vgZero Top 10 - Best GameCube Games

On November 18th we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the launch of the GameCube. Despite its shortcomings, the Cube undeniably provided some incredible experiences, so to honor this milestone we attempted to pull together a list of our top ten titles to grace Nintendo's little purple box of entertainment.

10. Luigi's Mansion
For the first time in Nintendo’s history of home video game consoles, the GameCube did not have a Mario game at launch. Instead, Nintendo opted to hand the torch to brother Luigi for his first starring role in a video game and he bore the burden remarkably well. Luigi’s Mansion was quite a dramatic departure from the brothers’ traditional platforming roots, instead plunging the cowardly plumber into a light-hearted romp through a haunted mansion. In search of his missing brother, Luigi takes up a flashlight, his "Game Boy Horror", and the “Poltergust 3000”, a vacuum pack capable of capturing ghosts, and reluctantly treads his way through the mansion’s many rooms. Luigi’s Mansion provided a strong showcase for the graphics capabilities of the Cube, and the innovative gameplay and clever puzzles provided a strong foundation for one of the GameCube’s finest launch titles. Perhaps most appealing though was the game’s amusing atmosphere, particularly Luigi’s adorable cowardly cries for Mario in his most dire situations. Thankfully, Luigi’s Mansion will finally get a much-deserved sequel on the 3DS next year, 11 years after the original provided one of the first compelling reasons to own a GameCube.

9. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Retro Studios stunned Metroid fans and newcomers alike with the amazing Metroid Prime (more on that one higher up on our list), but with that success came great expectations for the game’s sequel a couple of years later. Echoes featured a very similar gameplay formula to the first game, however it was infused with a clever new mechanic to keep the sequel feeling fresh. The planet Aether (the setting for Echoes) featured two alternate dimensions, a light and a dark dimension. Light Aether was the planet in its normal state, but Dark Aether possessed a poisonous atmosphere that could only be withstood with a special suit, as well as harboring a menacing alien race known as the Ing that were capable of reanimating the dead. It was in this dark dimension that Samus would also encounter her own evil counterpart, Dark Samus. The action-adventure gameplay was just as tight and enjoyable as in the first game, if not even more refined and enhanced through the game's light/dark world theme and Samus' corresponding light and dark beam weapons, and the game’s graphics were among the best in the industry at the time. Much to the delight of the hardcore GameCube crowd, Echoes provided one of the more challenging experiences on the Cube as well. We can also thank Metroid Prime 2 for giving us what has to be the coolest of all of Samus’ suits: the uber-sexy Light Suit. Let's just forget about those tacked on multiplayer features...

8. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
When Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty hit the PlayStation 2 in 2001, it sure made the legendary 1998 PlayStation-exclusive title Metal Gear Solid feel rather dated. Enter Silicon Knights, a talented development studio with an affinity for the Metal Gear Solid franchise, the first game in particular. After receiving Konami’s grace, the developer went to work on a GameCube-exclusive port of the critically-acclaimed first game. The Twin Snakes was not your average port though, featuring overhauled graphics, re-recorded voice work, newly written and directed cut-scenes, and some new features originally introduced into MGS2, such as the first-person mode and improved enemy AI. The transformation was executed wonderfully, and the magic of the original game was translated to the next generation remarkably well. The graphics looked even better than in MGS2, and the original’s unforgettable story was masterfully told through the gripping new cut scenes and fantastic voiceovers while remaining faithful to the source material. It’s hard to imagine that a remake of a masterpiece could be realized any better.

7. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
It’s fitting that Eternal Darkness was the first Mature-rated video game to be published directly by Nintendo, as it truly carried the company’s tradition of excellence. Coming from relatively unknown developer Silicon Knights, Eternal Darkness offered a unique take on the psychological horror genre. The story followed a number of people living in various time periods spanning hundreds of years as they use a magical book called the Tome of Eternal Darkness in an attempt to impede the summoning of an ancient evil that would feast on the souls of all the living. The game featured twelve playable characters as they fought against grotesque creatures while struggling to stave off their own descent into insanity, ranging from a 12th century Cambodian slave girl to an 18th century doctor in colonial Rhode Island to a World War I field reporter and a modern-day Canadian firefighter. The story and its many settings and characters were fascinating, and each chapter featured weapons unique to its respective setting and time period with which players were encouraged to defeat enemies by targeting specific limbs, as well as utilizing a variety of “Magick” spells. The game is perhaps most well-known for its trademark “sanity effects” that occurred when the character’s sanity meter became empty from encountering too many otherworldly foes without destroying them appropriately. These sanity effects messed with the character and player’s minds by manufacturing creepy background sounds like heavy footsteps or a child crying, bleeding walls, sudden apparent deaths, or finding themselves inexplicably walking on the ceiling. Sometimes they even messed directly with the player’s mind with fake “Game Over” screens, abruptly shutting off the screen, or displaying a message that the controller had become unplugged. The innovation and unique story provided an unforgettable experience exclusive to the GameCube and unfortunately one of the most criminally overlooked games of all time.

6. Super Mario Sunshine
Mario took a nice, long holiday after his mega-hit launch Nintendo 64 launch title Super Mario 64, much to the chagrin of Nintendo fans. When the long-awaited follow-up was revealed over 5 years later, fans were quite alarmed about the radical changes being made to Nintendo’s venerable mascot. Most of the series’ recognizable enemies were gone along with the expected settings for traditional Mario platformers, making way for a tropical paradise setting called Isle Delfino. Even more surprising was that Mario would be relying on more than his own platforming prowess to defeat baddies and traverse the game’s environments with addition of FLUDD (Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device), a water pack attached to Mario’s back for the duration of most of the game. FLUDD gave Mario the ability to clean up graffiti, hover in midair, rocket himself high into the air, gain additional sprinting speed, and to defeat baddies. The dramatic changes proved to be skin-deep however, as players discovered that Super Mario Sunshine continued the franchise’s tradition of platforming excellence thanks to the usual ingenious level design and smart implementation of FLUDD. It may not have been exactly the Mario game fans were looking for, but it was nonetheless one of the best games on GameCube and absolutely worthy of Mario's rich history.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Most people will remember Twilight Princess as a Wii launch title, but the game was, in fact, built from the ground up for the GameCube. Zelda fanboys openly wept tears of joy while millions of others rejoiced in a much more sensible manner when the game was first revealed at E3 in 2004, sporting a more realistic Zelda that hearkened back to the style of the excellent N64 games that preceded the cartoony Wind Waker in 2003. The response eventually proved to be warranted after an agonizing two-and-a-half year wait, as Twilight Princess offered not only an enormous and beautiful world, but unparalleled gameplay that held true to the classic Zelda formula. TP took on a rather dark tone, forcing Link to traverse not only the sprawling Hyrule landscape, but also the eerie twilight realm where he would assume the form of a wolf. The huge game world was filled with many interesting locations and fun things to do in addition to the nine primary dungeons, giving players dozens upon dozens of hours of classic Zelda gameplay. Twilight Princess is also recognized as offering one of the deepest and most gripping stories yet seen in a Zelda game, told through numerous enthralling cut scenes. Though it may be remembered as the perfect introduction to the Wii, Twilight Princess should not be forgotten as a phenomenal send-off to the GameCube.

4. Resident Evil 4
The GameCube was not rich with either big third-party games or M-rated titles, but thanks to Capcom owners got the best of both worlds with Resident Evil 4. RE4 represented a re-imagining of the classic Resident Evil gameplay, shedding the series’ trademark bewildering controls and zombie-infested corridors. The fourth game would adopt a behind-the-shoulder perspective, something that was not common at the time but has since become a staple design in many shooters, as well as moving to a rural European setting, quite unusual for the franchise, where protagonist Leon Kennedy would attempt to rescue the US President’s daughter from her kidnappers. Upon arrival in a creepy village, Leon discovers that the residents have become inexplicably irrational and violent. The Los Ganados, as they would come to be called, were far more intelligent foes than the brainless zombies veteran RE players were used to fighting against, making even more formidable and disturbing foes. The new perspective suited the game perfectly, and though some claim that a certain degree of the series’ survival horror roots seemed to have been lost in the transition, Resident Evil 4 still had a delightfully unsettling atmosphere with some uniquely creepy locations, enhanced by some of the best graphics ever seen in a video game at the time. RE4 is still often recognized as one of the greatest video games of all time, and as such was later ported to the PS2, PC, Wii, and more recently even to the Xbox 360 and PS3.

3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
It’s hard to imagine that following the widespread outrage that surrounded Wind Waker after its famed 2001 reveal that just a few years later it would be recognized as one of the GameCube’s best games, and even one of the greatest video games ever made. Once fans had some time to adjust to and perhaps even embrace the bold new artistic direction that Nintendo was taking its most revered franchise, they found that underneath the cartoony cel-shaded visuals was a fascinating world with all of the features that made Zelda so awesome in the first place. The almost overwhelmingly huge oceanic game world was littered with an endless number of things to do, items to find, and locations to explore, wrapped in a unique plot for the franchise while maintaining the amazing classic Zelda gameplay and dungeon-exploring formula. Wind Waker’s soundtrack was once again unforgettable, and yes, despite the shocking new style the visuals were positively gorgeous and have since provided the foundation for several other Zelda games, without the public outcry. Wind Waker was a lesson learned for many gamers, in that never again should a game be judged based on its aesthetics, as beneath the game’s radical shift in visual style lie one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences ever made.

2. Super Smash Bros. Melee
It’s funny that people almost seem to forget that Super Smash Bros. existed years before the GameCube ever came along, but Melee absolutely destroyed all previous conceptions about the franchise. SSBM more than doubled the roster count and more than tripled the number of stages to do battle on. There were numerous new gameplay modes, a ton of new items, a laundry list of collectible trophies, gorgeously improved graphics, an unforgettable soundtrack, and refined gameplay mechanics. The result was a ridiculously fun and fast-paced, action-packed experience, one that most owners (there were over 7 million of them, more than any other GameCube game) will confess to have spent literally countless hours in both single-player and, much more so, multiplayer modes. The gameplay formula never seemed to get old, and there has perhaps never been a more enjoyable game to play for hours on end with a group of your buddies in the comfort of your living room/dorm room/etc. (online whatsa?), assuring yourselves of endless laughter, ribbing, and trash-talking. Melee's endearing presentation and excellently balanced and smooth gameplay instantly made Super Smash Bros. one of the most popular franchises in the video game industry.

1. Metroid Prime
New platform? Check. Unknown foreign developer? Check. Fundamental gameplay changes? Check. All the necessary components were in place for Metroid Prime, the first Metroid game to be released in eight years, to be a total disaster. What GameCube owners got instead was an absolute masterpiece. After all previous outings having been side-scrolling platformers, developer Retro Studios brought the series up to modern standards by making MP into a first-person action-adventure game. With arguably the best graphics seen on any console at the time, Retro created the gorgeous alien world of Tallon IV, featuring lush forests, underground caverns, frigid snow-covered landscapes, and barren deserts, each inhabited by a myriad of unusual alien life forms. Complementing this wonderfully-created world was a perfectly haunting soundtrack, helping to create an unforgettable atmosphere of loneliness and unfamiliarity. The story unfolded not through dramatic cut scenes or lengthy narratives, but simply through exploration of the world and the items and brief texts that lay within it. Then there was the gameplay. A lock-on mechanic was quite a risky proposition for a first-person shooter, but it was pulled off extremely well. But then, Metroid Prime wasn’t really a first-person shooter: the game’s massive world that encouraged exploration and puzzle-solving ensured that MP was as much adventure as it was action, while remaining equal parts enjoyable. Even the monumental task of integrating the morph ball mechanic was pulled off flawlessly, effectively creating some of the game’s most uniquely enjoyable moments. Despite all things working against it, Metroid Prime did for the Metroid series what Super Mario 64 did for the Mario series and Ocarina of Time did for The Legend of Zelda series; that is, carry the franchise into the modern era almost without fault, and even pushing their respective genres beyond any comparable in the industry and marking new standards for all future games to aspire to.

Written by: Mike Glubish

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