Welcome back to  Co-op Classics, the column in which we look at unique cooperative games from yesteryear....

The Nintendo Switch Online Plus Expansion Pack is a yearly subscription that gives players access to numerous features. Among those features is a library of Sega Genesis games, playable on Switch with online multiplayer and other enhancements. 4 new games have just been added to the Switch's Genesis library: Golden Axe II, Alien Storm, Columns, and Virtua Fighter 2. Golden Axe II and Alien Storm are classic 16-bit beat 'em ups, and now Switch Online Plus subscribers can play them with online co-op!

Hamster's Arcade Archives series offers no-frills versions of numerous classic arcade titles. On Switch, the lineup even includes several arcade games from Nintendo! The Arcade Archives Nintendo titles never go on sale, which makes the current sale super exciting. Co-op classics like Mario Bros. and Ice Climber and non-co-op games like Don...

The Sega Genesis Mini 2 and the Japanese model, the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2, launched a few weeks ago. Sega's latest mini console features more than 50 games, including several never-before-released bonus games. The Japanese console includes a slightly different lineup of games and a smaller controller. Sega also sells a mini Mega CD 2/Sega CD 2 for cosmetic use with the original or second Genesis Mini. We've got lots of photos of these brilliant mini consoles to share! 

Arcade1Up has released numerous 3/4-scale arcade cabinets over the years, with my favorite being the Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder cabinet. Even the coolest cabinets like that one, however, only feature 17-inch monitors. That's what makes the announcement of the Killer Instinct PRO Series Arcade Cabinet so exciting. The Pro cabinet includes a 19-inch screen, SuzoHapp stick and buttons, and improved speakers. It will feature not just both Killer Instinct arcade games, but also the arcade, NES, and Genesis versions of Battletoads!

The OneUps are a video game music cover band that has been around for 20 years now. That's a long time! To celebrate their anniversary, the band is releasing a limited edition vinyl album called 20. It will feature 8 of the OneUps' best songs, including one from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game! Check out our quick impressions before you preorder the super limited-edition record.

It has been a while since we shared iiRcade news, but that's mostly because there haven't been many new co-op releases for iiRcade lately. That will change soon, thankfully! Starting with last Friday's release of Toki (a cool single-player run-and-gun platformer starring an ape), iiRcade will release a total of four arcade games from TAD Corporation, a Japanese game developer. The next three releases include Blood Bros, Cabal, and Heated Barrel, all shooters which feature 2-player local co-op!

Ah, fall (in the Northern Hemisphere)... the weather starts to cool, the leaves begin to change, and the holiday video game releases loom on the horizon. While the start of summer typically marks developers and publishers hyping up the gaming community with big announcements for what's to come in a year (or two or three) via digital presentations and "Keigh3," the fall is when we usually get teasers of more immediate releases. For example, the September Nintendo Direct dropped yesterday and not only did it finally give a full name and release date for the next Zelda game (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, May 12, 2023), but there are four new co-op games, two remastered co-op games, and one existing co-op title that are coming to the Switch within the next 6 months.

Earth Defense Force 6, the latest game in Sandlot and D3 Publisher's long-running sci-fi shooter series, recently arrived on PlayStation in Japan. No English release has been announced yet, though, leaving EDF fans with little choice but to import the Japanese game. Thankfully, we have some experience with Japanese games around here. In this in...