Over the years, there have been plenty of arcade-style sports games that have tried to focus on the fun aspect of gaming over hyperrealism, but few have been successful in striking the careful balance between capturing the authentic feel of the sport and a fun gameplay experience. Sadly, many of the best games have been relegated to the classics bin.

Harkening back to a era of gaming that still cared about couch co-op experiences, the great thing about sports games is that they often don't require a split-screen when playing with friends. Here are five of our favorite classic arcade-style sports games.

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Mario Strikers Charged

Released as a sequel to the original game, Super Mario Strikers, this game is an unappreciated gem for the Wii. It balances the slick pass-and-move of soccer with physical tackling that falls somewhere between hockey and the WWE. Matches are played between teams of five, your captain, three sidekicks and a standard goalie. The game includes 12 captains from the Mario franchise to pick from, including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Bowser and Diddy Kong. Each has a different gameplay style.

There are also items like red shells and bananas to impede your opponents, as well as super abilities and scary Mega Strikes that could get you up to six goals in one shot if your captain is left wide-open. The game has a single-player campaign where players compete in three increasingly difficult leagues. Plus, the sound design and vibration of the Wii controller shines in this title, making for an exciting experience.

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Hot Shots Tennis

Originally released in Japan as Everybody's Tennis, this game manages to do what many tennis games fail to do: make hitting the ball over a net repeatedly a fun gaming experience. It features a cheesy, dated but loveable cast of 14 characters, including some returning members from the Everybody's Golf series. The PlayStation 2 game's single-player mode allows you to unlock up to 12 outfits for each character, five umpires and 11 tennis courts ranging from the beach to an indoor palace.

But gameplay is where this title really shines. The instant-feedback timing system puts the sluggish Mario Tennis Aces to shame, with three different shot types that go exactly where you aim them if you time them right. Play with up to three friends and you've got the makings of an epic, pleasantly competitive Grand Slam of a classic game night. The remastered version is available in slightly-better graphics on the PlayStation store.

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MLB PowerPros

A sequel to the first PowerPros game released the year before, the Wii and PS2 game updates the rosters but also provides a new single-player career mode called MLB Life. Don't let the leg-less cartoony recreations of baseball legends fool you, this game is a home run. Game modes range from quick play to career mode and MLB Life to an anime-style road-to-the-show story mode, complete with dialogue, storylines, arch-rivals and romantic relationships.

If you manage to succeed in making it to the majors, your character will be playable in MLB Life as a continuation of their story. A major selling point is that the players and teams are completely customizable and usable in almost all game modes. If you can get past playing with rosters from 2008, you're sure to have a blast.

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Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee

Maybe the ultimate example of a portable sports game, this PSP game is the kind that you could sink hours of travel time into. Another edition of the Everybody's Golf series, the game doesn't stray far from the rest of the series, so for those that have eschewed the PSP, there are plenty of other titles to pick from, including 2017's Everybody's Golf.

Featuring a wide-range of increasingly difficult 18-hole courses, gameplay revolves around careful aiming, timing and spinning of the ball. Like many of the aforementioned titles, intuitive controls make better known golf games, like the PGA Tour series, look like an optional advanced calculus course. Simple done right is a wonderful thing.

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Mario Super Sluggers

Mario has had mixed success in the sports universe, but this is another Mario sports title for the Wii that gets it mostly right. Like other Mario sports games, you pick a captain and the rest of your team from a long list of options, each with different stats.

The trick in picking your team is in getting the chemistry right. In order to use items while batting, you need the on-deck hitter to have chemistry with the batter, and in order to perform special fielding throws and moves, your fielders need chemistry with each other. It's a mechanic that adds a needed layer of complexity to the game. The hitting and pitching can be a bit tricky, but overall the game delivers everything you want from a Mario sports game.

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