Label. Not only is the title a mouthful, the game itself is full of bullets! Bullets and flying teenagers with psychic powers, oh yeah. Luckily for shoot-em-up fans, this one's not too tough to import.

This month's Co-Op International column looks at Dodonpachi Resurrection, an ultra-hard bullet hell shoot-em-up. Does co-op make the game any easier? Not really. On the bright side, Rising Star's European Deluxe Edition is region-free and available in English!

This month's Co-Op International column looks at Bullet Soul, a Japanese shoot-em-up from 5pb, makers of Phantom Breaker. Shmups can be hell, but this one is less so because killing enemies makes their bullets go away. Best of all, it's region free and easy to import.

Our first Co-op International Column focuses on Onechanbara Z: Kagura, a recently released Japanese Xbox 360 game. Kagura is as bizarre as past Onechanbara titles, but boasts much sharper graphics and combat. Get the full co-op scoop on Kagura before it reaches domestic shores (if ever)!