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Teamwork at its Best: The 17 Greatest Video Game Duos Ever

Posted on 20. Jul, 2009 by Joe in Collaborative Top 10's, Features

Just as great teamwork is an essential aspect of any successful business, so to is teamwork a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to video games. Examples of teamwork in video games can be seen in any of the dynamic duos listed below. They are the best video game duos ever – from early arcade games to present day. I think there’s something to be learned from these video game heroes and how they work together to achieve a common goal in defeating their adversaries…That’s essentially the ultimate goal in business, isn’t it? Well, in business you don’t necessarily want to kill the competition, but you get the point metaphorically speaking!

Anyway, enough with the business world/video game jibber-jabber! Here is a list of the greatest video game duos ever…

Mario and Luigi

Now while I didn’t necessarily put this list of top video game duos in any specific order, I did place Mario and Luigi at the top of the list for obvious reasons – They’re by far the greatest video game duo ever! Mario is the older brother of Luigi, and the two Italian brothers were first made popular in the early 1980s with the smash hit Mario Bros from Nintendo. The rest is history – Countless video games, films, television shows and memorabilia. Anyone that dares to argue Mario and Luigi’s position as the top video game duo of all time, bring it on!

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Banjo and Kazooie

Banjo and Kazooie was made famous in the late 1990s with its first in a series of popular games for Nintendo 64 (N64) and Xbox 360. It was one of the best-selling games ever for N64, so naturally you have to consider Banjo and Kazooie as one of the top video game duos of all time. When the game first came out in 1998, its 3D graphics, innovative gameplay, and fun storyline made Banjo and Kazooie instant heroes in the video game world.

Batman and RobinHow can you leave one of the most dynamic duos of the big-screen out of this list? Batman and Robin have been featured in several video games, including the popular Lego version for various gaming consoles. It’s tough to find an all time better team than Batman and Robin on film or in video games – Is there one?
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Wallace and GromitFamous for their multiple short films, the British duo of Wallace and Gromit have been featured in several games, including Wallace and Gromit: Cracking Contraptions (1995) and Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Fright of the Bumblebees (2009). The popular duo is scheduled for three more games in the Grand Adventures series due out soon.
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Gordon Freeman and Alyx VanceAs the star of the immensely popular video game series, Half Life, Gordon Freeman meets Alyx Vance in Half Life 2, and the two work together in fighting against the extraterrestrial civilization known as the Combine. Alyx Vance saves Gordon Freeman’s tail more than once throughout this game, and Gordon must do the same for her as well. This game won an astounding 35 PC ‘Game of the Year’ awards for 2004. Due to its amazingly awesome gameplay and popularity, you have to consider Gordon and Alyx as one of the greatest video game duos ever.
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Sam and Max
Sam and Max are a dog and rabbit investigative team who solve off-the-wall mysteries, such as chasing a missing Bigfoot across various American tourist sites – strange, but fun nonetheless. Sam and Max started out as a comic in the 1980s and later made it to their first video game in the early 1990s. Since then there has been a ton of fan support for these loveable comic book characters, which has lead to several more games and even films featuring the duo. An example of Sam and Max’s ridiculous amount of fan support was evident in 2004 when development of the video game Sam and Max: Freelance Police was abruptly shut down due to economic conditions. In response to this news, an incredible 32,000 fans signed a petition to try and convince the developer to continue making the game – now that’s fan support!

Ratchet and Clank
Ratchet is a bobcat-like creature called a lombax, and his sidekick is Clank who’s a robot that sits on Ratchet’s back like a backpack and helps him with various moves, jumps, and dives. Together they battle to save the galaxy from evil using many of their own unique and outrageous weapons along the way. The Ratchet and Clank series has been extremely popular since the first game was released for PS2 back in 2002. Since then, there have been eight more games released as of 2009.

Bill Rizer and Lance Bean

Modeled after two popular movie stars of the time, Arnold Shwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, the main characters of the first few installments of the alien invasion, run-and-gun-style video game called Contra. The first Contra game was released by Konami in 1987, and it was so popular that it lead to a total of 12 sequels and counting – the latest was 2009′s Contra ReBirth for Wii.
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Colonel Ralf and Second Lieutenant Clark

1986 was a great year for gamers…Who didn’t love playing Ikari Warriors at the arcade? Colonel Ralf and Second Lieutenant Clark (aka: Paul and Vince outside of Japan) made their way through the battlefield commando-style destroying tanks, helicopters and of course enemy soldiers. The game was reportedly inspired by the Rambo films, which were incredibly popular at that time.

Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar

Chris Redfield is the former S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team member in the immensely popular Resident Evil series. In Resident Evil 5, Chris teams up with Sheva Alomar who’s a local B.S.A.A. agent. Together the two battle through level after level of infected villagers and zombies in typical Resident Evil style, and it all takes place in the remote African nation of Kijuju. The two

Jak and Daxter

This heroic duo consists of Jak, the main protagonist, and Daxter who’s his little sidekick (I’m not sure exactly what he is!). The popularity of the Jak and Daxter series of video games has spanned nearly a decade with the first game being released by Naughty Dog – the maker of Ratchet and Clank – back in 2001.

Kane and Lynch

Adam ‘Kane’ Marcus and James Seth Lynch are the two main characters in the popular video game Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. This third-person shooter features the duo, who have been kidnapped from death row of all places, battling their way through 16 levels of action-packed gameplay. The game has been a hit since its release in 2007 selling nearly 2 million copies thus far, and its popularity has spawned both an upcoming sequel scheduled for 2010 and a movie that’s rumored to star Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke as Kane and Lynch.

ToeJam and Earl

ToeJam and Earl are two aliens who made their way to earth and now have to battle their way through wreckage of their spacecraft in a virtual treasure hunt to the end. ToeJam and Earl the game was introduced in 1991 by Sega and two sequels followed soon after that. In 2006, the game was re-released on the Wii console due to its cult following since its days on the Sega Genesis. These two are definitely one of the greatest video game duos of all time.

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong first appeared together in 1994′s Donkey Kong Country for SNES. Since then the duo have appeared together in over 10 video games, including many games from Nintendo’s Mario series (Mariokart, Super Smash Bros., etc-). Donkey Kong dates back to one of the most popular arcade games of all time in Donkey Kong, which lead to the development of the first Mario Bros.

Rios and Salem

Rios and Salem are the two armor-clad former Army Rangers in Army of Two created by Electronic Arts (EA). This game features tons of shooter-style gameplay and a unique sense of humor between the two main characters. Teamwork and cooperation are at their finest in the Army of Two series for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Solid Snake and Otacon

Solid Snake and Otacon (aka: Dr. Hal Emmerich) are characters in the exceptionally popular video game series Metal Gear. This video game franchise has sold over 26 million copies since the first Metal Gear in 1987. The duo appear together in Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Metal Gear Solid 4. Solid Snake is the bad ass spy/special ops agent who is assisted by the intellectually-gifted Otacon. Together they make an awesome team – you can also see them in Super Smash Bros. Brawl together as well.
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Cody and Haggar

Cody Tavers and Mike Haggar are two main characters in the Final Fight series of video games that dates back to the 1989 arcade version, and was later released for NES in 1993. Cody and Haggar (as well as the other main character ‘Guy’) battle their way through the Slum, Riverside, Old Town and other levels to defeat the Mad Gear Gang. Awesome old school gaming!

Have any other video game duos not on the list that you think should’ve been there? Post a comment below and share it with the world…