Welcome back to the Definitive 50. On season two of the show, we’ll be covering the 50 games which defined the Nintendo GameCube. Strap in and hold on, for the next 50 weeks we’ll be chatting about Nintendo’s purple lunchbox.
1. Super Smash Bros. Melee
Melee takes a fun, well executed concept established on the N64 – a fighter based on Nintendo’s vast roster – and piles on endless modes, variations, unlockables, extra characters, nostalgia, and raw anarchy… Continue Reading
2. Metroid Prime
With Samus absent from the 64, no one really knew how a 3D Metroid game should work, or if it even would. By the time Prime was first unveiled, fans had had a long time to build up what they thought a new Metroid entry should… Continue Reading
3. Resident Evil 4
Despite hints regarding its production dating back to 1999, RE4 didn’t actually reach players until 2005. Even though it went through a long and troubled development, RE4 is now better remembered for… Continue Reading
4. The Wind Waker
When the actual Zelda game in development on the system was revealed one year later – fans were thrown into fits of rage. What was this cel shaded Link, what was this “Celda”? … Continue Reading
5. Twilight Princess
The first glimpse of Twilight Princess garnered thunderous applause. It seemed fan prayers had been answered, and Nintendo would finally deliver the dream of a “realistic” Zelda … Continue Reading
6. Eternal Darkness
Eternal Darkness tells one of the single smartest stories in all of video games, taking inspiration from literature and history to weave a plot that spans millenia. The game begins with Alexandra Roivas exploring her family mansion … Continue Reading
7. Tales of Symphonia
A young, spiky-haired orphan, full of energy but lacking direction is cast out of his humble village after a reckless act brings despair to his town. That’s the story of Lloyd Irving, Symphonia‘s twin-blade wielding hero… Continue Reading
8. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
With Aran’s luck, being what it is, the mission quickly goes wrong. Samus is forced to a crash land on Aether, where she is lured into a poisonous alternate dimension. Prime 2‘s gameplay generally functions … Continue Reading
9. Super Mario Sunshine
Despite great reception and sales, Mario never got a sequel on the N64, and the plumber wasn’t ready to return at GameCube’s launch, either. And when the mustacheod man finally appeared on the GCN … Continue Reading
10. Pikmin 2
Pikmin 2 begins shortly after where the first game left off. The great vacationer Olimar has managed to make it home in one piece, but there’s trouble. His employer, Hocotate Freight, has fallen on hard times … Continue Reading
11. Resident Evil
Resident Evil on the PlayStation was a revolution in gameplay design that signaled the rise of the survival-horror genre, but make no mistake, Resident Evil‘s remake for GameCube is the definitive way to play the game… Continue Reading
12. TimeSplitters 2
At the new company, the design philosophies that made GoldenEye and Perfect Dark so much fun lived on and flourished in the form of the TimeSplitters series. Although the first TimeSplitters missed… Continue Reading
13. F-Zero GX
Nintendo tried farming out some of its mid-tier franchises during the GameCube era to encourage third party development. While Namco struggled with Star Fox, Sega excelled with F-Zero, giving gamers one of the fastest … Continue Reading
14. Ikaruga
Shmups had largely faded from glory and popularity by the time of the GameCube era. Outside of Japan, the genre was nearly extinct. One true gem did manage to sneak through. Ikaruga started in Japan as an arcade… Continue Reading
15. Four Swords Adventures
Today, we’re talking about the frantic, chaotic, and gleeful multiplayer action of Four Swords Adventures. Four Swords stands alongside Crystal Chronicles as one of the two big games designed … Continue Reading
16. MGS: The Twin Snakes
Famed Canadian video game developer Silicon Knights went Nintendo exclusive in 2000, and ended up making two of the GameCube’s finest mature rated games. The Twin Snakes retains and … Continue Reading
17. Animal Crossing
To give memory deficient gamers a break, Nintendo actually included a specially stickered Memory Card 59 with copies of Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing defies classification. It’s a sandbox game, city simulator, messaging … Continue Reading
18. Soul Calibur II
Soul Calibur II is the third game in the long running Soul series which started out in arcades and the PlayStation in the mid 90s, and is arguably its peak. The game eschews the standard flat plane of older fighters, and yet … Continue Reading
19. Paper Mario: TTYD
Thousand-Year Door begins with Mario headed to the pirate-infested island town of Rogueport after receiving a letter from Princess Peach promising a treasure hunt. Once he arrives, Mario discovers … Continue Reading
20. Mario Kart Double Dash
During the GameCube era, Nintendo cast around for ways to give its old franchises new life. Mario got a water pack, Link got toon shaded, and Mario Kart doubled up, with Mario Kart: Double Dash!! There are four GP cups … Continue Reading
21. Pikmin
Not a title driven by world-ending cataclysm or intergalactic war, but rather, a game about the small things. A game inspired by the walks its creator took through his garden. Of course, I’m talking about Pikmin… Continue Reading
22. Beyond Good & Evil
In an industry overwhelmed by cookie-cutter sequels to established franchises starring muscle-bound men on quests for blood, Beyond Good & Evil stands as a shockingly smart and unique title that elevates the … Continue Reading
23. Resident Evil 0
Resident Evil started out as a PlayStation centric series. Although all three of the original games were ultimately ported to other systems, they always hit the PS1 first, and with the greatest success. That’s why it was especially … Continue Reading
24. Fire Emblem: PoR
The Fire Emblem series had been chugging along nicely in Japan since the Famicom era, but it wasn’t until the breakout popularity of Roy and Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee that Nintendo finally began localizing… Continue Reading
25. Baten Kaitos
These days, Nintendo developer Monolith Soft is well known for having made the critically acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles, but the studio also gave the GameCube some of its finest … Continue Reading
26. PoP: The Sands of Time
The GameCube was the target of many great and memorable 1st party and 3rd party exclusive games. More rare, it seemed, were the quality third multiplatform titles. Ubisoft dared to … Continue Reading
27. Skies of Arcadia Legends
Following the Dreamcast’s early and unfortunate demise, Sega ported many of that console’s finest games to the systems of its former competitors. For the GameCube, this meant great titles like Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi … Continue Reading
28. Super Mario Strikers
Mario starred in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Mario Power Tennis. He even made appearances in games other than his own: NBA Street V3 and SSX on Tour. All great games worth checking out … Continue Reading
29. Crystal Chronicles
Crystal Chronicles marked the return of Square and Final Fantasy to a Nintendo home console. Of course, the company and the series had famously abandoned Nintendo in the mid 90s for Sony and the PlayStation … Continue Reading
30. Rogue Squadron II
Rogue Squadron II similarly pushed the GameCube to incredible graphical heights. Despite being a launch game, Rogue Leader tasked the new system like few other titles ever would. Rogue Squadron II doesn’t… Continue Reading
31. Luigi’s Mansion
Up until the GameCube, Nintendo had traditionally launched its consoles with the next big Mario game. The company took a different strategy with the GameCube, however, choosing to leave its… Continue Reading
32. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is the second DK Bongo game to appear on the Definitive 50, but unlike the more traditional rhythm game that is Donkey Konga, Jungle Beat is actually a 2D platformer. That’s right… Continue Reading
33. Super Monkey Ball
In Super Monkey Ball, you don’t play as one of four selectable monkeys: AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, or Baby. Rather, you take control of the levels around those monkeys in an effort to tilt, shift, and roll your ball-bound primate to… Continue Reading
34. Viewtiful Joe
In this game, you play as the anything-but-average Joe. The simply Viewtiful hero is a real-world dude who finds himself sucked into the ultra-violent, ultra-awesome Movieland, where he must rescue his girlfriend, Silvia … Continue Reading
35. Phantasy Star Online
MMOs are not uncommon on consoles these days, the genre having been popularized by titles like Final Fantasy XI. But in 2002, they were a true rarity, especially for the barely-online GameCube. One very notable… Continue Reading
36. Killer7
Killer7 defies definition. The story is a bizarre and twisting tale that follows the work of assassin team killer7, who are all also just one person. Its gameplay is a mix of first-person shooter, rail-shooter, action-adventure, and … Continue Reading
37. Battalion Wars
You command small teams of troops, vehicles, and airborne craft in missions across the globe in an effort to take down the evil Xylvanian aggressors. The idea is for you to both strategically maneuver your units around… Continue Reading
38. WarioWare, Inc.
Mega Microgames!, the first WarioWare title, had been released for the GameBoy Advance just a few months earlier, when this remade version hit the Cube. The title features all of its predecessor’s … Continue Reading
39. Gladius
Welcome to the world of epic gladiatorial combat. Gladius is a deliberately paced turn-based strategy RPG from the minds at LucasArts. The game begins with a choice: to go with the Barbarian-like Ursula, or the Roman… Continue Reading
40. DDR Mario Mix
Mario’s gotten his share of spin-offs over the years. Kart racers, action RPGs, mini game collections, and sports games of all varieties. I never thought I’d see the portly plumber bust a move in DDR, though … Continue Reading
41. Star Fox Adventures
Despite successful outings late in the SNES’s life, and early on for the N64, Fox McCloud and his crew took an extended break from the video game world, one which would last all the way to the GameCube’s launch … Continue Reading
42. Donkey Konga
I’d like to introduce you to perhaps the GameCube’s greatest accessory: the DK Bongos. Slap along to Nintendo music and pop classics alike. Play focuses on smacking the left and right bongos, as well as clapping… Continue Reading
43. SSX 3
There’s no doubt the SSX series represents the finest in extreme sports on the GameCube. It was not a tough decision to include the series in this list, only to choose which of its three GameCube entries most deserved a spot … Continue Reading
44. Second Sight
Second Sight is a third person shooter which follows the bizarre, twisting, and cerebral journey of parapsychology research John Vattic. The game begins with Vattic confined to a hospital room, heavily bandaged, and without… Continue Reading
45. Wave Race: Blue Storm
The series is best remembered for its N64 iteration, Wave Race 64. This fondly remembered racer featured some of the finest water physics in gaming to date, not to mention gloriously fun pick-up-and-play action, so you can… Continue Reading
46. Chibi-Robo!
The box for this game declares “Plug Into Adventure!” and that’s exactly what you’ll get when you play Chibi-Robo! In this title, you take on the role of a tiny silver robot who has to run around performing chores and … Continue Reading
47. Geist
You play as scientist John Raimi, part of a counter-terrorism group investigating bizarre military experiments being conducted by Volks Corporation. This company has been experimenting with ghost separations in… Continue Reading
48. Odama
Entry number 48 on the Definitive 50 GameCube games is Odama. This title is truly unique. It combines the tactical strategy of controlling an army of Japanese feudal-era soldiers with the chaos of, that’s right, pinball … Continue Reading
49. Star Fox Assault
Assault was, of course, the second appearance of the Star Fox Team on the GameCube, following Rare’s controversial Star Fox Adventures. Assault was a return to form of sorts, returning Fox and friends to their shooter roots … Continue Reading
50. P.N.03
50th place on the list of Definitive 50 GameCube games goes to P.N. 03. This GameCube exclusive, the first title of the infamous “Capcom Five,” was released to great anticipation, but it ultimately failed to achieve… Continue Reading