The series so far: The Definitive 50 GameCube Games.

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 buck that trend with the rightfully beloved Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

You haven’t experienced the height of 3D action platforming controls until you’ve played Sands of Time. Put simply, this game is one of the most intuitive to play ever made. Sure, you’re still wielding the fairly standard GameCube controller to maneuver the prince, but somehow, quite quickly, it will feel like the R-trigger really is the act of rewinding time, while L is running across walls, and A is rolling.

Sands of Time begins with The Prince on a militiristic quest for glory when he is tricked into wreaking chaos by stealing the magical Dagger of Time and using it to release the Sands of Time on the unprepared Palace of Azad.

It’s up to you, as The Prince, to work with the snarky Princess Farah to maneuver through the twisting ruins of the palace in a mission to return the Sands of Time to the hourglass which once held them and defeat the treacherous Vizier.

Along the way, you’ll encounter elaborate traps, grotesque monsters, heart-stopping leaps of faith, and rooms filled with opportunities to run, jump, swing, climb, and wall-jump your way to progress.

Of course, Sands of Time was so successful that it went on to spawn a full trilogy for the XBOX, PS2, and GameCube. The other two games of which, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, are totally worth checking out as well. Oh, and that Jake Gyllenhaal movie of the same name? Avoid at all costs.