20 Years Later, A Cube Top 20

As of the day of this writing (September 14, 2021), the Nintendo GameCube is now officially 20 years old. It remains one of my favorite video game consoles: it was a powerful and reliable piece of hardware, its controller was comfortable, and most importantly, it had a whole lot of games I really, really liked. To that last point, I want to honor the GameCube’s 20th anniversary with my own list of my 20 favorite games for the console (in order). Perhaps unsurprisingly for a Nintendo console, over half of these games were exclusives to boot, but it’s sobering just how many great exclusives the Cube had. And compared to most Nintendo consoles, it maintained decent third-party support too. As such, limiting this list to 20 certainly couldn’t contain all of its worthwhile games; give a shout-out to any favorites I didn’t squeeze in here.

So, happy birthday GameCube. Here’s to you <3

List items

• 

  1. Metroid Prime

  I've written enough about Metroid Prime on this site at this point, so I don't need to elaborate yet again what it means to me. The short version is that it’s on the short list of contenders for my favorite game: it’s gorgeous, its soundtrack is fantastic, it plays well, its world is brilliantly designed, and it successfully transitioned the Metroid fundamentals to 3D in a way that, at the time, seemed impossible. Yet it pulled off that magic trick with aplomb, and remains a game that is as dear to me as any other.

• 

  2. Resident Evil 4

  This many years later, it's still wild just how high Resident Evil 4 raised the bar in 2005. It completely revamped a series I had no affection for, creating one of the most exciting and intense third-person shooters I’ve ever played, and one that became the genre standard for years. And for as much as its endless re-releases are easy to joke about today, Resident Evil 4 holds up remarkably well. It simply had no business being this good.

• 

  3. Super Smash Bros. Melee

  For many, no game defined the GameCube as much as Smash Bros. Melee. It took the magical idea of the original, gave it a real facelift thanks to better hardware, and added in tons of extra content to throw one hell of a party. It was my multiplayer game of choice through my high school and college years, and the center of countless get-togethers and late nights. It’s almost certainly the GameCube game I spent the most time playing, and it was always a blast.

• 

  4. Freedom Fighters

  I actually didn’t play Freedom Fighters on a GameCube, but from what I gather it ran perfectly well on the console, and was a great example of the Cube’s un-Nintendo-like third-party support. And more importantly, it was a fantastic game: a legendary soundtrack, solid shooting, simple but effective squad mechanics, and a host of incredibly clever ideas around its semi-open-ended mission design. It took me by surprise, and I got super into it.

• 

  5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

  The Wind Waker was a great follow-up to the behemoth that was Ocarina of Time. Its art style was gorgeous, its characters were unbelievably expressive, its soundtrack was a treat, and its large, watery world was a joy to explore. It captured that classic Zelda spirit of going on an adventure, but translated it to a different type of world than we were used to. It managed to carve its own path while remaining undeniably a Zelda game, which was great to see.

• 

  6. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader

  The original Rogue Squadron was a lot of fun, but Rogue Leader took advantage of the GameCube’s beefier hardware to give it the facelift it needed to become a true classic. Its audiovisual presentation was incredible at the time, and it ran and played very smoothly. This empowered its fun arcade missions to reach new heights, and I spent lots of hours chasing medals and unlockables. This remains one of my favorite Star Wars games to date.

• 

  7. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

  I was kind of in awe when I first played The Sands of Time. Its high-flying acrobatics were a whole new look for platformers at the time, and I had so much fun flipping through the air and running on walls. Its buttery smooth animations made pulling off such stylish feats extra satisfying, and the level design was superb too. I also enjoyed the charming characters and narrative, which combined for a highly enjoyable adventure from start to finish.

• 

  8. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

  I share the common sentiment that the first two Paper Mario games remain by far the series’ best, and The Thousand-Year Door in particular reached a really high mark. It deftly implemented everything the series (and Mario RPGs as a whole) is known for: battles were tense and exciting, the world was well-crafted and endearing, and the writing was charming and witty. The whole adventure came together super well, and I wrung it for everything it was worth.

• 

  9. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

  I know Metroid Prime 2 was hit-or-miss for a lot of folks, but as a Metroid fan, it landed for me in many of the same ways its predecessor did. In fact, its world remains one of the most densely intense ones in the entire franchise. I enjoyed being in the thick of it, exploring its oppressive world and soaking in the darkly beautiful atmosphere. It introduced some clever ideas of its own, and the overall adventure grabbed me in a way few games do.

• 

  10. Pikmin 2

  The original Pikmin introduced a great new IP for the GameCube, and its sequel upped the ante across the board. I always felt like Pikmin 2 did everything a sequel should: it ironed out many of the original’s quirks, while expanding on the concept with fresh ideas of its own. The new Pikmin types added just enough depth to allow for some clever environmental puzzles, and the level design itself was strong. It looked and sounded wonderful too.

• 

  11. Gladius

  It’s too good of a game to call it a “guilty” pleasure, but Gladius was always a personal favorite that never got much attention elsewhere. At its core it was just a solid, clever tactics game: it had great unit variety that was smartly balanced, and the way it implemented timed action commands into every units’ attack made trading blows a much more engaging affair than most similar games. Gladius really got its hooks in me, and consumed me for dozens of hours.

• 

  12. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

  I’m guessing most of us think of Twilight Princess as a Wii game, but it also had a GameCube version that, given the lack of waggling, was arguably the better version. Regardless, this was another well-crafted Zelda game that, even with some pacing problems, hit some very high highs. It contained some of my favorite dungeons and items in the entire series, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring its world and discovering its secrets.

• 

  13. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

  Eternal Darkness was one of the GameCube’s premier third-party exclusives, and one I greatly enjoyed. While some of its psychological tricks could be tossed off as mere gimmicks, they worked for me, and created an atmosphere that pulled me in and kept me on my toes. It was also fun to play as multiple characters with different strengths and weaknesses, and by the end I was invested in the story. It was an incredibly unique game that did a lot very well.

• 

  14. Viewtiful Joe

  Man, Viewtiful Joe had so much style and spunk that I couldn’t help but love it. Everything about this game’s presentation was rad; it just popped in a way I wasn’t used to seeing at the time. It was also a robust and fun action game that I had a blast playing: it controlled well, had fun powers and upgrades, and I got into challenging myself on higher difficulties. It was a game that grabbed me and sparked my imagination in the best possible ways.

• 

  15. Beyond Good & Evil

  Beyond Good & Evil created such a weirdly unique and quirky world that really pulled me in at the time. The characters were lovable and endearing, the art and music were creative and evocative, and the overarching narrative was compelling. While the combat and platforming were by no means best-of-class, I still enjoyed exploring this world to see everything there was to see and collect. It was an original game that really stuck with me.

• 

  16. Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

  Double Dash wasn’t my first Mario Kart game, but it remains my favorite. Part of that was likely a time and place thing: it came out at a time where I could readily play it with friends in a dorm. But I also think Double Dash was a big step up for the series in a few ways. Primarily, it greatly refined the controls, and its new tracks were incredibly well-designed. It’s by far the Mario Kart game I’ve spent the most time with, to the point where I more or less mastered it.

• 

  17. Tales of Symphonia

  The GameCube never got the deluge of JRPGs that its main rival, the PlayStation 2, did, but it did get a couple good ones. Tales of Symphonia was one of my favorites of the bunch, boasting a lengthy, epic adventure, a fun cast of characters, a charming audiovisual presentation, and the series’ staple high-octane combat. Its combat in particular was an engaging alternative to many JRPGs of the time, and it kept the game fresh from start to finish.

• 

  18. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

  After a pair of GBA outings, Fire Emblem’s console debut in the West wasn’t perfect; the visuals and animation in particular left a lot to be desired. But Path of Radiance was still a gripping adventure in the traditional ways that Fire Emblem games often are: it was a very good tactics game with some strong maps, and it had a large cast of endearing, quirky characters. It was a great addition to the Cube’s library, and one I quite enjoyed.

• 

  19. Soulcalibur II

  I’ve never been a big fan of traditional fighting games, but Soulcalibur II stood out, and is one I had a lot of fun with. Again, some of this is probably time and place: I lived in dorms at the time, and always had people to play with. But it was also just a cool game. I liked the characters, it controlled well, and compared to a lot of fighting games it was easy for a newcomer to pick up, while still offering a lot of depth for veterans. Also, the Cube version had Link.

• 

  20. Animal Crossing

  In hindsight, Animal Crossing was almost certainly the most important and successful new IP introduced on the GameCube (in the West). And while I didn’t get as into it as I could have, I still spent dozens of hours living the virtual life. Catching fish, shaking trees, decorating my house, collecting gyroids, paying Nook his bells, and even playing NES games (I miss this from the newer games); it was all there from the start, and it was kind of magical.