The Gamecube holds a special place in many people’s hearts, including mine. It was the first Nintendo console I ever owned, and it houses some of my favorite games of all time. But as a kid I didn’t own very many games for it, and so as an adult it was nice to finally experience many of these classic titles. And today I’m going to go over my top 10 favorites. Now, let me be clear that this is my list, and it’s based on how much I personally enjoyed each game. So if a game isn’t on the list that doesn’t mean it’s bad, it just means that I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as the games that did make it onto the list. Also, let me just say that I know that Metroid Prime is one of the greatest games of all time, and the reason it's not on the list isn't because it's bad, but because it just didn't click for me personally. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get started.
10. Eternal Darkness
Okay, as my previous article may have indicated, I ended up rage quitting while playing this game. However, it did enough things right and I was intrigued enough by the story that I was willing to give it another shot. So I powered through...and ended up rage quitting again several chapters later. And eventually I just gave up completely. As I said, the biggest sin of this game is not letting you save during chapters, and forcing you to start the chapter all over again from the top if you die, which kills the pacing and changes things from scary to annoying to infuriating. I also found the spell system rather confusing, and the gameplay is a little awkward at times, with combat being a bit clunky and the puzzles sometimes being overly cryptic. The story also feels really disjointed, and while I get that’s partly by design, I think it would have been better if it had been more focused and hadn’t kept hopping all over the place from chapter to chapter.
I wanted to like Eternal Darkness, as it does a lot right. The atmosphere, environment design, and overall presentation are excellent, and it is by far one of the most unique horror games I’ve ever played. But unfortunately its shortcomings do drag it down a lot. I tried to give it a fair chance, and kept going for quite a while even though I was tempted to stop. But ultimately I realized that it just wasn't worth it. While I appreciate this game for its uniqueness and for the fact that it did legitimately creep me out at several points, there's too much annoyance and busywork that you have to push through to get to the good stuff. I respect it enough to put it on my top ten, but it's not getting any higher than the bottom spot.
9. Wario World
I know this is probably a surprising choice, given that there are plenty of titles that are technically better. But honestly I really enjoyed Wario World. It’s a nice straightforward platformer that’s simply fun. It’s not the most expansive or deep game, but it’s not trying to be, and for what it is it’s quite good.
8. Chibi Robo
This game is weird, but I kind of love it for that. It’s colorful, it’s quirky, it’s creative, and it’s just fun. Wandering around a house might not sound very exciting, but when you’re doing it as a tiny robot who has to manage certain obstacles and hazards posed by the environment and your size relative to it, it becomes surprisingly compelling. It’s not a masterpiece by any means, but it’s a cute little gem worth experiencing.
7. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
This is largely a nostalgic pick, but honestly I was surprised by just how well it holds up. It’s a pretty simple game, you play as two superheroes and you beat up robots, and that’s about it. But it executes this premise incredibly well, and keeps things engaging and satisfying all the way to the end. Not to mention the character banter is pretty funny.
6. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Many consider this to be the best Paper Mario game. Personally I don’t agree, as I think it had enough shortcomings to drag it down a bit compared to the first Paper Mario. But the stuff it does right more than makes up for its flaws. It expands on the concepts established in the first game, and delivers a truly unique and unforgettable adventure. It has tons of memorable moments, characters, and locations, and this is one title I will definitely come back to.
5. Mario Party 4
I liked almost all of the Mario Party games for the Gamecube, with the sole exception being Mario Party 7. But for me Mario Party 4 is the clear winner. It had excellent presentation, simple but well designed boards, incredibly creative mini games, and is probably the most balanced Mario Party game in terms of pacing and fairness. Plus I prefer the older item system over the revamped version that was introduced in Mario Party 5. While Mario Party is intended to be played with friends, it’s still quite fun even if you have to play it by yourself. I just hope that someday I might have friends that I can play Mario Party 4 with.
4. Luigi’s Mansion
Honestly I’m blanking on what to say here. I like it. A lot. It’s good.
3. Pikmin
Now this was one of the games that I missed out on as a kid, and didn’t play until I was an adult. But despite this I still fell in love with it. It has such a simple premise, but it executes that premise perfectly, and the overall tone and atmosphere is both cutesy but also somber, and the moment to moment gameplay is very engaging. It’s an excellent title that I’m sure I will revisit many times.
2. Resident Evil 4
I can’t think of much I can say about this game. I love Resident Evil 4, and wish I’d gotten around to playing it sooner than I did, but hey that’s why I’m doing these reviews and retrospectives, to find and play the classics of times past. As I said before, the Gamecube version of RE4 is prettier, but the PS2 version of RE4 is more balanced when it comes to the distribution of enemies and ammo. But whichever version you play, it’s still an amazing game.
1. Wind Waker
I’ll fully admit that nostalgia plays a heavy role here, as Wind Waker was the first Gamecube game I ever owned, the first Zelda game I ever finished, and it was the game that helped cement my love for the Zelda series and for video games in general. But even aside from nostalgia I do think that Wind Waker is an excellent title, and one that deserves to be played. The gameplay, art style, setting, characters, and story are all incredibly well done. I’ve played through it many times, and I’m sure I will play through it many more.
For those who haven’t played Wind Waker I think the HD remaster is the definitive version, as it introduces tons of quality of life improvements that make the game smoother while still keeping the core experience intact. But I’ll always have a soft spot for the original Gamecube version, hence why it’s number one on this list.
So those are my favorite Gamecube games. Let me know what you thought, and let me know what your favorite Gamecube games are. Now that I’ve finished with the Gamecube’s library I’m going to be a bit less structured, instead just covering various older titles as they come up.
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